Wang Dong was proud, but wasn't Su Yu the same?
The only difference was that Wang Dong wore his pride openly, while Su Yu kept his buried deep. When others didn't like him, he certainly wouldn't go out of his way to be friendly. And with his rapid advancement, he didn't stay in any class for long, so in the past six months, he hadn't made any true friends.
The only two people he had a good relationship with were Wang Dong and Meng Hongchen—both of whom he had met right at the start of the school year.
"So, you still dare to criticize me?"
Wang Dong lifted his head with a smug expression.
"You say I can't lower myself, but aren't you the same? You haven't even made a single male friend, yet you lecture me every day."
"And when it comes to getting along with girls, I'm not bad either. I just can't be bothered with them."
Wang Dong pouted, clearly unimpressed.
Getting along with girls? What's the big deal about that? Wang Dong thought. They're just a bunch of shallow women attracted to your good looks, nothing more. Besides, who doesn't look good around here?
Su Yu: "..."
Seeing Su Yu stay silent, Wang Dong's confidence grew.
"Look at you, you've got nothing to say, right? Not so impressive after all!"
Wang Dong seized the opportunity to mock Su Yu with enthusiasm, jumping around as if he had finally gotten the upper hand.
It was clear he cherished this rare chance to tease Su Yu.
Su Yu's expression remained unchanged. He looked up at Wang Dong, his gaze calm and steady, which made Wang Dong freeze mid-sentence. He sensed a bit of danger.
"W-What are you planning?"
Wang Dong took two steps back, suddenly cautious.
"What do you think?"
Su Yu flashed a mischievous smile.
"You're going to use force just because you can't win the argument? Is there no justice in the world anymore? No rule of law?"
"I am the law," Su Yu declared.
Wang Dong immediately tried to run, but Su Yu caught him in one swift motion and pressed him onto the bed. Su Yu's free hand then attacked Wang Dong's ticklish spots, causing him to burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Stop, stop! I'm sorry, I was wrong!"
Wang Dong giggled and squirmed, her face turning red as she begged for mercy. But Su Yu didn't stop, continuing the tickle assault.
After a while, realizing that pleading wasn't working, Wang Dong gathered her courage and decided to fight back. He reached out and began tickling Su Yu in retaliation.
In no time, the two of them were tangled in a playful skirmish, the room filled with laughter and chaos.
A while later...
Suddenly, a voice cut through the air, freezing them both in place.
"What... are you two doing?"
Meng Hongchen stood at the door, her lips slightly parted, her face filled with shock as though she had just witnessed something unbelievable. She saw Wang Dong and Su Yu lying together on the bed, hugging each other, seemingly in a very intimate position.
Meng Hongchen's face paled, her body trembling. She pointed at the two of them, her hand shaking uncontrollably, and even her eyes began brimming with tears.
Could it be... that Su Yu liked... Could Su Yu be...
Meng Hongchen had misunderstood, even starting to question whether Su Yu's preferences were... unusual.
Both Su Yu and Wang Dong were startled by her sudden appearance.
Su Yu's body stiffened. He had been playing around with Wang Dong in the dorm, so he hadn't been on guard. Who could have expected Meng Hongchen to show up unnoticed? This was almost a social death moment.
Su Yu hurriedly got up. Seeing Meng Hongchen on the verge of tears, he felt his mouth twitch. This misunderstanding had gotten way out of hand!
Wang Dong also peeked out from behind Su Yu, his pupils shrinking when he saw Meng Hongchen.
"Su Yu, you..."
Meng Hongchen looked at Su Yu as if she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.
Su Yu's mouth twitched, and he forced himself to speak.
"Sister Meng, if I told you this was a misunderstanding, would you believe me?"
Meng Hongchen's eyes were red as she softly replied, "I saw it with my own eyes. Do you... not like women?"
No wonder she had been chasing Su Yu for half a year without any response from him. It turns out he didn't like women. At that moment, Meng Hongchen's heart felt like it was shattering.
If Su Yu simply hadn't fallen for her yet, she could still try harder. But if Su Yu didn't like women, then she had no chance at all.
Such a perfect Su Yu... why did he have to like men?
Meng Hongchen's eyes were filled with sorrow and reluctance.
She had lost to Wang Dong—a man! It was unbearable, truly unbearable!
Su Yu: "..."
Wang Dong was also feeling a headache coming on. Meng Hongchen had misunderstood everything.
"Sister Meng, we were just playing around. There's nothing more to it. We often mess around like this."
Meng Hongchen: (╥﹏╥)
You often play like this?
