FE—Chapter 109: Wang Dong: Grilled Fish, Here I Come!
"Brother, you'd better give me a reasonable explanation." Meng Hongchen's beautiful eyes narrowed, annoyance still evident as this interrupted her plans to establish her position as the eldest wife in front of the golden-haired female mistress.
Xiao Hongchen kept giving her sister furtive glances, signaling her to pay attention to Di Rachel next to her.
Di Rachel's eyes were cold, tightly gripping a golden spear as if she would poke a few holes in Meng Hongchen any second.
Meng Hongchen snorted lightly, elegantly reaching up to adjust the bow tied in her silver-white hair, then locked her gaze directly onto Di Rachel.
She drawled lazily, "Little girl, although Yuhao and I have something going on... But that hug just now was simply because I missed him so much—don't think too much about it."
Di Rachel looked at her unkindly. The Sun Moon girl, with her hidden motives, seemed no easier to deal with than Wang Dong'er.
"Ha, otherwise, why do you think my golden dragon spear hasn't stabbed you yet?" Di Rachel sneered.
Meng Hongchen tapped her lips, pretending to realize something. "Oh... I thought you were just jealous."
Di Rachel took Huo Yuhao's hand, a teasing smile on her face. "Why should I be jealous? We met when Yuhao was still a one-ring soul master."
"Yuhao and I exchanged gifts back then and had a good impression of each other, promising to walk hand in hand in the future."
Di Rachel relaxed her grip on the spear and casually held the Golden Dragon Spear in her arms, teasing Meng Hongchen lazily.
"At that time, I didn't know where you were reading comics."
Di Rachel believed what she said to be very real. Initially, she had given Huo Yuhao a small piece of Life Gold in the Star Dou Great Forest, while he gifted her a light ball with a story of a three-eyed golden lion. The two had bonded over those simple gestures.
Meng Hongchen's eyes widened slightly as she gazed at Di Rachel, realizing that her confident demeanor wasn't fabricated.
"You little girl, you're so young and don't learn well. How can you speak so rashly?"
"Hey—you're calling me young? Ten of you can't compare to me."
"Who do you think is inferior to you? Be careful, or I'll arrest you for the crime of 'entering Mingdu without a permit!'"
"Yuhao, look at her. When she gets angry, she has a bad temper. She doesn't match you at all! She even wants to arrest me! How did you come to know her when you came to the Sun Moon Empire?"
"You...!" Meng Hongchen didn't expect Di Rachel to hit back so effectively, prompting her to grow angry.
After a few exchanges, the entrance of Illustrious Virtue Hall was nearly explosive.
Huo Yuhao couldn't follow their conversation and stood between them to block their view. "Okay, okay, you just met—what's there to argue about? Let's go out for a walk and chat."
He attempted to change the subject: "Eh? Brother Xiao, what's the name of the store you just mentioned? I didn't catch it. What's the name of the barbecue restaurant?"
Xiao Hongchen immediately understood. Initially, his sister didn't take Di Rachel seriously, but now that she saw her potential, she wanted to keep the peace.
First of all, the golden dragon spear in Di Rachel's hand was of such high quality that it wasn't just an ordinary weapon.
His three-legged golden toad martial soul had a keen perception of the gold element. Xiao Hongchen could feel that the material used to create the golden dragon spear surpassed even the rarest metals.
Secondly, the fire attribute emanating from Di Rachel was extremely strong and bore a similar aura to Huo Yuhao.
Xiao Hongchen sensed that Huo Yuhao's aura had grown several levels stronger since he left. The similarities he perceived stemmed from the energy they both absorbed from the Fire Dragon King; they had initially merged without fully grasping its true essence.
Although Xiao Hongchen was unfamiliar with the Fire Dragon King, his martial soul's perception was reliable.
It wouldn't take much effort for a flame of this level to melt his gold element.
Thus, he nervously hinted to his sister not to annoy Di Rachel; who wouldn't want to see Meng and her brother-in-law grow closer?
Receiving Huo Yuhao's signal, Xiao Hongchen spoke up in a cooperative manner: "Yuhao, I suggest calling it iXiao Barbecue Restaurant."
Di Rachel exclaimed, "That name is too vulgar."
Meng Hongchen was too lazy to argue with Di Rachel. After all, she had spent the night with Yuhao; why should she care about Di Rachel's opinions?
Regarding the naming of the barbecue restaurant, Meng Hongchen agreed with Di Rachel's perspective, casting a glance at Xiao Hongchen. "Yuhao's barbecue restaurant—why should you use your name?"
