I really don't want to date a girl addicted to the internet!

"Hey~ Why are you so angry? Am I really going to pounce on you?"

"Asuna Nagasaki!"

The two girls' bickering echoed near the laundry room, and apart from the NPCs who couldn't understand Chinese, no one noticed what was happening.

……

Dinner time, banquet hall.

Everyone gathered here, the somber atmosphere almost palpable, as if on the eve of the Normandy landings in history, generals and staff officers faced a crucial decision.

"So, what exactly happened?"

"Did we do something wrong and are we being punished?"

They gathered around the notice board that displayed today's menu, which listed only one dish.

"Mixed Bitter Melon Soup, Price: 5 Gold Coins"

"It looks very suspicious. I've never even heard of this dish before."

"Who on earth likes to eat bitter melon? This thing shouldn't exist in this world."

"Are there really no other options?"

Zhou Han shrank back and took her best friend's arm. "Ruan Jingyi, why don't we take a bag of survival food? Bitter melon soup sounds awful."

"Hmm." The quiet girl frowned slightly, revealing a rare expression.

Nagasaki Asuna, with her hands behind her back, casually approached Shen Xi and said, "So you were tricked by Cheng Fei? The well is locked with a fence; you can't go down there at all."

The aloof young woman frowned slightly, staring at the menu in silence, seemingly also troubled about what to eat tonight.

"What do we do now? Anyone want to give it a try?" someone asked.

"I don't want to waste my precious gold coins. Who knows what else is inside besides bitter melon? Maybe I'll just be paying to suffer."

"Yeah, they said a meal would cost one gold coin, but it's going to cost five. We might as well just eat survival food."

Everyone looked at each other in dismay, as if they were afraid of a flood or a ferocious beast.

At this moment, the boy with his hands in his pockets walked forward nonchalantly and sighed, "In that case, I'll try it for everyone."

Cheng Fei placed a row of gold coins in front of the NPC and said, "I'd like a bowl of bitter melon soup."

"Okay." The NPC bowed slightly.

"Cheng Fei..."

"Cheng Fei is still the most reliable."

"Exactly, these guys brag all the time, but when it really matters, they're all cowards and stingy. They won't even buy a bowl of soup to try."

The girls whispered among themselves as they watched the boy's tall, straight back.

"Damn it, this kid got tricked again. But the game coins are really precious. Spending five coins on food that doesn't even look appetizing, does he not care about winning at all?" Chen Hao clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

"No matter what, let's wait and see how he does it," Du Xinhua shrugged.

Soon, a large bowl of so-called mixed bitter melon soup was served to Cheng Fei.

The boy, like a highly anticipated gourmet, stirred the food with a spoon under everyone's gaze, raised an eyebrow, and said, "There's shredded meat, wood ear mushrooms, and a fried egg. It looks pretty good?"

He scooped up a spoonful and smelled it. "Hmm, it smells pretty good."

Then, the boy drank it down along with the ingredients and smacked his lips.

The students, who had been hungry for most of the day, couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Cheng Fei, what's going on?"

"Say something."

"Is it bitter or not?"

530. Everyone says it's not bitter.

Under everyone's gaze, Cheng Fei rubbed his chin and pondered, "It's a little bit bitter, but it's okay. I think it's acceptable. Eating some bitter melon occasionally to cool down is quite nice, isn't it?"

After the boy finished speaking, he put another spoonful into his mouth and sighed contentedly.

"Although I really want to believe Cheng Fei, he said before that the survival food was quite delicious, so I'm suspicious..."

"That's right……"

Some of the girls were whispering to each other.

"I'll have one to try too. Actually, I've done a lot of tasks and have quite a few gold coins." Chen Hao volunteered, rolling up his sleeves.

Everyone shifted their attention, waiting for the second taster to take the stage.

The food was served to him. The tall, muscular man with the pompadour took a spoonful, remained silent for a second with a blank expression, and then looked at Cheng Fei.

