"The Hat of Destiny?" Xiao Wu stared blankly at the hat in Xu Ran's hand.
Despite her hundred thousand years of experience, she could not fathom what material the hat was made of. Even when she tried to sense it with her Spiritual Power, she was completely blocked out.
The hat was exceedingly strange, seemingly capable of blocking all probing.
Xiao Wu had heard her mother say that Auspicious Beasts were born in response to the fortune of heaven and earth, possessed Fortune Power, and were tied to the rise and fall of the Soul Beast Clan. This Hat of Destiny had clearly also been condensed by an Auspicious Beast using Fortune Power.
"Brother Xu Ran, you already know?" Xiao Wu could not help giving a bitter smile. She had not even told Xu Ran about Tang San yet. Did he already know?
"Yes. Who told my Xiao Wu to wear all her thoughts on her face? You're so innocent that you wouldn't even know someone had deceived your feelings. Your sister Ah Yin is a warning from the overturned cart ahead. To humans, a Soul Beast is a treasure from head to toe. How could they truly have such innocent intentions?" Xu Ran said, resting his palm on Xiao Wu's silky long hair and stroking it. Xiao Wu wore her hair in a scorpion-tail braid. Xu Ran knew she would be at her most beautiful when she let her long hair down.
Xiao Wu's most beautiful features were her legs and her long hair. Once he truly won her over, he could let her hair down and even lie on her beautiful legs, enjoying a world for just the two of them.
"Brother Xu Ran..." Xiao Wu's heart clenched, and she felt a little afraid. She dared not imagine how tragic it would be for her if Tang San really were that kind of person.
From the moment she entered Nuoding City, someone had already plotted everything out for her.
Tang San had approached her because he coveted her Soul Bone, too.
His father, Clear Sky Douluo, was precisely that kind of person. Even Sister Ah Yin had suffered his murderous hand. Teaching Tang San to do this would be like driving a familiar cart down a well-traveled road. Tang Hao had exploited affection to obtain Sister Ah Yin's Soul Ring without any effort. Was he now making his own son do the same thing?
In her heart, this conjecture was almost entirely equivalent to fact. Yet she did not dare think along those lines at all. They had studied together for six years. Was Tang San really so despicable? She could not tell. Was she truly too innocent, just as Xu Ran had said?
"If you still don't trust your own thoughts, put the hat on his head. Everything will naturally be revealed then. If that person really does harbor ulterior intentions, the Hat of Destiny will burst with an incomparably brilliant green light," Xu Ran said, handing the Hat of Destiny to Xiao Wu.
The Hat of Destiny carried a profound meaning. Having Xiao Wu personally put it on Tang San would make it feel even more ceremonial.
Of course, he had made up that supposed ability to detect whether Tang San was deceiving Xiao Wu. His goal was to shatter the affection between Tang San and Xiao Wu.
Once this hat went on, even the best relationship would develop cracks.
Xu Ran was already imagining what expression Tang San would wear when the time came. Despair or regret?
"All right." Xiao Wu hesitated for a while before finally taking the Hat of Destiny into her hands. She desperately wished she could trust Tang San, but she could not. His father, Tang Hao, had caused Sister Ah Yin's death and had even wanted to harm the Auspicious Beast. As Tang Hao's son, how could she convince herself to trust him?
Besides, he had Innate Full Soul Power. He was Tang Hao's son, a Peerless Genius. How could he possibly have fallen so low as to live with her in Dorm Seven?
Would the son of a Titled Douluo really be so short of money that he had to become a working student?
There were far too many bizarre coincidences between Xiao Wu and Tang San. Those coincidences really had been arranged by heaven and had nothing whatsoever to do with Tang San. Yet under Xu Ran's influence, those coincidences now seemed to have become one conspiracy after another, as though Tang San had deliberately arranged them all.
