Gu Yuena: Lend Me Your Shoulder to Lean On (Seeking Follow-ups and Recommendation Tickets)

"Teacher Wu, why are you holding the Frost Sword?" Lin Chen felt his backside tighten, breaking into a cold sweat.

Wu Changkong remained expressionless, a biting chill radiating from the blade as he stared fixedly at Lin Chen: "That was quite the performance. Would you like me to award you a prize?"

Lin Chen hurriedly raised his hands in front of him, offering a sheepish smile: "Teacher Wu, could you go easy on me?"

Not far away, Xie Xie, who had just recovered from his paralysis, felt his shoulders twitch. He bit his lower lip hard, trying his best not to laugh out loud, while Xu Xiaoyan covered her chin with her small hand, head bowed, her body trembling slightly as she stifled her laughter.

Lin Chen hurriedly sent a telepathic message to Tang Wulin: "Wulin, quick, put in a good word for me and plead with Teacher Wu."

Tang Wulin gazed leisurely at the night sky, feigning indifference as he sighed softly: "The night view is truly beautiful today."

Beside him, Xie Xie could no longer hold it in; a long-suppressed laugh bubbled up from his throat. Xu Xiaoyan hurriedly covered her entire face with her sleeve, her shoulders shaking even more violently.

Lin Chen looked desperate, casting a pleading glance toward Gu Yuena. Before she could even speak, the Frost Sword rose slightly, and a bone-chilling wind swept past.

"Oh, oh, it hurts! Teacher Wu, please go easy on me!"

"Teacher Wu, I was wrong!"

After enduring a round of Wu Changkong's "loving caresses," Lin Chen trudged over to Gu Yuena's side with his head hanging low, two conspicuous bumps rising on his scalp, his brows drooping in grievance.

Gu Yuena wiped the dirt from Lin Chen's face with a look of heartache: "You've been wronged, Lin Chen."

Lin Chen lowered his eyes to look at Gu Yuena beside him and waved his hand gently: "It's fine, Na'er. I'm quite resistant to a beating."

As he spoke, he channeled his soul power, the gentle energy flowing through his meridians to his head. Within moments, he was back to his usual self. Lin Chen flicked his bangs back with a flourish before fixing his gaze on the few who were still snickering.

"Have you all laughed enough?" Lin Chen asked irritably, then condensed two small threads of lightning at his fingertips, firing them with precision at Xie Xie and Tang Wulin, who was still pretending to admire the night sky.

"Ouch!" Two cries of pain rang out almost simultaneously. Xie Xie and Tang Wulin instinctively clutched their backsides, jumping half an inch into the air.

Xie Xie rubbed his backside and shouted: "Captain! You have no sportsmanship, ambushing us right after getting beaten yourself!"

Tang Wulin made a bitter face and waved his hands repeatedly: "I was just looking at the night view! Who did I offend?"

Wu Changkong coughed lightly and clapped his hands: "Come here, all of you."

Hearing this, the bickering group stood obediently before Wu Changkong like a row of chicks.

His gaze swept over them as he pointed out the flaws in their recent spar with Lin Chen, then he looked at Lin Chen: "Your acting is truly terrible."

Lin Chen's mouth twitched, and he instinctively scratched the back of his head: "Hehe."

Wu Changkong waved his hand: "Go back and rest. Training will be doubled from now on."

The five of them hung their heads, walking dejectedly toward the dormitory together.

Xu Xiaoyan integrated into the group very quickly, often sticking to Gu Yuena's side during their free time; the two seemed to have become best friends.

What frustrated Tang Wulin was that in just one month, Xu Xiaoyan had already broken through to level eighteen, while he, despite practicing the Mysterious Heaven Skill, was stuck because of his Blue Silver Grass martial soul, failing to break through to level seventeen.

Today was a theory class. Wu Changkong stood at the podium and said in a flat tone: "We depart tomorrow for Skysea City."

As soon as he finished, Xie Xie's eyes lit up, and he asked impatiently: "Teacher Wu, are we going to observe the Skysea Alliance competition?"

Wu Changkong glanced at him, his tone devoid of any ripples: "Who told you we were going to observe the Skysea Alliance competition? We are participating."

Before the others could ask, Wu Changkong waved his hand: "Lin Chen, Gu Yuena, Xu Xiaoyan, Xie Xie, you all leave first. Wulin, stay behind."

As the four walked out of the classroom, Xu Xiaoyan and Xie Xie turned to cast confused glances at Tang Wulin.

Early the next morning, Wu Changkong led the Zero Class team toward the Eastsea Academy plaza.

