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Douluo Dalu_ Legend of the Ancestral Dragon_chapter_0019
Chapter 19
Chapter 19: The School Bully, Boss Xiao
Wang Sheng and the others stared, their eyes glued to the shimmering gold soul coin.
In all their lives, they had never even touched a gold soul coin. They usually dealt with copper soul coins, and even silver soul coins were a rare sight.
"As expected of a rich young master, casually offering a gold soul coin," they thought to themselves.
Initially, after learning about Aotian's wealthy identity, they had felt a bit distant from him. But now, amazed by his generosity, they were already wondering if they should try to get on his good side and reap some benefits.
Xiao Wu, still unfamiliar with many things in the human world and having no concept of money, was not surprised at all.
Aotian was about to give the gold soul coin to Xiao Wu, but after a moment's thought, he put it away.
"Forget it, I'll go eat with you," he said, getting off the bed.
Wang Sheng smiled at Aotian and said, "Perfect, let's all go together."
Then, he looked at Tang San. "Tang San, come with us."
Tang San shook his head. "You guys go ahead. I ate breakfast not long ago, so I'm not hungry yet."
In truth, his stomach was already growling. He just didn't have any money. All the money his family had was taken by his alcoholic father to buy wine, leaving not a single coin behind.
Fortunately, he had prepared some coarse biscuits before coming. If he ate sparingly, he could probably last two or three days.
Once he started working the day after tomorrow, he would be able to collect his wages.
Wang Sheng looked at the patches, large and small, on Tang San's clothes. How could he not understand Tang San's predicament?
They were all children from poor families. Wang Sheng had seen situations like Tang San's many times.
As the former dormitory boss, he still had some sense of responsibility. "You don't have a job yet," he said. "Consider your meals for these two days on me. Once you get paid, you can treat me back."
Xiao Wu finally understood and asked, "Tang San, you don't have money either?"
Tang San nodded helplessly.
"Then come with us," Xiao Wu said.
She felt that as the dormitory boss, she had a responsibility to take care of everyone.
Tang San was silent for a few seconds before slowly nodding and standing up.
A smile appeared on Wang Sheng's face as he shouted, "Let's go!"
Including Aotian, the twelve of them left the dormitory and headed towards the cafeteria.
During meal times, the campus grew even more lively, with many students making their way to the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was vast, with two floors. The food on the first floor was more ordinary—pre-made fast food that was affordably priced. It was the dining place of choice for many students with tight pockets.
The second floor, however, was for made-to-order dishes. The prices were very expensive, and only the academy's teachers and wealthy students could afford to eat there.
The majority of Nuoding Academy's students could only afford to eat on the first floor.
At this moment, a long line had already formed on the first floor of the cafeteria. Wang Sheng led the way, taking a spot at the very end of the line.
He turned back and said helplessly, "Sister Xiao Wu, we're late. We'll have to wait a bit."
Xiao Wu rubbed her stomach and smiled. "It's okay, I'm not that hungry yet."
Aotian, however, looked up at the second floor, contemplating whether he should go up to eat and whether he should take Xiao Wu with him.
This little girl seemed nice enough; at least she didn't annoy him.
Aotian had taken a quick glance earlier and found the food on the first floor to be far too plain. The chefs' skills were average, completely unable to satisfy his picky palate.
Just as he was thinking, a voice far louder than the din of the cafeteria rang out. "Well, well! Isn't this Wang Sheng's group of paupers? Having to suffer just to get a meal. Why bother?"
Aotian looked up to see a group of students in bright, stylish clothes standing on the stairs between the first and second floors, looking down on them with condescending expressions.
Today was only the first day of enrollment, and classes hadn't started yet, so the academy hadn't made wearing the school uniform mandatory.
From their attire, it was clear they were a group of rich scions.
The leader was a boy who looked to be about the same age as Wang Sheng, around eleven or twelve. He was rather handsome and leaned against the railing with both hands, a mocking look on his face as he stared at Wang Sheng.
"Paupers will always be paupers. You'll never be able to eat on the second floor."
