Chapter V: Great Zhou Institute II

As the teacher left, the tense atmosphere in the hall immediately relaxed, and the students gathered together, erupting in lively laughter and noise.

Yao Long and Zhou Yuan absently tidied their desks, preparing to leave.

"Your highness," a gentle voice reached Yao Long's ears as he straightened up. He saw a girl smiling at them in front of their desk.

The girl wore the uniform of the Great Zhou Institute, and though it was a little large on her, the contours of her well-developed curves could still be seen. Her simple pair of pants made her long and slender legs stand out, and her fair skin, raised nose, shapely eyebrows, and almond-like eyes all contributed to her beauty in the making. The tear-shaped birthmark at the corner of her eye gave her a unique charm.

Her rosy little lips were slightly pursed, and despite not wearing any costly jewelry or extravagant clothing, she exuded a confident and vibrant aura, her long ponytail bouncing with vitality.

As she stood there, she drew the covetous gazes of numerous boys in the lecture hall.

"Who is she?" Yao Long's countenance shone magnificently as he saw another character from the Dragon Prince Yuan novel, Su Youwei. Even though he knew her, he asked Zhou Yuan to avoid suspicion.

Hearing Yao Long's question, Zhou Yuan was a little surprised that he didn't know about Su Youwei. After all, she was considered the goddess of all male students and the envy of female students at the Great Zhou Institute. "Oh, this is Su Youwei, my friend."

"A friend? Hmm, I understand," a teasing smile spread across Yao Long's face as he looked at Su Youwei. He clearly knew about the relationship between the two, but wanted to tease Zhou Yuan to see his reaction, knowing that they would eventually have an unborn child because of the merging of spirits or whatever at the end of the novel—It was an unpleasant spoiler that he came to know involuntarily.

However, Zhou Yuan's reaction disappointed him as he just rolled his eyes and didn't say anything. He felt that he didn't need to explain anything.

The girl's family name was Su, and her name was Youwei.

Su Youwei's beautiful face turned a little red when she overheard the conversation between Yao Long and Zhou Yuan. She never expected them to talk about such things, and her teenage mind couldn't help but imagine certain scenes. However, upon seeing their messy table, she knelt down and said, "Your Highness, and eh... Brother.... Elder brother... Yes! I better help you all get ready."

Yao Long's eyebrows twitched slightly when he heard Su Youwei calling him Elder Brother, but he didn't reject her help. On the contrary, he gladly accepted it, as he would be a fool to let such a beauty go through an awkward moment.

Seeing no negative or positive responses, Su Youwei thought that they didn't reject her, so she started busying herself with Yao Long and Zhou Yuan's study table, helping them tidy up. This caught the eye of several boys who envied Yao Long and Zhou Yuan and girls who envied Su Youwei for being with two cute boys right next to each other.

Their red eyes looked as if they were about to launch laser beams to attack Yao Long, Zhou Yuan, and Su Youwei. The envy inside them was practically exploding like a volcano that had just awakened after a thousand years of sleep.

As they set their table together with Su Youwei, Zhou Yuan suddenly asked, "Has your grandfather recovered from his illness?"

Yao Long, of course, knew what Zhou Yuan was talking about, but he couldn't just say something he knew when he wasn't supposed to know it. So he asked curiously, "Grandfather?"

Su Youwei slightly lifted her pretty face when she heard someone talking about her dear grandfather. Her beautiful hand pulled back a lock of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes, and soon after, a smile broke across her face.

"Yes, my grandfather. He was sick, and I couldn't buy medicine for him, as I couldn't afford it, but His Highness showed up and helped me. At this point, he's already fully recovered. Besides, grandpa said he wants to invite His Highness if you have time, but our house is a little too ugly, unfortunately…" Su Youwei started speaking in a sad tone that later turned into euphoria of happiness when she talked about how Zhou Yuan helped her and her grandfather's recovery.

Hearing Su Youwei's response, Yao Long was a little sad, even though he already knew her story from having read the novel. "Don't worry, the worst is over, your grandfather is probably brand new, as the old saying goes: 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger'."

"Yes, You are right," Su Youwei's cute face lit up with a beautiful and charming smile, bewitching Yao Long for a few minutes before he regained his senses.

"That was very dangerous!" thought Yao Long to himself. He never expected Su Youwei's smile to be so fatal; he almost went down the path of no return.

Feeling like he was being excluded from the conversation, Zhou Yuan suddenly said, "Don't worry Su Youwei, I'll go during our next vacation."

Su Youwei gently bit the red lips of her little mouth when she heard Zhou Yuan reply without the slightest hesitation. A glimmer of water seemed to flash in her eyes as she looked towards him, before she hastily lowered her head, afraid that he would see it.

She still remembered the day she met Zhou Yuan a year ago.

It was perhaps the most despairing day of her life, but also the same day that she started to welcome hope once again.

On that day, the grandfather whom she had relied on since young had fallen deathly ill, causing her already broken family to completely fall apart. She had no choice but to brave the torrential rain with her grandfather on her tiny back in search of help.

Because they lacked money, she could only kneel before each clinic, crying as she implored for their aid, hoping that a doctor would be able to save her grandfather.

The her from back then had been drenched in mud, a sight that was miserable to the extreme.

In the end, every single clinic's door remained coldly closed. Under the pouring rain, she felt the entire sky darken as her heart grew cold as ice.

