Ilanier's breath still lingered by her ear; that softness and determination seemed to remain branded deep within her soul.
The dizziness of spatial displacement flashed past and vanished.
The rich, fragrant scent of vegetation from the Elven Royal Capital was replaced by the refreshing aroma of bamboo leaves in the dorm room.
Lin Qingyue landed steadily beside the bed, her feet making no sound.
The intensity of last night's "deep communication" had far exceeded her imagination.
Her mental realm had been repeatedly tempered; right now, it was crystal clear, and her thoughts were as fast as lightning.
However, every muscle fiber in her body was protesting the soreness and exhaustion of being thoroughly drained.
This contradictory feeling of mental excitement and physical lethargy made her internally attach a brand-new label to Ilanier.
A succubus... no, a juicer.
She silently grumbled, yet the corners of her lips curled up uncontrollably.
This feeling of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with her partner and rapidly growing stronger together was truly, damnably charming.
Lin Qingyue gathered her thoughts, lay down softly, and sank into the deepest slumber the moment she touched the pillow.
-
The morning sunlight sliced through the gap in the curtains, casting dancing golden spots of light on the floor.
Lin Xiyue walked out of the room yawning, and at a glance saw her neatly dressed sister.
"Sis, morning."
She greeted her vaguely, then moved closer, her pretty brows knitted together as she walked a circle around Lin Qingyue.
"Something's off about you."
"You look incredibly energetic, but at the same time, there's an indescribable sense of exhaustion about you... What's going on?"
Lin Qingyue's hands, which were adjusting her clothes, paused slightly.
This girl's intuition was still so terrifying. She had clearly used the [Adeptus Breathing Method] to Renew her condition.
Yet her face remained completely nonchalant, and she even lazily let out a yawn.
"Inspiration struck, so I stayed up late researching a new set of tactics. It took a bit of mental energy, but it's no big deal."
She couldn't exactly say that last night in another world, she was having a super high-intensity "life science duo practice class" with the Elf Queen, right?
"Oh."
Lin Xiyue didn't doubt her further, nodded, and also started to pack her own gear.
After breakfast, the four-person squad faced the morning sun and walked toward the teaching site for their Ancient Martial Arts class.
The aftermath of that battle at the opening ceremony was still intensely fermenting within the campus.
Their Quantum Battleship Squad, especially Captain Lin Qingyue, had already become the most dazzling legend among the current freshmen, bar none.
Along the way, countless gazes followed them like spotlights, a mixture of awe, curiosity, and undisguised burning passion.
Just as they reached a fork in the road, the surrounding wave of discussions abruptly peaked.
A few upperclassmen boys were pushing and shoving each other at the edge of the crowd, their faces written with excitement and cowardice, as if fighting a silent duel over "who goes first."
Eventually, the most heavily built Senior Brother was pushed out by the combined efforts of his peers.
He stumbled and nearly fell over. After steadying himself, he simply threw caution to the wind, his face turning red as he strode forward to the four of them and spread his arms wide to block their path.
Immediately after, he gave a standard 90-degree bow to Lin Qingyue, his voice loud enough to rattle the ears.
"Lin... Junior Sister Lin Qingyue! My name is Zhang Shuo! Please... please date me with marriage in mind!"
This shout successfully ignited the entire crowd.
Su Wan remained expressionless, but her beautiful eyes gleamed with the light of someone eager to watch the drama unfold.
As the quintessential example of someone whose life had been arranged by her family since childhood, she had genuinely never dealt with a situation like this before. This was the perfect chance to observe firsthand and gather some experience.
Xia Lian, on the other hand, had the startled look of a frightened deer. She muttered softly, "Someone's confessing on the very first day of freshman year? Is university... really like this?"
Only Lin Xiyue stood with her arms crossed, raising an eyebrow with great interest, ready to enjoy her sister's massive scene of social death.
A vein throbbed inappropriately at Lin Qingyue's temple.
The vibe at Tianshu University was peculiar, as expected.
Even the confessions were this direct and impactful.
Before she could even open her mouth, a few others in the crowd erupted.
"Zhang Shuo, you thick-eyebrowed bastard, jumping the gun again! Junior, ignore him, look at me!"
"Junior! My fist techniques are fierce, I can smash boulders on my chest, I can absolutely protect you!"
"My footwork is elegant, I'm number one at running away, I can get you out of any danger!"
The scene instantly spiraled out of control, turning into a massive, chaotic courtship display.
Lin Qingyue felt her head throbbing with pain.
She hated dealing with this kind of thing the most.
Rather than just fending them off, she needed a one-hit kill to put an end to this once and for all.
She cleared her throat.
The noisy crowd instantly fell silent, everyone's eyes focused on her, full of anticipation.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Lin Qingyue parted her red lips. Word by word, her voice was clear and resonant.
"Thank you all for your affection."
"However, I like girls."
She paused, her gaze seemingly piercing through the crowd to look toward the distant horizon, carrying a trace of nostalgic tenderness.
"The kind who are taller than me and have a better figure than me."
