Even refusing to run couldn't get her expelled, Light Goddess Butterfly

After running more than twenty laps, Wang Dong'er stopped.

She walked onto the grass beside the track and plopped down.

Huo Yuhao ran another dozen steps before realizing someone was missing from his side.

When he looked back, Wang Dong'er was sitting cross-legged on the lawn, gazing up at the sky as though none of this concerned her.

"Wang Dong." He hurried back and reached out to pull her up.

"What are you doing? Get up!"

"I'm done running." Wang Dong'er patted the grass beside her.

"Sit down too."

"Sit down? Teacher Zhou said we'd be expelled if we didn't finish."

"Relax. We won't." Wang Dong'er sounded utterly certain.

"No, I have to keep running. I don't want to be expelled."

"Then run by yourself. I can't run anymore, anyway."

Of course Wang Dong'er could still run, but she felt she had gotten enough exercise for the day.

Huo Yuhao hesitated, then resumed running.

Wang Dong'er did not approve of Zhou Yi's teaching methods.

Making physically weaker Soul Masters run a hundred laps right from the start was practically asking for their lives.

If it damaged their foundations, they might never be able to repair the harm.

Cultivation still had to proceed one step at a time.

She sat on the lawn, watching Huo Yuhao run lap after lap.

With five minutes left, there was no way Huo Yuhao could finish his remaining ten laps.

Huo Yuhao's eyes reddened. He didn't want to be expelled. He had finally managed to enter Shrek Academy, and he didn't want to leave like this.

He had to cultivate diligently, avenge his mother, and make everyone who had bullied them pay.

Huo Yuhao's legs felt filled with lead, each step as heavy as if he were trudging through a swamp.

Yet he kept running, teeth clenched and head lowered, like a lone sail battling a storm.

Wang Dong'er stood on the grass, watching his retreating figure.

Silly boy.

She took a deep breath, and a wash of light shone behind her.

It was a pair of wings, an exquisitely beautiful pair of wings.

The Light Goddess Butterfly.

This was Wang Dong'er's own martial soul.

With a gentle beat of her wings, Wang Dong'er flew toward that stumbling, running figure.

Huo Yuhao suddenly felt his feet grow light.

A gentle force supported his waist, lifting him entirely off the ground.

Before he could react, his back pressed against a warm body.

"Don't move." Wang Dong'er's voice sounded beside his ear.

"Hold on to me."

Her arms slipped beneath his armpits and locked firmly around his chest.

The Light Goddess Butterfly's wings spread fully behind them, refracting the sunset into a flowing, waterlike sheen.

He turned his head and saw Wang Dong'er's face in profile.

The wind tousled her hair, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly in the breeze. The wings behind her scattered great swaths of light, which fell upon her hair like stars shattered across the ground.

So beautiful.

Huo Yuhao startled himself when the thought surfaced.

Beautiful?

How could I use that word to describe a boy?

But he couldn't look away. Those wings were too beautiful, and so was the person beneath them.

Wang Dong'er carried Huo Yuhao swiftly around the track. One lap, two laps, three laps...

Her luminous wings sliced through the air, moving countless times faster than he could run on his own.

"How many laps left?" Wang Dong'er asked.

"Three!"

Wang Dong'er accelerated. With a powerful beat of her luminous wings, she became a streak of light sweeping across the track.

Just before time ran out, Wang Dong'er landed steadily on the finish line with Huo Yuhao.

Her wings folded, the light faded, and she released her arms from around Huo Yuhao.

The instant Huo Yuhao touched down, his legs nearly buckled beneath him. Wang Dong'er caught his arm and held him up.

"We're here."

Huo Yuhao gulped down air and turned to look at her, noticing fine beads of sweat on her forehead too.

He opened his mouth to thank her, but before he could speak, Zhou Yi's voice rang out.

"Time's up."

Zhou Yi stood at the edge of the Training Grounds and read out ten names. Wang Dong'er was among them.

"The ten of you may leave the academy. From this moment onward, you are no longer Shrek students."

Huo Yuhao's face grew even paler.

"Teacher Zhou, Wang Dong could have finished."

"I already said it. If you don't finish, get out."

