Dong Qianqiu, you're afraid of being discovered, aren't you?

Without a doubt, everyone was staring at Lin Yuan and Ruo Ye with amazement and disbelief.

A moment later, Lan Mengqin suddenly cried out in delighted surprise:

"Dad must have been the one playing just now, right? It was simply too beautiful—better than every piece you've ever played before."

Ruo Ye's expression darkened, but when he saw Lan Mengqin's adoring ice-blue eyes blinking up at him, he hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

At that moment, Lin Yuan, standing beside them, coughed a few times and said sincerely, "I'm not your dad."

Lan Mengqin: ...

Ruo Ye: ...

"Pfft."

The stunningly beautiful young girl accompanying Lan Mengqin burst out laughing, and only then did Lin Yuan notice Dong Qianqiu. When he saw that cascade of blue hair, he could not help sucking in a breath.

This girl was terrifyingly formidable—her looks were actually just a hair's breadth away from matching mine!

"Hmph! So you mean you were the one playing just now?"

Lan Mengqin rolled her eyes in annoyance, but when she saw Lin Yuan's face—especially those eyes that drew people in even more than the stars—her heart involuntarily thumped a few times, and she murmured inwardly:

This person really is good-looking. He's clearly a boy, so why is he prettier than a girl?

"Mengqin, don't be rude. Little Lin is an honored guest of our family. He might even be able to ease your mother's headaches."

Ruo Ye stroked Lan Mengqin's head, his eyes filled with a smile.

"And besides, that piece just now really was composed by Little Lin. You, in terms of the Jade Phoenix Zither, truly need to ask Little Lin for proper guidance."

"You really played it?"

Lan Mengqin stared at Lin Yuan in shock. Not only that, even the teachers from Tiandou Academy and Qiu Yuxin all looked dumbfounded.

Lin Yuan did not explain. He simply began playing again, and that familiar melody rang out once more.

This time, Lin Yuan used his spiritual power as the catalyst. A vast power of resonance spread out toward everyone—one moment it was towering mountains, the next rippling waters, and then the morning stars of the universe appeared before them.

When the piece ended, at some unknown point, tears had surfaced in everyone's eyes.

This piece had played out what lay in their hearts, as well as the deepest loneliness that existed within every person.

Dong Qianqiu lightly bit her red lips and looked at Lin Yuan with a complicated expression. Was she not lonely as well?

Ever since she had transformed from a Soul Beast, she had had no place to stand at all in this vast Douluo Federation.

She was deeply afraid that her identity as a Soul Beast would be seen through by others. At the same time, certain memories buried deep in her mind had been awakened—memories of a handsome man with blue hair turning the tide in the depths of the ocean.

"I became human to repay a debt of gratitude... And I don't want to keep sinking into those painful memories of the past. I want to become a true person. Is he the same?"

Dong Qianqiu murmured to herself. In that moment, a faint sense of resonance seemed to arise in Dong Qianqiu's heart.

"All right, Mengqin. Dad should head back..."

"Okay, Dad. I'll go back with you too."

As those words fell, Lan Mengqin grabbed Ruo Ye's hand. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly turned back to look at Lin Yuan.

Thinking of what Ruo Ye had said earlier, she opened her mouth, then finally said gloomily:

"Can you really help Mom?"

Lin Yuan shook his head. "I can't make any promise with certainty, but I'll do my best to try."

"Mm. I believe you." Lan Mengqin broke into a bright smile.

Then Lin Yuan heard Lan Mengqin muttering:

"That hateful stinking exchange student. When he comes back tomorrow, I'll definitely beat him up good. He actually made it so I couldn't start my vacation early!"

"I'll make him the first one to end the exchange event!"

Lin Yuan: ...

Just as Lin Yuan was about to say that he was the exchange student, Qiu Yuxin suddenly spoke up. "That's right, Student Mengqin. You must go all out."

After saying this, Qiu Yuxin kept shooting Lin Yuan meaningful looks.

Lin Yuan: ...

Did the exchange student's identity need to be kept secret too?

