As soon as he finished speaking, Tengxiao stood up and quickly disappeared from the two men's sight.
At that speed, you'd think there was some vicious, utterly evil final boss behind him who could take his life in an instant.
Zero had still been planning to ask Tengxiao a few more questions, but the man bolted…
He froze for a moment, then sighed to Jing Yuan, "This guy looks huge, but turns out he's pretty nimble."
Jing Yuan didn't respond.
If something seems off, there's definitely a trick, this had to be Zero stirring trouble.
He narrowed his eyes, his tone unfriendly, "Did you do that on purpose, or by accident?"
Zero scooped up a mouthful of rice. "Do what on purpose? Do what by accident?"
Having spent a long time dealing with him, Jing Yuan knew full well this was Zero's usual act of playing dumb. There was no point beating around the bush when talking with him, just ask directly and be done.
Jing Yuan snapped impatiently, "Drop the act, I knew you figured it out. So why did you have to say that, "
He abruptly cut himself off, cautiously glancing around, and vaguely referred to Tengxiao only as "him."
"Why did you have to say that kind of thing in front of him?"
Zero kept eating. "What kind of thing?"
Jing Yuan was burning with anger, but he still held on to reason, lowering his voice to growl, "Don't you care about your future? Did you just take that test casually? And then saying you've got some personality disorder… be careful or the Cloud Knights will drag you off to the Alchemy Commission!"
Zero, "The point is, I didn't take it casually."
He felt so wronged he could die.
It was like when you're in self-study period, you know you didn't slack off, you even went out of your way to study ahead for the next chapters.
You studied for thirty-nine minutes, but in the very last minute the homeroom teacher caught you slacking off…
Who do you even argue with about that?
If he said he really did the questions seriously, Jing Yuan probably wouldn't believe him anyway.
After hearing this, Jing Yuan looked Zero up and down, trying to tell if he was lying, but…
Back when they were kids, even then Jing Yuan couldn't see through Zero's lies. Now that they were grown up, wouldn't it be even harder to expose him?
Jing Yuan stopped dwelling on it, shook his head, and said,
"Let's say, for argument's sake, even if you really do, how could you say it in front of him? Be honest, what are you trying to pull this time?"
Zero fell silent for a moment, then asked Jing Yuan, "In your eyes, what kind of person am I really?"
Jing Yuan thought to himself, 'A faithless oddball.'
It was as if, to Zero, whatever happened was perfectly reasonable. Aside from sometimes making people die of secondhand embarrassment, he almost never got angry.
Even when he was bullied at school, he never put those spoiled rich brats in his eyes.
Despite having abilities far above other Xianzhou people, he always insisted on being an ordinary person.
But once he strayed even a little off that path, he would go big, like back then, after becoming the focus of school gossip, Zero directly fleeced a bunch of wealthy merchants…
Could it be that now Zero no longer wanted to be an ordinary person? That he wanted to leave the Divination Commission and stir up more trouble?
Jing Yuan didn't voice these thoughts. Instead, he said coldly, "The dragon king's live-in son-in-law obsessed with his ordinary identity."
"What on earth do you read all day?!" Zero's scalp prickled at the description, unbearable, "Hurry up and throw away that pile of garbage books you bought!"
Seeing how his own words almost made Zero lose his cool, Jing Yuan was delighted. He instantly decided to hit his friend with even more "webnovel shock."
He suddenly raised his voice, "Three years are up, we welcome the Dragon King's return."
It was mealtime. The waiters were swamped, and the customers were all waiting for their food. With nothing to do, the moment they heard Jing Yuan's words, they immediately looked up toward the sound.
Zero, "…"
The gazes from all around, sharp as knives, were unbearable for a moment.
How was this any different from someone browsing your search history after you die…
Zero squirmed in his seat, glaring furiously at Jing Yuan.
If it weren't for all the people watching, he'd have already gone over and punched him.
Jing Yuan was clearly doing it on purpose. Didn't he know Zero's temperament by now?
Zero suppressed the urge to run, gritted his teeth, and endured the strange stares from all sides.
Suddenly, Jing Yuan stood up, walked to Zero's side, and blocked the only path to the restaurant's exit.
He raised a hand to his chest in a half-baked imitation of a knight's salute, bowed at a 45-degree angle toward Zero, and said in a dramatic tone, "Young master, the old master calls you home to inherit the family business."
Zero, "..."
'What now? Dragon King's son-in-law isn't enough for your twisted sense of humor?'
All around the restaurant, customers started whispering.
"Read too many novels, that one."
"No way, but judging from that kid's looks, doesn't seem like he's lying…"
"Isn't the Dragon Lord of Luofu supposed to be Lord of the Moon? Doesn't look like he's from the Vidyadhara either."
"So those novel plots are real after all? When's it gonna be my turn for that kind of luck?"
The more Zero listened, the angrier he got, veins throbbing at his temples.
'Jing Yuan, you really deserve to die!'
Zero suddenly stood up, clenched his fist, and slammed it hard into Jing Yuan's chest.
The force pushed Jing Yuan back several steps. Before he could steady himself, Zero was already sprinting out the restaurant door.
Holding back laughter, Jing Yuan ran after him, shouting, "Young master, don't run! The three-year promise has come due..."
"Don't throw a tantrum, you're the old master's only son!"
"If you don't inherit the hundred-billion fortune, what will become of the old master's business!"
With the astonished stares of passersby on them, the two ran down the street, one chasing, one fleeing.
Zero zigzagged through the streets, then stopped once he'd ducked into a secluded alley. His face was cold as he confronted Jing Yuan, "Was that fun for you?"
Jing Yuan pretended to think seriously, then nodded. "It was fun. Too fun. Rarely do I succeed so well, it felt really rewarding!"
Zero was exasperated. So he wasn't the only victim after all.
"Don't tell me you went and tried it on the Dragon King himself?"
"Guess right. I really did call Dan Feng that once. But the Vidyadhara's internal etiquette and rules are way more exaggerated, so he fit right in and didn't find it awkward at all…"
First Jing Yuan looked surprised, then he said with a sigh, "And teasing Xing made it even less satisfying. He doesn't understand these things, he believes whatever you tell him. He even believes Xianzhou weddings need seven-figure cash gifts!"
"Good lord, if I ever get married I'm definitely inviting him." Zero was floored by Jing Yuan's "troll" nature, and snapped, "...Not using it for joy, but for smarts, what a waste."
He immediately thought of Aha, that god of mischief. After all this nonsense, his desire to fight Jing Yuan was gone.
He remembered Jing Yuan wanting to spar with him, but he wasn't about to let that wish come true.
The chatterbox Jing Yuan suddenly paused, sighed regretfully, and said, "Why didn't you take the bait… I was hoping to use this chance to spar with you."
Zero couldn't be bothered to argue anymore. He cut him off bluntly, "Anything else? If not, I'm going home."
Jing Yuan's expression turned cold. His tone suddenly shifted to deadly serious. He stared hard at Zero and said, "Yes. I have a question for you."
In that moment, Jing Yuan seemed to change completely, from a close friend, he transformed into a sharp-edged Cloud Knight about to face an enemy.
Seeing this, Zero grew serious as well. "What question?"
Jing Yuan's eyes sharpened. He lowered his voice and enunciated each word, "Are you about to commit a crime?"
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