At dawn the next morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Ma Xiaotao hauled Long Jinyu out of bed.
"Come on, kid! I'm taking you shopping for clothes!"
Ma Xiaotao was full of energy, clearly having put yesterday's awkwardness behind her.
"Mm... Senior, I'm sleepy..."
With his silver hair sticking up in every direction, Long Jinyu stumbled out the door in a daze as she dragged him along.
The bustle of Shrek City's commercial district far exceeded his expectations. It was packed with people.
Ma Xiaotao was clearly the decisive, action-oriented type. With a clear destination in mind, she dragged him straight to the biggest clothing store.
But as the saying went, plans never kept up with changes.
The moment Long Jinyu walked into the store with his dazzling silver hair and JK uniform, every shop assistant's gaze snapped toward him...
"Wow! What a pretty little girl!"
"That hair color is so unusual! Like an elf!"
"Miss, come look at the new skirts in our store! This pale purple one will look especially good with your hair!"
"This dress with traditional Han-style elements would suit your temperament too!"
Long Jinyu: "..."
He was surrounded by the enthusiastic shop assistants, who shoved all sorts of skirts in front of him to hold up for comparison without giving him a chance to object. He was completely flustered and looked to Ma Xiaotao for help.
Ma Xiaotao stood to one side with her arms crossed. She had meant to speak up and emphasize, "We're buying men's clothes," but when she saw Long Jinyu, helpless and nearly swallowed up by all the skirts, the words "He's a boy" reached her lips and then went back down.
Especially when Long Jinyu was half pushed into a fitting room and came back out in a moon-white Wide-Sleeve Fairy Dress. Her gaze lingered on his figure for a few honest seconds longer.
His silvery-white hair and the pale skirt complemented each other beautifully. His heterochromatic eyes shimmered with a subtle glow beneath the lights, lending him an air of cool elegance and delicate refinement. It really was... a pleasure to look at.
"Ahem..."
Ma Xiaotao awkwardly turned away, the tips of her ears warming.
"It, it's all right, I guess. Since we're here already... we might as well... buy a few sets."
Anyway, the kid seemed to like wearing skirts, didn't he?
What was that kind of thing called again...
A cross-dressing boy???
She heard her own voice saying it.
"Achoo!"
Long Jinyu rubbed his nose, looking puzzled. "Can Dragon God Bloodline catch a cold too?"
He didn't pay it much mind, assuming the store's perfume scents were simply too mixed together.
The shopping list went completely off course from there.
In the end, Long Jinyu came away with a huge pile of clothes: the ordinary men's wear Ma Xiaotao had originally planned to buy, several sets of stylish Eastern-inspired outfits, a few flowing Han-style robes, comfortable pajamas... and a full ten skirts in all sorts of styles.
After that, he slipped into a household goods store on his own, avoiding Ma Xiaotao's gaze as he briskly bought a large amount of brand-new bedding, toiletries, and basic daily necessities.
He stuffed everything into the Storage Soul Tool he had "borrowed" from the system—a black bracelet that looked entirely unremarkable.
When Ma Xiaotao returned after paying, she saw him coming out of the household goods store and asked with some confusion, "Does Phoenix Perch Pavilion not have these things? Or are you not used to what they have?"
Long Jinyu smiled, his tone casual. "No, the things at Phoenix Perch Pavilion are all great. I like them a lot. These are for a... um, 'friend' of mine."
Ma Xiaotao looked surprised and raised an eyebrow. "A friend? You have a friend here?" Hadn't he only arrived yesterday? Wasn't he a "loner"?
Long Jinyu gave a vague answer. "You could say... a future friend."
Ma Xiaotao looked completely baffled. "A future friend??? You really do say the strangest things, kid."
Once they had done enough shopping, Long Jinyu remembered what they had come for and asked, "Senior, are you sure you don't want me to help you move? I'm really strong!" He patted his lean, well-defined arm.
Ma Xiaotao's expression instantly turned a little unnatural, and her gaze darted aside. "N-no, it's fine! I asked Wu Ming to help! Right, Wu Ming! You... you should go back and rest, or take a look around the academy and get familiar with it!"
No way!
The place she used to live... She had been so tormented by her Evil Fire that she hadn't had the heart to tidy it up...
Clothes, personal... undergarments, were scattered everywhere... Let Long Jinyu help her move?
Wouldn't that be... practically handing him a free show?!
It would be a mortifying disaster!
There was no way she would let her powerful senior-sister image (at least, in her own mind) collapse in front of that kid!
Seeing how strongly she reacted, Long Jinyu guessed that a girl's room might have private things she didn't want a boy to see. He readily went along with it. "Oh, all right. Go ahead, then, Senior."
He took a matching bracelet out of his Soul Tool, this one red, and handed it to Ma Xiaotao. "Here, take this Storage Soul Tool. It has plenty of space, so it should come in handy for the move. If you need help, just use that contract to call me."
Ma Xiaotao accepted the bracelet, warmth rising in her heart. "Got it. Sorry for the trouble, kid."
