Huang Xiu had always only regarded Yun Ning as a senior student.
It was only after their all-nighter at the internet cafe that she truly acknowledged him, considering him a friend she could get along with, even a buddy.
To think she liked Yun Ning—that was truly laughable.
To be honest, before Wen Erya even asked, Huang Xiu had never considered such a thing; the thought had never crossed her mind.
She wasn’t sure if Wen Erya would believe her words.
‘After all, it’s not like I can grab Senior Sister Wen Erya’s clothes and say, “Believe me, believe me!”‘
Wen Erya nodded thoughtfully. “Is that so? It seems I’ve misunderstood you and Yun Ning.”
“After all, you two are so close; you really look like a couple in the ambiguous early stages of a relationship. I probably wasn’t the only one to misunderstand,” she said with a smile.
“Misunderstanding, huh…”
Wen Erya’s words made Huang Xiu suddenly realize that she and Yun Ning did seem to be a little too close.
They went on missions together, and they teamed up together.
They were always chatting on their phones, and recently, they even played games together in duo queue on weekends.
And damn it, they even reached Gold rank by duo queuing in the bot lane…
From an outsider’s perspective, their relationship truly seemed abnormally close.
So… should she keep her distance?
Huang Xiu secretly shook her head. It was both unnecessary and, for now, impossible for her to do so.
Her current network of relationships with Yun Ning was intricately woven together.
They were fellow disciples from the same master, gaming friends, and teammates for the upcoming Grand Dao Competition.
How could she possibly maintain a distance?
And besides…
‘If it were anyone else I was this close to, I might worry about them misunderstanding my feelings. But it’s Yun Ning!’
Huang Xiu sneered inwardly.
This Senior Sister was truly blunt.
She didn’t care much for others’ opinions.
“The pure remain pure. I don’t care what others think,” Huang Xiu said casually. “I’m not some little girl who’s concerned about her reputation. And if they misunderstand, then let them. It’ll also help me fend off those annoying advances.”
“Alright, I was just saying. It’s good that you know, Junior Sister.”
The bell for the end of class rang precisely, and Wen Erya stood up.
Amidst the melodious ringing, she smiled faintly and softly said, “Since you truly don’t like Yun Ning, then I’ll make my move.”
“???”
Huang Xiu was utterly bewildered. Was this… a direct confession?
Curiosity, disbelief, a sense of betrayal and deception, and a hint of panic at the thought of losing a friend—these emotions intertwined.
With an extremely complex expression, she asked, “Senior Sister, the person you like is Yun Ning? Were all those words just a test?”
“Yes!”
Wen Erya pulled off her hairband, and her soft, long hair cascaded like a waterfall over one shoulder.
“I don’t want to beat around the bush anymore. Talking like that is just too exhausting; it’s not my personality.”
“I simply like Yun Ning. I’ve liked him for two years.”
She declared loudly, seemingly unconcerned if anyone nearby overheard their conversation.
But Huang Xiu was afraid!
She quickly whispered, “Senior Sister, quiet down, quiet down!”
Wen Erya realized she had been a bit too excited. Noticing a few curious glances from around them, she lowered her voice.
“Those words weren’t a test. Did I lie? You and Yun Ning are so close; I truly did misunderstand you two.”
“I don’t know if what you just said was true or false,” she said, looking down at Huang Xiu. “But if you like Yun Ning, I will absolutely not give him up easily. Let’s compete fairly.”
“But… I really don’t like him!” Huang Xiu finished, instinctively shrinking back like a timid hamster.
Senior Sister Wen Erya’s imposing aura was simply too strong.
The desperate intensity gained from close combat with Void Realm creatures overwhelmed her, making it hard to breathe.
“Come!” Wen Erya generously extended her hand.
Huang Xiu paused, then grasped her hand, using the leverage to stand up from the arena.
Taking a step forward, Wen Erya embraced Huang Xiu, whispering softly into her ear:
“On the campus-wide dating day, I couldn’t get Yun Ning to go out with me.
You can try too, but if you truly like Yun Ning, try to ask him out! If you can do it, I’ll concede defeat.”
The warm breath accompanying her words tickled Huang Xiu’s earlobe, leaving it both numb and tingling.
Her jade-white earlobe, along with the skin near her ear, turned crimson.
She pushed Wen Erya away, somewhat exasperated. “I’ll ask out a big ghost!”
She had already said she didn’t like Yun Ning, so why wouldn’t they believe her?
