Mom's "Love"

(Not much higher)

Douluo Continent, Notting Academy.

"Wang Dong'er... Um, I... I like you."

Looking at the handsome "boy" with blue-and-pink hair before her, Xiao Wu shyly lowered her head. A blush spread across her fair cheeks as her fingers nervously picked at her palm.

Yet the one even more nervous than Xiao Wu was this "boy" named Wang Dong.

She looked composed on the surface, as steady as an old dog, but inside, a storm was already raging.

Xiao Wu was stunningly beautiful, the acknowledged goddess of Notting Academy.

Those long, slender, fair legs had countless people secretly pining for her.

Not to mention, she was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form. If she ever faced mortal danger, she could even protect someone by sacrificing herself.

A girl like that was nearly perfect.

But how could Wang Dong'er accept her feelings?

After all, she was a girl herself. Her real name was Wang Dong'er.

More importantly, her relationship with Xiao Wu was... sigh!

Wang Dong'er's original name was Wang Dong, and she was a transmigrator.

After an unexpected stroke of luck sent her to Douluo Continent, she had lost her big dragon and become Wang Dong'er. Even more unexpectedly, she had transmigrated into the timeline of Douluo I.

After awakening the Light Goddess Butterfly and Clear Sky Hammer as her Martial Souls at six, she came to Notting Academy as a work-study student.

Over six years, she had steadily cultivated into a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster, and she got along well with Tang San and Xiao Wu... After all, without a cheat or a backer, and with Tang Hao behind Tang San, she didn't dare casually suppress him.

How had Xiao Wu suddenly confessed to her just before graduation???

"Y-You... why are you just standing there? Say something!"

Xiao Wu's voice trembled slightly. She was incredibly nervous.

Wang Dong'er came back to herself and gave Xiao Wu a complicated look. After a moment of silence, she let out a long sigh.

"Xiao Wu, what... what do you even like about me?"

"Do you need a reason to like someone?" Xiao Wu's voice grew softer and softer, her ears and neck turning completely red. "I don't know why, but every time I see you, my heart starts racing. I always get this urge... to cherish you and treat you well."

"Ah, don't change the subject. Just tell me whether you like me or not."

"If you dare reject me... I-I'll beat you up!"

Oh, crap!

Wang Dong'er let out a silent wail in her heart.

There were only three paths before her.

The first was to commit a grave offense against morality... That was absolutely impossible.

The second was to reveal she was a girl.

She had enrolled dressed as a boy to avoid being harassed by male students. That way, she could also conceal her identity and return to being a girl later, using her Second Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer, to suppress Tang San.

If she'd known that dressing as a boy would attract the huge headache that was Xiao Wu, she never would have taken this path.

The third was to come clean to Xiao Wu and tell her who she really was.

But this was her greatest secret. She couldn't reveal it lightly.

It seemed she had no choice but to expose herself...

"Hurry up and answer!" Xiao Wu's cheeks were as red as ripe apples. She raised a hand and gave Wang Dong'er a light punch on the chest, acting like a bashful young girl.

Helpless, Wang Dong'er took Xiao Wu's hand and led her back to the work-study dormitory.

It was vacation. Their classmates had either gone home or graduated, and the dormitory was empty.

"Wang Dong, why... why did you bring me here? W-We're still young. We absolutely can't do that..."

Xiao Wu was flustered and didn't dare look up at Wang Dong'er. The thought of crossing that line was a hurdle she simply couldn't get over.

If only she were human. Then perhaps she could do it without any reservations.

"Xiao Wu, you've got it wrong. I just wanted to find somewhere private so I could talk seriously with you about us."

Wang Dong'er took a deep breath and spoke slowly. "I'm sorry, Xiao Wu. I can't accept."

"Why?" Xiao Wu froze at first. The girl's shyness vanished in an instant, replaced by a heart-piercing sorrow. "Do you... think I'm not good enough for you?"

"No, no. You're wonderful, and you're amazing. I like you too. It's just that I only like you as a friend."

"As for why we can only be friends, it's because..."

As Wang Dong'er explained, she leaned toward Xiao Wu just in case and whispered something in her ear.

A faint, sweet fragrance and warm breath brushed over Xiao Wu, making her cheeks burn even hotter.

But when she heard the reason Wang Dong'er was rejecting her, it was as if she'd been struck by lightning. She stood there, utterly petrified.

"Wang Dong, do I look like an idiot? How could I believe such a ridiculous excuse? You can't even be bothered to come up with a proper lie for me... I-I really misjudged you."

Xiao Wu felt terribly wronged. Her voice was hoarse and choked with tears as she fought to keep them from spilling over.

"I really wasn't lying." Wang Dong'er's thoughts shifted, and her short hair quickly grew until it fell to her waist.

Then she unfastened her top and unwound, layer by layer, the chest binding she had worn for six whole years.

The moment she took it off, she let out a long breath. She had worn the thing for six years, all six of them spent tightly bound. She had never once been able to breathe freely. At last, she could finally relax.

She had always been so beautiful that it was hard to tell whether she was male or female. Now, with her long hair falling loose and her chest rising beneath her clothes, she looked every bit the peerless young beauty.

Xiao Wu, who had witnessed it all with her own eyes, froze again. She stood rooted to the spot for a long, long time, unable to say a word.

"I'm sorry, Xiao Wu. I lied to you for so long. It's not that I don't like you. It's just that the two of us... really can't be together."

"You liar..." Xiao Wu flung herself onto the bed, buried her face deep in the pillow, and began to sob.

No matter how Wang Dong'er comforted her or apologized, nothing helped.

Outside the work-study dormitory.

Tang San's legs went weak, and he slumped to the ground as if utterly drained.

He had heard everything, from Xiao Wu's confession to Wang Dong'er's rejection.

It felt as if a giant hand had seized his heart, squeezing the breath from him.

For some reason, he had an indefinable feeling toward Wang Dong'er.

Realizing what he was thinking, Tang San sprang to his feet in a panic.

The reason he was hurting was Wang Dong'er, not Xiao Wu. How strange was that?!

It was all because Wang Dong'er was too beautiful. He needed to find a chance to see a therapist...

Tap, tap, tap!

Hearing footsteps, Tang San hurriedly used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to get away from there.

Just as Wang Dong'er pushed open the door and stepped out, he appeared right in her line of sight.

Seeing Tang San, Wang Dong'er instinctively felt a little guilty. But then she remembered how, during the Peerless Tang Sect era, Tang San had split her mind, erased her memories, and turned her into a dog leash to keep the Son of Destiny tethered. The little guilt she had felt promptly vanished.

By then, she had changed back into her boy's clothes. She lifted her chin and greeted Tang San as if he were her brother.

"Little San, didn't you go to see Grandmaster? Why are you back so soon?"