Xiao Hongchen laughed. "Meng, you don't understand. Naming it like this will attract plenty of customers to Yuhao."
"Many students at our school will come because of Big Brother's name," Xiao Hongchen argued rationally, believing the name iXiao Barbecue Restaurant was indeed a clever choice.
Meng Hongchen pouted, thinking that if the restaurant were named after her, that would sound better.
"It would be better to call it... um... Every Night One Dream BBQ Restaurant."
Di Rachel frowned slightly, voicing her objection: "What does 'Every Night One Dream' even mean? Those four words don't sound good at all."
"Let's call it Xiangrui BBQ Restaurant. It sounds more auspicious."
"Xiangrui?"
Meng Hongchen shook her head and replied in a serious tone, "That name is more suitable for a mascot. It's too rustic for a store name."
The two continued discussing, unable to reach an agreement. No one wanted to be inferior to the other.
"Forget it, let's just use the name of my previous barbecue stall."
Huo Yuhao said with a smile as he suggested the name of his previous store, which everyone quickly agreed upon.
Then they collectively chose an address for Huo Yuhao's new restaurant.
Looking at the map, Huo Yuhao noticed several marked locations with red crosses and curiously asked, "Brother Xiao, can't we choose these red-crossed places?"
Xiao Hongchen leaned closer to Huo Yuhao, whispering, "I heard from my grandfather that many evil soul masters gather in those red-crossed areas."
"And most of the shops in those regions are places where evil soul masters exchange information with their superiors."
Xiao Hongchen raised his eyes, uncertain about what he meant by "superiors."
Huo Yuhao smiled and replied, "It doesn't matter. I prefer to open a shop in such places."
Di Rachel agreed enthusiastically, "Yes, Yuhao and Gu Yi enjoy dealing with evil soul masters. As long as she hides her martial soul in the barbecue restaurant, she can collect plenty of information about them and find an opportunity to catch them all in one fell swoop later."
Xiao Hongchen shook his head, asserting meaningfully, "The evil nature of these areas runs deep. Without the capabilities of evil soul masters, it's impossible to establish oneself there, let alone open a barbecue restaurant."
Huo Yuhao contemplated the undead magic he had just learned; summoning a few skeletons could work for him. He smiled slightly and said, "Brother Xiao, you don't know..."
...
In the Sun Moon Empire, if a Soul Master wants to advance to the next class, it requires both the Soul Engineer Level and their Soul Power level to meet the standards at the same time, necessitating ten months in the academy followed by two months off.
Shrek Academy, on the other hand, operates for eleven months, with one month of vacation.
At Shrek Academy, next to a small lake under the girls' dormitory, Wang Dong held a Blue Silver Grass in her hand, casually spinning the flower shadow as she walked along the lakeside with Xiao Xiao.
Xiao Xiao raised her eyelids and secretly watched Wang Dong beside her. She reached out, gently tugging at Wang Dong's sleeves. After thinking for a moment, she mustered the courage to say, "Wang, Wang Dong, our school will be on vacation tomorrow. Is there anything you want to do during the break?"
Xiao Xiao hoped to invite Wang Dong to join her.
Wang Dong paused her spinning Blue Silver Grass, and her beautiful blue eyes sparkled with joy. "Xiao Xiao, what do you think we care about most in the Academy?"
Xiao Xiao pondered for a moment before tentatively replying, "Practice? The reserve team spots for the competition?"
"Of course not; who cares about that?"
"Last time, that chicken leg teacher mentioned that even though we weren't selected as reserve team members, we could enjoy the benefits of being treated like one..."
Wang Dong thought about this and groaned, "Tsk, so far, I haven't seen any use from that title; there are no tangible rewards."
Xiao Xiao nodded in agreement. The chicken leg teacher (Xuan Zi) seemed unreliable and was always drinking.
Yet, she was curious about what Wang Dong valued, and her eyes revealed some confusion.
"Wang Dong, what do you care about in school?"
With a happy grin, Wang Dong replied, "Besides good friends, what I care about most is, of course, food and fun!"
"Food and fun?"
Xiao Xiao considered this seriously before nodding emphatically, "Well, those two are indeed delightful and bring joy!"
Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were both keen on this subject and chatted as they walked, soon arriving at the gate of Shrek Academy.
In the distance, they saw a beautiful senior sister with big orange and golden waves conversing with a blue-eyed woman.
"Senior Sister Nan Nan, go play!" Xiao Xiao waved and greeted her excitedly.
Jiang Nan Nan looked at Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, displaying a gentle smile as she asked, "Where do you two want to go to play?"
