Outing

On a late autumn morning, the bright sunlight brought a hint of warmth that was easily whisked away by the passing autumn breeze.

In the sky, wispy cirrus clouds remained undisturbed by the gentle wind on the ground, while only the yellow leaves on the trees lining the streets danced briefly with the wind.

Facing the breeze, a young man and a young woman, both with silver hair, walked side by side.

Today was a holiday at Mingdu Junior Soul Engineer Academy, and Liuxing and Liuying had gone out together for a stroll.

Looking at Liuying's dress, her slender arms exposed halfway, and the absolute territory between her over-the-knee white stockings and the hem of her skirt, Liuxing couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you cold?"

After asking, Liuxing immediately regretted it, feeling a bit silly.

He knew Liuying was special, preferring colder weather and unfazed by the chill, yet he still asked such a question.

Liuying smiled, her eyes curving into crescents as she brushed the hair from her forehead and replied, "I'm fine."

She glanced at the passersby, then at her own dress, realizing it was indeed out of place for the late autumn season.

Liuying stopped and pointed at her clothes, asking Liuxing, "Do I look good?"

Liuxing was surprised that Liuying would ask him this.

He pointed to his own eyes and smiled, "What else do you see in my eyes besides 'good'?"

Liuying's cheeks turned slightly red, but she boldly stared straight into Liuxing's eyes, "Really? Let me take a closer look."

They stopped in the middle of the street, gazing at each other.

Liuxing looked into Liuying's unique eyes, blue on top and pink below, her slightly drooping eyelids, her beautiful eyelashes.

He also noticed her unconsciously brushing her hair again.

The atmosphere began to feel a bit strange, and soon both hurriedly averted their eyes, unsure whether to stay or go.

"Liuxing! Liuying!"

Just in time, hearing a familiar voice, both breathed a sigh of relief; the earlier atmosphere had been quite awkward.

"What are you two doing?"

Xu Tianzhen looked at them curiously, and Ye Guyi also scrutinized them.

They had clearly seen the two ignoring the passersby, staring at each other on the street for a long time, which piqued their curiosity.

"Nothing, are you two out for fun too?"

Xu Tianzhen quickly got distracted and excitedly said, "Yeah, it's a rare holiday, of course, we should have some fun. My brother has been too busy lately to keep an eye on me."

Well, it seemed Xu Tianzhen was more thrilled about her brother Xu Tianran not having time to watch over her than about going out.

"I was planning to train, but Tianzhen dragged me out."

Ye Guyi helplessly shrugged. She was a battle and training enthusiast; compared to shopping, training suited her better.

She had too many people she wanted to surpass, besides Liuxing and Liuying, she couldn't even beat Gu Yuena, which kept her constantly on edge.

"Good job, Tianzhen."

Liuxing gave Xu Tianzhen a thumbs up. Ye Guyi was too intense; training should be balanced with rest, being too tense wasn't good.

Since they had run into Xu Tianzhen and Ye Guyi, they naturally decided to hang out together, and the earlier odd behavior of Liuxing and Liuying was smoothly overlooked.

They chatted about the little gossip from the academy, and before they knew it, time flew by, and they soon arrived at a restaurant.

It was deep autumn, and the four ordered some seasonal vegetables and dishes made from soul beasts.

The chef at this restaurant was exceptionally skilled; to run a restaurant in Mingdu's commercial district, one had to have some special talents!

Today, everyone was in a good mood, and with the delicious food, they enjoyed their meal immensely.

"Have some soup."

Liuxing served a small bowl of soup and pushed it towards Liuying.

Liuying was always fully engaged when eating, never wasting a bit of food, and had quite an appetite, truly a foodie.

"Me too." Xu Tianzhen's eyes twinkled as she pushed her bowl towards Liuxing.

Liuxing rolled his eyes and pushed the bowl back, saying with a hint of annoyance, "Serve yourself."

"Ugh! So stingy."

Xu Tianzhen puffed out her cheeks, clearly indignant.

"Guyi, serve me some soup."

"No, serve yourself."

"Please, Guyi, serve me some, pretty please."

Xu Tianzhen cooed, her voice taking on a sweet, pleading tone.

Ye Guyi shivered in disgust and replied, "Why do you need someone else to serve you? It's not like you don't have hands."

"Because it tastes better when someone else serves it. Please, Guyi."

Xu Tianzhen clasped her hands together, batting her eyelashes at Ye Guyi.

Ye Guyi turned her head away in disdain. She wasn't about to indulge Xu Tianzhen's nonsense about soup tasting better when served by someone else.

"Alright, alright, I'll serve you some."

Liuying smiled and served a bowl of soup for Xu Tianzhen.

"You're the best, Liuying. If I were a guy, I'd definitely marry you in the future."

Xu Tianzhen hugged Liuying's arm, rubbing her cheek against it.

Liuxing couldn't take it anymore. He stood up, his fingers curling like eagle talons, and grabbed Xu Tianzhen's head, pushing her back into her seat.

"Ow! Ouch! Liuxing, what are you doing? That hurts!"

"Enough already."

"No! I won't stop! I'll fight you!"

Xu Tianzhen tried to fight back, but Liuxing's overpowering grip easily subdued her.

Ye Guyi and Liuying made no move to intervene, simply watching with amusement as Xu Tianzhen was disciplined by Liuxing.

Fortunately, they were in a private room, so their antics didn't disturb other diners, and the waitstaff didn't come to stop them.

"Have you looked into Nana's situation? How is it?"

Liuying turned to Ye Guyi. She knew that neither Ye Guyi nor Xu Tianzhen would ignore Nana's troubles.

Even though they couldn't interfere directly in Nana's family matters without knowing the full story, they would definitely take some action.

Ye Guyi frowned and shook her head. "I originally wanted to have the Ordinary Alliance investigate, but Sister Wei'er stopped the investigation. She told me to stay out of it for now."

"Same here. I also tried to look into it, but my brother intercepted it too."

Xu Tianzhen, having escaped Liuxing's grip, hid behind Liuying and complained.

Liuxing didn't pursue Xu Tianzhen further. He furrowed his brow and said solemnly, "It seems there's something fishy going on. Even Auntie Shangguan and His Highness the Crown Prince are being cautious. What kind of trouble has Nana's family gotten into?"

Ye Guyi and Xu Tianzhen also looked puzzled. They were just juniors who had recently awakened their martial souls.

This matter clearly wasn't simple, and they had no idea where to start if they wanted to help.