The next morning, Xuan Xi was awakened by a familiar birdsong.
She reluctantly turned over, and when her face brushed against the pillow, she caught a familiar fragrance.
She kept her eyes closed and took another deep breath before contentedly opening her eyes.
She turned her head and saw silver-white long hair scattered carelessly across the pillow, a few strands still tangled between her fingers.
Sigrdrifa lay on her side beside her, facing her, breathing steadily, her stomach rising and falling with each breath.
Xuan Xi glanced down at her own position and confirmed that she had invaded Sige’s bed, and the two were even sharing the same blanket.
Her head was still groggy, and fragments of last night’s memories surged up intermittently—she remembered saying something, then silently crawling into SigrdrÃfa’s bed, and after that she did not remember much, only that she seemed to have forcefully taken Sige and tangled with her for a while, and then there was nothing after that.
She must have fallen asleep around that time.
Xuan Xi gently turned over, trying to sneak back to her own bed, but SigrdrÃfa’s arm rested on her waist, not heavy, but with just enough pressure to pin Xuan Xi under the blanket.
The moment she shifted, the arm tightened slightly, holding Xuan Xi firmly.
If she could not plainly see that Sige was still asleep, Xuan Xi would have thought she was pretending to mess with her.
Xuan Xi obediently lay back and stopped moving, letting herself be “used” by Sige as a human body pillow.
The birds outside began singing again, and after quite a while, SigrdrÃfa’s arm slowly loosened, as if she had realized something in her sleep, and then she turned over to face the other side and continued sleeping.
Xuan Xi took the opportunity to slip out of the blanket, her bare feet touching the floor.
She glanced at SigrdrÃfa, who was still sleeping, and decided to freshen up first.
She changed her clothes.
By the time Xuan Xi finished washing up and came out, Sige was already awake and had changed her clothes as well.
While Xuan Xi organized the books back onto the shelf, SigrdrÃfa finished washing up too, and once everything was ready, the two walked out of the dormitory together.
The hallway was already quite crowded at this hour, and they went downstairs shoulder to shoulder, holding hands as they walked toward the teaching building.
Most of the classroom had already arrived.
Elsa had chosen a seat in the back row by the window, Reggie sat beside her, and Veralis sat in the row behind them.
Xuan Xi sat down beside Veralis, and SigrdrÃfa naturally sat beside Xuan Xi.
There was an empty seat to Sige’s right, but no one had come to sit there yet, and it seemed no one planned to.
Elsa suddenly turned around and leaned toward Xuan Xi, her gaze scanning her hair, then her eyes narrowed sharply, as if she had discovered something extraordinary.
Xuan Xi did not notice Elsa’s movement; she was pulling her notebook out of her bag.
Elsa suddenly reached out and plucked a strand of hair from Xuan Xi’s shoulder, held it up to examine it, and after seeing its color, smiled at Xuan Xi.
That strand of hair was silver-white, completely different from Xuan Xi’s hair color, and thus stood out conspicuously on her.
Elsa’s mouth opened slightly, the word “oh” already on her lips, and her gaze swept past Sige’s faintly flushed cheeks.
Reggie coughed at that moment, landing exactly in the gap when Elsa was about to speak.
Elsa turned her head to look at him, but Reggie only lowered his head and seriously flipped through his notes, as if what had just happened had nothing to do with him.
Having been interrupted, Elsa could not say anything more.
She merely twirled the silver-white strand between her fingers a couple of times, then let go, allowing it to drift onto the desk and be blown away by the wind.
Students trickled into the classroom one after another, and those who knew each other gathered in small groups, discussing the tournament roster.
A familiar person walked in from the doorway, her footsteps creaking on the wooden boards by the edge of the podium—it was Cecilia.
She walked behind the podium, raised her head, and her gaze swept over everyone seated in the classroom.
Her voice stood out clearly in the gradually quieting room.
She picked up a memo and glanced at it, then looked toward the five people seated in the two rows by the window.
“The roster for the All-Races Power Tournament has been confirmed,” Cecilia said.
“Xuan Xi, SigrdrÃfa, Elsa, Reggie, Veralis. Congratulations! All five of you have been selected. You will be led by the Vice Principal to the Central Continent to compete.”
At first, there was no reaction in the classroom, then someone began to clap, sparse at first, but quickly growing.
Cecilia waited for the applause to subside before continuing, “Departure is set for three days from now. At that time, the specific arrangements and supply list will be distributed to you. That is all for today’s class. Go back and prepare on your own. Class dismissed!”
After returning to the dormitory, Xuan Xi sat on the edge of the bed and rested for a while, then picked up the Communication Stone Tablet, navigated to Hellas’s chat window, and typed out a message.
A reply came quickly: “What’s wrong? Are you short on money? Or is someone bullying you?”
“Neither, Dad. I got selected.”
