"No..." Xiao Wu bit her lip. "It's just... I haven't wanted to spend time with him lately."
"Oh?" Chen Mo raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
Xiao Wu opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but not knowing how.
She couldn't exactly say, "I read your diary and found out that I'll sacrifice myself to Tang San in the future, and that he'll kill my two little brothers for their Soul Rings too, so now I'm scared of him," could she?
After struggling for ages, Xiao Wu finally squeezed out, "It's just... I think he's been acting strange lately."
Chen Mo laughed inwardly, but said, "How has he been acting strange?"
"Lately... he keeps saying things like 'women interfere with cultivation,' and he even said he wanted to keep his distance from me." After finishing her aggrieved complaint, Xiao Wu gave Chen Mo a reproachful look.
Chen Mo nearly laughed aloud.
Of course. I just stuffed his head full of that "women interfere with cultivation" motivational soup last night. It would be strange if he acted normal today.
On the surface, though, he feigned understanding and nodded.
"Well, boys grow up. It's normal for them to want to focus on cultivation."
After speaking, Chen Mo pulled a carrot from inside his clothes-he had bought it especially at the market that morning-and offered it to Xiao Wu.
"Don't be sad. Here."
Xiao Wu froze for a moment, accepted the carrot, and looked up at Chen Mo.
Sunlight fell on Chen Mo's face, and his smile was gentle.
Xiao Wu's face instantly flushed red.
She lowered her head and whispered, "Thank you..."
"You're welcome." Chen Mo smiled. "If he bullies you again, just tell me. I'll sort him out for you."
Holding the carrot, Xiao Wu nodded, warmth filling her heart.
She stole a glance at Chen Mo.
This big brother... is actually pretty nice.
And he knows I'm a Soul Beast, but he doesn't want to kill me for my Soul Ring. He's so much better than Tang San.
The two sat on the rock, chatting on and off.
Xiao Wu was a little reserved at first, but after discovering that Chen Mo was a good conversationalist who could tell jokes and share interesting stories she had never heard before, she gradually relaxed.
By the end, Xiao Wu was rocking back and forth with laughter, nearly falling off the rock.
Chen Mo reached out to steady her.
Xiao Wu's face reddened again.
Just then, Tang San ran over from the other end of the training ground.
He had originally come looking for Xiao Wu in high spirits, wanting to tell her, "My big brother gave me something great. I'll be able to cultivate faster from now on."
But halfway there, he saw Xiao Wu sitting on a rock, shaking like a flower-laden branch with laughter, with his brother sitting beside her.
Tang San stopped dead in his tracks.
When Xiao Wu saw Tang San, the smile instantly vanished from her face.
She remembered what the diary had said-her sacrifice, Da Ming and Er Ming being killed, Tang San running off and leaving her all alone...
Xiao Wu instinctively edged closer to Chen Mo.
Tang San saw that movement and was completely dumbfounded.
*???*
Was Xiao Wu... avoiding him?
Hadn't everything been fine yesterday? Why had she suddenly become like this today?
As bewildered as a ten-foot monk unable to find the top of his own head, Tang San stood there, unable to advance or retreat.
Seeing his expression, Chen Mo laughed inwardly, but beckoned to him.
"Xiao San, come over."
Only then did Tang San steel himself and walk over.
"Big brother... Xiao Wu..."
Xiao Wu kept her head down and held her carrot without saying a word.
Mortified, Tang San scratched his head.
Chen Mo looked at Tang San, then at Xiao Wu, pretending he knew nothing.
"Xiao San, didn't you say you were going back to test its effect on your cultivation? Why are you here again?"
Only then did Tang San remember what he had come for, and his eyes lit up.
"Right! Big brother, that divine artifact clone is incredible! When I cultivated just now, I felt my absorption rate was more than twice as fast as before!"
"That's good." Chen Mo nodded. "Keep at it."
Tang San nodded excitedly, then glanced at Xiao Wu again, wanting to say something, but Xiao Wu wouldn't even look at him.
He could only leave dejectedly.
After Tang San left, Xiao Wu breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "Thank you."
"What are you thanking me for?" Chen Mo smiled.
"Nothing..." Xiao Wu lowered her head, her cheeks red.
That evening, Chen Mo returned to the courtyard and brought up his system panel.
[System panel] [Protagonist: Chen Mo] [Age: 6] [Height: 162 cm] [Martial Soul: Divine Tree of Creation (Quality: divine-grade · currently undergoing mutation · spatial attribute)] [Innate Soul Power: rank 20] [Current Soul Power: rank 46 (Soul Ancestor)] [Soul Rings: purple (1,000 years), purple (4,200 years), purple (9,500 years), black (15,500 years)] [Soul Skills: Life Drain, Vine Binding, Life Blessing, Nature Domain] [External Soul Bone: Dandelion Clone (parasitized ×1: Tang San)] [Soul Bone: 100,000-year Blue Silver Emperor Leg Bone] [Special skill: Idiocy Aura (duration: 1 hour, cooldown: 24 hours)] [Bonds: Dugu Yan 100 (deeply in love), Xiao Wu 25 (trust + affection)]
Chen Mo nodded in satisfaction.
Xiao Wu's affection has risen from 15 to 25. Not bad.
He took out his diary and began writing that day's entry.
[Year X, month X, day X. Clear skies.]
[I "handed out a divine artifact" to Xiao San today.]
[I told him it was an artifact clone of the God of Nature, and wearing it would increase his cultivation speed. He was beside himself with excitement. He went back to try it and said it was more than twice as fast as before.]
[Little does he know, it's no divine artifact at all. It's just my Dandelion External Soul Bone. The more he cultivates, the more I'll gain when I take it back.]
[Then I went to see Xiao Wu.]
[Xiao Wu avoids Tang San whenever she sees him now. I reckon what I wrote in the last diary entry scared her.]
[I saw her sitting alone on a rock, so I went over to chat with her and bought her a carrot.]
[She was laughing pretty happily and even took the initiative to talk to me.]
[Then Tang San came running over. When he saw Xiao Wu sitting beside me, he was completely dumbfounded.]
[The moment Xiao Wu saw him, her face stiffened, and she even edged closer to me.]
[Tang San stood there, unable to advance or retreat. That awkward little expression of his had me dying of laughter.]
[He still can't figure out why Xiao Wu, who was perfectly fine yesterday, suddenly started ignoring him today.]
[Heh.]
[If he knew Xiao Wu had read the diary about her sacrificing herself to him in the future and him killing her two little brothers, he'd probably burst into tears from fright.]
As he finished writing the last word, the diary flashed.
[Ding! Diary entry generated. Distributing copies...] [Copy recipients: Xiao Wu, Dugu Yan, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue, Hu Liena.] [Reward received: free attribute points ×4.]
At that moment, the female leads in various places all received their diary copies.
Nuoding Academy's girls' dormitory.
After reading the diary, Xiao Wu's face instantly flushed red.
What did he mean, "edged closer to him"?