188: Shui Lingyu confesses

As soon as Principal Zheng heard it was for the World Championships, he immediately laughed heartily again.

As students of Nanya Academy, even if Gu Xiaoyue and Chu Li did not participate in the National Competition, being able to compete in the World Championships was still a significant honor for Nanya.

"Haha, well, everything must definitely make way for the World Championships, no problem! By the way, the Graduates Secret Realm will open in a while; who are you taking with you this time?"

Last time they went to the Graduates Secret Realm, although they only stayed for ten-plus days, Gu Xiaoyue's team still managed to obtain quite a few heavenly treasures.

Of course, most of it was her own serendipity—Xiao Lu, the Soul Exchange Fruit tree, the Spirit Cleansing Spring, the Hua Yu Tree, a whole big box full of elemental jewelry, and Shui Lingyu even obtained a magic-tier pet beast egg.

I'm afraid the good things in that secret realm have already been mostly taken by them.

"The fierce beasts in the Graduates Secret Realm are a bit low-level, so I won't be going.

It's better to leave the opportunity for students who need it. I suggest letting Fang Xiaoyu lead the team and letting him decide who is suitable to bring along."

Since Gu Xiaoyue wasn't going, it was good to let other students in need gain experience and develop.

Moreover, compared to the Graduates Secret Realm, Gu Xiaoyue wanted to go to Damon Country to find White Gaze and visit the secret realm he mentioned.

Principal Zheng and Director Wu looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

"Then, can I take two months of leave, along with Chu Li, Ye Wanrou, and Chen Yixuan?"

Director Wu hesitated for a moment and said with some difficulty.

"Student Gu Xiaoyue, you went home a month early at the end of last year, and this year you arrived more than a month late for the start of the semester.

Of course, you have your own matters, but your credit hours are insufficient, and the school leadership is in a tough spot!"

"Hmm, alright. Thank you, Director. Thank you, Principal."

She had already taken quite a bit of leave herself, so it was perfectly reasonable for the school not to approve it.

Since that was the case, she would talk about it after the holidays; at worst, she would just come back a bit later next semester.

After the National Competition ended, life at Nanya was still quite leisurely.

Except for some arrogant and bored students who insisted on challenging Gu Xiaoyue, who wasn't even on the Battle Strength Ranking.

She only needed to ask one question: "Can we battle without summoning pet beasts?"

And that would discourage everyone who came to challenge her!

Perhaps because life was a bit boring, she created a group on Xingyuan.

The group members included Chu Li, Ye Wanrou, Chen Yixuan, Fang Xiaoyu, He Zhichen, Duan Yao, Charlie, and Jiang Yi.

Everyone could chat in the group whenever they had nothing to do.

Fang Xiaoyu took his brothers into the Graduates Secret Realm and encountered that mature sixth-order Shadow Dragon Beast from before, which forced them out of the secret realm.

However, just from the carcasses of the fierce beasts they fought, they each received over 20 million star coins, so it wasn't a wasted trip.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was Gu Xiaoyang's birthday.

Gu Xiaoyue invited Chu Li, Ye Wanrou, Chen Yixuan, and Fang Xiaoyu to his first birthday party.

They were all good friends who had previously given up on secret realm training to accompany Gu Xiaoyue.

Besides them, there were also Shui Lingyu and Zhuang Yanxin.

Needless to say, Zhuang Yanxin had already been kicked out of Gu Xiaoyue's circle of friends.

As for Shui Lingyu, she was also conflicted about whether or not to invite him.

Unexpectedly, Shui Lingyu reached out to her first.

"Xiao Yue, you've had that group for quite a while now; why haven't you added me?"

Shui Lingyu looked a bit aggrieved. "I am your fiancé, after all!"

Gu Xiaoyue felt a headache coming on. Saying that back at the Xiao Family was just a way to escape unscathed.

"Uh, given the situation back then, what I said about being engaged to you was just—"

Shui Lingyu placed his index finger on her lips, stopping her mid-sentence.

