Wang Teng decisively gave up on responding and chose instead to be a faithful listener.
After talking himself hoarse, the middle-aged man finally felt satisfied. Only then did he realize he might have been a bit too verbose—the young man beside him had already closed his eyes and fallen asleep.
The strange looks from the surrounding passengers made him feel uncomfortable all over. He gave an awkward laugh and turned to leave the area.
That kid has no sense of decency!
He actually fell asleep and left me alone to bear all this judgment.
This is outrageous!
Huff—
Tang Yue lifted her eyelids slightly. Seeing that the annoying man had finally left, she let out a breath of relief. Then she suddenly realized she seemed to be holding onto something.
She instinctively reacted and withdrew her right hand.
Her heart felt a little uneasy as her thoughts caught up with her actions.
Did I pinch too hard just now…?
Looking at the already sleeping Wang Teng, she quietly reached out again and gently lifted the fabric at his waist.
Her beautiful eyes widened in shock.
"Is this guy made of rubber?"
"I pinched that hard, and there isn't even a bruise?"
She was genuinely incredulous. Lowering his clothes again, her understanding of Wang Teng's mysteriousness was once more refreshed.
After all, she was a mid-tier mage—far stronger than an ordinary person. Just now, that pinch had been completely subconscious… and she hadn't held back at all.
Sensing the gazes around her—some of them openly teasing—she instinctively avoided eye contact. Pretending to be calm, she lifted a hand to brush her hair aside and turned her gaze toward the window.
Her skin was still far too thin for this kind of situation.
Amid the strange atmosphere, time passed quickly. Before long, the train entered a bustling, noisy metropolis.
"Hey—wake up. We've arrived."
Wang Teng groggily felt a soft hand pushing him, accompanied by a gentle yet slightly impatient voice.
The moment he remembered that he was here to awaken magic, his mind instantly snapped awake.
"Ah—already?"
"Get off the train!"
"Oh…"
One after the other, the two followed the flow of passengers down the aisle and out of the carriage.
Perhaps knowing that Wang Teng had never been to a big city and wasn't familiar with the layout, Tang Yue grabbed his arm and led the way ahead.
In a major city, the crowds were naturally enormous. Where there were crowds, there was chaos—people in a rush shoved and pushed constantly.
Seeing someone behind them dragging a large suitcase forward without even watching the road, charging straight through—
Wang Teng reacted instantly. He pulled Tang Yue back toward him and wrapped an arm around her waist.
He immediately felt her body stiffen for a split second.
But when she noticed the person squeezing past from behind, she understood at once and leaned slightly closer to him.
"There are too many people—"
"—Hiss!"
"Don't you know a woman's waist isn't something you can just grab?"
Tang Yue looked at Wang Teng with a half-smile that wasn't quite a smile. What exactly had this guy been doing these past few days? His courage was growing by the day.
Catching the look from the corner of his eye and realizing she had seen through his act, Wang Teng stopped pretending. His left arm tightened instead, pulling her closer, his gaze flickering with provocation.
Tang Yue looked at him calmly, as if watching a child fool around—utterly childish. She stopped paying attention to him and followed the crowd toward the exit.
Outside the station, a sports car was parked by the roadside. A delicate-looking girl leaned her head out of the window, her expression full of surprise.
"Cousin Yue, did you get yourself a boyfriend?"
"No. This is the kid I told you about—the one coming to awaken magic. He's got a bit of a thing for older women. Bear with it."
"And shouldn't you let go now?"
Tang Yue smiled freely as she looked at Wang Teng, who stood there stiff-faced and dark-skinned, her mood instantly improving.
Beside them, Tang Wenwen wore a completely confused expression.
Such childish behavior perfectly reinforced Tang Yue's authority as the 'big sister.'
She released Wang Teng's hand, walked around to the other side of the car, opened the back door, and sat down gracefully.
After standing there blankly for a moment, Wang Teng finally realized what had just happened.
He hadn't expected Tang Yue to so casually turn the tables on him.
That kind of effortless smear left him completely speechless.
After all, he was younger—and he had been holding her—while Tang Yue looked utterly unconcerned.
Didn't that basically confirm her version of events?
Huff—
Taking a deep breath, he relaxed and put his confident smile back on. He opened the car door and sat down beside Tang Yue.
With an expression full of magnanimity, he looked at the girl driving and said calmly:
"Don't listen to your Cousin Yue's nonsense. I'm her boyfriend."
"A few days ago, we even slept in the same place. The road here was crowded today—too packed—so she's in a bad mood."
"You're a woman too. You know how women have those days when they get irritable…"
The light inside the car suddenly dimmed.
Gulp.
Wang Teng felt dark-element magic surging beside him. The words caught in his throat and were swallowed back down immediately.
Seeing the interior of the sports car darken significantly, he sat up straight, eyes forward, as if nothing had happened at all.
"Pfft—"
Tang Wenwen couldn't hold it in and laughed, quickly covering her mouth. But the amusement in her eyes was impossible to hide.
With one hand on the steering wheel, she drove toward the Magic Association, her gaze repeatedly flicking to the small mirror reflecting the faces of the two in the back seat.
Their mutual sparring was absolutely delightful.
Isn't this straight out of a movie?
Tang Yue glanced sideways, her face flushed red. Her chest rose and fell as the dark-element magic around her fluctuated.
She had miscalculated.
She hadn't expected this little bastard to be so utterly shameless.
By the time New Year came around, she could already imagine what she'd be facing.
If the girl driving opened her mouth and spread this around, she'd be completely unable to defend herself.
How could one mouth fight against dozens?
She wasn't Zhuge Liang—she couldn't debate a crowd into submission.
After a long while, the lighting inside the car finally returned to normal.
Wang Teng quietly breathed a sigh of relief, a look of fortunate delight on his face.
At least this time… he hadn't been viciously pinched.
Tang Yue said nothing more. After glaring at her sister in the driver's seat, she closed her eyes to rest—though the redness on her face refused to fade.
All kinds of imagined scenes flashed through her mind—
"Niece Yue, I heard from Wenwen that you found a very young boyfriend?"
"Niece Yue, since you've got a boyfriend, why didn't you bring him back for New Year so we could take a look?"
"Niece Yue, how's the young man? Where's he from? Is he a mage?"
"Yue—"
Her thoughts played like a slideshow.
She suddenly regretted bickering with Wang Teng.
She knew he was bold, shameless, and thick-skinned like a city wall.
Why had she bothered playing along?
She'd just brought trouble upon herself.
Should I just not go home this New Year?
There were always missions—she could easily find an excuse.
The thought of facing those people made her scalp tingle.
Compared to that… she'd rather go hunt the Black Vatican.
And besides—
This guy's strength was still a bit low.
Wouldn't bringing him back be… embarrassing?
Huh—why am I even thinking about that…?