Knowing the Future, a Different Huo Yuhao!

Seeing Wang Dong like this, Huo Yuhao's impression of her improved slightly. He had previously thought she was some arrogant young master from a great family, fearless and overbearing. He had not expected her to be soft-hearted underneath it all.

Although Wang Dong's words were forceful and resolute, Huo Yuhao could still detect a trace of vulnerability in them.

"Are you showing weakness to me?" Huo Yuhao asked with a faint smile in his voice.

A flush flashed across Wang Dong's face before vanishing. She stammered slightly, "W-Who's afraid of you? I'm challenging you! Yes, challenging you!"

Huo Yuhao ignored whatever storm was raging through Wang Dong's mind. He made up his bed, sat down on it, and took out the Soul Master Knowledge Compendium that Beibei had borrowed for him.

His movements were light, and he tried not to make any unnecessary noise. Yet when he placed the book by his pillow and prepared to meditate, he still heard Wang Dong snort coldly.

"What, do you have that much of a problem with me? You can't even be bothered to answer me?" Wang Dong turned around and stared sharply at Huo Yuhao, as though she wanted to see through him.

Huo Yuhao paused and turned his head toward her. "Your personality is a little unpleasant, but I don't have any prejudice against you. I was only helping a classmate."

He paused before adding, "Besides, what happened that day is already over. There's no need to keep dwelling on it."

The tips of Wang Dong's ears instantly reddened, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "I only felt sorry for him! Otherwise, even if I couldn't beat you, I could still make sure he wouldn't get out of bed for two months!"

Huo Yuhao did not respond. He simply sat cross-legged on his bed and entered meditation, his spiritual power spreading out instinctively. He could "see" the snacks Wang Dong had hidden in her cabinet drawer, "hear" her slightly quickened heartbeat beneath her seemingly calm exterior, and even vaguely sense the curiosity and irritability within her martial soul.

That feeling of being "seen through" made Wang Dong deeply uncomfortable. She abruptly stood up. "Huo Yuhao, I'm warning you. You can live here, but don't use those lousy eyes of yours to look around!"

"What my eyes look at is my business." Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, his Spirit Eyes shining frighteningly bright. "Just as what you want to say and do is your freedom, what I want to do is mine.

As long as you don't cross my bottom line, we can live in peace."

Wang Dong gave a derisive laugh and walked to Huo Yuhao's bedside, looking down at him. "Bottom line? What is your bottom line? Drawing your sword when you see injustice? Protecting those people who don't know their place?"

Warm breath brushed across his cheek, carrying a faint fragrance. Huo Yuhao suddenly recalled the blush on Wang Dong's ears that day, along with the obviously expensive pill she had thrown to Li Cheng.

She was clearly someone soft-hearted with a sharp tongue, yet she insisted on pretending to be a little beast with its fur standing on end.

He suddenly smiled. It was a faint smile, like ice and snow beginning to melt. "My bottom line is not bullying the weak, nor allowing others to bully me. If you want to spar, you can do so anytime. Since I'll be your roommate from now on, there's no need for you to bully your classmates, right?"

"Why would I bully them when I have nothing better to do?"

Halfway through her sentence, Wang Dong suddenly stopped. Her eyes locked onto Huo Yuhao. "Are you going to stop me again? Like you did today?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Huo Yuhao looked at her with a faint smile. "It's not like you can beat me."

Wang Dong stared blankly at him, her eyes wide and round as moisture surfaced in those pink-blue pupils.

"You only know how to bully me!" With that, Wang Dong ran straight out.

Huo Yuhao watched her retreating back, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. Why was Wang Dong acting so bashful, like a young lady?

However, Huo Yuhao did not chase after her. Shrek City was very safe, and although Wang Dong seemed overbearing, she was not some pampered fool who knew nothing. She was most likely from some great family and was probably registered with Shrek Academy. There was no need to worry about her safety at all.

After completing his daily training according to the system's plan, Huo Yuhao ate a meal and returned to the dormitory, where he sat cross-legged on his bed and finished his daily meditation task.

After spending two days in the dormitory together, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong gradually became more familiar with one another. Although Wang Dong seemed domineering, it was only a form of self-protection. There was probably another reason she had clashed with her classmates on the first day of school.

That day, Wang Dong eagerly ran out, saying that a dessert shop outside the academy had opened and that she was going to grab some limited-edition sweets, leaving Huo Yuhao alone in the dormitory to meditate.

A smile appeared on Huo Yuhao's lips as he quietly remained in the dormitory, waiting for Wang Dong to return.

[Host, I do not know whether I should say something.]

Having just completed the system's daily task, Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes flickered as his consciousness immediately entered his spiritual sea to respond to the system.

"What is it? Is something wrong?"

