Chapter 32: Inner Conflict and Friends

Perhaps due to the continuous battles that had drained a lot of energy, everyone ate a lot, especially Vain and Luo. After eating, they couldn't engage in too much strenuous activity, so the two girls suggested that Teacher Sophina tell a story. Sophina couldn't refuse and had to agree to tell them some of her battle stories.

Everyone listened intently, and every time the teacher mentioned a dangerous situation, they felt anxious for her, even though they knew it was a story from the past. Only Bingzhiye seemed distracted, lost in his own thoughts.

Sophina was very concerned about Bingzhiye. After finishing the story, she beckoned him over: "Bingzhiye, come here."

Bingzhiye sat on a small rock opposite her, and everyone formed a circle around the campfire. Seeing the teacher call him, he didn't know what was going on and obediently went over.

Sophina pulled Bingzhiye into her lap, which made everyone look at them in disbelief.

Bingzhiye was naturally startled and tried to struggle free, but he heard Sophina say, "What's wrong? Is it uncomfortable sitting on the teacher's lap?"

"No... no," Bingzhiye touched his face, which was burning hot, and he became stiff, not daring to move at all. "Teacher, I... why are you... holding me?"

Sophina pressed his shoulder and said, "Don't be so stiff; it makes me uncomfortable too. Relax a bit, don't be so nervous. Just sit back and lean against me, like you're sitting in a chair."

Bingzhiye, being pressed by her, had no choice but to lean back, making him even more stiff. His heart was pounding like a little deer, and he couldn't help but ask, "Teacher Sophina, what are you doing?"

Sophina took off his hat and held it in her hand, pressing her lips to his ear and saying, "Nothing, I just noticed you've been troubled on this journey. I want you to let go of your worries for a moment."

Vain joked, "It's just like what I saw back home, where a mother holds a child to help them pee."

Everyone laughed, and Bingzhiye's face turned even redder, and he glared at Vain angrily.

"Vain, I notice you're a lot like someone I know, always itching to talk," Sophina said, pretending to be angry.

Vain stuck out his tongue and said nothing.

Sophina said to Bingzhiye, "You act like a little adult. How old are you? Always so troubled, you'll age quickly."

"Um, I... I haven't been thinking about anything," Bingzhiye said weakly. In fact, he had been thinking about how different these few days were from his past. He used to move from place to place, never staying long, and even when he did, he was always alone. The time he spent alone in the wild far exceeded the time he spent with others. But these few days at Kulantin in the dormitory felt completely different. Although he was initially very uncomfortable, something inside him seemed to burst out. Despite his efforts to resist this feeling, he found himself really enjoying it, which left him unsure of what to do.

On one hand, he wanted to talk to them and be happy with them, but on the other hand, he was afraid of this new feeling, which made him feel completely different from before.

Bingzhiye was always conflicted, sometimes chatting with them and sometimes being distant and troubled, which made Vain and the others think he was acting cool and aloof. Bingzhiye himself felt confused and didn't know what he was doing.

At first, he just wanted to pretend to be friends with them and act friendly with the people at the academy to get the things inside the Blue Crystal Tower. But before he could get them, he realized his heart wasn't just pretending, which made him, who had never interacted with many people, very distressed and unsure of what to do.

Seeing him lost in thought again, Sophina sighed, "You really have a lot on your mind. Can you tell us what's bothering you?"

"Ah?" Bingzhiye snapped back to reality, "No, nothing, you... you holding me makes me nervous."

"Ha ha ha..." Luo and the others laughed.

"Really!" Sophina shook her head, "What's there to be afraid of? Afraid they'll laugh at you? I'm holding you to help you not get lost in your own world. You have friends around you who need you. You're too isolated."

"Friends?"

Luo said, "Yes, aren't we your friends?"

Bingzhiye looked at them. Vain smiled at him, and Niliya and Yilina waved, while Carol patted him.

Sophina said, "What, aren't we your friends? And me?"

"But..." Bingzhiye lowered his head again.

Luo stuck his long spear into the ground and said, "What, don't you want to be friends with us?" Everyone looked at him.

Vain said, "I see you acting cool sometimes and like a child other times. When it comes to magic and martial arts, you're very skilled, but when it comes to friends, you hesitate?"

Niliya said, "Yes, don't we have the right to be your friends? I remember you helped us repair our armor last time. We already considered you a friend then."

Carol said, "This guy just likes to act deep and put on a cool facade."

"No," Bingzhiye said, "I didn't mean it that way."

Sophina asked, "Bingzhiye, I think you're really isolated. Have you never had any friends?"

"No, I have," Bingzhiye said.

"Oh," Sophina said, "Who are they, and where are they now?"

Bingzhiye didn't say anything.

"Tsk!..." Carol was unhappy and was about to say something but was stopped by Sophina.

Sophina said, "I can see that your happy smile was just an act, right?"

Bingzhiye's mind flashed with the image of the blue magic hat, and he lowered his head for a long time before saying, "No, no."

"Whether or not, we can see that you have something on your mind that's conflicting," Sophina said. "But as your teacher, I want to tell you that nothing is more important than following your heart and being happy. Just follow your heart, isn't that what you really want?"

Bingzhiye was shaken and suddenly felt as if he had figured something out. He turned to look at Teacher Sophina, but because she was holding him so tightly, his lips accidentally touched hers.

Niliya gasped and covered her mouth, and everyone who saw this scene was speechless, their eyes wide. Bingzhiye was even more shocked and became completely dumbfounded. Really, kissing anywhere would be fine, but it had to be the lips...

"Sorry, sorry, I..." Bingzhiye, realizing what had happened, panicked and struggled to get up.

Sophina suddenly laughed, "Ha ha, you kissed me."

"No, no, no," Bingzhiye jumped up and waved his hands.

"Then what is this?" Sophina touched her lips, "There's even saliva."

Bingzhiye's head felt as if it had been hit, and he didn't know how to explain.

Sophina pinched his nose, "Why are you so worried? I'm 27, you're 14. What's there to be afraid of? If you were 24, I'd call you a little hooligan!"

Bingzhiye's handsome face was still as red as if it had been powdered, and he stammered, "I'll go check if the food is ready... I'll go for a walk over there."

"Be careful," Sophina smiled as he ran away like a rabbit, "Teenage boys are all so shy."

Yilina whispered to Niliya, "Teacher Sophina is being too nice to Bingzhiye, she's never been this nice to anyone else."

"Shh, don't say that."

Sophina heard their conversation and saw that Carol, Vain, and the others were also discussing it. She stopped smiling and said, "What are you talking about? Are you saying I'm being too nice to him because he's an excellent student?"

Vain and the others stopped talking but didn't say anything.

"I am being partial to him," Sophina said, looking at them, "But you might not know that he's an orphan."

"Ah!" Niliya and Yilina exclaimed, and Carol, Luo, and Vain were also surprised that he was an orphan.

Sophina said, "He's only 14. I don't know how long it's been since he lost his parents. According to him, he doesn't even have any relatives. You're all his age and have seen how strange and isolated his personality is. As his teacher, shouldn't I give him more care?"

No one had anything to say. Yilina said, "I didn't know he was an orphan."

"Seeing him act cool and silent, I thought he was just putting on a facade," Carol said, lowering her head.

Vain and Luo had nothing to say either.

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