After discussing it for ages, the two finally settled on the "First Edition of the Lin-Wang Roommate Treaty."
Its contents were roughly as follows:
First, neither was allowed to bring people back to the dorm room without permission.
Second, Wang Dong was not to disturb Lin Xi.
Third, Wang Dong was responsible for keeping the room clean, but was not allowed to touch Lin Xi's bed.
Fourth, as hush money, Wang Dong had to pay Lin Xi ten thousand Gold Soul Coins every semester.
Fifth, Wang Dong had to swear on her identity as the young master of Clear Sky Sect that Clear Sky Sect would not interfere with the development of Unlimited Blade Works.
As anyone could see, the first three clauses were basically the demands Wang Dong had made of Huo Yuhao in the original story. They served little purpose beyond annoying Wang Dong; the last two were what mattered.
Although Unlimited Blade Works could be considered fast-growing, ultimately, it was only a nouveau riche outfit that had risen less than two years ago. Lin Xi had to find ways to raise more funds.
After all, the original story explicitly stated that twenty Gold Soul Coins could support an ordinary family of four for a year. Ten thousand Gold Soul Coins per semester was already an enormous sum.
Only the young master of a top-tier power, like Wang Dong, could readily produce that much.
Well, perhaps not all that readily. He kept getting the feeling that her hand had been shaking when she signed the treaty.
Lin Xi was quite satisfied with this. It was good for Wang Dong to harbor negative feelings toward him, and it would be even better if those feelings extended to Yutong.
This was also part of why he was unwilling to resort to his last option: reporting Wang Dong's true sex.
What would he do if he reported this fellow, only for her to encounter Yutong in the girls' dorm?
Honestly, Lin Xi himself did not particularly mind being around Wang Dong. After all, he knew what her situation was.
The fundamental reason he did not want to share a room with Wang Dong was that he feared she would use him as a bridge to establish a connection with Huo Yutong.
Now that Wang Dong had offered benefits sufficient to offset the risk, Lin Xi had no need to be so rigid.
After all, thinking it over carefully, no matter how Lin Xi obstructed things, the two of them would still meet when the Shrek Seven Monsters were assembled in the future.
Since their meeting was inevitable, he could only shift his focus to how he could adjust their relationship after they met.
Thus, early the next morning, Lin Xi approached Huo Yutong in all seriousness.
"Yutong, there's something seriously wrong with my roommate. Hear me out..."
He told her about Wang Dong's situation, phrasing it differently.
The gist was that if Huo Yutong frequently interacted with Wang Dong, her future would become very unfortunate.
Long accustomed to Lin Xi's displays of foreknowledge, Huo Yutong readily accepted his account and said she would definitely be careful and keep her distance from that fellow.
For some reason, however, Lin Xi kept feeling that she was more concerned about the fact that the person sharing his room was a girl.
With Huo Yutong's promise secured, Lin Xi breathed a sigh of relief and soon immersed himself in the world of Soul Tools with her once again.
The next two days passed in the blink of an eye.
On Shrek's first official day of classes, Lin Xi brought Huo Yutong to the classroom early.
Perhaps because it was the first day of lessons, most students arrived relatively early. Several people were already in the classroom when they arrived.
Wang Dong also arrived about twenty minutes before the first lesson began. Upon seeing Lin Xi, she gave a light snort and took a seat not far from him.
Speaking of which, Lin Xi had spent the past two days holed up in the Soul Tool testing area, even replacing his nightly sleep with cultivation there. This was their first meeting since signing the treaty.
She had not been sitting there long before female classmates surrounded her.
At the sight, Lin Xi inwardly shook his head.
I really don't know why this fellow bothers dressing as a boy.
It doesn't make things much easier, does it?
At most, it merely changed the people she had to deal with from boys to girls. There was little difference in essence.
Jiang Nannan was the outer court's greatest beauty, yet he had never seen her dress as a boy.
He could not understand how people on the Douluo Continent thought.
After another short wait, the most heavily criticized teacher in the Douluo series finally made her appearance.
An old woman walked in through the classroom's front door. She had chicken skin and crane-white hair, her graying locks coiled atop her head. She wore a long white robe and was of medium build. What was particularly unusual was her pair of exceedingly bright eyes, their black pupils flashing with keen light.
She was Zhou Yi.
After entering the classroom, she did not spare Lin Xi a glance. Her gaze swept indifferently across the class, its pressure quickly silencing the students.
Once the last student had stopped making noise, she spoke.
"My name is Zhou Yi, and I am your homeroom teacher. I don't know how many of you will make it through the coming year with me. But let me tell you this: in my class, no trash will ever pass the assessments. What I intend to cultivate are monsters, not fools."
Yes, those words could not have been more familiar.
Lin Xi raised his eyebrows disdainfully.
He was not sure whether the students Zhou Yi expelled were fools, but Zhou Yi herself certainly was.
Lin Xi really did not think a teacher who could come up with expelling poor students to raise her class's grades, and then feel smug about it, could be all that intelligent.
At the front, Zhou Yi continued.
"Anyone who has been in a fight in the days since arriving at school, stand up."
Lin Xi sighed softly and stood.
Seeing this, Wang Dong also stood, unwilling to fall behind.
Seeing the two rise, Zhou Yi raised her eyebrows. "Only two? What a bunch of useless trash. Don't you know that those who dare not stir up trouble are mediocrities? Everyone except these two, get outside and run a hundred laps around Shrek Square. Anyone who fails to finish will be expelled immediately."
An uproar swept through the class at these words. It was only the first day of school, and lessons had not even begun, yet they were being punished for not fighting. Who could accept that?
Nobody noticed that the corner of her mouth had involuntarily twitched when she saw Lin Xi among those standing.
One student stood up. "Teacher, I object. Why should we be punished for not fighting?"
Zhou Yi said indifferently, "Because I said so. If you object, you can get lost. As your homeroom teacher, I have the authority to expel any student. You have one minute. If I don't see you starting to run around Shrek Square within one minute, you're all expelled."
As she spoke, a terrifying presence suddenly surged from her body. The powerful fluctuations of her Soul Power pressed down on every student present, leaving them feeling unable to breathe. Soul Rings rose one after another from beneath Zhou Yi's feet.
Two yellow, two purple, and two black-six Soul Rings radiated an indescribably powerful presence. This Teacher Zhou was actually a Soul Emperor-level expert, equipped with two Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings. It was no exaggeration to say that dealing with the hundred young students before her would be as easy as turning over her hand.
These students were only new arrivals, after all. Under such crushing pressure, who would still dare resist? They all rose and shuffled out with their tails between their legs. Zhou Yi withdrew her Soul Rings as soon as she had released them, watching the students leave the classroom without expression.
"A reminder: you only have two hours. Anyone who hasn't completed a hundred laps after two hours will be considered to have failed. This is your first assessment since enrolling. Those who fail will be dismissed."
At her words, the students immediately quickened their movements. After leaving the classroom, they soon ran out onto the field.
Huo Yutong glanced worriedly at Lin Xi. Only after he gave her a meaningful look did she run out of the classroom with her mind at ease.
In moments, Lin Xi and Wang Dong were the only students left in the classroom.
With a cold expression, Zhou Yi approached the two, looking at Lin Xi, then at Wang Dong.
Wang Dong could not help swallowing.
She had just witnessed how far this teacher defied common sense. What would she say to them?
Would it be praise? Or a punishment even worse than what the students out on the field faced?
Under Wang Dong's nervous gaze, Zhou Yi spoke.
She hesitantly asked Lin Xi:
"Kid... you didn't injure him, did you?"
Huh?
What the hell?