Although the system showed no mercy at all, every one of its actions was for Huo Yuhao's future. Huo Yuhao was still grateful to it.

[It is one thing that the host intervened to save that youth, but why did you also switch dormitories with him?]

[Every step you take is closely connected to your future.]

Listening to the system's cold mechanical voice, Huo Yuhao felt waves of warmth rise in his heart.

"So you care about people too? I thought you only assigned me tasks according to a set plan and showed no mercy whenever I deviated from the path."

Huo Yuhao lowered his head and sighed. "Perhaps I saw a reflection of my past self in Li Cheng. My mother and I were also constantly bullied in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion. Maybe I just sympathized with who I used to be."

[Ding. The host once said that his life should be under his own control. However, it has been detected that the host is deeply confused about the future. The system still recommends that the host strictly follow its plans. All system plans are for the host's sake.]

"I understand, but could switching roommates with Li Cheng and ending up with Wang Dong really have such a huge impact on my future?" Huo Yuhao understood that everything the system did was for the goal he had set for himself, but he was still confused. Even obtaining Tianmeng's Million-Year Soul Ring had not prompted such a strong reaction from the system. Could changing dormitories have a greater impact than a Million-Year Soul Ring that had never before appeared on the Douluo Continent?

[Ding. Wang Dong possesses a special identity. It has been detected that the host is confused. The system recommends that the host view footage of his future extracted from the river of time.]

With the system's help, Huo Yuhao needed only fifteen minutes to absorb the fragments of future memories. What followed was a long silence...

When Wang Dong finally returned, she saw Huo Yuhao sitting cross-legged on his bed without saying a word, looking as though he had been meditating the entire time.

After glancing at him, she prepared to turn around and tidy up her own bed. Yet with only that one look, she felt an overwhelming aura of sorrow wash over her, making her clutch her chest involuntarily.

What kind of eyes were those? The Spirit Eyes that had always shone brightly had lost their former luster. They stared emptily ahead, utterly unfocused. His lashes hung low, trembling faintly, as though that was the only proof that he was still alive...

Huo Yuhao's breathing was light and slow, as though even breathing required all the strength in his body.

"Huo Yuhao, are you... are you all right?" Wang Dong spoke softly, afraid that she might startle him.

Huo Yuhao did not answer at once. It was as though Wang Dong's voice had drifted from somewhere far away, passing through a thick layer of fog before barely reaching his ears.

His gaze remained unfocused, falling upon the stalk of Blue Silver Grass in Wang Dong's hand. Its leaves curled inward, resembling a figure in his memories trembling from cold in the Northernmost Land. Scenes from the future continued to surge through his mind—the resolve of the Ice and Snow Emperors, Qiu'er's sacrifice, Wang Dong's transformation into Tang Wutong, his struggle to forgive the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, and... the eyes of the person before him, after shedding her male disguise and wearing a pink-blue dress, asking him through tears, "Did you never trust me?"

So Wang Dong was her.

So those days of arguments, fighting side by side, and even finding each other unbearable would become such a deep bond in the future, only to shatter into such painful memories...

His Spirit Eyes trembled harder and harder, not because he was afraid, but because of an immense contradiction that nearly tore him apart—after knowing the ending, could he still calmly walk toward the beginning?

If he knew he would lose her someday, would he still dare to hold on with all his strength?

"Huo Yuhao?" Seeing that Huo Yuhao still did not react at all, a trace of barely perceptible panic entered Wang Dong's voice.

She stepped closer and crouched down, bringing her gaze level with his. Only then did she notice tiny droplets hanging from his lashes. They were not sweat. They were tears.

He had been so stubborn. When he stood in front of Li Cheng that day, his eyes had shone as though they might burst into flame. Yet now, he looked as if every ounce of strength had been drained from him, even crying in such silence.

Wang Dong reached out, wanting to touch his shoulder, but her fingertips stopped in midair.

She could feel that Huo Yuhao's sorrow was not an act. It was as thick as ink that could not be dissolved. She could even sense an icy aura of death from him, as though in the next instant, he would disappear completely into the air.

"What exactly happened to you?" Wang Dong's voice softened unconsciously, carrying an urgency she did not notice herself. "Did something go wrong in your cultivation? Or did you remember something upsetting?"

"Don't be sad. I'm here. I'll always be here."

Huo Yuhao's Adam's apple moved, as though countless words were caught in his throat. In the end, he only forced out one hoarse sentence. "Dong... Wang Dong."

"I'm here." Wang Dong immediately answered, her heart tightening for no reason.

"If..." Huo Yuhao's gaze finally moved slowly and fell upon Wang Dong's face. For the first time, her figure was reflected in those empty Spirit Eyes.

