Xiao Wu Confessed to a Titled Douluo

Tang San started growing vegetables.

This caused quite a stir at Nuoding Academy.

A Soul Master, instead of cultivating Soul Power or practicing combat techniques, had actually cleared a plot beside the training ground and watered, weeded, and fertilized it every morning and evening, working harder than an old farmer.

The students talked among themselves.

"Has Tang San lost his mind?"

"First Pole Vault, then Radio Calisthenics, and now growing vegetables. Is he going to raise pigs next?"

"I don't think he came here to become a Soul Master. He came to become a farmer."

Tang San turned a deaf ear to their remarks.

He was already used to being mocked. He had survived Pole Vault and done Radio Calisthenics, so what was growing vegetables? Yi Yun had already trained his skin to be thicker than a city wall anyway.

Besides, he discovered that growing vegetables really did help.

By tilling, watering, and fertilizing every day, his strength, endurance, and control over his Soul Power all improved steadily.

His Soul Power control in particular-when he used to spur his Blue Silver Grass to grow, his uneven Soul Power output resulted in wildly varying strength.

But growing vegetables was different. When watering, he had to control his Soul Power output. Too much would drown them; too little would leave them to die of drought. After a few rounds, his control over his Soul Power became much finer than before.

"Brother Yun was right. Growing vegetables really does help." Tang San crouched beside the vegetable patch, looking at the lush green seedlings, feeling delighted.

What he did not know was that while he focused on growing vegetables, someone else was preparing something big.

That person was Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu had been acting very strangely lately.

Specifically, she had slowed down when gnawing on carrots.

Before, she could finish a carrot in two or three bites. Now, she could spend ages on one, taking a bite, staring into space for a while, then taking another bite and staring into space again.

Zhu Zhuqing noticed Xiao Wu's odd behavior. While cultivating beneath a tree, she would occasionally open her eyes to look at Xiao Wu and find that she was always looking at Yi Yun.

She was not sneaking glances. She looked openly, staring fixedly without even blinking.

"Xiao Wu, is there something you want to say to Brother Yun?" Zhu Zhuqing finally could not resist asking.

Xiao Wu's face instantly turned red, as red as her favorite carrots.

"N-no! I don't have anything to say!"

"You're blushing."

"I... I'm hot!"

"It's spring."

"I run hot!"

Zhu Zhuqing fell silent. She realized that Xiao Wu's lines were exactly the same as hers.

When she had first arrived and Yi Yun asked her to call him big brother, she had said the same things.

First "I'm hot," then "I run hot," without a single word of difference.

"Xiao Wu, do you like Brother Yun?" Zhu Zhuqing asked directly.

Xiao Wu's face grew even redder, so red it almost seemed to drip blood.

She lowered her head, twisting the hem of her clothes between her fingers, her mouth opening and closing, closing and opening, like a fish thrown onto the shore.

"I... I..."

"If you like him, say it," Zhu Zhuqing said calmly, a hint of encouragement in her eyes. "Keeping it bottled up hurts."

Xiao Wu raised her head and looked at Zhu Zhuqing, her eyes slightly red. "Sister Zhuqing, how did you know?"

"Because I also..."

Zhu Zhuqing abruptly stopped and turned her head away, the tips of her ears faintly reddening.

Xiao Wu froze, then widened her eyes. "Sister Zhuqing, you like Brother Yun too?"

"I didn't say that!"

"You're blushing!"

"I... I'm hot!"

"It's spring."

"I... I got hot from cultivating!"

Watching Zhu Zhuqing fluster, Xiao Wu suddenly burst into laughter.

So even the cool, aloof Sister Zhuqing could get flustered. But as she laughed, Xiao Wu found she could no longer keep laughing.

Because she liked Yi Yun, and Zhu Zhuqing liked Yi Yun too. What were they supposed to do? Two people liking the same person made things far too complicated.

"Sister Zhuqing, then we..."

"Don't ask me. I don't know." Zhu Zhuqing closed her eyes and resumed cultivating, but her breathing was noticeably faster than usual.

Xiao Wu looked at Zhu Zhuqing, then at Yi Yun lying in the distant grass, basking in the sun, and gritted her teeth.

She decided to confess. She could not delay any longer. If she kept delaying, there would be more and more women around Yi Yun, until she could not even get in line.

