"Senior Brother, I have to get that woman! You have to help me get rid of that pretty boy rich kid!" Harry Huang pleaded desperately. "You must have a way, right? Please, Senior Brother!"
Senior Brother? Does this Stew Pot have some kind of secret martial arts lineage? Is this turning into an urban supernatural drama? Is Harry Huang trying to recruit some hidden master to take down Jack Young?—Just thinking about it, you know that's impossible. Not to look down on him, but honestly, with Stew Pot, he's really not cut out for the job.
Sure enough, a helpless voice came from the phone: "Mr. Huang, I'm your psychologist, not your evil strategist. Meddling in other people's relationships never ends well, so I absolutely won't help you. And, if I'm being honest, 'beautiful woman' is exactly your psychological issue. The best thing you can do isn't to possess, but to let go."
"I—I can't let go!" Harry Huang panted into the phone, shouting, "If I could let go, why would I need therapy?" Then, he calmed down, and in the chaos of his mind, a rare spark of inspiration flashed. He said, "Senior Brother, actually, here's the thing. There's a woman clinging to me. I don't like her, but I don't want to reject her and hurt her feelings, so I just need her to hate me. What can I do to make her hate me?"
The other end of the line was silent for a moment, then came a sound like someone angrily flipping a tea table: "Do you think I'm an idiot?! That's not how you fish for information! Ugh, fine, since you're this desperate, I guess you won't leave me alone unless I give you some advice. Okay, I'll say just one thing: Think about yourself—why did girls dislike you in the first place?"
"Spineless, useless, show-off—" Stew Pot replied, then took a deep breath, his eyes suddenly wide with realization: "I get it!"
He had come up with a plan.
The next two days passed quietly. No rustling sounds in the room, Jack Young slept soundly, and his training went smoothly. Sophie Soo was busy with all sorts of things, occasionally studying—she couldn’t completely ignore finals, after all. In the blink of an eye, Children’s Day arrived, and Sophie excitedly organized a hiking trip. She rallied her roommates, added Jack Young, and the five of them set off for Luodai Ancient Town. And instead of taking the bus, they went by bicycle. Sophie rented a tandem bike from the school—the kind that two people can pedal together.
On a breezy, sunlit morning, the five of them set out.
Jack Young finally met Sophie Soo’s three roommates. Just as Sophie had said, the moment he saw them, he could instantly match faces to names.
Loli—she really is a loli. Height, looks, voice, skin, figure, every aspect is textbook perfect for a three-star loli. She specially rented a smaller bike because with a regular one, her toes couldn’t reach the ground… For a college student, her development is honestly kind of heartbreaking. Still, she’s super popular with the guys, and she’s a famous literary girl—the go-to playwright for the campus drama club. Rumor has it she’s published a bunch of books on Qidian’s female channel, and with the recent boom in time-travel novels, she’s made a tidy sum from reader tips.
The big sister type is just as classic. Voluminous wavy hair, seductive eyes, impressive curves, and a cold, proud, ice-queen aura—no wonder she’s just as popular with the guys. She’s captain of the academy debate team, quick-witted and savage with her comebacks. Supposedly, when she loses her temper, no one can handle it. She might look unapproachable, but she’s actually pretty nice. According to Sophie Soo, as soon as there’s no one else around, the big sister instantly drops the act and goes full goofball. Yep, she’s a “closet weirdo,” supposedly a tradition among the foreign language debate team.
Glasses Girl doesn’t need much explanation—a total academic ace. Honestly, she should’ve gone to Peking or Tsinghua University, but a fluke in the college entrance exam knocked her out by a hair. It’s like a cultivator with a solid foundation who should’ve ascended, but sneezed during the tribulation and failed, turning into a wandering immortal. After such a tragedy, Glasses Girl swore vengeance and became a legendary study queen. Just in foreign languages, she’s mastered English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Thai—a total of seven. She’s known on campus as “Seventh Sister.” Next to her, Jack Young, the foreign language dunce, felt like he was staring up at a mountain.
