The aroma of roasted meat and fresh bread filled the luxuriously decorated dining hall. Four figures sat around the table, ready to eat.
Hanrui blinked at the steaming dishes. "Huh… lunch already?"
Gu Yuena gave him a look, raising an eyebrow at him with a half smile plastered across her face.
"Right, I woke up late and didn't check the time. My apologies," he added with a sheepish grin.
Across the table, Bi Ji and Zi Ji were trying — and failing — to keep straight faces: one giggled openly, while the other covered her mouth to stifle her laughter.
After the laughter died down, Bi Ji smiled softly and spoke, her tone calm and composed.
"Lord Hanrui, we don't mind. Until a few moments ago, we were still pure soul beasts, so the ways of humans—especially when it comes to eating—are unfamiliar to us.
But now that we have truly become human, we do feel hunger, so lunch is just perfect."
Zi Ji nodded after Bi Ji's words.
Hanrui frowned, then summoned the maids to teach them the rules of etiquette. While waiting, he fed Gu Yuena with his chopsticks, shooting a sly glance her way.
Gu Yuena smiled as she took a bite of the lobster Hanrui fed her. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, puzzled.
Zi Ji shot a jealous glance at them before looking away, focusing on learning from the maids.
Hanrui smirked. "I was just thinking—Bi Ji and Zi Ji haven't been to a human settlement before, so they don't know proper dining etiquette.
But you, Silver Dragon King—half Dragon God—you should know better. So why are you only eating when I feed you?" He wiped the oil from her mouth with a gentle smile.
Gu Yuena, hearing Hanrui's words, replied nonchalantly, "Do I have to lift a finger when my fiancé can feed me without asking?"
Hanrui raised an eyebrow, looked at her, and pinched her cheek. "Hmph, you're lucky you're cute—and have a responsible and loving fiancé," he said matter-of-factly.
Gu Yuena and the others shared quiet laughter.
Hanrui, unfazed, continued to feed her, only ceasing when she gently but firmly declared she was full. Then, he began to eat.
After finishing, he looked at Gu Yuena with affection, retrieved a dragon-shaped necklace from his inventory, and adorned her with it.
As soon as the necklace clasped around her neck, Gu Yuena gasped, eyes wide with shock.
Hanrui, seeing her reaction, took her hand and explained, "That necklace will devour Asura God's divine power and convert it into your own.
I thought long and hard about what gift to give you, and this was the one I came up with.
In about 2 to 3 years it will completely heal you."
He looked at her pitifully while squeezing her hand. "Are you going to abandon me now, after all with that necklace around you don't need me anymore?"
Gu Yuena, touched by his sincerity, was just about to thank him when she noticed Hanrui trying to divert the topic, and she smiled at him, amused by his pitiful act.
"I won't abandon you, Hanrui. I've already decided—you are my man, and there's no going back," she said with conviction and love.
Hanrui dropped the act and kissed her cheek, earning a few amused looks.
Zi Ji snorted, refusing to watch any more of their affection display, while Bi Ji's gentle laughter filled the hall.
"Hmm... I swear I'm forgetting something," Hanrui mused. Before he could think further, the doors opened, and his grandmother, Xue Li, walked in.
A wide smile spread across his face as he leaped into her embrace, the forgotten thought fading away completely.
"Nai Nai, you're back!" he said, hugging her tightly. Xue Li smiled warmly, her hand gently stroking his hair.
"And here I thought my Rui'er had found a fiancée and forgotten his poor old grandmother. Seems I was worried for nothing!". She teased.
Hanrui stepped back from her embrace, tilting his head slightly as he asked, "Old?"
Then, with genuine affection, he added, "But my Nai Nai looks like a thirty-year-old young lady."
The others in the room nodded, acknowledging her progress. After all, she had reached the Title Douluo rank and transformed.
Even before becoming a Title Douluo, she looked like someone in their forties.
Now that she had leveled up and her martial soul was further evolved, she looked even younger.. Even more beautiful.
Xue Li seeing her grandson's genuine affection and admiration for her beauty in his eyes pinched his cheeks playfully.
"Rui'er," Xue Li said softly, "grandmother has something special prepared for you."
Hanrui blinked, curiosity lighting up his eyes. "Really? What is it, Nai Nai?"
Xue Li chuckled, a knowing twinkle in her gaze. "Patience, my dear boy. You'll find out soon enough. Oh, and pack your things—we head for Heaven Dou Imperial City in a week. You'll finally meet your cousins and my brothers."
Hanrui's eyes narrowed at the mention of her brothers.
"Nai Nai, can we avoid meeting them? I don't mind seeing my cousins, but I'd rather skip your brothers—and especially Xue Beng."
His tone hardened. "It's their fortune if I didn't kill them on sight. One betrayed you, another is too cunning for his own good, and the last acts like a spoiled aristocrat—dreaming of the throne while ruining innocent women in the process."
Xue Li, who had anticipated his reaction, simply stroked his head and said seriously, "Unfortunately, Rui'er, no—we must meet them.
Things aren't like before, when your grandmother would hide away in seclusion just to escape the past.
Raising your father and watching you grow healed me. Now, it's time for you to step into the world and make a name for yourself—and your grandmother will stand behind you all the way."
Her tone then softened into a playful one as she added with a sly smile, "Besides, I have a feeling you have your own plans for my brothers. That's the only reason I didn't deal with them myself, earlier."
Hanrui nodded in understanding but soon grew puzzled.
