Belated Realization

Skywater Academy.

As the bustling crowd slowly filed out of the classrooms, the entire campus once again brimmed with the youthful vitality of beautiful girls.

The tender buds on the little trees by the roadside had grown long, while flowers of every color competed in bloom, creating a stunning sight.

Shen Liuyu skipped out of the classroom with Gu Qingbo. Seeing the Shui sisters waiting not far away, she flashed a sweet smile and said:

"Qingbo, go eat first. Bing'er, Yue'er, and I have something to do. See you tonight~"

Gu Qingbo did not suspect anything. She nodded and slowly headed toward the cafeteria.

Shen Liuyu walked over to the Shui sisters, smiling as she rubbed Shui Yue'er's head. Then she looked at Shui Bing'er and asked:

"Bing'er, are you ready?"

Shui Bing'er paused before finally nodding.

"I'm ready..."

Shui Yue'er chimed in at that moment:

"My sister barely slept at all last night. She was listless in class today too. Hehe, Sister Liuyu, look how excited my sister is..."

Shui Bing'er gave a wry smile and tapped Shui Yue'er on the forehead.

"It's not just excitement. It's more of an obsession, I suppose. Things from childhood only become clearer and more deeply etched in your mind as time passes. This feels more like a release. Anyone who went through something like that would remember it clearly. I don't know why either. I'm usually quite calm..."

Shui Yue'er pouted and muttered softly:

"I'd like to see just how handsome he is, for him to leave such a deep impression on my sister. Hmph! If he dares bully my sister again, I'll beat him up good..."

As she spoke, Shui Yue'er waved her little fist, pretending to look fierce.

Shui Bing'er and Shen Liuyu both smiled. Shui Yue'er was the youngest among them—excluding Shen Liuyu, of course—and she was also the liveliest and most mischievous. Her only flaw was probably that she was far too obsessed with handsome men. Whenever she saw one, she could barely move on...

She was the one who had taken Shen Liuyu around to look at the handsome men from the various academies. Xiao Tian, Godwind Academy's simp; Huo Wushuang of Blazing Academy; and several strikingly handsome guys from Thunder Academy had all received Shui Yue'er's merciless—and remarkably accurate—reviews.

Shen Liuyu secretly found it amusing. Once this little girl saw her Older Brother, she would probably be completely smitten. Her annoying Older Brother's looks were rarely matched by anyone. He had perfectly inherited every advantage from their parents, which made her deeply envious.

Shui Bing'er glanced at the sun, tugged on Shui Yue'er's hand, and said to Shen Liuyu:

"Liuyu, lead the way. It's getting late. If we don't hurry, we might miss dinner."

Shen Liuyu let out an "Oh" and raised her head to check the time as well.

What? There was obviously still plenty of time before dinner. She was not even hungry yet. How could it be late...

Skywater Academy's schedule was like this: one day of classes followed by one day off. Classes began at eight every morning, with a break at ten thirty. They ended at twelve ten, followed by fifty minutes for lunch and rest. Afternoon classes ended promptly at two, and students could freely arrange all their remaining time.

Most other Soul Master Academies only held classes in the morning and left the rest of the day for students to do as they pleased. Skywater Academy was structured differently, so its courses were generally arranged this way. Still, it was fairly considerate, since students could freely choose the subjects they were weakest in. That was an advantage.

The three left Skywater Academy together and headed toward the small courtyard Shen Hanyu had bought in the outskirts.

When passersby saw the three beautiful girls, many stopped to stare. Quite a few even wore lewd, covetous expressions. Yet upon noticing the distinctive Skywater Academy uniforms, they hurriedly abandoned any such thoughts.

In Element City, the name of the Four Elements Academy carried even more weight than the emperor's.

After all, the Four Elements Academy had controlled this city for thousands of years. Not only had it developed four renowned Soul Master Academies, but the headmasters of all four academies were famous powerhouses of the continent.

Anyone who provoked someone from those academies here might not even know when they died...

Watching all this, Shui Yue'er snorted and linked arms with Shui Bing'er.

"Sister, their stares are so disgusting. Ugh... Look at that street vendor's eyes. They're practically popping out..."

Shui Bing'er smiled helplessly.

"You'll get used to it. You're not that young anymore. An eight-year-old should be a little more mature. We'll have even bigger stages in the future, and not every gaze will be friendly. There's no need to care about all of them. We just need to do our own thing..."

Shui Yue'er gave a muffled "Mm" and obediently followed Shui Bing'er.

Shen Liuyu, on the other hand, felt nothing at all. Her personality was unlike Shen Hanyu's. She was more changeable; how she acted in any given situation depended entirely on her mood.

The three slowly left the bustling streets. Once outside the city, they followed a small path toward the little courtyard.

As they drew closer, the tension in Shui Bing'er's heart nearly spilled over.

As she gradually grew up and became more mature, the memory of that incident only became more vivid.

Some people were unforgettable after just one meeting. There was some truth to that saying.

The thoughts in a young girl's heart were hazy and hard to fathom, best left unspoken.

Meanwhile, Shen Hanyu sat restlessly on a tree branch, staring blankly into space. A trace of exhaustion showed on his handsome face.

Tian Meng asked worriedly:

"Hanyu, are you sure you're alright? You don't look too good. Want me to give you a proper checkup?"

Shen Hanyu fell silent for a while, scratched his head, and said:

"No need. I've just been feeling unsettled these past couple of days. I keep feeling like something bad is about to happen."

Tian Meng did not know how to comfort him, so it could only silently look for topics to distract Shen Hanyu.

Everything about its partner was good, except that he was somewhat lacking when it came to handling emotions and everyday matters. His emotional intelligence also seemed to fluctuate wildly.

Still, it was not a major issue. It just meant that he might not handle relationships very smoothly in the future and could easily stir up some trouble.

As Tian Meng thought this, it seemed to forget how it acted whenever it faced the Ice Empress. Its own emotional intelligence was not much better.

After the two fell silent for a moment, Tian Meng suddenly sensed something. A strange smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of its mouth as it said:

"Hanyu, do you remember that little girl you sweet-talked back then?"

Shen Hanyu froze, then nodded. An indescribable expression appeared on his face.

"Sometimes, I really think I'm a criminal. I could even sweet-talk a five-year-old girl. My lifelong reputation—"

Tian Meng chuckled.

"It's fine, it's fine. I know better than anyone what kind of person you are. Tell me, why did you take a liking to a little girl who was only five at the time?"

Shen Hanyu did not take it seriously.

"Fate, I guess. To be honest, I'm a pretty shallow person. I'm way too obsessed with looks. Don't make me sound so perverted. There are plenty of people on the continent who get married and have children at eleven or twelve. Soul Masters with Soul Power develop physically and mentally out of proportion to their age. I originally just wanted to tease her, but then I misspoke and sweet-talked her for a while. I said a whole bunch of things that I still don't know how to face her over now. It's pretty awkward."

PS: In Douluo Continent, age, mental maturity, and physical development are not proportional. No way, I'm really not a criminal or some creep...

At eight or nine, they're already mentally equivalent to fifteen or sixteen-year-olds in normal society, right? It's normal for people in a fantasy world to mature early, right? It counts as first love, right? doge face for protection

Just treat it like a character-raising game. This was a filler chapter. I've still been busy these past few days, my mind is a mess, and there are a lot of things going on. Things should be back to normal around the twenty-fifth or twenty-sixth...

It wasn't written very well. I hope it doesn't affect everyone's mood. Please forgive me!