Dawn broke. Lin Ming got up, washed up, and put the last few things into his ring.
He left the cloth bag he'd carried for three years on the bed.
He didn't need it anymore.
From today on, he didn't have to pretend to be an ordinary Work-Study Student.
From today on, he could use Soul Tools openly and show off his strength without hiding it.
He could finally...
Let out a sigh of relief.
Wang Sheng got up too. After a moment of silence, he walked over to Lin Ming.
"Lin Ming."
"Yeah?"
"You... about what you did yesterday..."
Wang Sheng's face turned red as he struggled to get the words out.
"Were you really hiding it all this time?"
Lin Ming looked at him and nodded.
"Why?"
Wang Sheng couldn't understand.
"That was a Hundred-Year Soul Ring. If you'd shown it from the start, who would dare bully us Work-Study Students? Who would dare show off in front of you?"
Lin Ming thought for a moment before answering.
"I had my reasons before."
"What about now?"
"Not anymore."
Wang Sheng froze. Then he suddenly smiled, his eyes turning red.
"Good. Good."
He gave Lin Ming's shoulder a hearty pat.
"Then don't hide it anymore, got it? Go out there and show those snobs who look down on us that Work-Study Students can produce geniuses too."
Lin Ming met his eyes.
There was envy in Wang Sheng's gaze, and frustration, but no jealousy.
Then Lin Ming nodded.
"Okay."
When Lin Ming walked out of Dorm Seven, the sunlight fell on him.
It was warm.
He took a deep breath.
Four years.
He had never stood like this at Nuoding Academy.
Standing in the sunlight, thinking of nothing and fearing nothing.
Little Lei Yi floated up from his shoulder and hovered beside him.
The sunlight gilded his tiny body, making him shine like a miniature sun.
"Yi~"
Lin Ming looked at him and suddenly asked,
"Little Lei Yi, do you want to fly around for a while?"
Little Lei Yi blinked.
Usually, to conserve Soul Power, he would lie on Lin Ming's shoulder.
Lin Ming had told him to keep a low profile, conserve his strength, and always save enough Soul Power to deal with the unexpected.
But now...
"Yi!"
Little Lei Yi excitedly floated a little higher and spun around in the air.
He started to fly.
From the entrance of Dorm Seven to the playground, from the playground to the path, from the path to the branches of a tree.
The little ten-centimeter-tall fellow was like a golden butterfly, darting freely through the sunlight.
Lin Ming stood still, watching that tiny golden figure.
The smile on his lips grew wider and wider.
So this was what it felt like not to constantly calculate how much Soul Power he was using.
On the way to the cafeteria, Lin Ming ran into quite a few people.
Everyone froze when they saw him.
Almost all their eyes fell on his shoulder.
Little Lei Yi was lying there, but he wasn't curled up quietly like usual.
Instead, he had one leg crossed over the other, his tiny body swaying gently as he lounged contentedly.
"Um... Lin Ming..."
Someone muttered under their breath.
"Why does he seem... a little different?"
"How so?"
"I can't put my finger on it... It's like... he's finally relaxed."
Lin Ming heard them but said nothing.
The cafeteria was busier than usual.
Lin Ming carried his tray over and found a seat.
This time, he didn't choose a corner. He picked a table by the window, where the sunlight fell just right on him.
Little Lei Yi floated down from his shoulder and sat opposite him.
"What do you want to eat?"
"Yi."
"A steamed bun?"
"Yi!"
Lin Ming broke off half a bun for him.
Little Lei Yi held it in both hands and nibbled at it.
The sunlight fell on him. Golden arcs of electricity danced across the bun, toasting it until it was slightly charred.
"That's not how you eat a steamed bun."
"Yi?"
Little Lei Yi tilted his head at him, half a piece of bun still in his mouth.
Lin Ming looked at him and suddenly laughed.
He reached out, took the bun from Little Lei Yi's mouth, and blew away the lingering electric arcs.
"Like this."
He broke off a small piece and put it in his mouth.
Little Lei Yi copied him, breaking off a small piece and putting it in his mouth too.
Then he frowned.
"Yi!"
He'd burned himself.
Lin Ming laughed out loud.
The people at the nearby tables stared in disbelief.
They'd never seen Lin Ming smile.
And they'd certainly never seen him smile like that.
His shoulders shook with laughter, his eyes curved into slits, and his whole being seemed to have melted in the sunlight.
"Is that... Lin Ming?"
"Must be..."
"Why does he... smile like that?"
No one could answer.
After finishing his last meal at Nuoding Academy,
Lin Ming walked out of the academy gates.
He didn't say goodbye to anyone.
He left Nuoding Academy just as he always had.
Without a sound.
Little Lei Yi had eaten too much again. He lay on Lin Ming's shoulder, his tiny body rising and falling gently as he made soft little "huff" sounds.
Lin Ming reached out and stroked his head, looking at him.
Four years.
Little Lei Yi had been with him for four years.
From Holy Soul Village to Nuoding Academy.
From level one to level twenty.
From Little Lei Yi's evolution into Lei Yi.
They had endured hunger together, hidden their abilities together, stayed alert through the nights together, and narrowly escaped death together in the Star Dou Great Forest.
They had never been apart.
Looking at Little Lei Yi, who sleepily rubbed against his hand, Lin Ming spoke.
"You don't have to hide anymore."
Little Lei Yi opened his eyes and looked at him.
"You can fly wherever you want, play all you like, and stay out as long as you want."
Little Lei Yi gazed at him, Lin Ming's face reflected in his big eyes.
He rubbed his tiny head against Lin Ming's cheek.
"Yi~"
His voice was soft and gentle.
He was saying:
Okay.
The carriage traveled for several days.
That evening,
they reached Skywater City.
The setting sun bathed the entire city in warm orange-red light.
People streamed in and out of the city gates.
Skywater City was more than twice as big as Nuoding City.
Little Lei Yi floated up from Lin Ming's shoulder and hovered beside him.
"Yi~"
"Yeah, we're here."
Lin Ming looked down at the ring on his finger, his heart beating a little faster than usual.
When he'd left Nuoding City, he'd sent Shui Bing'er a letter.
It contained just two lines.
"I'm level twenty. I'm coming."
The carriage stopped at the entrance to Skywater City. Lin Ming and Little Lei Yi climbed down.
After walking for about fifteen minutes in the direction people had pointed him, he stopped.
A tall gatehouse stood ahead, with four characters carved across its lintel.
Skywater Academy.
Two students in uniform stood at the entrance, along with a figure in pale blue.
Shui Bing'er stood to the left of the gate, not too close to it, but not too far away either.
She stood there with her hands neatly folded in front of her, as if waiting for someone.
Lin Ming looked at her.
Sunlight fell on her blue hair, giving it a soft glow.
She had grown a lot taller over the past four years, and the once-childish contours of her face had become more defined.
Only her eyes were unchanged—clear and calm, like a winter lake.
She sensed Lin Ming's gaze and turned her head, her eyes settling on him.
The two of them looked at each other from several dozen paces away.
Neither moved.
Little Lei Yi floated up from Lin Ming's shoulder and tilted his head, looking from Lin Ming to Shui Bing'er.
Then he raised his little pinky and waggled it at Shui Bing'er.
"Yi!"
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