Nowadays, society was much more open-minded and advocated free love, so romance in high school was already a common phenomenon. But this was based on the premise that a romantic relationship still needed to be built in a "safe" situation.
Wang Ling was sure he would never cross the line; the problem was that he had never said he wanted to go on a date with Lotus Sun!
So what the hell was this, chasing him all the way to his front door and showing up uninvited?
Disaster level, two stars…
It was as if he had already seen what would happen if he turned down her invitation.
First of all, the news would spread like wildfire in No. 60 High School. When the time came, he would drown in spit with everyone spitting at him and he would become the object of universal condemnation. He hated being noticed, but this situation would get him noticed not just by the whole of No. 60 High School, but also by neighboring schools.
This was a thorny problem.
He looked at Mother Wang next to him.
Mother Wang didn't think it was bad that a girl had taken a fancy to Wang Ling. Since he was young, he had made very few friends. The fact that a girl liked him meant that her son had a particular charm. The most important thing was that this person was the Young Miss of Huaguo Water Curtain Group! She had actually shown up of her own accord, which made Mother Wang indescribably proud.
Wang Ling had so much to say, but couldn't refuse when his mother waved a hand at him. She had considered the situation and had finally made a decision. "Go out and stay safe. If you dare refuse, you will never see your precious crispy noodle snacks ever again!"
Wang Ling: "…" When women were in league with one another, they were always so dictatorial.
Looking at the big bottle of youth-retaining pills in Mother Wang's hand, he felt that he had made a grave miscalculation. How could he have let Lotus Sun seize the opportunity first?
In fact, regardless of whether he agreed to go on the date or not, he would attract the attention of the whole school plus neighboring schools anyway. The difference was that if he refused her invitation, he would meet an end worse than if he didn't refuse. He would become the target of bullying, and receive a lot of attention.
Whatever he chose, he would be noticed.
So whether he accepted the invitation or not was no longer the issue.
The real battle now was to ensure that the date happened as low-key as possible.
...
When Wang Ling got into the car, Lotus Sun felt like she was dreaming.
Since the start of school, she had tried every method possible to approach Wang Ling, but this otherworldly boy had always shown a lack of interest in her. Now he was actually sitting in her car, which made her think it had really been worth it to call on him at his house!
...
When Wang Ling got into the car, he felt like he was dreaming.
If it wasn't a dream, then he must have been shot in the head to accept this invitation. A world limited edition Maserati sportscar with the words "Huaguo Water Curtain Group" emblazoned on the outside, and Lotus Sun sitting next to him — the first impression he got was that Huaguo Water Curtain Group was declaring to the world that it had taken in a son-in-law.
Forget it. He was doing all this for his crispy noodle snacks!
This was what he thought.
In fact, now that he thought back on it, given Huaguo Water Curtain Group's powerful influence in Huaxiu nation, it wasn't difficult at all for Lotus Sun to find out where he lived.
As Wang Ling watched the Wang family's small villa recede into the distance out of the corner of his eye, he wondered whether he should use the Great Star Relocation spell to move the villa somewhere else on the map when he returned home later.
"Classmate Wang Ling, I didn't think you would actually accept my invitation…"
Lotus Sun smiled brilliantly, truly delighted. The dimples in her cheeks made her look very sweet.
Wang Ling flattened his lips silently. "…" Did he really have the power to refuse?
To his surprise, Lotus Sun actually wasn't wearing makeup. But even when she was relying on her bare face alone, she still stood heads and shoulders above most girls their age. She truly was the standard for beauty. While he would admit that Lotus Sun was indeed very beautiful, one-sidedly coming to his house looking to go on a date felt like she was forcing herself on him, which really made him feel uncomfortable.
"Then where should we go? Classmate Wang Ling, is there a place you would especially like to visit?"
Wang Ling shook his head.
Since this was the case, Lotus Sun directly made the decision. "Master Lu, take us to the Xiao Family Compound."
"Yes, Miss."
The driver responded very politely.
The Xiao Family Compound was actually the name of a park opened by the Xiao clan which contained thousands of years' worth of cultivation history. The land had originally been the Xiao family's former residence, and had belonged to the Xiao family for one thousand years. However, in order to cater to a modern era, it was only a few years ago that the Xiao family had used spells to move their old mansion out to make way for the construction of a new park on the land.
It was worth mentioning that the Heavenly Flame Museum, well-known throughout Huaxiu nation, was also in the Xiao Family Compound.
More than one thousand years ago, the Xiao family had collected almost all of the Heavenly Flames in the world.
Nowadays, this park had already become a sacred dating ground for couples.
At midnight every night, there would be a fireworks party on the lake in the middle of the park. On a high platform, members of the Xiao clan would merge two or more Heavenly Flames together to create a fire lotus, which they would throw into the air for it to blossom.
...
Following Lotus Sun's instructions, the driver stopped the car in a small corner of the park, then got out to open the door for Wang Ling first, then for Lotus Sun. Lastly, he handed her a black card.
This was the Huaguo Water Curtain Group's shareholder card; whoever held it would receive exceptional VIP treatment.
Wang Ling hadn't expected that Huaguo Water Curtain Group would have a share in a newly-built park like the Xiao Family Compound, which was just scary.
With such a card, there was no place in the world that Lotus Sun couldn't visit.
But compared with the aristocratic treatment the shareholder card entitled them to, Wang Ling was more concerned about whether the card would get him crispy noodle snacks from the snack kiosk.
That's right. He was truly a person without any ambition…
...
The Xiao Family Compound was very large. The size of the land that the Xiao clan had owned for a thousand years had continued to expand during the three great eras of the cultivation world.
Construction had been first completed during the Great Battle Qi era, which was when the Xiao clan had played a leading role in the world.
As the wheel of time continued to turn, cracks appeared in the chaos zone, draining the world of battle qi and leading to the early arrival of the Spirit Energy era, which was when the Xiao clan declined.
The current era which Wang Ling lived in was also Huaxiu nation's third phase in the Spirit Energy era — the Spirit Energy Information era, also known as the Scientific Cultivation era.
The Xiao clan, which had experienced all the changes of these three ages, was undoubtedly the grand old man of the eras.
Even if the Xiao clan had declined at the beginning of the Spirit Energy era, thanks to their cultivation genius, the clan was able to gradually transform themselves and to move forward and persist in the Spirit Information era. The Xiao clan was still in the top ten of the current powers in Huaxiu nation. Though it was no longer a ruling power as before, it was still a well-established heavyweight.
The only pity was that the Heavenly Flames which the Xiao clan had collected from all over the world had lost their formidable power, on par with a nuclear explosion, due to the disappearance of battle qi.
Apart from being fused together to be released as fireworks at the stroke of midnight, the Heavenly Flames no longer seemed to have any damn use.
And so, relying on this marvelous performance of the Heavenly Flames, the Xiao clan transformed from an ancient and noble cultivation family into a modern entertainment enterprise…
[0] "Date A Live" is a Japanese light novel science-fiction and comedy series about a male protagonist who has to seal the destructive power of mysterious female "Spirits" by making them fall in love with him and kiss him.