This counselor was so soft she seemed boneless! Bro, you really aren't signing up?

Shen Ruoxi froze for two seconds before she realized what position she was in.

She was practically half-reclining in Lin Bei's arms, and his broad, warm palm was pressed snugly against her lower abdomen.

The stream of warmth that had saved her life had come from that very hand.

The string called reason in Shen Ruoxi's mind snapped in an instant.

Her fair neck flushed red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

She jerked upright as though electrocuted and frantically pushed at Lin Bei's chest.

But the pain had nearly drained her earlier. Though it had eased now, she still had no strength in her limbs.

Instead of pushing Lin Bei away, she lost her balance and pitched off the bench.

Lin Bei reacted swiftly, scooping her up with his left hand and firmly supporting the small of her back.

So soft.

That was the first thought that popped into Lin Bei's head.

This woman was usually as cold and aloof as an iceberg. He hadn't expected her waist to be so soft; even through her blouse, he could feel its astonishing suppleness and fullness.

"Teacher Shen, be careful." Lin Bei's tone was even. Once he had steadied her, he discreetly withdrew his hand, without the slightest sleazy air of taking advantage.

Shen Ruoxi hurriedly straightened her rumpled skirt and blouse collar. Right now, she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Here I am, a counselor, being held in a freshman's arms while he touches my belly, right in front of all these students!

If word gets out, how will I ever face anyone at Jinghai University again?

"Ma'am, are you okay? Shouldn't you go to the campus clinic anyway?" The girl with glasses beside them worked up the courage to approach and ask.

Shen Ruoxi drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her racing heart.

She knew she absolutely couldn't show weakness at a time like this.

"I'm fine." Shen Ruoxi tried to keep her voice steady, putting on an air of breezy composure. "Just a little low blood sugar. I suddenly got dizzy and lost my footing."

Low blood sugar?

Standing beside her, Lin Bei was secretly laughing.

This woman really cares about saving face.

It was clearly a flare-up of uterine cold, yet she's insisting it was low blood sugar.

But Lin Bei wasn't that lacking in emotional intelligence. Naturally, he wasn't going to expose her lie now.

"Yeah, low blood sugar can be pretty dangerous."

Lin Bei slipped both hands back into the pockets of his camouflage pants and took the opening she had given him.

"Teacher Shen, remember to carry a piece of chocolate when you go out from now on. If I hadn't happened to pass by and catch you, you probably would've cracked your head open."

Shen Ruoxi paused and looked up at Lin Bei.

The young man's gaze was clear and frank, without the slightest hint of mockery or an attempt to claim credit. Instead, he was helping cover for her.

A complicated feeling she couldn't quite describe suddenly welled up inside her.

This kid looks so carefree, but he's actually quite thoughtful.

"Thank you." Shen Ruoxi assumed her counselor's bearing, then turned to the students around them. "And thank you all for your concern. I'll be fine after a little rest. It's getting late, and you have military training tomorrow. Hurry back to your dorms."

Once she brought out her authority as a counselor, the surrounding students could hardly keep standing around watching the spectacle, and they dispersed.

When everyone had gone, only Lin Bei and Shen Ruoxi remained beneath the wisteria-covered walkway.

The atmosphere suddenly grew a little delicate.

Shen Ruoxi kept her head lowered, her fingers unconsciously pinching the hem of her figure-hugging skirt.

The agonizing cramps in her lower abdomen had vanished, replaced by a warm, comfortable sensation.

She wasn't stupid. Of course she knew Lin Bei hadn't been groping her when he pressed his hand there.

"Thank you... for today." After struggling for ages, Shen Ruoxi finally squeezed out the words in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

"It was no trouble." Lin Bei yawned lazily. "But Teacher Shen, you should cut back on chilled watermelon, cold drinks, and things like that. And don't keep sleeping with the air-conditioning blowing on you."

Shen Ruoxi blushed again.

She knew this was Lin Bei's roundabout way of reminding her to watch her uterine cold.

"I understand." Shen Ruoxi really couldn't bear the awkward atmosphere anymore. She turned and walked away in her high heels. "I'll head back first. You should get some rest too."

