Moreover, Caelus was very clear that the reward Yan Shaozhe had prepared from the start was not just the ten-thousand-year Glue Whale, but also Ma Xiaotao herself.
However, he didn't just play dumb and accept it. If he had really accepted it, it would have been more trouble than it was worth; he wasn't that stupid.
With Ma Xiaotao's temper, he would have had a hard time later on, so before taming her, he wouldn't accept this big trouble.
But this kind of benefit that was a feast for the eyes was definitely welcome.
Ma Xiaotao leaped up from the ground, brushed the dust off her clothes, and regained her aura as a Senior Sister.
She arched her beautiful willow-leaf eyebrows, walked up to Caelus, and mimicking his earlier demeanor, scrutinized him from head to toe with a judgmental gaze.
"Hmph, you're quite direct, Little Brat."
Her tone returned to that lazy and domineering style.
Immediately after, she took a step forward, almost pressing against Caelus's face. Her red lips parted slightly, her breath fragrant like orchids, and she spoke in a tone full of Charm and teasing:
"However, seeing as you're so honest, once you grow up a bit more and get a bit sturdier, this big sister... might just consider you, okay?"
She knew that her current appearance had a fatal lethality for any young man.
She wanted to turn the tables on him and see if this Little Brat, who always acted so mature for his age, would blush, feel his heart race, and become flustered.
Being able to make someone like Caelus—who was surrounded by beauties and hailed as the 'girl killer' of the new generation and a prominent figure in the Outer Court—fall for her, didn't that just prove that her, Ma Xiaotao's, Charm was irresistible?
She had heard quite a few rumors about this guy.
Like being ranked first in the private poll of the most desirable boy to date by the Outer Court girls.
Or being the top of the 'this scoundrel must be executed rankings' circulating among the male students.
She wanted to see exactly what this so-called top-ranked person was made of.
However, Caelus's reaction once again exceeded her expectations.
Facing her near-seductive posture, there was not a hint of the shyness or panic that a youth should have on Caelus's face.
His heart didn't even accelerate by a single beat.
He just looked at her calmly, a trace of a smile flashing in his clear, heterochromatic eyes.
Then, he shrugged his hands, leaned back slightly to create some distance, and said in a tone of deep regret:
"Then I think we'd better forget it."
"After all, the age gap between you, Sister Xiaotao, and me... is still a bit large."
"It's not very appropriate."
The air froze in that instant.
The seductive smile on Ma Xiaotao's face stiffened at the corners of her mouth.
Age... gap... a bit large?
Not appropriate?
Her brain took two seconds to fully understand the subtext of this sentence.
This guy...
She just called him a Little Brat.
And now, he was indirectly calling her... old?!
"You...!"
Ma Xiaotao's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
A strong urge to hit someone instantly welled up in her heart.
She even subconsciously clenched her fists, her knuckles making a cracking sound.
Just as the Phoenix Flame within her was about to flare up uncontrollably again, she suddenly froze.
She clearly felt that although the anger was strong, it... no longer easily triggered the evil fire within her like before.
That rage was like a beast locked in a sturdy cage; although it was still roaring, it couldn't break through the cage and affect her sanity.
She could... control her own temper now?
This discovery caused the anger in her heart to be instantly washed away by a huge wave of pleasant surprise.
Without the influence of the evil fire... her temper seemed... really not as explosive as before?
In the past, she would have already started hitting people; she wouldn't have stopped to think.
She stared blankly at her still-clenched fist, then glanced at the innocent-looking Caelus opposite her.
She suddenly felt that resorting to violence over such a trivial verbal dispute seemed... truly a bit childish.
Moreover, this guy had indeed expended quite a bit of effort to help her suppress the evil fire just now.
Although the process was somewhat... embarrassing and infuriating, the result was good.
Thinking of this, her clenched fist slowly loosened.
She let out a long breath, suppressing the last trace of displeasure in her heart.
Ma Xiaotao let out a cold snort, lifted her proud chin, and said in a tone of an adult not holding a grudge against a child:
"Hmph, this big sister is in a good mood today, so I won't lower myself to the level of a Little Brat like you."
"Seeing as you helped me with a big favor just now, in the future at Shrek Academy, if anyone is blind enough to dare bully you, just mention my name, Ma Xiaotao."
"Big sister will have your back."
After saying this, she didn't give Caelus any chance to refute, tossed her hair proudly, and turned to leave.
Her fire-red figure, like a brilliant stream of light, disappeared into the frozen forest after a few flashes.
After her figure completely disappeared, a faint whisper, as if blown away by the wind, slowly drifted over.
"Thank you..."
The voice was as soft as a dream murmur, yet it clearly reached Caelus's ears.
"Heh."
Standing in place, Caelus listened to the belated words of thanks and couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head in amusement.
"Still a tsundere?"
He looked up at the forest, whose environment had been completely altered by his power. The crystalline ice sculptures flickered with a beautiful yet dangerous light under the sun.
He didn't have the slightest worry.
He turned around, strode forward, and leisurely walked out of the forest.
As for cleaning up?
He believed that Dean Yan Shaozhe, who had been observing from the shadows from start to finish, would handle these minor troubles well.
Sure enough.
Not long after Caelus's figure completely left the forest.
A gentle wave of Soul Power quietly descended.
The hard ice crystals in the forest began to melt at a visible rate.
But the melted water didn't soak the soil; instead, before hitting the ground, it evaporated into thin air, turning into the purest water vapor that nourished the plants and trees that had just experienced the dual extremes of ice and fire.
In just a quarter of an hour.
This magnificent World of ice crystals returned to its original state.
When Caelus's figure reappeared at the entrance of the new student class one classroom, time seemed to have been pressed on the pause button.
The classroom, which had been buzzing a second ago, fell into an eerie silence in that instant.
More than fifty pairs of eyes in the class "whooshed" and focused simultaneously on the silver-haired, heterochromatic-eyed youth at the door.
Curiosity, inquiry, envy, jealousy, worry... all sorts of complex emotions intertwined in these young eyes.
The class monitor was back.
After being dragged away publicly by that Inner Court Senior Sister, after so long, he had finally returned.
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