Han Ruoruo smiled and whispered, "It's up to the two of you now. Do warn everyone in time if you discover anything."
"Alright. Hurry and rest, senior sister," Huo Yuhao answered politely, while Wang Qiu'er didn't respond at all.
The two of them stood shoulder to shoulder, and Wang Qiu'er was still as cold as she had always been. However, she actually removed her veil at this moment for some reason.
The forest night wasn't an absolute darkness where one couldn't see anything at all. Moonlight cascaded through the canopy and showered onto the forest through the shadows of the trees, and there were some tiny insects around that gave off light as well. The light was weak, but they could still see.
Huo Yuhao Looked at her profile when he turned towards Wang Qiu'er… it was just so familiar and beautiful. If he hadn't known better, he wouldn't have been able to tell whether the person beside him was Wang Qiu'er or Wang Dong'er.
She's so pretty!, Huo Yuhao exclaimed in admiration inside, before he hurriedly turned back around and activated his Spiritual Detection before he shared it with her.
Wang Qiu'er glanced in his direction and muttered, "Your soul skill is good."
She had a charming voice, but it still sounded a little cold and forced no matter how one heard it.
Huo Yuhao retrieved some dry rations and asked, "Do you want some?" The rations he took out were meat sandwiches he had prepared earlier. Baked bread was food that didn't spoil easily, and there was some meat packed inside. It was a little dry, but it still tasted alright.
Huo Yuhao was just being courteous and polite, but he didn't think that Wang Qiu'er would ask, "Did you make that yourself?"
Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, "Dong'er is a little picky with her food. I made some braised meat before this, and the baked bread was taken from the canteen. It tastes alright."
Wang Qiu'er glanced at him and said, "You're really good to her."
Huo Yuhao smiled and gestured towards her with the meat sandwich in his hands.
Wang Qiu'er took two pieces from him. Huo Yuhao realized to his surprise that her hands were covered with a faint golden aura. That layer was dark golden in color, and it was surprisingly inconspicuous in the darkness of the night. She passed the sandwiches back in the next moment.
"Hand me another two," Wang Qiu'er said plainly
Huo Yuhao took the two sandwiches back suspiciously, but he had a revelation once he held them in his hands. The two sandwiches were now warm, and they carried delicate wafts of cooking meat.
Her soul power can even be used for grilling? Huo Yuhao hurriedly passed her another two sandwiches, while he took a bite from the one already in his hands.
The sandwich tasted different when it was warm - the braised meat became a lot more tender, while the tendons in the meat were half-melted. The fresh and salty juice that diffused into the bread had been warmed up, and the sandwich truly tasted a lot better than it did when it was cold.
Wang Qiu'er did the same thing and heated up her own sandwich before she started nibbling away.
"I didn't expect you to have an ability like this! @We don't have to eat cold rations anymore!" Huo Yuhao said with a smile on his face.
Wang Qiu'er seemed to have recovered her coldness as she said, "Just this once. Consider this a gesture of appreciation for your grilled fish and soup in the afternoon."
Huo Yuhao wasn't upset at all. He chuckled and said, "Do you really have to reject everyone and close yourself off like that? We're teammates now."
Wang Qiu'er snapped her head around and stared into his eyes as she asked, "Do you guys really treat me like your teammates? Then why do I feel a sense of hostility from her?"
Huo Yuhao was rendered speechless by her question. The truth was that he could also feel the hostility that Wang Dong'er harbored against Wang Qiu'er. He forced a laugh and said, "The truth is that I don't understand it, either. The two of you look too similar, and Dong'er insists that she doesn't have a twin sister. Perhaps that's why she's suspicious of you."
"I trust that time will serve to prove everything." There was a look of profoundness in his eyes when he uttered this last sentence.
Wang Qiu'er turned back around and continued eating the sandwich in her hands. She said coldly, "I have never had to prove anything to anyone."
Huo Yuhao had already finished the food in his hands by now. He retrieved his water bag and took a few gulps as he smiled and said, "That's not a good attitude. First, we live in the same world, and you can't possibly reject and forsake everything in the world. You can't decide how people look at you. Since that's the case, why don't you try to fit in? Will being so reticent and aloof bring you happiness?"
"Fit in? Do you really think I can fit in? Ever since I left… I left home, everyone outside has been attracted by my looks. Do you know how many people come forward to flirt with me in a single day? I've even met some people who would do anything to get to me. I do want to fit in, but the process of fitting in will have to rely on my fists. That is the reason I wear the veil, and it has alleviated much of my troubles."
Huo Yuhao said exasperatedly, "That's because you're too good-looking. Perhaps this is the negative effect of being so blessed with beauty by the heavens. However, I can guarantee that you won't run into such problems within Shrek Academy."
