Thoughts surged. Li Pingtian locked herself in her room, burying her head under the quilt. Only a strand of silver hair peeked out.

She’d done something unforgivable. In that instant, Divine Art had erupted from her hands—utterly beyond her control. She’d had no reason to stop them.

Yet when they embraced—something choked her chest. Each breath brought suffocating pain.

*What should I do?*

The question surfaced in Li Pingtian’s mind, drowning her in confusion.

No. Before deciding *what* to do, she needed to ask: *What do I truly feel?*

About Wang Qi. About the Dorm Leader.

Was Wang Qi merely someone she’d met at the market? Memories flowed, pulling Li Pingtian into the past, deep into memory’s whirlpool.

Her first meeting with Wang Qi hadn’t been in the dorm like with the Dorm Leader or Zou Moan.

She’d actually seen him earlier.

Beneath a blazing sun, frail Li Pingtian dragged heavy luggage toward freshman registration when commotion erupted in the crowd.

Wang Qi never explained what happened that day.

All Li Pingtian saw was Wang Qi standing before a girl, fiercely scolding a group of upperclassmen.

"*This* is how seniors welcome freshmen?" His voice cut like ice. "Can’t you see she’s distressed?"

He confronted them—older students huddled together—without a flicker of fear, staring them down.

Engineering schools had few girls. Registration volunteers often gossiped about newcomers, especially those with pretty ID photos. Most jokes were harmless… but not everyone with good grades had good character.

Back then, Wang Qi wasn’t particularly strong. Yet he stood there—brave, upright. In that era, "upright" sounded laughable. But in that moment, Li Pingtian had only one thought:

*Cool!*

*So incredibly cool!* A man like that was her idol. Could someone small and weak like her ever become like him?

Probably not. He seemed like a freshman too. Which department was he from?

*Should I ask for his WeChat?*

That was Li Pingtian’s first encounter with Wang Qi. From the start, he was the justice-filled hero in her heart.

Later, fate placed them in the same dorm. Everyone was kind—tolerant Dorm Leader, lively Zou Moan, and Wang Qi, her hero. All wonderful.

Only she felt small and weak before them. Poor stamina. Shy nature. Barely daring to speak much.

All she could do was study hard.

She deliberately drew closer to Wang Qi. He radiated heroism—always confident, always brave. The more she knew him, the more perfect he seemed.

Compared to him, she felt like a creature living in shadows. But—she accepted it.

Surely there was space for her beneath a hero’s light?

Then they came to this world. After analyzing their abilities, Wang Qi declared himself inadequate… and distanced himself from her.

In that instant, Li Pingtian felt strangely liberated.

Free from the shadow, she suddenly held the potential to surpass her hero. Excitement flickered within her.

So when only two tents remained, she chose to leave Wang Qi. She pushed the Dorm Leader to share Wang Qi’s tent. She was independent now. Learning his ways, his style—something deep inside her had shifted without her noticing.

But nothing changed.

On the grasslands, she accomplished nothing. Without Wang Qi’s protection, their trio of "limitless potential" would never have survived.

*It’s because my level isn’t high enough yet,* she told herself.

Separated from the others, she trained alone in a church. When she tried to spread her faith, she couldn’t even find a place to preach. Then Wang Qi appeared again.

Just like before, he helped her almost instinctively. And she accepted it—so naturally.

Later, when she realized she needed to build new faith, the first person she thought of was still—Wang Qi.

But she refused his help.

What Wang Qi didn’t know: that night, Li Pingtian never returned to the church. She lingered nearby—in a spot too distant for sound, too intimate for comfort—watching their house all night before finally leaving.

When Wang Qi and Zhang Yemiao reappeared together, Li Pingtian couldn’t name the feeling tearing at her chest.

Until… the woman who stormed in like a gale—Elira—shattered something deep inside Li Pingtian.

She realized: nothing had changed. She was still the same girl hiding behind Wang Qi’s heroic shadow, basking in his protection.

So she grew jealous.