A monk, even if he was a good person, what was there to like about him? A woman who couldn’t live without a man!
With that, she picked up her wooden spear, flung it with a *swish*, and it plunged into a nearby weapon rack.
Huang Xiu left the training room without looking back, leaving only the weapon rack trembling along with the vibrating spear.
Despite realizing it and lowering their voices, it was ultimately too late.
Someone in the class had overheard parts of Huang Xiu and Wen Erya’s conversation.
Two names on the Alluring Beauties List, even the fourth and fifth, were rumored to be fighting over a certain boy.
A declaration of fair competition was made.
But one seemed to have the upper hand…
Such explosive news instantly became the talk of the class after their arduous cultivation.
With many mouths, it was harder to keep a secret.
Naturally, this conversation spread, escalating further and further.
It even reached the forums, becoming a hot topic for days, with numerous outrageous versions appearing.
Some said Wen Erya and Yun Ning were childhood sweethearts, but the childhood friend couldn’t compete with the sudden appearance of Huang Xiu, and Wen Erya, unwilling to accept defeat, sought her out.
Others claimed Huang Xiu was the third party, enticing Yun Ning to cheat.
However, in every version, Yun Ning was rarely slandered.
After all, the boy was just a little handsome; why should two girls fall for him?
“What in the damn world is this?!”
In her bedroom, looking at the absurd posts on the forum, Huang Xiu felt that she was truly beyond redemption now.
Her innocence was…
“So, Sister Xiu, do you really like Senior Yun Ning?” Ying Zhiyu asked curiously.
“Even you’re asking, still asking!” Huang Xiu’s sore spot was poked; Ying Zhiyu was right beside her, yet couldn’t see the truth of the matter.
Enraged, Huang Xiu instantly transformed into a motherly Vi, performing a Vault Breaker to grab the fleeing Ying Zhiyu, giving her a thorough beating.
She only let go when Ying Zhiyu tearfully begged for mercy.
“My bad, Sister Xiu, I won’t ask again next time.”
Rubbing her forehead, which stung from Huang Xiu’s flick, Ying Zhiyu held Huang Xiu’s hand with her right and soothed her.
“Sister Xiuxiu, don’t be angry. These people are all bad guys.”
Huang Xiu glanced at Ying Zhiyu, her eyes conveying an unspoken meaning—*If they are bad guys, are you a good egg?*
*Are you a bad guy too?*
****
Ying Zhiyu had gone overboard.
“Ah Xiu, if you mind it, you could actually clarify things,” Jia Qianrou offered.
“Forget it, let it be.”
Huang Xiu had given up.
“Anyway, they’re just temporarily excited. A few words won’t hurt me. And since they think this way, fewer annoying people will come to hit on me in the future.”
She didn’t plan on finding a boyfriend anyway, so if her reputation was gone, it was gone!
It would also bring her some peace and quiet.
The phone in her pocket vibrated, and Huang Xiu casually pulled it out to see who had sent the message.
“You two go on. Let me rest alone for a bit.”
Waving off her two roommates, she opened her phone and clicked into the chat.
[Yun Ning: Junior Sister, this is my fault, I apologize. I’ll clarify things online.]
****
Yun Ning rarely looked at forums.
Due to his abilities, his days were always packed.
Training and studying already occupied most of his time, not to mention having to make time for game practice recently.
Browsing forums, a meaningless activity, was naturally not on his daily to-do list.
So, as the person directly involved, he might not have known what was happening if Li Qinyue hadn’t mentioned it, keeping him in the dark.
It was Wednesday.
He was training in the Student Union’s exclusive training room as usual, and Li Qinyue was also there.
Just as Yun Ning was about to begin his next set, he was suddenly called over by Li Qinyue.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“Come with me,” Li Qinyue turned and led Yun Ning to the lounge next to the training room.
“Xiao Ning, do you like Huang Xiu?”
Yun Ning: “???”
“Huh?” He uttered his greatest expression of confusion ever, questioning his hearing for the first time.
“Did I mishear something? Could you please repeat that, Senior Sister?”
“I said, Yun Ning, do you like Huang Xiu?” Li Qinyue repeated.
This time, Yun Ning heard it clearly and could no longer keep his composure.
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“Huang Xiu and I are just fellow disciples, just like you and I are Senior Sister and Junior Brother,” he clarified.
