Master of Nine Stars

Ye Nanxi pouted and said with displeasure, "My mom wanted me to congratulate you on winning the national championship. She was so happy—happier than I’ve ever seen her when she talks to me. She’s never praised me like that."

Rong Taotao muttered, "That just proves Lord Soul General has good judgment."

Ye Nanxi’s brows shot up. "You’re impossible!"

As she spoke, she moved the popcorn bucket to her other side.

Rong Taotao casually sidestepped to her other side...

"Bringing the Xiang Brothers to Songbai Town to hang out for the New Year?" Rong Taotao asked with a chuckle.

"Sure. We can go wild one last time before I enlist." Ye Nanxi nodded immediately. "I’ve seen a bunch of promotional videos for the New Year celebration in Songbai Town, and they look gorgeous. Especially the fireworks. I have to see them with my own eyes."

"Mhm," Rong Taotao nodded repeatedly. "The festival is very long. It runs from the first day of the New Year all the way to the fifteenth, sometimes even for the whole first month. You can just come over after you’ve celebrated with your family."

"Ah," Ye Nanxi nodded nonchalantly. "Oh right, you mentioned buying a necklace. The shop I found for you is in here. I’ll take you in a bit. By the way, did you bring enough money?"

Rong Taotao cracked a smile. "How expensive can a necklace be? A few hundred should cover it, right?"

As they spoke, Rong Taotao faintly overheard people murmuring nearby. He turned away slightly and pulled the brim of his hat down lower.

"Heh," Ye Nanxi laughed, seeing Rong Taotao’s comically conspicuous attempt to hide. "You’re a celebrity now. Not just some random kid anymore."

More than half a year ago, when Rong Taotao and Ye Nanxi were training here, they could wander around and eat wherever they pleased in the middle of the night, and no one would recognize them.

But after that, Rong Taotao competed in the Outer League and now the National Tournament. If he didn’t disguise himself a little, he’d probably be swarmed by a crowd.

Rong Taotao grinned mischievously. "Maybe they’re not looking at me, but at you. After all, with looks like yours..."

"You have a way of twisting even compliments." Ye Nanxi glared at Rong Taotao, but a faint smile touched her beautiful face as she passed him the popcorn. "A few hundred won’t be enough. The shop I picked out for Ling Wei is a good one. Silver itself isn’t worth much, but the brand name is."

Rong Taotao grabbed another handful of popcorn and mumbled, "I asked you for advice, and this is what I get. What bad luck."

Ye Nanxi: "Hmph, you cheapskate. You got so much prize money from the national tournament. What are you saving it for, to have kids?"

Rong Taotao: "You’re such a motormouth!"

"Hee hee~" Ye Nanxi beamed, tilting her head to look at Rong Taotao’s face hidden under his baseball cap. "Takes one to know one~"

"Sigh..." Rong Taotao heaved a sigh. "I liked you better when we first met."

"Oh?"

Rong Taotao: "After I put you in your place that one time, you were so well-behaved. You didn’t say a single word. Honestly, when you’re not talking..."

"Rong! Tao! Tao!!!"

"Uh oh..." Rong Taotao’s heart skipped a beat.

Ye Nanxi, however, stomped her foot, her face flushing with anger. "Bring that up one more time and see what happens!"

’Oh, you’ll see what happens, will you...?’

"Excuse me, are you Rong Taotao?" A group of young men and women had gathered around them, their expressions curious but polite.

Just as Rong Taotao was about to speak, Ye Nanxi shouted, "Yes, that’s him! It’s really him! Quick, get his autograph! He’s been sulking this whole time because nobody recognized him!"

"Wow! It’s Rong Taotao!"

"Really? The champion?"

Hearing the excited chatter around them, Rong Taotao grabbed Ye Nanxi. "Hey now," he said to the crowd, "this young lady here was part of a three-person team that almost made it to the national squad. I can sign, but you shouldn’t ignore her. That would be rude."

The group looked overjoyed and nodded repeatedly. "Okay, okay! You’ll both sign! Both of you! But first, let’s get a photo!"

"Oh, I know her! It’s Savage Xi—ahem, Ye Nanxi!"

Hearing her nickname, Ye Nanxi gave the young man a tight-lipped smile.

The young man jumped. Recalling Ye Nanxi’s reputation for being lawless and domineering, he quickly bowed his head and hid in the crowd.

Rong Taotao wore the exact same tight-lipped smile as he looked at Ye Nanxi and winked.

’Oh, so we’re playing dirty, are we?’

...

Everyone had a blast that day. Ye Nanxi made plans with Gao Lingwei to visit Songbai Town for the New Year, then said her goodbyes to the master and disciples before leaving with the Xiang Brothers.

