Late at night, Lin Yuan arrived at Shrek Academy and suffered from insomnia on his very first night.
He lay on the soft fur mattress beneath a down quilt. The familiar, crisp fragrance still lingered at the tip of his nose, yet the emptiness in his arms made it impossible for him to sleep. During those years in the Star Dou Great Forest, he had long grown used to falling asleep in Gu Yue Na's embrace.
"Sure enough, I still can't sleep after changing environments..." Lin Yuan muttered softly.
Just then, an extremely faint sound came from outside the window.
"Little rascal, can't sleep again?"
A familiar voice rang out in the darkness. Lin Yuan abruptly sat up, and his eyes instantly lit up.
The next moment, a graceful figure stepped lightly in through the window. It was Gu Yue Na. She placed a finger to her lips in a silent gesture, then walked to the bedside and gently tapped Lin Yuan's forehead.
"I couldn't sleep either," Gu Yue Na said softly. "Without Xiao Yuan as my little body pillow, how could big sister sleep soundly?"
Lin Yuan's eyes instantly reddened. Unable to hold back any longer, he threw himself into Gu Yue Na's arms. "Sister Nana..."
Gu Yue Na naturally wrapped him in her arms and gently patted his back, her voice so tender it seemed to drip with warmth. "There, there. Sister Nana is here. Come, sleep while holding me."
Wrapped in that familiar warmth, Lin Yuan's heart immediately settled. He greedily breathed in Gu Yue Na's scent and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Gu Yue Na lowered her head to look at the boy in her arms, her eyes full of tenderness. She gently held Lin Yuan tighter and finally drifted peacefully to sleep in his embrace as well.
In the morning, the first rays of sunlight streamed through the window into the dormitory. Lin Yuan turned over beneath the soft down quilt and instinctively reached out to hug the person beside him, only to grasp empty air.
"Hm?" He opened his eyes groggily and found that Gu Yue Na was long gone from the bedside. Only a trace of her unique, crisp fragrance remained in the air.
Lin Yuan was stunned for two seconds, but the corners of his lips rose unconsciously. He knew Gu Yue Na must have quietly left before dawn so as not to disturb him. With that thought, he stretched lazily before slowly climbing out of bed. Barefoot, he walked to the window and pushed it open, letting the fresh morning air pour in.
After washing up, the sky outside was already fully bright. Once he had finished cultivating the Dragon God Technique, Lin Yuan headed to the cafeteria for breakfast.
In the morning cafeteria, Lin Yuan remained the most eye-catching sight. Familiar with the routine, he carried six stainless-steel food basins and lined them up before the luxurious serving window on the far left. "Auntie, one portion of everything. Fill them up!"
The cafeteria auntie's hand trembled, then she smiled helplessly. "You again, little one. Auntie will give you some extra dishes today."
Before long, six mountains of food were born once again.
Lin Yuan condensed a table from ice in a corner, sat down, and began eating at an unhurried pace.
Just then, a mildly reproachful voice sounded, immediately drawing Lin Yuan's attention. His eating slowed slightly. Looking up, he saw Huo Yu Hao, who had arrived at the cafeteria with a troubled expression, as well as Bei Bei, who had appeared behind him at some point.
"Little junior brother, you can't skimp on meals. You need proper nutrition. There are some jobs around the academy that students can handle. You can take them on to support yourself."
"Senior brother!" Huo Yu Hao cried out in surprise. At the moment, Tang Ya and Bei Bei were the only people he knew at Shrek Academy.
"I'm not giving you money directly because I hope you can learn to stand on your own. Combat ability is only one part of strength. A person's strength also includes many other comprehensive abilities, and the most important of them is the ability to survive under any circumstances. Do you understand?" Bei Bei looked at Huo Yu Hao, his tone carrying a trace of apology.
"Senior brother, you've already helped me so much. I understand all of this. I still have a few silver coins on hand. Once school starts, I'll take on some jobs." Huo Yu Hao nodded.
Bei Bei smiled faintly, reached out to rub Huo Yu Hao's head, and said softly, "I'll be leaving first, little junior brother. Remember, you can earn money again, but never skimp on food. You need nutrition."
As Bei Bei turned to leave, his gaze inadvertently fell upon the unusual figure in the corner. A silver-haired, purple-eyed boy was calmly eating, with six food basins piled high like little mountains before him. The boy had a cool, ethereal temperament, and every movement carried an indescribable poise and nobility.
Isn't that appetite a little too outrageous? Bei Bei was secretly shocked. What surprised him even more was that the crystalline table and chair before the boy had actually been condensed from ice!
