第六章

The man stood at the door, looking around, and actually started walking towards their table.

Xiao Ai and Le You, who had just been lamenting the missed chance to befriend the handsome stranger, grew incredibly excited at his approach. They pinched each other's hands, barely suppressing their squeals.

Seeing their behavior, Xu Haoyue was deeply embarrassed. She covered her face, wishing she could just vanish into the floor.

"Could you have a little more dignity, Sister Youyou? Our senior brother's body isn't even cold yet, and you're switching sides this fast!"

"Shut up." Xiao Ai kicked A Xu for his nonsense.

Le You also used her chopsticks to knock away the food he had just picked up. "Do you still want to eat or not?" she threatened. A Xu gulped twice, finally lowering his head to eat in silence. Seeing this, the fat guy and Little Wu burst into laughter.

The man walked right up to them and, with a beaming smile, cupped his hands towards Su Heng. "Brother Su Heng, I never thought I'd run into you here. As expected, a mere Green Lizard was no match for you—you handled it with ease!"

Only then did the group realize the man had come for Su Heng, and they all turned their gazes towards Su Heng sitting in the corner.

Su Heng stood up with a light cough, returning the gesture with a perfunctory cupped-hand salute. He seemed rather unwilling to engage with this person.

"Brother Qi, you flatter me. Without the help of these friends today, I'm afraid I might not have returned either."

While the man was talking to Su Heng, Xiao Ai and Le You hurriedly pulled out their phones and started snapping pictures of this Mr. Qi. Hearing Su Heng's words, Mr. Qi's attention shifted to their strangely dressed group.

"Might I ask who you all are?"

Noticing two girls holding strange square objects that kept flashing, he asked further, "Young ladies, what is that object in your hands? Why does it emit light?"

Xiao Ai was just about to excitedly explain when Jing Yuan swiftly snatched both phones from their hands, stuffed them into his pocket, and with a hearty laugh, grabbed the man's hand. "Ah, hello, hello! We're from a very distant country, just here traveling."

"Oh, oh, hello. But that thing just now...?"

Seeing the man was still fixated on Xiao Ai and the others' phones, Xu Haoyue also hurried forward to help defuse the situation.

"It's just a little toy for drawing pictures. Not important."

"Right, right, not important at all. Brother... ah, esteemed sir, you surely haven't eaten yet, have you? Come, join us! How about a couple of drinks?" Jing Yuan also hastily tried to brush the matter aside.

Seeing the guys were all unwilling to talk about the phones, Xiao Ai and Youyou had no choice but to obediently sit back down. Pouting, they continued to gaze adoringly at the man.

The man surnamed Qi smiled and replied, "Haha, as long as Brother Su Heng doesn't mind, I'd be delighted to join you."

Su Heng snorted coldly, turned his head, and sat down, ignoring the man from then on. The awkward atmosphere was now obvious to everyone, but they didn't know how to smooth things over either, so they all sat down and ate in silence. Jing Yuan, who had issued the invitation, felt the most awkward, unsure whether to sit or stand. However, the man surnamed Qi had thick enough skin; he actually sat right down and started eating with them.

Later, the man surnamed Qi introduced himself. His surname was Qi, his given name Ziguang, and he was a disciple of the Qi Shang Sect, another major sect in Qingzhou. He went on boasting about his own sect, with only Jing Yuan or Xu Haoyue occasionally chiming in with a word or two. Xiao Ai and Youyou, sitting to the side, just kept nodding while staring dreamily at him.

A Xu and Little Wu remained focused, bombarding Su Heng with all sorts of bizarre questions, leaving only the fat guy dedicated solely to eating.

By the end of the meal, Qi Ziguang felt he had forged a deep bond with them and actually invited them to stay at the Qi Shang Sect for a while. Although Xiao Ai was tempted, the others made it quite obvious they didn't want to go. It took Xu Haoyue a long time to carefully word a polite refusal to the proposal.

Su Heng first led them to buy some clothes to change into. For the girls, their hair was fine, but for the boys, there was no way to grow it out instantly, so they had to wrap their heads with scarves for now.

After that, Su Heng even helped them book three rooms at an inn for a full month. Even someone as thick-skinned as Jing Yuan felt a bit embarrassed. But Su Heng felt that saving his life was a debt he couldn't repay, and this small amount of money wasn't enough. He even wanted to recommend them to the local county magistrate to seek official positions.

However, they still wanted to return to their own world more. Even though it was quite comfortable here for now, having no electricity or internet was truly agonizing.

After changing into their new clothes, Youyou and Xiao Ai hurried out to show them off. As soon as they stepped out, they saw the five guys with scarves wrapped around their heads, looking exactly like bandits from that TV drama. Especially the fat guy—his head was so big the scarf could only cover half of it. Youyou and Xiao Ai ended up hugging each other and laughing for a long time. Le You even kept taking photos with her phone.

The only ones who somewhat pulled it off were Xu Haoyue and Jing Yuan, relying on their better looks. Jing Yuan, in particular, looked much more presentable now that his messy hair was covered up.

"Looking at this, it really proves that 'clothes make the man' is nonsense. You still need to be good-looking. Jing Yuan, you'd look even better if you shaved that beard," Youyou remarked with feeling.

Xiao Ai grabbed a small stool, sat by the door, leaned against Youyou, looked up, and laughed. "Hahaha, I still remember when we were kids. Every time Fatty tried to hug me, I'd get scared and hide behind Brother Jing Yuan."

Fatty was quite displeased. "You have the nerve to say that. You were always a little brat who judged by looks. Look, your Brother Jing Yuan is just a scruffy-bearded uncle now."

"Ah, well, time is a butcher's knife! But Fatty, you really haven't changed much over the years!" Even Jing Yuan himself sighed.

Xu Haoyue and A Xu had just brought two buckets of hot water upstairs. Hearing this, Xu Haoyue joined in with a laugh. "It's because he has too much meat on his face, stretching the skin tight. Hahaha~"

Fatty shot them a sidelong glance, stretched lazily, and sat by the door, not bothering to argue. Then he reached behind him and pulled out a plate of pastries to munch on.

"Alright, hurry up and wash up, then get to bed early. It's been a long, exhausting day."

Seeing that they were pretty much settled, Xu Haoyue started urging everyone to sleep.

Youyou pulled Xiao Ai, ready to head back to their room. Before leaving, worried, she reminded them again. "Fatty, A Xu, you two keep an eye on Little Wu. Don't let him get up to sneak food again tonight. If he gains even a little more weight, he won't meet the standard. We still have that competition when we get back."

Little Wu, who had been staring intently at Fatty gnawing on a chicken leg, swallowed hard and wept silent tears. He never thought Youyou-jie would still remember the competition at a time like this. Truly worthy of being the head senior brother's girlfriend.

As the door closed, the day's fantastical journey finally came to an end.