Ning Rongrong Comes Knocking at Midnight

Dai Mubai grew angrier the more he spoke. Veins bulged on his neck, bloodshot filled his evil eyes, and he looked ready to swallow Tang San alive!

Ma Hongjun exploded too!

The little-mustached man trembled with rage and shrieked:

"Exactly! Tang San, you lunatic! Are you sick in the head?!"

"So what if I've got evil fire?!"

"So what if I have a venereal disease?!"

"Is it any of your business?! Did you have to spread it everywhere?!"

"Pah! Watch me burn off every last hair you've got!"

Before his words had even faded, the two furious men charged at the utterly stunned Tang San from either side like lit powder kegs, their violent soul power surging around them!

"Boss Dai! Fatty! It's a misunderstanding! Let me explain..."

Tang San tried to defend himself, but Dai Mubai's furious, iron fist—huge as a casserole and wrapped in White Tiger aura—and Ma Hongjun's merciless fat foot wreathed in scorching evil fire were his only reply!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Thud! Thud! Thud!

"Ah!"

"Not the face!"

"Argh! My hair!!"

The roadside instantly became Tang San's personal "massage parlor."

Dai Mubai's heavy punches came down like pile drivers, targeting every spot on Tang San's body that hurt the most;

Meanwhile, Ma Hongjun put his weight and evil fire to full use, kicking and stomping while cursing nonstop.

Poor Tang San's injuries had never truly healed!

His swollen pig face and aching backside were still there, and his receding-hairline look was still fresh—yet now he had new injuries on top of everything else!

He was beaten into a frantic, head-clutching scramble, screaming without end. The few tenacious strands of scorched, curled hair that had survived—the "Baldness Fringe Reinforcement Unit"—were put in even greater danger under Ma Hongjun's deliberate "care."

Just as this chaotic one-sided "lesson" was reaching its peak, the wonderful yet icy notification in Lin Jiang's mind rang out right on schedule, like heavenly music:

[Ding!~ Detected that subsystem bearer (Tang San) has successfully completed the task.]

[Task reward feedback is being calculated...]

[Congratulations, controller Lin Jiang. Feedback reward obtained: Soul power increased by one level!]

[Current soul power level has risen from level 22 to level 23!]

Buzz!

Feeling the brand-new power rushing through his body, and watching Tang San in the distance get beaten until he howled miserably while still "shining and generating heat" to provide him with "experience points,"

Lin Jiang's lips uncontrollably curled upward, finally becoming an exceptionally brilliant, exceptionally punchable, and exceptionally satisfied grin.

Leveling up while lying down, watching the protagonist group turn on each other and publicly humiliate themselves...

Lin Jiang let out a silent, incomparably smug roar in his heart:

Whose system could possibly be more awesome than mine?! No one's! Absolutely no one's! Hahahaha!

The next day, Oscar successfully broke through to level thirty, which was undoubtedly a major event for Shrek Academy.

Dean Flander made the decision: the next day, the Immovable King Zhao Wuji would personally lead the students to Star Dou Forest to hunt a suitable third soul ring for Oscar.

On the night before their departure, Rice Fragrance Village was steeped in silence, broken only by the occasional chirp of insects.

Lin Jiang sat cross-legged on the familiar hard wooden bed in his home, circulating his soul power to consolidate the realm he had just raised to level 23.

Moonlight streamed through the simple wooden window lattice, spreading a layer of silver frost across the floor.

Knock, knock, knock—

A light, hesitant knock broke the silence in the room.

Lin Jiang slowly withdrew his cultivation and opened his eyes, a trace of confusion flashing through them.

Who could it be at this hour?

There were only two boys' dormitories at Shrek Academy. As a newly joined student, he still lived in his own home, and that was no secret.

But who would come calling in the middle of the night?

He stood up, walked to the door, and cautiously pulled back the latch.

Creak—

The wooden door opened, and cold moonlight poured in, illuminating the figure standing outside.

Lin Jiang froze.

The person outside was actually Ning Rongrong!

She had clearly come in a hurry and wore only a thin white lace nightgown, as light as cicada wings.

Its hem was very short, revealing two slender, straight, pale legs that gleamed softly beneath the moonlight.

Delicate lace trimmed the collar and cuffs, outlining the budding, graceful curves of a young girl.

Her smooth chestnut-brown hair hung loosely over her shoulders in slight disarray, making her small face appear even fairer and more delicate.

At that moment, her head was slightly lowered. Two striking blushes, red as ripe cherries, colored her cheeks and spread all the way to her dainty earlobes.

Her hands unconsciously twisted the lace at the edge of her nightgown, while her toes nervously rubbed against the ground. She looked as though she wanted to speak but could not, pitiful and helpless.

"Rongrong?"

Lin Jiang was genuinely startled, and even his voice carried a hint of surprise.

"Why are you... here in the middle of the night? Did something happen?"

He instinctively stepped aside to clear the doorway. His gaze swept over her thin clothing before quickly shifting away, forcefully suppressing the heat stirred in his heart by her stunning appearance.

Ning Rongrong quickly glanced up at him. Her eyes were moist, carrying a trace of panic and an almost imperceptible dependence.

Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, with a pleading, slightly coquettish tone:

"I... I couldn't sleep... Lin Jiang... no, Brother Jiang..."

She seemed to make up her mind, and her voice grew a little louder.

"Could... could you let me come inside before we talk? It's... a little cold outside."

Under the moonlight, the girl's faintly trembling body and flushed skin did indeed seem chilled.

Lin Jiang's Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he stepped aside. "All right, come in quickly. Don't catch cold." He moved out of the way.

Like a startled rabbit, Ning Rongrong quickly slipped into the room, bringing with her a faint breeze mixed with the sweet scent of a young girl and the coolness of night dew.

Lin Jiang shut the door, sealing the cold moonlight outside.

Only a dim yellow oil lamp was lit in the room, casting an ambiguous, hazy glow.

Ning Rongrong did not sit down. She merely stood uneasily in the center of the room, both hands still tightly clutching the hem of her dress.

Lin Jiang walked over and sat on the bed, patting the spot beside him as he tried to make his tone gentle.

"Sit down. Don't just stand there. What happened? Did someone upset you?"

Those words seemed to strike straight at Ning Rongrong's heart.

At last, she slowly walked to the bed and carefully sat beside Lin Jiang. Yet she did not dare sit too close, perching on only half the edge of the bed.

With her head lowered, she stayed silent for a long while before finally speaking in a thick, aggrieved voice:

"Mhm... Everyone at the academy, even Dean Flander, looks at me with disapproval..."

"The way they look at me is like I'm some spoiled troublemaker who'll never repent... some unruly young miss who only knows how to cause problems..."

Her voice grew softer and softer, heavy with disappointment and self-doubt.

"I know I used to be willful... but I... I've clearly been trying to change..."

At last, a crystal-clear tear could no longer hold on and fell onto her tightly clenched fist.

Lin Jiang looked at her faintly trembling shoulders and that tear, and he understood.

He reached out, hesitated for a moment, then finally gave her shoulder a gentle pat, his voice low.

"Rongrong, lift your head and look at me."