Jiang Nan Nan had originally made the reserve team, yet Master Xuan deemed her absence from the last six months disrespectful to the quality of teaching expected at Shrek Academy, which was the best in the continent.
Many students yearned to attend lectures from their Shrek teachers, and Jiang Nan Nan's six-month absence led to her being deemed unworthy to retain her reserve team status, which was given to another student with better martial soul quality.
This meant Wang Dong's combat capabilities had significantly diminished compared to earlier in the story since she had lost the "Haodong Power" from Huo Yuhao and the martial soul fusion skill "Golden Road."
In the selection competitions, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao's performances were slightly inferior to Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's Hell White Tiger.
Consequently, neither became reserve team members, but they gradually became closer while having fun with Jiang Nan Nan, who had also lost her reserve status.
Curious, Xiao Xiao asked, "Senior Nan Nan, isn't it unfair that your best friend Senior Tang Ya became a reserve team member while you didn't?"
"Why would it be unfair?"
Jiang Nan Nan tucked some hair behind her ear and smiled, "Master Xuan said I missed six months of the academy, so I can't be a reserve team member. I guess he has his reasons, and there's nothing I can do about it."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
Wang Dong agreed and added cheerfully, "So we just need to eat well and have fun, in addition to practicing."
However, thinking of the last semester made Xiao Xiao nostalgic: "The grilled fish and skewers made by that little brother Huo Yuhao at the Huo Ran's Cheerful BBQ stall in the snack street were so delicious."
"But a semester has passed, and I haven't seen him. I miss Huo Yuhao's grilled fish and skewers."
This sentiment struck a chord with Wang Dong. Throughout this semester, there were numerous occasions when she visited the snack street, hoping to spot Huo Ran's Cheerful BBQ stall and the blue flames grilling her skewers.
Jiang Nannan felt similarly: "Actually, I miss Huo Yuhao's... grilled fish too."
An indescribable light flashed in her eyes. Huo Yuhao had treated her mother, and she felt immense gratitude, but she didn't know how to repay him, feeling somewhat guilty.
The blue-eyed woman beside Jiang Nannan keenly caught two key phrases from the conversation between Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.
She looked at Jiang Nan Nan, unable to hide her excitement: "Sister Nan Nan, after Huo Yuhao went on vacation, he took me to find a herb that can eliminate all poisons. My problem with the green phosphorus snake venom will finally be resolved."
"After he sent me back to Heaven Dou City, I figured it out that your Shrek Academy would soon be on break, so I came to pick you up."
Wang Dong raised her eyebrows, surprise evident in her voice. "Have you seen Huo Yuhao?"
She had been thinking about luring Huo Yuhao to the Clear Sky Sect to work as a holiday worker for a month, grilling fish and skewers just for her.
Dugu Luo assessed Wang Dong (in men's clothing) and found her quite attractive, with beautiful pink-blue eyes and handsome features resembling Huo Yuhao.
"Well, Yuhao mentioned he's considering opening a Huo Ran's Cheerful BBQ restaurant in Mingdu."
Wang Dong's eyes sparkled at the news, and she fell into a brief thought before turning to Xiao Xiao joyfully. "Xiao Xiao, I think I know where we should go during the break."
Xiao Xiao was also excited, but as she gazed at Wang Dong's blue-pink eyes, her heart began to race.
Flushed with anticipation, Xiao Xiao asked in a voice barely above a whisper, "Me too, Wang Dong, can you take me with you?"
Tentatively, she added, "I want to eat Huo Yuhao's barbecue again. Is that okay?"
Wang Dong hesitated momentarily—not out of unwillingness to take her, but because she was concerned about whether Xiao Xiao might interfere with her plan to "abduct" Huo Yuhao.
Seeing Wang Dong's hesitation, Xiao Xiao quickly persuaded her, "Wang Dong, think about it! It would be so boring to travel alone. It would be much more fun together. At least I can chat with you."
Wang Dong contemplated this... Yes, Xiao Xiao was a well-behaved and pleasant girl; her presence wouldn't be a bad influence on her.
So, Wang Dong readily agreed: "Okay, Xiao Xiao, let's go together."
"Great! This holiday won't be boring at all. I'm happy just thinking about it!"
Xiao Xiao didn't hide her excitement and eagerly asked, "So, Wang Dong, when are you planning to leave?"
"I'll leave as soon as I get off tomorrow," Wang Dong replied, her pink-blue eyes radiating enthusiasm. "Grilled fish, here I come!"
(End of this chapter)