After sending it, worried Hellas might not understand, Xuan Xi added another line: “The All-Races Power Tournament of the entire continent. All five of us made the academy’s roster. We leave for the Central Continent in three days.”
The other side went quiet for a moment, probably Hellas thinking about how to reply: “The Central Continent? Isn’t that really far?”
“Yeah, but I’ll have the academy teachers and Sige with me. You don’t need to worry too much.”
“Alright then. Stay safe, and remember not to push yourself too hard. If you can’t win, just run.”
“I know.”
Just as Xuan Xi was about to end the conversation, Hellas sent another message: “Good luck. I’m proud of you, child!”
Xuan Xi’s hand tightened around the Communication Stone Tablet, and she nearly teared up again.
“Mm!”
After closing the chat window, she placed the Communication Stone Tablet back on the desk.
SigrdrÃfa was already packing, her suitcase spread open on the floor, everything arranged neatly.
Seeing this, Xuan Xi also opened her own suitcase and began taking clothes out of the wardrobe.
Just as she was about to fold them and put them in, SigrdrÃfa walked over from her side, glanced at Xuan Xi’s luggage, and stopped in front of the pile of old clothes.
“Don’t bring these,” she said.
“They’re still wearable,” Xuan Xi said, flipping over the jacket with the missing button to prove it could still be worn.
“Wear these to the Central Continent?” SigrdrÃfa said irritably.
“Standing in front of the Beast Tribe and Elf Race, you’re going to represent our academy dressed like this?”
Xuan Xi was stunned for a moment.
She looked down and examined the garment in her hands carefully—the stitching at the cuffs had already come undone.
She looked up to argue, but SigrdrÃfa had already spoken first, “Put it down. I’ll buy you new ones when we get there.”
She had already decided for Xuan Xi.
“I don’t need you to buy them. I have my own money,” Xuan Xi said.
SigrdrÃfa’s gaze landed on her face, staring into her eyes, “How much could you possibly have?”
Xuan Xi quoted a number—roughly her saved allowance from last semester plus the reward Shen Lingshuang had given her.
She had calculated it: it was absolutely enough for a trip to the Central Continent.
It was not exactly generous, but she would not be strapped for cash either.
After hearing it, SigrdrÃfa thought for a few seconds before commenting: “That’s not enough.”
“If it’s not enough, I’ll figure it out myself. You don’t need to worry about me.” Xuan Xi lowered her head and continued packing.
“Then pay me back,” SigrdrÃfa switched tactics.
“The money for the Communication Stone Tablet and the clothes from before—calculate how much you still owe. If you can’t pay it back, you have to listen to me.”
Xuan Xi wanted to retort, but she genuinely could not repay it.
Never mind the Communication Stone Tablet and that North Sea silk robe—just the Jade Pendant on her person was worth a full one million gold coins.
She lowered her hands and ultimately, very honestly, obeyed what Sige said.
“I understand,” she said.
After hearing that, she added another line.
Actually, she added after a pause: “Too late. I’ve changed my mind now. Now, besides the principal, you also have to pay me interest. Installments.”
Xuan Xi’s hands stopped mid-motion.
She looked up at SigrdrÃfa and asked, her voice carrying a trace of uncertainty, “What did you just say?”
“I said, you have to pay me—interest,” SigrdrÃfa repeated, a dangerous smile on her face.
Xuan Xi’s mind spun quickly.
Her gaze swept over SigrdrÃfa’s face, and she seemed to have guessed what the interest was.
Sige drove that thought out of her head.
Before Xuan Xi could react, SigrdrÃfa had already walked over, pulled Xuan Xi up from the bed, wrapped both arms around Xuan Xi’s waist, one hand stroking Xuan Xi’s slender waist, the other sliding upward to the back of Xuan Xi’s head, gently embracing her whole.
Xuan Xi’s head was controlled by Sige, forced into an intimate contact with Sige’s chest.
It was a very light embrace.
Sige did not use much strength, but it was enough to render Xuan Xi completely immobile.
SigrdrÃfa’s nose brushed against Xuan Xi’s neck and paused for a moment, as if savoring the scent on Xuan Xi’s body.
Her breath swept over Xuan Xi’s neck, carrying a hint of warmth, making Xuan Xi’s body itch.
“Alright, interest collected,” SigrdrÃfa’s voice sounded by Xuan Xi’s ear.
She released her hands, stepped back half a pace, and turned toward the door.
“On departure day, I want to see you wearing the one I bought you before.”
Sige issued her final ultimatum.
If Xuan Xi did not do as she said, the consequences would likely be dire.
The door was pushed open, and SigrdrÃfa stepped out, closing the door behind her.
Xuan Xi stood alone in front of the wardrobe, and in the end, she submitted to Sige, taking out the long-cherished Dark Cyan Long Robe from the other side of the wardrobe.
She held it up by the hanger and looked at it for a while, then hung it back.