A few days later, Sun Moon Empire.
"Hehehe, Yuhao..."
Meng Hongchen wrapped her arms around Huo Yuhao from behind, leaning her head on his shoulder. She nuzzled against him like a cat discovering catnip, refusing to let go.
"Sister Meng, how long are you going to hold me..."
There was a hint of helplessness in Huo Yuhao's voice.
But Meng Hongchen couldn't care less. "I won't! I haven't held you nearly enough! Once you start researching, you lock yourself in the lab for four or five months. If you hadn't come out, I'd have thought you died in there!
"I don't care; you have to make it up to me!"
Miss Meng spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world. After finishing, as if still not quite satisfied, she leaned in closer and left a "hickey" on Huo Yuhao's neck, looking for all the world like she had the urge to devour him whole.
One couldn't blame Miss Meng for being upset. After all, a certain someone had been at a critical juncture with his schemes over at Shrek. Additionally, back then, Ice Emperor had just confessed her feelings to him; for a while, he spent every day keeping Ice Emperor "satisfied." Even as a master of time management, Huo Yuhao simply had no time to visit the Sun Moon Empire.
Therefore, Huo Yuhao had simply used the excuses of a soul power breakthrough and his research into "Battle Armor" and "Soul Armor" to enter a period of "secluded research."
And because there were so many matters to attend to during this period, Huo Yuhao's "seclusion" in the Sun Moon Empire had lasted nearly half a year.
After not seeing him for half a year, Miss Meng naturally missed him terribly.
Feeling Miss Meng's raw and clumsy little movements, Huo Yuhao only felt his neck itching.
Aside from getting saliva all over me, what exactly are you trying to achieve? .JPG
Turning his head, Huo Yuhao applied a slight bit of pressure with his hand. Then, seizing the moment of Meng Hongchen's momentary daze, he lightly pecked her on the cheek.
It was a fleeting touch, not lingering for a second.
"Sorry, Sister Meng... I'll try my best not to let it happen again next time."
Huo Yuhao spoke gently. The tenderness in his tone instantly struck Miss Meng's heart—a heart that held absolutely no defenses against him.
Damn it, has Yuhao finally wised up?! How did he suddenly become so smooth? I can't handle this at all!!!
Looking at the gentle-mannered Yuhao before her, whose entire temperament seemed to have undergone a transcendence, Meng Hongchen subconsciously swallowed.
My god, didn't they say he was in secluded research?! Does research come with a free 'temperament upgrade' package?! No... I can't take it anymore!
"Sister Meng?"
Huo Yuhao feigned confusion. Miss Meng's mind was in a brainstorm; after a long while, she suddenly snapped to her senses. With a sudden burst of strength, she directly pinned Huo Yuhao down, a rare look of seriousness appearing in her ice-blue eyes:
"Yuhao, let's go find my grandfather right now and have him witness our marriage!
"Don't worry, I don't care about that Ju Zi. If you want her as a concubine, that's fine too! I'm super generous!
"And even if you want to find others, as long as you don't bring them back to my Hongchen family, you can play around however you want!
"Also..."
"Stop!"
Huo Yuhao interrupted Meng Hongchen, his tone colored with helplessness. "Sister Meng, I'm still young. What's the rush?"
"You're still young?"
Meng Hongchen was a bit unhappy:
"Young enough to hook up with older sisters? Explain that Ju Zi to me, then!
"During the time you were in seclusion, she came to ask me almost every few days if you were out yet. She even went to your lab every day to check, like a 'husband-awaiting stone'!
"And another thing, when on earth did you provoke Princess Tian Zhen?! Princess Tian Zhen actually transferred directly from the Mingdu Soul Tool Engineer Academy to our academy!
"Furthermore! Strike first to gain the upper hand, okay?! If I don't grab you early, who knows if you'll run off!"
Miss Meng rattled on, but Huo Yuhao suddenly caught a keyword: "Sister Meng, who did you say I provoked again?"
Meng Hongchen frowned slightly. "Princess Tian Zhen? Don't tell me you don't know.
"In the first few days she arrived, she clamored to see you every day, saying things like 'You dare reject me?' and 'I'm definitely going to burn this guy to death with the sun.'
"If I hadn't happened to see you coming out and pulled you back to the dorm, you might have been discovered by Princess Tian Zhen long ago!
"You still dare to say you didn't provoke her?"
Huo Yuhao was dazed. "I really don't know..."
As Heaven is his witness, his only impression of this Princess Tian Zhen was from his previous life during the second Soul Master Competition, where she got pummeled by Qiu'er. In this life, he and this Princess Tian Zhen hadn't had the slightest...
Wait.
"Earlier, Old Kong seemed to have asked me about Princess Tian Zhen... but I rejected the idea right then and there!"
Huo Yuhao's tone wasn't faking it at all. His certain manner caused Meng Hongchen to blink, asking suspiciously:
"Really?"
"Really!"
"...Then... how did you get targeted by Princess Tian Zhen?"
"I don't know."
Meng Hongchen fell silent. After a long while, she gave her evaluation: "Lady-killer!"
...
"Princess Tian Zhen... after you rejected the proposal last time, I went into the palace to discuss state affairs with His Majesty. I happened to mention your rejection to him.
"But Princess Tian Zhen happened to be looking for His Majesty at that time and overheard it. She thought His Majesty and I were arranging a marriage for her and got angry on the spot.
"Although His Majesty and I explained things then, Princess Tian Zhen got even angrier after hearing the explanation. She was originally planning to go to the Mingdu Soul Tool Engineer Academy, but she changed her mind and went straight to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Tool Engineer Academy instead."
Kong Deming shook his head slightly, his words full of the kindness of an elder.
"Then what should I do?" Huo Yuhao asked.
"Don't worry. Although Princess Tian Zhen has a bit of a flighty personality, she knows her limits. She won't do anything serious to you. In all likelihood... she'll probably challenge you to a fight?"
Kong Deming said.
On one side was his precious student, who would surely inherit his mantle and become the next pillar of the Sun Moon Empire. On the other side was Xu Tianzhen, whom he had watched grow up and treated almost like his own granddaughter. If he really had to choose, Kong Deming would find it very difficult.
But right now, neither of them was very old—at least from the perspective of a 150-year-old man like him, they were both just children. A conflict like this could be settled with a fight.
Hearing such a suggestion from his own teacher, Huo Yuhao only felt it was unreliable.
Just as he was about to speak, a girl with short light-purple hair and deep purple eyes suddenly kicked the door open.
"Grandpa Kong!"
The girl gave a happy shout, then immediately fixed her gaze on Huo Yuhao.
She approached quickly, her deep purple eyes staring intently at Huo Yuhao, sizing him up meticulously from head to toe. After a long while, she spoke with a bit of resentment:
"Tsk... fine, you really are a bit too good-looking. But! Just because you're handsome doesn't mean you have a reason to reject me! Do you have anything else to say for yourself?!"
Xu Tianzhen tilted her head up, staring at Huo Yuhao with a look of displeasure. Huo Yuhao blinked and looked at Kong Deming, only to find his teacher standing aside with a smile as if watching a show, having no intention of intervening at all.
After a brief silence, Huo Yuhao sighed. After a moment's thought, he spoke: "Then, shall we have a fight?"