At that moment, Lin Yuan noticed them as well. He set down his spoon, politely nodded at the two of them, and wore a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
What pure aura, Bei Bei's heart tightened. And that faint pressure... it actually made my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul stir with unease?!
Huo Yu Hao also studied Lin Yuan curiously. He vaguely felt something strange, as though he had seen him somewhere before, yet he could not remember where.
Lin Yuan stood, and the ice table and chair before him turned into vapor and vanished. He wiped his mouth, walked toward them, and introduced himself with a smile. "Hello. I'm Lin Yuan from Class One Freshman."
"Hello, I'm Bei Bei, a fourth-year student. You can consider me your senior." Bei Bei returned the greeting politely, though he was even more astonished inside. So he's that genius freshman who reached level thirty-nine at eleven years old?!
Yesterday, when he and Tang Ya had brought Huo Yu Hao to enroll, they had inadvertently seen the freshman list. The name of an eleven-year-old at level thirty-nine had shocked them immensely. Now, the genius of this year's incoming class stood before him and had even taken the initiative to greet them.
"Hello, I'm Huo Yu Hao. I'm also in Class One Freshman," Huo Yu Hao replied somewhat stiffly.
Lin Yuan looked at the future God of Emotions before him, countless thoughts running through his mind. Yet he merely smiled faintly. "Then we'll be classmates from now on. Please take care of me."
Huo Yu Hao hurriedly nodded. He was full of curiosity toward this silver-haired, purple-eyed new classmate, though he did not know why he always felt an inexplicable sense of ease around Lin Yuan.
Looking at Huo Yu Hao and Lin Yuan, Bei Bei smiled and smoothed things over. "Since you're classmates, look after each other. Lin Yuan, I heard your Soul Power is already at level thirty-nine?"
Lin Yuan nodded. "I was just lucky." As he spoke, he looked at Huo Yu Hao and said softly, "Want to head back to the dorms together? I'm in Dorm 107."
Upon hearing that, Huo Yu Hao nodded lightly. "Okay."
"Let's go." Lin Yuan smiled and turned toward the exit.
The three of them walked out of the cafeteria side by side. After saying goodbye to Bei Bei, Lin Yuan and Huo Yu Hao headed back to the dormitory building together.
As soon as they reached the dorm room, Huo Yu Hao noticed the door was open. After a brief moment of surprise, he realized that his roommate must have arrived.
At that moment, a youth walked out of the room and was also startled upon seeing Huo Yu Hao. She had delicate features and fair skin. Her large eyes were especially striking, a pale pinkish blue, and her neat short hair was the same color.
If Huo Yu Hao had not first met the cool and ethereal Lin Yuan, then this youth before him would likely have been the most beautiful person his age he had ever seen.
Lin Yuan's expression did not change in the slightest upon seeing Wang Dong. To be honest, he found it difficult to give Wang Dong an exact assessment. He did not dislike her. After all, someone had once personally said that Dong Er was not Little Seven, and Qiu Er was not either.
One had to know that deities could not descend to the lower realm, not even their children. If that was the case, then Wang Dong's existence itself carried a certain special nature. Although she was Tang Wu Tong's incarnation in the mortal world, she possessed independent consciousness and emotions. She was not merely a simple replica.
"You are?" Huo Yu Hao asked instinctively.
Wang Dong shot him an arrogant glare. "Move aside!"
Hearing that, Huo Yu Hao quickly stepped aside. Wang Dong passed by him, but after taking only a few steps, she stopped and turned back to look at him. "You're in this dorm too, right? Since you cleaned the dorm so well, I'll allow you to live with me for now."
"I have a few rules you need to remember. First, you are not allowed to bring people back to the dorm whenever you please. Second, you are not allowed to walk around naked in the dorm and disgust people. Third, you are not allowed to snore at night. Fourth, don't disturb me. Fifth, you will clean the dorm from now on, but don't touch my bed. Do you understand?"
Seeing Wang Dong's lofty manner, Huo Yu Hao frowned deeply. It was not that he could not meet these conditions, but he turned to look at Lin Yuan beside him. This was the third person, after senior brother Bei Bei and Teacher Tang Ya, to show him kindness. He immediately grew angry. "Why should I listen to you?"
Wang Dong froze. Clearly, she had not expected this seemingly timid freshman to dare talk back to her. A flash of displeasure passed through her pinkish-blue eyes. "If you won't listen, I'll beat you out of here. If you don't believe me, try it."
Before you continue