Jianghe City, Jianghe Hunter Academy, Female Dorm
The female dormitory building of Jianghe Hunter Academy was far quieter than the noisy streets outside.
Inside one of the upper-floor rooms, a soft desk lamp illuminated a tidy study table. Books on monster biology and combat theory were neatly stacked beside a spear maintenance kit.
Su Qinghan sat quietly by the desk, carefully wiping her blade, the weapon gleaming faintly under the lamplight.
Her movements were calm and precise, as if she had performed this task countless times before.
Across the room, however, the atmosphere was much less peaceful.
Her roommate, Li Yue, lay sprawled across her bed with her phone raised high above her face.
Every few seconds she gasped dramatically.
Then she rolled over again.
Then gasped even louder.
Finally—
"Qinghan!"
Su Qinghan did not even look up.
"Yes?"
Li Yue sat upright on the bed, eyes wide and glowing with excitement. "The academy forum is exploding!"
Su Qinghan's tone remained characteristically calm, her focus never wavering from the steel in her hands. "It usually does."
"No, no, no!" Li Yue waved her phone frantically in the air as if trying to physically toss the information across the room. "Not like this!"
Su Qinghan slowly placed the polishing cloth down and glanced toward her roommate, her eyes reflecting the dim room light. "What happened?"
Li Yue grinned mischievously, her phone screen displaying a blurred image of a massive carcass. "Your little wilderness trip today caused quite the storm."
Su Qinghan blinked once, her brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. "A storm?"
Li Yue nodded eagerly, scrolling rapidly through a thread with thousands of views. "Apparently a certain E-Rank Laborer killed a Stoneback Bear."
For the first time that evening, Su Qinghan's expression shifted slightly. Li Yue caught it instantly.
"Oh?" Her grin widened. "You know something about this."
Su Qinghan returned her gaze to her blade, the metal shimmering. "It happened during training."
Li Yue's eyes sparkled as she looked up from her phone. "So it's true!"
Su Qinghan remained silent, which was as good as a confession. Li Yue jumped off the bed and rushed over, leaning against the desk with barely contained excitement.
"Wait, wait… you were there, weren't you?"
"Yes."
Li Yue placed both hands on the desk dramatically, her voice lowering conspiratorially. "Then tell me. Was it really that Lin Yi?"
Su Qinghan paused for a moment, the memory of the flash in the forest playing behind her eyes, then answered calmly.
"Yes."
Li Yue froze. For a three-count, she simply stared, then she grabbed her own head in disbelief. "An E-Rank Laborer killed a level six Stoneback Bear?!" She began pacing around the room in wide, frantic circles, her hands waving wildly. "This academy has officially gone mad."
Su Qinghan quietly resumed wiping her blade, the steady motion a stark contrast to Li Yue's chaos. Suddenly, Li Yue stopped walking, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied her roommate's unnatural composure.
"…You seem very calm about this."
"He reacted quickly," Su Qinghan offered.
Li Yue leaned closer, squinting, completely unconvinced.
"That's it? 'He reacted quickly?' Qinghan, he killed a tank with a toothpick."
"Yes."
Li Yue stared at her face carefully, searching for even the smallest crack in the ice. Then, suddenly—"Aha!"
Su Qinghan blinked, finally looking up. "What?"
"You blushed."
Su Qinghan's hand paused mid-wipe. For a moment she said nothing, the silence stretching until Li Yue erupted into loud, triumphant laughter.
"I knew it! The Ice Queen has a melt-spot!"
"That's impossible," Su Qinghan said, her voice a shade firmer than before.
Li Yue grinned wickedly, leaning forward with a teasing expression that made Su Qinghan want to return to the wilderness. "Qinghan, Qinghan… you never talk about boys. You don't even acknowledge their existence. But now there's suddenly a mysterious hero appearing in your story."
"You're imagining things."
Li Yue raised her phone and waved it pointedly, the screen bright.
"Then explain this." The academy forum headline glowed on the screen: E-Rank Laborer Slays Stoneback Bear Alone? Hundreds of comments were already flooding the thread beneath it, ranging from "Photoshop!" to "He's a hidden god!"
Su Qinghan looked at the screen quietly, then turned away without a word. Li Yue studied her roommate's profile for another moment before a slow, sly smile spread across her lips.
"You're curious about him."
Su Qinghan did not deny it. After a short silence that felt heavier than the previous ones, she reached out and took the phone from Li Yue's hand. Li Yue's eyes went wide, her jaw practically hitting the floor. "Wait… what are you doing?"
Su Qinghan opened the academy social app, her fingers moving with precision.
FabBook.
Li Yue leaned in immediately, her voice barely above a whisper, afraid to break the spell. "No way…"
Su Qinghan typed a name into the search bar: Lin Yi.
His profile appeared almost instantly—a simple photo, minimal information, and very few connections. It was the digital footprint of someone who preferred to remain quiet.
Li Yue gasped dramatically. "You're adding him?!"
Su Qinghan pressed the button calmly, the blue highlight changing to a pending status.
Friend Request Sent.
Li Yue stared like she had just witnessed the turning of an age, her eyes wide and unblinking. "The cold beauty of Jianghe Academy… sending a friend request to a boy… the forums will burn if they find out."
Su Qinghan placed the phone down calmly on the desk and picked up her blade one last time. "It's just a question."
Li Yue crossed her arms, her grin slowly returning as she hopped back onto her bed. "Of course it is." She tilted her head with a knowing look. "We both know what kind of question."
....
Meanwhile, in the male dormitory building…
Lin Yi was lying on his bed, scrolling through the academy forums.
The rumors had already spread farther than he expected.
He sighed lightly.
"So much attention for one bear…"
Just then—
Ding.
A notification popped up on his screen.
Su Qinghan sent you a friend request.
Lin Yi blinked once.
"Well… that's unexpected."
He pressed Accept.
Almost immediately, a message appeared.
Su Qinghan: You're Lin Yi?
Lin Yi: Last time I checked.
There was a brief pause, then another message appeared.
Su Qinghan: The rumors about the Stoneback Bear…
Lin Yi: Ah. That.
Then a sudden pause creeped in, and no one typed.
Then, Su Qinghan remembered about the academy tournament that was about to take place soon.
Su Qinghan: Are you planning to attend the academy tournament?
Lin Yi leaned back against the pillow, her question was straightforward, but his typed reply was casual as usual.
Lin Yi: Of course.
Su Qinghan: Why?
A few seconds later—
Su Qinghan: I will also participate.
Lin Yi raised an eyebrow, then he sent a short reply.
Lin Yi: Then we might meet in the arena.
There was a longer pause this time, but finally, a message appeared.
Su Qinghan: If that happens…
Lin Yi waited.
Then the rest of the message appeared.
Su Qinghan: I will not hold back.
Lin Yi laughed quietly, and typed a final reply.
Lin Yi: Good.
Lin Yi: I wouldn't want you to.
In the girls' dormitory, Li Yue watched Su Qinghan staring at her phone.
A small smile appeared on her lips.
"…You're definitely interested."
Su Qinghan calmly turned off the screen, and turned to the opposite side of her bed, her face slightly red.