Wang Dong's words hit Meng Hongchen like another blow. Tears immediately started to fall.
Seeing Meng Hongchen's misunderstanding even further, Su Yu felt a cold sweat on his forehead. He shot a sharp look at Wang Dong, as if to say, If you can't explain clearly, then don't say anything at all. Your vague explanations are only making things worse!
Wang Dong gave Su Yu a defiant look as if to say If you hadn't dragged me into this in the first place, we wouldn't be in this mess!
Seeing the two of them exchanging what looked like meaningful glances, Meng Hongchen completely broke down. Tears streamed down her face.
In the end, she had fallen for the wrong person.
Su Yu: "..."
Wang Dong: "..."
Why was Meng Hongchen crying so bitterly all of a sudden?
"Sister Meng, you misunderstood. We were just fooling around," Su Yu said, trying to calm her down. Not wanting her to stand in the doorway crying, he quickly pulled her into the dorm room.
Meng Hongchen didn't resist, but the tears kept falling.
"I was just messing around with Wang Dong, it's not what you think."
Su Yu explained carefully, speaking in a gentle tone. He didn't want people to think he was something he wasn't. He was perfectly normal.
Su Yu—male, interested in women! Pure to the core, a true man.
"But you two were hugging," Meng Hongchen pouted, still doubtful.
"Sometimes when you're messing around, things can get out of hand. It's the same with girls. It doesn't mean anything is wrong with us."
"Look, we're both fully clothed," Su Yu pointed out.
Only then did Meng Hongchen notice that while Su Yu and Wang Dong's hair was a bit messy, their clothes were perfectly intact. That detail didn't quite match the scene she had imagined.
Still unsure, she asked, "You're just playing around?"
"Do you have a roommate?"
Wang Dong asked her.
Meng Hongchen shook her head.
"What about a best female friend?"
Again, Meng Hongchen shook her head. With her exceptional talent and special background, she had only ever had her brother by her side growing up. She had very few friends.
"Then I get it," Wang Dong said with a nod.
"No wonder you misunderstood. If you had a close roommate, you'd know that roughhousing like this is normal."
Wang Dong's gaze softened toward Meng Hongchen. She had been lonely for most of her life, much like him. In a way, they were quite similar.
He had been lonely from childhood until now. Su Yu wasn't just Wang Dong's only friend at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy; he was the only friend Wang Dong had ever had in his life.
Su Yu held a very important place in his heart.
As for Su Yu himself, Wang Dong didn't know much about him. But judging by Su Yu's behavior, it didn't seem like he had many friends either.
When someone becomes too outstanding, they inevitably form an invisible barrier between themselves and the people around them.
People tend to gather with those who are similar to them—that's just how it works.
A genius's friends are usually other geniuses.
"Is what Wang Dong said true?"
Meng Hongchen looked at Su Yu, her beautiful, slightly teary eyes filled with a hint of hope. She was afraid of hearing the answer she didn't want.
"Of course it's true."
Su Yu smiled and said, "Sister Meng, I'm a very normal person. There's nothing wrong with my orientation. I only like pretty girls."
Hearing Su Yu say this, Meng Hongchen finally relaxed. She realized how badly she had misunderstood, her face reddening as she weakly said, "I'm sorry, I misunderstood."
She had spun an entire dramatic scenario in her head, and in the end, had made herself cry over it.
"It's not your fault. You don't understand how friends mess around with each other, and our position earlier was indeed a bit misleading," Su Yu said, waving his hand to show that it wasn't a big deal.
Inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, he managed to clear things up. Otherwise, if people thought he was into men, that would have been a disaster.
"By the way, Sister Meng, why did you come here?"
Su Yu asked as he pulled a chair over for her.
"Sister Meng, please sit."
Meng Hongchen thanked him and then sat down. She sat with an elegant and demure posture, legs together and her hands resting on her knees, exuding a quiet, graceful beauty.
"I came to congratulate you," Meng Hongchen said.
"Congratulate me?"
Su Yu blinked.
"That's right. You passed the Level 4 Soul Engineer exam and became a Level 4 Soul Engineer. The academy has also designated you as a seed candidate for Illustrious Virtue Hall and is giving you a series of excellent benefits. How could I not come to congratulate you on such a happy occasion?"
Meng Hongchen said with a sweet smile.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Su Yu.
Su Yu was truly incredible. He had become a Level 4 Soul Engineer in just eight months.
Such talent in soul tools was something even she and her brother could only look up to.
Her brother had said that their grandfather was giving Su Yu special treatment because of her, and at first, she had believed it. But after thinking it over, she realized that wasn't the case.
