"Did you run all the way back?" Madam Lin asked evenly. She picked up the serving chopsticks and placed some stir-fried asparagus in her daughter's bowl. "You're drenched in sweat. Aren't you afraid of catching a chill? Don't rush like this next time. If you miss mealtime, you miss it. Rules are dead things; people are alive."
"I know, Mother!" Dou Congtong relaxed inwardly. She hurriedly sat down, picked up her bowl, and shoveled in two mouthfuls of rice before mumbling, "I just didn't want to keep you waiting."
"Has the Gaoying Tournament ended?" Madam Lin picked up her own chopsticks, as though making idle conversation.
Dou Congtong's chopsticks paused almost imperceptibly, then resumed their natural movement. "Mm, it just ended. Today was the last day... It was pretty lively. It just finished a little late."
"How did Heaven Dou Academy do this time? Not very well?" Madam Lin continued casually, placing a small piece of steamed sea bass in her bowl.
Dou Congtong froze in the middle of shoveling down her rice, and the fish nearly caught in her throat.
She hastily took a sip of soup to wash it down, then forced herself to sound composed. "They... did all right, I suppose. Anyway... it's a tournament. You win some, you lose some. That's normal."
She dared not meet her mother's eyes, keeping her head down and staring intently at the grains of rice in her bowl as though she could count them all.
"Oh?" Madam Lin's expression remained calm. "I heard Madam Zhou next door say today that things didn't look very promising for Heaven Dou Academy. Apparently, even the famous 'Three Heroes of Heaven Dou' were injured?"
Dou Congtong's heart lurched, and she inwardly cursed Madam Zhou for her loose tongue.
She tried to keep her tone