When Su Xiaoqi and Zhu Zhuqing arrived at the registration area of Shrek Academy, a long line had already formed.
There were over a hundred people ahead of them. Because of the crowd, they couldn't spot Tang San, Xiao Wu, or Ning Rongrong.
> "These people were probably tricked by Shrek Academy's so-called 'advertising.' They came here to register just to get fleeced."
> "Ten gold soul coins per person—that's a serious haul."
Su Xiaoqi despised this scammy behavior. If Shrek had clearly stated their entry requirements beforehand, it would've been one thing—people could make their own choices.
But instead, they deliberately hid the requirements until **after** people paid, and then refused to refund anything. That was just **too much**.
You had to understand—**a single gold soul coin** could support a normal family for a long time. And they were asking for **ten**?
Zhu Zhuqing nodded in agreement. She now understood the shady side of this situation too.
Zhu Zhuqing looked at Su Xiaoqi and asked, "Got any ideas?"
Su Xiaoqi smiled. "I came here today **to stir things up**. Watch and learn."
He patted the shoulder of the person in front of him—a man who appeared to be around 14–15 years old, or possibly just looked young like Zhu Zhuqing. Either way, it didn't matter.
When the man turned around, Su Xiaoqi said, "Hey big bro, did you bring your kid here to sign up too?"
The middle-aged man nodded. "Yeah. Why?"
Putting on a fawning smile, Su Xiaoqi replied, "Brother, I heard Shrek Academy has a big reputation. Graduates can even become elders in Spirit Hall. That's **Spirit Hall**, man."
"So I brought my little sister all the way from the countryside to apply. But... sigh."
He let out a long sigh and showed a look of grievance.
The man frowned. "But what? Just say it."
"I asked around in Soto City about Shrek Academy. Turns out they don't even have proper accreditation! Worse, I heard they **scam people** into coming here just to collect registration fees. Their requirements are so strict that no one qualifies."
"I figured I might as well check it out since we were already here. But then I found out the fee is **10 gold soul coins**, and if you fail, they **don't refund**. Isn't that just robbery?"
"Coming from a poor village, we don't have that kind of money. I saved and sacrificed everything just to give my sister a chance. And now this? What am I supposed to do?"
"I can't go back, and I can't stay either. I came today to see for myself if Shrek really is the scam people say it is—are they truly stealing the hard-earned money of us commoners?"
Zhu Zhuqing was stunned watching Su Xiaoqi's performance—especially the **fake crying**. If she hadn't known better, she might've actually believed him.
The middle-aged man in front of them clearly did believe him. Seeing Su Xiaoqi's ragged clothes, he was 80% convinced. After all, who would dress like that unless they were truly poor?
Just then, a commotion broke out at the front of the line. Even those in the back could faintly hear shouts of "refund" and other complaints.
Su Xiaoqi's eyes lit up. "This is just like in the original story!"
He quickly said, "Brother, seems like everything I heard is true. Shrek Academy really is using the cover of recruitment to **scam poor people** out of their money."
"I may be poor, but I've still got integrity. Today I'm going to **expose them**, so no one else like me gets tricked!"
Then Su Xiaoqi pulled Zhu Zhuqing along and moved up in the line, repeating his sob story to the next person.
What he didn't expect was that the middle-aged man behind him turned out to have a **fiery temper**.
As the argument at the front got louder and clearer, the man suddenly shouted:
> "Damn this crooked Shrek Academy! Today I'm going to cause a scene—let's see what they'll do!"
> "Folks, let's go help those people get their money back and report this place! Shut them down!"
Word spread fast. As more and more people heard what was happening, they grew angry too. A tide of furious applicants surged toward the registration desk.
Su Xiaoqi and Zhu Zhuqing slowly slipped out of the crowd. Watching the growing chaos, Su Xiaoqi smirked:
> "Now Shrek Academy's in trouble. Serves them right. Today, they're coughing up **every gold coin they swallowed**."
Zhu Zhuqing just stared at him in disbelief. After a moment, she asked, "Were you this good at tricking girls too?"
Su Xiaoqi replied helplessly, "Zhuqing, don't slander me like that. I've never even had a girlfriend."
> "With acting like that? Who'd believe you? Men are all liars."
Even though she said that, Zhu Zhuqing didn't let go of his arm.
Just as Su Xiaoqi was about to protest, he noticed a **familiar figure** walking toward them—with a mysterious smile on her face.
> "What's she doing here? Don't tell me she's coming for me…"
He muttered under his breath.
At that moment, Zhu Zhuqing's cold voice reached his ear:
> "Is Ning Rongrong pretty?"
> "She's alright... not as pretty as you," Su Xiaoqi replied instinctively.
The version of Ning Rongrong approaching looked like her **anime adaptation**, not the one from the original novel. That confirmed something for Su Xiaoqi:
> This world really **was** the original *Douluo Dalu* universe.
> "Then stop looking. You're not allowed to look."
Zhu Zhuqing's icy voice rang again as she stepped in front of Su Xiaoqi, blocking his view.
Ning Rongrong, seemingly ignoring Zhu Zhuqing, walked straight up to Su Xiaoqi, looked up, and smiled:
> "Hi, I'm Ning Rongrong. That little act you just did? Not bad. But too bad—you can't fool **my** eyes."
Su Xiaoqi frowned. "Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."
Zhu Zhuqing coldly said, "Go away. You're not welcome here."
> "What if I told everyone how you two tricked them?" Ning Rongrong smiled sweetly but put heavy emphasis on "you two siblings."
As the tension escalated, Ning Rongrong suddenly extended her hand and grinned:
> "Just kidding\~ I won't rat you out. I actually thought your stunt was **pretty entertaining**, so I wanted to get to know you."
Su Xiaoqi answered coldly, "Sorry, I'm not interested in being friends. Feel free to tell whoever you like. But if that's all, please don't bother us."
(End of Chapter)