Standing nearby, Wang Arthur watched our antics with the corners of his lips curving upward in a thoughtful smile.
Wang Dadong paid no attention to what was happening here whatsoever, his expression shifting in time with Stops-Gut-Man's words. (Dadong dear, your facial expression completely betrayed your disdain for him.)
Stops-Gut-Man turned his head back. "The three of you, I cut the wrong thing. Would four-herb soup be all right?"
All three shook their heads with resolute looks in their eyes. "No, we want intestines vermicelli."
A blue sweat drop visibly slipped down Qiao Xi's forehead.
"I can hardly bear to watch. Is it really okay for you guys to bully Stops-Gut-Man like this?"
Stops-Gut-Man cut a few more gasps into his stomach, tied his clothes back up, turned around, and served up three bowls of intestines vermicelli and a bowl of pork chop rice.
He took off his headphones and handed them to Ding Xiaoyu.
Just as they started eating, Wang Dadong's cell phone rang.
He walked off to the side to answer the call.
Qiao Xi bit down on her spoon and stared at Wang Dadong's retreating back.
"Sister Xinxin must be getting abducted right about now, huh? No, I'd better warn Brother Dadong; we can't let Sister Xinxin stay in that psycho's hands for too long."
Wang Dadong sat back down at the table.
Wang Arthur looked at Wang Dadong's strange expression and asked with concern, "Hey, what's with you? You look so grim."
"It's nothing. Homeroom Teacher just called me, but when I tried calling her back, it wouldn't go through. I've got a bad feeling about this call."
"What's so weird about that? She's Homeroom Teacher—she probably suddenly felt like calling you, and then suddenly changed her mind," Wang Arthur said dismissively.
Ding Xiaoyu, however, said thoughtfully, "Or maybe she was trying to call for help, but someone stopped her."
Qiao Xi muttered inwardly: *As expected of Xiaoyu, cutting straight to the point.*
At the same time, she suggested aloud, "Why don't you try calling her back and see?"
Wang Dadong nodded, dialed the number again, and put his phone down after a few seconds. "It went straight to voicemail."
"Maybe her phone ran out of battery," Wang Arthur guessed.
Qiao Xi hurriedly chimed in, "I don't think so. Knowing Sister Xinxin's personality, she'd never let that happen. It's also possible, just like Xiaoyu said, that something actually went wrong."
"Still, we can't just go running to her house because we missed one phone call. People will laugh at us."
Qiao Xi sighed helplessly. Did Brother Dadong really give his brain to Rex, or did he trade his intelligence for his pride?
"Brother Dadong, what if Sister Xinxin really is in trouble? I'm telling you, my intuition is insanely accurate. I have this feeling that something really might have happened to Sister Xinxin."
Wang Arthur looked at Qiao Xi strangely. "Sis, why are you so sure? Sometimes intuition isn't always accurate. You can't just rely on a gut feeling for everything."
Qiao Xi rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. *Brother Arthur, you're really overthinking this.* "That's not true. Isn't there a saying that a woman's sixth sense is very accurate? Besides, it's better to be safe than sorry—better to believe it's real than assume it's nothing. Isn't being cautious a good thing? At least you won't regret past mistakes."
Seeing that the atmosphere was getting tense, Ding Xiaoyu said, "Dadong, if you're worried, you should go check it out."
Upon hearing this, Wang Dadong immediately stood up. "Alright then! Narcissist, Xiao Xi, Xiaoyu, I'm heading out first!" With that, he grabbed his schoolbag and bolted away in a flash.
After leaving Stops-Gut-Man's stall, Qiao Xi and Ding Xiaoyu walked home together. Wang Arthur had originally wanted Qiao Xi to come stay at his place, but she was picky about her bed, so she went back to her own little villa.
As it happened, Qiao Xi and Ding Xiaoyu were heading in the same direction, so they decided to walk home together.
Along the way, Qiao Xi kept trying to strike up a conversation with Xiaoyu, yet she couldn't figure out what to talk about.
As they walked, they reached Xiaoyu's tent.
She frowned slightly as she watched Ding Xiaoyu's somewhat battered tent swaying gently in the night wind.
