Xin Fu's words had caught Lu Qing'er's interest, and her very sweet smile was suddenly back.
"Senior Qing'e," Xin Fu answered gravely.
Lu Qing'er's eyelids flickered. "Senior Qing'e and Li Luo have a special relationship. There’s nothing odd about her buying him breakfast."
She turned her smile to Xin Fu. "Xin Fu, you're really special as well. I'm sure many girls are lining up to buy you breakfast."
Xin Fu squirmed a little under his hood. Lu Qing'er was actually the second girl to talk to him since he had entered the Astral Sage College, besides Bai Mengmeng.
Also, her kind words somehow seemed to cut a different way.
He snuck a look at Li Luo. Was this some sort of counterattack against the leader? Had he ended up burning himself with the hint he had dropped?
Something felt off.
By right, the leader should be the one in trouble now. A girl as wonderful as Lu Qing'er should be feeling jealous, right?
But... she was attacking him together with the leader?
Was Lu Qing'er's brain too big for him? Or were the leader's moves too high-level?
In any case, Xin Fu felt like he had lost somehow. His respect for Li Luo increased further. “Sir, you truly are a role model of our generation.”
Li Luo snickered to himself at Xin Fu's confusion. “You bad boy, trying to trip me up? Right back at you, kid.”
Feeling good, he shot an appreciative glance Lu Qing'er's way.
She replied with a cool look, eyebrows raised as if in challenge. There was something off about it.
Li Luo gave up. This girl was hard to understand. He bent over and focused on his food.
"Oh," Yu Lang said as they ate. "Mentor Mi Er and Mentor Chi Chan plan for our squads to fight a practice match today."
Li Luo and Xin Fu looked up in surprise. "Our teams?"
Mentor Mi Er's team was Bai Doudou, Qiu Luo, and Yu Lang.
"I heard Mentor Chi Chan mention it yesterday. She said that the sparring training will help us understand each other, and help each other improve," Bai Mengmeng offered helpfully.
Li Luo nodded. "I guess I'm matched against Yu Lang."
"No fair!" Yu Lang shouted. “You're picking on the shortest straw here! I'm going to fight Bai Mengmeng today. I want her to beat her tiny fists against my chest.”
"Leader, you had best take on my sister." Bai Mengmeng smiled at him.
"Bai Doudou is their leader, and you're our leader. You wouldn't put us up against her, right?" Xin Fu rolled his eyes at Li Luo.
Li Luo felt sweat start to prickle on his brow. Bai Doudou was no easy target. He was going to have to go all out against her.
"How strong is Bai Doudou now?" he asked.
Yu Lang answered candidly, "She's already at the Pattern Genesis Tier, the second tier of the Resonant Master Stage. Should be a First Pattern."
"Ah, second tier..." Li Luo sighed. Still, it was to be expected. He himself was only a Lower Clear during the Choosing of the Mentors. In less than a month, he was already a Lower Flowering. Although the resonant luminescence had helped, his progress had been swift.
Bai Doudou was an Upper Flowering during the Choosing. It stood to reason that she had progressed to the second tier.
The Upper Flowering Tir and the Pattern Genesis Tier were only one level apart, but it was a marked difference. The Pattern Genesis Tier meant that the resonance seed had hit a certain milestone of completion in which the resonant power was strong enough to manifest on the surface of the seed.
The Pattern Genesis Tier had five different ranks. Each was a new resonance pattern on the resonance seed, which was why it was also called the Five Pattern Tier.
It seemed like he would have to pay attention in the fight against Bai Doudou. If he was thrashed, his dignity as leader would suffer.
After breakfast was over, Li Luo brought Lu Qing'er and Yu Lang around on a tour of the premises.
He intended to skip the second floor, but the two caught sight of Xin Fu's painting.
"Li Luo, you bastard!" Yu Lang yelled immediately. "What were you doing with Mengmeng here?!"
Lu Qing'er was looking unfriendly as well. "A man and woman alone in a room, and you even left a memento? Charming. Young Lord, I never knew you were such a romantic."
Li Luo was speechless. How the hell could you tell it was him and Bai Mengmeng? It was just two wispy brush strokes!
"Xin Fu just casually drew this. What on earth are y'all seeing in it?" he protested.
Yu Lang pointed at the wispy line. "That." His finger jabbed pointedly with each word. "Is. The. Two. Of. You. He might as well have spelled your names out on it, for goodness’ sake. How on earth could I not see it?!"
Lu Qing'er folded her arms and stared at him scathingly.
Li Luo suddenly felt tired. Could there be something wrong with his aesthetic sense? It still looked like a scraggly stroke to him. How on earth could they see it so clearly?
Something was wrong with the world.
Xin Fu mysteriously appeared by his side. "Leader, when one person accuses you, they might be the problem. But when everyone is accusing you, you might be the problem!"
Li Luo was seized by a sudden urge to strangle Xin Fu with his hood. He shook his head and stomped off, finishing the tour in a bothered state of mind.
Next up was the squad battles, and so Yu Lang was staying. Lu Qing'er was returning to her training, however, and she left with irritation obvious in her mood.
Leaving the building, Lu Qing'er took the path by the lake. The morning mist had yet to lift, and the misty lake was quite a magical sight.
Her thin outer wrap and short skirt brought out the best of her charms, and the mist gently cloaked her.
Many students stopped to stare at the mysterious beauty.
But she was not interested in them. She picked up a branch and absently tore the leaves off one by one. The feelings of a young girl were complex indeed.
Soon enough, the branch was bare, and she sighed to herself. She tossed it aside, preparing to head back. She turned around and felt a jolt of surprise run through her.
She saw two people on the path in front of her, looking at her.
She knew them well—Jiang Qing'e and Yan Lingqing.
Lu Qing'er's eyes met Jiang Qing'e's. In that moment, a spark of tension sizzled. She hesitated, then turned to meet them, approaching with a steady smile.
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