"Wait here a moment. I'm going to pick someone up."
At the academy gates, Huo Yuhao had barely set up his barbecue stall before he said this and walked off, leaving Wang Dong utterly baffled.
Before long, Huo Yuhao returned with a little blonde girl dressed in white.
Wang Dong asked, "Who's this now?"
Huo Yuhao answered casually, "This is my cousin, Huo Tian Meng."
Tian Meng greeted her as well. "Hello, my name is Tian Meng."
Huo Yuhao wasted no time either, laying out the raw fish to start grilling. Tian Meng stood beside him, eagerly waiting for the fish to cook.
After Huo Yuhao had made an emphatic request to his supplier, all the black carp they supplied now came cleaned, sparing him the trouble of scaling and gutting them and speeding things up considerably.
The fish gradually changed color over the grill, giving off a tantalizing aroma.
The smell made Wang Dong crave a taste desperately, but she could only wait patiently. As she waited, she studied Tian Meng.
How did Huo Yuhao already know so many people when school had only just started?
And why was his cousin so cute? Her Soul Power was so weak, though...
Just then, several students gathered around.
"Brother Hao, what took you so long to set up?"
"Exactly! I thought you weren't coming today."
Huo Yuhao said, "It's your Brother Hao's first day as a new student. From now on, I'll only be coming after classes end in the afternoon."
"Ha! Then I'll wait here after class from now on."
"I'm reserving these five skewers of grilled fish. Nobody try to snatch them! Get in line behind me."
"Why should you go first? I clearly got here before you."
Huo Yuhao smiled faintly.
He had only run his stall for a few short days, but word of his grilled fish had already spread, bringing him plenty of customers.
Some students had been a little disappointed not to see him during the day. Now that Huo Yuhao was here, they all flocked around him.
Soon, the first batch of eight grilled fish was ready. Huo Yuhao took them off the grill and sprinkled them with seasoning, making the aroma even richer and leaving the surrounding students swallowing their saliva.
He took two skewers and gave one each to Tian Meng and Wang Dong, then held another in his own mouth. He set the remaining five fish aside and began grilling the next batch.
Tian Meng took her fish and eagerly bit into it, then told the students waiting in line, "Dear customers, each skewer of grilled fish costs five Copper Soul Coins."
The student at the front handed Tian Meng two Silver Soul Coins and five Copper Soul Coins, then took all five remaining fish.
Tian Meng immediately beamed. "Thank you for your patronage!"
But the student's actions dissatisfied those behind him, who complained, "If you buy them all, what are we supposed to eat?"
The student mumbled around a mouthful of grilled fish, "Who told you to get in line behind me?"
Tian Meng immediately soothed the crowd. "Don't worry, everyone. There's plenty more grilled fish!"
The complaining students quieted down at her words.
Tian Meng's human form was not breathtakingly beautiful, but it brimmed with a playful, adorable liveliness that made people instinctively feel fond of her.
Most of the time, though, she was a textbook little brat...
With Tian Meng handling customers beside him, Huo Yuhao no longer encountered anyone shortchanging him and could focus on grilling fish.
He neither lacked money nor cared about it, but being shortchanged by even a single copper coin could leave him feeling disgusted for half the day.
If someone had genuinely been careless, or was so hard up that they could not afford a meal, he would naturally forgive them generously and let it go with a smile. But if they had money and still tried to take petty advantage of him, he would be so angry that he could not sleep that night.
Of every batch of eight fish, two always went to Tian Meng and Wang Dong first. Huo Yuhao occasionally ate one himself, and only the rest were sold.
And so he grilled several batches in a row, while Wang Dong and Tian Meng ate through several rounds as well.
"Delicious! Absolutely delicious! I'm full!"
Wang Dong stretched contentedly.
Apart from being a little monotonous, the food was practically faultless.
In their dorm room, Huo Yuhao grilled not only fish but pork belly, tenderloin, and... Wang Dong had eaten her fill of delicious food over the past few evenings.
She looked at the students waiting around them, and a sense of superiority welled up within her.
What did privilege look like? This was privilege! Had any of you tasted his other delicious food?
"Mm, glad you're full." Tian Meng smiled and held out her soft, fair little hand to Wang Dong.
Wang Dong said, "...What are you doing?"
"Collecting payment, of course," Tian Meng said matter-of-factly. "You ate four of Yuhao's grilled fish. That's two Silver Soul Coins altogether."
Wang Dong said, "..."
She had eaten Huo Yuhao's barbecue in their dorm for days without ever paying.
Tian Meng wore a smile, but the look she gave Wang Dong was anything but well-intentioned.
She had watched everything outside from within the Sea of Consciousness.
She had clearly known Huo Yuhao before Wang Dong did, yet she had not tasted anything delicious besides grilled fish. Why did this fellow get to eat it all?
Not even having a butterfly Martial Soul made that acceptable!
"Don't start trouble." Huo Yuhao finished another batch of fish and freed a hand to tap the back of Tian Meng's head with his knuckles.
"Hmph! You actually snapped at me for her." Tian Meng pouted and reached for the fish he had set aside for the two of them.
Huo Yuhao raised his hand, keeping them out of Tian Meng's reach.
"You've already eaten plenty today. Take a break and eat some more later."
He turned to Wang Dong. "Do you want any more?"
Wang Dong said, "...No, thank you."
Now Wang Dong was puzzled. How could Huo Yuhao's cousin be so tiny yet have an even bigger appetite than she did?
Business at Huo Yuhao's barbecue stall was excellent. Every batch of fish sold out the moment it came off the grill.
Tian Meng collected payments resentfully, forced to watch others eat while she could not. A trace of hostility crept into her gaze as she looked at Wang Dong.
Wang Dong broke into a sweat.
Huo Yuhao's cousin didn't seem very friendly...
After selling another two batches, Huo Yuhao took a short break instead of continuing to grill. He waved the two fish he had kept aside and told Tian Meng, "You can only have two more today. Once you've eaten these, that's it. Understand?"
"I understand, I understand." Tian Meng nodded eagerly.
The student at the front of the line could not help smiling.
He was already a regular at Huo Yuhao's stall and rather envied the relationship between the two cousins running it.
Suddenly, he noticed someone approaching. His expression shifted slightly, and he took two steps aside.
He was not the only one. All the students gathered around the barbecue stall willingly cleared a path.
Huo Yuhao raised his eyebrows and looked toward the newcomers.
They were several female students in purple school uniforms. All were pretty, but the one leading them was especially striking.
She was only fourteen or fifteen, yet her figure was slender and graceful, and her skin was fair. Beneath her long, golden waves of hair, her clear eyes conveyed a delicate gentleness. A faint hint of sorrow between her brows only added to her charm. Hers was a beauty that could topple cities and kingdoms, far surpassing the girls beside her.
Whenever the other students saw her, their faces flushed and their hearts raced.
"So beautiful..." Wang Dong could not help murmuring.
Huo Yuhao, however, barely reacted, his expression remaining calm.
One of the female students excitedly told the stunning girl, "Sister Nan, I heard a stall with really delicious food recently opened by the academy gates. This is the one."
The stunning girl nodded and walked toward Huo Yuhao.