When Sunday saw the man with the crew cut turn the flames on him, he raised an eyebrow, stopped, and folded his arms as he looked at him.
"Sir?"
Seeing Sunday stop, Xue Qinghe asked in confusion.
"Why is everyone standing at the entrance? Surely you haven't come to welcome me?"
Just then, a hearty voice rang out from above, and a pitch-black spatial portal suddenly appeared in midair.
Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo stepped out of the portal.
At the sight of yet more arrivals, Meng Shenji's vision went dark.
"We really kicked a hornet's nest today. Why do they keep coming, one after another?"
"Dad! Grandpa Bone!"
Seeing Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo, Ning Rongrong broke into a smile and dashed toward them.
Ning Fengzhi descended with a smile, his heart stirring at the sight of Ning Rongrong throwing herself toward him.
This was the first time his precious daughter had ever been so far from home. With her temper, she had probably suffered no small amount of mistreatment.
At that thought, Ning Fengzhi opened his arms and caught Ning Rongrong, his smile widening.
"Ah, Rongrong, did you miss your dad?"
Beside Ning Fengzhi, Gu Rong also pulled his pale, gaunt face into a smile at the sight of Ning Rongrong.
"Rongrong, did you miss Grandpa Bone?"
"Yes~ Rongrong missed you both so much."
Nestled in Ning Fengzhi's arms, Ning Rongrong recalled the grievances she had suffered over the past few days, especially Dai Mubai's remark and Tang San's double standards.
Her heart ached, and she answered Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong between little sobs.
The smiles on Ning Fengzhi's and Gu Rong's delighted faces froze the instant they heard her tearful voice.
Ning Fengzhi's hand paused briefly as he stroked Ning Rongrong's hair, then resumed its gentle motion as he put a smile back on his face.
Gu Rong's expression, however, had already turned icy, his hollow, sunken eyes fixed on the people from Shrek Academy.
Ning Rongrong was the precious child they had raised from infancy. Although somewhat spoiled, she still knew how to conduct herself outside the home.
A large part of why she had run away this time was that she wanted to prove herself.
As such, Ning Rongrong would never normally show them anything was wrong unless something had truly happened.
For her to cry like this, they could only imagine what she had endured.
The more Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong thought about it, the colder their hearts grew.
"Fengzhi."
"I know, Uncle Bone. We'll talk it over later!"
Hearing Gu Rong's voice transmission, Ning Fengzhi replied without revealing anything. They were in public, and this was no place to lash out.
By now, Ning Rongrong's face was covered in tears. She did not yet have the affection she would develop later.
At Shrek, everyone except Zhu Zhuqing had ostracized her. She hated them all!
Among the Shrek group, Dai Mubai's heart lurched at the sight of Ning Rongrong like this.
That damned woman.
Dai Mubai cursed inwardly. He had never expected Ning Rongrong's family to arrive so soon, and he was already trying to work out how to get the dean to protect him.
Flender panicked as well. He had not expected Ning Fengzhi to turn up at this moment.
"Mr. Sunday, I'm sorry I arrived late. Please forgive me."
After soothing Ning Rongrong, Ning Fengzhi left her in Gu Rong's care and walked over to Sunday and Xue Qinghe.
"Qinghe, why is everyone standing here?"
Ning Fengzhi asked curiously. At first, he had assumed they had all just arrived.
Now that he looked more closely, however, the atmosphere felt strange. Something had likely happened.
Xue Qinghe stepped forward and bowed to Ning Fengzhi as a student to his teacher, then cupped a hand beside his ear.
"Teacher..."
After listening, Ning Fengzhi looked toward Yu Xiaogang, calculations flickering in his eyes.
"There, Rongrong, no more crying. Grandpa Bone will take you to buy something delicious in a bit."
Ning Rongrong nodded between sobs, then looked toward Sunday. She had not expected Ning Fengzhi to know him as well.
"Grandpa Bone, do you know that Sunday?"
Gu Rong nodded at Ning Rongrong's question.
"Yes. Your dad and that old bastard went to see him yesterday. I don't know much about him. If you want to know, go ask him yourself."
Hearing Gu Rong's words, Ning Rongrong blushed faintly and pinched the hem of her clothes in embarrassment.
"W-wouldn't that be a little inappropriate?"
Gu Rong's eyes widened at her reaction, and he inwardly realized something was wrong.
Rongrong, what are you thinking? I really don't know anything. I just meant for you to ask him!
Before he could speak, however, Ning Rongrong had already walked up to Sunday.
"H-hello, my name is Ning Rongrong. It's nice to meet you."
Sunday looked at the shy Ning Rongrong and gave a slight nod.
"Hello, my name is Sunday. It's nice to meet you."
Looking at Sunday's calm face, Ning Rongrong felt her cheeks warm and lowered her head.
"Y-you look so young. May I ask how old you are?"
Sunday truly had not expected that question from Ning Rongrong, but his age in his previous life and his time in the world of Honkai: Star Rail seemed about the same.
"Around twenty-seven."
"Oh."
Ning Fengzhi also came to Ning Rongrong's side.
"All right, Rongrong. I never imagined you were so young, Mr. Sunday. You truly are young and accomplished!"
Xue Qinghe was also startled to hear Sunday's age. He was only a little older than him.
"Mr. Sunday, you still haven't answered my question!"
Yu Xiaogang saw Ning Fengzhi and his companion chatting happily with Xue Qinghe and Sunday, while he himself was completely ignored.
This left him, the Grandmaster, thoroughly embarrassed. He stepped forward and raised his voice another notch, sounding rather aggressive.
Ning Fengzhi had been about to build a closer rapport with Sunday when Yu Xiaogang interrupted him. Even with his good temper, he frowned.
Sunday stepped forward and looked at Yu Xiaogang, whose nose was pointed toward the heavens, his tone carrying a hint of amusement.
"Oh? Then what is it you want?"
Yu Xiaogang puffed out his chest, his voice full of pride.
"Though my talents are modest, I have made some contributions to martial soul theory, and the soul master world has honored me with the title of Grandmaster.
"I believe my grasp of martial soul theory is quite adequate. Might I serve as this adviser?"
When Xue Qinghe heard that Yu Xiaogang wanted to become the adviser, he nearly lost control and crushed the man's head.
To get Sunday to join him and help realize his dream, he had spent ages pleading with that old bastard Xue Ye.
Yet this crew-cut fellow thought he could stand there with a face like a corpse and demand it? He was dreaming of a feast he would never taste.
"Teaching appointments require official documents! You can't simply become one because you feel like it!"
Seeing Yu Xiaogang continue to raise the stakes, Meng Shenji stepped forward and reprimanded him with a low roar.
He felt his tenure as chief had reached its end.
"What? Does Heaven Dou Royal Academy suppress talented teachers to curry favor with the rich and powerful?"
Yu Xiaogang remained unmoved by Meng Shenji's words. Today, he was determined to seize that adviser position.
Ning Fengzhi raised a hand slightly, intending to speak, but when he saw Sunday move, he stepped back into place.
Sunday looked at Yu Xiaogang, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"What a coincidence. I, too, have studied martial souls extensively. May I ask why you believe you're qualified to serve as an adviser, Grandmaster Yu?"
At those words, Yu Xiaogang readjusted his hands behind his back and tilted his head up at a forty-five-degree angle to gaze at the sky.
"The most famous ten core competencies in the martial soul world were my creation!
"I even used them to train a genius, turning the useless martial soul Blue Silver Grass into a control-type Soul Elder capable of fighting!"
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