Tang Wulin and Xie Xie (Seeking Collection, Follow-up Reads, Seeking Attention!)

The next morning.

The corridors of East Sea City Intermediate Soul Master Academy were quiet and bright.

A cool morning breeze blew in through the corridor windows, stirring the greenery by the railing and lifting the loose strands of hair on the boy's forehead.

"Mom, why do you have to hold my hand? Isn't this kind of... not very good?"

Fangyuan glanced sideways at Gu Yuena beside him, his cheeks warming slightly, somewhat unable to get the words out.

Today was his first day at the Intermediate Academy.

The two of them walking hand in hand so intimately drew far too much attention, and it would be very easy for passing students to misunderstand.

"When we're outside, don't call me Mom. Call me Gu Yue."

"Besides, you're only six. What are you getting shy for? If Mom could be your girlfriend, then I could take care of you every day. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Gu Yuena puffed out her small cheeks, her tone carrying a hint of reproach.

"Okay, Mom!" Fangyuan nodded obediently.

"You little rascal..." Gu Yuena gave a helpless, fond laugh.

She had clearly reminded him on purpose, and this child was obviously teasing her deliberately.

People came and went through the corridor, and quite a few passing students noticed the petite Fangyuan, who looked only six years old.

Their eyes all carried obvious surprise, and they subconsciously assumed he was some teacher's child who had come to wander around the academy.

After a couple more looks, they hurriedly withdrew their gazes and left directly.

"This should be Class Five's classroom."

Fangyuan looked up at the class sign on the door and murmured softly.

His heart was full of doubt.

He did not know whether fate was playing tricks on him, or whether the academy's teaching director had deliberately arranged it because he was too young, but of all places, he had been assigned to the worst class, Class Five.

And this class just so happened to be Tang Wulin's class.

Could it be that Mom had planned this long ago?

Had she already known that the Golden Dragon King bloodline was hidden inside Tang Wulin's body, and so used his transfer as an opportunity to deliberately approach him?

First build a good classmate relationship with Tang Wulin, then look for a chance to strike from the shadows?

A string of guesses kept churning in Fangyuan's heart.

"What are you standing there for, Fangyuan? Let's go in."

Gu Yuena gently patted his shoulder, then stepped into the classroom first.

The instant they entered the classroom, the classroom, which had originally been noisy and full of chatter and laughter, fell silent at once.

Every student's gaze focused in unison on Fangyuan, who had just walked in, filled with curiosity and surprise.

"Are you Teacher Wu's son? Why did you come to school?"

"Teacher Wu has always been single. Where would he get a kid this big?"

Everyone looked at each other and discussed without the slightest restraint, guessing Fangyuan's origins one after another.

Fangyuan had already expected a scene like this in advance. His expression remained calm as he said lightly, "Hello, everyone. I'm a new transfer student. My name is Guyue Fangyuan. I'm six years old, a rank 15 assault-type Battle Soul Master, and my martial soul is the Super Energy Instrument."

As soon as his voice fell, the classroom exploded.

"Six years old? A rank fifteen assault-type Battle Soul Master? What kind of monstrous talent is this!"

"No wonder he can skip grades and come to the Intermediate Academy at such a young age. He's not ordinary at all!"

"But this is way too strange. How could a top genius like this be assigned to bottom-ranked Class Five? He should be in an elite class no matter what!"

The students below cried out one after another, their faces full of disbelief.

Seeing that Gu Yuena beside him did not speak, Fangyuan raised a hand and prepared to introduce her. "This is my older sister..."

Before he could finish, Gu Yuena's clear voice rang out first. "I'm Fangyuan's little girlfriend. My name is Gu Yue. I hope everyone will take good care of me."

"Gu Yue, what are you saying..."

Fangyuan's body stiffened, and black lines instantly covered his face.

He really had had enough. Why did Mom always love making jokes in situations like this?

Seeing Fangyuan's embarrassed look, Gu Yuena stuck out her tongue slightly, a playful smile in her eyes. "I was just joking, everyone. Actually, I'm his older sister."

Everyone in the classroom let out a breath of relief.

"You scared me to death. I really thought he had such a pretty girlfriend at six years old. That would've been way too crushing."

"So it was a joke after all! This brother and sister are way too good-looking."

Fangyuan stood beside the podium, his gaze slowly sweeping over the unfamiliar faces below.

He knew very well that Tang Wulin's martial soul was Blue Silver Grass, so according to the academy's class assignment rules, he would definitely be in Class Five.

