Chapter 24

The next day, around noon, Sun Yan finally woke up from a deep sleep, sat up drowsily, rubbed his heavy head, and his stiff thoughts slowly began to move.

Looking at the bright sunlight outside the window, Sun Yan muttered, "Damn, I slept for so long."

After Shui Lianqing left last night, Sun Yan felt an extreme fatigue wash over him, as if his whole body had been drained. He fell asleep immediately. This was the first time he had felt this way since the strange encounter at the ancestral house, which left him shocked and curious about the changes in his body.

What kind of astonishing changes had taken place inside him?

Sun Yan still couldn't determine what had happened with the dream at the ancestral house that night. Afterward, he had re-investigated, but he knew every corner of the two ancestral houses from a young age. Apart from the wooden walls being somewhat rotten, he found nothing unusual.

His extraordinary martial arts comprehension and rapid cultivation speed had already surprised him.

But thinking about what happened last night, Sun Yan was even more astonished. The first time he encountered the "Weak Water Technique," he was able to complete the incomplete second and third levels of this unique skill. In Shui Lianqing's eyes, this was a sign of Sun Yan's remarkable martial arts talent, able to infer much from a little and understand ten things from one.

But Sun Yan knew very well that this wasn't his achievement. The missing second and third levels of the "Weak Water Technique" had appeared in his mind out of nowhere, not as a result of his own comprehension.

This feeling was as if he himself were a super computer, which, after inputting the incomplete "Weak Water Technique," deduced and summarized the missing parts. The energy supporting this super computer was his mind, so even though Sun Yan hadn't used his brain, he still felt mentally drained and slept for 12 hours.

Could this be the miraculous aspect of the great deduction-level comprehension that Chen Wang mentioned?

"Ah Yan, Ah Yan, you lucky pig, can you stop reminiscing in front of me?" Mu Tong's voice seemed to come from a distant place.

Sun Yan slowly came to his senses, looked up, and saw his best friend standing by the bed, looking at him with a pained expression. "Reminiscing? What am I reminiscing about?"

"Damn! You traitor." Mu Tong raised his middle finger fiercely. "Was last night that enjoyable? You slept for so long, did you and Shui Meimei go all the way? You bastard!"

As he spoke, Mu Tong looked at his own bed, leaned in to sniff it, and said dreamily, "Did you two do it on my bed? Hmm, not bad. I'll take this sheet home as a keepsake. Hey, why is there no blood? Could it be that..."

Sun Yan shuddered in disgust and cursed, "Can your brain be normal for once? Besides, do you think Shui Lianqing would like me? Don't insult her taste and lower your IQ."

Looking at his best friend, Mu Tong nodded in agreement. "You're right! With your face, any girl who likes you must be a sow. But what did Shui Meimei want from you, so urgently?"

"Nothing much, just discussing martial arts."

Mu Tong's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "Discussing martial arts? With you, Ah Yan? Don't joke."

"I'm not joking! Didn't I tell you the other day that I broke through to the first-level martial artist? It's normal for classmates to discuss martial arts." Sun Yan stood up, answered casually, and walked toward the door.

"Fine, don't say anything. Sigh, you must be suffering from pre-exam syndrome, over-imagining things." Mu Tong shook his head and sighed, then shouted, "Hey, Ah Yan, where are you going? Not eating lunch together?"

Thinking about how he had stood up Feng Lingxue yesterday, Sun Yan's mood instantly turned gloomy, and he shook his head. "No, you eat alone. I might have a date."

"When did you become so busy, having a possible date? What kind of date?"

"A dead date." The door closed, and Sun Yan's footsteps gradually faded away.

At noon, the 12 canteens of South Eagle Academy were full of students, who sat in groups of three or five, discussing various topics.

The quality of the food in the canteens was strictly controlled by each college, and the taste and nutrition were always praised. Whether students or teachers, they were accustomed to eating in the canteen at noon. After all, nutrition and energy intake were extremely important for a martial artist. If dietary issues affected a student's martial arts cultivation, the impact on society would be extremely negative, and the government and military would take severe measures.

In the corner of Canteen 3, Shui Lianqing sat alone at a table, surrounded by other tables filled with students, most of whom were boys. Some even had eight people sitting at a four-person table, and they didn't seem to mind the crowding at all.

Pairs of eyes frequently glanced at Shui Lianqing, and it was impossible for the boys not to fantasize about the famous beauty of South Eagle Academy. However, many knew that Shui Lianqing's interest was only in martial arts, and she was an insulator when it came to boys and romance.

Shui Lianqing seemed oblivious to the intense gazes around her, sitting there like a lady, eating her lunch in small, delicate bites. Her peripheral vision occasionally drifted toward the canteen entrance.