After speaking, he let out a sneer, turned, and stomped up the stairs. His companions also burst into derisive laughter, a sound that was extremely grating to the ears of Wang Sheng and the other work-study students.
Wang Sheng's face turned utterly grim, and he clenched his fist so tightly his knuckles turned white, but he dared not voice his anger.
He couldn't afford to provoke the people upstairs.
But while he could swallow his anger, Xiao Wu could not. As the dormitory's boss, encountering something like this on her very first day—how could her straightforward personality tolerate it?
"And what are you supposed to be? Is the second floor such a big deal?"
The first floor had fallen silent, and Xiao Wu's clear, angry shout carried distinctly to the group of people above.
The group, who had been about to step onto the second floor, paused. The leader turned back and carefully scanned the line of work-study students before his eyes landed on the petite Xiao Wu.
"Well, now. To think there's such a pretty Little Loli here. I'd really love to hold her and toy with her, tsk tsk…" the boy's aggressive gaze swept over Xiao Wu.
His group of friends immediately broke into sinister, jeering laughter.
It was the first time Xiao Wu had been stared at with such a lewd gaze. An unexplainable panic rose in her heart, and she subconsciously grabbed Aotian's arm.
The group of boys' gazes shifted to Aotian.
"What a pretty kid," the leading boy couldn't help but praise, then laughed. "I wonder if he'll cry for a long time if I punch him in the face, haha…"
After saying that, he rubbed his stomach. "I'm going to eat now. I'll deal with you all next time."
His gaze lingered on Xiao Wu for another moment, taking a deep look, before he finally stepped onto the second floor.
"This is too much!" Xiao Wu shrieked with rage and was about to charge forward.
"Boss, don't be reckless," Wang Sheng hurriedly shouted.
Xiao Wu stopped, turning to look at Wang Sheng with dissatisfaction. "You can tolerate this? Are you even men?"
Wang Sheng smiled bitterly. "Sister Xiao Wu, it's not that we want to endure it, but we really can't afford to provoke that group. The one in the lead is Xiao Chenyu, known as Boss Xiao. His father is the City Lord of our Nuoding City. Within Nuoding Academy, Boss Xiao can practically do whatever he wants. We can't win against him."
"We've had duels with them many times, and we get beaten miserably every single time," another student added.
"Let it go. We're here to eat," Tang San said as well.
With that, he walked to the back of the line by himself to queue up.
In his view, the so-called Boss Xiao was just a child. He wasn't worth getting worked up over.
"Tang San, you're the third-strongest in our dormitory. How can you be so cowardly?" Xiao Wu said, displeased.
Tang San shook his head, ignoring her.
"Xiao San, what are you doing here?" Grandmaster's voice suddenly sounded.
Tang San turned to see Grandmaster walking in with a few other teachers.
"Teacher," Tang San said, hurrying over.
Grandmaster patted Tang San's head and smiled. "Come eat with me on the second floor. The food there is much better."
Tang San glanced back at Aotian and the others, then shook his head. "No, thank you. I'll stay here and eat with my dorm mates."
A look of appreciation appeared in Grandmaster's eyes. "Alright. After you finish eating, wait for me at the cafeteria entrance. I'll take you to my dormitory."
"Okay," Tang San nodded.
Grandmaster glanced at Aotian and noticed Aotian wasn't looking at him. He didn't mind and went upstairs with the other teachers.
Wang Sheng's expression was strange as he asked, "Tang San, you took Grandmaster as your master?"
Tang San nodded.
Wang Sheng reached out to touch Tang San's forehead, his face a mask of disbelief. "You didn't get scammed by him, did you? I heard he's only allowed to stay at the academy because of his connection with the Dean. Besides, his cultivation talent is terrible. He's almost fifty and still at the Great Soul Master realm, spending all his time researching that nonsense theory of his. I advise you…"
"Shut up!" Tang San cut Wang Sheng off, his expression severe. "He is my teacher. If you speak ill of him again, don't blame me for being ruthless."
He paused, then said indifferently, "Thank you for your kind offer, but I don't need you to treat me."
With that, Tang San turned and walked away.
Wang Sheng stood there, stunned. It took him several seconds to react before he cursed, "What the hell is wrong with that guy?"