Seeing Qiao Xi's expression, Ding Xiaoyu assumed she was disgusted by it and frowned as well, walking past her.
Qiao Xi looked at Ding Xiaoyu with concern. "Xiaoyu, it's really unsafe here at night. Winter is almost here, and right by the riverbank like this, it must get freezing at night."
Ding Xiaoyu's back stiffened slightly. He turned around and stared blankly at her.
Then Qiao Xi said something he never expected: "If I invited you to stay at my place, I figured you probably wouldn't agree. How about... I have an uncle I know whose house is nearby? He immigrated overseas and left the house to me. Why don't you go stay there instead? The environment is really nice, and the furniture and kitchen supplies are all complete. There's even a piano, but nobody's played it in ages. If you go, consider it doing me a favor, alright?"
Qiao Xi grabbed Ding Xiaoyu's hand, stepped a little closer, and looked at him with pleading eyes.
A smile danced in Ding Xiaoyu's eyes, the corners of his lips curling into a handsome arc. "Alright."
Inside, Ding Xiaoyu thought:
*Turns out she wasn't looking down on me or disgusted by seeing me in such a down-and-out state. I misunderstood her.*
"Awesome! I'll help you pack your things, let's go~"
After helping Xiaoyu pack his luggage, they walked toward the apartment.
"Xiaoyu, what do you think?" Once they reached the apartment, Qiao Xi showed Ding Xiaoyu around the rooms.
When they arrived at the piano room, he said, "Mm, it's nice."
"Even though my uncle's daughter played this piano a few times, she lost interest and left it sitting there, so it's still practically brand new and has a great tone."
Ding Xiaoyu sat down and tested the piano. Though he didn't speak, his eyes were full of joy as he caressed the piano keys, touching them as if they were some precious treasure.
Seeing Ding Xiaoyu look like this, Qiao Xi couldn't help feeling a wave of joy inside. "Xiaoyu, I knew you'd like it. Well then, it's getting late, I'm going to head home now. Get some rest early, I'm off. Goodnight."
Ding Xiaoyu walked Qiao Xi downstairs, fell silent for a moment, and said to her, "Xiao Xi, thank you for helping me out like this."
"Of course! We're friends, aren't we? I knew you must have run into some bad trouble to end up living in a tent. I was even worrying about what I'd do if you didn't accept my help." Qiao Xi looked at Xiaoyu with beaming eyes and a bright smile.
Hearing those words, Ding Xiaoyu's gaze dimmed for a moment before he lifted his eyes again, his look softened by a trace of gentleness.
"Thank you. You're the first friend who has ever been this good to me."
"Alright, I'm heading home now. You should hurry on upstairs too. Goodnight."
She handed the keys to Xiaoyu, said her goodbyes, and turned to leave.
Ding Xiaoyu silently watched Qiao Xi's retreating figure slowly vanish into the night until he could no longer see her, then turned and went upstairs.
Back home, Qiao Xi teleported instantly to the Dimensional Virtual Reception Room.
"Flame, has something happened recently?" As soon as she entered the virtual reception room, she saw Flame's solemn expression, as if some major event had occurred.
"Supreme Leader, recently the demons in the Gold Dimension have been restless and unstable. The Supreme Leader of the Gold Dimension has yet to be chosen, and the dimensional defense barrier left behind by the previous Martial Arts Supreme Leader is barely holding on. Black Dragon from the Wu-Shi Arbitration Office has been constantly trying to break through it."
Qiao Xi frowned. "I will reinforce the defense barrier first. I believe that before long, that chosen candidate will appear."
Flame wore a worried look. "But Supreme Leader, you've been handling all the official business within the Gold Dimension for the past few years, as well as the administrative affairs submitted by the Supreme Leader Deputies of all Twelve Dimensions. If this keeps up, your body won't be able to hold out."
Qiao Xi waved her hand. "It doesn't matter. With greater power comes greater responsibility. This is the path I chose, and it is also my wish. I want to protect everyone here—that is my duty as the Grand Supreme Leader of the Dimensions." She cast a reassuring look at Flame, then stepped into the Gold Dimension's Power Conversion Station.