Every single word was like an armor-piercing sonic wave, precisely penetrating the eardrums of everyone present before detonating.
The entire intersection instantly plunged into a deathly silence.
Everyone was petrified.
The mouths of the confessing boys were still wide open. Their expressions shifted from fanatical to astonished, and from astonished to vacant, before finally shattering inch by inch and crumbling to dust.
"Taller than you?
Are you kidding me with your nearly 1.8-meter height?!
A better figure than yours?
A girl?
Wait... the biggest bombshell seems to be that last word?!"
After a dead silence, whispers surged up like a tide.
Countless gazes swept back and forth over her practically perfect figure, massive question marks popping into everyone's minds.
"Is this for real? Is this a new trick to reject people?"
"These standards are just too outrageous... Over 1.8 meters tall, with a top-tier figure... a girl?"
"It's over, my romance has been obliterated by a dimensional strike before it even began."
[Ding! The Host loudly announced her coming out, causing a severe mental shock to the still-pure college students. Elation Value +888!]
Lin Qingyue turned a deaf ear to the storm around her, reached out to grab her sister who was still enjoying the show, pushed past the petrified statues, and walked away.
Only after walking quite a distance did Lin Xiyue finally fail to hold it in, bursting into laughter and playfully nudging her with an elbow.
"Sis, you're really something."
"But aren't your standards just copied exactly from that Elf Queen? It's a pity, though. The Dungeon is closed, so you can't even see her anymore, yet you're still pining over her?"
Hearing this, Lin Qingyue didn't explain. She merely curled her lips into an unfathomable smile.
What a joke.
Not only do I get to see her every day, but we also share a bed every night and raise a child together. Like I'd tell you that?
Seeing her sister's smug and highly punchable look, Lin Xiyue curled her lip. Suddenly, she leaned in carefully, lowering her voice to a whisper that only the two of them could hear.
"Sis..."
"Hmm?"
"I always thought... I was the only abnormal one in the family..."
Lin Xiyue's voice carried a hint of relieved liberation, along with the joy of finding a kindred spirit.
"So you like girls too."
"Now I can finally rest easy."
Lin Qingyue's footsteps came to a sudden halt.
She slowly turned her head, staring fixedly at her twin sister with a look of sheer disbelief.
Lin Xiyue felt a little creeped out by her stare. She instinctively puffed out her chest, stiffened her neck, and feigned composure.
"What... what are you looking at? Is there a problem?"
Lin Qingyue's brain short-circuited for a full three seconds.
Holy crap?
What is going on? I thought I was the only racer in the family taking the bent track, but it turns out my sister isn't just on the same path, she's already waiting at the finish line?!
Looking at her sister's stubborn face—which was almost identical to her own and currently had "I'm risking it all" written all over it—she suddenly smiled.
It was a genuine smile, a mix of shock, relief, and utter doting.
She reached out and vigorously rubbed Lin Xiyue's head, completely messing up her carefully styled hair.
"It's fine, why wouldn't it be? As expected of my sister!"
"But you little brat, no wonder your hands were never well-behaved when we used to scrub each other's backs! Next time I'm going to pinch back!"
"Hey! Don't mess up my hair!"
Lin Xiyue slapped her hand away in embarrassment and annoyance, but a faint flush of red uncontrollably rose on her cheeks.
Xia Lian stood to the side, watching the two sisters coming out as if no one else was around. She sighed silently, her eyes revealing a calm "I knew it" look.
After all, she was a badass who had witnessed Lin Qingyue carrying the Elf Queen in a princess hold without batting an eye. The worldview-shattering impact of that scene had long since maxed out her tolerance threshold.
Now that the twin sister was of the same persuasion, whether from a genetic or metaphysical perspective... it all seemed perfectly reasonable.
Yes, very reasonable.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the group, Su Wan's expression management had completely collapsed.
Her face was deathly pale and her eyes were filled with panic. She looked like an exquisite porcelain figure struck by lightning, teetering on the verge of shattering.
Lin Xiyue... liked girls?!
This realization violently exploded in her mind!
Immediately after, countless details she had deliberately ignored began to crazily rewind, replaying frame by frame in high definition right before her eyes!
That girl had been finding all sorts of excuses to cuddle up to her lately!
Saying things like "Su Wan, your hair smells so good," and "Su Wan, your hands are so soft"!
She even made "mistakes" several times during sparring just to throw herself into my arms!
Holy crap!
Could her capture target... actually be me?!
A chilling sensation of being eyed by an apex predator instantly shot up from her tailbone to the crown of her head, making her scalp tingle.
But beneath this extreme panic, a profoundly faint and secretive... excitement and thrill sprouted like a tiny spark breaking through forbidden soil, rapidly growing against the wind.
The Young Mistress's inner world frantically bounced between the sheer terror of "I'm doomed, I've been targeted by that unruly Savage Knight," and the death-courting thought of "But... this feeling... is actually kind of exhilarating."
On this morning of total information overload, the internal dynamics within the Quantum Battleship Squad were sprinting at full speed in an increasingly outrageous direction.