Meng Hongchen ate her food in small, elegant bites, her voice sounding a bit charmingly naive because of the food in her mouth:
"Oh right, my grandfather is the Dean of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. The original plan was to conduct the exchange program after this Spirit Master Tournament ended, but for some reason, your Shrek Academy suddenly became urgent. So my brother and I came here somewhat in a hurry."
That was a lie.
Although Shrek Academy had long planned to conduct an exchange study with the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, Shrek Academy had no intention of moving the exchange plan forward.
It was Meng Hongchen who begged her grandfather, Jing Hongchen, to negotiate with Shrek Academy, which led to the somewhat rushed start of this exchange program.
Meng Hongchen said this simply because she didn't want Ao Yao to suspect her and be punished by the diary book.
Shrek Academy took the initiative to move up the exchange student plan?
So... it wasn't Meng Hongchen who requested it?
According to Meng Hongchen's explanation, her appearing at Shrek Academy and in front of him made sense.
It's just... Ao Yao always felt something was a bit off.
Forget it.
Since even Huo Yuhao could be kicked out of Shrek Academy, Meng Hongchen's appearance at Shrek Academy wasn't exactly huge news.
As for whether Meng Hongchen could actually see his diary, that point was still open to debate and worth his careful observation.
Beside them, Ning Tian was about to explode with anger.
It was one thing for this Meng Hongchen to flirt with Ao Yao right in front of her, but she didn't even bother to spare her a single glance, as if she didn't see her at all.
Isn't this just bullying an honest person?
Ning Tian cleared her throat and looked at Meng Hongchen with a smile, though no matter how you looked at it, that smile was extremely dangerous: "Since you're from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, your spirit tool technology should be quite good, right?"
Hearing Ning Tian's voice, Meng Hongchen finally noticed the figures of Ning Tian and Wu Feng, and a flash of embarrassment appeared on her Face.
But in the next second, she began to think seriously.
These two... should be the Ning Tian and Wu Feng that Ao Yao mentioned in the diary, right?
They were also the first two to make a move on Ao Yao... however, their relationship with Ao Yao is very close, so it's not suitable to make enemies of them.
Thinking of this, Meng Hongchen gave a humble smile: "It's alright, but if you want to learn, I can teach you."
Ning Tian's expression instantly froze.
Meng Hongchen had given an answer she completely hadn't expected.
What does 'if you want to learn, I can teach you' mean?
Beside them, Ao Yao's eyes suddenly lit up—in his view, the Soul Engineers of Shrek Academy were all mediocre teachers who only knew outdated products; they were simply not suitable to teach Ning Tian.
And as Jing Hongchen's granddaughter, the spirit tool technology Meng Hongchen learned was definitely the most advanced and top-tier.
Although Meng Hongchen's Soul Engineer Rank was a bit low, letting her teach Ning Tian as an emergency measure was definitely enough.
By the time Ning Tian got the hang of it, he would likely have obtained other bodyguards. At that time, he could just go to the Sun Moon Empire and snatch a Ninth-Rank Soul Engineer back to seamlessly take over teaching Ning Tian.
Simply perfect.
The problem was... how to get Meng Hongchen to teach Ning Tian wholeheartedly?
It only took Ao Yao two and a half seconds to think of a brilliant idea. This idea had a 99% success rate; the only drawback was that it required him to sacrifice his looks a little.
Eh? Wait, that's not right!
If I sacrifice my looks, it seems I don't even need to have my bodyguards go to the Sun Moon Empire to snatch a Ninth-Rank Soul Engineer back.
Wouldn't it be enough to just have Meng Hongchen lure a Ninth-Rank Soul Engineer back?
A snatched Ninth-Rank Soul Engineer might be unwilling and could cause trouble, which would affect Ning Tian. But a lured Ninth-Rank Soul Engineer would be different. Not only would they teach Ning Tian wholeheartedly, they definitely wouldn't secretly cause trouble, right?
But... Meng Hongchen might not necessarily have enough Face to lure back a Ninth-Rank Soul Engineer.
If a Ninth-Rank Soul Engineer won't work, an Eighth-Rank Soul Engineer with the potential to reach Ninth-Rank should be fine, right?
That Xuan Ziwen, who was lured to the Tang Sect by Huo Yuhao, seems pretty good.
From the perspective of the Sun Moon Empire, Xuan Ziwen is a traitor. But Xuan Ziwen simply wants to research spirit tools; he doesn't want Mingde Hall and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy to turn toward militarization, let alone intervene in power struggles.
In a sense, Xuan Ziwen is a pure and stubborn person.
Of course, no matter how much is said, it doesn't cover up the fact that his actions are indeed equivalent to treason.
Given Xuan Ziwen's seriousness toward spirit tools and his appreciation for spirit tool geniuses, he seems very suitable to be Ning Tian's teacher.
An Eighth-Rank Soul Engineer... Meng Hongchen should be able to lure him back, right?
Even if I don't think about having Meng Hongchen lure back an Eighth or Ninth-Rank Soul Engineer, simply selling my looks doesn't seem out of the question.
Ao Yao admitted, he was shameless.
"You're willing to leak the spirit tool technology of the Sun Moon Empire?"
Ao Yao raised his head and looked at Meng Hongchen.
Hearing this, Meng Hongchen only showed an innocent expression: "The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy has always been an open academy; otherwise, it wouldn't have agreed to Shrek Academy's exchange plan."
"Besides, I'm currently only a Fourth-Rank Soul Engineer. Even if I leaked it, I couldn't really leak anything significant."
As she spoke, Meng Hongchen looked at Ao Yao with a beaming smile: "Furthermore, she is a friend of a handsome guy like you, so of course she is my friend. Teaching a friend some spirit tool technology is no big deal."
After saying this, Meng Hongchen felt her cheeks burning terribly.
That sentence just now... seemed a bit bold!
But it's okay, Meng Hongchen, keep it up! You should be brave and go for it like this!
Meng Hongchen secretly cheered herself on in her heart, while looking at Ao Yao with expectant little eyes, wanting to see his reaction to her words.
"My friend is your friend?"
Ao Yao gave Meng Hongchen a half-smile, but then his expression turned serious: "Then I'll have to ask for your help. During this period, all the spirit tool production Materials for you and Ning Tian will be on me. What do you think?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Meng Hongchen wanted to nod vigorously in agreement.
But then Meng Hongchen had a second thought and restrained her impulse, nodding with reserve: "Of course no problem, it's an exchange study after all! It's just... those spirit tool production Materials aren't cheap. I went to look at your Shrek Academy's Soul Tool Department; there are many Materials produced in the Sun Moon Empire that you don't have here."
"It's fine, I have them."
Ao Yao winked at Meng Hongchen, trying to see something from her reaction.
But...
Meng Hongchen didn't even notice what Ao Yao said; her entire mind seemed to be drowned in the sight of Ao Yao's Face.