The cool night breeze carried moisture from Sea God Lake into Huo Yuhao's nostrils.
In the vast Sea God Lake, little fish fry swam merrily about. Huo Yuhao broke off a small piece of bread and tossed it into the water.
The little fish immediately opened their mouths and charged toward the bread. Three of them scrambled madly for that single piece, their constant collisions sending it drifting haphazardly across the surface.
Suddenly, a wave swept in and carried the bread to the right. A little fish that wanted no part in the struggle was blowing bubbles when the bread sailed straight into its mouth.
Seeing that the bread had disappeared, the other three fish could only resume their aimless wandering.
Huo Yuhao stretched, loosened his stiff neck, and headed toward the cafeteria.
Before he even reached its entrance, the fragrance of food came wafting out.
Among those coming and going, outer courtyard students who knew one another exchanged enthusiastic greetings. Some entered in groups of three or five, while others were alone, but all their faces carried a faint sense of urgency.
Huo Yuhao strolled into the cafeteria and went straight to the serving window on the far right.
There were few people at the rightmost window. At a glance, only three girls stood there, and the atmosphere was rather tense. The woman serving food rolled her eyes, wanting to hurry them along, but for some reason, she said nothing.
"Excuse me, let me through..."
Huo Yuhao slipped straight through the gap between the three and arrived at the window. "Big sis, I'll have that deluxe set..." he called, pointing at the menu above the window.
"Oh my, young man, you're making this auntie blush. At my age, how can you call me big sis?" Looking at Huo Yuhao's handsome face, the cafeteria lady feigned reproach.
The cafeteria lady swiftly took the lunch box Huo Yuhao handed over. Her previously trembling right hand somehow became perfectly steady, and she even added two extra spoonfuls for once.
"Big sis, what are you saying? Anyone who didn't know would think you were our senior!" Huo Yuhao smiled with narrowed eyes and handed over two Gold Soul Coins.
His words left the cafeteria lady a little embarrassed. She took the Gold Soul Coins and tossed them aside, covering her face and waving bashfully.
Huo Yuhao stared at those two Gold Soul Coins, his eyes lighting up. A soft black tentacle slowly emerged from his trouser cuff.
A hand behind him tightly gripped the hem of his clothes. Zhu Lu spoke with some difficulty. "Th... Huo Yuhao, could you lend me some money?"
The tentacle at Huo Yuhao's trouser cuff instantly withdrew. He turned in confusion, discovered it was Zhu Lu, and frowned.
Zhu Lu's forehead was still covered in bruises. She pressed her lips together nervously, her face utterly haggard.
Looking behind her, he saw two girls standing there. The taller girl had short blond hair and looked very neat and smart. Her large, watery blue eyes had long lashes, and a few cute freckles dotted her cheeks.
She held several Gold Soul Coins in her right hand, but the girl beside her had a firm grip on her right wrist.
That girl had short, fiery red hair, and even her eyes were an uncommon red. Upon closer inspection, her features were extremely delicate, and her skin was as fair as jade. Only her gaze was cold and fierce as she stared at Zhu Lu before her, surpassing even Zhou Yi.
"Doesn't Dai Huabin have any? Why are you asking me for money?" Huo Yuhao replied out of politeness.
"She said she lost her money. She was just asking us for a loan too. Since you know each other, please move aside first." Wu Feng spoke coldly and pulled Ning Tian over to the window.
Huo Yuhao was forced aside and nearly fell to the floor.
"Pretty boy..."
Wu Feng gave Huo Yuhao a disdainful glance and snorted.
Beside her, Ning Tian looked apologetically at Huo Yuhao, then quietly reminded Wu Feng, "Little Sister Feng, he has no grudge against us. Don't pick on him like that."
"I'm really sorry. I apologize on Wu Feng's behalf," Ning Tian said sincerely.
Huo Yuhao nodded to indicate that he did not mind, and the two soon collected their food and left.
"Huo Yuhao, just lend me a little first. I'll pay you back next month... Huabin is injured. I need to bring him food..." Zhu Lu said timidly.