It was because Su Yu's talent was so extraordinary that the academy had no choice but to treat him with great respect.
It was hard to imagine how high Su Yu's future achievements would be.
But one thing was certain—Su Yu would reach the level of a Level 9 Soul Engineer. And it wasn't impossible that he could even become a Level 10 Soul Engineer.
According to the teachers who oversaw the exam, Su Yu wasn't just a fast learner with a photographic memory. He also had his own unique ideas when it came to designing and creating soul tools.
For a Soul Engineer, having such original thinking and ideas was incredibly important.
The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy didn't lack Soul Engineers who followed the rules. What it lacked were creative geniuses who could think outside the box.
In general, only when there are more people like that can soul tools advance more quickly.
And Su Yu had that potential.
On top of that, Su Yu also had a natural talent as a soul master. If the academy didn't prioritize him, it would have been a case of them being completely blind.
"It's just a small accomplishment, really not a big deal," Su Yu said calmly.
It wasn't that he was trying to be modest—he genuinely didn't think it was that impressive.
Having grown up witnessing grand events, his mindset was quite different from others.
"This is not a small matter. You don't know how many people in Illustrious Virtue Hall are red-eyed with jealousy over the treatment you're receiving," Meng Hongchen said seriously, looking at Su Yu.
"If it weren't for the fact that the students of Illustrious Virtue Hall aren't allowed to pick on those outside the hall, someone surely would have come to cause trouble for you by now."
"But even so, once you join Illustrious Virtue Hall in the future, there will probably still be plenty of people trying to make things difficult for you."
"You should be prepared for that."
"It's no big deal. If someone causes trouble, I'll just beat them until they submit," Su Yu said, still calm.
"By the way, Sister Meng, you keep mentioning the benefits. What exactly are they?"
Wang Dong asked, puzzled.
"Isn't it just the title of an Illustrious Virtue Hall seed? Why is that such a big deal?"
"It's not just a title," Meng Hongchen said with a soft laugh as she explained everything to Wang Dong.
"What?! Such generous benefits? And you didn't even tell me, you dummy?"
Wang Dong immediately grabbed Su Yu by the neck in a playful chokehold.
Su Yu rolled his eyes and pulled Wang Dong over, draping him across his lap, and gave his perky bottom a firm smack.
Smack!
Wang Dong's face instantly turned red, his eyes welling up with a strange mist as he felt both embarrassed and angry.
"Not bad, it's pretty firm!"
Su Yu even commented.
This made Wang Dong's face turn even redder, filled with shame and frustration.
"Su Yu, you jerk! Let me go!"
Wang Dong was so embarrassed that he just wanted to find a hole to crawl into. Being spanked by Su Yu in front of Meng Hongchen was too humiliating for him to bear.
"What if I don't let go?"
Su Yu asked playfully.
"You!"
"Me?"
"If you don't let me go, I'll..."
"You'll what?"
Su Yu asked with a grin.
"I'll bite you!"
Wang Dong grabbed Su Yu's hand and bit down, like an agitated little rabbit.
"Su Yu, you—"
Meng Hongchen was about to speak, but Su Yu raised his hand to stop her.
"It's fine," Su Yu said calmly.
Sure enough, after biting for a while, Wang Dong let go in disgust.
"Damn it, your skin is so thick! It's tough as iron!"
Wang Dong frowned, feeling like he had just bitten into metal.
Not only had he failed to break Su Yu's skin, but now his teeth were aching.
Of course, if he had used soul power, he could have broken through, but since they were just playing around, he would never actually use soul power.
"You're just weak. You don't even have the strength to bite properly," Su Yu said, shaking his head in disdain.
"What did you say?!"
"You heard me."
"All right, you jerk, I'm going to fight you!"
Taking advantage of Su Yu's moment of relaxation, Wang Dong broke free and pounced on him, claws outstretched.
Su Yu easily subdued him with one hand, pinning him to the bed.
"Wang Dong, do you admit defeat?"
Su Yu asked with a grin.
"No, I don't! I won't admit it!"
Even though his body was pinned and held down with one hand, Wang Dong's spirit remained unyielding.
"Still not giving in?"
Su Yu's eyes gleamed mischievously as he tickled Wang Dong's sides again, causing him to burst into laughter.
"Su Yu, you two get along well," Meng Hongchen said quietly, watching them with a hint of envy in her eyes.
She was envious of Su Yu for having a roommate with whom he shared such a close bond.
It seemed like a lot of fun to be able to joke around and play like that.