The rooms of the other dormitory residents often became gathering spots for Lolin’s clique, where the young men would convene. Beyond exchanging notes on warrior training regimens, their conversations inevitably drifted to girls—at fifteen or sixteen, these youths had certainly reached the age where they understood what women were.

The name of Zhu Lisi was almost the most frequently mentioned female name among the boys during these gatherings. According to Lolin, the goddess of their school invariably topped the list whenever male students discussed women. If a poll were taken right then for the most fantasized-about female student, Zhu Lisi stood the highest chance of winning first place.

Wealthy, arrogant, and treating boys like subordinate staff—this was the impression Gan Jin had pieced together from the rumors circulating about Zhu Lisi.

“I heard you broke your standing rule yesterday, fighting someone ranked higher than you in the top ten of our grade, all for my sake? And you even won?” Zhu Lisi stood with her arms crossed, pushing her already developed chest higher. A distinct smugness played across her sharp chin, and her beautiful eyes darted around constantly, as if broadcasting the sheer magnitude of her charm. “Very well. I agree to a date with you. After your afternoon classes are done, you can come find me…”

Gan Jin looked at Zhu Lisi with weary eyes, slowly lifting his arm and deliberately reaching toward her shoulder. A ripple of quiet gasps went through the surrounding students. Gan Jin was usually so reserved; to think he was this bold, attempting to make a move on Zhu Lisi right under everyone’s gaze? Truly…

“Move aside… you’re blocking my way.” Gan Jin’s arm pressed slightly, gently pushing Zhu Lisi aside. Without looking back, he tossed out a final sentence, his feet lightly pushing off the ground as he ran after the group ahead. “I don’t have time. Find someone else to play with.”

The exclamations died away. The remaining squads of warrior trainees, who hadn't started running yet, stood frozen, eyes wide with shock as they watched Gan Jin’s retreating back. They were utterly stunned into silence.

What had Gan Jin just done? He rejected Zhu Lisi? The school beauty? And he’d physically pushed her aside, claiming she was in the way?

Zhu Lisi’s cherry lips parted wide, staring blankly at Gan Jin’s receding figure.

This… Gan Jin actually refused me? He… he actually… Zhu Lisi clenched her fists tightly, her slender body trembling. Her almond eyes were fixed laser-like on the back of Gan Jin’s head.

“Oh? Rodriguez, this boy you’ve taken an interest in, he really is rather interesting.”

“Principal, this is precisely why I have high hopes for him. I’ve seen him on campus several times before. He walks directly past different beautiful female students, treating them as if they were nonexistent air. That isn’t feigned coldness designed to attract attention. That level of composure is something few students possess.”

“Beautiful Zhu Lisi…” Lolin rubbed his hands together. “I am Gan Jin’s best friend. Since Gan Jin is busy, I can fill in. I am very free…”

Zhu Lisi cut Lolin off with a sharp snort, tossing her head back as she turned toward the Meditation Platform.

“Lolin, hurry up!” Gan Jin yelled back, his voice cutting through the air, addressing the dazed Lolin. “Do you want Teacher Rodriguez to kick your backside into pieces?”

Lolin shivered violently, reluctantly pulling his gaze away from Zhu Lisi and beginning to shake his ample fat as he started to run.

Gan Jin watched Lolin’s jiggling bulk, shaking his head repeatedly. He was also filled with curiosity: this fatty clearly put in the same warrior training every day, so why did the fat never seem to melt away?

Lolin, panting heavily, caught up to Gan Jin, who had deliberately slowed his pace to wait for him. They ran side-by-side around the track. Lolin’s eyes darted to Gan Jin as they passed the open ground in front of the Meditation Platform, wondering silently: There’s that look of envy again. Does Gan Jin truly desire to become a Magician that much? Is being a Magician really that much better?

“Hm?” Gan Jin noticed Lolin’s questioning gaze. “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing, I’m just contemplating how you managed to give such a cool reply just now. Did you give up because you knew I liked Zhu Lisi? Classmate, I’m deeply moved by your spirit of selfless sacrifice.”

Lolin bantered lightheartedly. Having been raised around the subtle influences of a small merchant, he had long sensed that the envy mixed with melancholy in Gan Jin’s eyes likely hid an unwillingness to reveal a painful wound.

“Classmate, thank you for your sentiment. However, as your roommate, I must remind you that your taste is genuinely lacking. Now, I’m even more doubtful about what your sister looks like.”

“Classmate, do you honestly believe there’s a beauty on this campus more stunning than Zhu Lisi? I think you are… wheeze… you are…” Lolin gasped for breath as they passed the Meditation Platform again. “You’re just saying that because you think you could never catch Zhu Lisi, right? Otherwise, name one beauty more stunning than her.”

“That’s ridiculously easy to find, isn’t it?” Gan Jin tilted his head up toward the Meditation Platform, his eyes swiftly sweeping over the assembled figures in magic robes who had opened their eyes upon hearing their conversation. “For example…”

Gan Jin suddenly noticed an ‘acquaintance’ seated almost invisibly in the farthest corner of the platform, completely shrouded in an oversized black magic robe and a massive black pointed hat, concealing almost everything: “For example, Biluo is far prettier than Zhu Lisi!”

Over a dozen meditating magic apprentices nearly fell off their seats. The warrior trainees following behind Gan Jin suddenly felt their legs weaken, and bursts of laughter erupted from both the Meditation Platform and the running squad. Biluo, seated in the corner of the platform, tucked her head down even further and shrank her body back.

“Classmate, I genuinely pity your aesthetic judgment. It seems I really must marry my sister off to you so you can learn what a true beauty looks like,” Lolin said, wiping sweat from his brow, breathing heavily. “You call Biluo—who has been judged the most unattractive female since the founding of Oakland—a beauty?”

“Oh?” Gan Jin looked at Lolin in surprise. “You know Biluo too?”

Lolin sighed three times in succession, looking helplessly at his roommate who usually paid no heed to female classmates. He cleared his throat and murmured quietly, “Classmate, among the females at Oakland Academy of Magic and Warriors, Biluo’s fame is in no way inferior to Zhu Lisi’s. However, this fame doesn't stem from stunning looks; she’s renowned for her magical talent, which is so abysmal it’s practically unprecedented in a low-tier academy like Oakland.”

“Now in her second year, Biluo’s Spiritual Power and Mana levels are exactly the same as when she first enrolled, barely clinging to the minimum threshold required to study magic. Right now, no one is willing to partner with her to form a magic array for examinations.” Lolin took several deep breaths before continuing his explanation as the academy’s resident expert.