Chapter 13

"Is it really you, Mo Wen?"

Qin Xiaoyou, upon clearly recognizing her high school classmate Mo Wen, let out a slight sigh of relief. She felt a bit awkward and turned her head away, as she had once been Mo Wen's class president, and it felt uncomfortable to let him see her vulnerable side.

"Qin Xiaoyou, you really gave me a scare."

Mo Wen smiled slightly. In his eyes, Qin Xiaoyou had always been a very strong girl. He wondered what had happened to make a girl like her hide and cry.

As he spoke, Mo Wen sat down next to Qin Xiaoyou, his movements natural and casual, just as they had always been.

Qin Xiaoyou wiped the tears from her face, hugged her knees, and buried her head in her knees, remaining silent for a long time.

"Who bullied our class president? They must be tired of living. If our Class 3-9 finds out, we'll kill them."

Mo Wen said with a serious smile, picking up a pebble from the ground and tossing it into the lake, causing ripples to spread out.

"Flatterer!"

Qin Xiaoyou burst out laughing, her mood much better after meeting Mo Wen.

Mo Wen smiled. He wasn't flattering her. As the school beauty, there were countless secret admirers. If others found out that Qin Xiaoyou had been bullied, it would likely cause a significant stir, and many would be happy to seize the opportunity to show off.

"Mo Wen, are you really not going to school anymore?"

Qin Xiaoyou looked at Mo Wen with a hint of sadness. Mo Wen's situation had long been known in the school. After failing to be admitted to Huaxia University, he had given up on his studies and was reportedly working on a construction site.

Mo Wen smiled but didn't say anything. Many people in the school knew about his situation, but he couldn't explain how he had later been admitted to Huaxia University through Old Pan.

"That Cheng Hao is so despicable, a real bastard!"

Qin Xiaoyou angrily pulled a weed from the ground and cursed. Cheng Hao was the one who had taken Mo Wen's place at Huaxia University. He had spread the news about Mo Wen's situation and boasted about it in front of him, making it known to the entire school.

"He is indeed despicable."

Mo Wen smiled slightly. He had once hated Cheng Hao deeply for destroying his dreams. After years of hard work, to end up with nothing, who wouldn't hate? But he couldn't change anything. As Old Pan had said, society is what it is, and trying to change it is futile. If his grades had been as good as Qin Xiaoyou's, who could have taken his place?

"You're not angry at all!"

Qin Xiaoyou gave Mo Wen a look and buried her face in her knees. Mo Wen's reaction made her feel a bit heartbroken. Perhaps he had become numb, and the resentment had faded. Ordinary people can't live in constant resentment; they have many more challenges to face.

They were both from ordinary families and understood each other deeply. When they felt heartache or委屈, they could only keep it inside. They had no one to complain to and had to be strong.

"Let's talk about you. Why were you crying in the park in the middle of the night?"

Mo Wen looked at Qin Xiaoyou. Given her strong nature, she rarely cried, so something must have really troubled her.

"Who said I was crying?"

Qin Xiaoyou blushed and turned her face away.

"Was it a puppy crying just now?" Mo Wen feigned surprise.

"You're the puppy!"

Mo Wen was clearly insulting her, and Qin Xiaoyou couldn't stay calm. How could anyone be so mean?

"I didn't say you, just that someone was crying just now." Mo Wen said with a half-smile.

"You..."

Qin Xiaoyou turned her head away, pretending to ignore him. Mo Wen had clearly learned to be bad.

"Your home isn't in Jingbei, right? Why did you come to Jingbei Forest Park in the middle of the night?" If he remembered correctly, Qin Xiaoyou lived in the Puhui District of Jingnan, which was quite far from here.

Having known Qin Xiaoyou for three years, Mo Wen understood her personality. She was tough on the outside but soft on the inside, often keeping her troubles to herself.

To find out what was wrong with Qin Xiaoyou, he had to use indirect methods to get her to talk.

"None of your business!"

Qin Xiaoyou rolled her eyes and ignored Mo Wen's question.

Mo Wen rubbed his nose. He wasn't good at prying, and Qin Xiaoyou clearly didn't want to tell him. Although he wanted to help the girl he had secretly liked for three years, he felt at a loss.

He knew that if Qin Xiaoyou didn't want to talk, she wouldn't. So he remained silent and sat by the lake with her.

"Mo Wen, I'm not going home tonight. What about you?"

After a long while, Qin Xiaoyou spoke softly. As Mo Wen had guessed, her home was quite far from here, and it would take over two hours by subway. She couldn't go back at this hour.

"I'll stay with you."

Mo Wen smiled. Qin Xiaoyou couldn't go home, and he had no home to return to.

"Thank you!"

Qin Xiaoyou looked at Mo Wen, then fell silent again.

After a long silence, Qin Xiaoyou started talking about their high school days, their first day of high school, their first meeting, their first rule-breaking... There was so much to talk about, and the memories of their three years together were filled with moments that were hard to forget.

...

"There's a bench over there. Go lie down for a while, or it will be morning soon."

It was late, and both were feeling tired. Mo Wen offered the bench he had been lying on to Qin Xiaoyou. If she didn't sleep, she wouldn't have any energy the next day.

"What about you?"

Qin Xiaoyou hesitated, looking around. There was only one bench, so where would Mo Wen sleep?

"I'll sleep on the grass."

Mo Wen pointed to the grass behind the bench. He didn't mind where he slept; the grass was dry and could serve as a good bed.

"Okay."

Qin Xiaoyou thought for a moment and nodded. Knowing Mo Wen was right behind her, she felt reassured and soon fell asleep.

Mo Wen looked at the sleeping Qin Xiaoyou on the bench and smiled bitterly. Meeting her in such a situation and both ending up sleeping in the park, he could only marvel at the unpredictability of life.

Mo Wen didn't sleep. He sat cross-legged on the grass, palms facing up, eyes closed, and began the simplest form of meditation. Internal energy cultivation starts with meditation, focusing the mind and spirit on the dantian to generate a sense of energy, then guiding the energy to circulate through the body, completing the small and large circuits until the internal energy covers the entire body, achieving a basic level of cultivation.

In his previous life, his internal energy cultivation was quite advanced, though not on par with the top martial arts experts, he had reached a high level, with his energy covering his entire body, making him impervious to ordinary weapons.

So it didn't take long for Mo Wen to generate a sense of energy in his dantian. A warm current rose from his navel and traveled up his meridians, slowly completing one small circuit. Due to the lack of practice, the first small circuit took about two hours to complete.

When Mo Wen opened his eyes, the sky was gradually brightening, and it would be fully light in about half an hour.

"The cultivation is too slow!"

Mo Wen frowned. It had taken over two hours to complete one small circuit. At this rate, it would take at least five to six years to achieve a basic level. However, internal energy cultivation is a long-term process, usually starting from a young age, with significant results only appearing in adulthood.