After they parted ways, Long Jinyu didn't return to Sea God Island. He took out his phone and, while flipping through the manga he had just downloaded, wandered toward the outer courtyard's new student dormitories, guided by his increasingly powerful spiritual strength.
As soon as he reached the building, he sensed that something was off.
Two new students were facing off in the open space, the tension between them razor-sharp. Quite a few onlookers had gathered around.
One was a small, pale boy with short blue hair. His gaze, though, was stubborn and unyielding, like a little beast cornered but refusing to give in.
The other was tall and exceptionally handsome, with an almost androgynous beauty. His short blue-pink hair was striking, and his eyes and brows were full of pride.
Long Jinyu lowered his head and glanced at his phone screen—it was showing chapter eight of the Peerless Tang Sect manga, "Roommates."
He jerked his head up.
The scene before him matched the manga panels almost perfectly!
"Click, click, click!"
His hands trembled with excitement, and he quickly raised his phone to take several photos.
The manga had come to life! Yuhao and Dong'er's classic first meeting!
[Host, I thought someone with your personality would go over and stop them?] the system asked, curious.
"Ah~ you just don't get it."
Long Jinyu lowered his voice and hid behind a tree, an uncontrollable, knowing grin spreading across his face.
"You think cross-dressing is the only thing passed down in the protagonist's family? The couple's first battle is a family tradition too—"
"Buddha Tang and Xiao Wu, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie (Gu Yue✓)... Ahem, ahem, ahem."
He caught himself just in time.
"They're just roughhousing a little. It's fine. If they really lose their tempers, I'll step in. Besides..."
His gaze flicked toward the old fox lounging in a chair by the dorm entrance, watching with a smile.
"Would that old man really let anything happen?"
What happened next followed the "plot" as expected.
The two wrestled, and in the end, the small blue-haired boy seized his chance. A flash of purple light appeared in his eyes, and while the handsome boy was momentarily dazed, he lunged and knocked him to the ground, pinning him down with arms and legs!
Hidden in the shadows, Long Jinyu's grin stretched nearly from ear to ear, and the "click" of his phone camera never stopped.
"Pfft, hahahaha... When the Sea God Fate Blind Date Festival comes around, I'm definitely getting these photos printed and giving them as a wedding gift! Just imagine their faces then... hahahaha!"
He was already so excited that he had started "celebrating" in advance.
[You...] The system seemed unable to understand this mean-spirited amusement.
After the blue-haired boy finished making his threat, he got up and left.
The blue-pink-haired boy was left lying on the ground, looking as though he were questioning his whole life. Then he got up and brushed the dust off himself.
Mu En cheerfully called out to him and gave him some "profound" commentary.
Only then did Long Jinyu soften his footsteps and sneak closer. Imitating Mu En's usual tone, he drew out his words and teased, "Teacher~ good morning~. Are you 'deceiving'... er, offering guidance to new students again?"
Mu En opened his eyes at the sound of his voice. Seeing how he was dressed, the amusement in his eyes deepened. "Hahaha, Yu'er, what are you talking about? Matters of scholarship can't be called deception. But what about you? Why are you dressed like that and coming to the new students' dormitory first thing in the morning?"
Long Jinyu kept a straight face. "I came to admire the new students' spirit, and to deliver a little gift to a friend."
Hearing his voice, Wang Dong turned to look at the "senior sister" with the clear, melodious voice and froze, a flash of admiration in her eyes.
She gave a haughty little snort to herself. "This senior sister is... so pretty. When I'm dressed as a girl, I'm... I'm not much less pretty than her, right?!! And she's this old man's disciple?"
Seeing Wang Dong's expression, Long Jinyu found her a little adorable. "Dong'er's so cute even dressed as a boy~. Whatever happens, I can't let her go through the Valley of Universe Asking Love this time. I have to save her! The Third's schemes can go to hell! Everyone should be happy!"
He smiled at Wang Dong. "Hello. Could you show me the way? I'm looking for the blue-haired student from just now. His name is Huo Yuhao. He's your roommate, right?"
Wang Dong came back to herself. It was clear that she couldn't refuse the request of a pretty "senior sister." "Oh, sure, no problem. But... Senior, are girls allowed in the boys' dorms?" She looked puzzled.
Mu En stood to one side, smiling without a word.
Long Jinyu blinked. "Normally, they aren't, but... 'special circumstances call for special treatment~'"
Wang Dong: "???"
The two of them arrived at the door of Dormitory 108. Wang Dong pushed it open and shouted inside, sounding annoyed, "Hey, Huo Yuhao! A pretty senior sister is looking for you!"
Inside the dorm, Huo Yuhao was sitting cross-legged on his bare bed, working hard to cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Skill. He froze at the words. "Could Teacher Xiao Ya have come to see me?" He quickly opened his eyes.
The next second, he saw a silver-haired "girl" standing in the doorway against the light, smiling at him.
"Thump!"
