Past Like Smoke, A Young Girl's Heart

Silence—

The surrounding air seemed to have grown still.

"???"

Lin Yuan himself wore an even more baffled expression.

Staring blankly at the deadpan Gu Yiyi, he felt a torrent of words clog his throat, for a moment utterly at a loss for how to reply.

What did I just hear?

This is completely turning the world upside down!

What do you mean you like me, but you're asking me to marry you?

Although the slight mischievous streak hidden in his heart had come true, and he hadn't expected this heaven-favored girl worshipped by countless people as a goddess in their hearts to actually confess to him, but...

You definitely said the second half of that sentence wrong, right?

It should be that you want to marry me, am I right?

Lin Yuan choked for a long time, feeling for the first time that his brain wasn't enough.

"Slap!"

Yet Gu Yiyi seemed completely unconcerned.

She casually produced a badge and slapped it down in front of Lin Yuan with a snap—

Against a pure silver background, a brilliant star gleamed faintly.

Lin Yuan's gaze sharpened.

A Star Warrior Badge!

A silver-white one-star Star Warrior Badge, just like his!

Sure enough, Gu Yiyi was still that same Gu Yiyi. Even without participating in the June Joint Exam or joining the Starry-Sky Martial Academy, relying solely on her own matchless talent, she had still broken through to become a true Starry-Sky Warrior.

However...

What is the meaning of this?

Lin Yuan remained in a state of continuous bewilderment.

"Didn't you say that only a true Starry-Sky Warrior could make you marry "down"?"

"I am already a Starry-Sky Warrior now, so I should meet the requirement, right?"

Gu Yiyi showed no sign of shame at all, her bright, sparkling eyes fixed on him as if she could never get enough of looking.

Hearing these words, however, left Lin Yuan looking completely lost.

I...

When did I ever say such fierce and daring words?

Why don't I remember it?

Could it be that something went wrong when I awakened the True Self of my past life?

Causing me to have a slight memory lapse regarding the past few years?

No, no, impossible.

No matter what, I am a dignified man of seven feet, in the prime of my youth, and it was impossible for me to utter such a strange phrase as marrying "down"...

"Hmm?"

His brain operated at a frantic speed, and at the critical moment, Lin Yuan's mind flashed as if he had remembered something.

"Uh..."

"Classmate Gu Yiyi, you might have misunderstood."

Lin Yuan had no choice but to prudently refute the rumor.

"That was just a joking remark between classmates, and it shouldn't be taken seriously..."

He remembered.

There was once, after receiving yet another love letter from a beautiful female classmate in the next class, several close classmates, consumed by envy, jealousy, and hatred, began to tease him.

"Lin Yuan, your martial arts talent isn't much to speak of, but that face of yours is truly undisputed. Why don't you consider it? Don't waste the talent the heavens gave you..."

"Consider what?"

"Find a rich woman!"

"If I had your looks, why would I study martial arts? Wouldn't it be sweet to just find a rich woman and lie flat?"

"Right, right. Times are different from the old days now; true gender equality means boys can marry into families too. Marry directly into a wealthy clan and you'll be free from worries for the rest of your life. Isn't that much better than bitterly practicing martial arts?"

"Hahaha..."

"Get lost. Do you take me for a bunch of animals like you?"

"Besides, taking a step back, even if I were to marry, at the very least I'd have to marry a true Starry-Sky Warrior, a beautiful wealthy woman, so it wouldn't be a loss..."

Lin Yuan was still young back then, and his personality wasn't as decadent as it later became, so he had laughed and scolded them with some zest without paying it too much mind.

Yet never did he expect that a casual joke back then would be heard by the normally aloof and proud genius girl, and kept in her heart...

Lin Yuan was left between laughter and tears.

He could only brace himself to explain, his toes curling in embarrassment.

Youthful vigor! Why on earth had he paid attention to those animals back then, and even uttered such fierce words?

Gu Yiyi listened quietly to Lin Yuan's somewhat awkward explanation, unmoved.

"Of course I knew it was just a temporary joke."

She wasn't stupid; she was a genius girl, after all. How could she not understand?

But...

"Actually, I had a favorable impression of you the very first time I saw you, but back then there were too many people around you, and I didn't have the nerve to squeeze my way to the front..."

Gu Yiyi's face flushed slightly, her azure eyes losing focus for a moment, but looking at the face of the boy she thought of day and night, she ultimately spoke bravely.

"Now I've become a true Starry-Sky Warrior, and I have more qualification than anyone else to stand before you."

"I can support you and provide you with the best resources. If you want to become a Starry-Sky Warrior, I can help you too..."

"So, will you go out with me?"

The young girl's tone was exceptionally earnest, her words hurried, carrying an innocent and ignorant infatuation.

The conditions she promised were even more enticing. How many people's dream was it to become a Starry-Sky Warrior? To say nothing else, Gu Yiyi's extraordinary family background was common knowledge. With her full assistance, perhaps there really was hope...

One had to admit that had it been anyone else, they would have been nodding like garlic, dying to pledge themselves to her.

After all, setting everything else aside, Gu Yiyi herself was an exquisite beauty with a slender waist and fruitful curves...

Yet Lin Yuan remained silent.

His heart was indeed deeply moved; for a pure girl to muster the courage to open her heart was no small feat.

Not to mention the abundance of alluring conditions, but...

"Sigh."

Lin Yuan let out a sigh, and then, amidst the girl's completely bewildered expression, he also pulled out a silver-white badge and gently placed it before her.

Against a pure silver background, a brilliant star symbolizing the martial arts starry sky dazzled the eye, strikingly present.

Gu Yiyi lowered her head, looked at this badge identical to her own, blinked, and felt somewhat lost.

This...

A Star Warrior Badge?

Yet how could that be?

"As you can see, I am actually a Starry-Sky Warrior too."

Lin Yuan gave a faint smile, his gaze warm and benign.

No matter what, toward a pure maiden who had secretly harbored a crush on him for many years and even prepared to support him for a lifetime, he could not muster the slightest bit of ill will.

There was only emotion and a mixture of amusement.

What kind of situation was this...

His damned charm had once again refreshed his own self-awareness.

He had originally thought this genius girl was different from the other female classmates, but it turned out she had fallen even harder, hoarding her momentum all the way to becoming a Starry-Sky Warrior before daring to confess...

"Could this face of mine also be a Special Constitution?"

An eccentric and whimsical thought abruptly popped into Lin Yuan's mind.

He felt he was getting a little overwhelmingly handsome...

"A Starry-Sky Warrior?"

While Lin Yuan was secretly feeling narcissistic in his heart, Gu Yiyi lost her focus slightly, staring blankly at Lin Yuan's Star Warrior Badge.

She remembered that Lin Yuan's martial arts talent at school was clearly very ordinary. After three years of Body Tempering, he had only broken through to the second stage when entering high school, and in the three years since, he had only broken through to the third stage, Blood Tempering.

At such a speed, let alone a Starry-Sky Warrior, even Body Tempering Grandmastery... no, even the Marrow Cleansing Stage would be extremely difficult to reach.

How could he have caught up to her after a mere few months apart?

A true Starry-Sky Warrior?

Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she abruptly raised her head.

"You..."

"You didn't awaken a Special Constitution too, did you?"