Wang Qiu'er muttered disdainfully, "You can only speak for yourself." She suddenly tossed the baked bread in her hands as she said, "It's disgusting. I'm not eating that anymore."
Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned, before his eyes suddenly became ice-cold in the next moment. Wang Qiu'er felt a slight chill, and turned around subconsciously to look at him. She met Huo Yuhao's eyes, and his eyes flickered with chilly light as she felt a tidal wave of animosity.
However, this hostility didn't continue, and the coldness receded. Huo Yuhao walked over to where she threw the baked bread as he bent down and picked it up. "Do you want to fight?" Wang Qiu'er raised her chin and stared at Huo Yuhao provocatively.
Huo Yuhao shot a cold look at her. "I would have if we were elsewhere. Have your family never taught you to treasure your food? Do you know that a small piece of baked bread like this can save a life?"
Wang Qiu'er twitched her lips contemptuously.
Huo Yuhao continued, "Have you ever felt hunger?"
Wang Qiu'er answered coldly, "Powerful people will never feel hungry."
Huo Yuhao laughed scornfully and said, "Powerful people? Have you been a powerful individual since the moment you were born? The only powerful people were your parents back then. You've never tasted hunger, so you naturally have no idea how precious food is."
The truth was that he didn't laugh because he despised Wang Qiu'er, he just couldn't control himself. He was infuriated when Wang Qiu'er tossed the baked bread onto the ground, as he hated people that didn't respect and appreciate food the most. Furthermore, it was something he had made himself, so she was throwing away his hard work.
However, when he picked up the baked bread from the ground, he couldn't help but laugh. Only one bite was taken, but the teeth marks were still there, while all the braised meat was gone. Not even a single bit was left. This girl is really picky with her food! She was just calling the baked bread disgusting.
Wang Qiu'er puffed up her firm chest that was more developed than Wang Dong'er's and said, "How do you know I wasn't a powerful being when I was born? It's just a wretched piece of baked bread."
Huo Yuhao turned his head around. He didn't want to see the coldness and disdain on her face as he gazed into the darkness and said, "Yes, it's just a piece of baked bread. However, a piece of baked bread like this means the opportunity to continue surviving to me."
He held onto the baked bread that was just thrown onto the ground as he spoke, and he actually bit down on the bread that Wang Qiu'er had just eaten from and began to chew.
Wang Qiu'er was still upset, and she was still wearing that look of contempt, but she was dazed when she saw his actions.
He's… he's eating the baked bread that I've just eaten from. That was the only thought running through her head.
And Huo Yuhao? Huo Yuhao's mind was only filled with precious memories.
"I was only five years old back then, and I was still a skinny little kid. My mother and I had to live under someone else's roof, and my mother would feed me everyday with her meager salary. My mother still had to wash clothes outside even in the bitter chill of winter, and her hands were covered by wounds and scars.
"My mother loved me so much. She always told me that I was the only thing that mattered in her life. I still remember that day... the sky had turned dark, and my mother came running in elatedly from outside. It was hard to see her smile through all the excruciating toil of her daily life, but she was just so happy that day.
"Do you know why?"
He turned back around and stared into Wang Qiu'er's eyes. At this moment, tears had already welled up in his eyes.
He took another bite from the piece of baked bread. He munched and chewed vigorously, and his tears trickled down his cheeks uncontrollably.
"Why?" The cold expression on Wang Qiu'er's face had vanished, she was at a loss.
Huo Yuhao continued chewing on the baked bread as he said with a quivering voice, "The reason was because my mother was working in the kitchen that day, and the chef in the kitchen had given her a piece of baked bread that was fresh from the wok after she had finished. It was still hot and fragrant, and my mother thought about me. I wouldn't have to eat that cornbread anymore, and I could finally have some bread made from white flour! That was the reason she was so happy and excited!
"She didn't want the baked bread to go cold, so she stuffed and hugged the steaming bread in her chest. When she took out the baked bread and handed it to me, her chest had turned red from all that heat. I was still young. I still didn't know anything back then. All I knew was to nibble on that warm baked bread."
At this point, Huo Yuhao was sobbing and sniffling.
He normally wouldn't reveal his emotions so easily in front of outsiders. However, he began to reminisce about his childhood when Wang Qiu'er heated up the baked bread for him. His mind was filled with images of his mother's satisfied smile, but his heart was filled with suffocating pain.
Mom, mom! If only you were still alive. I have the ability to take care of you now, and I have the ability to protect you now!
Everyone else was still meditating. Huo Yuhao was squatting down as he forcibly suppressed his sobbing sounds in the quiet night as he released the dejection and grief in his heart.
Wang Qiu'er was still standing beside him, but she was completely rooted to the ground at this moment. She had never expected a single piece of baked bread could have a story like that.