No matter how one looked at her retreating figure, there was something of a routed soldier fleeing about it.

Lin Bei watched her walk away, chuckled, then turned toward the men's dormitory.

He returned to Room 502.

The moment he pushed open the door, he heard Fatty Wang howling at the top of his lungs.

"Isn't this fucking asking the impossible?! Our School of Economics and Management already has way more guys than girls, and now every class has to put on an act for the welcome party! What are we supposed to do? Go onstage and smash a boulder on someone's chest?!"

Wearing oversized boxers, Fatty paced anxiously around the room.

Liu Chen sat gaming at his computer and chimed in without looking back, "Even boulder-smashing needs an audience. With your build, you could perform a wild boar rooting up the ground. You'd probably win best act of the night."

"Piss off! Go farm your jungle!" Fatty swore, turning just in time to see Lin Bei enter.

His eyes lit up as though he'd spotted his savior, and he lunged straight at him.

"Brother Bei! You're finally back!"

Lin Bei dodged aside in distaste, avoiding Fatty's bear hug. "Spit it out. Keep your hands to yourself."

Fatty thrust his phone screen in front of Lin Bei's face. "The welcome party signup sheet! Our counselor dumped this mess on me, but I've been yelling in the group chat all evening, and not one fucker has so much as farted!"

"Brother Bei, how about getting up there and showing off a little?"

Lin Bei glanced at the screen and yawned.

"Show off what? Go up and demonstrate sleeping on the spot?"

Fatty grew anxious. "Come on! Don't you know martial arts? That move you used to send Zhang Liang flying, what's it called... four ounces deflecting a thousand pounds! Even a tai chi routine would do! You'd absolutely stun the whole crowd!"

Beside them, Chen Mo closed his book, adjusted his glasses, and offered an objective analysis. "Tai chi isn't visually engaging enough. The welcome party needs acts that can get the crowd going. With Lin Bei's looks, singing a song or playing the guitar would go over really well."

"Exactly!" Fatty nodded frantically. "Brother Bei, that face of yours is the best talent there is! Just stand onstage, and all those senior and junior girls will scream their heads off!"

Lin Bei lay down on his bed, comfortably pillowing his head on both hands.

"Not interested."

He refused flatly.

"Why?!" Fatty wouldn't give up. "This is your best chance in all four years of college to stop being single! Don't you want to show off in front of every girl at the university?"

Lin Bei closed his eyes and rolled over.

"Why sign up? Sitting beats standing, and lying down beats sitting. With all that rehearsal time, I'd rather get a couple more naps in the dorm."

At those words, the room fell silent for three seconds.

Then Fatty beat his chest in anguish.

"What a sin! Heaven gave you Daniel Wu's face, but you fucking grew Zhu Bajie's heart! That's called squandering heaven's gifts, understand?!"

From the lower bunk, Liu Chen kicked Lin Bei's bed board and laughed as he cursed him. "Brother Bei, that terminal laziness of yours is beyond saving. You deserve to be single!"

Chen Mo shook his head helplessly too and picked up his book again.

Lin Bei couldn't be bothered with these mortals.

His awareness had already become completely immersed in his body.

He wasn't deliberately cultivating, merely sensing the pure Spiritual Power within his dantian.

After his sinews had been cleansed and his marrow washed, his meridians were now broad and resilient.

The azure Spiritual Power flowed automatically through his eight extraordinary meridians like a cheerful little stream. With every full circulation, his bones and muscles were silently nourished a little more.

Qi Refining First Layer Perfection.

Only a paper-thin windowpane stood between him and a breakthrough to the Qi Refining Second Layer.

Lin Bei knew perfectly well that, whenever he wished, he could take the low-grade spirit stones out of his system space and force his way through the bottleneck.

But he wasn't in a hurry.

Immortal cultivation was all about letting nature take its course.

Besides, his current strength was basically enough to let him walk sideways across Jinghai University.

"Going to sleep. Gotta get up early tomorrow." Lin Bei muttered, rolled over, and soon began breathing steadily.

Fatty was left below, staring at the blank signup sheet, wanting to cry but unable to shed a tear.