Xiao Wu invited Yi Yun to a small slope in the hills behind the academy. She had chosen this place especially: quiet, free of interruptions, and scenic.

Wildflowers covered the slope, a riot of colors swaying gently in the evening breeze.

Yi Yun followed Xiao Wu up the slope. Seeing how nervous she was, he had a rough idea of what was happening.

"Xiao Wu, what did you want to see me about?"

Xiao Wu stood before him with her hands behind her back, her fingers twisted together, red from her neck all the way to her ears.

Her mouth opened and closed, closed and opened. She tried several times without getting a single word out.

"Xiao Wu?"

"B-Brother Yun..."

"Yes?"

"I... I have something to tell you."

"Go ahead. I'm listening."

Xiao Wu took a deep breath and closed her eyes as though she were heading to the execution ground.

"I like you!"

Those words were not loud, but each one was perfectly clear.

After shouting them, Xiao Wu opened her eyes. Tears shimmered in them, but her gaze was firm.

She looked at Yi Yun, waiting for his answer, her heart beating so fast it felt ready to leap out of her throat.

Yi Yun looked at Xiao Wu without speaking.

Xiao Wu's heart sank little by little.

"Brother Yun?"

Yi Yun reached out and ruffled Xiao Wu's hair, his touch light and gentle, as though petting a frightened little rabbit.

"I know," Yi Yun said.

Xiao Wu froze. "You know?"

"Of course I know. You stare at me in a daze every day, bring me carrots every day, and fight with Ning Rongrong over me every day. I'm not blind."

Xiao Wu's face grew redder. "Then... then you..."

"Me too."

Two simple words, spoken casually, as though he were saying the weather was nice.

But when Xiao Wu heard those words, her mind instantly went blank.

She felt as if her soul had floated out of her body and into the air, looking down at herself below, her face as red as a cooked shrimp.

He said he felt the same.

He liked her too.

Xiao Wu's legs gave out, and she fell toward the ground.

Yi Yun reacted swiftly, catching her around the waist and drawing her into his arms.

"Xiao Wu? Xiao Wu!"

Xiao Wu's eyes were half-open, a silly smile on her lips as she murmured, "Brother Yun likes me... Brother Yun likes me..."

"Xiao Wu, wake up!"

Xiao Wu did not wake up.

She had fainted from happiness.

Holding the unconscious Xiao Wu, Yi Yun did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Confessing until she fainted-this little rabbit really was one of a kind.

Yi Yun laid Xiao Wu on the grass, letting her rest her head on his lap as he waited for her to wake.

Yi Yun looked down at Xiao Wu. She slept soundly, her eyelashes trembling slightly, a sweet smile on her lips.

Who knew whether she was dreaming, with him, carrots, and the stars they had watched together in her dream.

"This silly rabbit," Yi Yun said softly, reaching out to straighten the stray strands of hair over Xiao Wu's forehead.

About an incense stick's worth of time later, Xiao Wu's eyelids stirred, and she slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was Yi Yun's face, the second was his eyes, and the third was his smile.

"You're awake?"

Xiao Wu froze for a moment, then remembered what had just happened. Her face reddened again, more vividly than the sunset.

"Did I just... faint?"

"Yes. You fainted from happiness."

"Y-you're not allowed to laugh at me!"

"I'm not laughing."

"You clearly are! Your eyes are laughing!"

Yi Yun really was smiling, so broadly that his eyes curved.

Embarrassed and annoyed, Xiao Wu reached out and punched him. "It's all your fault!"

"My fault for what?"

"For saying 'me too.' If you hadn't said it, I wouldn't have fainted."

"Then should I not say it?"

"No! You have to say it!"

"I already did."

"Say it again!"

"Me too."

"Say it again!"

"Me too."

"Say it..."

"Xiao Wu, are you a broken record?"

Xiao Wu burst into laughter, but as she laughed, her eyes reddened again.

She sat up and threw herself into Yi Yun's arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and burying her face in his chest.

"Brother Yun, I'm so happy." Xiao Wu's voice was muffled.

"I know."

"Do you know how long I've waited for this day?"

"How long?"

"Since the first time you gave me a carrot."

Yi Yun paused. "That early?"

"Yes." Xiao Wu nodded. "Even then, I felt you were different from everyone else. You wouldn't hurt me or use me. You just wanted to be good to me."

