It turned out that the ones who opened the door from inside the room were Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao. Their faces showed a hint of surprise when they saw Wang Feng standing silently at the door.
"Wang Feng, you're back?" Wang Dong asked.
Wang Feng finally snapped out of his thoughts. He blinked several times before breaking into a wide smile. "Ah, sorry! I was just thinking about something interesting."
He couldn't tell them that Ma Xiaotao had kissed him earlier in front of the dorm building. Wang Feng thought about how angry the two of them had been when he once told them he was alone with Ma Xiaotao, even though at the time, his only intention was to help Senior Ma Xiaotao suppress her evil fire. Yet, they both got very angry upon hearing that he was alone with her.
Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow, curious. "Oh? What was so interesting that it made you zone out in front of the door?"
Wang Feng chuckled lightly while scratching his head unnecessarily. "It's nothing important, really... just..." Cold sweat trickled down his temple. He didn't know what excuse to make to deceive Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao.
"Oh right. You two were about to head out, weren't you? Where were you going?" Wang Feng quickly changed the topic.
Wang Dong, not suspecting anything at all, immediately replied, "We were going to the cafeteria to eat. Do you want to come with us?"
"The cafeteria? I'll come along. I happen to be really hungry right now. Let's go," Wang Feng said hastily, quickly pulling Wang Dong along.
Wang Dong was startled when Wang Feng suddenly pulled him. "Eh? Hey, slow down! I haven't even closed the door yet!"
"I'll close it!" Huo Yuhao responded quickly while turning his head, still harboring some suspicion. He noticed that Wang Feng's back looked a little tense. Calmly, he closed the room door and followed behind them.
They walked down the corridor, which was still bustling with students. Now the three of them were walking at a slower pace, chatting as they went.
"So," Wang Dong said as he turned to Wang Feng with a relaxed expression, "what were you really thinking about earlier? You completely zoned out in front of the door."
"Actually..." Wang Feng looked hesitant.
"What is it? Just tell us."
"I was just wondering what our Martial Soul Fusion skill actually looks like. We've used it once, but we passed out right after and couldn't see what it looked like during the fusion."
"You're right, I'm curious about that too. But even if we tried it again now, we probably still wouldn't be able to see it. Even though the three of us—especially Wang Dong and I—have gotten stronger through joint meditation, I still feel like we'd pass out again if we used it."
Wang Dong nodded in agreement. "Yuhao is right. Our Martial Soul Fusion Skill is amazing, but the side effects are still too great. We need to be careful if we plan to use it again in the future."
Wang Feng sighed, trying to look disappointed. "In that case, we need to find a way to strengthen ourselves so we can control that power without fainting."
Huo Yuhao smiled. "That makes more sense. Besides, we still have plenty of time to train and grow stronger."
They arrived at the cafeteria and immediately lined up to get food. The cafeteria was quite crowded, but they managed to find an empty table in the corner of the room.
While eating, Wang Dong suddenly looked at Wang Feng with a curious expression. "By the way, Wang Feng, before we left earlier, you seemed to be in a real rush. Is there something you're hiding from us?"
Wang Feng tried to remain calm as he busied himself cutting his meat. "That's because I was really hungry. Isn't it normal to be in a hurry because of that?"
However, Wang Feng's answer only made Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao exchange glances with the same expression: suspicion.
Seeing their expressions like that, Wang Feng felt increasingly panicked. His heart was beating faster than usual. But his face remained calm, as if nothing was wrong.
Suddenly, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong changed their expressions and smiled as usual.
"Oh, I see," said Wang Dong with a small smile, his tone sounding casual.
"If it's just about being hungry, then fine," Huo Yuhao added, smiling as well. "Just enjoy your meal."
Wang Feng immediately felt relieved. "Yes, of course! The food looks really good today, doesn't it?" he said with a small laugh, trying to cover up his nervousness.
However, just as he was about to focus back on his meal, he realized that Wang Dong and Yuhao hadn't touched their food yet. Instead, they were just staring at him… with suspicious smiles.
Wang Feng stopped chewing. "…Why are you looking at me like that?"
"It's nothing, just continue eating. We just want to observe for a bit," Huo Yuhao said.
"Yeah, that's right. We just want to watch for a little while," Wang Dong echoed.
Helpless, Wang Feng let them do as they pleased. In his heart, he thought, just let them be; they'll get bored of this soon enough.
Sure enough, after a while, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong finally began eating their food.
Wang Feng let out a sigh of relief, feeling like he had just gotten through a tense moment. But what he didn't realize was that his sigh only strengthened the suspicions of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.
Huo Yuhao continued observing Wang Feng silently. He knew his friend wasn't the type to hide things—especially not from the two of them. And this time, something was clearly off. Wang Feng had spaced out in front of the door, changed the topic when questioned, and seemed tense the entire way to the cafeteria. None of that was like the usual Wang Feng.
Meanwhile, Wang Dong had similar thoughts. The difference was that he knew exactly who Wang Feng had gone to see earlier that afternoon—Ma Xiaotao, supposedly to help calm her evil fire. But judging by Wang Feng's nervous expression upon returning, Wang Dong was sure something had happened. Something Wang Feng was trying to hide.
Still, Wang Dong hadn't told Huo Yuhao about this yet. He chose to remain quiet, observe alongside Yuhao, and wait for the right time.
The two exchanged a quick glance, as if understanding each other's thoughts. That glance was filled with agreement.
They had decided not to vent their emotions just yet. If they got openly angry, Wang Feng might drift away… possibly even closer to Ma Xiaotao—something they absolutely didn't want to happen.
Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao knew that if they wanted to keep Wang Feng by their side, they had to stick together. And right now, their enemy wasn't Wang Feng… it was Ma Xiaotao.
Wang Feng, meanwhile, was still enjoying his food, completely unaware of the silent cold war unfolding at the same table.
And deep within the hearts of the two people sitting across from him, a firm resolve had already taken shape:
They wouldn't give up that easily.