Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Preparation (Part 1)

Ming Yue had changed her hairstyle.

Her once long black hair was now cut to shoulder length, with one side longer than the other. It was just short of having green streaks.

This had become the latest hot topic on the fourth floor of the Fenglian Institute dormitory.

The news spread quickly in this "wall-less" institute. Just earlier, the sophomore class, taking the juniors along, had gone to the Xixi Gate station, and within a day, all the third-year students who were on an off-site assignment in Chang'an City, Province S, had already heard about it.

Then, the experience of Lu Xingru, questioning his junior sister in the café, and his somewhat probing questions, was embellished by some senior students who were present at the café at the time. Within three hours, the whole institute knew.

Oh, Lu Xingru's topic was based on the fundamental science of Yin-Yang.

Oh, Ming Yue, as a case study, was about to be published in A-journal.

The Fenglian Institute had few students, with less than 150 people across the four undergraduate years. Currently, the entire third year was absent.

The graduate school had even fewer people; the entire faculty, including staff, did not exceed 300 people.

In such a small place, both good and bad news traveled fast.

It was another martial arts class.

As usual, a crowd gathered to watch the Spiritual Institute students’ class in the gym.

Don’t think that the small number of students at the Spiritual Institute means their handsome and beautiful students are of lower quality.

On the contrary, the reality was the exact opposite.

Spiritual Institute students often worked day and night, which kept their skin fair. The work they did allowed them to face life’s storms, giving them an air of grace and presence that exceeded most others.

At the same time, because they often faced the ugly side of the Yin-Yang world, Spiritual Institute students generally had sound values—mature, strong, and with a quiet sense of dignity. After graduation, whether they worked part-time or joined an organization, they would secure high-paying jobs. They were the perfect candidate to be life partners for anyone aiming for a long-term career.

By the way, students from the Spiritual Institute often wore colored contact lenses, so they didn’t need to use lights when walking at night. They were affordable and practical.

Summer had arrived, and it was the perfect time for physical education classes to show off their physiques.

The slender boys from the 18th class of the Spiritual Institute became the focus of attention in the gym.

Li Xianzhou instructed everyone to stand at attention. Ming Yue stood still, her newly cut short hair blowing in front of her face in the wind.

“…”She maintained a neutral expression, pouting her lips as the wind blew her hair.

Then, a strand of hair drifted from her right eye to her left, right into her eye.

Ming Yue: "..."

Yanjun, who was watching from the opposite side, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Bai Shizhang, sitting directly across from them: "..."

Bai Linlang glanced at Yanjun and hissed at her roommate: "I told you before we came that it would be better if you tied your hair back."

Li Xianzhou over on the other side was explaining the training arrangement for the class. Ming Yue carefully glanced at him, then muttered softly:

"Shizhang, you didn’t even see how short my hair is now."

"How could I tie it back into a clean bun?"

"How are you so much of a typical guy?"

Bai Linlang, confused, replied: "Don’t you know that there are things like hairpins in this world?"

Ming Yue: "…"

Ming Yue: "Ah, I forgot."

The practice content for this class was very similar to judo.

At Li Xianzhou’s command, more than thirty students from the 18th class tumbled and rolled together.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Soon, the floor of the gym was filled with the sounds of people crashing into the mats.

The other students watching were in shock:

"Damn, don’t they use mats at the Fenglian Institute?"

"Look, that beautiful girl’s face just hit the ground!"

"What the hell, do the women in this institute have such strong combat abilities? Never mind, I can't chase her. I’m afraid I'll get beaten to death.""Be careful, Shizhang!"

Ming Yue kindly warned, then, with a swift motion, performed a reverse throw, sending Bai Linlang, who had just grabbed her shoulder, crashing face-first into the ground.

Bai Shizhang watched as the brown wooden floor of the gym enlarged before her eyes, quickly using her hands to cover her face, bracing herself for the attention of the entire gym—

But unexpectedly, the moment to test her hard head never came.

Bai Linlang curled up on the ground, covering her head, and secretly opened her eyes.

The culprit had a strange expression, tugging at her hair with all her might.

Bai Linlang: "..."

White Shizhang was furious!

"Wait, does your warning always go to waste?!"

"Was that talk just nonsense?! I had my pose ready—ah!"

Before she could finish speaking, Ming Yue picked her up, swung her around, and expertly slammed her back onto the ground.

Bang.

Bai Linlang was thankful she had managed to block her face.

"You..." Bai Shizhang lay on the ground, speechless, looking at her roommate, not wanting to say anything.

"I did it so your carefully prepared pose wouldn't go to waste," Ming Yue nodded.

Bai Linlang: "..."

Bai Linlang decided that when it was time for dorm cleaning tonight, she would make sure to avoid the floor Ming Yue had touched at all costs!

Ming Yue was still fiddling with her hair, looking increasingly frustrated.

"How troublesome, this half-length hair, what’s it hanging in front of my face for."

Ming Yue's words were quite typical of a guy.

Bai Linlang lay on the ground, unwilling to get up, striking a beauty pose: "This morning, the barber praised your hairstyle, didn’t you remember?"

Ming Yue blew at her hair: "I’m going for the dog-bitten bangs.""Don't block your eyes."

Bai Linlang: "Kid, don't be impulsive, okay?"

"For the sake of our Lingyuan 18th grade's image."

Ming Yue casually waved her hand and pulled Bai Linlang up: "Our grade’s representatives still have the class monitor and Jun Weiran, what’s there to be afraid of?"

Bai Linlang slapped her hand away: "Fine, your left eye’s vision is already poor, it won’t make a difference anyway."

Ming Yue: "→_→".

Half an hour passed, and Li Xianzhou ordered each group to freely exchange practice partners.

