Chapter 118: Next time, I won't hesitate anymore
It seemed they already knew Jiang Nannan would drop out. The teacher in charge of the process didn't try to stop or persuade her at all, handling her withdrawal with surprising ease.
Jiang Nannan walked out of the office building with a playful smile.
"Then Xiao Shuang, I'll follow you from now on~"
Ling Shuang looked at the sweetly smiling girl in front of him and simply nodded: "Mm."
Then the two returned to their dormitories to pack up and prepare to leave.
As soon as Ling Shuang stepped into the room, Wang Dong'er, who had been swinging her legs on the bed out of boredom, immediately jumped up and rushed over.
"How was it? Are you okay?"
Her reaction was almost identical to Jiang Nannan's.
"I'm fine," Ling Shuang answered calmly, walking over to the desk and beginning to gather the soul tool blueprints he'd bought recently.
Wang Dong'er let out a breath of relief at his reply, but the sight of him packing gave her a sinking feeling.
"Why are you packing?"
"I'm leaving," Ling Shuang said casually, as though he were talking about something trivial. "I've dropped out, so of course I can't stay here."
Wang Dong'er's expression instantly shifted, her voice rising with panic.
"Why?! Did the academy force you to drop out?"
Judging by her reaction, if Ling Shuang nodded, she'd rush to confront the higher-ups without hesitation.
"No, it was my own decision. I just don't think this place suits me," he replied, shaking his head.
Seeing that, Wang Dong'er bit her lip tightly, her complexion paling slightly.
"Then… where will you go?"
She didn't try to stop him.
After nearly a year of living and training together, Wang Dong'er knew Ling Shuang's personality well once he made up his mind, no amount of persuasion could change it.
"I don't know yet. I haven't decided. Maybe the Dou Spirit Empire."
In truth, Ling Shuang didn't have a concrete plan yet. He might accompany Jiang Nannan to the Douling Empire first, then head north to visit the ice and snow empresses, Bing Di and Xue Di. After that, perhaps he would make a trip to the Sun Moon Empire for certain matters.
"I see…" Wang Dong'er fell silent. She didn't know what to say.
She just felt a strange emptiness inside.
She hadn't thought Ling Shuang would leave her so suddenly.
In her vision of the future, they had a long time to spend together—enough time for her to gradually win his affection.
But Ling Shuang didn't notice her downcast expression. He was still quietly packing his things into his storage-type soul tool.
Suddenly, Wang Dong'er seemed to think of something and looked up.
"What about Senior Jiang Nannan? Does she know?"
"Yes," Ling Shuang answered honestly. "Nannan dropped out too. She's coming with me."
Jiang Nannan dropped out too?
Wang Dong'er was stunned. She immediately understood the reason behind it.
But she hadn't expected Jiang Nannan to be so decisive.
For the first time, Wang Dong'er felt like she'd lost.
She had to admit that Jiang Nannan's feelings were deeper and more resolute than her own.
Even though Wang Dong'er had considered following Ling Shuang, she had hesitated—unable to act on impulse like Jiang Nannan had.
Her delicate face lowered slightly, voice subdued: "I see… Senior Jiang Nannan really loves you."
Ling Shuang didn't reply, but a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
He had always known how Jiang Nannan felt about him. Even without Wang Dong'er pointing it out, he was fully aware.
And because of that, he often felt a twinge of guilt toward her.
After all, compared to Jiang Nannan's wholehearted devotion, his feelings were less clear. He had more on his mind than just her.
But Jiang Nannan knew that. And she never asked for anything more.
His packing didn't take long.
Ling Shuang didn't have many belongings just some soul tool notes and a few daily items. With a storage soul guide, it was easy.
He also wrote a letter for Ma Xiaotao.
Although her evil fire hadn't been fully purified yet, his original purpose had been fulfilled. There was no need to continue relying on her to approach the golden ancient tree.
Still, he didn't want to leave things incomplete.
In the letter, he left a way for her to contact him. If the evil fire started to act up again, she could inform him in advance, and he'd help her suppress it.
"I'm heading out," he said after finishing everything, turning to say goodbye to Wang Dong'er.
"Wait." Wang Dong'er suddenly stepped forward and grabbed his arm.
"Something else?"
Ling Shuang turned his head. Her blue-pink eyes shimmered with complex emotions.
Wang Dong'er held her hands in front of her: "How can I contact you later?"
She couldn't follow him like Jiang Nannan had.
But there was one thing she was sure of she didn't want things between her and Ling Shuang to end like this.
Seeing his raised brow, the girl's stubbornness flared again.
"Don't get me wrong. I'm not thinking anything strange. I just owe you a favor for the Golden Arm Bone."
"If I can't find you later, wouldn't I owe you forever? I don't want that!"
She crossed her arms, eyes flickering, clearly not entirely sincere.
It was the first time Ling Shuang had seen someone so afraid of being unable to repay a favor.
Although his instincts told him that wasn't the full truth, he didn't question her.
Ling Shuang took out an emerald green crystal and handed it to her. "Take this. If you want to contact me, just use this to send a message."
At present, soul guide communication technology was still primitive. There weren't any long-distance devices like modern phones.
This crystal wasn't a soul guide. It was something Ling Shuang had crafted by exploring his own abilities. It allowed for message transmission between two linked users similar to Emperor Tian's reverse scale.
He had also included one in the letter to Ma Xiaotao.
Wang Dong'er took the crystal and clutched it tightly in her palm.
As she watched Ling Shuang's figure disappear from sight, she held the crystal before her chest, lowered her gaze, and whispered softly almost like an oath:
"We'll meet again…"
"When that time comes, I won't hesitate anymore."
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(End of this chapter)