Wang Qi had "acted" on the Dorm Leader. It felt like—the Dorm Leader had forcibly dragged her out of Wang Qi’s shadow. *Her* place was being stolen.

*Yes!*

*Wang Qi—is mine!*

No moment had ever clarified her heart so fiercely. She wouldn’t let her hero be taken. He belonged to her alone—not the Dorm Leader’s…

The Dorm Leader was good—naturally kind, gentle, tolerant—but that wasn’t reason enough to steal *her* hero.

Li Pingtian sat up abruptly, resolve hardening. She activated the Tranquil Observation Divine Art. If Wang Qi and the Dorm Leader showed any suspicious closeness, she’d interrupt them.

Just then, Zhang Yemiao pushed open Li Pingtian’s door.

"?"

"Startled? Rare to see surprise on your face." Zhang Yemiao plopped onto the bed, leaving a person’s width between them.

Li Pingtian had locked the door. Her eyes flicked to the key-like object in Zhang Yemiao’s hand—*she* had synthesized this house… Li Pingtian smoothed her expression. "What does the Dorm Leader want?"

"Cooled down yet?"

"..."

"Guess you have." Zhang Yemiao nodded, pulling a copper coin from her spatial storage. She dangled it before Li Pingtian. "No tricks on this coin. Check it yourself." She held out her palm; the coin lay still.

Li Pingtian picked it up. "What’s this for?"

"Let’s gamble. Loser backs off."

The coin vanished instantly.

Zhang Yemiao pouted, scowling. "See? I knew it! You couldn’t bear to risk it! Wang Qi said you wouldn’t, but you *do* like him!"

Li Pingtian froze.

"I’d planned to use a silver coin, but that’d be too costly… Still, Pingtian, this is unfair!" Zhang Yemiao stood, jabbing a finger. "A copper coin gives you fifty-fifty odds! You won’t even risk fifty percent for just one Wang Qi…?"

Cold, expressionless, Li Pingtian finally replied: "To the Dorm Leader, he might be ‘just one Wang Qi.’ To me, he’s the only—"

"The only?"

"The only—"

"The only?"

"—the only hero."

"Disgustingly sweet."

"Not as much as you."

Zhang Yemiao tugged her golden hair in frustration. *I knew it!* That’s why she’d moved so fast. She’d sensed their odd dynamic early on but assumed it wouldn’t progress quickly. "Hero"? She hadn’t even dared use such a sappy term herself.

"Seriously—you’ve got other priorities! No time for romance. You need to level up. By the time you hit Tenth Level, Wang Qi’ll barely be Eighth. You could crush him with one finger. Would he still be your ‘hero’ then?"

"Then why do *you* like him?"

"Uh…"

"Don’t say ‘he’s gentle’—that’s no reason. He’s like that with everyone." Li Pingtian, quiet but sharp, cut off Zhang Yemiao’s escape. "Is he your hero?"

Zhang Yemiao sighed. What *was* Wang Qi to her?

"I don’t know. But I do know this: in this world, Wang Qi’s always been by my side. He was the first face I saw after nearly dying. He tolerates my whims… I just want to stay near him."

Li Pingtian locked eyes with Zhang Yemiao. Sparks crackled between the two beauties.

"Then it seems we must compete," Li Pingtian declared, almost challengingly.

Zhang Yemiao nodded firmly. "His arms aren’t wide enough for two…"

Zhang Yemiao swept out of Li Pingtian’s room—then immediately barged into Wang Qi’s. Wang Qi was already asleep… not.

"You heard everything. Well? Two beauties like you now. They were guys before, but they’re gorgeous now. Which one do you choose?"

Wang Qi sat up awkwardly.

"Ahem… well…"

"No ‘neither’ option. You promised me earlier. And ‘I’m not interested because you were guys’ isn’t acceptable." Zhang Yemiao pinned him with a fierce gaze.

Wang Qi scratched his head, then answered seriously: "Kids choose. Adults take both."

"Die!"

A hammer flew. Wang Qi caught it just as the door slammed shut behind Zhang Yemiao.