Xiao Xiao stepped forward, Jiang Nannan also stepped forward. " Yuhao, how can you talk like that, especially to Dong'er? We're a team, how can you do this?"
"Heh," Huo Yuhao said calmly, "What kind of group is this? If that's the case..."
"I'll just leave the Tang Sect, won't that solve everything?"
"Shouldn't you be satisfied now?"
As Huo Yuhao finished speaking—no, as he left the Tang Sect —everyone looked at Huo Yuhao as if he were a complete stranger.
Xu Sanshi said, " Huo Yuhao, do you know what you're saying?" He rushed up to Huo Yuhao, grabbed him, and said, "You actually said you wanted to leave the Tang Sect!"
Hearing these words, Wang Dong'er's heart shattered; she was in excruciating pain and staggered back a step. " Yuhao, you've changed. You're no longer the person we knew. Who are you?"
"I am who I am," Huo Yuhao 'Huo Yuhao voice was terrifyingly calm.
Jiang Nannan clenched her right fist. " Yuhao, how could you become like this? What are you saying? Do you know what your words mean?"
Huo Yuhao punched Xu Sanshi in the stomach. Xu Sanshi grunted and released his grip. After Huo Yuhao broke free, he said, "If the Tang Sect is a constraint, I'm just freeing myself from it. No one will stay forever. I've done enough for the Tang Sect, enough to repay Sister Xiao Ya and Senior Brother Bei Bei."
Jiang Nannan stepped forward and advised again, " Yuhao, don't say anything extreme. If you take back what you said now, we can pretend we didn't hear it."
Bei Bei spoke then, slowly loosening his grip on her hand. His voice was hoarse. " Yuhao, you're right. What you've done for the Tang Sect is far more than what I, the acting sect leader, have done, or even what Xiao Ya, the sect leader, has done. You've given everything for the Tang Sect, but Tang Sect has given you in return is so little."
"Your emotional outburst this time is understandable, because we have all entrusted the future of the Tang Sect to you. You have given so much to the academy and Tang Sect, more than Tang Sect and the academy can ever repay."
Xiao Xiao was crying at this moment, He Caitou was comforting her.
Zhou Yi said guiltily, " Yuhao, we never considered your feelings. It was our oversight. We forgot that you're not that old, and we've already placed some heavy responsibilities on you. We're truly sorry."
Huo Yuhao ignored everyone. "So, I'm leaving the Tang Sect. Everyone, no objections now?"
Everyone was filled with trepidation, but Bei Bei nodded heavily, "No problem, Yuhao. Thank you for everything you've done for the Tang Sect. I will ensure your name is forever remembered in the Tang Sect, even if you Tang Sect."
Zhou Yi's expression was somewhat unpleasant at this moment, because she was very afraid that Huo Yuhao would say something about withdrawing from the Shrek Academy again.
Huo Yuhao looked at Zhou Yi, his gaze piercing through her. "Don't worry, I have no plans to leave Shrek Academy."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Bei Bei said, "I can accept Yuhao to leave the Tang Sect, but I have a request. Although it's inappropriate to say it like this, please finish the remaining matches for the Tang Sect and then help us rescue Xiao Ya and Sister Xiaotao."
Huo Yuhao said, "Okay, I agree."
As for Wang Dong'er, in a corner where no one paid attention, her eyes were unfocused. " Yuhao, why did you leave Tang Sect? Why did you leave me? Our relationship, our relationship with the Tang Sect, have you forgotten everything? Why did you do this to me?"
Huo Yuhao's voice was eerily calm. "There's no why. I'm just too tired. I don't want to give anything for anything, nor do I want anything in return. I just want to become stronger, and then take my revenge. It's that simple."
Wang Dong'er laughed, a laugh so tragic, staring intently at Huo Yuhao, her eyes filled with fear and confusion. " Yuhao, are you still you? Where did the old Yuhao go? Please give him back to me, give the old Yuhao back!"
Huo Yuhao said, "People change. The Huo Yuhao of the past won't come back."
Wang Dong'er's eyes dimmed completely, and she slumped to the ground.
A deathly silence fell over the crowd as Huo Yuhao walked out.
After leaving, he ran into Wang Qiu'er in the corridor, and the coldness in his eyes receded like the tide.
Huo Yuhao changed his attitude, his expression softening, and asked, " Qiu'er, what are you doing here?"
Wang Qiu'er leaned against the window with her arms crossed. Hearing Huo Yuhao's voice, the tips of her ears turned slightly red. She thought of Huo Yuhao's rude incident, and her face instantly flushed. "It's nothing, I just wanted to come and congratulate you on passing the competition smoothly. Huo Yuhao, you are very strong. I look forward to our next match."