She was terribly afraid inside, terrified that Huo Yuhao would refuse her. If she still could not borrow money to buy food, Dai Huabin would probably give him another tongue-lashing.
But she loved Dai Huabin. What did it matter if she suffered a little grievance?
"Don't you know? You're not allowed to take food out of the cafeteria. If you really want to buy some, you have to go outside." Huo Yuhao pointed at the students standing around eating and kindly reminded her.
"Ah! What should I do, then?..." Zhu Lu cried in alarm.
"Come on, big sis, how many days have you been at Shrek? You're only learning this rule now?" Huo Yuhao was a little exasperated. Finally, he waved a hand. "Forget it. I'll help you this once."
Huo Yuhao looked her up and down, reached straight for her waist, and tugged downward. An exquisite yin-yang white tiger jade pendant landed in his hand.
Zhu Lu's eyes widened. What Huo Yuhao held was the very token of love Dai Huabin had given her. She had never let it leave her side, yet now it was in Huo Yuhao's hand. She was just about to snatch it back, but Huo Yuhao no longer gave her the chance.
He turned around, and amid repeated calls of "big sis," the cafeteria lady served another deluxe set and happily put away the jade pendant Huo Yuhao handed her.
"All right, go wait outside. I'll be out in a bit." Huo Yuhao held two lunch boxes in his hands.
Zhu Lu cried out, "Ah!" With tears in her eyes, she swung her right hand forward hard!
Smack!
Huo Yuhao's left cheek instantly reddened and swelled. Everyone in the cafeteria jumped at the scene.
"Huo Yuhao... you bastard!"
Tears streamed from Zhu Lu's eyes. Covering her face with her right hand, she sobbed and ran out without looking back.
Huo Yuhao was left standing there in a daze. I didn't even do anything.
"Pah, scumbag!"
Seeing this from a distance, Wu Feng cursed without restraint.
Ning Tian smiled awkwardly, also at a loss for words.
Everyone stared at Huo Yuhao, eager to enjoy the spectacle. Utterly exasperated, he could only find somewhere to finish his own dinner first.
Zhu Lu sat on a bench with her legs drawn up and her feet on the seat. Her arms overlapped as she covered her face, her whole body nearly curling into a ball.
She felt utterly miserable, but whenever she thought of Huo Yuhao pawning her token of love, her hatred for him deepened.
She suspected that Huo Yuhao had deliberately toyed with her to take revenge on her and Dai Huabin.
I should never have trusted Huo Yuhao. With the way Huabin and I usually treat him, how could he possibly help me?
Zhu Lu, you really are an idiot! You actually believed Huo Yuhao over something like this. What on earth are you doing?
No! I have to get the jade pendant back!
Zhu Lu's gaze slowly grew resolute. After wiping away her tears, she was about to rise and charge into the cafeteria.
Suddenly, something familiar entered the corner of her eye.
Turning to look, she saw the lunch box she had brought resting quietly at the other end of the bench. There seemed to be a few things behind it, but her eyes were swollen and red, making them difficult to see clearly.
Zhu Lu walked over and picked up the lunch box. Behind it lay a small cloth pouch and the white tiger jade pendant she had been longing for.
Joy rose in her heart. She hurriedly put away the jade pendant, picked up the little cloth pouch, and looked around. In the distance, a thin figure was slowly walking away.
Zhu Lu was puzzled, yet curious. Who exactly was he? Abruptly, Huo Yuhao's figure slowly merged with that figure in her mind.
After opening the cloth pouch, she was almost certain that this person had to be Huo Yuhao.
The cloth pouch held a pile of Silver Soul Coins and Copper Soul Coins, without even a single Gold Soul Coin.
Still, this money could at least free her from her current predicament. She was also curious about how Huo Yuhao had brought these things out.
At these thoughts, Zhu Lu inexplicably laughed. Holding the things against her chest, she felt warm inside. She stared into the distance and thought silently, What a strange guy...