Very soon, the people present scattered like birds and beasts, each leaving the scene.

As Dong Qianqiu walked toward the dormitory, she only felt a heaviness in her heart.

She did not even see the tree in front of her.

Just as she was about to run into it, a sudden force of Gravity swept over and gently tugged her back.

"Actually, I've wanted to ask for a long time. You seem very lost."

Just then, a lazy voice came from behind Dong Qianqiu.

Dong Qianqiu froze, then looked back to see Lin Yuan walking over with a thermos cup in hand.

Lin Yuan was a head taller than Dong Qianqiu. He looked at her through half-lidded eyes, as if he had not woken up at all, completely different from the boy whose song had stirred hearts during the day.

And Dong Qianqiu truly lived up to her title as the number-one beauty of Soul Land IV beneath Gu Yuena and the Golden Dragon Princess.

She was not tall, but she was slender and straight-backed. A white long dress covered her body, her deep-blue hair drifted faintly behind her head, and her deep-blue eyes were as profound as the sea.

Though she was only seven, the outline of a peerless young beauty could already be faintly seen.

Lin Yuan was not overly captivated by Dong Qianqiu's appearance. He simply hugged his thermos cup and looked at her with half-lidded eyes.

"You're afraid someone will discover something, right?"

Dong Qianqiu's body stiffened, as if some secret in her heart had been seen straight through.

"No need to be nervous." Lin Yuan took a sip of water, his voice still lazy.

"You have secrets, and so do I. Who doesn't?" Suddenly, Lin Yuan pointed at the sky. "See the stars up there?"

Dong Qianqiu subconsciously raised her head to look at the sky.

"It looks like a magnificent canopy, but in reality, the distance between every star is absurdly far. They shine not because they want to be seen, but because shining is all they can do. Just like me. If I said I could hear the voices of the stars, no one would believe me. They'd only think it was a seven-year-old child's innocent nonsense."

Lin Yuan half-closed his eyes.

"People are the same. Some things can't be said, not because you don't want to say them, but because even if you do, no one will understand."

"What I'm trying to say is, what you're afraid of isn't the secret itself. You're afraid that after the secret is exposed, you won't know how to face others, or yourself."

Lin Yuan turned his head. Those star-like eyes met hers, and he suddenly smiled. In that instant, it was as if even the stars in the sky resonated with him.

"But I think, no matter what you become, you are still you."

Dong Qianqiu's delicate body trembled, and her heart quivered slightly. Ancient memories buried deep within her seemed to surge into her mind. She seemed to be in a vast sea, where a helpless voice echoed through the waters.

"You little girl, being naughty again. Fine, then do as you like."

"Dad, Mom..."

Dong Qianqiu murmured to herself. Before she knew it, tears were rolling down from the corners of her eyes.

Fuck, I was just trying to comfort her. How did I comfort her into crying? Could it be that my skill at coaxing little brats has declined?

Lin Yuan coughed a few times and raised the thermos cup in his hand.

"After talking for so long, do you want some water?"

Dong Qianqiu: ...

At that moment, Dong Qianqiu actually reached out as if compelled by some strange impulse.

Just as she was about to touch it, her pretty face flushed, and she glared at Lin Yuan in annoyance.

She had actually fallen into Lin Yuan's rhythm without realizing it.

The next second, Dong Qianqiu laughed through her tears. There was a hint of clever mischief in her eyes, and her deep-blue hair lifted slightly, making her look like an elf in the middle of a dance, even more moving than before.

Dong Qianqiu lightly pushed Lin Yuan and let out a bell-like laugh.

"No. You're a boy, and I'm a girl. Don't you know men and women shouldn't touch so casually?"

"Besides, girls are made of water. Did you think we're like you boys, made of mud?"

At that, Dong Qianqiu ran forward a few steps, then turned back and made a face at Lin Yuan.

The students coming and going instantly stopped in their tracks, and everything suddenly went quiet. Lin Yuan could feel everyone's gaze falling on him, and also on Dong Qianqiu.

Dong Qianqiu was the Goddess Qianqiu of the school!