"Welcome, new students, to Shrek Academy."
The broadcast outside the dormitory kept playing as Huo Yuhao walked quietly toward the building, carrying a bag of burgers.
Downstairs, Mu En still lay there, his faint signs of life wavering like a candle guttering in the wind.
Huo Yuhao approached with a burger. "Old sir, have a burger. I bought a few too many."
Without waiting for Mu En to refuse, Huo Yuhao put the burger down and went upstairs.
Mu En said nothing, as though he had fallen asleep. Only the slight movement of his fingers proved he was awake.
Huo Yuhao went upstairs, opened the door, tidied his things, laid out his bedding, and lay straight down.
Wang Dong'er had not arrived yet, but he did not mind.
After all, with that fellow up in the heavens meddling, his roommate could not possibly be anyone else.
As these thoughts drifted through his mind, Huo Yuhao closed his eyes.
Who knew how much time passed.
Bang!
The dormitory door was slammed open. Huo Yuhao slowly rolled over, found a comfortable position, and kept sleeping.
A youth stood in the doorway, with short blue-and-pink hair and an exquisitely beautiful face. "He" stared at Huo Yuhao, sleeping soundly on the bed.
Wang Dong frowned, sniffed, and wore a look of disgust.
"Hey?"
"I'm talking to you!"
Huo Yuhao slept comfortably, as though he had not heard a thing.
Wang Dong immediately grew annoyed. He was certain this fellow was doing it deliberately, pretending not to hear him.
Putting down her bedding, she raised one long leg high into the air and brought it crashing down at Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao yawned and rolled up into a sitting position. Wang Dong's attack just brushed the hem of his clothes, missing him entirely.
"My roommate? There are burgers on the table. Help yourself. I'm going to sleep a little longer."
Huo Yuhao pointed at the burgers on the table and started to lie back down to keep sleeping.
"Get up!"
Wang Dong twisted at the waist, sweeping her lower leg straight toward Huo Yuhao's face.
Unexpectedly, Huo Yuhao leaned backward, just managing to dodge it.
Having missed twice, Wang Dong could only pull back her long leg and stamp hard on the floor to vent her anger.
"Hey, listen up. My name is Wang Dong."
"Huo Yuhao."
Wang Dong then began laying out her demands.
"Since you're living in this room too, there are a few rules you'd better remember."
"First, don't bring people back to the room without permission."
"Second, don't walk around naked in the room and disgust me."
"Third, no snoring at night."
"Fourth, don't disturb me."
"Fifth, cleaning the room is your responsibility."
Huo Yuhao frowned and waved a hand. "No. Whatever it is, let's talk after I wake up."
He really could not be bothered with these unreasonable demands.
Wang Dong was truly furious. This person did not take her seriously at all. She had to teach him a lesson!
"Huo Yuhao, since you won't listen to me, I'll beat you out of here. Try me if you don't believe it!"
Wang Dong reached for Huo Yuhao's bedding, intending to throw him straight out.
A large hand caught his wrist. No matter how much strength he used, he could not budge it in the slightest.
"What exactly do you want? A fight?" Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, utterly helpless.
"That's right!"
"Once we're done fighting, can I go to sleep?"
"You could put it that way. After all, you'll soon be sleeping out on the street," Wang Dong said through gritted teeth.
Huo Yuhao got up and went straight to the door. "Then hurry up. Don't just stand there."
Wang Dong clenched her fists and strode after him.
In the clearing outside the dormitory building, the old man still lay quietly, without moving at all.
Only the burger Huo Yuhao had left with him had disappeared.
Huo Yuhao came downstairs and picked through the bushes until he found a three-inch-long twig, which he took in his hand.
The old man's dim eyes slowly opened, a trace of curiosity flashing in their depths.
The two stood facing each other. A glimmer flashed through Huo Yuhao's eyes, and martial soul markings appeared at their corners and between his brows.
A lustrous white soul ring rose beneath his feet as Huo Yuhao took his stance.
Wang Dong still stood there arrogantly. Looking disdainfully at his ten-year soul ring, she crooked a finger. "You don't really think you can beat me with that little twig, do you?"
"Whatever you say. If you're going to fight, hurry up." With that, Huo Yuhao pushed off the ground and charged straight at Wang Dong.
Wang Dong immediately took her stance. In his eyes, Huo Yuhao's movements were far too slow. He raised a leg and kicked.