In that instant, their eyes met, as if a thousand words were being exchanged.

Chen Hao suddenly widened his eyes, revealing a serious expression of surprise, and exclaimed in a loud voice, "I didn't expect it to be so delicious!"

After saying that, he simply picked it up and took a sip, as if it were some kind of delicacy.

Another boy from Class 6 of Grade 1 breathed a sigh of relief. "Then I'm relieved. Actually, my family often makes stewed pork ribs with bitter melon. Seeing how scared you guys were, I thought it was a scam. I'll have one too. It's okay if it's a little more expensive. I don't want to eat chalk all the time."

Soon, he also got his food, took a bite without hesitation, paused for a second, and looked at Cheng Fei and Chen Hao.

In that instant, their eyes met, as if a thousand words were being exchanged.

"This tastes just right. Not only is it not bitter, but it also has a sweet and savory flavor if you taste it carefully. It might be made by a chef from China. It's delicious, no doubt about it!" The boy gave a thumbs up, speaking with the seriousness of a true gourmet.

"Then I'll have one too. I don't mind if it's a bit expensive. I didn't eat lunch and I'm starving."

"I want me too."

So, the students, who completely believed the three men's story, began to line up to buy soup on their own.

Everyone who got the soup first took a sip with great anticipation, but all fell silent with blank expressions. When asked by those in line, they immediately smiled and gave a thumbs up.

When no one was watching, Cheng Fei quietly got up, pulled Lin Xuanqi, who had been watching the whole thing, and quickly left the banquet hall.

"Why are you running away? Why aren't you eating?" Lin Xuanqi asked suspiciously.

"Xuanqi, why aren't you eating?" The boy's expression gradually became complicated.

"I don't like bitter melon anyway, so get me something else," Lin Xuanqi said casually.

"Thank goodness you didn't eat it, it's really bitter... I can't take it!" The boy covered his mouth, his expression turning extremely painful, as if he had just swallowed some kind of poison.

"So you're playing them again? Is it really that bad?" Lin Xuanqi frowned as she observed him.

"I told the chef not to remove the seeds and pith, and to add raw bitter melon juice after cooking. How could they drink that? Ugh..."

Lin Xuanqi stared at the boy with a bitter expression, her brows furrowed, both angry and amused. "Cheng Fei, sometimes I really don't know what to say to you. Are you crazy?"

"Xuanqi, you still dare to talk about me like that? You're finished." The boy's tone was fierce.

"What are you going to do? Don't do anything reckless...?!"

The girl couldn't break free from the boy's grip at all; his delicate face was pinched and he was brought closer.

Lin Xuanqi also tasted the mixed bitter melon soup. Her eyes widened, her brows furrowed, and her expression showed a kind of despair on the verge of death.

After a while, the two returned to their room. Lin Xuanqi immediately grabbed a bottle of water and ran into the bathroom to rinse her mouth, with Cheng Fei following behind her.

Once the bitter taste in her mouth had mostly dissipated, Lin Xuanqi felt as if she had been granted a pardon and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. She raised her head, her eyebrows furrowed, intending to scold the boy, but found him staring at her with a gloating smile on his face, unsure whether it was directed at her or the other students.

The words the girl was about to say inexplicably turned into a coquettish retort. She pinched his waist lightly, trying hard to suppress the urge to laugh, "You're still laughing! It's all your fault, you've ruined everyone else's life!"

"This is what happens when you mess with me. If I don't have a good time, they won't have one either," the boy said with a hint of smugness.

"You have such a bad temper. Does that mean if I mess with you, I'll never get away with it?" Lin Xuanqi said irritably, hands on her hips and chin raised.

"Of course, Xuanqi, you're even more doomed."

Before she could even finish speaking, the boy grabbed her thick, long hair and forced her against the mirror at the sink.

The girl quickly lost all her strength and could only stare wide-eyed at the girl in the mirror, whose eyes were flushed and whose alluring aura was gradually narrowing as she sank into an endless abyss.

