He admired the heroes, but he did not wish to be one himself.

Time flew by quickly.

Two and a half hours wasn’t particularly long.

"Yuan, I should head back," Yun Huang murmured softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "What about these...?"

She glanced down at the remaining game tokens in her hand, only a small handful left.

Like grains of sand slipping through her fingers, they tumbled back into the basket.

Liu Yuan didn’t fully grasp Yun Huang’s situation, treating it as nothing out of the ordinary. "Then let’s come back next weekend..."

A flicker of hope flashed in Yun Huang’s eyes, but it was quickly overshadowed by something more complicated.

Next time... might be a distant dream.

Some words, she kept to herself.

After all, the same excuse couldn’t be used twice.

Su Qi’s plan was bound to fail.

Next time, the Yun family could easily set up a makeshift "movie theater" of their own.

That card could just be considered the price of this fleeting taste of freedom.

They say if you don’t hold onto hope, you won’t be disappointed.

But sometimes, allowing yourself to hope a little...

Didn’t seem so bad.

As long as a person was alive, it was impossible to truly live without any expectations.

What if...

...

"Huang Huang, you’re back?"

The moment she stepped through the door, Yun Ting’s voice rang out from the living room.

Yun Huang looked up to see her sitting on the sofa, a teacup in hand, her sharp gaze sweeping over her.

Her fingers tightened slightly, but her expression remained calm. "Yes, I’m back."

Yun Ting set down her cup, her eyes landing on the movie ticket in Yun Huang’s hand. A faint frown creased her brow. "Was the movie good?"

Yun Huang nodded, her tone indifferent. "Not particularly. If it weren’t for cultivation, I wouldn’t have wasted the time."

A trace of satisfaction flickered in Yun Ting’s eyes, as though reassured by her answer.

"Good. Go and cultivate now. Don’t delay any longer."

Yun Huang lowered her head, responding softly, "Understood."

Watching Yun Ting’s retreating figure disappear around the staircase corner, Yun Huang exhaled quietly in relief.

Had that woman noticed nothing unusual?

She returned to her room, shutting the door behind her and leaning against it. Her fingers brushed lightly over the monitoring device hidden beneath her clothes.

"Su Qi..."

She whispered the name, his bright eyes surfacing in her mind.

A brief taste of freedom...

But true freedom meant being able to control her own life.

She walked to the window, gazing into the distance.

The spring breeze of March caressed her cheeks, carrying a crisp chill.

A sudden surge of restlessness rose in her chest—she wanted to do something, to change something.

...

Meanwhile.

Leaving the Yun estate around one, the journey took a little over half an hour. Add in the two and a half hours at the arcade, plus the hour-long round trip to escort Yun Huang back, and it was just about dinnertime.

Su Qi wasn’t so stingy as to skip treating Liu Yuan to a meal.

After dinner, the two found themselves by the window on the mall’s top floor.

By six in the evening, the spring sky had already darkened.

Liu Yuan propped her chin on her hand, watching the slow-moving cruise boats on the lake and the scattered lights along the riverbank, a trace of longing flashing in her eyes.

"Su Qi, how long do you think it’ll take before I can have a little place of my own in this city?" she asked quietly.

That way, she could live in a home she bought herself—and then bring her brother over without a second thought.

Otherwise, with Su Qi still around, even if it wasn’t a big deal, there’d inevitably be awkward moments.

"Here?" Su Qi pondered for a moment before answering. "Right now, property prices in this area range from 35,000 to 40,000 per square meter. If you’re aiming for a 100-square-meter apartment, even with a 40% down payment, plus renovation, furniture, and other expenses, you’re looking at around 1.7 to 1.8 million."

"If a Cardholder doesn’t go to the frontlines, their salary isn’t anything special. Jiangxia’s average monthly income is about 4,000. Of course, you’re way above that average—after graduation, your salary could easily triple. Let’s say 30,000 a month, so 360,000 a year. After living expenses, you might save 200,000-plus annually. Work hard for seven or eight years, and you’ll have enough for the down payment."

"By then, you’ll just be hitting thirty, followed by another decade of mortgage payments. Truly, life gets more hopeful by the day."

Hearing this, Liu Yuan’s mood instantly soured. She glared at Su Qi, irritation flashing in her eyes.

"Su Qi, are you deliberately trying to upset me?"

"You asked when you could have a place here. I’m just giving you a realistic breakdown."

"Thanks so much for that bucket of cold water."

She rolled her eyes and fell silent.

"What? Really that eager to have your own little nest?" Su Qi pressed.

If Liu Yuan moved out, that’d be ideal—he could bring Little Iris home without a second thought.

Otherwise, with Liu Yuan around, even if it wasn’t a problem, there’d always be moments of inconvenience.

His feelings toward this nominal younger sister were... complicated.

Back when he’d just turned eighteen, he hadn’t known how to interact with girls, even keeping a cautious distance.

Over time, conversations between them grew sparse, and their relationship naturally remained lukewarm.

But it wasn’t like they were on bad terms, either.

As for why he refused to let Liu Yuan sell the house to fund her martial exam or offer her any help—his indifference was the greatest kindness.

Did she think the Source Realm was child’s play?

People died in there...

Failing the martial exam and living an ordinary life was still better than vanishing into some forgotten corner of the Source Realm.

Put simply, he admired the heroes who fought on the frontlines.

But he didn’t want himself—or this one person he had left without blood ties—to become one of them.

"Next month’s Source Realm training—I’ll be going as your guardian."

Of course, it definitely wasn’t just so he and Little Iris could keep chatting on the same signal network.