"Let's go. The best restaurant in the city."
Lu Qian ignored Ning Rongrong's words and simply turned to leave.
Ning Rongrong reluctantly followed behind Lu Qian, still muttering:
"Eat yourself to death, you jerk!"
"Hey, hey, hey, I can hear you."
Lu Qian did not turn around, merely pointing to his ears as he spoke.
"Hmph!"
Ning Rongrong huffed, but the more she thought about it, the harder it was to swallow her anger, so she pulled a face at Lu Qian's back.
Soon, Lu Qian brought Ning Rongrong to a restaurant beside the Rose Hotel, where he was staying.
Naturally, this was not the most expensive place in Suotuo City. Lu Qian merely planned to eat here while waiting for Tang San to appear.
The reason he did this was that he worried his interference would cause deviations in the original timeline.
"Hey, you greedy jerk, what's your name?"
As the two waited for their food, Ning Rongrong could not help asking.
She was growing increasingly curious about Lu Qian. She had actually run into him here in Suotuo City, and he did not look very old either. Perhaps he was also applying to Shrek Academy.
"Lu Qian."
Lu Qian did not hide it. After all, Ning Rongrong would find out sooner or later.
"Lu Qian, Lu Qian. I'll remember you."
"After asking someone else's name, shouldn't you tell them yours?"
"Tch. I'm Ning Rongrong, from... Heaven Dou City."
Ning Rongrong paused, seemingly having nearly let something slip.
"Oh."
"Oh?"
Ning Rongrong was very dissatisfied with Lu Qian's attitude.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing!"
Ning Rongrong could not be bothered with Lu Qian.
The two fell silent again for a while, before Ning Rongrong could no longer hold back and continued asking:
"Are you here to apply to Shrek Academy too?"
"Yes."
"Really? So am I! Doesn't that mean we'll be classmates?"
Seeing that she had guessed correctly, Ning Rongrong grew a little excited.
Lu Qian, however, glanced at Ning Rongrong and said, utterly spoiling the mood:
"Not necessarily. Who knows whether you'll get in?"
"Would it kill you to keep your mouth shut? Let me tell you, a mere Shrek Academy is nothing in this young lady's eyes!"
"Really? But if you get in, you'll have to see an annoying jerk like me every day. There might even be group assignments or something. If you accidentally end up in my group, wouldn't that be terribly unfair to you?"
Lu Qian spoke with a beaming smile.
"You! You're the most annoying person in the whole world!"
Before the food even arrived, Ning Rongrong was almost full of anger thanks to Lu Qian.
But perhaps that was precisely his aim, because after finishing his own portion, he immediately took Ning Rongrong's meal, which she had barely touched, and continued eating.
Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth, itching to take a vicious bite out of Lu Qian.
Soon, Lu Qian finally polished off both meals, while Ning Rongrong reluctantly paid the bill.
"Bye!"
After stepping outside, Ning Rongrong did not want to spend another moment with Lu Qian. She turned and left straightaway.
Lu Qian headed toward the brothel street, wondering what Zhu Zhuqing was doing now.
However, as Lu Qian passed the hotel where Zhu Zhuqing was staying, a waiter spotted him and immediately ran out to report that Zhu Zhuqing had left long ago.
After asking which direction she had gone, Lu Qian continued toward the brothel street. Just as he reached its entrance, Ma Hongjun appeared before him.
Ma Hongjun came limping toward Lu Qian at a run. Feeling a little sorry for him, Lu Qian quickly waved and said:
"Slow down. What's the rush?"
Ma Hongjun hurried to Lu Qian's side and said between heavy breaths:
"Dai-Dai Mubai! He's arguing with a girl out on the street right now! And we've seen that girl before."
"The baby-faced girl with the huge breasts?"
"That's her!"
"They've already run into each other?"
After muttering this, Lu Qian immediately said:
"Take me there."
"They're right in the middle of the street. Lots of people are watching."
Ma Hongjun walked as quickly as he could, but Lu Qian could not wait for him and ran straight toward the middle of the street.
In less than a minute, Lu Qian spotted the crowd a short distance away and heard Dai Mubai's shouting.
"I hope I'm not too late."
Lu Qian then slowly made his way through the crowd and saw the furious Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing weeping like pear blossoms drenched in rain, and the Twin Sisters.
With almost a single glance, Lu Qian understood practically everything, and immediately entered the scene with a loud laugh.
"Hahahaha, Dai Mubai, bullying someone again? You really are a rotten piece of work!"
The sight of Lu Qian made Dai Mubai even angrier.
"Lu Qian, what are you doing here?"
"Heh. Have you decreed that I'm not allowed on this brothel street, Dai Mubai?"
"Fine, come here all you want. But I'm dealing with a family matter today. I hope you won't interfere, or I won't mind showing you what it means to suffer so badly you'd rather die."
Dai Mubai threatened Lu Qian outright.
But Lu Qian had come today precisely to make Dai Mubai lose face, so how could he possibly stay out of it?
Moreover, with Zhu Zhuqing right there, Lu Qian could hardly back down. Otherwise, how would he capture the beauty's heart?
"Oh? What does it mean to suffer so badly you'd rather die? I've never experienced that."
Ignoring Dai Mubai's murderous gaze outright, Lu Qian walked straight up to Zhu Zhuqing and said softly:
"Such a great beauty, and you still have the heart to treat her like this?"
"Tsk, tsk. Beauty, come with me. From now on, big brother will look after you. I guarantee this bastard won't dare show his face in front of you again."
"Lu Qian! I'm warning you one more time. Get the hell out of here!"
Veins bulged on Dai Mubai's forehead. He was clearly enraged, but Lu Qian paid no heed to his words and instead continued pestering Zhu Zhuqing.
"I can get out, but I'm taking this beauty with me."
"Just you dare!"
Dai Mubai looked ready to unleash his White Tiger Martial Soul at any moment.
"Beauty, dare to take a gamble?"
Lu Qian held out his hand directly to Zhu Zhuqing.
Yet, to Lu Qian's surprise, Zhu Zhuqing actually placed her hand in his, as though moved by some unseen force. Lu Qian smiled. This seemed much easier than he had imagined.
But this alone was enough to show just how disappointed Zhu Zhuqing was in Dai Mubai!
"Zhu Zhuqing, how dare you!"
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing actually put her hand in Lu Qian's, Dai Mubai could no longer restrain himself and directly unleashed his White Tiger Martial Soul.
"White Tiger! Possess me!"
Immediately, an intense, pale white light erupted from Dai Mubai's body. His arms stretched out to either side, his chest thrust forward, and every bone in his body crackled as his muscles abruptly swelled, stretching out his clothes.
Every muscle became sharply defined beneath his clothes, and even the air around Dai Mubai seemed to have turned violent.
Before you continue