Zero couldn't make sense of it no matter how much he thought.
Just as he was about to unlock the door, he hurriedly sent a reaction image he had saved from Jing Yuan.
[Jingliu: That drink was my treat]
But the amount of money Jingliu had transferred over… was way too much.
Forget about one bottle, even if he bought a hundred, there would still be plenty left.
Back home, Zero lay flat on his bed. After subtracting the cost of one bottle of milk, he transferred the extra money back.
[Zero: Enough, enough]
Who would've thought, Jingliu just transferred the money back again.
Zero had no choice but to transfer it to her again.
Could it be… she didn't know the actual price of milk?
[Zero: This is way too much, enough for a hundred bottles]
The third time, Jingliu transferred it over again.
[Jingliu: Don't send it back again]
Maybe realizing her tone sounded too harsh, after a moment she sent another message.
[Jingliu: It's just milk, just keep it]
[Jingliu: ヘ(￣ω￣ヘ)]
That was the reaction image she had saved from Zero.
'…Hmm, kind of gave the illusion of an aloof high mountain flower trying to act cute.'
Zero couldn't help but laugh, and could only accept it.
He thought, later on, he'd use that money to treat her to a meal, or buy her a gift.
[Zero: Next time I'll treat you to dinner]
After sending the message, he realized belatedly, weren't they sounding a bit ambiguous?
So he quickly added,
[Zero: Baiheng too]
The reply took a while to arrive.
[Jingliu: Jing Yuan is nowhere near this polite with me]
Seeing that, Zero immediately relaxed.
He was overthinking.
Jingliu's praise and care toward him carried no romantic meaning at all. She simply treated him as a younger generation close to her, taking care of him just like she did with Jing Yuan.
[Zero: Then I won't be polite]
[Zero: ♡(ӦｖӦ｡)]
On the other end, Jingliu copied him, sending back the same reaction image.
[Jingliu: ♡(ӦｖӦ｡)]
———
Inside the milk tea shop, Jingliu gave a cold snort, shooting sharp looks one by one at the three across from her.
Their expressions were all different.
Dan Feng was the most self-righteous, calmly tidying his sleeves as he met her glare head-on without the slightest fear.
The moment he noticed Jingliu had spotted him, he had immediately changed out of the cheap disguise clothing into attire worth seven digits of credit.
Yingxing, meanwhile, sat with a "just here for the drama" look, glancing at Dan Feng, then at Jingliu, clearly enjoying the show.
Only Jing Yuan, sitting next to the icy Jingliu radiating cold air, was pitifully shrinking to the side, clutching his milk tea without daring to say a word.
Thanks to his height advantage, he could easily glance down with his peripheral vision at the messages on his jade device.
Jing Yuan, "…"
He looked at that soft, cute reaction image, then looked at Jingliu's frosty, unapproachable face, and went silent.
On the table, besides the three cups of spicy-soup milk tea Zero had ordered, there was also one sweet-flavored milk tea Jingliu had taken away from the shop… only to bring back.
Dan Feng's eyes slid toward that empty milk tea cup of Jingliu's, and he gave a faint laugh.
No matter how soft his voice, though, it couldn't escape the ears of those at the table.
Hearing it, Jingliu, unlike her usual self, changed expression. With a serene smile, she pushed the three cups of vile-flavored milk tea toward them.
Dan Feng stopped laughing instantly. His eyes shifted like facing a mortal enemy, and he asked seriously, "Want to spar?"
Jingliu accepted gladly, rising to her feet, "Come on, to the training grounds."
Jing Yuan, "…"
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He turned a pleading look to Yingxing.
But Yingxing didn't catch the signal at all. Instead, he got up, excited, ready to follow Dan Feng and Jingliu to their duel.
Before leaving, he spotted the fried sticks that came with the spicy-soup milk tea. Swiftly, he packed them up, even taking one to eat on the spot.
When the craftsman met Jing Yuan's gaze afterward, he cheerfully offered him one.
Jing Yuan's lips twitched. "No need, you eat it."
He let out a deep sigh, then followed along with Yingxing after Jingliu and Dan Feng.
'Everyone else is drunk, and I alone am the sober one…'
Proud of his superior mind, and yet feeling a touch of loneliness.
The four entered the empty training grounds.
Jingliu quickly strode to the weapon rack and casually picked up a sword.
Seeing this, Dan Feng raised a brow, "Why not use your usual weapon?"
Jingliu let out a short laugh, "What, you think using divine weapons guarantees victory? Just a mere blade… even if I let you fight with me one-handed, you still wouldn't win."
She knew her friend's proud, defiant nature well, so she deliberately said that.
As expected, Dan Feng's expression changed at once.
"I don't need your mercy."
The Dragon Lord, proud and lofty, would never take advantage or win unworthily. So he too casually picked up a random spear.
Yingxing and Jing Yuan, in perfect sync, automatically retreated to the edge of the grounds.
Jingliu, sword in her right hand, walked slowly to the center.
Dan Feng, spear in hand, instinctively spun a flourish.
Jingliu arched a brow, scoffing, "All flash, no substance."
Even if he spun a dozen flourishes, he still couldn't beat her.
Dan Feng kept a cold face, shaking his head, "Your taste is awful."
This wasn't monster hunting, did Jingliu really have zero aesthetic sense?
At those words, both halted their steps at the same moment.
Yingxing and Jing Yuan held their breath, unwilling to miss a single move.
Buzz~
Yingxing muttered, "Whose jade device is buzzing? Yours?"
Jing Yuan touched his pocket. "Mine. Probably nothing important."
He refocused, staring unblinkingly at the two in the arena.
To be honest, there wasn't much to see when two people of equal strength sparred.
Both could read the other's movements, predict the next strike, counter the prediction, and keep going endlessly.
But a duel between the Swordmaster and the Dragon Lord, outside of Luofu, that was a rare sight indeed. If word got out, countless would pay for the chance to watch and learn.
Here on the Luofu, though, ever since the five of them had become friends, they fought every now and then, so often the number of duels couldn't even be counted.
By all logic, Jing Yuan should have been sick of watching already. But every time, he still found himself fascinated by their every strike.
Spear and blade clashed, screeching against each other.
Jingliu tapped her toes lightly, her body seeming weightless as she flipped gracefully into the air, bringing her sword down at Dan Feng.
Jing Yuan's eyes stayed locked on their every move.
Suddenly, Yingxing let out a loud cry, grabbing and shaking his arm hard.
Jing Yuan jumped. "Yingxing, what's wrong with you?"
Yingxing shook him even harder.
"Look at your jade device! Isn't it that guy?"
At those words, Jing Yuan's gossip-loving heart lit up. He rushed to pull out his jade device.
The two of them pressed their heads together, reading the sender's name clearly.
Yingxing grew even more excited, urging him to open it.
[Zero: Your Master is really nice]
Yingxing, "Ask him!"
[Jing Yuan: What happened]
The reply came back almost instantly, clearly the other guy was just idle and waiting.
[Zero: She actually transferred you money. Why don't I have a Master like that?]
Jing Yuan's face went blank. He racked his memory, but no such thing came up.
He turned to Yingxing, "Am I losing my memory? Did Master ever give me money?"
Yingxing thought carefully, then shook his head, "Knowing you, if you'd ever gotten money from Jingliu, you'd have shouted it from the rooftops! I've got no memory of that, so she probably never did."
Jing Yuan, 'Master, how could you do this, Master? Why the double standard!'
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