Wang Dong kept hitting Wang Feng with a pillow, as if venting all his embarrassment and frustration. But after a few more hits, he finally threw the pillow aside and collapsed onto the floor, sitting while hugging his knees.
"What am I going to do… I can't leave this room for the next week…" he muttered softly, his voice barely a whisper of despair.
Wang Feng, still half-rolled on the bed, lifted his head. "Hey, don't be like that… It's not like there's any visual evidence. It's just a rumor... it'll go away eventually."
Wang Dong gave him a sharp look. "You sure about that? You do realize how 'efficient' Shrek Academy's gossip network is, right? You've experienced it yourself. Even the rumor about you snoring in your sleep became hot topic for a whole week!"
"Why use me as the example… but yeah, fair point," Wang Feng nodded slowly, then his face turned serious. "But don't worry. I'll take full responsibility."
"…What do you mean by that?"
Wang Feng stood up, patting his chest heroically. "Starting tomorrow, I'll be the one to leave the room and face everyone! I'll tell them… it was all just a misunderstanding and… if needed, I'll sacrifice my own reputation!"
Wang Dong looked at him with a mixed expression—part awe, part disbelief, and… a bit of concern.
"…That sounds like the kind of thing that would make the rumors worse," he mumbled.
"E-Eh?" Wang Feng blinked in confusion. "No way! I mean, I'll just… you know, say it was a guy thing, just guys messing around!"
"But we're not both guys," Wang Dong said silently in his mind.
Before Wang Dong could think any further, a ruckus suddenly broke out outside the room.
"Bro, bro, did you hear? Apparently, Wang Dong said he laid down on Wang Feng's bed 'cause he couldn't handle how wild he is?!"
"NO WAY… Bro… so Wang Feng's like that?! Impressive…"
"…Totally the dominant type, no doubt."
Wang Feng immediately collapsed to the floor and covered his face with a pillow. "I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS LIFE!!"
Wang Dong could only stare at Wang Feng's back, shaking—whether from laughter or crying, he couldn't tell.
"…Your own fault," he whispered softly, though there was a small chuckle at the end of his voice.
After a moment of strange silence—a mixture of shame, frustration, and resignation—Wang Feng finally sat up and let out a long sigh.
"Well… rather than stressing out in here, how about we go outside? Some fresh air might help."
Wang Dong looked at him for a moment, then nodded slowly. "You're right. And… I'm hungry."
Wang Feng recalled what Huo Yuhao said earlier. "Didn't Yuhao mention he'd be selling food today? Let's go find him."
Wang Dong, who had looked completely defeated earlier, instantly perked up upon hearing that Yuhao was out selling food. But then he remembered something—the people outside, gossiping about him and Wang Feng.
Thinking about that, he threw a sharp glare at Wang Feng. 'This is all Wang Feng's fault! Even though I was the one who said that line, if he hadn't made me angry in the first place, I wouldn't have said it. So this is still his fault.'
Wang Feng sneezed. 'Is someone talking about me?'
Wang Dong continued to glare at Wang Feng, as if his stare could ignite a small flame on his friend's head. But Wang Feng only looked back with a clueless face, rubbing his itchy nose.
"Eh, why are you looking at me like that?" he asked suspiciously.
Wang Dong huffed and crossed his arms, turning away. "Nothing. I'm just wondering… why life is so unfair."
"…Obviously because I'm too handsome, right?" Wang Feng flashed a mock-smooth smile while slicking his hair back with his hand.
"Pfft." Wang Dong nearly laughed but quickly covered his mouth. "It's exactly because of that smug face that the rumors got worse."
Wang Feng raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you're cracking jokes now? That's progress."
Wang Dong only clicked his tongue softly, but his expression was noticeably more relaxed than before.
Since they couldn't go outside, they ended up chatting in the room until the sun completely set.
......
Huo Yuhao, who had just finished selling grilled fish, was on his way back to his room.
But as he walked, he kept hearing whispers from people around him, along with… strange looks. It was a mix of sympathy and pity.
Huo Yuhao was confused as to why everyone was acting like that. Finally, unable to hold back his curiosity, he decided to ask one of the students who seemed to be talking about him.
"What were you guys talking about? It kind of sounded like you were talking about me?" Yuhao asked.
The student looked at Huo Yuhao with a mix of fear and sympathy, like he was seeing someone who didn't realize they were standing at the edge of disaster.
