...An assistant teacher? Him?
Gu Yue sneered inwardly.
A fifteen-year-old brat, and he had the nerve to be an assistant teacher?
And he was supposedly "easy to get along with"...
She hadn't forgotten who had swaggered in with his arm around her yesterday.
The more Gu Yue thought about it, the more unreliable he seemed. She simply turned her head away and stopped looking at him.
Qing Linyun saw it all and found it a little funny.
The little girl had every expression written on her face.
He didn't say anything, merely stepping back and making room for Wu Changkong.
Wu Changkong stepped forward, his ice-blue eyes sweeping over the group.
The class fell silent at once.
"Today's training is physical conditioning."
His voice was flat. "Twenty laps around the track."
"Start now."
A chorus of groans rose from the students, but no one dared actually complain.
One by one, they turned reluctantly and shuffled toward the track.
The sun was pleasant enough today, so Qing Linyun watched leisurely from the sidelines.
Perhaps because Wu Changkong was also fairly considerate of the students, the training didn't last long and soon ended.
Just as the class dispersed, Wu Changkong suddenly spoke up, calling three people to a halt.
"Gu Yue."
"Tang Wulin."
"Xie Xie."
The three had just been about to run off with the rest of the group, but they stopped when they heard their names.
"You three, come to my office with me."
With that, Wu Changkong turned and walked away.
Standing to the side, Qing Linyun raised an eyebrow.
Here it comes.
He had a rough idea of what this was about.
In the original story, there should have been a Class Promotion Tournament around this time.
Eastsea Academy had five first-year classes, ranked from best to worst: Class One, Class Two, Class Three, Class Four, and Class Five.
Class Five was the worst of them.
And Gu Yue, Tang Wulin, and Xie Xie were the three most promising talents in the entire class.
There was no need to ask why Wu Changkong had singled them out. He was definitely going to have them compete in the Class Promotion Tournament.
The three kids exchanged glances. Although they didn't know what Teacher Wu wanted with them, they obediently followed.
Wu Changkong led the way, taking long strides.
The three kids trailed a few steps behind, walking abreast of Qing Linyun beside them.
For whatever reason,
The three youngsters kept glancing at Qing Linyun from time to time.
Xie Xie was curious.
Tang Wulin admired him.
As for Gu Yue...
Gu Yue's little face was scrunched up, and her fierce gaze looked as though she wanted to eat someone.
She glared at Qing Linyun.
Qing Linyun had been walking along when he caught sight of Gu Yue's expression out of the corner of his eye.
Then his hand moved.
By the time he realized what he was doing, his fist had already landed on Gu Yue's head.
It wasn't hard, just a light rap.
The movement had been absurdly natural.
So natural that even he hadn't realized what he was doing.
Xie Xie and Tang Wulin, who were beside him, stared dumbstruck.
Both of them faltered in their steps and looked over in shock.
...Teacher Qing?
He hit her? He hit Gu Yue? Did he have a death wish?
Qing Linyun froze too.
He looked down at his hand, then looked up at Gu Yue.
...I'm done for.
The main thing was that Gu Yue's angry expression just now had looked so much like Na'er's.
At home, whenever Na'er threw a tantrum, he would give her a rap like that. It had become a habit.
Just now, he hadn't held back in time and had mistaken Gu Yue for Na'er.
Gu Yue was stunned for a couple of seconds.
She stood there and blinked, seemingly unable to process what had just happened.
Then.
"What are you doing?!"
She jerked her head up, her voice rising several pitches. Her face was flushed bright red, though whether from anger or embarrassment, it was hard to say.
"What gives you the right to hit me?!"
Up ahead, Wu Changkong turned a deaf ear to the commotion behind him.
He kept walking expressionlessly, without even changing his stride.
He only sighed silently to himself.
Tang Wulin and Xie Xie looked at the furious Gu Yue and swallowed in unison.
A female tyrannosaurus.
She was definitely a female tyrannosaurus.
With perfect unspoken understanding, the two of them quietly edged to the side, putting a little distance between them.
They were terrified that the flames of war would spread to them.
Qing Linyun looked at the bristling Gu Yue, his mind racing.
I can't be forceful.
If I try, this girl will fight me to the death.
He cleared his throat, a smile immediately spreading across his face.
"Hey, don't get worked up."
"You were scrunching up your face like a little old lady. Wasn't I just helping you loosen up?"
"You don't understand. With my skills, I wouldn't give just anyone a rap."
Gu Yue said, "Who wants you to loosen me up?!"
"Look at you, getting angry again." Qing Linyun looked helpless. "A girl who scrunches up her face all day will get wrinkles easily. What if you can't get married later?"
"I'm doing this for your own good."
Gu Yue was so angry at his string of nonsense that she couldn't speak.
She opened her mouth, but even after a long moment, she couldn't get a single word out.
The main problem was that he had one twisted argument after another, and she didn't even know where to begin refuting him.
In that short time, however, more than half the fire in her heart had died down.
Qing Linyun saw it and knew when to stop.
He felt in his pocket and pulled something out.
A jade pendant.
It was milky white all over and looked unremarkable, but up close, one could feel a faint warmth from it.
Qing Linyun held the pendant out to her, a sincere smile on his face.
"All right, I was wrong."
"Here, this is for you, as an apology."
Gu Yue looked at the jade pendant and instinctively wanted to refuse.
She didn't want anything of his.
But for some reason,
As soon as the pendant drew near, she suddenly felt an inexplicable flutter in her heart.
Deep within her body, something seemed to be longing for it.
The feeling was strange, as though... something she had lacked for a long time was finally about to be restored.
Gu Yue frowned.
She hadn't wanted to accept it.
But the longing grew stronger and stronger, until she couldn't suppress it.
In the end, she couldn't resist and reached out to take it.
The jade pendant was warm in her hand.
Gu Yue hesitated for a moment, then hung it around her neck.
The instant the pendant touched her chest,
A warm sensation suddenly spread from her chest, flowing along her meridians and throughout her body.
It was warm and cozy.
Indescribably comfortable.
And what shocked her even more was this.
Those old injuries she had suffered at the hands of the Asura God during the divine war, back when she was the Silver Dragon King.
Those old injuries that even she could do little about, and could only slowly nurse.
After that warmth flowed through her,
They had actually... eased somewhat.
Although it was happening very slowly, so slowly it was almost imperceptible.
Gu Yue could feel it clearly.
It really was working.
Could this be Gold of Life? No, that's not right. Even Gold of Life couldn't possibly have such a powerful effect. What on earth is this?
Gu Yue stood there, looking down at the jade pendant on her chest. For a moment, she even forgot to be angry.
She raised her head, and the way she looked at Qing Linyun had changed.
This person...
Just how much more is he hiding?
Up ahead, Wu Changkong had already reached the office door.
He stopped and turned around, glancing at the few people still standing there.
"What are you standing around for?"
"Come in."
Only then did the three kids come back to their senses and hurry after him.
Gu Yue walked at the back, her hand unconsciously tightening around the jade pendant against her chest.
Qing Linyun's spiritual power silently observed it all, and the corners of his mouth lifted in a barely perceptible smile.
It took all that effort to get it.
The fish has taken the bait.