"If meeting is ultimately for the sake of parting, would you still choose to meet?"

"If one day you discover that I lied to you, would you..."

"I'd beat you up." Wang Dong interrupted without thinking. Her eyes narrowed slightly, carrying her usual pride, but her tone softened. "Even though I can't beat you right now, if you dare lie to me, then once I can beat you, I'll beat you half to death until you tell me the truth."

"And what's all this nonsense about meeting and parting? You're so young, why are you thinking about so much? If we met, then it must be fate. Since fate decreed that we meet, I will never be the one to say goodbye."

Wang Dong thought Huo Yuhao had been talking about some trivial matter. She did not see that when Huo Yuhao heard those words, his lashes trembled, and the tear in his eye finally rolled down, striking his clothes and spreading into a small dark stain.

Beat him half to death... Yet in the future, she had not even been willing to say a harsh word to him before turning away and entering reincarnation.

"You cried?" Wang Dong froze.

The Huo Yuhao she knew was high-spirited and diligent. Although his soul power rank could not be considered among the very highest of his peers, he was still outstanding.

Over the past two days in the dormitory, Wang Dong had seen Huo Yuhao spending nearly every day training his body and meditating on soul power, except when he ate. Could someone with such unyielding will really cry?

At a loss, she reached out to wipe away Huo Yuhao's tears, only for him to suddenly seize her wrist.

Huo Yuhao's hand was cold, carrying a bone-piercing chill. His grip was frighteningly strong, as though he had seized the last straw that could save his life.

Wang Dong could feel the trembling of his fingertips, along with the hurried yet weak heartbeat passing through his skin.

"Don't..." Huo Yuhao's voice was broken beyond recognition. "Don't leave..."

Wang Dong was completely dumbfounded.

Leave? Where would she go? She was right here, wasn't she?

But seeing the terror filling Huo Yuhao's eyes, she somehow did not pull away. Instead, she gently patted his shoulder with her other hand and comforted him stiffly. "Who said I'm leaving? I'm still waiting until I can beat you, so I can knock you flat."

She tried to use that familiar, slightly provocative tone to pull Huo Yuhao back to his senses. Sure enough, Huo Yuhao's grip on her wrist loosened a little, and a ripple finally appeared in his empty eyes.

"Don't leave..." Huo Yuhao murmured, as though tasting those words.

In the future, they had been almost inseparable. They had participated in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament together, hunted soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest together, and recognized each other across a sky full of petals at the Sea God's Destiny Event.

Those days of fighting side by side, joking and bickering, felt as vivid as yesterday.

"That's right. I definitely won't leave you. I still need to cultivate hard and defeat you someday." Seeing that he had reacted, Wang Dong deliberately lifted her chin. "If you keep looking half-dead like this, I'll definitely catch up to you soon. When I beat you up then, you're not allowed to cry."

Her words carried the particular awkwardness of youth, but they were like a faint beam of light, piercing the thick fog churning through Huo Yuhao's mind.

That was right. Even if he knew the ending, he still had to walk the path step by step. Even if he knew he would lose them, the warmth he had once possessed was not false.

Besides, with knowledge of the future and a system to strengthen himself, how could he possibly allow those things to happen again?

Huo Yuhao slowly released her hand, the chill in his fingertips driven away by the warmth of Wang Dong's wrist. Looking into her eyes, which seemed to say, "If you don't wake up, I'm going to do something," he suddenly gave a soft laugh. There was the nasal sound of tears in his voice, but also a trace of relief.

That was right. Elder Yi, Dong'er, Qiu'er—none of this had happened yet. There was still time for everything!

"Fine," he said. "But if you make a move, I won't go easy on you."

Wang Dong froze for a moment, then frowned. "You... are you back to normal?"

Huo Yuhao did not answer. He simply stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open. The evening breeze, carrying the fragrance of grass and trees, rushed in and dispersed the stifling sorrow in the dormitory. He took a deep breath. The emptiness in his Spirit Eyes gradually faded, and though traces of red remained, they lit up once more with their familiar resilient brilliance.

[Ding. It has been detected that the host's emotional fluctuations are stabilizing. Future memory fragments have been fully absorbed. Recommendation: integrate known information, optimize life plans, and reduce potential risks.]

[The system recommends that the host rapidly increase his strength in order to deal with unexpected situations in the future.]

Huo Yuhao glanced at the system prompt in his mind and, for the first time, did not respond.

He turned back toward Wang Dong. She was still crouching on the floor, her pink-blue short hair slightly tousled by the wind. Her eyes were filled with confusion and wariness, like a little beast that had just been soothed but was still guarding against an ambush.

Looking at the lively Wang Dong before him, Huo Yuhao could no longer hold back his laughter.