Yi Yun fell silent. He had not expected Xiao Wu to have liked him so early.

He had thought Xiao Wu liked him because he was strong and handsome. But what Xiao Wu liked was how well he treated her.

"Brother Yun, will you always be good to me?" Xiao Wu raised her head and looked into Yi Yun's eyes.

"Yes."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Xiao Wu smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.

She buried her face in Yi Yun's arms again and listened to his powerful heartbeat, feeling that nothing in this world sounded better.

Tang San crouched beside the vegetable patch, watering the seedlings. He watered them carefully, giving each seedling just the right amount, neither too much nor too little.

But as he watered, he suddenly heard a voice.

It was Xiao Wu's voice, drifting faintly from the slope.

"I like you!"

Tang San's hand shook, spilling water from the watering can all over the ground.

He turned toward the slope. It was too far away for him to see Xiao Wu and Yi Yun, but he could hear their voices.

Then he heard Yi Yun's voice.

"Me too."

The watering can fell from Tang San's hand with a clang, spilling water all over the ground.

He stood frozen in place, motionless as a stone statue.

After a long time, Tang San slowly crouched down, picked up the watering can, and continued watering.

One plant, two plants, three plants. His hand was steady, and the water fell evenly, but his heart was in turmoil.

Xiao Wu had finally confessed. She and Yi Yun were finally together.

It was bound to happen sooner or later, and he had known that all along. But the moment he actually heard it, he still felt as though something had stabbed him hard in the heart.

Tang San took a deep breath and continued watering. He had already lost Xiao Wu. He could not lose these seedlings too.

He had raised these seedlings by watering, weeding, and fertilizing them every day. They were his heart's blood.

"Tang San, are you all right?" a voice came from behind him.

Tang San turned and saw Zhu Zhuqing standing behind him, a trace of concern in her amber, feline eyes.

"I'm fine," Tang San said.

"Did you hear Xiao Wu and Brother Yun?"

"I did."

"Are you sad?"

Tang San fell silent for a moment, then said something that surprised Zhu Zhuqing: "No, because if Xiao Wu is happy, I'm happy."

Zhu Zhuqing looked at Tang San for a long time. This man was stronger than she had imagined-not in strength, but in spirit.

"You're a good person," Zhu Zhuqing said.

Tang San gave a bitter smile. "What good is being a good person? A good person still can't beat Yi Yun."

The corners of Zhu Zhuqing's lips lifted slightly. "So what if you can't beat him? Who can?"

The two exchanged a glance and both laughed.

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

Whenever she closed her eyes, the image of Yi Yun saying "Me too" surfaced in her mind.

That smile, that tone, those words: "Me too."

"Aaaaaah!" Xiao Wu buried her face in her pillow, kicking wildly beneath the covers.

Her confession had succeeded. Yi Yun had said he liked her too. They were together.

"Xiao Wu, calm down." Zhu Zhuqing lay in the bed beside hers, kept awake by Xiao Wu's noise.

"I can't calm down! Sister Zhu Zhuqing, Brother Yun said he liked me too."

"I know. I heard."

"He said it twice."

"I know."

"He said it several times!"

"Xiao Wu, if you don't go to sleep, the dark circles under your eyes will look awful tomorrow."

Xiao Wu immediately quieted down. She certainly didn't want Yi Yun to see her with dark circles under her eyes.

"Sister Zhu Zhuqing, why do you think Brother Yun likes me?"

Zhu Zhuqing fell silent for a moment. "Because you're cute."

"Really?"

"Really. You're the cutest rabbit I've ever seen."

Xiao Wu froze for a moment. "How did you know I was a rabbit?"

Zhu Zhuqing froze too. She didn't know Xiao Wu was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had taken human form. She had only said it offhandedly.

"I guessed," Zhu Zhuqing hurriedly said to smooth things over.

Xiao Wu looked at Zhu Zhuqing dubiously, but didn't press her. She rolled over and gazed at the moon outside the window, the corners of her lips turned way up.

"Brother Yun likes me... Brother Yun likes me..."

As she kept murmuring those words, she finally fell asleep.

In her dream, she and Yi Yun were in a valley in the Star Dou Great Forest. Flowers bloomed all along the lakeshore, and Yi Yun held her hand and told her, "Xiao Wu, I'll always treat you well."

In her dream, she smiled, her smile more radiant than the flowers.