Moving into Liu Lin's Dormitory, the Useless Er Ming

Liu Lin watched Wang Dong, whose eyes were rimmed with red from the grievance she clearly felt, yet who still stubbornly refused to back down, and he nearly burst out laughing.

Liu Lin beckoned to Wang Dong and turned to walk toward the dormitory building. Wang Dong bit her lip and followed behind him, unable to stop herself from grumbling inwardly.

Just you wait. With my talent, in a few years, I'll definitely make you clean up after me.

Huo Yuhao watched their retreating figures. Since he still had things he wanted to say to Liu Lin, he followed along as well.

Liu Lin brought Wang Dong to the dormitory entrance, pushed the door open, and stepped aside to let her enter first.

Wang Dong scanned the room, noting that only one bed was made up with bedding, while the other remained empty.

"Why is there only one person living in this dorm?" Wang Dong asked, puzzled.

"The Dean arranged it," Liu Lin said, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed as he watched her. "Why do you ask?"

Hearing Liu Lin's words and recalling what her Er Ming had said to the Dean, Wang Dong couldn't help but complain about him.

"Er Ming knew perfectly well that I'm a girl, yet he wouldn't ask the Dean for a single room. Just you wait, I'm going to tell Big Uncle when I get back."

"Alright, stop looking around and go clean up. Even if I don't live here, you still have to do the cleaning."

Liu Lin watched Wang Dong standing there sulking and gave her a reminder.

Upon hearing that Liu Lin didn't actually live here and that it was a single room, Wang Dong decided she wanted to move in.

With her back to Liu Lin, Wang Dong said with a hint of unnatural awkwardness:

"Since you have an empty bed here, it'll be convenient for me to move in and clean up for you."

"It saves me from running over from my own dorm every day. If you don't think it's a good idea, then forget it."

Liu Lin watched her—clearly wanting it but pretending to be indifferent—and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

Liu Lin looked at the back of Wang Dong's turned figure with amusement. "Do you really want to?"

"Yeah, I want to."

Hearing Liu Lin's words, Wang Dong felt shy for reasons she couldn't explain, and she nodded softly.

"Want what?" After Liu Lin finished saying this to Wang Dong, he nearly lost his composure and laughed.

"I want to... I want to live here."

Standing behind Wang Dong, Liu Lin saw her ears turn bright red and finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

If he could keep a straight face through that, he'd be a master of restraint.

Hearing Liu Lin's laughter, Wang Dong wanted to find a hole to crawl into, but she took a deep breath nonetheless.

"So, can you agree to my request?"

Liu Lin coughed twice, his expression turning quite serious, and he nodded slowly.

"Fine, you can live here. I don't usually stay here anyway."

Wang Dong wasn't wrong; he only used this dorm to store things during the day or for the occasional nap, and he almost never stayed the night.

Rather than letting the bed gather dust, it was better to let her stay, which would also allow him to keep an eye on what this young lady of the Tang family was really up to at the academy.

Wang Dong turned around and glared at him, though the grievance in her eyes had vanished without a trace. Hearing Liu Lin's nagging, she couldn't help but retort.

"Got it, got it. Why are you so long-winded? By the way, I still don't know your name. I can't just keep calling you 'hey', can I?"

"Liu Lin."

Wang Dong silently repeated the name to herself, then lifted her chin, her tone still carrying a hint of pride.

"I'm Wang Dong. Even though I lost to you today, one day I'll surpass you. When that happens, you'll be the one cleaning up for me."

"Sure, I'll be waiting. If you lose again, it won't be as simple as just cleaning," Liu Lin said with a laugh, turning to walk out the door.

Wang Dong huffed but didn't answer. Only when the sound of Liu Lin's footsteps vanished at the end of the corridor did she sit on the freshly made bed, hugging her knees and burying her face in her arms.

Her powder-blue short hair peeked out from between her fingers, glowing faintly in the sunset. The tips of her ears remained red, whether from anger or some other reason, it was hard to say.

Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows, the Titan Giant Ape watched Liu Lin leaving the dormitory with a look of fury.

"This brat is courting death, actually daring to make my adorable little Dong clean up after him, and even teasing her."

"Teasing her? Sigh." The Titan Giant Ape seemed to recall something and couldn't help but shudder.

"Little Dong is a boy right now... could this youth be..."

His gaze toward Liu Lin grew increasingly strange, and his original intention to teach him a lesson vanished.

If Liu Lin could hear him now, he would surely shout, "Slander! Pure, unadulterated slander! I'm a straight man, how could I be gay?"

Just then, a jade slip in Er Ming's robes lit up.

Er Ming stopped his wild train of thought and activated the slip to inspect it, discovering a message from his Big Uncle urging him to return immediately.

After reading the message, Er Ming took one last reluctant look at Wang Dong and departed.

Liu Lin had just stepped out of his dormitory when he saw Huo Yuhao standing at the door.

"Yuhao, is there anything else you need?" Liu Lin looked at the thin, blue-haired boy before him and asked with a puzzled expression.

"Brother Liu, I came to thank you for what happened at the White Tiger Duke Mansion last time. Thanks to you, things at home are much better now, and the Duke Mansion doesn't withhold our supplies like they used to."

Huo Yuhao paused, his deep blue pupils fixed firmly on Liu Lin as he spoke in a serious and solemn tone, "Brother Liu, I don't know how to repay you. But from now on, whatever you need me to do, no matter what it is, I will do it."

Upon hearing Huo Yuhao's words, Liu Lin nodded. He was curious to know just how delicious Huo Yuhao's grilled fish could be to be liked by so many people.

He immediately walked over to Huo Yuhao's side and patted him on the shoulder: "That works out perfectly. I've been craving grilled fish lately; I wonder if you know how to make it."

Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously: "I grew up by the stream behind the White Tiger Duke Mansion, so I often caught fish to grill and eat.

Although I can't compare to the master chefs in the Imperial Kitchen, my mother always said my grilled fish was quite delicious."

"That's good enough. I'll take you somewhere tonight, right by the stream outside the woods behind the academy. You can grill two fish for me."

Huo Yuhao grinned, and for once, his thin, usually tense face revealed a touch of the genuine playfulness that belonged to a child of his age.

At dusk, by the stream behind the academy. This place was not far from the academy, yet it was rarely visited. The stream meandered down from the mountain, splashing against the jagged rocks.

Huo Yuhao crouched by the water, skillfully cleaning the Silver Scale Fish he had just caught. Scaling, gutting, and rinsing—every step was clean and efficient.

Meanwhile, Liu Lin sat on a large bluestone not far away, watching the sunset dye the stream a vibrant orange-red, waiting contentedly for Huo Yuhao's grilled fish.