"Where are we going now?" Qin Yan accompanied Lin Shiqi as they left the forest and walked through the academy.

"Let's go back to where I live. I'll take a hot bath to warm up." Lin Shiqi hugged herself, her body trembling as they walked.

"Why was that woman, Li Ruobing, so ruthless? She knew you were Lin Yuanshan's granddaughter, yet she still attacked you so severely. If she had frozen you for a bit longer just now, you would have either died or lost half your life." Qin Yan spoke up for Lin Shiqi, also venting his own frustration, as he had almost fallen victim to Li Ruobing's poisonous hand and almost been turned into an ice sculpture.

"Don't speak ill of Sister Bing behind her back. She's actually very kind. She used to take care of me and is very gentle."

"Really? She's gentle?" Qin Yan couldn't imagine what Li Ruobing would be like when she was being gentle, remembering her cold and expressionless demeanor.

"It's true. It's just that some things happened in the past that caused Sister Bing to become like this... Forget it, let's not talk about this. Wasn't I supposed to stay with you at Instructor Hong's place? How did you end up in that forest?"

"Well, about that..." Qin Yan hesitated. He remembered his fight with a man named Liu Shi just now, and how he had knocked Liu Shi unconscious. He pondered how to explain this to Lin Shiqi.

Lin Shiqi was perceptive, noticing Qin Yan's hesitation. She asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

After some thought, Qin Yan realized that Lin Shiqi would find out about this sooner or later, so he decided not to hide it. "Do you know someone named Liu Shi?"

"Liu Shi? Why are you mentioning that guy?" Lin Shiqi's expression changed, her tone turning unpleasant. "He's a scumbag, a tumor in our academy. He's useless and always causing trouble. Lately, he's been pestering me, insisting that I be his girlfriend. He really needs to look at himself in the mirror and see what kind of person he is. He's in his thirties and still doing such things. He's been bothering me so much."

Qin Yan smiled. Seeing how much Lin Shiqi disliked Liu Shi, he couldn't help but feel more fond of her. So he told her the truth, "Oh, it's nothing. This Liu Shi guy came looking for trouble with me, and I couldn't resist fighting back. I ended up knocking him out. I don't know if he's awake yet."

"What? You knocked him out?" Lin Shiqi was surprised at first, then chuckled, "You're quite something. Liu Shi is a Level Two Body Refinement Ability user. Most people wouldn't be able to beat him. How did you manage to knock him out? Can you tell me about it?"

"Forget it, there's nothing much to say." Qin Yan was not the type to boast about himself. He felt that it wasn't something to be proud of and didn't see the need to share it with others.

"Just tell me, I want to know, come on, tell me..." Lin Shiqi, however, was very curious about what happened and kept pestering Qin Yan.

"Okay, here's what happened..." Qin Yan, unable to resist Lin Shiqi's persistence, briefly explained the conflict between him and Liu Shi.

Lin Shiqi felt guilty upon learning that Liu Shi had caused trouble for Qin Yan because of her. "I didn't expect Liu Shi to be so bad. If I had known, I wouldn't have taken you to Instructor Hong's place."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"It's nothing, it's not your fault." Qin Yan waved his hand, pretending to be nonchalant. "Anyway, it's all in the past, so don't worry about it."

Lin Shiqi nodded and said, "But seriously, you're so young and already have the ability of a Level Three Body Refinement. Just tell me honestly, are you really from another organization outside?"

"Why do you keep bringing this up? If you mention it again, I'll get angry," Qin Yan replied irritably. The question gave him a headache.

"Okay, but it's really amazing. You have such strong abilities without any training. You're truly a genius among geniuses."

"A genius?" Qin Yan chuckled foolishly. He had been used to being looked down upon and scorned by others in the past, so this was the first time he had heard someone praise him like this. He felt elated and thought Lin Shiqi was exceptionally beautiful, even wanting to hug her and kiss her on the cheek.

"Oh, by the way, Shiqi, what level of abilities do you have? What kind of abilities do you possess?" Qin Yan, feeling a bit dreamy, directly called Lin Shiqi's name. Lin Shiqi didn't seem to mind Qin Yan calling her that and calmly replied, "I'm a Level Three Magic Ability user. You must have heard from Instructor Hong that a Level Two Magic Ability user can control the movement of elements around them, such as creating wind by moving air molecules. As for Level Three Magic Ability users, besides controlling the flow of elements, they can also forcibly aggregate and react the surrounding material elements. For example, they can make hydrogen and oxygen elements combine to produce water, or make carbon and oxygen elements react to generate flames."

"So that's how it is!" Qin Yan suddenly realized. He had good academic performance in school, so he quickly understood what Lin Shiqi meant. He then remembered Li Ruobing's powerful magic abilities and asked, "So, someone like Li Ruobing with Level Four magic abilities can control the temperature of the surrounding environment and cast spells like an ice storm, is that right?"

"More or less... Strictly speaking, it's not about controlling temperature, but controlling the activity of molecules. Cooling is easier than heating, and this ability is generally used to lower temperatures."

"Oh, I see." Qin Yan nodded repeatedly, feeling enriched by the information.

As they walked and talked, they soon arrived at a two-story dormitory building. The ground floor was a cafeteria for cooking and dining, while the upper floor housed the living quarters. Lin Shiqi led Qin Yan up the stairs to the corridor on the second floor, unlocked a room with a key, and invited Qin Yan inside. The room was empty, with only basic furniture and no other belongings.

"Is this where you live? It feels like an empty house," Qin Yan remarked, looking at the vacant room.

"This isn't where I live, it's for you," Lin Shiqi handed the key to Qin Yan, explaining.

"For me?" Qin Yan was taken aback and didn't reach out to take the key. "I didn't say I was going to stay here. I'm leaving soon."

Lin Shiqi looked at Qin Yan strangely, "What are you talking about? Do you think you can just leave here whenever you want?"

"Wait, are you trying to restrict my freedom?" Qin Yan felt like he had walked into a trap. He didn't want to be locked up here like in prison and immediately felt a sense of resistance. "Hmph, I'm not so easily manipulated by you. I'm leaving now!"

"You..." Lin Shiqi was about to get angry with Qin Yan for their disagreement, but after spending some time together, she had come to understand Qin Yan's character a bit. She knew that the more stubborn Qin Yan became, the less likely he would listen. So Lin Shiqi put on a pitiful look, took Qin Yan's hand, and fluttered her eyelashes as she said, "Don't be like this. If you leave, Sister Bing will surely blame me again. Are you really that heartless? Just do me a favor and stay here for a while. Once Sister Bing no longer suspects you, you can go wherever you want. Please?"

"Um... let me think about it." Lin Shiqi's words had an effect, and Qin Yan began to ponder. He thought of the woman named Li Ruobing, who had been so ruthless. If he left, Lin Shiqi might once again fall victim to that woman's cruelty. Although Qin Yan had only known Lin Shiqi for a short time, he didn't want to cause trouble for her because of himself.

Qin Yan also thought about his family outside, where his aunt treated him like a burden and a jinx, wishing to kick him out, and even though his uncle was kinder to him and cared for him, Qin Yan knew that this care was only temporary. In such a harsh environment, where everyone struggled to survive, people could barely take care of themselves, let alone others.

With all this in mind, Qin Yan made a decision and said, "Okay, let's do it your way."