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The crisp morning sunlight of late autumn brought a bit of warmth, but it was quickly carried away by the passing breeze.
Thin wisps of cirrus clouds hung in the sky, completely untouched by the wind below. Only the yellowing leaves on the trees lining the street danced briefly with the breeze.
Walking side by side against the wind, a silver-haired boy and girl strolled through the city.
Today was a day off from the Mingdu Junior Soul Engineer Academy, so Meteor and Liuying had come out together to wander the streets. Glancing at Liuying's dress—those delicate arms peeking out, the flawless patch of skin between her thigh-high white stockings and the hem of her skirt—Meteor knew she wasn't afraid of the cold, but he still couldn't help asking,"You cold?"
Right after asking, he regretted it. Felt kind of dumb. He knew Liuying liked colder weather and wasn't bothered by it, but still went ahead and asked.
Liuying smiled, her eyes curving like crescent moons. She brushed her bangs back and said with a chuckle, "I'm fine."
She looked around at the clothes other people were wearing, then glanced down at her own dress. Yeah, it was kind of out of place for this chilly season.
Liuying stopped walking, pointed at her dress, and looked at Meteor. "Does it look good?"
Meteor was caught off guard. She was asking him that?
He pointed to his eyes and grinned. "Look into these. All you'll see is how good you look."
Liuying's cheeks flushed red, but she didn't shy away. She stared straight into his eyes. "Really? Let me take a good look."
The two of them stood still in the street, locked in each other's gaze. Meteor looked into her oddly colored eyes—blue on top, pink on the bottom—noticed the slight droop in her lids, her pretty lashes…
And the way she awkwardly brushed her hair back again.
The mood suddenly got weird. Both of them quickly looked away, not sure if they should keep walking or just stay put.
"Hey! Meteor! Liuying!"
Perfect timing. Hearing the familiar voices, both of them exhaled in relief. That awkward moment had really started to get uncomfortable.
"What are you two doing?" asked Xu Tianzhen, walking over with Ye Guyi. The two had seen it all—these two just standing there, completely ignoring the people walking by, staring into each other's eyes for ages. It definitely made them curious.
"Nothing much. You two out having fun too?"
Tianzhen's attention shifted right away. She beamed. "Yep! It's finally a day off—we gotta enjoy it. My brother's been too busy lately to keep tabs on me!"
Yeah… It was obvious she wasn't happy just to be out—she was happy her brother didn't have time to watch her.
"I was gonna train today," said Ye Guyi, shrugging helplessly, "but Tianzhen dragged me out."
Guyi was a total battle junkie and training maniac. Shopping really wasn't her thing. She had way too many people she wanted to catch up to. Besides Meteor and Liuying, she couldn't even beat Gu Yuena yet. That frustration had been building up.
"Well done, Tianzhen."Meteor gave her a thumbs-up. Guyi was way too intense. Training was important, sure, but you gotta have balance. Being constantly tense isn't good for anyone.
Since they'd run into Tianzhen and Guyi, the four of them naturally grouped up and continued walking together. As for that strange moment between Meteor and Liuying? Smoothly swept under the rug.
They chatted about gossip from the academy, time flew by, and before they knew it, they'd arrived at a restaurant.
With autumn in full swing, they ordered some seasonal dishes and soul beast delicacies. The chef here clearly had real skills—anyone who could open a place in Mingdu's commercial district had to be amazing.
Everyone was in a good mood today, and the food just made it better. The meal turned out to be a super fun one.
"Here, have some soup."
Meteor scooped a small bowl of soup and pushed it toward Liuying. She always ate with full focus, never wasting a bite, and she had a pretty big appetite. Certified foodie, through and through.
"I want some too!"
Tianzhen's eyes lit up as she pushed her bowl toward Meteor.
Meteor rolled his eyes and shoved the bowl back. "Get it yourself."
"Ugh! Stingy!"
Tianzhen puffed up her cheeks in protest.
"Guyi, help me out!"
"Nope. Get it yourself."
"Please, Guyi~ pretty please?"Tianzhen whined, her voice going all high-pitched and sweet.
Guyi shivered. "Why do you need someone to do it for you? You've got hands, don't you?"
"Because soup tastes better when someone else gets it for you! Come on, pleeease?"
Tianzhen clasped her hands together and gave Guyi the full puppy-dog-eye treatment.
Guyi turned her head with a look of pure disgust. No way was she giving in. That "tastes better when someone else gets it" nonsense was just ridiculous.
"Okay, okay, I'll get it for you."
Liuying smiled and served her a bowl of soup.
"You're the best, Liuying! If I were a guy, I'd totally marry you!"
Tianzhen hugged Liuying's arm and rubbed her cheek against it like a spoiled cat.
Meteor couldn't take it anymore. He stood up and, with fingers like an eagle's claws, grabbed Tianzhen by the head and shoved her back into her seat.
"OW! OW! What are you doing, Meteor?! That hurts!"
"Behave yourself."
"No! I won't! I'm gonna fight you!"
Tianzhen tried to rebel, but she was no match for the Meteor Demon King's one-handed eagle grip.
Guyi and Liuying didn't even try to stop it. They just sat there smiling, watching Tianzhen get "disciplined."
Luckily they had a private room. If they'd been in the main dining area, this little scuffle would've disturbed the other diners and probably gotten a waiter involved.
"About Nana… You guys have probably looked into it, right? What's the situation?"
Liuying turned to Guyi. She knew neither Guyi nor Tianzhen would just ignore something like this. Even if they didn't know the full story yet and didn't want to get involved in family matters without reason, they'd definitely be doing something behind the scenes.
Guyi frowned and shook her head. "I asked someone from the Pingfan Alliance to look into it, but Sister Weier stopped the report from getting to me. She told me to leave it alone for now."
"Same here. I had someone checking too, but my big brother intercepted the whole thing."
Tianzhen finally broke free of Meteor's grip and ducked behind Liuying, complaining angrily.
Meteor didn't go after her again. Instead, his expression grew serious. "So it really is shady. Even Aunt Shangguan and His Highness are treading carefully… Just what kind of people did Nana's family mess with?"
Guyi and Tianzhen looked equally confused. They were just juniors who had only recently awakened their martial souls. One look at the situation told them this was anything but simple. Even if they wanted to help, they had no idea where to start.
"....."