Xiao Wu, the Wu in "Dance"

Gu Han walked up to the door of Dorm Seven and took a deep breath before pushing open the somewhat dilapidated wooden door. A clamor instantly flooded his ears.

Several children around his age crowded into the large dormitory. At the sound, all their gazes snapped toward the newcomer, Gu Han.

A tall, burly boy walked over, arms folded, his expression challenging.

"New work-study student? I'm Wang Sheng, the boss of Dorm Seven."

"By the rules, newcomers have to show what they can do. Come on, let's spar."

Gu Han had expected this. He nodded calmly. "Gu Han."

He had barely finished speaking and hadn't even had time to assume a stance when the door behind him opened again. A clear voice, edged with a hint of willfulness, rang out. "Who's the boss here? Come out for a second!"

Everyone turned at the sound. A pretty little girl stood in the doorway.

She wasn't tall and wore a pink dress. Her lovely little face was fair and rosy, and her long black hair was tied into a scorpion braid that hung past her hips. Her big, sparkling eyes looked curiously into the room.

Wang Sheng paused, then replied instinctively, "I am. What do you want?"

The little girl blinked her big eyes and walked right in. Her gaze swept across the room before settling on Gu Han and Wang Sheng, who stood in the middle.

"What are you doing? Fighting? That looks fun. I want in! If you win, do you become the boss?"

Wang Sheng looked a little awkward. He was just about to explain that this was a work-study student tradition.

But the girl had already lost patience. She darted forward and charged straight at Gu Han. She seemed to have instinctively decided that Gu Han, standing there, was the strongest person in the room.

Before Gu Han could get a good look at Xiao Wu, she suddenly charged at him.

"Hey, you! Fight me!" Xiao Wu cried. Her long legs whipped up a gust of wind as she swept a powerful kick toward Gu Han's face.

Gu Han's eyes narrowed. As expected of a rabbit—she was far faster than an ordinary person.

Though he wasn't skilled at hand-to-hand combat, his powers of observation were far beyond ordinary.

In his field of vision, Xiao Wu's movements seemed exceptionally slow and perfectly clear.

But he didn't meet the blow head-on. He shifted his footing and leaned back slightly, dodging her kick.

Xiao Wu's attack missed. A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes, but her next strike came even faster. Her other leg whipped around like a whirlwind, following with a fierce flurry of kicks.

Gu Han still chose not to meet her head-on. He simply kept dodging and blocking, his movements concise.

To the onlookers, it seemed as though he could always predict Xiao Wu's attacks a moment in advance. The scene looked strange.

After a string of attacks came to nothing, Xiao Wu grew annoyed. She pressed her assault harder and lost her rhythm.

Gu Han spotted the opening and finally made his move.

He used no Soul Skill. He simply reached out and precisely tapped a point where the joints in her lower leg connected.

"Ow!" Xiao Wu felt her lower leg go numb, and the strength drained from it in an instant. She lost her balance and stumbled backward twice. Just as she was about to fall, Gu Han dashed forward and caught her.

Once she had regained her balance, she rubbed her numb lower leg and glared at Gu Han, cheeks puffed in anger. But there was less contempt in her eyes now, and more unwillingness to accept defeat.

"You... you cheated! You wouldn't fight me head-on. You just kept dodging!"

"Winning is what matters," Gu Han replied calmly.

"By the way, I'm Xiao Wu—the Wu in 'dance.'" Xiao Wu held out her hand to Gu Han.

"I'm Gu Han." He reached out and shook her hand, but simply gave her his name.

According to Dorm Seven's rules, whoever defeated the former boss became the new boss.

Gu Han hadn't directly defeated Wang Sheng, but the strength he'd displayed had already won over all the work-study students. Even Wang Sheng scratched his head and accepted Gu Han's position.

Although Xiao Wu had lost, she was carefree by nature and quickly forgot her displeasure. Instead, she grew interested in Gu Han.

She eyed the only empty bed in the work-study dormitory, the one closest to Gu Han's, then moved up beside him and spoke in a tone that was half coaxing and half matter-of-fact.

"Um... I saw that the bed next to yours is empty. Can we push our two beds together?"

The moment she said this, the work-study students around them burst into laughter.

Gu Han furrowed his brow and refused without hesitation. "No. Sleep in the empty bed over there."

The smile on Xiao Wu's face froze. She had never been rejected so bluntly in her life. Hurt and embarrassment surged through her, and she stomped her foot, flinging her scorpion braid.

"Hmph! Like I'd want to sleep next to you! You're such a blockhead!" With that, she angrily carried her little bundle over to the empty bed, but kept sneaking glances at Gu Han, hoping he'd change his mind.

The next afternoon.

Gu Han, Xiao Wu, and the work-study students from Dorm Seven were about to head to the cafeteria.

But several students in luxurious clothes, each a few heads taller than them, blocked their way by the edge of the sports field.

"Well, well. If it isn't the poor work-study students?"

"What's this? There's a pretty little girl among them this year?" The sixth-year student glanced disdainfully over the work-study students' plain clothes.

His gaze finally landed on Xiao Wu's delicate face, and he smiled lecherously. "Little girl, what's the point of hanging around with these poor folks? Why not come have some fun with us big brothers?"

Xiao Wu's brows shot up, and she was about to lash out.

But Gu Han stepped forward, placing himself slightly in front of Xiao Wu. He looked at the sixth-year student, his expression perfectly calm. "Move."

"Hey, a work-study student with an attitude?" The student felt insulted and couldn't save face. He reached out, about to shove Gu Han.

Just then, a voice called out, "What are you doing?"

Everyone turned toward the sound. Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang and Tang San had appeared without anyone noticing. Grandmaster looked sternly at the sixth-year students.

The students clearly knew Grandmaster. Though reluctant, they backed down a little and muttered, "You're lucky this time," before leaving dejectedly with their group.

Grandmaster looked at Gu Han and Xiao Wu and nodded. Then he said to Tang San and Gu Han,

"Your Soul Power has reached level ten. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the Soul Hunting Forest to absorb Soul Rings. Otherwise, your Soul Power will remain stuck where it is. Gu Han, you can come along too."

Gu Han nodded. "All right."

He looked calm on the outside, but inside, his thoughts were already surging like storm-tossed waves. He hadn't expected Tang San's Soul Power, which he had weakened to level seven, to recover to level ten again after just one day.

"As expected of the child of destiny." After a sigh, Gu Han looked at Xiao Wu and asked quietly, "Xiao Wu, do you want to come with us?"

A hint of fear flashed across Xiao Wu's face when she heard him. She shook her head and ran off.

Gu Han knew exactly why. But that secret was his alone to know.