Xiao Wu could not be blamed for suspecting Tang San. The only blame lay in Xu Ran's schemes being too deep. With one ploy following another, it was difficult for Xiao Wu not to suspect Tang San. Unless she truly loved him to the point of losing her mind, how could she possibly remain free of suspicion?
Would a dignified Auspicious Beast really stoop to such shameless deception? In Xiao Wu's heart now, Xu Ran was an Auspicious Beast, a Soul Beast Emperor. How could he do such a thing?
"Brother Xu Ran, I'll head out first." Clutching the hat, Xiao Wu rose and walked out of the room, looking somewhat lost in a daze.
"Pah, shameless host. You have far too many tricks." The system smiled sweetly. Her host was far too formidable, actually getting Xiao Wu to deliver a hat to Tang San. Wouldn't Tang San be furious to death?
"Women don't love men who aren't bad." Xu Ran smiled. In any case, he had come to the Douluo Continent to win over lots of pretty girls. Aside from that, he was here to pummel Tang San.
Tang San turned into a complete coward whenever he encountered someone strong, but when he met the weak, it became "those who dare not make trouble are mediocrities."
After becoming powerful later on, he even put on airs in front of Zi Zhenzhu. Without her Pirate Group, the seven of you would have become Soul Beast food long ago. How did you have the nerve to give her dirty looks? Later still, he even used a month-old baby to threaten Ju Zi, who had just given birth. Was that something a human being could do? Did you still remember you were a God Realm Enforcer? Were you enforcing your own laws?
Naturally, he had to torment trash like that. The more miserably he tormented him, the better.
The next day, after school.
Xiao Wu and Tang San walked together without speaking, each occupied with their own thoughts.
The scene he had witnessed yesterday surfaced in Tang San's mind. After returning and thinking it over carefully, he had realized there were many suspicious points about the matter. Xiao Wu was a girl who kept herself so pure. Even if she really had fallen for someone else, how could she casually give herself away? That possibility could practically be ruled out.
Besides, Xiao Wu had always been with him before, both going to school and coming home. Where would she have had a chance to meet anyone else?
He had not actually seen anything with his own eyes yesterday, either. Wasn't it a little wrong to misunderstand Xiao Wu just because he had heard a few words? Perhaps that person was Xiao Wu's relative, not necessarily her lover.
At these thoughts, Tang San could not help letting out a sigh of relief.
"Xiao Wu, I..." Tang San turned around and was just about to say something, but the words stopped at his lips.
He was dumbfounded.
Utterly dumbfounded, he stood frozen on the spot.
Because Xiao Wu was holding a green hat. It was a rich, vivid green, and even reflected strands of green light in the sunshine.
Clearly, this hat could not possibly have been any greener.
But why had a green hat appeared in Xiao Wu's hands? Tang San's heart lurched. His body began trembling uncontrollably. An ominous premonition suddenly rose in his heart.
"Brother, how long have we known each other?" Xiao Wu tilted her head and looked at the young man before her, her expression somewhat dazed.
"Six years," Tang San said, his eyes still fixed on the hat in Xiao Wu's hands.
"Yes, six years. Shamefully enough, in all those six years, I've never given you a gift. You've always been the one spending Gold Soul Coins on me. This time, I want to give you a present too." Xiao Wu's beautiful eyes turned toward the Hat of Destiny. Xu Ran had said that the stronger the Destiny Qi, the deeper the green would become. The Power of Destiny was unfathomable, a forbidden power. If Tang San could wear it, his destiny would change as well.
That was also why she had ultimately decided to put it on Tang San.
The Hat of Destiny could not only reveal whether Tang San harbored ill intentions toward her; possessing the Power of Destiny could also help him turn calamity into good fortune.
"Is this for me?"
Tang San trembled all over, unable to believe his ears. Xiao Wu was actually giving him a green hat.
What did this mean?
Was Xiao Wu planning to cuckold him?
Tang San could not help staggering back several steps. He looked at the big green hat, then at Xiao Wu's gentle, beautiful face. With another step, he fell to the ground.
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