"Little... little senior sister... hello!"
Everyone followed the sound and saw that Huo Yuhao was standing a few steps away, with his head slightly lowered, his eyes still flushed, and his hands clenching the corners of his clothes uneasily. Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were beside him, one on the left and the other on the right, with concern and support in their eyes.
Facing the gazes of the top seniors in the inner courtyard around him, he couldn't hide his embarrassment, but he still took a deep breath, as if he had summoned up a lifetime of courage, slowly raised his head, looked into Long Jinyu's calm pair of gold and silver eyes, and then bowed deeply.
"I... I want to thank you."
Huo Yuhao's voice was still a little trembling, but it was much clearer, "What you talked about today, 'Where the Tao exists, the teacher exists', and... and the help you gave me before, reminded me of my mother. She... She was my first teacher."
At this point, his voice choked up again, but he tried to maintain his calmness, "To me, you are like... like another 'mother' in the college. Thank you, little senior sister."
This sincere confession made the surrounding area instantly quiet. The smiles on the faces of Ma Xiaotao and others turned into gentle understanding.
Long Jinyu listened quietly, and his eyes became as gentle as spring water. He took a step forward, without saying anything big, he just stretched out his hand and gently rubbed Huo Yuhao's soft blue hair.
"Yuhao."
"It is my honor to be a part of your memories and strength to move forward. Your mother must be a very great person. And the kindness and tenacity she taught you are the most precious 'Tao' you inherited from her."
This intimate gesture almost made Huo Yuhao burst into tears again. He nodded vigorously, and the huge hole in his heart seemed to be filled a little by a warm and firm force.
Yes, in this "little senior sister", he felt the long-lost maternal tolerance and guidance.
"Okay."
Long Jinyu took back his hand, smiled, and instantly dispelled the heavy atmosphere, "Don't stand here. Just in time, we are going to have a dinner to celebrate that I didn't fail the lecture today. Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, you can come together, there are so many people."
Huo Yuhao raised his head suddenly. "I... can we do it too?"
"Of course."
Long Jinyu turned his head and looked at Ma Xiaotao and others, hinting with his eyes.
Ma Xiaotao immediately responded, "What's wrong with this! It's fun when there are many people! Hurry up, and you two little guys, don't be stunned!"
"Let's go." Ling Luochеn also said calmly, which was regarded as a statement.
Huo Yuhao looked at the group of seniors who represented Shrek's top combat power. There was no contempt on their faces, only tolerance and even encouragement. A warm current belonging to the "collective" suddenly washed away the loneliness that had always existed in his heart due to his life experience.
"That's great! Thank you, little senior sister!" Xiao Xiao immediately jumped happily. Wang Dong also smiled and quietly bumped Huo Yuhao's shoulder, happy for him.
Wu Feng, who was not far away, saw this, his eyes lit up, and he subconsciously wanted to take a step, but Ning Tian gently held his wrist.
"Fengmei."
Ning Tian shook her head slightly and said in a low voice, "It was a gathering of Junior Senior Sister and her friends. It's not polite for us to join in hastily. There will always be opportunities in the future." She glanced at Huo Yuhao and understood in her heart - this guy really has a close relationship with Junior Senior Sister.
Just when the group was about to set off, a figure ran back from the other end of the corridor in a hurry. It was Xu Sanshi who had just delivered Jiang Nannan.
"Hey, hey! Wait for me!"
He shouted, "Sister! How can such a good thing as a dinner party be without me? I am your most loyal 'follower'!"
Long Jinyu looked at him and couldn't help but chuckle, "Okay, don't talk so much~ We are going to Green Wave Cottage, let's go together."
"It's your order! Little senior sister is treating me to a treat. I must make Green Wave Cottage poor today!"
Xu Sanshi immediately smiled brightly and came closer to Long Jinyu, and the atmosphere suddenly became more lively.
Shrek City, Green Wave Cottage, VIP room.
The atmosphere of the dinner was warm and cheerful. Long Jinyu temporarily put aside many worries and chatted freely with these energetic friends, feeling the relaxation and friendship that belongs to the campus.
Ma Xiaotao held his chin and could hardly take his eyes away from Long Jinyu. Watching him clink glasses with Ling Luochеn and patiently answer Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong had little problems with their cultivation, and was amused by Xu Sanshi's exaggerated imitation. Her eyebrows were crooked, and her heart seemed to be filled with warm spring water, full of warmth and pride.
