Xiao Wu Fell for Him

Three days had passed since Nuoding Academy's anniversary celebration.

In those three days, Nuoding City had undergone earth-shaking changes.

The most obvious change was the long line outside Nuoding Academy's gates.

It wasn't a line of students enrolling, but a line of pilgrims.

Soul Masters, nobles, merchants, and even ordinary people from hundreds of miles around had flocked to Nuoding Academy's gates, just to catch a glimpse of that teenage Titled Douluo.

Some brought gifts, some brought requests to become his disciples, and some brought their daughters.

Yes, their daughters.

"I heard that Titled Douluo is only eighteen, young and accomplished, and a fine-looking man. If we could secure a marriage with him..."

"My daughter is sixteen this year, as lovely as a flower and as beautiful as jade. She'd be a perfect match for that Titled Douluo."

"Your daughter? That flat-nosed daughter of yours? Forget it. My daughter is the real beauty."

Every day, a crowd of parents argued outside the academy gates, making more of a racket than a vegetable market.

The dean had to triple the guards just to barely maintain order.

Meanwhile, Yi Yun, the man responsible for all this, lay on the grass on the back hill with one leg crossed over the other, a foxtail grass stem between his lips, leisurely watching the clouds.

"Yun, there are so many people outside looking for you," Xiao Wu said, running over breathlessly.

"Let them wait."

"They said they want to meet you."

"Then let them wait."

"They said they brought gifts."

"Leave the gifts. Send the people away."

Xiao Wu was speechless.

How could he be so lazy?

"Yun, aren't you curious what gifts they brought?"

Yi Yun thought for a moment, then asked, "Any carrots?"

"...Yes."

"Keep the carrots. Throw everything else away."

Xiao Wu: "..."

She felt that Yi Yun's obsession with carrots ran even deeper than hers.

"By the way, Yun," Xiao Wu sat beside Yi Yun, crossing her legs and propping her chin in her hands, "why don't you want to see those people?"

"What would meeting them accomplish?" Yi Yun turned his head to look at Xiao Wu. "They're looking for me either to curry favor with me or to use me. Not one of them really sees me as a friend."

Xiao Wu froze for a moment.

She hadn't expected Yi Yun to say something like that.

In her mind, Yi Yun had always been that grinning, carefree boy who loved playing tricks on people.

But now, she suddenly felt that Yi Yun might be far more complicated than she had imagined.

"Then... do I count as your friend?" Xiao Wu asked quietly.

Yi Yun looked at her and smiled.

"Of course you count. You're not a friend."

Xiao Wu's heart sank.

Not a friend?

"You're my little bunny." Yi Yun reached out and ruffled Xiao Wu's hair.

Xiao Wu flushed all the way to the tips of her ears.

"Wh-who's your little bunny!" She slapped Yi Yun's hand away, her voice going off-pitch.

"You are."

"I am not!"

"Then what are you?"

"I'm... I'm Xiao Wu! Wu as in dancing!"

"Right, Xiao Wu, my little bunny."

"You!"

Xiao Wu puffed out her cheeks in anger, but her heart was racing faster than a rabbit's.

She didn't understand why she was like this.

She had never reacted this way when she was with Tang San before.

With Yi Yun, she was always blushing, her heart was always racing, and she was always saying things that even she found inexplicable.

What was happening?

Xiao Wu leaned against a tree, watching Yi Yun coach Tang San in pole vaulting in the distance.

"Straighten your back! Put strength into your arms! Plant the pole accurately! Yes, just like that!"

Yi Yun's voice carried over from afar, strong and resonant.

Tang San moved like a puppet under Yi Yun's instructions, his face practically spelling out, I don't want to live anymore, but I don't dare say it.

As Xiao Wu watched, she couldn't help laughing.

Yi Yun really was a strange person.

He sent enemies flying with a slap, showing no mercy.

He set all kinds of traps for Tang San and played all kinds of tricks on him, but he had never truly hurt him.

As for her...

Xiao Wu blushed again.

With her, Yi Yun was always gentle.

That gentleness wasn't deliberate, but natural.

He remembered that she liked carrots and brought her some every time they met.

He noticed when she was tired and let her lean against him to rest.

He protected her, standing in front of her when she was afraid.

He made her laugh when she was sad and laughed with her when she was happy.

Xiao Wu placed a hand on her chest, feeling the beating there.

Thump, thump, thump.

Much faster than usual.

"Could I have fallen for him?" Xiao Wu murmured, so softly that only she could hear.

Once that thought appeared, it grew wildly like weeds, impossible to suppress.

"No, no, no, that's impossible." Xiao Wu shook her head hard. "How long have I even known him? How could I like him?"

"But... he really is handsome..."

"And he's very strong..."

"And he treats me very well..."

"And he's fun..."

"And..."

The more Xiao Wu thought, the more confused she became, and the redder her face grew.

She hugged her head and curled into a ball.

"Aaaaaah! I'm not thinking about it anymore!"

Yi Yun was demonstrating for Tang San when he suddenly heard Xiao Wu's shout from afar.

"Aaaaaah!"

Yi Yun turned and saw Xiao Wu curled beneath the tree, clutching her head like a frightened rabbit.

"What's wrong with Xiao Wu?" Tang San asked.

"No idea," Yi Yun said. "Maybe she ate something bad."

"I don't think she ate anything just now."

"Then she's overthinking."

Tang San looked utterly bewildered, unable to understand what Yi Yun was saying.

"All right, that's enough practice for today." Yi Yun clapped his hands. "Finished your hundred?"

"Yes."

"Then we'll continue tomorrow."

"...Okay."

Tang San shouldered his pole and dragged his exhausted body back to the dormitory.

Yi Yun walked beneath the tree, crouched down, and looked at Xiao Wu, who was curled into a ball.