Li Qinyue showed Yun Ning her phone. “But that’s what everyone on the forum is saying! They’ve even started listing how many times you two have eaten together in the cafeteria!”
Her face held a teasing expression and a hint of a knowing smile as she gently bumped Yun Ning with her shoulder. “We’re fellow disciples; why hide it from me? Confess honestly, when did you fall for her?”
“I really haven’t!”
Yun Ning was somewhat helpless. He said earnestly, “Huang Xiu and I have a good relationship, but it’s really not at that stage.”
“Then you truly have no feelings at all?” Li Qinyue persisted.
“You understand Xiao Xiu’s current state; she’s still stuck between genders. If you could really win her over and help her recognize her own gender, that would be a great achievement!” she said with a laugh.
At that point, the teachers and school leaders would all thank him.
“Otherwise, if she reaches the Gold Rank, especially the Turbid World Rank, it will truly be too late to deal with this matter.”
Advancing from the Turbid World Rank to the Star Brocade Rank requires the unity of body and mind.
This meant that if Huang Xiu still believed herself to be male by then, unable to achieve unity of body and mind, she would be stuck at the Turbid World Rank.
As a rare genius who hadn’t appeared in a long time, the school and her master’s expectations for Huang Xiu certainly extended beyond the Turbid World Rank—a realm she could reach with a single tremor.
They envisioned her reaching the Star Antimony Rank and the even higher Transcendent Rank.
She knew that Old Scoundrel Yuan Fei was already grooming Huang Xiu as his successor.
In her freshman year… he had already contacted Tiangong Group for her, arranging a Void Art plan to participate in the Martial Arts Tournament.
She had twice ventured into the Dragon’s Den, solely to ensure her peaceful growth.
Such treatment… even Li Qinyue, also a disciple of Yuan Fei, couldn’t help but feel a touch of jealousy.
However, she also understood that this tumultuous world needed Awakened individuals of the Star Antimony Rank, and even more so, higher-ranked Awakened individuals.
“Precisely for this reason, I cannot discuss these matters,” Yun Ning said with a bitter smile, shaking his head.
“Huang Xiu… she has a good relationship with me, but she hasn’t clarified her own gender yet.”
“I know her past, I know her history,” he said, looking at Li Qinyue with great seriousness.
“If those boys who don’t know her past say they like her, she can easily refuse them. But if I were to say I liked her, her first reaction, believing herself to still be male, would absolutely be awkwardness and embarrassment.”
Awkwardness, embarrassment…
It was precisely because of these feelings that Yun Ning had never, in his heart, treated Huang Xiu as someone he could like.
If not for several times during their interactions, when he’d noticed her beautiful face and graceful demeanor, he might have continued to call her Junior Brother and treat her as such.
“Moreover, don’t you understand Huang Xiu? With her incredibly awkward and stubborn personality, and her tendency to cut off contact at the slightest disagreement…
She would probably try to withdraw from school directly and leave Tiandu University completely.”
“Indeed…” Li Qinyue nodded.
“When she went to buy underwear with Huang Xiu back then, she noticed that the other party’s ultimate bottom line could not be breached no matter what.”
“But dropping out should be impossible,” she denied. “No one would agree, and she has nowhere else to go.”
“What if she goes back to being a shut-in? She can support herself by playing games,” Yun Ning joked, but Li Qinyue didn’t laugh. “Then I’ll tie her up and bring her back.”
“In any case, you must understand my meaning.”
Yun Ning’s face was serious. “No matter if I eventually fall for Huang Xiu or not, the person who makes her realize her own identity can be anyone else! It absolutely cannot be me!”
“She can fall in love with anyone, but it will never be me,” he emphasized again.
“Alright,” Li Qinyue sighed.
She had initially been quite fond of the idea of Huang Xiu and Yun Ning as a couple, but since Yun Ning had said so, it seemed there was truly no hope.
“Then what about the forum and Xiao Xiu? Now the forum is spreading rumors about the three of you…” Li Qinyue asked.
“Regarding the forum, Senior Sister, please find the club president and ask him to help control the comments,” Yun Ning said. “As for me, I’ll go clarify things with Junior Sister Huang Xiu and Wen Erya.”
The Seekers’ Society president was the vice-moderator of the school forum, possessing extensive permissions on it.
As long as he agreed to intervene, controlling the public opinion on the school forum would be effortless.
“I have to go find that annoying person again…” Li Qinyue sighed, saying helplessly, “Fine, who told me I’m your Senior Sister!”