Chapter Forty-Six: Fatten Before the Slaughter

Joanna coughed heavily again, prompting Luo Chen to finally look up, his mouth still full, mumbling, “Joanna, what’s wrong?”

Joanna, feeling quite frustrated, replied, “It’s nothing, really. I just wanted to ask—how many days have you gone without eating?”

Luo Chen chuckled awkwardly, “Heh, sorry to embarrass myself. I tend to eat rather crudely, Joanna, so please don’t mind me.”

Elise pointed to a grain of rice stuck beside Luo Chen’s mouth, “Luo Chen, right here…”

Luo Chen glanced downward at a pure sixty-degree angle and spotted the stray grain. With a sudden motion, he extended his tongue and swept it back in, saying, “Good, nothing wasted!”

Joanna was speechless. She’d thought herself fairly unconcerned with etiquette, but Luo Chen surpassed her by far. With so many people watching in the cafeteria, he still managed to lick back a single grain of rice. Joanna genuinely wanted to ask, “Are you a frog or something?”

It seemed this peculiar boy truly had a habit of “licking clean after meals,” no wonder she had misunderstood him before. Thinking of that unnecessary misunderstanding, Joanna’s cheeks flushed faintly.

Elise noticed her expression and guessed her thoughts, stifling a laugh behind her hand, only to be rewarded with a hard stomp from Joanna.

Luo Chen quickly finished off the remaining food, then tried cautiously, “Joanna, um…”

Joanna assumed Luo Chen wanted to leave early and cut him off firmly, “No, you can’t leave until Lily and I finish eating!”

Luo Chen hurried to explain, “That’s not what I meant. I just wanted to ask if I could have another portion—I’m still not full.”

Nearby, the male students eavesdropping at adjacent tables were thrown into despair yet again. Eating with the campus queen and not paying was one thing, but he actually complained about not having enough. This Luo Chen was greedy to the point of outrage.

Joanna was startled as well. She’d deliberately piled extra fatty meat onto Luo Chen’s plate to disgust him. If he failed to finish, she planned to shame him with “those who waste food will be struck by lightning.” But Luo Chen not only polished off everything, he even asked for more.

Heavens, how could such a bizarre creature exist!

Truthfully, Luo Chen had been feeling unusually hungry lately. According to Nicole, the mutated energy cultivation technique he practiced rapidly increased his strength but also consumed a great deal of energy, so his appetite was much larger than average.

Joanna, still frustrated, served Luo Chen another portion, and Luo Chen resumed his legend as the hungry wolf.

Just then, someone tapped Luo Chen’s shoulder from behind. He turned and found it was Shi Feng. Holding a lunchbox, Shi Feng’s face wore a look of surprise. “Beast! What are you doing here?”

Usually, Luo Chen handled their dinners, but tonight, Shi Feng returned to the dorm and waited in vain for Luo Chen to show. He was forced to visit the cafeteria for once, only to see Luo Chen as soon as he’d gotten his food.

Luo Chen replied, “Oh, I forgot to tell you—I’m having dinner with Joanna and her friends tonight, so I won’t be back.”

“Damn, just because you’re eating with beauties you forgot me entirely. I’d won some gambling money and planned to treat you to a feast at that stir-fry place by the academy gates tonight, but you—beast! You value beauty over brotherhood!”

“Value beauty over brotherhood?” Joanna scoffed. “You, Canglan’s number one playboy, are hardly qualified to call out others. Everyone knows you’re the most flirtatious man at Winston Academy!”

“Heh, thanks for the compliment, Joanna!” Shi Feng shamelessly took her words as praise. “Ladies, you don’t mind if I join you, do you?”

Without waiting for an answer, he plopped himself down. His question had clearly been a mere formality.

Curiously, Shi Feng, who prided himself as a ladies’ man, wasn’t particularly enthusiastic around Elise and Joanna. In fact, he’d never shown much interest in the two campus queens, but when faced with ordinary girls, he’d pounce like a fly drawn to honey.

Luo Chen had asked him about this once. Shi Feng’s answer was peculiar: he only pursued ordinary beauties, because if his target was not only pretty but also had true elegance, he might actually fall for her. If he truly liked someone, he’d become a captive of love, conquered. That would mean giving up the whole forest for a single tree—a sacrifice Shi Feng would never make.

Luo Chen’s analysis of him was spot-on: “You’re not chasing girls, you’re chasing loneliness.”

Many assumed Shi Feng genuinely loved beautiful women, but only Luo Chen knew he loved the process of flirting. It was simply one way he enjoyed life. What this bird truly loved was freedom, indulgence, and a life without constraints. That’s why Shi Feng was so lazy and aimless at the academy.

Shi Feng ate as he continued to complain, “You rascal, dare you say you don’t value beauty over brotherhood? We’ve lived together nearly three years, and you’ve never once hosted a guest!”

Luo Chen could hardly stand his nagging. “Come on, don’t be so gossipy. Joanna is hosting this meal, isn’t that enough?”

“Wait, Joanna’s hosting?” Shi Feng was clearly shocked. “You actually let a beautiful woman pay for your meal—beast, you’re heartless!”

“That’s because…”

Joanna hurriedly shot Luo Chen a warning look to stop him from saying anything foolish, but Luo Chen continued, “Because Joanna is kind-hearted and generous. Seeing I’m strapped for cash and malnourished, she invited me to dinner after the tutorial. Isn’t that right, Joanna?”

Everyone thought Joanna was fierce and intimidating, but being praised for kindness caught her off guard. Still, given the situation, she could only nod. “That’s right, exactly so.”

Elise couldn’t help but laugh aloud, casting her a mischievous glance, which Joanna returned with a fierce glare, silently urging her not to blow their cover.

“Oh, really?” Shi Feng was half-convinced. Was Joanna two-faced—cruelly tormenting Luo Chen one moment, then feeding him well the next?

Ah, fatten him up before slaughtering. She must be planning to fatten him before killing him!

This Luo Chen, so pure-hearted, was entirely too naive. While she secretly sharpened her knife, he stuck out his neck, waiting to be butchered. Poor fool, tricked dizzy by a few chunks of fatty meat. No backbone! At least demand some ribs!

No, once they returned to the dorm, he must warn Luo Chen properly.

“Shi Feng, although we’ve been at the academy together for three years, I know little about you. Judging by your accent, you’re not from the Canglan Continent, are you?” Elise, ever sharp, saw Shi Feng’s skepticism and quickly shifted the topic. Her question drew everyone’s attention, including Luo Chen’s. Shi Feng’s background was a mystery to all; even Luo Chen, his roommate of three years, only knew he was wealthy and never worried about money.

[Not too fat yet, but there’s some meat. Those brothers waiting to fatten up the prey, you can strike now. Don’t forget to cast your votes for the thief after you finish! PS: Today is Sunday. The second chapter will be updated at eight tonight, the third at midnight.]