Huo Yuhao was so startled that he fell straight onto the bed, hit his head against the wall, and scrambled back into a sitting position. His face flushed bright red. "S-Senior?! W-what do you need?"
Suppressing a laugh, Long Jinyu walked into the dorm and handed him the black bracelet he had prepared. "Hello, Huo Yuhao. I'm Long Jinyu, an inner-court disciple. This is living assistance from the academy's 'Support Department.'"
Keeping his expression under control, he continued to make things up. "Our department identifies and supports promising students from poor families. There are some daily necessities in here. Also, starting now, you'll receive a regular allowance of ten Gold Soul Coins each month, which I'll personally give to you."
Huo Yuhao was completely stunned. He took the bracelet and instinctively probed inside with his spiritual power. Sure enough, he saw several stacks of brand-new bedding neatly arranged inside, along with a few books, various daily necessities, and ten gleaming Gold Soul Coins!
A warmth and joy he had never felt before swept over him, and his nose suddenly stung.
The academy... had such a wonderful department? One that specifically... cared about students like him? But why hadn't the Grandmaster senior brother or Teacher Xiao Ya mentioned it...?
His eyes grew moist. He bowed deeply to Long Jinyu. "Thank you, Senior! Thank you so much! Thank you for the academy's support!"
Long Jinyu rubbed his forehead. Great, he was never getting rid of that "senior sister" title now.
"You're welcome. Focus on your cultivation. Students at Shrek shouldn't have to be troubled by the little things in life."
He smiled and added, "We'll see each other again in two days."
Huo Yuhao didn't understand why they would meet again in two days, but he still thanked him respectfully. "Take care, Senior!"
Watching this, Wang Dong finally realized Huo Yuhao hadn't even had bedding because he was poor.
Thinking of how she had just fought with him and bullied him, she felt a little uncomfortable. Some of her haughtiness faded away. "Hey, I didn't know you were so hard up... Um, sorry about earlier."
Huo Yuhao shook his head. "It's fine..."
Thanks to Long Jinyu's intervention, the small conflict seemed to have turned into friendship.
Meanwhile,
Inside Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea.
A huge, fat silkworm was lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth and twitching nonstop...
After leaving the new students' dormitory, Long Jinyu scratched his head in confusion. "That's strange. Why didn't the Silkworm Baby react when it saw me? Was it asleep?"
He couldn't be bothered to dwell on it and continued strolling leisurely around Shrek Academy.
[Host, I didn't expect you to be such a good Samaritan,] the system suddenly said.
Long Jinyu didn't explain. With a touch of sadness, he murmured, "We're all wanderers at the ends of the earth. Why should old acquaintances have to meet before they can understand each other..."
[What a cultured turtle... I've learned something again.]
[But... why didn't you just tell him that you were supporting him personally? Why insist on calling it the 'Academy Support Department'? You're handing the credit to Shrek!]
Long Jinyu silently rolled his eyes. "He's so strong-willed. If I didn't put it that way, how would he accept it?"
"Besides, does the name really matter? As long as he's truly been helped and can live a little more easily because of it, isn't that enough? Who's paying for it—what difference does that make?"
[But... aren't you the one who hates... um... 'scumbags' the most? According to my data, later on, Huo Yuhao...]
"Are you stupid, or does your database need updating? How can you look at things so one-sidedly? And you still dare call yourself a highly intelligent life-form?"
Long Jinyu cut it off.
"Those things he does later—aren't they because... ahem, ahem, ahem, some uncontrollable factors deliberately wrecked his character?"
"Besides, none of that has happened yet. It might not happen at all because of my arrival!"
His tone grew serious. "All I know is that the Huo Yuhao right now is just a poor kid who has recently lost his mother, has no money, and doesn't even have a decent quilt. Isn't that right?"
[...Human thought patterns really are complex and fascinating. Perhaps I still have a lot to learn.]
"Then you've got a lot to learn."
Long Jinyu snorted.
"But, well, I'd be happy to teach you. Hahaha~"
[Hmm, I'm a little touched... I almost didn't want to deduct the points for your Storage Soul Tool.]
Long Jinyu stopped short. "Huh??? Wait! You're still deducting points from me?! Wasn't that a discount you included when you 'generously gave' me the notebook?!"
[Host, everything is possible in dreams~]
Long Jinyu: "..."
He felt as if that little burst of sentiment just now had all been fed to the system (dog)!
Right after he finished grumbling, a "ding" rang out in his mind.
[Ding! <The Best Possible Treatment Plan for Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul (Super, Unrivaled, Ultimate Edition)> has been analyzed and formulated! Please check it!]
"Oh? That fast?!"
Long Jinyu's spirits lifted. He temporarily forgot how stingy the system was and eagerly received the scroll that hovered in midair, looking reassuringly radiant with golden light.
"Waaah—!!!"
The scroll slowly unfurled, and its light faded...
The anticipation on Long Jinyu's face froze instantly, slowly turning blank. Three enormous question marks seemed to pop up above his head.
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