Chapter 276

Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong just left Haishen Hu amid the envious gazes of everyone.

However, after leaving everyone's sight and arriving at a deserted corner, Huo Yutong said to Tang Wulin:

"Let go of my hand."

Upon hearing that, Tang Wulin did not comply; instead, he tightened his grip on her hand and asked:

"Why?"

"Because I don't know you."

Huo Yutong answered indifferently, her gaze turned elsewhere, stubbornly refusing to look at Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin felt a pang in his heart.

It wasn't because Huo Yutong was being stubborn and unwilling to accept him; when she was willing to walk with him on the Sea God Fate, all of this became irrelevant.

What pained him was Huo Yutong's hoarse, soft voice, which fully displayed her fragility.

He sighed and released his grip.

Huo Yutong's expression changed imperceptibly, as if she were somewhat reluctant, but she ultimately hardened her resolve, her gaze becoming steadfast.

However, she didn't expect that after Tang Wulin released her hand, he opened his arms and embraced her.

Huo Yutong was stunned.

She didn't expect that although Tang Wulin had released his hand, he had switched to a more intimate way of contacting her.

She hurriedly struggled free and shouted angrily:

"Didn't I tell you to let go!"

Tang Wulin chuckled: "Exactly, so I didn't let go of your hand, did I?"

"Then let go of my body now!"

"I refuse." Tang Wulin said calmly: "What's wrong with hugging my girlfriend?"

"When did I become your girlfriend? I said I don't know you!"

"Just now, in front of all the inner court disciples and teachers, you admitted you were willing to be with me."

Tang Wulin said somewhat shamelessly.

Now Huo Yutong is clearly throwing a tantrum, her rationality near zero; trying to appease her with reason is obviously futile.

Moreover, frankly speaking, Tang Wulin was in the wrong to begin with.

He had no doubt that if he didn't return, Huo Yutong would truly spend her life mourning him.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but silently thank Wang Dong in his heart.

In his mind, he gradually recalled the conversation they had just after he returned.

At that moment, Tang Wulin had just briefly explained his situation to Wang Dong and was about to rush into the Academy to find Huo Yutong when Wang Dong grabbed him.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to find Yutong! I need to apologize to her! I..."

"Calm down! Do you think she'll easily accept you if you go to her now? This can't be rushed!"

"What should I do then? Wang Dong, please help me; afterwards you can ask me for any reward you want."

"You need to find a buffering opportunity, and preferably also a situation that forces her to acknowledge your relationship..."

The result they finally agreed upon was this Sea God Fate matchmaking event.

Tang Wulin had two purposes for participating in this event.

First, to prevent Huo Yutong from reacting immediately, buying enough buffering time.

No matter how wronged Huo Yutong felt upon seeing Tang Wulin, she could not cause a scene in front of the entire school's faculty and students; regardless of the final outcome, at least after a full Sea God Fate calming period, her resentment would diminish somewhat.

Second, to force Huo Yutong to acknowledge their relationship in front of the entire school's faculty and students.

Whether this could be achieved was uncertain beforehand for Tang Wulin and Wang Dong, but once achieved, Huo Yutong would no longer be able to evade acknowledging Tang Wulin.

After all, the entire school's faculty and students would serve as notaries.

As for the results, both objectives were smoothly achieved, and the effect was clearly significant.

Besides that, Wang Dong also beat Tang Wulin up in the final segment; although it caused no actual harm, at least seeing Tang Wulin get hit would surely make Huo Yutong feel distressed, and when their conflict later erupted, she would be even more soft-hearted.

—Of course, Wang Dong also genuinely wanted to beat Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin's gratitude toward Wang Dong now cannot be expressed in words.

He could see that Wang Dong harbored deep dissatisfaction toward him, yet even if he was displeased, Wang Dong still helped him devise plans—what is a brother? This is brotherhood! At Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong's wedding, Wang Dong will not take a seat, and no one is allowed to move their chopsticks.

Huo Yutong, exceedingly clever, instantly grasped many things upon hearing Tang Wulin's shameless remark, and she shouted angrily: "You're shameless! You're shameless! You, you..."

She was berating him with her somewhat limited vocabulary when her voice suddenly stopped.