The small group of master and disciples checked into a hotel. After dinner, Rong Taotao took the gift he had secretly bought and knocked on Yang Chunxi’s door.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK~

CLICK. The door opened, but it was Gao Lingwei. She stepped aside, motioning for Rong Taotao to enter as she asked casually, "What’s up?"

Unexpectedly, Rong Taotao didn’t move. He stood in the doorway and said, "I’m not coming in."

"Hm?" Gao Lingwei raised an eyebrow slightly. Having turned sideways to let him in, she now faced him fully, one hand resting on the doorknob. She looked at him curiously. "Why not?"

Rong Taotao pulled a small, red, square box from his pocket and handed it to Gao Lingwei. "A gift for you."

Gao Lingwei’s reaction, however, surprised Rong Taotao. She wasn’t particularly shocked. Instead, a look of realization dawned on her face. As she took the small box, she said, "So this is why you and Nanxi were acting so sneaky today? To buy me a gift?"

’Huh? She found out?’

Gao Lingwei opened the small box. Inside was a delicate and beautiful silver necklace.

The corners of Gao Lingwei’s mouth turned up in a slight smile. "Did she tell you girls like this sort of thing?"

"Not exactly," Rong Taotao said honestly. "I was already planning to buy you one. Since we were out today, I took the opportunity to ask her where a good place to buy it would be. There’s a lot of fake gold and silver jewelry out there, so I wanted to find a reputable store."

"You?" Gao Lingwei looked at him in disbelief. "You thought of buying something like this?"

"It’s true! Why would I lie?" Rong Taotao looked at Gao Lingwei, puzzled. "You want me to walk you through my thought process?"

Gao Lingwei nodded slightly. She picked up the necklace with her fingers, holding it up before her face. "Go on."

Rong Taotao: "It was right after I woke up from the coma. You were sitting there with your legs crossed, perched on the edge of the chair. Your leg even fell asleep."

"Behave," Gao Lingwei chided with a laugh.

"Ah," Rong Taotao scratched his head. "You were watching over me the whole time, dozing off.

You were wearing the same white shirt you have on now. And just like now, the top button was undone.

There was a breeze, and it made your collar flutter. My eyes were drawn to your neck, and I just felt like something should be there..."

As she listened, Gao Lingwei’s teasing expression gradually softened into a serious one.

After Rong Taotao finished, Gao Lingwei watched him quietly for a long moment before saying softly, "Thank you. I love it."

As she spoke, she handed the necklace to Rong Taotao and turned around, presenting her back to him.

Rong Taotao immediately understood. He unclasped the necklace, took both ends in his hands, and fastened it around her neck. "Next, I’ll pick out a Soul Pearl. Most Soul Pearls are about the size of a marble, so it’ll be perfect as a pendant.

We can pick one with a powerful Soul Skill. It’ll be both an accessory and a secret weapon. Ha, absolutely perfect!"

Listening to Rong Taotao rambling on behind her, a smile graced Gao Lingwei’s lips. She said softly, "Mm, okay."

"All done!" Rong Taotao stepped back, his hand quickly reaching into his pants pocket.

Gao Lingwei reached back, gathering her ponytail and lifting it out from under the delicate chain. As she turned around, she saw Rong Taotao aiming his phone at her.

CLICK.

Rong Taotao looked at the photo and nodded in satisfaction. "It’s been a while since I’ve messed with my fans..."

With that, Rong Taotao looked down at his phone and wandered off.

Gao Lingwei: "..."

Her heart had just been stirred, and she’d been about to say something, but... he just took a picture and left?

Just! Left!?

Gao Lingwei pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation. She gently closed the door and turned around, only to see Yang Chunxi watching her with a wide, teasing smile.

Gao Lingwei’s face flushed red, just as she felt her phone buzz in her pocket.

BZZ... BZZ...

She pulled out her phone and opened it. Sure enough, it was a new post from Rong Taotao. It was just one sentence: "Good evening. How’s my choice of necklace?"

Beneath the text was the photo he had just taken: Gao Lingwei, in her white blouse, smiling in Rong Taotao’s direction—which was to say, right at the camera.

Rong Taotao hadn’t posted in ages. His fans, who had been going crazy waiting, had expected him to celebrate his championship win. They never expected a post like this...

"L-Late-night PDA?"

"As long as you two are happy, you don’t have to share the details with me (tight-lipped smile)"

@Yu the Writer: "I guess my being alive is an inconvenience to you both (tight-lipped smile)"

After the first few comments, the rest of the replies were a uniform wall of the same emoji:

"(tight-lipped smile)"

"(tight-lipped smile)"

"(tight-lipped smile)"