Held in His Arms, Blushing and Heart Pounding!

Early morning at Shrek Academy carried a unique freshness and dampness in the air.

Sunlight pierced through the window at the end of the old dormitory corridor, stubbornly squeezing into Room 109 through the cracks around the door and window frames.

Mottled light and shadow fell across the wooden splinters scattered all over the floor, while dust motes danced up and down within the beams of light.

Their palms were still pressed together.

After circulating for an entire night, that brilliant, dazzling golden fused Soul Power had completed hundreds upon thousands of major cycles within their bodies before slowly returning to their dantians through their meridians.

Wang Dong let out a long breath of stale air. Her tightly shut lashes trembled slightly before her eyes slowly opened.

Having just emerged from deep meditation, her vision was still somewhat blurry.

But the instant her focus returned, a handsome face close at hand crashed directly into her sight.

Every muscle in Wang Dong's body tensed at once, and alarms blared wildly in her mind.

The defensive instincts she had developed in the Clear Sky Sect made her act without thinking. Her right knee suddenly drove forward, cutting through the air with a fierce whoosh as it viciously kicked toward the other person's abdomen.

Just as her knee was about to hit its target, memories of last night flooded into her mind like a tide.

The broken wooden table, the utterly one-sided spar, the confession about her "protective coloration" background, and finally, their palms pressed together as they cultivated the "Yun Dong Power" together for the entire night.

This was the freshmen dormitory of Shrek Academy.

The person before her was Yun Yi, the roommate whose temperament was somewhat impossible to read but whose strength was monstrous.

Wang Dong forcibly hit the brakes, cutting off the force in her leg.

Her calf stopped barely half an inch from Yun Yi's abdomen, and the gust it raised only fluttered the hem of his clothes.

Still shaken, she pulled back her right leg and let out a long breath. She patted her chest, suppressing the sudden pounding of her heart.

If that kick had landed and woken this little fiend, she would inevitably have suffered another one-sided beating in this cramped space.

With the danger over, Wang Dong's nerves relaxed.

She did not get up immediately. Instead, she remained sitting cross-legged where she was, her gaze involuntarily falling on Yun Yi's face as he continued cultivating with his eyes closed.

The morning sunlight happened to fall across Yun Yi's profile, outlining him with a soft golden edge.

Wang Dong could not help leaning forward slightly, her eyes tracing downward from Yun Yi's brow ridge.

His brows were exceptionally well-shaped, slanting sharply toward his temples with an innate air of unruliness;

his nose was straight, and the curve of his nostrils was practically perfect;

with his eyes closed, the piercing sharpness and pride usually in them were restrained, making him seem inexplicably quiet and sacred.

Especially since remnants of the ultimate light still lingered around him, his skin appeared translucent and delicate under the golden glow, without even a pore in sight.

Wang Dong quietly compared them in her heart.

Since childhood, the praise she had heard most often was that she was beautiful. Back in the Clear Sky Sect, even those arrogant elders often praised her looks as flawless.

When she had run away disguised as a boy this time, she had been completely confident in her disguise. She had thought that with this face alone, she could swagger through the freshmen without fear.

But as she examined Yun Yi before her, that competitive spirit in Wang Dong quietly crumbled.

Objectively speaking, this guy was indeed extraordinarily handsome.

The striking depth of his features and the sculpted contours of his face, paired with the calm bearing unique to one in a superior position, blended into a beauty with an intensely aggressive edge.

This sort of good looks seemed more natural and more dazzling than the male appearance she had deliberately disguised herself as.

"He's this good-looking and this strong too. Heaven really is unfair," Wang Dong muttered quietly to herself, pouting, yet her eyes honestly remained fixed on his face, reluctant to look away.

Just as she was utterly absorbed, even unconsciously leaning closer—

Yun Yi's tightly shut eyes suddenly opened without warning.

Golden flames flashed through the depths of his black pupils. His gaze was clear and sharp, without the slightest hint of the confusion of someone who had just woken up.

Their eyes collided violently at less than a foot's distance.

Caught red-handed, Wang Dong shuddered at the sudden eye contact and let out a short cry.

Instinctively, she tried to retreat, but she had forgotten that she was sitting cross-legged on the edge of the narrow single bed.

The drastic shift in her center of gravity instantly threw her off balance, and her body toppled backward out of control.

Below the bed lay the wooden splinters left behind from their fight yesterday.

If she fell straight onto them, her back would not have a pleasant time.

"Ah!"

As the sensation of weightlessness hit her, Wang Dong flailed her hands frantically through the air, trying to grab something to steady herself.

