Zhu Zhuqing explained:
"Last night, when I returned to the dorm, I saw her crying a lot in her room."
"I comforted her a bit, trying to see if I could win her over."
"Ning Rongrong has the backing of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and she's also quite pretty."
"Lan, if you can win her over, it would greatly benefit the development of your family."
Zhuge Lan: w(°ｏ°)w
Is Zhu Zhuqing… helping him scout a new "target"?
And she's doing it from a "family perspective," carefully weighing the pros and cons.
This is… I... She… I'm speechless!
Isn't this way too virtuous?!
Zhuge Lan squeezed Zhu Zhuqing's hand and said sincerely:
"It was truly a blessing to have met you first!"
[+6666 Emotion Points]
Zhu Zhuqing smiled, her eyes full of calmness.
This was the "experience" passed down in the Zhu family.
Since she couldn't monopolize him, she would show her value.
That way, Zhuge Lan would never leave her, and her position would naturally be unshakable in the future.
—This is the natural "queenly wisdom" of the women in the Zhu family!
Ning Rongrong came over with her tray of food.
She hesitated for a moment.
Zhuge Lan and Zhu Zhuqing were sitting side by side, so should she sit next to Zhu Zhuqing or across from them?
After all, yesterday, things between her and Zhuge Lan had gotten quite tense.
"Sit by me," Zhu Zhuqing said. "Training will start soon, so hurry and eat."
Just one sentence resolved Ning Rongrong's dilemma.
"Okay!"
Ning Rongrong carefully sat down and focused on eating.
Where was the haughty, overbearing little princess from yesterday?
Zhuge Lan couldn't help but wonder how Zhu Zhuqing had managed to change Ning Rongrong so much.
Now wasn't the right time to ask, though.
They ate their meal in silence.
Zhu Zhuqing, of her own accord, took Zhuge Lan's tray and went with Ning Rongrong to wash the dishes.
This was usually Oscar's job.
But he hadn't shown up yet, likely because he was breaking through to level 30.
"Looks like the Star Dou Forest arc is about to start."
"It would be a waste to give that Eight Spider Lances external spirit bone to that punk."
"I'll need to find an opportunity to snatch it!"
"Though it'll be hard to explain where it came from…"
"System, do you offer external spirit bone modification services?"
[Spirit Bone Modification: Starts at 10,000 Emotion Points!]
———
You can modify a spirit bone's attributes, appearance, age, etc. Fees are charged based on the requested changes!
———
[Friendly Reminder: Spirit bones acquired through the system will always be the most compatible with the host. Spirit bones from the same body part can be exchanged for points when unlocking new bones, reducing the cost to as low as free!]
Oh!
There's an "out with the old, in with the new" service, huh?
But wait...
"System, if I exchange an old spirit bone, unlocking the new one is still free, right?"
[Yes!]
Great!
That's what I'll do.
Zhuge Lan hummed happily to himself.
Zhu Zhuqing finished washing the dishes and came back with Ning Rongrong.
"Lan," Zhu Zhuqing said calmly, "Rongrong has realized her mistakes from yesterday and wants to apologize to you."
"I'm sorry," Ning Rongrong said nervously. "I was wrong yesterday. I've already written to my father, including your requests."
[+999 Emotion Points]
Her attitude was quite sincere.
Zhuge Lan nodded slightly, accepting her apology.
He couldn't help but turn to Zhu Zhuqing and ask, "Zhuqing, how did you make this little… girl realize her mistakes?"
[+1111 Emotion Points]
Ning Rongrong averted her eyes, surprisingly without getting angry.
It seemed she truly had changed.
This made Zhuge Lan even more curious—how had Zhu Zhuqing managed it?
"I didn't say much, honestly. I'm not good at comforting people."
Zhu Zhuqing explained:
"Rongrong isn't a bad person at heart, and she's smart."
"I just shared my own story with her."
"Then she figured things out on her own."
Zhuge Lan understood.
That made sense.
Zhu Zhuqing had a cold personality and had been ostracized by her family from a young age, making her bad at socializing.
She wasn't cut out for the role of a comforting big sister.
Instead, using her own bloody personal experience to show Ning Rongrong, who had just been hit by reality, the harsh truth of the world—
That was more Zhu Zhuqing's style.
As they chatted, the three of them arrived at the training grounds, which were empty.
There was still half an hour before class, so it made sense.
Zhu Zhuqing didn't waste any time, pulling Zhuge Lan aside to train the Spiral Nine Shadows technique.
Through hands-on practice, she cleared up her doubts.
She didn't deliberately maintain distance during the process, which made Zhuge Lan feel quite excited.
They only eased up a bit when Tang San and Xiao Wu arrived.
Ning Rongrong hesitated for a while.
Awkwardly, she walked over to Tang San and Xiao Wu, whispering something.
Tang San wore his signature gentle smile, looking every bit the polite gentleman.
Xiao Wu was even more direct.
She was already holding Ning Rongrong's hand, chatting like close friends.
—Girls' friendships can grow so fast and out of nowhere.
Zhuge Lan couldn't help but take a few more glances.
He was both surprised by how quickly Ning Rongrong's attitude had changed and amazed at Zhu Zhuqing's forceful methods.
He also marveled at Xiao Wu's luck.
If nothing unexpected happened, at least one Titled Douluo from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would come to Shrek to discuss the trade of whale glue.
By then, Xiao Wu's identity as a 100,000-year spirit beast in human form would be exposed.
Right now, getting along with Ning Rongrong could be a matter of life and death.
But who knew if Tang Hao was nearby?
[+9999 Emotion Points]
Whoa!
That's a lot of emotion points!
Zhuge Lan glanced around.
At the entrance to the academy, he saw a furious Dai Mubai.
Zhuge Lan, though keeping a low profile, was still holding Zhu Zhuqing's hand.
With Zhu Zhuqing's personality, what did that handholding symbolize?
Dai Mubai wasn't angry about "losing his wife."
If he had really cared about Zhu Zhuqing, he wouldn't have run away on his own.
What made him angry was—
How could she fall for someone so quickly? Doesn't that make him look like he has no charm?
Couldn't she have at least held out for a few more days?
Suddenly!
Zhuge Lan let go of Zhu Zhuqing's hand, letting her train on her own.
He walked over to stand in front of Dai Mubai.
[+6666 Emotion Points]
Dai Mubai had mixed feelings.
He didn't dislike Zhuge Lan.
After all, their martial souls had "resonated" during the fusion technique.
Under that circumstance, Zhuge Lan had still "kept his distance" from Zhu Zhuqing, giving Dai Mubai the first chance to pursue her.
That was already very considerate of him.
It was Dai Mubai who hadn't stepped up.
But then again—
If Zhuge Lan hadn't shown up, giving Zhu Zhuqing better choices, wouldn't he have been able to win her back?
After all—
The fact that Zhu Zhuqing was even here said a lot.
So, Dai Mubai was conflicted.
[+6666 Emotion Points]
[+5555 Emotion Points]
[+4444 Emotion Points]
Zhuge Lan waited until the emotion points dropped to three digits before speaking:
"Mubai, you've seen it yourself. Zhuqing and I share a martial soul fusion technique."
"And it's not just one martial soul; the other one resonates too."
"So…"
"I'm sorry, but I'm breaking our agreement."
[+9999 Emotion Points]
Dai Mubai took a deep look at Zhuge Lan.
Beside him, Ma Hongjun and the others looked tense.
With Dai Mubai's personality…
Is this going to end in a fight to the death?!
---
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