Tingyun kept pouring drink after drink for Su Ran.
By now,
her arm was beginning to ache.
Yet despite all that wine,
there wasn't the slightest sign of him getting drunk.
It made her grind her teeth in frustration.
Even Su Ran started to feel a little sorry for her.
People always said, "Wine doesn't intoxicate people; people intoxicate themselves."
So...if he simply refused to get drunk, that seemed perfectly reasonable too.
Seeing Tingyun becoming so angry that she was literally gritting her teeth, Su Ran finally decided to grant her wish.
With a thud, he collapsed face-first onto the table.
There.
Now I know it's time to be drunk.
"Everyone."
"My Benefactor has had too much to drink and needs to rest."
"I've already settled the bill."
"I won't disturb everyone else's meal any longer."
Tingyun helped the unconscious Su Ran to his feet.
Despite constantly calling herself a delicate young woman, she supported his weight with remarkable ease, showing none of the frailty she liked to claim.
"...Uh..."
March 7th looked around the table.
Everyone remained perfectly calm.
They're really just going to let Tingyun take him away?
Miss Tingyun looked...very angry.
She was almost certainly planning to get revenge on Su Ran in private.
Shouldn't someone stop her?
"Miss March 7th..."
"Do you have any objections?"
Tingyun smiled sweetly at her.
To March, however, that smile was absolutely terrifying.
"N-None!"
"Thank you very much for treating us tonight, Miss Tingyun!"
Seeing the flames threatening to spread toward herself, March wisely chose to surrender immediately.
Even Yukong wasn't saying anything.
How could she possibly dare interfere?
Forget it.
With Su Ran's strength, nothing serious would happen anyway.
March decided to mind her own business.
The guilty one was Su Ran, not her.
She hadn't bullied Tingyun.
"Then..."
"I'll be taking Benefactor with me."
Radiating an overwhelming aura of murderous intent, Tingyun left the restaurant with Su Ran in tow.
Only after she had disappeared did March pat her chest in relief.
"Miss Tingyun is way too scary..."
"She looks so gentle and delicate..."
"And she's not even Phantylia in disguise."
"So how can she be this intimidating?"
"But, Helmswoman Yukong..."
"Are we really just going to let Su Ran be taken away?"
March was still somewhat worried about his safety.
Yukong, however, showed no concern whatsoever.
"What's there to worry about?"
"His abilities are beyond imagination."
"He'll be perfectly fine."
"It's better to let Tingyun vent her frustrations first."
After all, Yukong was firmly on Tingyun's side.
She had practically raised the girl herself.
Calling herself Tingyun's mother wouldn't have been much of an exaggeration.
"I see..."
"Then nothing too bad should happen..."
March finally relaxed.
Thinking about it, Tingyun wasn't exactly going to kill her own Benefactor.
At worst, she'd teach him a lesson.
Then another thought crossed her mind, leaving her visibly disappointed.
"I kind of want to see how Miss Tingyun gets her revenge..."
"The fall of a Genius..."
"That sounds strangely exciting."
Stelle, who had been stuffing herself the entire time, immediately stopped eating.
"Then..."
"Why don't we secretly go watch?"
If inspiration struck, action should follow immediately!
"Helmswoman Yukong..."
"Would you like to come with us?"
March still felt a little nervous.
If there were enough people, it would be much safer.
"No."
"I'd rather not watch that fellow suffer."
Yukong had no intention of asking how Tingyun planned to exact her revenge.
Better to preserve a favorable impression.
Meanwhile,
Tingyun supported Su Ran as they hurried through the streets, heading straight toward her home.
Quite a few passersby noticed the pair.
"General..."
"Wasn't that... Miss Tingyun?"
Yanqing, who was accompanying Jing Yuan, stared at the hurried figures.
"Surely that can't still be Phantylia."
"Given Mr. Su Ran's abilities, I doubt she'd be able to deceive him."
Watching the two disappear into the distance, Jing Yuan smiled.
Seeing someone previously believed dead
walking around alive once more
filled him with genuine relief.
At least, the Luofu had avoided yet another painful loss.
"Should we go greet them?"
Yanqing rather wanted to say hello to Su Ran.
Though...
he wasn't entirely sure what to call him anymore.
Grandmaster?
"...Better not."
"They seem to be in quite a hurry."
"I'm sure they have something important to do."
Seeing the unmistakably lovestruck expression on Tingyun's face, Jing Yuan felt that stopping them now would probably lead to very unpleasant consequences.
Miss Tingyun likely wouldn't appreciate the interruption.
"How strange..."
"If I remember correctly..."
"It's only been a few days."
Not only had Tingyun returned from the dead, she also seemed incredibly close to Su Ran.
Jing Yuan couldn't help wondering just what Su Ran had been doing during this time.
More importantly...where was his master?
Jingliu had disappeared together with Su Ran for quite a while.
Now Su Ran had returned, yet Jingliu was nowhere to be seen.
It was rather puzzling.
Before he could think further, two more figures came running over.
Unlike Su Ran and Tingyun, who had ignored them completely, Stelle and March immediately spotted Jing Yuan and Yanqing.
"What a coincidence, General Jing Yuan!"
Even though it was nighttime, the streets of the Luofu remained crowded.
Not long after setting out, Stelle and March had completely lost sight of Su Ran and Tingyun.
So seeing Jing Yuan now felt like finding salvation.
Talk about perfect timing.
"General Jing Yuan!"
"Have you seen my dad?"
Jing Yuan casually pointed in the wrong direction.
"They went that way."
"Thanks!"
"When we record the video later, I'll send you a copy!"
Stelle grabbed March and sprinted off in the direction he'd indicated.
...Send me a copy?
Wouldn't it be rather inappropriate for me to watch someone else's private affairs?
Fortunately, he hadn't told them where Su Ran had actually gone.
Otherwise, Mr. Su Ran would probably have been rather displeased.
"General..."
"Why did you lie to them?"
Yanqing looked completely confused.
Miss Tingyun had obviously gone home.
The direction Jing Yuan had pointed was the exact opposite.
"Yanqing."
"Don't ruin a good thing."
"If Mr. Su Ran and someone from the Xianzhou become happily united..."
"...that would be a joyous occasion indeed."
Jing Yuan, as always, saw the bigger picture.
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