"Earlier? You mean you went to visit them—alone?"
"Yes," she confirmed. "After you fell asleep in the carriage, I went to visit my brother. I needed to have a little chat with him before you met them, so I went ahead and spoke to him. Well... only Xue Ye.
I didn't meet Xue Xing.He wasn't in the Imperial hall,like Xue ye."
Hanrui sighed but eventually relented. "Alright, alright, I'll get ready. In the meantime, Nai Nai, please teach Bi Ji and Zi Ji some common sense."
He turned to the two women with a mischievous grin. "You're in good hands—well, strict ones. Good luck!"
Giving them a playful thumbs‑up, he grabbed Gu Yuena's hand and took off toward his chambers.
As he disappeared around the corner, his voice echoed back, "I'm leaving them to you, Nai Nai!"
Zi Ji leaned toward Bi Ji, whispering with mock despair, "Great—abandoned already." making Bi Ji smile in amusement.
A small laugh escaped Xue Li as she watched her grandson dash off. Then, her tone shifted to one of authority. "You two—my study, now."
Bi Ji and Zi Ji straightened immediately and followed after her.
Hanrui, who had just sprinted out, stopped at the entrance to his chamber. Turning to Gu Yuena, he frowned slightly.
"Na'er, I feel like I forgot something. Can you think of what it could be?"
Gu Yuena tapped her chin thoughtfully before replying with one word, "Rabbit?"
Realization dawned across Hanrui's face, replacing his confusion with a spark of recognition. "Of course! I forgot all about that little rabbit! I wonder how she's been faring."
He chuckled softly, shaking his head before pushing open the chamber doors. "I swear, she'd bite my ankle if she heard about me forgetting her."
A maid outside straightened as he called, "Fetch Xiao Wu for me."
"Yes, young master," she replied before hurrying off down the hall.
Then Hanrui turned to Gu Yuena and kissed her cheek. "Are you not angry I took your enemy in?" he asked gently as he sat on his bed, pulling her into his lap and hugging her waist.
Gu Yuena stiffened slightly at his question, memories flooding back — but swiftly melted into his embrace.
"At first, I was upset," she said softly, "but then I realized it's not the present Xiao Wu I should hate, but the future one who betrayed the soul beasts. So I let it go."
She looked at him with a half smile and continued, "Besides, if she becomes your subordinate—prevented from following her original or altered destiny—then I don't have to cling to the deeds done by her future self.
Especially since I suspect foul play in her character and emotions before and after her sacrifice to that mongrel Tang San.
So it's best if she becomes your woman. Then I'm even happier with the revenge."
'Mongrel?' Where did she get that from? I don't think I shared any memories beyond Douluo Dalu with her. Well, never mind—it probably accidentally slipped into her memories,' he thought..
At that moment, two maids stepped inside. One was the same who had received his earlier command; the other was a petite girl adorned in a maid's uniform, her head topped with floppy rabbit ears.
Hanrui, on the verge of replying, suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes gleamed as laughter spilled freely from him at the sight of Xiao Wu.
Mortified but trying to save face, Xiao Wu struck a playful pose. Which only sent Hanrui into louder laughter.
She whispered, "Bad master," under her breath.
Once calm, Hanrui dismissed the other maid with a wave and looked at Xiao Wu who was pouting at the side.
"I see you are integrating well," he commented, getting Xiao Wu's attention.
"Sorry for laughing earlier, while you look cute, it's also funny for me because of a different reason you will understand later." He apologized to her with a smile.
Xiao Wu who heard his apology smiled brightly as she replied, completely forgetting her initial anger. "Yes Master, the other maid sisters are taking care of me and teaching me stuff."
"Good, now that you are here, let's talk about your original future without my intervention." He said, making her tense.
(A/N: Exposition dump ahead)
"Originally, you would've left the star Dou forest six months later, get your Martial Soul awakened, then enter Notting city and join Notting Academy as work study Student.
When you enter your dorm room you will meet your 'fated' one, Tang san.
The son of Clear Sky Douluo, who cheated the Blue Silver Emperor who took human form into sacrificing herself to him.
Things happened after that which left him in depression, so he lived in seclusion, until his son-Tang San who he didn't care for,all his life, awakened Twin-Martial Souls.
An un-awakened Blue Silver Emperor —Blue Silver Grass, and the Clear Sky hammer.
Spotting an opportunity for revenge against his enemies, Tang hao sends his son to notting academy and follows him without him knowing and protects him from the dark."
Xiao Wu who heard until then gasp as realization struck her and a chill ran down her spine as she thought.
'If this clear sky douluo is protecting his son from the dark, then he would've definitely noticed my existence beside his son.'
Noticing Xiao Wu's expression, he held her hand gently and continued.
"After you two met, because of the dorm rules required a boss, you two fight and you win because he underestimates you." Seeing her expression getting dissatisfied. He shrugged and continued.
"What, he is an assassin with experience in his previous life, while you are still a child even considering your soul beast age. Your IQ is seriously lacking." he said, making her look away in shame and anger.
"Tang san took a Charlatan as his master after being gaslighted by his half knowledge and half conjecture.
Who gave him a bedding and quilt which is better than the work study students, which is also big enough for two people,so you combined your bed with his to share it and slept side by side with him."
Xiao Wu, who is about to defend herself, looked at his eyes and stopped as she saw him mutter.
"Rouge rabbit," loud enough for both Gu Yuena and Xiao Wu to hear.Making Gu Yuena laugh while Xiao Wu flinched.