Who would be like Su Qi, spending all day peeking...

【Iris: Wait a sec… How can you message me, brother?】

【I Want to Sleep: Because I’m in the mystic realm too.】

【I Want to Sleep: This is the gift I mentioned yesterday.】

【Iris: I heard… entering the Origin Realm is really expensive, and there’s no way you’re only at the fourth tier, right?】

You heard right—the Origin Realm where Liu Yuan currently was came with an entry fee.

And it was charged by the hour.

Typically, it cost around 10,000 a day, and access was restricted to those below the fourth tier.

It wasn’t some capitalist scheme to squeeze the poor.

These "conquered" Origin Realms were preserved solely for "farming"—continuously generating renewable resources.

While 10,000 might seem steep, if you managed to snag a rare fourth-tier card within that day, you’d still net a 40,000 profit.

The key was the high safety factor—nearly all risks were clearly marked.

It was essentially a paywall to prevent freeloaders from stripping the place bare.

【I Want to Sleep: Pulled some strings to get in. Since I’m not taking any resources out, it’s free for me.】

【I Want to Sleep: Little Iris, you’re so curious about my details, huh?】

【I Want to Sleep: Let me put it this way—I’ll hit the seventh tier by the end of the month.】

【I Want to Sleep: How about sharing your location? I’ll come find you.】

Liu Yuan’s heart raced, pounding uncontrollably.

So… her brother had gone out of his way to pull strings just to accompany her in the mystic realm?

Even if he claimed it was free, she knew he didn’t want her to feel burdened…

And what kind of favor had he called in?

She wasn’t naive—some debts were far costlier than money.

But now came the real question: should she meet him?

Liu Yuan shook her head.

Seventh tier by the end of the month?

Just as she’d suspected…

Her brother was like those prodigies of the Great Summer—standing at the pinnacle, looking down on ordinary people like her.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to meet him…

She just didn’t feel secure at all.

Even though many of her peers had expressed interest in her over the years, praising her looks…

But so what?

Was her brother that shallow?

Would he be like Su Qi, sneaking glances at white thigh-highs all day?

Even if he joked about "showing legs" in their messages, it was just teasing.

He was trying to seem more down-to-earth.

Otherwise, if he interacted with her the way he normally did, the gap between them would feel insurmountable.

It’d be despairingly out of reach…

So when Su Qi said he wanted to see thigh-highs, it was pure lust—perverted, really.

When her brother said it, it was for her own good.

He was just too kind…

【Iris: Brother… I’m not ready to meet yet…】

【Iris: Didn’t we agree to wait until after my martial exam to arrange something…?】

【I Want to Sleep: Just asking. Felt like we were close by. If you’re not comfortable, focus on your exam.】

【I Want to Sleep: I can wait a couple more months.】

【I Want to Sleep: By the way, is your group’s instructor reliable?】

【I Want to Sleep: Saw one today who was a total actor—real veteran performer vibes.】

["I Want to Sleep: They’ve been following the group the whole time, but they make the students think they’re completely on their own, forcing them to muster the courage to face the Origin Realm creatures. Seems like a pretty effective teaching method."]

Liu Yuan listened to her brother’s description and thought about Old Li for a moment before finally managing to say, "It’s... alright, I guess."

Of course, status made a difference. The kind of people you interacted with changed too.

Compared to that, Old Li, who only knew how to grumble and curse, seemed downright unremarkable.

Liu Yuan happily hummed a little tune to herself.

But she’d only gotten halfway through when someone poured cold water on her mood.

Su Qi, stepping out of the tent to relieve himself, suddenly spotted Liu Yuan sitting alone on a rock, hugging her phone and giggling like an idiot.

She looked like a total dork.

Not ready to give up, Su Qi decided to test whether he could still get a rise out of her. "What’s so funny on your phone?"

Liu Yuan immediately shot him a glare. "None of your business."

"Tch, as if I could actually control you anyway."

Pouting, Liu Yuan went back to fiddling with her phone.

[Iris Flower: Brother, brother.]

[Iris Flower: There’s this really annoying, shameless person I know. Can you find a chance later to teach him a lesson for me?]

[Iris Flower: Like… just stuff him in a sack and beat him up a little.]

[I Want to Sleep: What’s wrong?]

[Iris Flower: He keeps deliberately provoking me…]

Su Qi, having finished his business, glanced at the messages. He wasn’t surprised.

A lot of guys liked a girl but didn’t have the guts to say it, so they just bullied her instead, trying to get her attention.

Honestly, it was a pretty stupid move.

He kept typing.

[I Want to Sleep: Got it. Leave it to me. I’ll beat him so badly even his own mom won’t recognize him.]

[I Want to Sleep: Only I get to bully my little Iris.]

Liu Yuan stared at Su Qi, who had already ducked back into the tent, and huffed under her breath.

Su Qi, you’re done for.

My brother said so.

……

Time flew by.

With Little Iris and mobile games to keep him company, Su Qi’s life in the Origin Realm wasn’t too boring.

Soon, night fell.

Having woken up early, Liu Yuan seemed to get sleepy sooner than usual. Yawning, she crawled into the tent.

Su Qi glanced at her but kept swaying in his hammock, playing on his phone.

However, Su Qi hadn’t considered one thing—this small tent hadn’t been designed with two hammocks in mind.

So when Liu Yuan sat down in her hammock, struggling to find her balance, the entire tent started shaking precariously!

"Su Qi, can you stop rocking so hard?! The whole thing’s about to collapse!"

"Don’t blame me! You’re the one using too much force—can’t you be gentler?!"

Just then, Old Li returned to the campsite with the group of students, all of them utterly exhausted.

The five-hour run hadn’t been purely for endurance training.

It was just to drill obedience into them—next time, they might not be so lucky.

And then, he witnessed the tent trembling slightly.

Accompanied by some shockingly bold remarks!

Silently, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette.

Normally, he didn’t smoke during work hours.

Unless he really needed to calm his nerves.

He flicked his thumb against his middle finger, summoning a small flame to light the cigarette.

Taking a deep drag, he muttered to himself, "No wonder they don’t share the same last name."

"Youth is something else."

"Such a close sibling bond."