At the instant her body was about to tumble over the edge of the bed, a large, well-defined hand shot out with lightning speed and accurately seized her wrist.

Yun Yi's movements were incredibly fast, and his strength was astonishing.

Looking at Wang Dong's panicked face, he raised the corner of his lips slightly, then deliberately jerked his wrist inward.

The pulling force directly changed the trajectory of Wang Dong's fall.

Wang Dong only felt an enormous force dragging her forward, her body completely beyond her control as it crashed ahead.

Bang!

A dull impact sounded.

Wang Dong fell solidly into Yun Yi's arms.

Her forehead slammed directly into his firm chest, and the tip of her nose struck hard against his collarbone, leaving stars dancing before her eyes and her nose aching sharply.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Wang Dong's cheek was pressed tightly against Yun Yi's clothes, and she could clearly hear the steady, powerful beat of his heart beside her ear.

Through the thin layer of fabric, she could feel the warmth of the young man's body continuously radiating toward her.

Her breath filled with a wonderfully pleasant scent.

It was not some pungent incense, but the clean scent of soapwort dried beneath the blazing sun, mixed with an incredibly faint dry fragrance belonging to ultimate fire.

That masculine sense of pressure and scent instantly wrapped Wang Dong up completely.

Her mind exploded with a boom, and the string of reason within her snapped entirely.

Heat shot up her cheeks in an instant. Her whole face burned hot, while the flush spread from her neck all the way to the tips of her ears.

She was a girl!

In all her life, she had never been this close to a boy her own age, much less had this sort of intimate contact where she had directly thrown herself into someone's arms!

Panic, shyness, embarrassment—every emotion tangled together, leaving Wang Dong at a complete loss.

"Let go of me!"

Wang Dong struggled with both hands and feet in Yun Yi's arms, pushing hard against his shoulders.

Yun Yi released her hand accordingly, letting her spring away like a startled rabbit.

Wang Dong retreated to the other end of the bed. Her movements were so violent that she nearly fell off again.

After steadying herself, she did not dare look up and meet Yun Yi's eyes. In a fluster, she grabbed the white school uniform jacket placed at the head of the bed and held it haphazardly against her chest.

"Y-you, hurry up and get dressed! It's time for class!"

Her voice trembled badly as she blurted out the incoherent words, then turned and rushed out the door.

Bang!

The wooden door slammed shut, shaking another layer of dust loose from the wall frame.

The dormitory fell quiet again.

Yun Yi remained sitting cross-legged where he was. Looking at the tightly closed door and recalling what had just happened, he could not help chuckling.

He lowered his head to glance at his palm, then touched his chest.

"Her reaction was pretty quick," Yun Yi murmured.

He gathered his thoughts and rose to his feet.

It was the first day of the new term. He had to put on a convincing act.

Yun Yi efficiently tidied up his appearance.

Shrek Academy's freshman uniform was a set of fitted white combat clothes, well-tailored and breathable.

Yun Yi put it on. His long legs and broad shoulders filled out the ordinary uniform perfectly, while his flawless face gave him an air of exceptional, noble elegance.

Once he was ready, he walked to the door and pressed down the handle.

The sunlight in the corridor was far brighter than in the dormitory.

Wang Dong was leaning against the wall, one foot tapping repeatedly against the floor.

Hearing the door open, she immediately straightened up and put on an impatient expression.

She had already quickly changed into her uniform. With her arms crossed and chin raised high, she tried to hide the turmoil in her heart behind an arrogant posture.

"You're so slow! Do you want to be late on the first day of school? I don't want to get scolded along with you!"

Wang Dong urged him loudly, her tone hurried and sharp as she tried her best to sound like an irritable young master.

But with only a casual sweep of his eyes, Yun Yi accurately caught sight of her ears, still red enough to drip blood beneath her pink-blue hair.

No matter how convincing the disguise was, the body's instinctive reactions could not lie.

Yun Yi had no intention of exposing her. It would be more interesting to leave that paper-thin secret for later.

He said nothing, merely nodded calmly before taking the lead toward the stairwell at the end of the corridor.

Seeing that Yun Yi did not mention the awkward incident from before, Wang Dong let out a long sigh of relief inwardly.

She patted her still-warm cheeks and quickly followed after him.

The two walked out of the dormitory side by side, merging into the stream of freshmen heading toward the teaching district.

Sunlight fell over their white uniforms—one tall and one short, one steady and reserved, the other lively and spirited.

The morning breeze rustled the leaves along the road, heralding the official beginning of their academic lives at Shrek Academy.