"But I was serious."

He looked at Gu Xiaoyue tenderly, his affection undisguised. The starlight in his eyes reflected Gu Xiaoyue's image.

"From the first moment I saw you, I have admired you."

The first moment?

Gu Xiaoyue's first reaction was that their first meeting was when the teleportation remotes were handed out in the Freshman Secret Realm.

"I was just a freshman back then; what was so particularly attractive about me?"

Her eyes darted away. How could she not have sensed Shui Lingyu's affection? She just didn't want to face it.

"I knew you'd think that day was our first meeting, but it was actually even earlier."

Shui Lingyu's eyes shifted, as if he were lost in memories.

"That night, I was in the gymnasium practicing my stealth skills, and you were brandishing your twin swords, combining hardness with softness, looking heroic and dashing..."

Gu Xiaoyue, who was used to using stealth to scout others, felt her cheeks flush red. Truly, karma is a cycle; she had finally been on the receiving end of stealthy surveillance herself!

"Your brother's birthday is in a few days, and you still haven't sent me an invitation. I'll go and propose marriage while I'm at it.

You said we were already engaged in front of my great-uncle—the head of the Xiao Family—so how could I not take it seriously!"

Shui Lingyu pinched Gu Xiaoyue's cheek, his tone intimate and ambiguous. The air seemed filled with pink bubbles.

If one were to say that Gu Xiaoyue had never been moved by Shui Lingyu, she would be lying to herself.

Shui Lingyu's appearance and personality were both right up Gu Xiaoyue's alley.

It was just that the things that had happened between them made it impossible for her to continue feeling that way.

First, Shui Lingyu defended Xiao Yun, and later she found out about the bounty order issued to hunt her down. Now that things had reached this point, it was time for her to get to the bottom of the bounty matter.

"Senior, I want to ask, did you ever issue a bounty on me?"

Shui Lingyu's expression stiffened, and he answered somewhat unnaturally.

"So you found out after all. Actually—I just wanted you to rely on me, to play the hero saving the damsel in distress. Xiao Yue, will you forgive me?"

He lowered his head and eyes, taking Gu Xiaoyue's hand.

Gu Xiaoyue gently pulled her hand away from Shui Lingyu's.

"If that was all you thought, why did you add a line to my profile—that I possessed many heavenly treasures?"

Shui Lingyu's pupils dilated instantly, and he gasped.

"No, I didn't! I only set the bounty amount to 300,000 star coins.

I also thought that anyone who could hunt you down for that price definitely wouldn't be able to beat you, and I would be by your side to protect you!"

"After you sent someone to issue the bounty, didn't you check on it?"

Facing Gu Xiaoyue's questioning, Shui Lingyu's tone became aggrieved again.

"I did check! It only had the bounty amount; why would it say you had heavenly treasures! Later, during the National Team training camp, when you and Chu Li were attacked, I knew it wasn't right and had my subordinates withdraw the bounty."

Gu Xiaoyue was speechless. She directly took Wu Yan's phone out of her Yu Beast Space, found the screenshot of the bounty order, and handed it to him to look at.

"How could this be—"

Shui Lingyu pondered for a moment, and then he understood the ins and outs of the whole situation.

Mu Chaohua didn't just take orders from him; he was also his grandfather's man.

When he broke off his engagement with Su Jinxuan, his grandfather had been opposed to it.

Now that he had pretended to issue a bounty order on Gu Xiaoyue, Shui Junyi had taken the opportunity to push the boat with the current, letting Mu Chaohua first issue a bounty order with only the amount, as per Shui Lingyu's request.

After showing it to Shui Lingyu, he then withdrew and reissued it, adding the line: "Gu Xiaoyue possesses various heavenly treasures."

This way, even if the bounty amount wasn't high, there was no guarantee that some expert wouldn't believe it and try to kill Gu Xiaoyue for the sake of the heavenly treasures.