It Likes You

The kiss was brief, lighter than a passing breeze outside the window.

Yun Jingheng stepped back half an inch, his forehead still pressed against hers.

Ye Xinglan's breathing was visibly erratic, her eyelashes trembled like butterfly wings wet with morning dew, and her lips were still stained with a very faint trace of pear juice, glistening.

She didn't move or push him away; she simply closed her eyes slowly.

"Imported, is it sweet?" Yun Jingheng's voice was very low, as if it were a breath stolen from his throat.

Ye Xinglan didn't answer, but turned her face to the side, her ears and neck bathed in the glow of the evening sun.

After a long pause, she whispered, "... You're being indecent, why are you sticking your tongue out twice..."

Yun Jingheng chuckled softly, then stopped teasing her. He simply moved his chair closer to her, gently rested his shoulder on hers, and turned back to continue typing.

The blue glow of the Half-Sweet Coffee quietly shimmered on their profiles, like a patient firefly in the darkness.

"I was going to teach you how to use Half-Sweet Coffee as a doorman, but I'm not going to now."

His eyes were fixed on the screen as he slowly said, "Your heart is beating too fast; it'll interfere with the system's stability."

Ye Xinglan finally turned her head and glared at him.

That glare was weak, the corners of his eyes were red and watery, making him look like someone who had been bullied badly but refused to say anything.

Yun Jingheng's heart softened at that glance, and he dared not speak recklessly again. He obediently turned his head and brought up the external monitoring interface of Half-Sweet Coffee.

"Half-Sweet Coffee," he called out.

"Master, I'm here." The gentle mechanical voice echoed softly in the room.

Ye Xinglan was startled, not expecting that Yun Jingheng's lazy demeanor concealed something that could communicate.

She glanced at the screen, then at Yun Jingheng, a rare hint of surprise in her eyes.

"This is the artificial intelligence I wrote myself."

Yun Jingheng explained, pointing to the pale blue ripple on the screen, "Her name is Half-Sweet Coffee. She's responsible for assisting me with data processing, scheduling, and monitoring communications. From now on, when you're on night watch alone, if I'm in the God Trial room, she'll help you."

"Half-Sweet Coffee, this is Ye Xinglan."

Yun Jingheng paused, then added, "From now on, her authority to issue commands will be the same as mine."

"Clear."

The voice of the Half-Sweet Coffee was as soft as a sugar crystal swirling at the bottom of a cup, "Voiceprint for Terminal 2 has been recorded. Miss Ye, nice to meet you. You are even more beautiful than when the owner peeked at you in the video."

Ye Xinglan was taken aback, her gaze suddenly turning to him. "You were spying on me?"

"I didn't. Don't listen to her nonsense."

Yun Jingheng remained expressionless, but his finger trembled, almost muting the permission panel for Half-Sweet Coffee.

Ye Xinglan didn't press the matter, only snorted and turned back to look at the screen.

But the corners of her mouth had already subtly turned up slightly.

The two sat side by side, the sun filtering through the cracks in the window and falling on the floor between them, like a small, warm yellow velvet blanket spread out.

I'm a little thirsty...

Thirsty? Don't pears quench your thirst?

Yun Jingheng stared at Ye Xinglan.

Ye Xinglan's pretty face flushed red, "You..."

"Hmm..."

About two incense sticks later, Tang Wulin returned.

When he pushed the door open, his face still carried a trace of the warmth he had brought back from outside, but his expression had already turned somber.

Yun Jingheng glanced at him, then snapped out of his languid pose, raised his hand to switch his Half-Sweet Coffee back to silent mode, and turned to ask, "What did Zhen Hua say?"

Tang Wulin walked to the table, picked up the teapot, poured half a cup, took a sip, and then slowly spoke, his voice several decibels lower than when he left:

"The teacher received intelligence that the Federal Parliament has convened an emergency meeting and designated Heaven Dou City as a key area for investigation."

"A message came from Ming Capital saying that 'someone used a malicious virus on the public network,' which has caused a great stir at the higher-ups, who suspect that remnants of Shrek Academy are causing trouble."

He paused, then looked at Yun Jingheng: "The teacher didn't ask if we did it. He only said one sentence—'Tell Jing Heng, we can't stay in Heaven Dou City any longer. Within half a month, either finish what you need to do, or run away.'"

Yun Jingheng didn't speak, his fingers slowly tracing the rim of the cup. After a moment, he asked, "What else did he say?"