Bai Linlang turned around and swapped with Yan Jun, who was behind her.

Ming Yue looked at the handsome class monitor in front of her. For some reason, she felt a bit awkward.

She tried to act serious and nodded at Yan Jun.

Yan Jun stared at her, "The new hairstyle looks great."

Ming Yue: "..."

Ming Yue suddenly realized that compliments from the same sex and the opposite sex felt really different.

Ming Yue, with a good sense of the situation, returned the compliment: "You’re looking especially handsome today, class monitor."

Then, she noticed that Yan Jun’s expression froze for a moment, and then he quickly avoided her gaze.

Ming Yue: …Meow, meow, meow?

The two of them exchanged polite bows and then started practicing with proper form.

Bai Shizhang, who thought she had made a huge contribution to helping her roommate find a date: "..."

Wait, are they playing mahjong or something?

But there was nothing she could do.

Judo moves were indeed more straightforward than Kendo.At this moment, drawing swords and clashing was much easier than close combat.

Ming Yue also felt awkward. She was thinking about how to ease the atmosphere when Yan Jun, who had his hands bound behind his back, asked:

"How's your left eye now?"

Ming Yue quickly answered, using a bit of skill to break free: "It’s fine, I went to see Professor Wang Yangming yesterday."

"He said the yang energy that was keeping my eyesight’s little bit of yin energy has been burned out. I need to use some eye drops for several rounds of treatment."

"To replenish the yin energy."

Her beautiful gray eyes were now dim and dull, hidden behind her messy hair. Yan Jun suppressed the urge to push her hair back and asked:

"Do you need help?"

"It’s nothing. I’ll just use a few more yin energy charms and soak them in water."

Ming Yue hesitated for a moment before answering, but her hands didn’t slow down. She tried to trap the class monitor’s other hand to restrain him, but because of the high temperature today and the shirt Yan Jun was wearing, her right hand inadvertently slid across the back of his waist, the warmth radiating through the fabric...

Ming Yue: "..."

Ming Yue immediately pulled her hand away as if she had touched a rat. Her entire body froze in place.

Yan Jun, who had been touched on the back of his waist, certainly felt it.

He knowingly asked, "What happened?"

"..." Ming Yue frowned slightly. "Nothing."

Yan Jun: "Then why did you stop?"

"Isn't it normal to have physical contact during a sparring match?"

Ming Yue realized her feelings were hard to express:

"Uh..."

"Well... not... that..."

For once, Ming Yue, the silver-tongued Ming Erge, stuttered."Well... class monitor, you have a good figure."

When touched lightly from the side, there was a noticeable muscular feel, and his waist was narrow.

Ming Yue added in her mind and nodded.

Yan Jun smiled.

Did this girl even know what it meant for a man to have a good waist?

"Let's go again."

Yan Jun said, and Ming Yue nodded.

Another five minutes of silent sparring.

As Yan Jun was about to be thrown to the ground by Ming Yue, he barely stopped himself, using his left hand to brace and then rolling over, instantly reversing their positions.

"Yah—"

The crowd watching gasped in surprise.

"Bang!"

Ming Yue’s back of the head hit the floor with a loud thud.

It was definitely going to swell.

She thought to herself, not even furrowing her brow, and used the momentum to flip Yan Jun over.

"Bang!"

Another loud thud as the back of Yan Jun's head hit the ground.

Their positions were reversed again.

Ming Yue immediately bowed her head and apologized, "Sorry, class monitor, I bumped into you."

Yan Jun: "..."

Yan Jun looked at Ming Yue, who was nearly on top of him, and realized that no matter where he put his hands or where he looked, nothing felt right. He threw up his hands, indicating his surrender to the struggle."Tsk tsk tsk."

The sound of Jin Yuanbao clicking his tongue could be clearly heard across two ping-pong tables.

"Aiya—"

The crowd watching let out another round of comments.

Ming Yue helped Yan Jun adjust his shirt as he got up and extended her hand towards him.

Yan Jun smiled and naturally reached out to take her hand.

At a slightly closer strategic observation point, Bai Shizhang was lying on the ping-pong table, pointing out things to An Xueru. The two were whispering to each other:

"Look at our class monitor, with that level, really a scheming dog."

"Choosing a light-colored shirt for a combat class? Doesn't he worry about getting it dirty?"

"But the shirt shows off his figure and his temperament!"

"When we swapped practice partners earlier, I felt he was standing a bit too close to me, so I casually switched. Look, exactly what I wanted."

"...Damn, Ming Yue, is she blind? Was her head slammed by a door? She even fell but didn’t ride on top!"

"Did you see that? From this angle, when the class monitor reached out—look! The shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, sexy and showing off his forearm lines! Oh my god! Ming Yue definitely doesn't stand a chance!"

"Agreed! Ming Yue is such a straight guy!"

"Exactly! I've never seen light-colored clothes in her closet!"

Meanwhile, the two roommates discussing Ming Yue didn't know that Ming Yue was completely unaware of their conversation.

After Yan Jun was pulled up, he said, "After class, I'll send you a few Yin symbols."

"Your hand-drawn Yin symbols really lack quality control."

Ming Yue: "...= = "

"Class monitor, what do you mean?"

Yan Jun smiled without changing his expression. "I'm afraid your Yin symbols will make your eyes worse the more you use them."

Ming Yue: "..."Ming Yue gave a dead-fish stare: "You hurt my self-esteem, big shot."

Yan Jun laughed, taking the hoodie string off her hair. "As compensation, how about I take you to do next month's hundred-school joint exam's off-campus internship?"

Ming Yue straightened her clothes and raised an eyebrow: "No need."

"Senior Lu Xingru has already agreed to take me along."