A Bet with the Two Girls

That evening, in Flender's office, Flender, Yu Xiaogang, and Tang San formed a triangle. Tang San and Flender were seated while Yu Xiaogang stood. The three looked at one another in silence.

By unspoken agreement, none of them mentioned what had happened during the day. It had been far too socially mortifying. Under the system's influence, they also tacitly avoided thinking about why they had acted that way.

Flender said in a deep voice:

"Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing have both submitted applications to withdraw. Yu Xiaogang, tell me, what should we do now?"

Yu Xiaogang sighed.

"Our old reputations are completely gone now. How about this? Have Bai Yu calm Ning Rongrong down, have Xiao Wu talk to Zhu Zhuqing, then let Zhao Wuji and Li Yusong speak with them."

Flender nodded. Bai Yu had demonstrated his abilities during his fight with Zhao Wuji, so Ning Rongrong would probably listen to him.

As for Tang San, he sat silently to one side, glancing at Yu Xiaogang's beard from time to time, then stealing looks at Flender's lips.

"Do you two really want to withdraw?"

Inside the room, Bai Yu spoke to Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing.

The task of calming Zhu Zhuqing had originally been assigned to Xiao Wu, the only girl who had not submitted an application to withdraw. But Flender did not know that her dissatisfaction with Shrek Academy was even greater than Zhu Zhuqing's and Ning Rongrong's. The only reason she had not withdrawn was Bai Yu, so the task naturally ended up falling to him as well.

Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong nodded. The latter frowned and said:

"Did Flender and that so-called Great Master send you to persuade us? Don't think that just because that Great Master spouted a bunch of nonsense, you and I are really some kind of soul partners!"

Bai Yu smiled and said:

"I'm not here to persuade you. I just came to ask you something."

Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a glance and asked in unison:

"Ask what?"

"I want to ask why you came to this academy in the first place. After all, this academy cannot even be considered third-rate. It is not even on the rankings, so it can only be called a no-name school."

Bai Yu smiled faintly. He actually knew Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing's backgrounds, but his purpose was not to persuade them. He wanted to establish an image for himself in front of them and gain their favor, so he needed a topic to start with.

Sure enough, seeing that he was not here to convince them to stay, Ning Rongrong relaxed her guard somewhat and said:

"You already know I'm from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. But what you don't know is that I ran away from home because I couldn't feel any freedom in the sect."

Bai Yu asked with a smile:

"From the sound of it, your status in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect isn't low. Could you be the Sect Master's daughter?"

Ning Rongrong froze. Bai Yu did not wait for her reply, instead turning to Zhu Zhuqing and asking:

"And why did you come to Shrek?"

Zhu Zhuqing had not wanted to speak, but under the influence of the Human Emperor Banner, she felt that Bai Yu could be trusted. So she answered:

"I want to become stronger."

Mm, still as sparing with words as ever.

Bai Yu nodded and said:

"You are a Hell Spirit Cat, while Dai Mubai is an Evil Eye White Tiger. If I'm not mistaken, you two should both be members of the Star Luo Empire's royal family."

Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu were both shocked.

After a moment of silence, Zhu Zhuqing nodded and admitted:

"That's right. I am a member of the Star Luo Empire's royal family, and Dai Mubai is as well. My family and his family have intermarried for generations."

"Intermarried for generations? But you and Dai Mubai seem not to know each other at all?"

Ning Rongrong asked in confusion. Zhu Zhuqing replied in a grave voice:

"There is a rule among the direct descendants of the Star Luo Empire's royal family: there can only be one winner. Those who lose the struggle for power are killed by the victor. Dai Mubai is the second prince of the Star Luo Empire. He could not compete with his older brother, Dai Weisi, so he had already left Star Luo before we ever met."

Upon hearing that, Xiao Wu's delicate brows shot up, and she seemed extremely indignant.

"You mean he abandoned you, his fiancée, because he was afraid?"

"Not fiancée. That was only our first meeting."

Zhu Zhuqing rejected Xiao Wu's wording.

Ning Rongrong was also somewhat displeased with the irresponsible Dai Mubai.

At that moment, Bai Yu smiled and said:

"Very good. Then it seems our goals are the same: to become stronger. So why did you come here? Did you think Shrek Academy was strong?"

Ning Rongrong said:

"I heard of Shrek Academy while I was in the sect. I heard it only recruited monsters, so I was curious and came to enroll."

Zhu Zhuqing also said:

"Mm. I heard important figures in the Star Luo royal family say that Shrek Academy's teachers were all very strong, so I came."

Bai Yu spread his hands, smiling as if amused.

"See? You both think staying here can help you become stronger, so why do you want to leave?"

The moment Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing mentioned this, they gritted their teeth in anger.

"Who knew the Dean here was such a huge pervert? And that so-called Great Master, and Tang San too—they're disgusting! They're already this perverted now. Who knows what they might do to us in the future? It's better to withdraw early!"

Bai Yu smiled.

"What if I guarantee that they won't harm you?"

Zhu Zhuqing looked suspicious, while Ning Rongrong was even more direct, sneering:

"Guarantee? What can you use to guarantee it?"

Under Xiao Wu's puzzled gaze, Bai Yu slowly took out a contract. It was the contract Flender had used to mortgage Shrek Academy to the Suotuo City Money House.

"The Suotuo City Money House belongs to one of my relatives. Flender has already mortgaged the academy to the Money House, so the Dean of Shrek Academy now is the Money House's owner—my relative. Do you believe my guarantee now?"

He did not say that he himself was the owner of the Money House. Instead, he lied that its owner was his relative. That left him more room to maneuver and would not arouse Tang Hao or Flender's suspicions.

Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged glances, each seeing the shock in the other's eyes.

"You really aren't a commoner!"

Ning Rongrong was a little smug, because from the beginning, she had believed Bai Yu came from some great family or powerful sect. Now, her guess had been proven right.

How could a commoner possibly have a relative who owned a Money House?

Zhu Zhuqing asked:

"Why did you come to Shrek Academy?"

Without hesitation, Bai Yu answered:

"The same as you: to become stronger! How about this? The three of us make a bet. Whoever is the first to break through Rank 40, the other two must agree to one request from that person. What do you think?"

Zhu Zhuqing hesitated, while Ning Rongrong was eager to try.

Seeing this, Bai Yu provoked them.

"If you want to become stronger, how can you do it without some motivation? If you're afraid, I can give you a handicap. If either of you reaches Rank 40 before I do, I'll agree to three of your requests. Do you still not dare to bet?"

Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong exchanged a look, then nodded firmly.

"Fine, we agree!"

In the office, Flender sent Tang San away and also had him call Zhao Wuji over.

Zhao Wuji poked his head in through the door, afraid that the moment he entered, he would see some eye-searing scene.

"Why are you sneaking around? Get in here already!"

Flender snapped irritably.

Zhao Wuji scratched the back of his head, walked in with an awkward smile, and asked:

"Big Brother, what is it?"

His body and toes were angled toward the door, ready to make a run for it at any time.

Naturally, Flender knew what he was afraid of. The corner of his mouth twitched as he was about to speak when a distant, ethereal voice suddenly came from outside the window:

"Flender. Yu Xiaogang. Come out and meet me."

Flender's expression changed. Without even having time to speak to Zhao Wuji, he walked to the window and looked outside, but found nothing.

He turned and exchanged a glance with Yu Xiaogang. The two nodded.

Even with Flender's strength, he had failed to locate the source of the voice, which meant the other party was no weakling. It would be better to go out and meet them, communicate, and avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.

Thus, Flender took Yu Xiaogang and flew out. After hesitating for a moment, Zhao Wuji followed them as well.