Actually a Tsundere

Gu Yue and Tang Wuling had, unsurprisingly, easily won the morning's Class Advancement Tournament.

Inside the cafeteria, the students' laughter and chatter blended together.

Tang Wuling picked at the food in her bowl, her mind completely elsewhere.

A lingering knot of worry hung between her brows. Several times, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, only for her to swallow the words back down. She looked burdened with thoughts, hesitant to speak.

Chen An saw it all.

He knew that last night's conversation in the Golden Temple weighed on the girl's heart like a boulder. She carried a huge secret within her, wanting to confide in someone but not knowing how to begin.

Before Tang Wuling could continue struggling with her dilemma, Chen An set down his chopsticks and spoke first, giving her a natural opening.

"By the way, I have something to do this afternoon. I arranged to spar with some classmates at the training grounds."

Hearing this, a trace of barely noticeable relief flickered through Tang Wuling's eyes, and she hurriedly followed his lead.

"Perfect. I need to go to the Blacksmith Association later too. There are some materials I need to take care of."

Chen An understood the true purpose of her trip. After the meal, the two walked together to the academy gates.

Chen An stood quietly in place, watching Tang Wuling's lone figure gradually disappear into the distance.

Only last night, she had learned that she bore a catastrophe-like disaster. Today, she was about to face another upheaval capable of shattering her spirit.

The reality of her parents' departure was about to come crashing down on the girl.

Chen An sighed silently, hoping that this succession of crushing burdens would not completely break her resolve.

In that brief moment, a faint chill suddenly crept over the back of his neck.

Without needing to turn around, Chen An knew who had arrived.

The two moved to a quiet, secluded corner beneath the trees, with no students passing nearby.

Gu Yue stood with her arms crossed over her chest, her cool demeanor as unchanged as ever, her gaze resting lightly on Chen An.

Chen An composed his expression and assumed the bearing of a subordinate. "My liege, what do you need from me?"

Gu Yue raised a brow. "You and Tang Wuling are quite close, like siblings. You are inseparable every day, truly like blood-related brother and sister."

The probing and warning in her words were obvious. Chen An answered calmly.

"It is only to better monitor her movements and physical condition, making it easier to complete the mission."

"Before this, I never saw you so attentive."

"When I first entered the human world, my mind was still immature. Many things were not handled thoroughly enough."

"Oh?" Gu Yue's eyes cooled slightly. "Was taking Na'er around everywhere also part of that immaturity?"

Chen An's expression stiffened slightly, and his tone turned somewhat evasive. "That was to gather more information about humans."

Gu Yue found his desperate attempts at explanation rather amusing.

"Were Na'er's impressions of humans also instilled in her by you?"

"I don't know about that."

Even if he had said nothing, Na'er would have come to understand on her own. Still, it was better to play dumb.

After watching him for a long while, just when Chen An thought she would continue questioning him, he heard Gu Yue give a soft snort.

"How are the Dragon Scales on your body?"

Chen An's heart skipped a beat. Could this have been her real reason for questioning him?

After discovering that he had fused with her Dragon Scale, she had not mentioned it when they enrolled. She had only asked after observing him and Tang Wuling together for some time.

Chen An was about to explain when Gu Yue abruptly stepped forward, cutting him off.

The distance between them instantly closed. She raised a hand, grabbed Chen An by the collar, and pulled aside a corner of his clothing.

The Dragon Scale on Chen An's chest, originating from the same source as the Dragon God, sensed Gu Yue's aura of the same origin. A faint ring of light appeared across its surface as it trembled gently.

She was personally confirming it again, with the exact same movement as last time.

Chen An did not resist and allowed her to examine his chest. He trusted that the Golden Dragon King aura he had concealed would not be detected.

Gu Yue frowned and extended her other hand, her fingertips hovering above the scale for a moment.

The dense aura of the Silver Dragon King made the Dragon Scale flicker again.

After sensing it carefully and finding nothing unusual, she slowly released his collar.

Gu Yue raised her eyes and met Chen An's gaze.

Their faces were only three finger-widths apart. They could even feel each other's breath.

Gu Yue suddenly froze. This posture was far too intimate. She stepped back half a pace, turned her face away, and shouted in embarrassed anger.

"What kind of expression is that!"

"I didn't do anything!"

"Shut up! If I say you did, then you did! Show that perverted expression again, and I'll—!"

"That's completely unreasonable! Weren't you the one who made the first move?"

Long Hengxu happened to be passing by. Hearing the commotion, he looked toward the arguing pair from afar.

"What is going on?! Fighting between students is forbidden!"

The two blushed awkwardly as though something had happened between them, looking everywhere but at each other.

Chen An coughed twice before replying, "Teacher! It's nothing, just a small disagreement."

Seeing that one was a student Wu Changkong had specifically requested and the other was the best in Class One, Long Hengxu merely reprimanded them casually before leaving.

The two stood where they were for a while, waiting for the awkward atmosphere to ease.

Gu Yue lowered her eyes slightly, no longer as cold as before.

"I want to see what kind of magic humans possess, enough to fascinate both you and Na'er.

"I will try to experience it and learn their way of life. Your next task is to serve as my guide. Prepare yourself properly!"

So that was why she had dragged the two of them around aimlessly to shop and look for food last night.

He assumed a respectful subordinate's posture, nodded in agreement, and watched Gu Yue's figure leave.

Only after confirming that Gu Yue had gone far away did Chen An slowly curl his lips into a faint smile.

He had deliberately allowed Gu Yue to sense the Dragon Scale on his chest. With that close contact, combined with everything he had absorbed while following her last night, the accumulated gains finally broke through at this moment.

The soul power within his body quietly reached Rank 28.

He suppressed most of the soul power fluctuations and released only a small portion. To outsiders, he would merely claim that he had suddenly found enlightenment and advanced to Rank 16, using it to silence others' questions.

Time passed slowly, and dusk arrived.

The orange-red setting sun cast long silhouettes across the ground. Chen An returned to the academy gates to wait.

In the distance, Tang Wuling's figure slowly appeared.

The girl's body was slightly hunched, her shoulders slumped, while the setting sun stretched her shadow thin and long.

Her fingers tightly clenched a thin sheet of letter paper, her knuckles faintly white.

"Wuling, you're back—"

Before Chen An could finish speaking, Tang Wuling suddenly rushed forward, threw her arms around him, and held him tightly.

Chen An blinked slightly. After a moment of silence, he slowly raised his hand and gently patted her back.

"What's wrong, Wuling? Are you hungry?"

Tang Wuling said nothing. She only held him tightly, her shoulders slightly taut. She had already used all her strength to keep herself from crying.

The letter paper clenched in her hand was a farewell message left behind by her parents.

The cruel reality weighed heavily on her heart. She had not yet figured out how to tell her younger brother about it.

Before that, she only wanted to hold him quietly like this for a while.