A Performance

An hour later, the girls sat down weakly. This time, they were truly exhausted.

It was now half past twelve at noon. Long Jie estimated the time, then said to the girls, "All right, that's enough for today. Go back and eat first, then continue training this afternoon!"

"Yay, we can finally eat! Sister Hai Rou, let's go eat together!" Shui Yue'er said excitedly as she reached out to pull Yu Hairou. But Yu Hairou was sitting cross-legged on the ground and did not respond at all.

Shui Yue'er froze. Could Sister Hai Rou be so tired that she did not even have the strength to speak?

Startled, she hurriedly examined Yu Hairou. She soon noticed intense Soul Power fluctuations around her body and was relieved to confirm that she was fine.

"Sister Hai Rou is... leveling up?"

"That's right!" Long Jie walked over with a smile. After carefully examining Yu Hairou, he said seriously, "She must have reached the threshold. She can level up now!"

The others were overjoyed. They were happy for Yu Hairou, but also somewhat shocked.

Yu Hairou had said that morning that it might take three days, yet she had broken through by noon. In other words, Long Jie's method had directly saved Yu Hairou two and a half days.

That was truly terrifying!

Shui Bing'er could not help but glance curiously at Yu Hairou, then at Long Jie. Her approval of him rose by several degrees.

Handsome, powerful, and frighteningly skilled at teaching others—such a person was actually her roommate?

For a moment, Shui Bing'er found it all a little unreal.

Soon, Yu Hairou successfully broke through, and her strength rose considerably once more.

The moment she opened her eyes, she saw many team members surrounding her, their congratulations and thanks coming one after another.

Yu Hairou was delighted as well. Looking at Long Jie, who stood nearby without seeming to care at all, she could not help but say, "Um... Long Jie—no, Captain, thank you!"

She sincerely thanked Long Jie and bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.

By now, her attitude toward Long Jie had changed enormously. From initially confronting him head-on, to later accepting him, to now fully acknowledging him—Long Jie had earned all of it with his strength.

Yet when faced with her thanks, Long Jie did not dare look at her directly. The sight when Yu Hairou bent over was simply too overwhelming. The sweet curves her JK uniform could barely contain were the dream of countless men.

"Ahem. As the captain, it's what I should do!"

"Yes, thank you, Captain!" Yu Hairou smiled and finally straightened up, letting Long Jie breathe a sigh of relief.

Training ended, and everyone finally dispersed. After they had all left, two figures quietly appeared.

They were two women. The moment they arrived beside the Pebble Ground, they impatiently took off their shoes and slowly stepped onto the pebbles.

"Ah... it hurts so much. Say, why didn't we ever think of using walking on pebbles as a training method?" The Vice Dean, dressed in casual clothes, walked over the pebbles as she spoke to the Dean of Education beside her.

If Long Jie had been there, he would probably have been shocked. Hadn't the Vice Dean said she was going to Lan Ba Academy? Why was she here now? And together with the Dean of Education?

"He could think of it, just as we never thought of using dance practice for training," the Dean of Education said slowly. At this moment, she had none of her sharp-tongued nastiness from that morning!

"No matter what, as long as it improves the children's strength, it's good. It's just that you've been wronged!"

"It's nothing. If it can make him teach more, it's worth it. Still, this isn't a long-term solution. We can't exactly make another agreement, can we?"

The Dean of Education spoke slowly. So it had all been a scheme—a performance jointly staged by the Dean of Education and the Vice Dean.

"I don't know. Let's think of something else."

"Can't we really make him stay here permanently?"

"We can't!" The Vice Dean sighed before saying, "If we could, I naturally would want him to stay here forever. But Liu Erlong won't allow it, and neither will Crown Prince Xue Qinghe!"

Hearing that, the Dean of Education sighed. Such a genius would ultimately never belong to Tianshui. What a pity, what a pity!

At noon, everyone returned to their respective rooms. Long Jie also returned to Shui Bing'er's room. Without training and with only the three of them present, things became a little awkward.

"Come on, tell me what this means. You're already sleeping together?" Shui Yue'er stood with her hands on her hips, glaring fiercely at the two of them.

Long Jie merely smiled and said nothing. This was something Shui Bing'er should handle. If he spoke, he would only make her more embarrassed.

Sure enough, seeing that Long Jie was not speaking, Shui Bing'er took the initiative. "Yue'er, things aren't what you think. Long Jie and I are staying in the same room only because the Vice Dean said he had nowhere to stay, and I happened to have an extra bed here..."

"So the Vice Dean also told you to hold each other?" Shui Yue'er said angrily. Why? Why did it have to be her older sister? Was it not like she had no bed herself?

Shui Bing'er was utterly embarrassed. What could she say? It was not like she had wanted to end up in Long Jie's arms. It was all because of that dream.

"Actually... that really was a misunderstanding..."

"Stop talking. I don't want to hear it. Older Sister, you've gone too far!" Shui Yue'er was angry, but after being angry for a while, she sighed as though resigning herself to it. "I understand, Older Sister. You always gave everything to me before. This time, I'll give way to you!"

After saying that, she turned to Long Jie. "Long Jie, I... I... sigh! Forget it. I'll leave my older sister to you from now on! I wish you two happiness!"

After saying all that, she actually ran out crying.

This scene left Long Jie completely dumbfounded. He could not help looking at Shui Bing'er, who said awkwardly, "Yue'er is usually such a drama queen. You don't need to mind her!"

"No..." Long Jie thought for a moment, then said very seriously, "Does what she said count? Like leaving you to me?"

The corner of his lips curled up in a mischievous smile. Shui Bing'er's face instantly turned red. Not knowing what to say, she hurried toward the bathroom. "I-I'm going to take a bath first!"

"What a cute girl." Long Jie smiled. He did not dwell on it and simply sat cross-legged on the bed, beginning his cultivation.

The sound of running water rose from the bathroom. Using the cold water, Shui Bing'er tried to calm herself down.

She realized that whenever she faced Long Jie, she would blush uncontrollably. That was clearly unlike her. Normally, let alone blushing, it would already be impressive if she showed any expression at all.

Moreover, under normal circumstances, she would never let a man stay in her room, even if it was the Vice Dean's order.

Could it be... that I really like him? Lying in the bathtub, Shui Bing'er could not help thinking this. After Shui Yue'er put it that way, even she could not help entertaining the thought.

No way, no way. We've only known each other for a few days. It shouldn't be possible, it shouldn't be possible!

I must be overthinking it!

Forcing herself to calm down, Shui Bing'er finished bathing, got dressed, and slowly came out.

The moment she emerged, she saw Long Jie's handsome figure sitting cross-legged on the bed. Soul Power gathered around him, and a hint of infatuation appeared on her face.

In Shui Bing'er's eyes, Long Jie seemed like an immortal bathed in divine aura, handsome and untouched by the mortal world.

That handsome face, coupled with his elegant figure, left Shui Bing'er staring blankly for a moment...