When Lin Xuanqi was led away from the bathroom by Cheng Fei, she discovered that the table in the room was filled with exquisite food.

The meal begins with an appetizer of champagne, seafood salad, and baked snails, followed by pan-fried sea bass with white wine, duck confit with red wine, a small plate of various cheeses, and dessert of crème brûlée and a fruit platter – a sumptuous French meal.

"Cheng Fei, you let them eat bitter melon soup and compressed biscuits, but you eat these yourself? Are you even human?" Lin Xuanqi opened her mouth.

"I deserve it." The boy pressed the girl down into a chair, sat down in front of her, sighed comfortably, opened three bottles of wine of different colors one by one, poured them into wine glasses, and pushed them in front of the girl. "Xuanqi, good luck."

"What do you mean?" Lin Xuanqi, who had just taken a bite of salad, suddenly narrowed her eyes and became wary.

"All three bottles are yours, drink them up." The boy said nonchalantly.

Lin Xuanqi's gaze swept over the three expensive bottles of wine. She paused for a second, her expression becoming subtle. Without saying a word, she silently picked up the champagne and took a sip, then ate the baked snails with a knife and fork.

……

Another room.

The table was also laden with a sumptuous meal, and the two girls sat facing each other.

Asuna Nagasaki took a sip of champagne, then suddenly slurped and quickly covered her mouth.

"What's wrong with you?" Shen Xi frowned slightly as she looked at the non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice in front of her.

"I just think it's really mean by Cheng Fei making them drink bitter melon soup, I can't stand it, hahaha..." Nagasaki Asuna's small shoulders trembled with laughter.

"Only you could laugh at his antisocial behavior." Shen Xi narrowed her eyes, her expression one of disgust.

……

Late at night, Lin Xuanqi, who smelled of alcohol, fell asleep.

Cheng Fei placed the disheveled, arrogant girl on the bed, staring expressionlessly at her flawless, peaceful sleeping face. After thinking for a moment, he casually tugged at her, making her usually haughty and aloof face look comical.

The boy then left the room with his hands in his pockets.

In the deserted castle, he approached the laundry room with a flashlight and a crowbar, glanced at the well in the middle of the open space, went around to the back of the laundry room, and pried open the dry well that was sealed with wooden planks.

There is a specially installed staircase leading to the bottom of the well, which is only two or three meters deep. At the bottom of the well, there is a skeleton that is obviously man-made. The skeleton is holding a swaddled baby with a uniquely shaped bronze amulet.

The boy picked up the amulet and nodded in satisfaction.

531. Two people who were just making trivial jokes.

The next day, early in the morning.

Cheng Fei opened his eyes. The clock pointed to seven in the morning. Perhaps due to the time difference, the boy woke up later than usual.

He turned his head and looked at the girl beside him, whose breathing was even.

When she fell asleep, Lin Xuanqi's domineering aura dissipated, replaced by a flawless beauty that was naturally captivating. Upon closer inspection, her small face had a delicate resemblance to Shen Xi's, but it was not aloof; it was full of life, with rosy eyes and red lips, and her striking features possessed an alluring charm.

The boy realized that this woman was more beautiful when she was quiet, so she was probably most beautiful when she was dead.

The boy pulled her into his arms, leaned in to taste her, and confirmed that even the most hateful beautiful girl tasted sweet.

"Cheng Fei, don't move, I'm so sleepy..." The half-asleep girl twisted her body with her eyes closed and muttered.

"Xuanqi, want to go play a puzzle game today?" the boy whispered in her ear.

"No, I'm going to sleep..." the girl said without hesitation.

"Then I'm relieved." The boy placed her on top and straightened her up.

Lin Xuanqi suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze flickering, and her expression became unnatural.

The girl yielded, burying her face in the boy's ear and whispering, "Honey, do you love me?"

"Of course I love you," the young man said, gently stroking her.

The girl shifted slightly, her lips curving into a smile before her mouth involuntarily parted, her voice trembling, "Then you must, you must always love me."