Time skipped forward, and a day had soon passed.
In an inconspicuous corner on the second floor of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Tool Engineer Academy library, two figures sat with their heads propped up, engrossed in their books.
One was Huo Yuhao, who was calculating data in his mind while waiting; the other was a girl with chestnut hair and glasses—Ju Zi.
About a month ago, Huo Yuhao had been reading in the library as usual when, by chance, he encountered the Sister Ju Zi who had been inextricably entangled with him in his previous life. One could only call it a cruel twist of fate.
Huo Yuhao did not choose to escape or distance himself. Instead, he followed his heart and chose to approach Ju Zi. Later, through their conversations, he learned the reason she was here.
Ju Zi had been arranged by Xu Tianran to enter the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Tool Engineer Academy to study soul tool knowledge. Her previous exposure to the subject had been fragmented, which was why she chose to come to the library to cram.
According to Ju Zi, once she reached the level of a 4th-rank soul tool engineer, Xu Tianran would arrange a teacher for her. Currently, she was working hard toward that goal.
"Yuhao, how do you solve this problem?"
Suddenly, Ju Zi leaned in cautiously from the side, pushing a problem she had transcribed into her notebook toward Huo Yuhao and whispering her question.
Because they were in a library where loud noises were forbidden, Ju Zi intentionally used soul power to suppress her voice so that only Huo Yuhao could hear her.
However, seeing how practiced she was at asking questions, it clearly wasn't the first time.
Huo Yuhao naturally paused the calculations in his mind and looked at the problem in Ju Zi's notebook.
Hmm... it was a somewhat difficult problem, roughly at the level of a 3rd-rank soul tool engineer.
Without hesitation, relying on pure muscle memory, Huo Yuhao began to write out the solution process, explaining softly as he wrote:
"This problem is quite simple; it mainly concerns the arrangement of the soul tool array circuits..."
Huo Yuhao's voice wasn't loud. Under the suppression of soul power, it was also audible only to Ju Zi. To hear more clearly, Ju Zi unconsciously leaned even closer to him.
Their bodies inadvertently pressed together.
A total personal foul, hey!
The hand Huo Yuhao was using to write stalled for a split second, but it quickly returned to normal. Having seen his fair share of great storms, Huo Yuhao wouldn't be so easily rattled.
Meanwhile, Ju Zi, who was focused intently on Huo Yuhao's writing process, felt the corners of her mouth curl up slightly.
Was she doing it on purpose? Not exactly, but to say it was an accident... wouldn't be entirely true either.
Despite having known this junior student for less than a month, Ju Zi already found herself wanting to be closer to him.
Was it love? No. It was more... perhaps a form of reliance, like two of the same kind huddling together for warmth after finding each other.
Her meeting Huo Yuhao was a pure accident, but it was that accident that allowed her to discover this "treasure junior"! No matter the problem, this young junior could answer it with ease!
Furthermore, his explanations were clear, organized, and easy to understand, which greatly accelerated her learning efficiency!
Of course, that wasn't the most important part. The most important part was that the food this junior made was truly, incredibly delicious!
It was almost funny—from the food he made, she actually tasted the "flavor of her father." Ha... since then, her greatest daily pleasure was perhaps looking forward to the meals her junior brought her!
Naturally, this wasn't the only reason Ju Zi wanted to be so close to him after just one month.
She still remembered the first time she ate the roasted fish he made. Because of that familiar taste and the excessive deliciousness of the fish, she had unconsciously lowered her guard and begun to talk about her dream.
That dream of "flattening the Star Luo Empire."
She hated war because war had taken her father's life, but she wanted revenge for him. Razing Star Luo was her entire reason for existing...
To be honest, saying such things usually sounded quite ridiculous.
A sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl still hovering around Rank 30, whose martial soul had zero combat power and whose soul tool engineer talent was merely passable, actually uttered the wild boast of "flattening Star Luo."
However... her junior didn't laugh.
She remembered deeply that after she spoke those words that day, Huo Yuhao had said, half-jokingly and half-seriously:
"Star Luo? Isn't that a bit small? We should use a torrent of soul tools to completely crush the pride of the three empires, letting those three empires—which are decaying without even knowing it—vanish into thin air entirely... Wouldn't that be more interesting than just flattening the Star Luo Empire?"
At the time, her junior was smiling as he said it, but his eyes were filled with nothing but coldness.
He was serious. Ju Zi recognized that clearly, and it was at that moment that she sensed a familiar scent from him.
It was the scent of hatred—a pure, unadulterated hatred that had settled over time.
Because of this, she began to move toward Huo Yuhao uncontrollably.
If Huo Yuhao weren't so young right now, she probably... wouldn't have been able to help herself long ago.
But this current state was also quite nice. Every day she could enjoy the food he brought, receive his guidance, and during that guidance, she could even hold the fragrant and soft little junior. It was truly a state of supreme happiness!
She felt as if she were so happy she had forgotten her troubles.
"...In summary, that's how you solve this problem. Do you understand, Sister Ju Zi?"
"Mhm, thank you, Yuhao!"
Ju Zi spoke with extreme satisfaction. Then, without hesitation, she left a gentle kiss on Huo Yuhao's cheek. "This is your reward~"
Ju Zi blinked, her eyes narrowing slightly as she leaned in close. Her dark red eyes carried a hint of a smile.
Clearly, Ju Zi had no intention of hiding her feelings.
The moment she drew near, a scent of tangerine wafted over—the unique scent belonging to Ju Zi.
Huo Yuhao was slightly stunned but quickly regained his composure. How should he put it? This wasn't the first time.
Compared to a certain gluttonous Dragon King, Ju Zi was obviously much more proactive. Huo Yuhao even suspected that if his age didn't forbid it, he would have been devoured skin and bone by this highly aggressive Sister Ju Zi long ago...
He was just about to speak when, in the next moment, a voice suddenly rang out:
"What are the two of you doing?!"
In an instant, Huo Yuhao's body stiffened instinctively. He spun around quickly to see a young girl with her hands on her hips and an unfriendly gaze.
It was Meng Hongchen.
She had clearly come to the library on her grandfather's orders to find Huo Yuhao to discuss some matters, only to witness this scene the moment she arrived!!!
Who is this woman! Who gave you permission to hold my Yuhao!!!
Miss Meng was currently very angry. She hadn't expected her "home base" to be raided like this!!!
Stepping forward, she reached out, grabbed Huo Yuhao, and pulled him toward her own embrace. Miss Meng chose to declare her sovereignty.
Ju Zi blinked and smiled, appearing completely unbothered.
Meng Hongchen: ?!!!
This opponent! She's very troublesome!