"Brother An Zhen, shouldn't you explain things clearly to Yu Tong?"
The small loli gently patted her disheveled clothes with two slender hands, then crossed her arms, her expression cool as she spoke.
Huo Yutong wasn't a clueless fool.
She had suddenly appeared in such strange clothes, her small white-stockinged feet held up to his chin, and he already knew she was a girl. When did he find out? Was Brother An Zhen's kindness towards her all a lie?
"Indeed, I should explain," An Zhen said, nodding gently with a serious expression.
"So, Little Yu Tong, do you want to know why you appeared here, or if my kindness towards you is real or fake?"
Her thin cherry lips were pressed tightly together, a mix of emotions swirling in the loli's heart. She didn't even refute An Zhen's way of addressing her, standing rooted to the spot, a little lost.
Could this rare kindness…
Huo Yutong didn't have much, but every bit she did have was extremely precious to her.
Reaching out, the loli two meters away instantly appeared in An Zhen's arms. Facing Huo Yutong's struggle, the young man spoke, "Here, you can consider it a dream World. It's the ability of my Spirit."
"Snap!"
An Zhen snapped his fingers.
A small and adorable figure appeared before the two of them, her clothes fluttering, instantly stunning the struggling Huo Yutong. Her eyes widened, "Is that me?"
Aside from the dress, that figure was exactly like her.
"Want to check? Whether it's the outside or the inside, it's a one-to-one recreation~"
Following An Zhen's will, the puppet slowly walked over, pulling at the hem of its dress with both hands.
"Don't!"
Huo Yutong, her cheeks as red as apples, reached out and covered An Zhen's eyes.
Why cover my eyes?
Shouldn't she be pushing the puppet down?
Alright, if she doesn't want me to look, then I won't. It's not like I haven't seen it before.
He dispelled the puppet.
"As for why Little Yu Tong came here, it might be because of the improvement in my strength, and my Spirit has developed a new ability."
It was like this before. After obtaining his first spirit ring, An Zhen had accidentally imprinted Meng Hongchen's template, even without a second spirit ring. The reason was that the spirit ring itself was the key for him to unlock the abilities of this World. The abilities and authority were already within his body; he could inherently do these things.
Therefore, apart from the breakthrough in spirit power, the spirit ring was completely optional for An Zhen.
"So that's how it is."
The loli sitting on An Zhen's lap showed a thoughtful expression, her two white-stockinged feet gently swinging in the air. Huo Yutong felt as if it were a lucid dream, like her mother had told her about, where one could do anything in a dream.
However, what she cared about more now was, "So, is Brother An Zhen's kindness towards me truly out of goodwill?"
"Not entirely."
Is he a bad person…
Her dark blue eyes dimmed slightly, as if losing their light. The small loli jumped from An Zhen's lap to the ground, "Thank you for your previous help, Student An Zhen. After I go back, I will return Student An Zhen's belongings. Whatever reward or anything else Student An Zhen wants, I will repay it."
An Zhen remained silent, propping his chin with one hand, watching the loli's retreating back as she walked further and further away, her Spirits low.
Before long, a light door opened beside An Zhen. The dejected loli, who was only looking down as she walked, directly bumped into An Zhen's embrace.
"Still haven't figured it out?"
Sighing helplessly, An Zhen gently tapped the loli's brow. In his World, where could this little girl go?
Under the loli's bewildered gaze, a pair of hands directly pulled her into an embrace. The scent of a different gender instantly enveloped Huo Yutong's senses. "When a boy is very kind to a girl his age, what do you think he's planning?"
"?"
The loli was puzzled.
"Σ(°△°|||)︴"
The loli was shocked.
"(⁄⁄▽⁄⁄)"
The loli was shy.
It couldn't… it couldn't be what she was thinking, could it?
Her blushing little face quietly lifted, meeting a pair of eyes full of smiles. The timid little deer instantly lowered her head.
"Yu Tong hasn't encountered such things before, has she? Generally speaking, a boy inviting a girl to dinner without any reason is equivalent to expressing his good feelings for her."
Saying such things at this age, if it were An Zhen's previous life, both sets of parents would definitely scold them.
However, in this Love Continent, it was very normal, equivalent to puppy love in high school in his previous life.
"No… no."
"Ah, then it seems I acted fast. Since that's the case, this adorable girl belongs to me."
What was this all about?
Her fair little hands pushed against An Zhen's chest, her flushed cheeks betraying her confusion, her mind a complete mess.
Huo Yutong yearned for the love that Teacher Xiaoya and Senior Brother spoke of. But the sudden intimacy and another's affection flustered the loli, who had never encountered such knowledge before.
"I'm sorry, Brother An Zhen, I don't know how to respond to you, but I don't want to accept your kindness for nothing. I will definitely repay it," the loli standing on the ground said seriously, and she didn't think she had anything worth being liked for.
Having understood the reason, she unconsciously reverted to her original address, Huo Yutong still intended to refuse his kindness.
"Alright," An Zhen agreed immediately, nodding.
The self-respecting and self-reliant little loli was wonderful.
But your refusal doesn't mean I can't treat you.
"However, I also have some questions." An Zhen sat on the bed, a hint of confusion appearing on his somewhat childish face. "Why did Little Yu Tong come to Shrek Academy disguised as a boy?"
"I…"
The loli was momentarily speechless.
"It's alright." An Zhen gently shook his head. "Everyone has their own secrets. I'm not someone who likes to pry."
"But coming to Shrek Academy, Little Yu Tong must be for getting stronger, right? And it will definitely be inconvenient when a roommate arrives later."
"Mm."
The loli nodded seriously. "If a new roommate comes, I plan to sleep fully clothed every day."
"But that will ultimately be inconvenient. I have a suggestion: you can move into my dorm. Actually, I was going to tell you during the day, but I didn't have a suitable reason at the time and was afraid Little Yu Tong would misunderstand."
An Zhen remembered that Wang Dong only arrived the day after Huo Yuhao in the original novel. But with his intervention, he didn't know if they would still be in the same dorm. If they were, then forget it.
"In the same dorm as Brother An Zhen?"
For some reason, Huo Yutong suddenly recalled the puppet that looked exactly like her, and how she had been held in Brother An Zhen's arms, her white-stockinged feet pressed against Brother An Zhen's chin, and also these strange clothes.
According to Brother An Zhen, her body here was also like that puppet. Could it be that Brother An Zhen learned her gender through this method?
"Brother An Zhen wouldn't do anything strange to Yu Tong, would he?" The loli implicitly accepted An Zhen's way of addressing her.
"Of course. That was just a puppet earlier. To the real Yu Tong, without Yu Tong's permission, I will absolutely not do anything out of line."
"Then Yu Tong agrees."
Huo Yutong still decided to agree. Although Brother An Zhen had pressed her feet against his chin earlier and dressed that puppet in such strange clothes, Brother An Zhen was a good person.
"Good!"
"Since that's the case, let's cultivate meditation. My Spirit has the ability to accelerate cultivation."