That night,
Led by Ye Zhaolu, Long Xiaoyao arrived in Mingdu's outer city and entered a little restaurant on a street lined with snack shops.
The car had barely stopped
when the middle-aged couple who ran the restaurant came out to greet them with smiles.
What puzzled Long Xiaoyao slightly was that the owners seemed rather nervous to see him, awkwardly wiping their hands on their aprons.
Ye Zhaolu got out and nodded to the couple with a smile.
Long Xiaoyao walked in. "Two plates of steamed prawns, please, boss. And one serving of every specialty you've got."
Ye Zhaolu was speechless. "Can we finish all that?"
"Hehe, so what if we can't? Anyone watching might think we couldn't afford it. Consider it supporting the owner's business."
Ye Zhaolu led him to a seat. "Don't. I'm trying to lose weight. I'll get fat if I eat too much. Boss, another plate of greens, a three-delicacy soup, and a bowl of rice each, please. Thank you."
"All right."
The owners nodded and immediately went into the kitchen to get to work.
Long Xiaoyao and Ye Zhaolu sat in a corner. He looked curiously around the restaurant and found that, although it was small, it had quite a few customers. All six or seven tables were occupied.
"Mm, looks like the food here should be pretty good!"
Long Xiaoyao rubbed his hands expectantly, then took the initiative to pour Ye Zhaolu some water and thoughtfully split her disposable chopsticks apart.
"Do you eat here often?"
Ye Zhaolu nodded. "Yes. My family had a hard time when I was little and going to school, so I often ate here. It's fairly cheap."
Long Xiaoyao understood, though he wondered to himself: eating out even when her family was struggling? Ye Zhaolu had pretty high standards, huh?
Still, Long Xiaoyao said nothing. He figured that perhaps Ye Zhaolu had been exaggerating when she said they had struggled.
"What about you, Xiaoyao?"
"I grew up in the Northwest Legion. I never had to worry about food or drink. I just got scolded all the time."
"No wonder you're so impressive. A War God at such a young age."
"Come on, my rank isn't even as high as yours yet. Keep calling me a War God and I'll have to crouch under the table to eat."
"Pfft..."
As the two talked,
the owners in the kitchen kept stealing glances their way.
The woman held a hand to her chest and whispered, "Good heavens, it really is that War God from the War God Temple! That girl Zhaolu, honestly. She didn't even let us prepare beforehand."
The owner peeled prawns with his head lowered. "Prepare what? What delicacies from mountain and sea hasn't a War God tasted? No matter how much we prepare, this is all we've got. Better to be straightforward."
"But we're far too unprepared. If I'd known, we wouldn't have opened today. Making a War God squeeze in with a crowd to eat in our restaurant-good grief."
"Hehe, you just don't understand. This makes for a better atmosphere. If we'd made special preparations, those two wouldn't be able to get a word out."
"That's true. But I still feel a bit panicky. Zhaolu's never dated anyone in her life, and now her first boyfriend is someone this impressive. Do you think his family will look down on our circumstances?"
The owner deftly seasoned the prawns and placed them in the steamer.
"Don't overthink it. A person who asks nothing of others stands just as tall! We're not asking War God Long to help our family with anything. As long as he and Zhaolu like each other, that's enough. Besides, our Zhaolu isn't lacking either, is she?"
The woman nodded at his words. "True. For Zhaolu to have that kind of talent as a Soul Master, our ancestors' graves must have sent up green smoke. It's a pity. If she'd been born into a wealthy family, she might have been even stronger."
"There's nothing we can do about that. Hurry and serve the food. Don't keep the two children waiting too long."
The woman nodded and immediately carried the finished steamed prawns out.
Long Xiaoyao glanced at them from his seat, and a hint of disappointment immediately rose in his heart.
Damn it.
The owner had even peeled the prawns already. That left him no room to show what he could do.
With no other choice,
he could only eat quietly with Ye Zhaolu.
Once they finished eating,
Long Xiaoyao paid, and the two went outside.
"Shall I take you home?"
Ye Zhaolu gently shook her head. "I don't want to go home yet. Would you walk by the river with me?"
"Of course!"