It was just that he had never seen Tang Wulin himself, so he could not tell who was who.

He could only wait until the break and slowly ask around.

He could not help feeling curious. Without meeting his mother ahead of time, and without being swept along by fate, what kind of personality did Tang Wulin have now?

The crisp bell for class suddenly rang, cutting off Fang Yuan's thoughts.

He took Gu Yuena's hand and quickly walked to the two empty seats by the window in the back row of the classroom, sitting down side by side.

Before long, Wu Zhangkong walked into the classroom with a briefcase in hand, his steps steady.

His gaze swept over the whole class, and he said flatly, "You should have already met the new transfer students, so there's no need for them to come up and introduce themselves."

"No need!"

The entire class answered in unison.

"Class begins. Today we will study the basic theory of soul masters."

Wu Zhangkong turned on the classroom's large soul terminal, projected the lesson slides, and stood before the podium, beginning the lecture on his own.

The classroom quieted down, and everyone listened attentively.

A moment later, Xie Xie in the front row suddenly turned around and waved at Fang Yuan and Gu Yuena.

"Little brother Fang Yuan, Miss Gu Yue, we meet again."

Gu Yuena only responded coldly, "Oh."

Her tone was distant, without the slightest intention of familiarity.

Noticing her coldness, Xie Xie simply looked straight at Fang Yuan and struck up a conversation with a smile. "Little brother Fang Yuan, everyone says you're a genius prodigy. Do you have time after class for us to have a match?"

"Not interested." Fang Yuan shook his head lightly and refused outright.

After being rebuffed one after another, Xie Xie's hand clenched slightly, a trace of anger hidden in his heart.

Last week, it was precisely this sister-and-brother pair who had damaged the Xie Family's reputation.

He had intended to let bygones be bygones and take the initiative to show goodwill, but he had not expected the other side to give him so little face.

He quietly bent down and leaned in close to Tang Wulin's ear in front of him, whispering, "Wulin, I want to teach them a little lesson. Help me later."

Tang Wulin immediately pouted, his face full of disapproval. "Go by yourself. It's their first day at school, and you already want to start trouble. That's way too nasty."

"How am I nasty? They were clearly the ones who ruined my family's reputation first!"

Xie Xie defended himself in a low voice, then tempted him, "After it's done, I'll treat you to a Grade-A meal at the cafeteria. How about it?"

The instant he heard the words "Grade-A meal," Tang Wulin's eyes lit up, and he could not help swallowing. He hurriedly warned, "Let's be clear first. I won't fight, and I won't do anything bad. I'm only helping out."

"What are you thinking? The school explicitly forbids private fights. How could I possibly make a move?"

Xie Xie gave a wicked laugh and lowered his voice. "If we don't fight, we can prank them."

The two of them lay over the front of their desks, heads close together, secretly discussing ways to mess with someone. Their little movements never stopped, and their voices came in broken snippets.

Just as the two were plotting, Gu Yuena suddenly stood up.

"Reporting, teacher. Student Xie Xie and the student beside him have been whispering throughout class, seriously disturbing classroom order and affecting our studies."

The sudden report made Xie Xie freeze instantly, and he cursed under his breath on the spot, "Despicable! You actually tattled!"

Gu Yuena completely ignored his anger, standing upright and quietly waiting for Wu Zhangkong's decision.

Wu Zhangkong's eyes chilled. He raised his hand and flicked out a piece of chalk, striking Xie Xie's shoulder with perfect accuracy.

"Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, it's you two again, refusing to change no matter how many times you're taught. Out. Ten laps around the field."

"Huh? No way! Xie Xie, you dragged me into this!"

Tang Wulin looked utterly devastated, his face full of innocence.

"Stop wasting words. I'll treat you to a meal later to make it up to you."

Xie Xie got up helplessly and could only follow Tang Wulin out of the classroom.

Fang Yuan watched the two of them leave one after the other.

He lowered his voice and said softly, "Mother... wasn't that a bit much? We've just started school, and targeting our classmates like this can easily make people dislike us."

"They were the ones disturbing your class and interrupting your studies." Gu Yuena looked as if it were only natural.

"Uh..."

Fang Yuan was momentarily speechless, his heart filled with emotion.

He had never imagined that even without his mother interfering with the path of fate ahead of time, Xie Xie and Tang Wulin would still come to know each other, stay by each other's side, and become inseparable friends.

The bonds woven in the unseen were indeed difficult to break.

Many things had already been destined from the very beginning.