They were accompanied not only by Wu Changkong but also by the Dean of Academic Affairs, Long Hengxu, and other representatives from the advanced division participating in the competition.

The group spotted a familiar figure: Xu Xiaoyan's brother, Xu Xiaoyu. As he passed the Zero Class team, Xu Xiaoyu feigned a fierce look: "Xiaoyan, if they bully you, just tell me."

Xu Xiaoyan rolled her eyes: "Try beating our captain first. Worry about yourself; don't fail the preliminaries this time."

Xu Xiaoyu's mouth twitched. When he looked at Lin Chen standing beside Gu Yuena, his momentum instantly softened: "We have all reached the third ring for this competition; we will definitely achieve good results..." His voice gradually trailed off.

This left the Zero Class members speechless.

After boarding the bus, Xie Xie wanted to sit next to Lin Chen to chat, but he was kicked away by Gu Yuena. Helpless, he sat next to Xu Xiaoyan, only to be picked up by her brother, Xu Xiaoyu, and tossed into the back row.

He landed right next to Wu Changkong. Xie Xie scratched his head: "Teacher Wu, I... I'll go sit in the back."

"Ouch!" After receiving two of Wu Changkong's "loving caresses" on his head, he sat obediently by his side.

As for why Xie Xie didn't sit next to Tang Wulin, it was naturally because he was sitting with his senior sister, Mu Xi.

The soul-guided bus drove steadily on the road to Skysea City, with quite a distance still to go.

Gu Yuena's long eyelashes drooped slightly as sleepiness washed over her. She turned her head and whispered: "Lin Chen, lend me your shoulder. I'm going to nap for a while."

"No problem." Lin Chen replied, actively raising his shoulder slightly. Gu Yuena leaned her head onto it, her body relaxing as her breathing gradually became steady.

Lin Chen, who had been leaning against the window, felt the girl's scent beside him. Before he knew it, sleepiness swept over him too. His eyes grew heavy, and it wasn't long before he drifted off into a deep sleep.

I don't know how much time passed, but the bus jolted, and Lin Chen stirred, opening his eyes hazily. The head that had been resting against the window was now gently pressed against the top of Gu Yuena's head.

His body stiffened instantly, a faint blush creeping onto his cheeks as his gaze fixed on the girl's serene sleeping face.

Xie Xie, in the back row, caught sight of this and was about to make a joke, but his peripheral vision met Wu Changkong's cold gaze, and he obediently shrank back.

Xu Xiaoyu silently and unobtrusively blocked his little sister's line of sight; fortunately, Xu Xiaoyan's attention was elsewhere.

Gu Yuena shifted slightly on his shoulder. Still half-asleep, she let out a soft, muffled hum and instinctively leaned even closer to Lin Chen.

Gradually, Lin Chen drifted back to sleep.

When they arrived, it was Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan who woke the two of them up.

Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan both had crescent-shaped eyes, wearing expressions that suggested they had just witnessed something ship-worthy: "Looks like you two slept quite soundly."

Gu Yuena slowly stretched her waist, giving a lazy yawn: "Mm~ it was quite comfortable."

Beside her, Lin Chen's eyelids drooped, his drowsiness yet to dissipate and his mind still foggy, so he subconsciously nodded and muttered: "Not bad, slept very comfortably."

Xie Xie immediately clapped his hands, teasing with a wicked grin: "Good grief, both of you are so cozy leaning on each other, why don't we just rest like this for the rest of the journey?"

Xu Xiaoyan pursed her lips to hide a giggle, tugged secretly at Gu Yuena's sleeve, and whispered something to her, causing a blush to creep onto her ears.

Wu Changkong brought them to the hotel; Lin Chen, Xie Xie, and Tang Wulin stayed in one room, while Gu Yuena and Xu Xiaoyan were in another.

Gu Yuena had originally wanted to request to share a room with Lin Chen, but was flatly refused by Wu Changkong.

Inside the room, Lin Chen, Xie Xie, and Tang Wulin were sprawled on the sofa watching TV with zero regard for their image.

"Ding-dong," the crisp sound of the doorbell rang. Thinking it was Gu Yuena coming to find him, Lin Chen got up to open the Space Gate.

Opening the door, he saw Tang Wulin's senior sister, Mu Xi, standing outside. He immediately turned his head and shouted into the room: "Wulin, your senior sister is here to see you." With that, he flopped back onto the sofa.

By the time Tang Wulin left, Lin Chen was nearly asleep when his phone rang with the ringtone "Cake shop sells cakes, bread shop sells bread." He checked it and saw it was a call from Shen Yi.