"Brother Ling, youâre insane!"
He Jian walked over to Ye Ling, unable to hold back his admiration.
To be honest, even though heâd wanted to compete from the start, he never actually had any confidence theyâd win the whole thing. After all, he was just used to playing casual pickup games.
But with Ye Lingâs incredible performance, he had single-handedly carried Dorm 3222 to the championship throne!
"It was nothing, really."
Ye Ling said with a chuckle, waving his hand dismissively.
âThe tenfold physique enhancement made my speed, reflexes, strength, and endurance far beyond a normal personâs. Combined with my decent skills from before, playing was naturally a breeze.â
âWinning a freshman tournament like this? A piece of cake.â
"Since we won the championship, we have to celebrate tonight. My treat. How about that hot pot place from last time?"
Yang Yefeng walked over, a smile on his face.
Even though he hadnât played, the victory belonged to their Dorm 3222, which brought him a great deal of pride!
"I just found out that Yefeng here is secretly loaded,"
Yang Yu chimed in from the side. "I saw heâs running a public account and raking in several hundred a day!"
"Oh, is that right? Well then, we canât go easy on him tonight."
Hearing this, Ye Ling and He Jian both broke into mischievous grins.
ăThat eveningă
The four brothers of Dorm 3222 arrived at the hot pot restaurant once again.
When the cute young waitresses saw Ye Ling was back, they immediately rushed a soup base over to his table.
"Iâve been meaning to ask since last time, why do we get our soup base so fast?"
Yang Yu asked in confusion, munching on some peanuts.
âWhen we came in, I clearly saw a bunch of other tables that hadnât gotten their food yet!â
"Ahem, well... you might have to ask Brother Ling about that," He Jian immediately said.
"Brother Ling?"
Yang Yu was taken aback for a moment before hazarding a guess. "Donât tell me... Brother Ling owns this hot pot place!?"
With his limited imagination, he couldnât possibly guess the real reason, so he just connected it to the fact that Ye Ling was loaded.
"No, no, no. Havenât you noticed? In the past few rounds of service, weâve already had four or five different waitresses, and theyâve all been women!"
He Jian shook his head, a mysterious look on his face.
"So what?"
Yang Yu scratched his head, clearly not getting it yet.
"Itâs obvious all these girls are here for Brother Ling! Didnât you see how they were all staring at him the second they came over?"
"Holy crap, seriously?"
Yang Yuâs eyes widened.
Just then, another cute waitress walked in carrying a plate of beef tripe. As she set it down, she deliberately leaned close to Ye Ling, tilting her head so her face almost brushed against his.
Naturally, this scene did not escape the notice of He Jian and the other two at the table.
After the waitress left, Yang Yu gulped. "That... that was another new one, wasnât it?"
"What can I say? This charm is just unstoppable."
Ye Ling sighed with a helpless expression, then ignored the sour looks from his friends and started cooking various meats in the hot pot.
Gradually, He Jian and the others noticed something was off. Ye Ling was cooking meat, but he was putting most of it on a separate plate instead of eating it.
"Brother Ling, what are you doing?"
Yang Yu asked, his curiosity piqued again.
Ye Ling glanced at the little curiosity cat, shook his head again, and said, "You donât want to know."
"Damn it, I really do want to know."
Yang Yu suddenly felt aggrieved.
Ye Ling glanced at him, and seeing his pleading look, had no choice but to say, "Itâs for my girlfriend."
In an instant, Yang Yuâs face darkened with exasperation.
Great, another faceful of PDA!
No wonder Ye Ling had said he wouldnât want to know...
Damn it, he really had no comeback for that!
"Yang Yu, from now on, just shut your mouth when weâre eating!"
He Jian and Yang Yefeng, having also been force-fed a dose of PDA, couldnât help but chime in.
âItâs all his fault for asking so many stupid questions...â
The meal lasted for over two hours. By the time Ye Ling and the others got back to Modu University, it was nearly eleven oâclock.
He Jian and the other two tacitly decided not to disturb Ye Ling and went straight back to the dorm. Ye Ling, meanwhile, walked over to the front of the Dorm 4 building. After a momentâs thought, he gave Ning Ruoxi a call.
"Chouchou, what are you doing here?"
A moment later, Ning Ruoxi came running downstairs. Her eyes scanned the area before she ran over to Ye Ling, pouting. "Itâs already past curfew. The dorm mom almost didnât let me out."
"I brought you something to eat."
Ye Ling held up the bag in his hand, swinging it in front of her.
Inside the bag were several takeout containers filled with all the meat and vegetables Ye Ling had specially cooked for Ning Ruoxi earlier.
Ning Ruoxiâs eyes lit up when she saw it.
Lately at Modu University, she had been eating the standard-issue meals provided for military training, which were, to put it mildly... hard to stomach.
"Nnngh, but... Iâm supposed to be on a diet."
Ning Ruoxi stuck out her tongue playfully, but her eyes remained glued to the bag in Ye Lingâs hand.
"Fine, Iâll just go give it to Luo Yue then."
Ye Ling immediately made a show of turning to leave.
"No way!"
Ning Ruoxi snatched the bag away from him and pouted. "If you made it for me, then only I get to have it!"
"You hear that, missy? Itâs not that I donât want to give it to you, okay?"
Just then, Ye Ling suddenly raised his phone. A mischievous smile touched his lips as he spoke into it.
"Hmph! Stinky Ruoruo, Iâm not your bestest friend in the whole world anymore!"
RAWR! RAWR!
Luo Yueâs "ferocious dragon roar" instantly erupted from the other end of the line.
Ye Ling hung up in a flash. Without a second thought, before Ning Ruoxi could even react, he turned and bolted!
"That awful guy..."
Watching Ye Lingâs retreating figure, Ning Ruoxi stomped her foot in exasperation.
If it werenât for all this delicious meat, sheâd definitely hunt that bad guy down and chop him to bits!
Meanwhile, Ye Ling, who had just returned to Dorm 3222, felt a sudden, inexplicable chill run down his spine... and a little lower.
âWhatâs going on? Itâs not like Iâve been... depleting the family line recently, have I?â
Ye Ling frowned and sighed. Back in his dorm, he brewed himself a cup of goji berry tea.
Yes.
âI must be getting old. Time to start taking better care of myself!â