He said that there was a mine tunnel beneath the association that led directly out of the city, used to transport large forgings back then, and that no more than five people knew about it. He added that if the situation changed, they could evacuate from there.

Tang Wulin took out a brass key from his pocket and placed it on the table. "Also, he wants you to see him tonight, saying he has something to give you."

Ye Xinglan's gaze fell on the bronze key.

The key has an old-fashioned design, with a tiny hammer engraved on the handle, exactly the same as the mark on Zhen Hua's study door.

Yun Jingheng picked up the key, examined it in his palm, then slipped it into his sleeve, and nodded, saying, "Okay. I'll go tonight."

After he finished speaking, he suddenly turned to look at Ye Xinglan, as if he had remembered something, and smiled softly, "After I go to my uncle's to get the things, I will start the God Trial tomorrow night."

Upon hearing this, Ye Xinglan's gaze sharpened, and after two seconds, she gave a very serious "hmm".

Her expression was so calm that even the sound of the wind outside the window seemed to have softened.

Yun Jingheng walked through the corridor and arrived at the door of Zhen Hua's study.

The door was ajar, and a dim, old-fashioned soul-guiding lamp shone from inside.

He gently knocked on the doorframe, and Zhen Hua's gentle voice came from inside. "Come in."

He pushed the door open and entered.

Zhen Hua stood in front of the forging table, his back to him, fiddling with something in front of a metal pedestal about half a person's height.

A dark blue coarse cloth covered the pedestal, its edges drooping down to conceal what lay beneath.

Hearing footsteps, Zhen Hua turned around, holding a wooden box in his hand.

The wooden box was slightly longer than an adult man's palm, extremely dark in color, and had no carvings on its four sides, except for a tiny hammer mark branded on one corner.

"Sit down." Zhen Hua pointed to the low stool next to the forging table.

Yun Jingheng sat down as instructed.

Zhen Hua didn't rush to speak, but simply walked up to him and handed him the wooden box.

"Turn it on and see."

Zhen Hua said that his voice was as gentle as when they first met that night, but with an added touch of very light solemnity.

Yun Jingheng took the wooden box; it was very heavy, unlike wood.

He lifted the lid of the box, inside which was a layer of extremely fine silver-white velvet. In the center of the velvet lay a piece of metal about three inches long and two fingers wide.

The metal was a very pale blue-white color, and upon close inspection, its surface revealed countless natural patterns.

He took a deep breath and smelled a very faint scent, like snowmelt in the depths of winter, mixed with a few barely perceptible osmanthus blossoms.

He held his breath and gently picked up the metal. As soon as his fingertips touched the surface, a very fine, soft light appeared on the metal.

Zhen Hua watched his actions, a smile appearing in his eyes, "As expected, it likes you. This ' Moonfall Star Marrow ' was found by me thirty years ago in an ancient soul-guiding ruin beneath the Far North Ice Plains."

"It is not any kind of natural metal in this world; it is more like a strange object, half metal and half energy, formed by the condensation of yin energy in the depths of extreme cold."

"I've been searching for many years to find a material that can withstand Yin attributes to make Soul Forging Core, but I haven't met the right person yet."

"Until that night when I saw you, and heard that your Battle Armor wasn't forged but nurtured by Moonlight, I thought, perhaps this should be given to you."

Yun Jingheng raised his head, opened his mouth, as if to say something.

Zhen Hua raised his hand to stop him and continued, "Your Battle Armor cannot be forged, so I can't be of much help with that."

"But if your mecha core is based on this Moonfall Star Marrow, and nurtured with your Soul Power, it might very well surpass Mu Ye in the future."

"You called me uncle, and you're a Shrek Academy student just like Wulin. This little thing is nothing, please accept it."

Yun Jingheng put the Moonfall Star Marrow back into the wooden box, stood up, and solemnly bowed to Zhen Hua.

This bow was extremely profound, far more weighty than when they first met.

"Zhen Hua, I accept this gift. If the opportunity arises in the future, I will certainly repay your kindness with it."

Zhen Hua smiled, his smile deepening the fine lines around his eyes.

He patted Yun Jingheng on the back, his eyes filled with relief and a faint hint of reluctance. "Go do your work well. When you come out of seclusion, Mu Ye and I will teach you about Red-Grade Mecha."

Yun Jingheng smiled too, his eyes slightly warm, but he didn't say anything more.

He carried the wooden box and quietly left the study.

"Yun Ming... You used to be an enemy of the Federation for Ya Li, and after all these years, you're still the same."