Just as her desperation was about to reach a numbing level, she sensed someone walk to her side and place an umbrella in her hand before walking forward and barbarically kicking open the tightly shut doors of the clinic in front of her unfocused gaze.

At that time, a cold voice seemed to ring out.

"Open up and save this person!"

The one who had kicked open the doors of the clinic was naturally Zhou Yuan. Back then, Su Youwei could only blankly gaze upon his back. In the past, the ones she had most hated were those children from wealthy families, yet, at that very moment, she knew that she would never forget the back of the boy who had kicked open those large doors...

It was from that very day that she came to be acquainted with Zhou Yuan. Later on, she discovered his identity as the royal highness of the Great Zhou Empire.

Afterward, Zhou Yuan had by chance discovered her talent for cultivation, leading him to recommend her to the Great Zhou Institute. It was then that she started her magnificent transformation...

The very first month after she entered the Great Zhou Institute, she successfully opened the first meridian channel, becoming the fastest channel opener ever since the Institute's establishment. From that moment on, she became the so-called genius that everyone in the Great Zhou Institute spoke of.

This sudden change from being an existence no one took notice of to the center of attention felt rather unnatural for Su Youwei. Moreover, there were times when people would find the relationship between her and Zhou Yuan unsightly, secretly saying that Zhou Yuan had only helped her because he had taken a fancy to her looks.

However, Su Youwei merely smiled in response. Only she clearly knew what a dirty and malnourished little girl she had been when she first met Zhou Yuan...

"Hey, how high are you going to stack our books?" Yao Long helplessly looked at Su Youwei. She was obviously a little out of it at the moment, as she had stacked the books on their table into a giant pyramid that reached the heavens.

"Ah?" Su Youwei returned to reality and saw her masterpiece. Her little face immediately turned beet-red as she hurriedly unstacked the books. "Sorry, Brother Yao, I will redo it!"

Her adorable appearance caused the gazes looking at Yao Long and Zhou Yuan to instantly turn much fiercer. If not for the fact that they were unaware of the extent of Yao Long's strength and Zhou Yuan's noble status as a prince, it was likely that they would have rushed to save their goddess too quickly.

Upon sensing their gazes, Zhou Yuan could only shake his head and whispered, "Now that you've become so pretty, I no longer dare to order you around."

Su Youwei blushed even more madly at this little comment on Zhou Yuan's part. "Then I'll have to smear some dirt on my face in the future to make myself a little uglier," she playfully replied.

"Why are you leaving me out of the conversation and flirting with yourselves?" Yao Long teased with a smile spread across his handsome face.

Zhou Yuan rolled his eyes in response, while Su Youwei found herself blushing even more. Her heart seemed to be racing at the playful exchange between the two boys.

"Oh, that's right," Zhou Yuan pointed at the table as he continued, "How many meridian channels have you opened so far?"

Su Youwei was slightly taken aback. She glanced at Zhou Yuan, before very cautiously replying, "I've already opened the third meridian channel."

She knew that Zhou Yuan seemed to be unable to open his channels and cultivate for some unknown reason. Thus, she would not voluntarily bring up the topic of opening channels when the two were together, and never flaunted her progress, afraid that this sensitive topic would upset Zhou Yuan.

"The third one. At this rate, all eight channels will be fully open in a year or two. How about you, Yao Long? I'll understand if you don't want to answer, as we all have our secrets," Zhou Yuan asked.

"I already opened my third meridian channel two weeks ago," Yao Long replied, not bothered to keep this information to himself, as it wasn't an extremely important secret like the system's existence or his reincarnation in this world. It wasn't as if he would be silenced by such an action, so he had no qualms about sharing it.

Zhou Yuan sighed in admiration, knowing that Su Youwei's talent in cultivation was extremely outstanding. In less than a year, she had already accomplished what others had worked years to achieve. He also recognized Yao Long's high talent, perhaps even higher than Su Youwei's.

This left him exceptionally satisfied. It seemed that he had a divine luck that made him find geniuses by chance and get their friendship.

As the three friends chatted, the bell signaling the end of the day rang, and the students began to disperse. Yao Long, Zhou Yuan, and Su Youwei decided to walk together to enjoy some time before heading home.

Along the way, they laughed, teased, and shared stories of their time at the Institute. Su Youwei, who was once an underprivileged girl, now felt a sense of belonging and happiness that she had never experienced before.

For Yao Long, Zhou Yuan, and Su Youwei, their friendship had transcended social status and backgrounds, forming a bond that grew stronger with each minutes.

As they reached a peaceful garden inside the Institute's campus, Su Youwei shared her dream of becoming a powerful cultivator and eventually helping those in need, just as Zhou Yuan had once helped her grandfather.

Yao Long, listening attentively, nodded with a warm smile. "You've already shown incredible progress, Su Youwei. I have no doubt you'll achieve your dream and make a difference in the world."

Zhou Yuan chimed in, "And I'll always be there to support you, just like I did that rainy day when we first met."

Su Youwei's eyes shimmered with gratitude as she looked at her old and new friend, in this moment, she felt a profound sense of purpose and determination to fulfill her dreams.

As the sun began to set, painting the sky with hues of orange and pink, the trio continued their stroll through the garden, enjoying the peacefulness and the warmth of their friendship.

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Please read my original novel called The Nameless Monster by Yuan_T, I hope you like and support this novel that I wrote and that you can join forces make this novel of mine a world hit!

See you there,

The author, Heavens_Sovereign

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