"Uhh… well, actually… we heard from a friend, who heard from his friend too, that in Wang Feng's room… there was an incident."
"Incident?" Yuhao frowned.
"Y-yeah... sort of... a very personal statement from Wang Dong, and then… Wang Feng's response just… made everything… explode."
Huo Yuhao looked even more confused. "E-explode? You mean they fought?"
"No! I mean—uh, well—the rumor is... Wang Dong couldn't take it anymore and said he wanted to lie down on Wang Feng's bed, and someone overheard that Wang Feng was really intense..."
The rest of the sentence turned into an incomprehensible mumble, but it was enough to make Huo Yuhao's eyes widen.
"...Huh?"
"And people are saying that now Wang Feng is like... super dominant, and Wang Dong, who's usually feisty, is now... well, you know..."
That student immediately ran off, leaving Yuhao frozen on the spot, staring blankly ahead.
After a few seconds, he snapped back to reality. His face was burning so hot it felt like steam could come out of it. He shouted inwardly, "Oh my god! What happened while I was away?! D-Don't tell me... they actually did it while I was gone!"
His mind was filled with indecent images of Wang Dong and Wang Feng together.
He rushed back to their room, eager to hear a direct explanation from the ones involved.
His steps quickened toward their room. When he finally arrived and opened the door, he found Wang Feng and Wang Dong sitting on the floor, casually eating leftover cake and chatting.
They both turned when the door opened.
"Yo, Yuhao! How's the sales going?" Wang Feng greeted cheerfully.
Wang Dong just glanced over briefly, then went back to sipping his tea.
But Huo Yuhao didn't respond right away. His eyes shifted between the two of them.
His heart was pounding faster.
"I-I heard a rumor. About you two..." he said nervously.
Wang Feng blinked. "A rumor? About what?"
Yuhao swallowed hard. "About... a bed, and... domination, and... being intense..."
Wang Dong choked on his tea. "Cough! Cough!! Who did you hear that from?!"
Yuhao looked even more panicked. "I don't know who started it! But they said you—you said you wanted to lie down on Wang Feng's bed... and he was... intense... and you... submitted..."
Wang Feng fell silent, his eyes glancing toward Wang Dong.
Wang Dong immediately stood up. "THAT'S HIS FAULT!"
"Eh?!" Wang Feng jumped. "I'm the one being gossiped about!"
"Yeah, but if YOU hadn't pissed me off, I wouldn't have said anything like that!"
Huo Yuhao watched them blaming each other. He quickly stepped in to separate them. "Alright, alright. The most important thing now is—how are you two going to deal with the rumors going around?"
Wang Dong and Wang Feng instantly stopped arguing.
Wang Feng furrowed his brows. "But what can we do? The rumors have probably spread all over already, and besides, I have to leave the academy tomorrow."
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to hunt for my third spirit ring. As you know, I've been at level 30 ever since entering the academy, and I think my soul power is already maxed out. So rather than keep putting it off, I'd rather go hunt a soul beast for my third ring now," Wang Feng explained.
Wang Dong crossed his arms and looked seriously at Wang Feng. "Who are you going with? Don't tell me you plan to go alone."
Wang Feng gave a small smile. "Relax. I'm not that reckless. I already got permission from Dean Yan, and he's assigning someone to accompany me. Why, don't tell me you're worried about me?"
Wang Dong turned his face away, a faint blush creeping up his cheeks. "Who'd be worried about someone as reckless as you? I just..."
Wang Feng chuckled softly. "Heh, classic Wang Dong. Sharp tongue, soft heart."
"What did you just say?!"
Yuhao quickly waved his hands between them. "Okay, okay, enough, you two. Focus. So Wang Feng's leaving tomorrow, and about this rumor—we need to agree on how to handle it."
Wang Dong huffed but finally sat back down. "If you ask me, we shouldn't make a big deal out of it. Gossip dies down on its own if we don't overreact."
"But if we ignore it, things could get even more twisted, and who knows—they might start dragging me into it too," Yuhao added.
"It's fine," Wang Feng said casually. "Wang Dong's right—rumors don't last forever. At most, this'll be talked about for two or three months, then everyone will forget. The most important thing is that we don't do or say anything weird. Otherwise, we'll just be fueling the fire."
Huo Yuhao sighed. "Seems like that's all we can do."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What kind of third soul skill do you think would be suitable for Wang Feng?