Si Xiaobei was generous with his praise for Hela.
Although Hela couldn't understand exactly what Si Xiaobei was saying, she could roughly tell that he was praising her, which meant she had done it right.
She brought the porridge to her mouth and slowly took a sip.
"Ah, I'm done! I lost five ranked matches in a row this morning! Those useless teammates." Feng Xuan walked out of his room looking miserable and plopped down on the stool beside Si Xiaobei.
"It's okay, Brother Feng Xuan. I'll play with you after we eat." Si Xiaobei looked at the gloomy Feng Xuan and comforted him.
"Xiaobei, you're the best." Feng Xuan reached out and patted Si Xiaobei's head, then noticed the Complete Guide to Characters for Children on the table.
"Oh, are you teaching Hela to speak?"
"Yeah. Miss Hela learns really fast. I've only been teaching her for less than an hour, and she's already learned to say hello, even if her pronunciation is a little off." Si Xiaobei nodded and answered with a smile, then looked back at Hela.
Feng Xuan looked at Hela, who was still drinking her porridge, and smiled. "You've really got patience, then. I definitely couldn't do it." He then leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.
"Mm... it's actually not that hard, as long as...
"Hm?" Suddenly, Si Xiaobei seemed to notice something. His face grew a little worried, and he got down from his chair and headed for the basement stairs.
Feng Xuan, who had been resting with his eyes closed, noticed him moving and opened his eyes to look.
Xing Lan, black and blue all over, was limping toward them with Liu Xiaogang supporting her, crying out in pain all the while.
"Ah, just as I thought." Feng Xuan didn't seem very surprised, as though he had expected it.
"Slow down, it hurts..." Xing Lan bared her teeth in pain.
"Miss Xing Lan, are you okay? You're hurt all over... Brother Xiaogang, you hit her way too hard.
"Come on, Miss Xing Lan, I'll take you to the infirmary." Si Xiaobei ran over and looked at Xing Lan's injuries. After complaining, he hurried to support her.
"No need! A few superficial wounds aren't even worth ment-
"Hiss... ah! Ow, ow, ow!" Xing Lan had her hands on her hips. Before she could finish saying "mentioning," she touched an injury on her waist and hurriedly cried out in pain.
"All right, all right, Miss Xing Lan. Don't move around, I'll help you." Si Xiaobei looked anxious, as if Xing Lan were about to die the next second.
Xing Lan didn't insist on putting up a brave front and obediently let Si Xiaobei support her to the infirmary.
"By the way, don't blame Brother Xiaogang. He did it for your own good." Si Xiaobei said this to Xing Lan after helping her into the infirmary.
"Why would I blame my own teammate? As the Special Investigation Squad, of course we have to train our members rigorously!" Xing Lan straightened her back.
"Phew, that's good. I thought you'd be angry with Brother Xiaogang." Si Xiaobei breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why would I be angry with my teammate?" Xing Lan said as though it were only natural.
"Yeah. Actually, Brother Xiaogang already went easy on you. I remember when the captain sparred with him before, Brother Xiaogang had three ribs broken." Si Xiaobei scratched his cheek, looking a little distressed.
A chill ran down Xing Lan's spine. "Uh... I'm really glad the captain didn't come."
"All right, your wounds are treated. They shouldn't hurt as much now." Si Xiaobei put away the medical supplies and prepared to help Xing Lan up again.
But Xing Lan dodged him. "They're just minor injuries. I don't need help." With that, she got up from the stool.
"Hiss..." She had only just stood up when the pain made her sit back down.
"Don't push yourself, Miss Xing Lan. Let me help you."
"All right, then."
Si Xiaobei helped Xing Lan to the dining area.
When they came out of the infirmary, they saw that Nanming had already set out all the food, and everyone was just waiting for the two of them.
As soon as Xing Lan saw the food, her injuries seemed to stop hurting. She let go of Si Xiaobei's hand and charged over.
Si Xiaobei: ?
"Wow, breakfast is quite a spread!" Looking at the six bowls of mianpi, six bowls of millet porridge, and the youtiao and steamed buns on the table, Xing Lan was practically drooling.
Once Si Xiaobei came over, everyone finally began to eat.
Liu Xiaogang was quick to act, immediately reaching out with his chopsticks for the biggest meat bun, only for Feng Xuan's chopsticks to block him.
The two looked at each other, their gazes clashing as if sparks might fly.
"I went for it first, so give it to me. Get lost!" Liu Xiaogang glared at Feng Xuan.
Feng Xuan refused to back down. "Well, I had my eye on that meat bun before we even started eating, so it should be mine!"
"Give it to me!"
"It's mine!"
Their chopsticks confronted each other in the air like blades and swords, neither gaining the upper hand.
They both grabbed the meat bun at the same time and began a tug-of-war. Feng Xuan suddenly gave a crooked smile. "Gangzi, if you keep pulling against me, the bun's going to fall apart, and neither of us will get to eat it. So hurry up and let go."
"Even if it falls apart, I'm not giving it to you, Fengzi!"
"Hey, you!" Feng Xuan and Liu Xiaogang started their tug-of-war again.
Because they were deliberately controlling their strength, the bun was only slightly squashed and didn't break apart.
Suddenly, both pairs of chopsticks slipped, and the bun fell. As the two watched, another pair of chopsticks shot over and snatched it away.
"Haha, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it!" Xing Lan said smugly, holding the bun in her chopsticks.
The two looked at Xing Lan, then at each other. They both gave a "hmph" and sat down to eat properly.
"Here, Hela, this bun's for you." Xing Lan handed the bun to Hela, who took it directly with her hand and put it in her mouth to eat.
Nanming, who was sitting with Si Xiaobei, looked at the lively Xing Lan and smiled faintly. "Do your injuries still hurt?"
"Hm? They're all right. They don't hurt much anymore," Xing Lan answered, moving her body a little.
"That's good. It seems Xiaogang didn't hit you too hard." Nanming nodded at Liu Xiaogang, who smiled and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"By the way, Xiaogang, what realm are you at? How come you're so strong?" Xing Lan asked Liu Xiaogang, sounding a little aggrieved as she slurped up her mianpi.
At that, Liu Xiaogang instantly perked up. He put down his chopsticks, wiped the oil from his mouth, and said proudly:
"I'm not bragging, but when it comes to fighting with pure physical techniques, not even the captain is a match for me in our entire squad!
"And under normal circumstances, my combat power ranks second in the whole squad! After all, just like the captain, I'm a 'Transcendent.'"
"Hmph, that's why I say you're a gorilla with well-developed limbs and a simple mind." Beside him, Feng Xuan mercilessly ridiculed him as he ate.
"Huh?! You're a monkey who does nothing but stay home and play games all day, and you think you can talk about me?" Liu Xiaogang shot back angrily.
"Oh, look, the gorilla's started biting."
"Xiao Fengzi, believe it or not, I'll beat your teeth out later and leave you crawling all over the floor looking for them!"
"Hehe, see? Well-developed limbs and a simple mind. All you can do is fight."
Xing Lan's eyes sparkled as she watched the two bicker. Yes, this is it! Now this feels like a main character's party~ she thought excitedly, without forgetting to pick up some mianpi with her chopsticks and feed it to Hela.
The others were already used to this scene and carried on eating their breakfast.