Chapter 184 : Chapter 184
Chapter 184 – Should've Just Gone With a Planet-Destroying Bomb
Yi Ning was down by the arena, ecstatically flailing her arms and legs.
She raised one hand high, using the other to point at some audience members, triumphantly parading around in a circle at the edge of the ring.
At the same time, she deliberately tilted her face toward the sky, striking a pose as if looking down on everyone.
With such over-the-top, smug behavior, anyone unaware might have thought she was the one who’d just won the fight.
Actually…Yi Ning was a winner.
Just not in the ring—but in the verbal battlefield of the audience.
“Alright, alright.”
Annali bent down, picked up the wooden sword that had fallen to the floor, and casually tossed it toward the weapon rack.
Clack!
The sword landed squarely on the rack without a wobble.
“You pass.”
She glanced at Lu Zheng on the stage, then pointed her thumb toward the steps leading off the platform.
“Let’s go. Time to finish the registration.”
Just as Miss Annali finished speaking—The adventurers surrounding the ring, who had finally processed Lu Zheng’s victory, erupted in even louder cheers and applause.
To beat Miss Annali right out of the gate as a rookie?
No doubt about it—Lu Zheng was destined to become a legendary adventurer whose name would echo through the ages.
And as people who’d witnessed his very first step, how could the other adventurers not be excited?
Just imagine going out drinking in the future, and casually dropping: “That super famous guy? Yeah, I was there the day he became an adventurer.”
What a flex.
Just saying it would be worth two extra rounds of drinks!
Lu Zheng descended the arena steps slowly and walked back over to Yi Ning.
“As you asked, I won.”
He subconsciously reached out a hand, intending to pat Yi Ning’s head.
But before he even got halfway, he hesitated and stopped.
Is it okay to touch a girl’s head without permission…?
Yi Ning glanced at Lu Zheng’s raised, half-withdrawn right hand, and instantly understood what he was thinking.
She curled her lips slightly.
Fine. For not embarrassing me earlier… I’ll give you a little bonus.
Yi Ning stepped forward, caught Lu Zheng’s hand as it was lowering, then lowered her head slightly and placed it on top of her own head.
Lu Zheng: “?”
“Your reward.”
Beneath Lu Zheng’s large hand, Yi Ning tilted her little head upward, eyes half-closed, a faint smile playing on her lips.
This planet was apparently in the middle of spring. Unlike Blue Star’s scorching summer heat, the temperature was mild—cool enough for T-shirts, warm enough to be comfortable.
Maybe it was the sunlight in the combat arena, but the warmth on Yi Ning’s hair radiated gently into Lu Zheng’s palm and into his chest.
“What’s wrong?”
Perhaps because Lu Zheng still hadn’t moved, Yi Ning blinked up at him.
Lu Zheng’s body stiffened. His heartbeat—suddenly accelerating for no reason.
This girl… when she’s quiet like this, she’s unexpectedly… kind of a beauty.
Lu Zheng steadied himself, said nothing, and simply began gently stroking her hair with the hand on her head.
She’s being this cooperative—can’t waste the opportunity.
He had to admit—Yi Ning’s personality was absurd, but her appearance was top-notch.
Aside from being a little disappointing in the chest department, there weren’t any flaws to speak of.
Despite spending the night roughing it outdoors, her hair was mysteriously pristine—no dust, no frizz, barely even a strand out of place.
It was long and thick, incredibly smooth to the touch—just like premium silk. And she even subtly adjusted her head to follow the movements of his hand, occasionally letting out small contented purring sounds.
Most importantly—The Yi Ning who had previously acted like she was the center of the universe, strutting and swaggering, was now calmly purring under his hand.
This total contrast created an intense sense of satisfaction in Lu Zheng’s chest.
At that moment, he suddenly understood why people loved petting cats so much.
Meanwhile, Annali, who had stepped down from the platform, had already returned to her usual lazy self.
She walked behind Lu Zheng and saw Yi Ning smiling and purring under his hand, her expression full of envy.
Goddammit.
Why are these young people today so obsessed with showing off their love in public?
What about the feelings of us poor single dogs who’ve been single since birth?!
“Enough already. Quit the flirting.”
Carrying a silent wish of “Explode already, you damn normies!”, Annali clapped her hands loudly, deliberately interrupting Lu Zheng and Yi Ning’s reward session.
“Work’s almost over. Hurry up and finish registration.”
Without even glancing at them again, she turned and walked straight back into the Adventurer’s Guild.
The stench of romance was too much. For someone her age—Er, no.
She was only seventeen—still young! She mustn’t let the stench of love corrupt her!
Yi Ning looked up and rolled her eyes in Annali’s direction.
She’d been enjoying her head pats, and then Annali just had to interrupt.
Totally ruined the mood.
Yi Ning crossed her arms and sulked, feeling the hollow emptiness left behind on her head. Her gaze—almost instinctively—drifted back to Lu Zheng.
He was currently talking to the members of the “Friendly Money-Making” Squad.
They had tactfully stayed back during the “reward” scene but had stepped in to shoo away a few chatty adventurers under the excuse of “we need to go register,” giving Lu Zheng and Yi Ning some privacy.
Otherwise, if surrounded by those guys, it could take fifteen minutes just to escape.
Now that Lu Zheng and Yi Ning were separated, they came forward to offer their congratulations.
Yi Ning didn’t care to join in that nonsense and instead slunk off to the side, arms still crossed.
Her eyes kept glancing toward Lu Zheng—specifically, his hand.
The one that had just been on her head.
A trace of longing for that sensation lingered. An odd kind of satisfaction that was hard to describe.
Maybe… maybe I should use the excuse that the “reward” isn’t over yet, and get him to pet me again?
The thought startled Yi Ning.
What the hell am I thinking?!
A head pat—something that important—should be used like a carrot dangled in front of Lu Zheng! A rare treat to manipulate his direction! How could she just give it away?!
Damn it!
It must be Lu Zheng!
He must’ve used some sneaky trick to mess with her brain—made her willingly offer up her head!
Yi Ning had always been good at shifting blame.
If she couldn’t explain something, she’d just dump the blame on Lu Zheng.
She pouted, deliberately turned her head away to face the opposite direction, presenting the back of her head toward Lu Zheng to demonstrate her unyielding refusal to give away free benefits.
But just before she turned—Her eyes still couldn’t help but flick one last glance at Lu Zheng’s hand.
Realizing this made Yi Ning even more frustrated.
She just couldn’t understand—Why is my dumb head so damn useless?!
It’s just a hand, right?
It’s not like I don’t have one!
So she slapped her own hand on her head and began furiously rubbing her own hair like she was venting.
The previously silky-smooth hair turned into a frizzy mess.
“Uh… hey… what… are you doing?”
Right in the middle of angrily mauling her own head due to her unsatisfying right hand, Yi Ning froze.
Her hand went stiff, and her neck creaked like a rusted hinge as she slowly turned around.
Lu Zheng was standing with the “Friendly Money-Making” Squad, giving her a very… complicated look.
Yi Ning’s soul left her body.
I should’ve just built a planet-destroying bomb and chucked it at this damn place from the start.