"But..."

"One more word out of you, and you can get out with her."

Huo Yuhao clenched his fists tightly. His lips trembled several times as he tried to say something more, only to realize he had no idea what to say.

Faced with Shrek Academy's rules, what could a mere new student like him do?

The other students protested indignantly and threatened to lodge complaints against Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi was utterly unafraid. Plenty of complaints had been filed against her over the years, yet she remained a teacher at the academy.

"Everyone else, go back and change. Return to the classroom in twenty minutes."

Wang Dong'er stood beside Huo Yuhao, her expression unchanged from beginning to end. She even yawned, as though she weren't the one being expelled.

"Let's go back and shower. I'm covered in sweat. I stink."

Huo Yuhao turned to her and asked, "How can you not be worried at all?"

"Relax. No one can expel me."

If anything, Wang Dong'er rather wanted to be expelled. She wanted to see whether Tang San would find a way to bring her back after she left the academy.

Once they returned to the dormitory, Wang Dong'er told Huo Yuhao to take a shower. There was plenty of time now.

"Wang Dong, why aren't you worried? You've been expelled!" Huo Yuhao couldn't understand it.

Wang Dong'er pushed open the door and nudged him toward the bathroom.

"Shower first."

"I'm not showering."

"You reek of sweat. Don't talk to me until you've washed."

Huo Yuhao wanted to say more, but Wang Dong'er shoved him inside and pulled the door shut.

Soon, the sound of showering came from within.

"Wang Dong, how about I go with you to beg Teacher Zhou again later?"

"No need. Zhou Yi can't expel me."

Standing in the bathroom, Huo Yuhao asked through the door, "Why?"

"Because I'm from Clear Sky Castle. Zhou Yi is just an outer court teacher. Her decision to expel someone works on ordinary students, but not on me."

Huo Yuhao froze.

"So you knew from the beginning?"

"Of course."

"Then why didn't you say so sooner?" Huo Yuhao's voice shot up an octave.

Wang Dong'er leaned against the door, her lips curving into a smile. She pictured Huo Yuhao fuming on the other side.

"Because watching you worry about me was pretty fun."

There were two seconds of silence on the other side of the door.

"Wang Dong!!"

Wang Dong'er laughed aloud.

"By the way, what's Clear Sky Castle?" Huo Yuhao asked.

"Clear Sky Castle is a hidden sect. Tang San of the First-Generation Shrek Seven Devils came from Clear Sky Castle."

"Tang San!"

Huo Yuhao was shocked.

Of course he knew Tang San. His statue still stood in Sea God Square.

He hadn't expected Wang Dong to belong to the same sect as Tang San.

"Then why isn't your surname Tang?"

Wang Dong'er suddenly froze.

That's right. If I fail, my surname will have to be Tang.

"Um... I didn't bring any clothes. Could you get them for me?"

Huo Yuhao's voice suddenly came through.

"Sure. Are they in the wardrobe?"

Wang Dong'er opened Huo Yuhao's wardrobe and took out his clothes, his trousers, and... his underwear.

Wang Dong'er's face suddenly warmed a little. Although they had confessed their love for each other in their previous life, they had never gone further than embracing. Neither of their only two kisses had really counted as a proper kiss.

"Here!"

Huo Yuhao opened the door and reached out to take the clothes inside.

When the bathroom door opened again, Huo Yuhao emerged drying his hair. Dressed in clean clothes, he looked much fresher.

"Are you really sure Teacher Zhou can't expel you?"

"I'm sure. But I won't go to class with you today. I'll go tomorrow."

"You're not lying to me, are you?" Huo Yuhao was still uneasy, afraid Wang Dong'er would be gone when he returned from class.

"Hurry up and get to class, or that old hag will give you trouble."

Huo Yuhao suddenly remembered they only had twenty minutes. He hastily put on his shoes and ran toward the classroom.

After Huo Yuhao left, Wang Dong'er sat on the bed and began meditating to cultivate.

In her previous life, she hadn't worked hard enough. When Tang Wutong took over her body, she hadn't had even the slightest ability to resist.

In this life, she would cultivate even harder. Only by growing stronger could she break free of her fate.