(end of chapter)
Wang Sheng and the others stared, their eyes glued to the shimmering gold soul coin.
In all their lives, they had never even touched a gold soul coin. They usually dealt with copper soul coins, and even silver soul coins were a rare sight.
"As expected of a rich young master, casually offering a gold soul coin," they thought to themselves.
Initially, after learning about Aotian's wealthy identity, they had felt a bit distant from him. But now, amazed by his generosity, they were already wondering if they should try to get on his good side and reap some benefits.
Xiao Wu, still unfamiliar with many things in the human world and having no concept of money, was not surprised at all.
Aotian was about to give the gold soul coin to Xiao Wu, but after a moment's thought, he put it away.
"Forget it, I'll go eat with you," he said, getting off the bed.
Wang Sheng smiled at Aotian and said, "Perfect, let's all go together."
Then, he looked at Tang San. "Tang San, come with us."
Tang San shook his head. "You guys go ahead. I ate breakfast not long ago, so I'm not hungry yet."
In truth, his stomach was already growling. He just didn't have any money. All the money his family had was taken by his alcoholic father to buy wine, leaving not a single coin behind.
Fortunately, he had prepared some coarse biscuits before coming. If he ate sparingly, he could probably last two or three days.
Once he started working the day after tomorrow, he would be able to collect his wages.
Wang Sheng looked at the patches, large and small, on Tang San's clothes. How could he not understand Tang San's predicament?
They were all children from poor families. Wang Sheng had seen situations like Tang San's many times.
As the former dormitory boss, he still had some sense of responsibility. "You don't have a job yet," he said. "Consider your meals for these two days on me. Once you get paid, you can treat me back."
Xiao Wu finally understood and asked, "Tang San, you don't have money either?"
Tang San nodded helplessly.
"Then come with us," Xiao Wu said.
She felt that as the dormitory boss, she had a responsibility to take care of everyone.
Tang San was silent for a few seconds before slowly nodding and standing up.
A smile appeared on Wang Sheng's face as he shouted, "Let's go!"
Including Aotian, the twelve of them left the dormitory and headed towards the cafeteria.
During meal times, the campus grew even more lively, with many students making their way to the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was vast, with two floors. The food on the first floor was more ordinary—pre-made fast food that was affordably priced. It was the dining place of choice for many students with tight pockets.
The second floor, however, was for made-to-order dishes. The prices were very expensive, and only the academy's teachers and wealthy students could afford to eat there.
The majority of Nuoding Academy's students could only afford to eat on the first floor.
At this moment, a long line had already formed on the first floor of the cafeteria. Wang Sheng led the way, taking a spot at the very end of the line.
He turned back and said helplessly, "Sister Xiao Wu, we're late. We'll have to wait a bit."
Xiao Wu rubbed her stomach and smiled. "It's okay, I'm not that hungry yet."
Aotian, however, looked up at the second floor, contemplating whether he should go up to eat and whether he should take Xiao Wu with him.
This little girl seemed nice enough; at least she didn't annoy him.
Aotian had taken a quick glance earlier and found the food on the first floor to be far too plain. The chefs' skills were average, completely unable to satisfy his picky palate.
Just as he was thinking, a voice far louder than the din of the cafeteria rang out. "Well, well! Isn't this Wang Sheng's group of paupers? Having to suffer just to get a meal. Why bother?"
Aotian looked up to see a group of students in bright, stylish clothes standing on the stairs between the first and second floors, looking down on them with condescending expressions.
Today was only the first day of enrollment, and classes hadn't started yet, so the academy hadn't made wearing the school uniform mandatory.
From their attire, it was clear they were a group of rich scions.
The leader was a boy who looked to be about the same age as Wang Sheng, around eleven or twelve. He was rather handsome and leaned against the railing with both hands, a mocking look on his face as he stared at Wang Sheng.
"Paupers will always be paupers. You'll never be able to eat on the second floor."
After speaking, he let out a sneer, turned, and stomped up the stairs. His companions also burst into derisive laughter, a sound that was extremely grating to the ears of Wang Sheng and the other work-study students.