Huo Yuhao moved his hand, bringing the twig across to block. He swiftly stepped to the right, reached out to seize his ankle, and used the momentum to move to Wang Dong's right side.
Smack!
The twig swept out in his hand, striking Wang Dong squarely on her pert backside.
"Ah...!"
Wang Dong cried out in surprise, her whole body stiffening as her cheeks instantly flushed scarlet with embarrassment.
"Huo Yuhao!"
Shocked and angry, Wang Dong sharply twisted at the waist, turning her body and wrenching her ankle free of Huo Yuhao's grip.
Her left leg instantly drew back, then lashed out again. This time, he aimed for Huo Yuhao's neck.
Huo Yuhao's expression remained unchanged. His wrist turned, and with a slight movement, the twig thrust straight toward Wang Dong's chest.
In his eyes, every move Wang Dong made was full of openings. The instant they met, he had already unleashed countless sword strikes at a speed no one could see, but each time, just before contact, he withdrew the twig and returned to his original movement.
He was so fast that even Wang Dong failed to react.
Watching the twig thrust toward her, Wang Dong inwardly cried out in alarm and started drawing back her leg to block.
Suddenly, he felt himself kick something. Before he could pull his leg back, Huo Yuhao fell straight to the ground in front of him.
I kicked him?
Even Wang Dong was puzzled.
Seated in the distance, Mu En watched the scene, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Again!"
Gritting his teeth, Huo Yuhao quickly scrambled up from the ground, still gripping the twig, and assumed a sword stance.
Wang Dong immediately became certain she had kicked him just now. Although it felt strange, she did not dwell on it.
Her feet tapped lightly against the ground, and she shot forward like an arrow. Those long legs were exceptionally nimble, carrying Wang Dong before Huo Yuhao in a few darting movements in the blink of an eye. She raised her right leg and stamped toward his chest.
Huo Yuhao flicked the twig upward, but just as it was about to reach Wang Dong's chin, he kicked Huo Yuhao off balance again, sending him rolling backward several times before he barely managed to stop.
Wang Dong pressed her advantage, striding forward and pushing off the ground to spring into the air. Her long leg whipped through the air with a whistling rush and crashed straight onto Huo Yuhao's shoulder.
Huo Yuhao grunted. The twig in his hand suddenly struck with force, chopping toward Wang Dong's waist.
At the instant of contact, he used too much force, and the twig snapped straight in two.
Then Huo Yuhao's legs gave way. With both hands braced against Wang Dong's lower leg, he fell.
Wang Dong hurriedly pulled back her leg to avoid being dragged to the ground by Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao quickly got up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and waved a hand.
He sighed helplessly, stared at the night sky, then headed straight for the stairs.
"I admit defeat. You're very strong. I can't beat you."
Watching Huo Yuhao's bedraggled figure, Wang Dong softened for a moment and could only insist, "You can sleep in the room, but you still have to follow the rules."
Mu En watched Huo Yuhao go upstairs, the smile at the corners of his mouth deepening. "What an interesting child."
Wang Dong lingered in the clearing for a while, then headed toward the stairs. As she reached the stairway-
"Child, do you think you truly won?"
An aged voice sounded beside Wang Dong's ear. She sharply turned her head. The old man on the reclining chair was watching him with cloudy eyes.
Unconvinced, Wang Dong shouted, "The facts are right in front of us. A win is a win, isn't it? I didn't lose to him!"
The old man smiled kindly and pointed at the twig broken in two on the ground. "If he'd been holding a sword instead of a twig, you would have died at least three times just now."
Wang Dong looked at the two broken pieces of twig, recalling the fight just now, and found she could not refute the old man's words.
He bowed deeply to the old man and said respectfully, "Thank you, Grandpa. I understand."
With that, he walked back to the room.
Huo Yuhao was already asleep in bed. Clear moonlight shone on his profile, lending it an indescribable beauty.
Wang Dong stared at the scene, somewhat entranced. Only after a good while did she come back to herself, a faint blush on her cheeks.
He hurriedly made his bed and stuffed his luggage into the cabinet, then noticed the burgers Huo Yuhao had left on the table.
Wang Dong picked up the paper bag from the table. The burger was still slightly warm. She opened it and took a small bite. Gazing at Huo Yuhao's moonlit profile, he felt a little regretful about treating Huo Yuhao that way.
After finishing the burger, Wang Dong picked up a rag and began cleaning the room, as a way of making it up to Huo Yuhao.
On the bed, Huo Yuhao rolled over, revealing a sly smile.