She knows better than anyone else that she has changed.
The "Flame Fiend" who used to be irritable and only knew how to practice and fight, and always seemed to be separated by an invisible barrier when getting along with his teammates. Now he has lost his sharpness and is sitting here with the warmth of "Fire Phoenix Heavenly Maiden" Here, I calmly listened to Gongyang Mo's teasing, took the juice from Xixi, and even replied with a smile, "You know better" when Ling Luochеn made cool comments.
This harmony and sincerity, this feeling of a "team" rather than a "gathering of strong men", was something she had never imagined before.
And the source of all these changes points to the moon-white figure who is sitting in the main seat with a smile, as if he can tolerate and illuminate everyone.
But outside of this warm fire that he personally lit and maintained, a chill that no one knew was spreading along the seams of his bones -
The smile on Long Jinyu's face did not diminish, and he even gave Ma Xiaotao a piece of food more gently. Xu Sanshi's jokes and laughter around him could be clearly heard in his ears, but they were like a layer of fogged frosted glass, inaccessible.
The fingertips holding the water glass tightened almost imperceptibly for a moment, and the bloody memory fragments belonging to the "original" repeatedly appeared in my mind:
--Corpse Explosion suddenly erupted in the gloomy cave.
Their eyebrows were twisted into wrinkles of pain and they fell to the ground weakly.
--Gongyang Mo curled up when his leg was broken.
--Chen Zifeng The blood spurting from the broken arm.
--Yao Haoxuan's unwilling eyes before dying in battle...
All the main team members were almost completely destroyed in that unexpected sneak attack.
The Evil Soul Master known as "Death Messenger" is like a vicious symbol in the established script--
An ending that has been written for a long time is approaching step by step, and it will blow the newly condensed unity and beauty in front of us to pieces.
'It has to change!'
This thought, like a cold steel nail, was hammered into the deepest part of my heart under his warm smile. It was distinct from the warmth around me and became so heavy.
After the dinner, everyone dispersed, and Long Jinyu also returned to the Phoenix Perch Pavilion with Ma Xiaotao.
In the dead of night, he was alone in a room, the moonlight outside the window was cold and cold.
Long Jinyu didn't light the lamp. He silently walked to a secret corner of the room and took out the carefully treasured photo frame - on it were Mother Jin's kind smiling face and Mu Yao's sassy figure. His fingertips gently brushed the glass surface, as if he could touch the temperature of the photo.
He gently placed the photo frame in the center of the desk, took two steps back, and slowly knelt down.
"Mom, Mu Yao... I'm sorry for being away from you for so long... I'm here, a teacher, I have friends, and I'm trying to do the right thing."
He murmured in a low voice, his voice trembling in the silence, "But I may... do something that you will never agree with."
Tears fell silently and dripped on the floor.
"You taught me to be kind, teach me to respect life, and taught me to do the right thing... I always remember it and never dare to forget it..."
"But... I saw it."
He raised his head, his eyes blurred by tears, but gradually solidified, like tempered stars, "I saw the blood that my friends may shed in the future, and the suffering that innocent people may suffer. Some evils hidden in the dark are cancers, and if they are left unchecked, they will become a graveyard that devours lives."
"I promise."
He knelt there, facing the images of relatives from another world, and swore an oath word for word, "The power in my hands will only attack the real evil. My heart will never be blinded by killing. The path I take is definitely not for selfish desires and power, but for... protection."
"I won't let you down... ever."
He kowtowed three times, then stood up and wiped away his tears. There were still tears on his face, but his eyes were cold and firm.
Since time travel, he has subdued villains and captured Evil Soul Master, but due to Blue Star's moral restraint and the brand of "three good students", he has never actually killed anyone with his own hands. But he always knows that in this continent where power is respected and darkness lurks, if you want to protect everything you cherish, staining your hands with blood is the fate you must bear.
"Mingdou Mountain Range, Death Messenger... Let's start with you."
He once again put on a pair of inconspicuous dark clothes and took off the valuables one by one. He took one last look at the photo frame and carefully put it back into its place.
Opening the window, the night breeze rushed in. Long Jinyu's figure blended into the night and flew resolutely towards the source of the disaster.