It's not like it's something shameful...

Su Qi lowered his head, his free hand reaching up to gently tousle Liu Yuan's soft hair.

"Yeah," he responded softly. "I know."

For some reason, Su Qi had been sensing a faint, lingering feeling of dependence drifting toward him from afar.

Was it just his imagination?

Yet the moment he pulled out his phone, he happened to receive a message from his younger sister.

So he replied right away.

A coincidence?

Or had they already developed an unspoken understanding between them?

Liu Yuan nestled in Su Qi's embrace a little longer, like a small animal that had finally found a safe haven.

Only when she felt her emotions gradually settle did she slowly loosen her arms from around him.

But she didn’t immediately pull away. Instead, she shifted just slightly, putting a small distance between them before tilting her head up, her clear eyes fixed unwaveringly on him.

Su Qi’s features were soft, still carrying traces of weariness.

With his back to the sun, tiny specks of dust could be seen floating in the air around him.

"Brother, are you tired?"

Su Qi let out a quiet "Mm," as if that alone was answer enough.

Liu Yuan bit her lip and adjusted her position in his arms, trying to make it more comfortable for him.

"Then… do you want to rest for a bit?"

Su Qi chuckled faintly. "I’d love to, but… how?"

How?

The question gave Liu Yuan pause.

Her eyes blinked slowly, as if she were genuinely considering the problem.

True, with Su Qi leaning against the chair, this posture could at best be called closing his eyes—hardly proper rest.

A faint blush crept onto Liu Yuan’s cheeks.

Then, without warning, an idea flashed through her mind.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Wasn’t this… a little too bold?

But seeing the exhaustion etched between Su Qi’s brows, Liu Yuan decided nothing mattered more than letting him rest properly.

She bit her lower lip, the warmth still lingering on her face, and pulled away from his embrace, settling beside him instead.

After adjusting her posture to sit more steadily, she stretched out her pale fingers and lightly patted her own thigh.

"Like this?" Her voice carried the faintest tremor, but her gaze remained fixed on Su Qi, unwavering.

A lap pillow?

Su Qi raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly surprised.

Liu Yuan looked both shy and determined, like a kitten mustering the courage to nudge its owner for affection.

"Here?"

Su Qi’s eyes swept their surroundings.

Though no one seemed to be paying attention, they were still in a public space.

Liu Yuan’s face grew even redder, but she didn’t back down. Instead, she straightened her posture (despite having no chest to speak of) and patted her thigh again, her tone carrying a hint of insistence.

"It’s not like it’s anything shameful… Aren’t you tired?"

The unspoken message: Stop overthinking it and just lie down already.

Su Qi studied her.

His reflection was clear in her eyes, filled with nothing but concern and… anticipation?

With a quiet sigh—somewhere between resignation and indulgence—he relented.

"Alright."

Just that single word made Liu Yuan exhale in relief, her tense shoulders finally relaxing.

The corners of her lips curled upward, revealing a shy yet utterly content smile.

She immediately adjusted her posture, pressing her legs together, and patted the makeshift "pillow" she had formed, signaling Su Qi to "take his position."

Su Qi shifted slightly, angling himself before resting his head on Liu Yuan's lap.

Soft, with the delicate fragrance unique to a young girl.

Through the thin fabric, he could distinctly feel the momentary tension in her leg muscles.

Liu Yuan seemed to hold her breath, her body stiff as a board.

Her face flushed so deeply it looked like it might drip blood.

Yet, she was also puzzled.

Why was it that while [Phantom Fox Step] could remain permanently active, [Living Under Another's Roof] couldn't?

What was going on?

Weren’t they both passives from the same piece of equipment? Why the preferential treatment?

Su Qi closed his eyes as exhaustion surged over him again, his eyelids so heavy he could barely keep them open.

It wasn’t that his constitution had weakened.

Mostly, he’d just woken up too early today.

This makeshift "pillow" was far more comfortable than he’d expected.

A few seconds after Su Qi lay down, Liu Yuan’s body finally seemed to react, relaxing ever so slightly—painfully slow.

Her breathing remained light, her movements cautious, as if afraid of disturbing him.

His younger sister whispered, "Brother, can you sleep like this?"

"Actually, still no."

Su Qi’s question about sleeping wasn’t about the pillow.

The main issue was...

Just then, a sharp burst of chatter erupted nearby.

"Nineteen thousand! I’d be over the moon just to have a fraction of that!"

One voice rose exaggeratedly.

Su Qi opened his eyes and glanced at the boys beside them, noting the sign posted near them:

[Examinee Rest Area B—Please refrain from loud noises to avoid disturbing others.]

This was supposed to be a space for martial examinees to recuperate after the basic tests, preparing for the second-round arena matches.

Another voice, brimming with excitement, cut in: "This year’s top scorer in Jiangxia! She shattered a century-old record!"

"Total domination!"

"Yeah, exactly! Domination! All those so-called geniuses before her look like clowns in comparison!"

Of course, there were sour remarks too: "Pfft, if my family had a tenth-tier powerhouse, I’d be seventh-tier in the exams too."

"Just riding on her dad’s coattails, huh?"

Whether the other geniuses were clowns or not, Su Qi didn’t know.

But he thought people like this were pretty clownish themselves.

Not only were they ill-mannered, but they also sought pitiful comfort by belittling others.

I may not be as good as you, but you’re worse than someone else.

Did that really make them feel better?

Su Qi didn’t understand how scoring lower than Yun Huang equated to being a clown.

Had they ever stopped to consider what that made them?

"Brother, they’re so noisy," Liu Yuan muttered under her breath, so softly only Su Qi could hear.

Then—

The two boys’ loud conversation cut off abruptly.

A sudden silence spread rapidly through the room.

Su Qi cracked his eyes open.

He noticed that not just the noisy pair, but everyone in the rest area had frozen, their gazes locked onto the entrance.

A figure stood at the doorway.

A girl, dressed simply, her long hair tied back.

She simply stood there, silent, her expression so calm it carried an almost indifferent detachment.

Yet in an instant, she drew every gaze in the room, shifting the very atmosphere of the lounge.

The boys who had been loudly chatting moments ago now stood frozen, mouths agape, mid-sentence, but not a single sound escaped them.

The girl's eyes swept calmly across the room, lingering on no one in particular, yet those caught in her gaze instinctively tensed, as if under some unseen scrutiny.

The boy who had muttered "just riding on her father's coattails" fidgeted awkwardly.

Yun Huang paid no attention to their reactions.

She merely took a step forward, entering the lounge.

Her pace was neither hurried nor slow.

As she passed the petrified group of boys, they averted their eyes, heads bowing slightly.

Yun Huang acted as though they were invisible, walking straight toward the inner part of the lounge.

Her destination seemed deliberate.

Finally, her gaze settled on a specific area—somewhere near where Su Qi and Liu Yuan were seated.

Her eyes locked onto… Su Qi.

For a few seconds, she held that gaze.

Then, without a flicker of emotion, she looked away and continued forward.

She stopped at the empty seat beside Su Qi.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she sat down with effortless grace.

Her movements were natural, unhurried.

The nervous, awed, or curious stares around her might as well not have existed.

With Yun Huang seated, the tension in the lounge eased slightly.

But the heavy silence didn’t fully dissipate.

The boys from earlier still didn’t dare breathe too loudly, afraid of drawing her attention again.

Yun Huang closed her eyes, slipping swiftly into a meditative state.

Only her lips, rosy and soft, parted slightly before closing again.

"Sleep."