Because she suddenly realized that, unbeknownst to when, she had already looked toward Tang Wulin, and at this moment her gaze inevitably met his warm, radiant golden eyes.

The fervent emotion contained therein made her feel afraid.

Huo Yutong's lips began to tremble, and tears started to well up at the corners of her eyes.

Throughout the Sea God Fate period she had consistently refused to look at Tang Wulin; others might have thought she was just throwing a tantrum, but only she knew that this was merely a small part of the reason.

The main reason was that she feared that if she ever met his gaze again, she would no longer be able to lose her temper with him.

In the instant she saw Tang Wulin, nearly two years of longing exploded in Huo Yutong's mind, making her want to fling herself into his arms heedlessly to vent her feelings and act coquettishly.

This intense longing frightened her, which is why she insisted on avoiding eye contact with Tang Wulin no matter what.

Now, truly meeting his gaze at close range, her long-suppressed emotions finally erupted.

No matter how hard she clenched her teeth, she could not stem the flood of tears; Huo Yutong buried her face in Tang Wulin's chest, hiding her expression while she sobbed, covering her ears while stealing the bell: "Don't, don't misunderstand! I'm not crying!"

"Mm."

"I just... hic... these are tears from laughing; I feel you're too slick, goofy, like a clown, so... hic... I accidentally shed a few tears..."

"Mm."

Don't answer everything with an 'uh'!

I love you.

Wuu, wuu ah ah ah ah ah ah!

Hearing Tang Wulin's final sentence, which was obviously filled with genuine feeling, Huo Yutong finally lost control, bursting into tears as she kept pounding his chest with both hands.

Tang Wulin said nothing more, merely lightly patting her back to help her regulate her breath.

His gentleness, identical to that of two years ago, instantly made Huo Yutong cry even louder.

She obviously didn't want to show weakness in front of Tang Wulin; she wanted him to know she didn't care about him at all, and that she'd be fine even without him.

She couldn't do it.

Just as a child can only truly wail in front of their parents, she could only vent her emotions like this in front of Tang Wulin.

She could no longer live without him.

At some point, she kissed Tang Wulin, fiercely craving his breath.

Tang Wulin also held her tightly, not only accepting her actions but also sticking out his tongue to invade her mouth.

He remembered that when they had just confirmed their relationship, Xiao Xiao had once told him that Huo Yutong liked domineering types.

He kept those words in mind and put them into practice at this most crucial moment.

Chu zui, en chu mu... gu mu en, en chu—

They kept kissing passionately, exchanging the fluids in their mouths.

Fortunately, all the inner disciples were gathered around Haishen Lake, and the place was empty; otherwise, Huo Yutong's lovestruck appearance would surely shock anyone familiar with her usual demeanor.

By the way, just like the Dragon Valley issue, when the book first went live, someone in the group told me that the Sea God Bond was unnecessary.

Well, logically speaking, that's indeed the case.

After all, those who succeed in the Sea God Bond mostly already had an emotional foundation, and the bride-snatching segment is a plot only an idiot could come up with.

But how does the saying go? There are always more ways than difficulties.

Since the Sea God Bond is meaningless, I'll just add some meaning to it.

I remember when the book first started, someone guessed that Yutong and Wulin would date on the Sea God Bond.

But in my view, that's impossible, because the relationship between the two in this book fundamentally doesn't need this damn Sea God Bond for validation; it's completely superfluous.

Thus we have the plot everyone sees now; the significance of the Sea God Bond's existence in this book has been made clear in this chapter—it's a buffer that eases the Tang-Huo conflict.

It's really hard to make amends for the Buddha's book; the previous Dragon Valley incident was the same. To pass the test in my heart, I made a pact with the Wind Dragon King, absorbed the Dragon God Dragon Soul, and learned that after leaving I could never re-enter under the threefold buff; only then could I accept the act of burying the dragon.

After overcoming this hurdle, Wulin and Yutong are about to enter a passionate love phase; the book's most intense romantic period is about to arrive.

Actually, my attitude toward Jiang Nannan and Xu San Shi is similar; Wang Dong also likes Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong individually, but he just dislikes this pairing.

So you can see her mood is very complex: on one hand she hates Tang Wulin to the point of itching her teeth, but on the other she can't help but help him devise plans. (Laugh) (End of chapter)