Clearly, their dorm’s Four Little Swans totally live up to the name. In university terms, this dorm is super elite. And Jack Young, surrounded by four awesome girls, happily set out on their adventure.
The road from Sophie Soo’s school to Luodai Ancient Town was smooth—super smooth. Just follow the main road straight ahead, no turns needed.
Early summer, scorching hot. And today, the sky was clear and the sun was blazing. Sure, the scenery was nice, but for the four girls, it was a real challenge. Whenever someone got tired or thirsty, they’d hop onto the back seat of the tandem bike. Jack Young would pedal away in front, while the girls relaxed in back.
By eleven in the morning, the five of them arrived at Luodai Ancient Town. ‘Ancient town’ was really just a faux-historic street—you could walk the whole thing in under half an hour. As a sightseeing spot, it was pretty dull, but as a food destination? That’s where it shined. The four girls took the lead, dragging Jack Young along as they ate their way down the street.
"The Heartbreak Jelly here is famous. Try it, darling!" Sophie Soo called out sweetly, pushing a bowl of jelly toward Jack Young. "Heartbreak Jelly?" Jack Young picked up a chopstickful and examined it, curious. "Why’s it called that? Was the inventor heartbroken when they made it?"
"Hehe, just taste it and you’ll know," Sophie Soo said with a wicked grin.
Seriously, it’s just a bowl of jelly—look at that mischievous face. Jack Young didn’t think much of it and popped it in his mouth. The next second, his whole face turned bright red, and he almost spat it out with a whimper, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Hahaha! That’s why it’s called Heartbreak Jelly!" Sophie Soo clapped her hands, laughing so hard she could barely breathe. "Old Geng, Old Geng, you finally fell for my trick! Who knew you were so weak against spicy food? From now on, I’ll make spicy stuff just for you!"
Totally caught off guard—not because he couldn’t handle spicy food, but because last night, his Lunmai Technique had made some progress. He’d wondered all morning what had changed, and now he knew: taste! Super-sensitive taste buds plus super-spicy food, and Jack Young nearly died from that bowl of jelly!
Thank goodness, thank goodness, at least his taste hadn’t gone fully superhuman yet, or he’d have been done for. This brat dared to mess with him? No way he’s letting that slide! "You brat!" He darted forward, grabbed her smug little round face, and started rubbing and squishing it to vent his frustration!
After venting, Jack Young shivered again. He realized that, in Sichuan—the land of bold flavors and spicy food paradise—unlocking super taste was definitely not a good thing.
Is this some kind of tribulation blocking my cultivation breakthrough?!
They played all afternoon, ate and drank their fill, then headed home. They biked back, reaching downtown Chengdu around three. The loli suddenly had a wild idea—she wanted to take Jack Young to Chunxi Road for dry pot, so off they went. Chunxi Road is legendary for beautiful women, all the travel guides rave about it. When they got there, Jack Young looked around and found the rumors were true—there were plenty of fair-skinned, gorgeous girls.
But honestly, the Four Little Swans held their own. Even on Chunxi Road, they were seriously eye-catching. By five thirty, the group arrived at their destination—a fancy dry pot restaurant.
"Boss," Sophie Soo called out as soon as she walked in, waving her little hand with excitement, "we want it extra spicy, super spicy, the spiciest you’ve got!"
"Uh, Sophie, maybe we shouldn’t go that spicy?" Surprisingly, it wasn’t Jack Young begging for mercy, but the loli, who meekly said, "Even the 'mild' here is enough to KO outsiders. If we order extra spicy, we might not survive…"
"No problem, no problem, leave it to me!" Sophie Soo patted her chest, taking on the responsibility. Then she shot Jack Young a mischievous look and grinned.
—Well, little brat, you want a showdown? Fine, I’ll go down with you! (Roar roar, the new synopsis is uploaded, you should see it tomorrow—let’s see how it turns out~)