"Xiao Wu?"

"Mm..."

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing!" Xiao Wu jerked her head up, her face bright red, not even daring to look at Yi Yun.

Looking at Xiao Wu's flushed face and evasive eyes, Yi Yun had a pretty good idea.

This little bunny had finally awakened to romance.

"Really nothing?" Yi Yun deliberately leaned a little closer.

Xiao Wu felt Yi Yun's breath brush her face, and her heart beat even faster.

"R-really nothing! Don't come so close!"

"Oh." Yi Yun backed away a little, but not completely.

Xiao Wu took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself.

"Yun."

"Hmm?"

"Have... have you ever liked someone?"

Yi Yun paused, then smiled.

"Yes."

Xiao Wu's heart suddenly clenched. "Who?"

"You."

Xiao Wu's mind went blank in an instant.

"Wh-what did you say?" Xiao Wu stammered.

"I said I like you," Yi Yun said as casually as if he were commenting on the fine weather. "Why else do you think I bring you carrots every day?"

Xiao Wu's face was so red it looked ready to drip blood.

"H-how can you be so direct?"

"Isn't direct good? Would you rather I beat around the bush?"

"But... but..."

"But what?"

Xiao Wu opened her mouth, only to find she couldn't say anything.

Her brain had completely crashed.

Looking at her flustered state, Yi Yun couldn't help laughing.

"All right, I'll stop teasing you." Yi Yun stood and held out his hand. "Come on, let's eat."

Xiao Wu looked at Yi Yun's outstretched hand, hesitated, then placed her hand in his.

Yi Yun clasped her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Yun."

"Hmm?"

"What you just said... was it true?"

"Was what true?"

"About... liking me..."

"Of course it was."

Xiao Wu lowered her head, unable to stop the corners of her mouth from lifting.

"Oh."

"Just 'oh'?"

"What else? What do you want me to say?"

"Something like, 'I like you too.'"

"In your dreams!"

"Hahahaha..."

The two walked hand in hand toward the dining hall.

Tang San was already seated inside, with a bowl of white rice and a plate of greens before him.

When he saw Yi Yun and Xiao Wu walk in holding hands, the chopsticks in Tang San's hand dropped onto the table.

Clack.

The crisp sound rang especially loud in the quiet dining hall.

Tang San bent down to pick up his chopsticks, his expression as still as a pool of stagnant water.

He was used to it already.

Really, he was.

"Little San, eating so plain today?" Yi Yun sat opposite Tang San, and Xiao Wu sat beside him.

"To save money," Tang San said expressionlessly.

"What are you saving money for?"

"To buy materials to make hidden weapons."

"Now that's ambition." Yi Yun gave him a thumbs-up. "But saving money doesn't mean you should skimp on yourself. Eat more meat."

Yi Yun picked up a few pieces of braised pork from his own plate and gave them to Tang San.

Tang San looked at the braised pork in his bowl, his feelings complicated.

This man screwed him over like crazy on the one hand, yet treated him pretty well on the other.

Should he hate him or be grateful to him?

Tang San thought about it for a long time and finally decided to eat the braised pork first.

Whether to hate him could wait until after he finished eating.

Late that night, Xiao Wu lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep no matter what.

Whenever she closed her eyes, Yi Yun's face appeared in her mind.

The way Yi Yun smiled, the way Yi Yun spoke, the way Yi Yun ruffled her hair, the way Yi Yun said, "I like you"...

"Aaaaaah!" Xiao Wu buried her face in her pillow and kicked wildly beneath the covers.

"Have I really fallen for him?"

"But he's only been around for a little while..."

"But he really is such a good person..."

"And he said he likes me..."

"Did he mean it?"

"He probably did... He never lies..."

Xiao Wu rolled over and looked at the moon outside her window.

The moon was round and bright, like Yi Yun's smile.

"Brother Yun..." Xiao Wu murmured, the corners of her mouth lifting without her realizing it.

She rolled over again and pulled the covers over her head.

"Go to sleep, go to sleep. No more thinking!"

Ten minutes later.

Xiao Wu poked her head out from beneath the covers, her face still red.

She simply couldn't sleep.

Yi Yun stood by the window, looking at the moon outside.

He was thinking about Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu's reaction today had been even cuter than he had expected.

With her flushed face, racing heart, and flustered helplessness, she had looked just like a little girl experiencing her first love.

"No, this actually is her first love." Yi Yun smiled. "That little rabbit has lived for a hundred thousand years, but when it comes to romance, she's still a blank sheet of paper."

And as for Tang San...

"Sorry, Little San." Yi Yun looked at the moon outside the window, a trace of apology in his smile. "I'm taking Xiao Wu. You'll meet someone better someday."

"If all else fails, a little girl who's a Lone Bamboo Soul Beast in human form wouldn't be bad either. She'd be quite a match for that pole vault martial soul of yours."

At that thought, Yi Yun couldn't help laughing aloud.

The moonlight outside spilled across his face, illuminating a smile that was both gentle and devious.

Late that night, one person was still on the training grounds.

Tang San.

He couldn't sleep, so he had come to practice pole vaulting.

After finishing a hundred vaults, he practiced two hundred.

After finishing two hundred vaults, he practiced three hundred.

The more exhausted his body became, the less his mind dwelled on those troubling matters.

Xiao Wu and Yi Yun... Tang San thought as he vaulted. Forget it. I won't think about it.

But...

No more thinking about it!

But...

I said, no more thinking about it!

Tang San planted his pole and launched himself into the air, tracing an arc beneath the moonlight.

As he landed, he suddenly felt that pole vaulting didn't seem quite so ridiculous anymore.

At least, in the instant he leaped into the air, he could see higher and farther.

Perhaps one day, he could jump high enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with Yi Yun.

Perhaps.