Wang Sheng's face turned utterly grim, and he clenched his fist so tightly his knuckles turned white, but he dared not voice his anger.
He couldn't afford to provoke the people upstairs.
But while he could swallow his anger, Xiao Wu could not. As the dormitory's boss, encountering something like this on her very first day—how could her straightforward personality tolerate it?
"And what are you supposed to be? Is the second floor such a big deal?"
The first floor had fallen silent, and Xiao Wu's clear, angry shout carried distinctly to the group of people above.
The group, who had been about to step onto the second floor, paused. The leader turned back and carefully scanned the line of work-study students before his eyes landed on the petite Xiao Wu.
"Well, now. To think there's such a pretty Little Loli here. I'd really love to hold her and toy with her, tsk tsk…" the boy's aggressive gaze swept over Xiao Wu.
His group of friends immediately broke into sinister, jeering laughter.
It was the first time Xiao Wu had been stared at with such a lewd gaze. An unexplainable panic rose in her heart, and she subconsciously grabbed Aotian's arm.
The group of boys' gazes shifted to Aotian.
"What a pretty kid," the leading boy couldn't help but praise, then laughed. "I wonder if he'll cry for a long time if I punch him in the face, haha…"
After saying that, he rubbed his stomach. "I'm going to eat now. I'll deal with you all next time."
His gaze lingered on Xiao Wu for another moment, taking a deep look, before he finally stepped onto the second floor.
"This is too much!" Xiao Wu shrieked with rage and was about to charge forward.
"Boss, don't be reckless," Wang Sheng hurriedly shouted.
Xiao Wu stopped, turning to look at Wang Sheng with dissatisfaction. "You can tolerate this? Are you even men?"
Wang Sheng smiled bitterly. "Sister Xiao Wu, it's not that we want to endure it, but we really can't afford to provoke that group. The one in the lead is Xiao Chenyu, known as Boss Xiao. His father is the City Lord of our Nuoding City. Within Nuoding Academy, Boss Xiao can practically do whatever he wants. We can't win against him."
"We've had duels with them many times, and we get beaten miserably every single time," another student added.
"Let it go. We're here to eat," Tang San said as well.
With that, he walked to the back of the line by himself to queue up.
In his view, the so-called Boss Xiao was just a child. He wasn't worth getting worked up over.
"Tang San, you're the third-strongest in our dormitory. How can you be so cowardly?" Xiao Wu said, displeased.
Tang San shook his head, ignoring her.
"Xiao San, what are you doing here?" Grandmaster's voice suddenly sounded.
Tang San turned to see Grandmaster walking in with a few other teachers.
"Teacher," Tang San said, hurrying over.
Grandmaster patted Tang San's head and smiled. "Come eat with me on the second floor. The food there is much better."
Tang San glanced back at Aotian and the others, then shook his head. "No, thank you. I'll stay here and eat with my dorm mates."
A look of appreciation appeared in Grandmaster's eyes. "Alright. After you finish eating, wait for me at the cafeteria entrance. I'll take you to my dormitory."
"Okay," Tang San nodded.
Grandmaster glanced at Aotian and noticed Aotian wasn't looking at him. He didn't mind and went upstairs with the other teachers.
Wang Sheng's expression was strange as he asked, "Tang San, you took Grandmaster as your master?"
Tang San nodded.
Wang Sheng reached out to touch Tang San's forehead, his face a mask of disbelief. "You didn't get scammed by him, did you? I heard he's only allowed to stay at the academy because of his connection with the Dean. Besides, his cultivation talent is terrible. He's almost fifty and still at the Great Soul Master realm, spending all his time researching that nonsense theory of his. I advise you…"
"Shut up!" Tang San cut Wang Sheng off, his expression severe. "He is my teacher. If you speak ill of him again, don't blame me for being ruthless."
He paused, then said indifferently, "Thank you for your kind offer, but I don't need you to treat me."
With that, Tang San turned and walked away.
Wang Sheng stood there, stunned. It took him several seconds to react before he cursed, "What the hell is wrong with that guy?"
(end of chapter)