They soon reached the river. Ye Zhaolu walked along the embankment with her bag in hand, and Long Xiaoyao followed behind.
"Xiaoyao, what do you want to do in the future?"
"Me? I'm definitely going to become the master of the War God Temple! The current temple master, Chen Xinjie, is very strong, but I really dislike the way he handles things a lot of the time. When I was little, my old squad leader told me that if you've got a measure of strength, you've got to do a measure of work."
Having been invited for a walk by Ye Zhaolu, Long Xiaoyao was in a particularly good mood and had completely opened up.
"So I'm definitely going to become the temple master. Then, once I break through to Limit Douluo, I'll challenge Yun Ming! After fighting Yun Ming, I'll go to the Blood God Legion to fight the Abyss. I'll lead the Blood God Legion in putting a complete end to the abyssal creatures' rampages!"
"Then I'll create a Divine Realm anew. Who on the entire continent would dare see me, Long Xiaoyao, without offering me a cigarette?"
Ye Zhaolu listened attentively.
"What about you, Zhaolu?"
Ye Chao tucked a windblown strand of hair behind her ear.
"I'm not ready yet. I'll talk about it once I've done it."
"Hey, what's the harm in saying it? If you haven't done it, just keep working at it."
Ye Zhaolu froze for a moment and turned to look at Long Xiaoyao.
"But if I don't manage it, wouldn't saying it out loud amount to bragging?"
"So what? Then it's bragging. Bragging isn't against the law."
Ye Zhaolu couldn't help laughing.
At that moment, her sensitive heart realized that although she and Long Xiaoyao were the same age, with similar social standing and ranks, they really were different in many ways.
She had come all the way from a family at the very bottom, with little room for error, and her temperament was somewhat quieter.
Long Xiaoyao was the exact opposite.
But that wasn't a bad thing. At least for her as she was now, Long Xiaoyao's personality complemented hers.
They walked and stopped, chatting about everything under the sun.
Long Xiaoyao felt as though he had endless things to say.
By the time he came back to his senses, he realized it was almost midnight already.
At that moment, Ye Zhaolu stood by the river. The water shimmered, and the neon lights on the opposite bank shone on her face, lighting her eyes in a multitude of colors.
Long Xiaoyao suddenly plucked up his courage.
"Ye Zhaolu, I like..."
The next moment, Ye Zhaolu reached back and clapped a hand over his mouth.
"Don't say it."
Long Xiaoyao stared at her blankly, not understanding what she meant.
Ye Zhaolu pressed her lips together and looked at him.
"Xiaoyao, don't say it. Give me three days, all right?"
Long Xiaoyao didn't know what she meant, but he still nodded.
"All right. I'll wait for you."
"Mm, it's late. I'm going home. You don't need to take me. I live nearby."
Holding her little bag, Ye Zhaolu smiled and waved to Long Xiaoyao, then headed toward one side of the embankment.
As she turned away, determination shone in Ye Zhaolu's eyes.
"This..."
Long Xiaoyao scratched his head in bewilderment. "Wait, what does that mean?"
Long Xiaoyao instinctively wanted to call Li Chen and ask, only to discover that Li Chen happened to be calling him.
"Hello? Brother Long, what's going on? I've been calling forever, and you didn't answer once."
"Sorry, little brother. Your big brother was fighting the decisive battle to stop being single. I wasn't looking at my communicator."
"Did it work?"
"Uh... I'm still just a tiny bit short."
"No worries, Brother Long. This time, I've brought you a cheat item! You've got this one in the bag!"
Long Xiaoyao's eyes widened, the gloom in his heart swept away. He exclaimed in delight, "Really, little brother?"
"Guaranteed! Where are you now, Brother Long? I asked my teacher for a few days off, and I'm already in Mingdu."
"Okay, okay! I'm heading straight back to West Mountain. Where are you? I'll pick you up!"
Long Xiaoyao jumped up excitedly and immediately returned to his car. He picked Li Chen up at an intersection and headed for West Mountain.
Meanwhile,
the two figures waiting inside the entrance to the West Mountain tunnel saw Long Xiaoyao's car enter and immediately revealed cold smiles.