"Alright, Boss Flender, stop overthinking it. Have you eaten?"
Erlong asked.
Flender shook his head slightly. "Not yet. I ran into some trouble and came straight to you without stopping."
"Huh?"
Erlong's expression suddenly turned awkward; she seemed to have remembered something.
"Well… let's go eat together. After that, you can head straight back."
"Wait, what?"
Flender was bewildered. "But I haven't even told you what the matter is."
Erlong cut him off irritably:
"Spit it out already!"
"You think I don't know—forget it, let's eat first!"
"I've got a few things to say to you, too."
Blue Tyrant Academy cafeteria.
Erlong felt exhausted. Just now she'd wondered why Flender had suddenly shown up; the moment he said he needed help, she knew—he'd come to borrow money!
Flender looked at Erlong and thought for a moment. "He—he came to see me, right at my Shrek Academy."
"Pfft!"
Erlong sprayed her millet porridge across the floor and snarled, "Flender, if you dare mention that good-for-nothing again and ruin my day, I'll beat you to death!"
"???"
Flender was stunned.
What?
Did I hear that right? Did Erlong just call that man a waste?
Surely she knows who I'm talking about?
"Erlong…"
"Shut up!"
Erlong snapped, "Just get to the point. If it weren't for the years we've known each other, I'd kick you out right now."
Flender was genuinely dumbfounded.
What was going on?
"Here's the thing… I'm still eighty thousand gold coins short and can't pay it back. Can you help me out, Erlong?"
After listening to his story, Erlong felt too tired to even roast him.
She'd watched the whole bet live; the shrewd Flender actually thought he could win money off Su Yan?
"Boss Flender, I'm not trying to bad-mouth you, but sometimes I think even Zhao Wuji has better judgment than you."
Flender stared in confusion. He was pretty sure Erlong had only met Zhao Wuji once, and they barely knew each other.
Erlong looked at him helplessly. "Tell me, do you really think I can pull out eighty thousand gold coins?"
"Blue Tyrant may be stronger than your Shrek Academy, but it's still a commoners' school. Eighty thousand is no small sum."
Flender nodded, resigned. "I know, but I'm out of options. You're the only one I can turn to."
"You know he won't go home; he's stayed away all these years…"
"Shut your mouth right now!"
Erlong was annoyed. She'd been in such a good mood, and here he was bringing up that scumbag—no different from those jerks in the chat group!
"Huh?"
Suddenly a bold idea struck her. She smiled at Flender.
"Boss, we're old friends. Look, you can't repay the eighty thousand, and I don't have that kind of money. Why don't you just hand me over to Su Yan to cover the debt?"
Su Yan: You're quite the clever little imp!
Flender exploded.
"No!"
"Absolutely not!"
"Erlong, you know I'd rather die than do anything to hurt you—never!"
"Tch!"
Erlong rolled her eyes. If you actually offered me to him, the Little Bastard might not even want me.
[Erlong: Su Yan, Flender actually came to borrow money from me. I offered myself to you in his place—how about it?]
[Everyone:???]
[Loves Eating Carrots: Wicked woman! We all see what you're scheming!]
[Hu Liena: Yu Erlong, your abacus beads are hitting me in the face. Dream on!]
[Group Member Number Nine: Isn't this the same trick Hu Liena pulled last time?]
[Ning Rongrong: An eighty-thousand debt, and you'll be our maid? I'll add another hundred thousand—come right now!]
[Tang Yuehua: Erlong, are you helping Flender pay it back?]
[Erlong: If it were anyone else, I'd help Flender for old times' sake, but the creditor is Su Yan. I know what he's after—I can't help!]
[Bo Saixi: Good that you know. Otherwise Su Yan really would drag you off as a maid.]
[Call Me Her Majesty the Empress: Are you and Flender good friends, Erlong?]
[Ma Xiaotao: pic (statues of Flender and Erlong in the distance)]
[Ma Xiaotao: The Golden Triangle—look at our Shrek statues… oh right, Yu Xiaogang's statue got smashed by Su Yan last time.]
[Erlong: Su Yan, say something?]
[Ning Rongrong: I just checked—big brother Su Yan and the others are asleep.]
[I Am an Orphan: What?]
Crown Prince Mansion.
Qian Renxue was about to explode.
She felt as if she'd punched cotton—those two dogs actually dared to sleep?
And they still have the nerve to sleep?
Pah!
They stayed up all night and choose now to sleep?
[I Am an Orphan: Scoundrels!]
[I Am an Orphan: I want to kill you!]
[Ling Luochen: Huh? We were just about to head over.]
[Zhang Lexuan: It's fine. We can wait downstairs at the hotel for Su Yan to wake up. They're not leaving today; we can all have dinner tonight.]
[Ma Xiaotao: Zhang Lexuan, you're really annoying.]
[Zhang Lexuan: I know—you've hated me for ages.]
[Dark Avenger: Hahaha!!]
Meanwhile.
Since she couldn't reach Su Yan, Erlong simply refused. "Boss Flender, I can't help you with this. Sorry."
"But what I wanted to tell you is: don't provoke Su Yan. I know you didn't start it, but when you go back, cut ties with that good-for-nothing immediately."
Flender felt utterly stupid.
He'd mentioned both Yu Xiaogang and Tang San in his story; now Erlong was really calling Yu Xiaogang trash!
"Good heavens!"
"Erlong, what are you saying?"
"What's happened to you? What on earth is going on?"
Erlong shot back:
"Nothing's wrong with me—your sister, maybe!"
Flender froze. "Something is wrong. You're the only sister I've got."
"Hah!"
Erlong laughed in exasperation.
[Zhu Zhuqing: SeniorErlong must be in a tough spot, right?]
[Zhu Zhuqing: I have an idea. Weren't we all curious whether Flender likes you more or Yu Xiaogang more?]
[Zhu Zhuqing: You could agree to help Flender, but on the condition that he expels Yu Xiaogang when he gets back—better yet, severs all ties!]
[Ning Rongrong: Ooh?]
[Group Member Number Nine: Zhuqing's a clever little imp. If you help Flender under those terms, Su Yan probably won't blame you.]
[Group Member Number Nine: And if Flender breaks with that scumbag Yu Xiaogang, you won't have to watch Flender keep following him to ruin.]
[Yanzi is not a Swallow: Sisters came up with this perfect plan—livestream it for us, yeah?]
(End of Chapter)
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