It was almost noon, and he still hadn't come. Is he not eating lunch?

In the morning, Shui Lianqing had learned that Sun Yan always ate at Canteen 3, so she came here without thinking. However, she had been waiting for almost 20 minutes, and Sun Yan still hadn't appeared at the canteen entrance.

"Am I being too obvious by waiting for him? Will he misunderstand?" Shui Lianqing's cheeks flushed, but she quickly dismissed the thought. "No, I just want to invite him to lunch to show my gratitude. He helped me so much, and if I don't show my appreciation, that would be too much."

She kept finding reasons to justify her actions, and her eating speed slowed down. It seemed that even after another 20 minutes, she wouldn't finish half of her lunch.

"Shui Lianqing, why are you eating here?" A voice came from behind her, filled with surprise.

Shui Lianqing's eyebrows furrowed slightly. This voice wasn't Sun Yan's. She usually didn't bother with other boys and was about to ignore it. Suddenly, she remembered who the voice belonged to.

Turning her head, Shui Lianqing smiled and nodded. "Mu Tong, hello. No seat? I have an empty seat here."

The one speaking was Mu Tong. He had seen Shui Lianqing by chance and had greeted her out of habit. As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it. Mu Tong was well aware that Shui Lianqing had been friendly to him before because of his best friend, Sun Yan.

Girls could be very sensitive, and private friendliness was different from public friendliness. Moreover, Shui Lianqing's coldness toward boys at South Eagle Academy was well-known. His greeting might just be a case of a warm face meeting a cold one.

But Mu Tong never expected Shui Lianqing to respond like this, as if they were old friends.

In an instant, the glasses of the surrounding boys shattered, and hundreds of eyes focused on Mu Tong, filled with jealousy, hostility, and resentment. Who was this four-eyed toad? How could he receive such friendly treatment from Shui Lianqing? They would have to thoroughly investigate this guy and dig up his entire family history.

The boys' feelings were similar to Mu Tong's two days ago.

However, Mu Tong was now holding a lunch box, chest puffed out, and walking with a swagger to sit opposite Shui Lianqing. He took a big bite of rice, drank some soup, and sighed contentedly, feeling the envious gazes of the surrounding male students. Mu Tong felt extremely satisfied, enjoying the feeling of borrowing someone else's power. Ah Yan, I'm basking in your glory.

Changing his usual habit of eating and drinking like a starving ghost, Mu Tong ate his lunch slowly and smiled. "Shui Lianqing, didn't you usually eat at Canteen 6? Why are you at Canteen 3 today?"

Shui Lianqing's eyes widened in surprise. "How do you know I usually eat at Canteen 6?" She felt a twinge of joy, wondering if Sun Yan had told him.

Mu Tong's answer disappointed her. "Ha, it's not strange! The dining locations of the major campus beauties are known to 99% of the male students. Except for Feng Lingxue, we know the dining locations of all the other beauties."

True to his nature as a best friend, Mu Tong spoke without any reservations.

Shui Lianqing thought to herself, feeling a bit annoyed, and finally couldn't help but ask softly, "Where is Sun Yan? Is he not coming to the canteen today?"

Mu Tong was taken aback, then realized what was happening. He inwardly lamented, "Ah Yan, you pig, Shui Meimei has come to Canteen 3 to wait for you to have lunch together, and you still say there's nothing between you. Damn, I'm the one who should be more handsome, so why hasn't such a good girl liked me?"

Wiping away his tears in secret, Mu Tong still thought about his best friend's happiness and explained dutifully, "Ah Yan said he might have an important date and won't come for lunch."

"Oh." Shui Lianqing nodded lightly, feeling a bit disappointed.

At that moment, a clear voice came from nearby. "Lianqing, why are you at Canteen 3 today?"

Looking up, Shui Lianqing saw a short-haired, cute girl walking over. It was Zhang Xin from her class.

"Zhang Xin." Shui Lianqing smiled and greeted her, making room for Zhang Xin to sit down. It was peak time at Canteen 3, and almost all the seats were taken.

Zhang Xin sat down with her lunch box, greeted Mu Tong politely, and then chatted warmly with Shui Lianqing.

Mu Tong pursed his lips and discreetly sized up Zhang Xin. With a perverted eye, he evaluated her: "She looks innocent, but her eyes have a hint of coquetry. Her chest is so full, clearly she's been developed."

Wait, Zhang Xin? Mu Tong had some memory of her. He had heard Sun Yan mention that this girl was close to Gao Jing and wasn't a good person.

"Hey, Lianqing, you probably don't know, but something big happened in our class," Zhang Xin leaned in and whispered.

"Something big? What happened?" Shui Lianqing felt puzzled and then frowned. "Is it that someone from our class caused trouble outside the school before the final exams?"