"You might not have noticed, but Zhou Qing, Tang San, and Xiao Wu are here too," Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm said after calming down from its roar.
"Where?"
Romantina quickly turned around, her eyes scanning the audience. Sure enough, she spotted Zhou Qing, Tang San, and Xiao Wu in a corner of the stands.
"That feeling... the moment your friends witness your most embarrassing moment!"
"Contempt! Disgust! Misunderstanding!"
"It's simply"
"Fantastic!"
Romantina only shouted these words inwardly. On her face, however, her cheeks flushed even more, her eyes teared up, and her body trembled slightly.
Seeing this, many audience members felt they had been too harsh.
"Is that Roman Yake's daughter? Perhaps her lyrics just now were meant to express her optimism about being abandoned. How remarkable!"
"She's only twelve. I shouldn't have been so severe."
"It's not her fault she didn't sing well."
"We shouldn't be too strict with a little girl."
"I actually made a young girl cry, I don't deserve to be a person!"
"..."
Hearing the sounds of remorse and self-reproach from the people around, and seeing them cover their faces in shame as if too embarrassed to be seen, Zhou Qing's eyelids twitched. He was quite speechless: How could you tell Romantina was sad? She was clearly enjoying it, wasn't she?
Tang San and Xiao Wu exchanged glances, unsure how to comment on Romantina or the audience's situation.
Could it be that they were the only ones who realized Romantina was a true pervert?
Meanwhile, in Romantina's spiritual sea on stage, Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm felt it had made a foolish decision. This would only make Romantina more excited!
[Am I also a pervert?]
Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm began to question its life...
When today's opera performance ended, Romantina found Zhou Qing and the others, or rather, waited for them at the entrance.
"Why didn't you come find me?" Romantina demanded. "You made me bold enough to seek the feeling of being mentally oppressed in other ways!"
"...Mainly, you weren't at the Nuoding Guild?" Zhou Qing found an excuse.
"Let me tell you, Romantina, Zhou Qing said he wanted to toy with you, abandon you, and then apologize..." Xiao Wu leaned in, whispering into Romantina's ear, badmouthing Zhou Qing and making Romantina's face flush instantly.
"I can't believe that at such a young age, you already want to toy with my feelings! You're truly the pinnacle of scumbags!" Romantina grabbed Zhou Qing's shoulder, her eyes shining as she declared loudly, "You can't abandon me! We're a team!"
"Whoa, whoa! Keep your voice down!" Without needing to guess, Zhou Qing knew what Xiao Wu had whispered to Romantina. Noticing the gazes from people around, he panicked. "Let go quickly, you're too close! Otherwise, I'll report you for child molestation!"
"Go ahead and report me! My dad handles ordinary disputes in the city, hehehe!" Romantina pulled Zhou Qing into her ample bosom.
"What are you doing? Boys and girls shouldn't touch each other!" Tang San quickly tried to grab Zhou Qing's arm. He didn't want Zhou Qing to fall into a life of luxury at such a young age.
"No, Xiao San, this pain, I'll bear it!" Zhou Qing, however, uncharacteristically shook off Tang San's arm and buried his head deep into that soft, cotton-like warmth.
Tang San murmured, "Brother Qing... has fallen!" Xiao Wu snorted, "Such a pervert! Tang San, you must never learn from him!"
After a long while.
Zhou Qing finally came to his senses, struggling free from Romantina's embrace, and said righteously, "Alright, your gentle embrace can no longer bewitch me."
"Waaah, I'm actually being abandoned like this. You're truly a little man who knows how to toy with people's hearts," Romantina cried feigned tears, though there wasn't a single tear in her eyes. Her cheeks, however, were slightly red, as if such an event happening in public was incredibly exciting.
"Hiss—"
Zhou Qing sucked in a cold breath, noticing the increasing concentration of gazes from those around them. He immediately felt that this was no place to linger, or he'd be branded a "scumbag" by the residents of Nuoding City before he even reached the peak of Spirit Masters, becoming a stain on his history he could never wash away.
"Let's go."
Zhou Qing called out to Tang San and Xiao Wu, pushed through the crowd, and headed towards Nuoding Academy.
"Wait for me! We agreed, we're a team!" Romantina also chased after them, but with her melodious voice carrying a hint of resentment and her waving hands as she ran, it was hard not to suspect she was the one being abandoned.
"Um, I just remembered, the blacksmith shop still needs me to forge iron." Tang San found an excuse and separated from Zhou Qing and Xiao Wu, running towards the blacksmith shop.
"Hey, didn't you take leave?" Zhou Qing shouted, but Tang San had already used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Steps and vanished into the crowd.
"Uh, I'm going shopping to buy new clothes." Xiao Wu also had an excuse and winked at Zhou Qing, as if saying:
I'm creating an opportunity for you two.
"No, you're only six, why do you need so many clothes?" Zhou Qing was exasperated. Each of them had their own little plans.
Did he really want to accompany Romantina?
Damn it!
He should've known not to joke around in front of Xiao Wu back then. Was this like lifting a rock only to drop it on his own foot?
But no matter how helpless he felt now, he had no reason to refuse Romantina, who was following him with a very lewd smile – a proper noble young lady who just happened to be a masochist... If she had been experienced, he might have been more casual, but she was still a novice.
Despite his inner reluctance, Zhou Qing had to let Romantina follow him like a pervert.
Back at Nuoding Academy.
The gatekeeper, seeing Romantina, didn't dare to question her and let her pass directly.
Although Nuoding Junior Spirit Master Academy had a rule against "unauthorized personnel," Romantina was the Vice City Lord's daughter. While the gatekeeper might not remember other students, they absolutely had to remember and not offend noble children with status.
Arriving at the back mountain.
Zhou Qing took a deep breath and said, "Let's talk about serious matters."
"What? Are we going to—"
Romantina clutched her chest and took a few steps back. "You're so young, are you really going to do such a thing with me already? Isn't it a bit too soon? Perhaps we could try getting to know each other first, then find a warm, big bed, and then talk grandly..."
"I'm talking about your first spirit ability," Zhou Qing said, controlling his breath and avoiding the topic.
"Ah, you've suddenly become boring, how dull," Romantina lowered her arms, a hint of disappointment in her eyes.
"Your level of 'perversion' would probably scare even real perverts, making them afraid to truly approach you."
Zhou Qing thrust a knife into Romantina's heart, causing her to tilt her head and let out an "oh," her shoulders trembling slightly. "That's it! Attack me to your heart's content! I can take it all, whether it's with hands, feet, or words!"
Zhou Qing currently had an urge to grab a knife and plunge it into Romantina's heart...