Chapter 229

"Yutong, aren't you going to eat?"

Hearing the voice from behind, Huo Yutong turned her head and gave a light smile.

"No need, if Juzi senior is hungry, just go eat first."

"No, I want to go with you; if you don't go, then I won't either."

Seeing Juzi puff out her lips in dissatisfaction, Huo Yutong felt somewhat helpless.

After the last time the two of them went with Keke to experiment with a soul tool in the Jingyang Mountains, Juzi started clinging to her, the reason being that her cooking tasted like Juzi's father.

This inexplicable bond truly left Huo Yutong unsure what to say, but being able to ease relations with Juzi, this senior, was something she desperately wanted.

At that moment, the lab door opened and Xuan Ziwen walked in.

Seeing the two crowded in front of the lab bench, Xuan Ziwen was somewhat surprised.

"Huh? It's mealtime now, Juzi you little glutton, still staying in the lab— is something about to change?"

Juzi bared her teeth at Xuan Ziwen.

"Professor Xuan, what image do I have in your mind? Tell me clearly!"

Xuan Ziwen laughed heartily, then softened his gaze toward Huo Yutong.

"Yutong, the guard just told me you have a letter delivered; go pick it up."

He also noticed the change in Juzi's attitude toward Huo Yutong, which made him feel very relieved, after all, students with Huo Yutong's talent are rare, and he didn't want her to be isolated under his supervision.

Huo Yutong stared for a moment, then her face lit up with joy; she hastily put down the soul tool parts in her hand and asked, "Teacher, where was the letter delivered?"

Xuan Ziwen was startled by her reaction; in his impression, Huo Yutong had always been a child who didn't show her emotions, and seeing her this obviously happy was the first time.

He pointed toward the door.

"It's right at the Academy gate; the guard held it for you."

"Okay, thank you, Professor Xuan!"

Upon hearing that, Huo Yutong instantly turned into a whirlwind and rushed out of the lab.

Juzi stared, mouth agape.

You know she had just clung to Huo Yutong for several minutes, and Huo Yutong refused to budge; who sent the letter, and what was inside, could make Huo Yutong this excited.

She asked Xuan Ziwen, "Professor Xuan, do you know the letter's contents?"

Xuan Ziwen shrugged.

"How could I know? I came just to tell Yutong; I haven't eaten yet— want to go together?"

Juzi lightly shook her head; for some reason, she felt a bit restless.

Xuan Ziwen didn't insist, yawned, and left again; a few minutes later, Huo Yutong walked back in holding a letter.

She looked at the letter's contents with delight, her smile impossible to hide.

Juzi looked at her happy smile, felt somewhat displeased, furrowed her brow and asked, "Who sent the letter? Look how happy it made you."

Huo Yutong lifted her head and gave her a sweet smile.

"This is from my boyfriend."

"What?!"

Juzi herself couldn't explain why she had such a strong reaction; she sprang up, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"You have a boyfriend?"

Huo Yutong lightly nodded, then turned her gaze back to the letter.

"Yeah, he said he'd write me a letter every week, and he kept his promise; I love that about him."

The night before they parted, Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong agreed to regularly write letters to Huo Yutong.

Though they said once a week, considering the time for replies and delivery, Tang Wulin's next letter would likely arrive in over a month.

Huo Yutong sat in the chair and read the letter attentively.

During this time apart from Tang Wulin, she had constantly felt deep anguish; now seeing his letter, though not seeing him in person, still eased her withdrawal symptoms somewhat. The letter's contents weren't important, after all the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy would surely review them beforehand, so Tang Wulin wrote only everyday trivialities.

Including but not limited to Jing Hong Chen getting beaten again in the inner court, Meng Hong Chen constantly pestering him but being rejected, and so on.

Looking at these seemingly ordinary contents, Huo Yutong sensed Tang Wulin's resentment: since Jing Hong Chen prevented him from speaking freely, he deliberately wrote things to disgust him.

Huo Yutong could already imagine Jing Hong Chen's expression upon seeing those contents; just imagining it made her unable to hold back laughter.

Beside her, Juzi watched Huo Yutong's expression with a complex mix of feelings—sometimes delighted, sometimes resentful, sometimes pouting in displeasure, sometimes breaking into a smile—appearing very lively.

In the time they've known each other, she had never seen such a variety of expressions on Huo Yutong's face; only now did she truly seem like a girl her age.

Juzi whispered:

"What did he write that made you so happy?"

Huo Yutong didn't move her gaze from the letter, smiling as she said:

"Nothing much, just some little things from daily life."

"Everyday little things..." Juzi felt lost, "Yutong, it looks like you really like your boyfriend; what qualities does he have that make you like him so much?"

Huo Yutong put the letter down, her eyes bright as she looked at Juzi.

Juzi's heart skipped a beat; suddenly she had an ominous feeling.

She had seen that look before; when Xuan Ziwen's soul tool won an award, and others asked him about its functions and design ideas, he had the same gaze.

In other words, it's the look of wanting to show off something one likes.

"There's even more: he's strong, handsome, gentle-tempered, keeps his word, always thinks of me, courteous, principled, calm in his dealings yet not lacking passion, and furthermore..."

It was like opening Pandora's box; praise for Tang Wulin poured from Huo Yutong's mouth nonstop, each sentence making Juzi's mood heavier.

And what troubled her most was that after Huo Yutong finished speaking, she wore a somewhat regretful expression, warily looking at her.

"Although Wulin is excellent, you're not allowed to compete with me for him!"

"...... uh."

Juzi twitched the corner of their mouth.

Even if she wanted to compete, she'd be competing with Tang Wulin.

"Then what are his shortcomings?"

"Defect, shortcomings?"

Huo Yutong froze; she seemed never to have considered this question.

"Um... does he eat a lot? Probably."

Actually, to her this isn't a shortcoming; feeding him even gives her a sense of accomplishment and happiness, but if she had to pick a flaw, this is the only thing she could think of for now.

Seeing Huo Yutong's troubled expression, Juzi fell silent.

She painfully realized that no matter what, she could never win against that stranger she had never met; there was simply no opening for anyone else to come between Huo Yutong and him.

At that moment, Wang Shaojie walked in.

When he saw Huo Yutong smiling broadly, a flash of malice crossed his eyes.

"Huo Yutong, come here; Teacher Xuan has something to ask you."

"Ah, okay."

Huo Yutong quickly wiped the smile from her face, gently closed the letter, and put it in her pocket.

"Senior Juzi, if you're hungry, go eat on your own; I'm not eating today."

"... Mm."

Juzi, feeling uneasy in her chest, didn't notice the oddness in Wang Shaojie's expression; she merely waved her hand lightly, letting Huo Yutong and Wang Shaojie leave together.

It was only after she learned that Huo Yutong had been arrested and hurried to find Xu Tianran for help that more than ten minutes had passed.

By the way, I'll give our female protagonist special treatment, writing a chapter each day about her side of things.

(End of chapter)