Huo Yuhao chuckled and reached out to ruffle her hair. "Is all you think about in your little head is battles?" This intimate gesture made Wang Qiu'er freeze in place, her eyes widening in surprise.
"You..." she slapped Huo Yuhao's hand away, "At least for now, Huo Yuhao, you are really special, so special that it's hard to look away. However, lately I've noticed that you seem like a different person. Can you tell me why?"
"Did you come here to find me for this answer?" Huo Yuhao's expression suddenly turned displeased. "Why do you all keep making wild guesses about me?"
Wang Qiu'er walked forward in confusion, a girl's fragrance wafting towards her. She said, "Us? Besides me, is there anyone else?"
Huo Yuhao said softly, "That's right, and there are also people from the Tang Sect. I have already left the Tang Sect. After this match, I have no further connection with the Tang Sect."
This doesn't seem like something you could do. Wang Qiu'er took a step forward and began to observe Huo Yuhao.
"People change, Qiu'er, just like you. Aren't you changing now?" Huo Yuhao wanted to stroke her hair again.
Wang Qiu'er took a step back, nodded, and her face flushed. "You're right, people's emotions are diverse. I'm not so surprised that you've changed so much."
Just as Wang Qiu'er turned to leave, Huo Yuhao suddenly said, "If one day I'm no longer myself, would you still be willing to stay by my side?"
Wang Qiu'er stopped in her tracks. She didn't understand why Huo Yuhao would say such a thing, and her face showed confusion. "I don't know."
"Actually, it was you who found another Lovesick Heartbreak Red inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and saved me, right? Otherwise, I would have died there long ago," Huo Yuhao said, pulling Original Huo Yuhao out of the room.
Wang Qiu'er's body trembled, and her voice echoed in surprise, "How did you know? You shouldn't know, you were already seriously injured at that time."
Original Huo Yuhao said, "I know, because I heard your voice in my heart."
He continued, "The condition for using the Lovesick Heartbreak Red' is the heart's blood of a beloved person. You love me, so you used your own heart's blood to save me, right?"
Wang Qiu'er said, "Don't you love Wang Dong'er? Why are you saying such things to me?"
Original Huo Yuhao slowly said, "If I had to put it that way, it's because you already exist in my heart."
Wang Qiu'er's voice trembled, the palpitations in her heart betraying her: Are you crazy?
Original Huo Yuhao suddenly smiled, a smile so gentle it was heartbreaking, "Maybe I really am crazy, but I want to tell you, I like you."
Wang Qiu'er's words softened, and she subconsciously pressed her hand to her heart. "You love me? What does it feel like to love? What does it feel like to be loved?"
Huo Yuhao stepped forward and placed her hand on his chest, letting her feel his rapid heartbeat. "Love has no concrete concept, and loving someone doesn't need a reason. Qiu'er, I want to say, I love you, it's that simple."
Wang Qiu'er gazed into Huo Yuhao's gentle eyes, seemingly about to be captivated by them, but after a short while, she bit her lower lip and asked, "What about Wang Dong'er?"
Original Huo Yuhao's eyes held a complex expression, but it didn't last long. He murmured, "Is Dong'er really still Dong'er?" He looked at Wang Qiu'er, who had her head down, again. "You don't need to give me an answer right away. I'll talk to Dong'er after the competition. I believe she'll accept you then."
Wang Qiu'er looked up. "Alright, let's talk about the answer to this question after the competition."
"Actually, I did have special feelings for you, the same feelings you have now. It's just that I'm not sure," her voice trailed off, "... whether it was love."
P. S.: This part also resonated with me deeply, because when I wrote about Wang Dong'er, I was already thinking about how she would become incredibly Heaven-Defying. But with the new anime, I've developed a strong aversion to the character Huo Yuhao in the anime.
How can I separate the character Huo Yuhao from the anime, and essentially recreate him? I'm not a fan of this or that.
I just wanted Huo Yuhao to stand tall and live a life of integrity. The Huo Yuhao I created, no matter how CS-like, was only for a specific purpose.
The anime on the other side is something I really don't understand. It's like saving someone who's jumped into the water, and then the person asks you why you saved them—it's so Heaven-Defying! This is what people on Douyin (TikTok) are saying to those who have no one to save them.
The original novel of Huo Yuhao at least had a normal way of thinking and a set of values. Now the animation is purely the best domestic CS animation. I was already extremely disappointed with animation, which is why this storyline came out.