The energy liquid glowed with a faint blue light in the test tubes, thirty of them neatly arranged on Luo Qingxue's bedside table.
These were A-grade supplies Luo Tianxing had brought overnight from the family warehouse, each one priceless.
"Is it enough?" Luo Tianxing stood at the doorway, his voice filled with cautious anticipation, as if afraid to startle his daughter's hard-won ability talent.
Luo Qingxue clutched a tube of energy liquid, the cold glass pressing painfully against her palm.
"Enough, thank you, Dad."
Once the door closed, she immediately twisted open the sealed cap of an energy liquid, the light blue liquid flowing like a galaxy under the lamp.
"How do I give it to you?" she asked in a low voice.
I guided her finger to trace the trajectory of an absorption rune in the air.
The light within the energy liquid began to peel away in threads, flowing into her body—where my consciousness resided—guided by her fingertip.
The warm energy nourished me like spring rain on dry earth; I could feel myself slowly recovering.
"That's all it takes?" Luo Qingxue stared at the half-empty test tube, her brow slightly furrowed.
【Enough for daily use】I left glowing words on her open notebook, 【Overuse will arouse suspicion】
She pursed her lips, then suddenly drank the remaining energy liquid in one gulp.
"Then these are mine."
The moment the liquid went down her throat, an unnatural flush spread across her cheeks.
I quickly guided the chaotic energy within her, barely averting a minor ability rampage.
This girl... she's too reckless!
"Cough, cough... So this is what it feels like to be an ability user." Luo Qingxue wiped away the blue liquid that had spilled from the corner of her mouth, a dangerous glint in her eyes, "I want to become strong, strong enough that no one will ever dare to look down on me—and Lin Xiaoyu."
That last name softened her tone for a moment.
In the ordinary class classroom of Xinghui Academy, sunlight streamed through dusty windows onto old desks.
Luo Qingxue's seat was empty beside her—Lin Xiaoyu, who should have been sitting there, had found excuses to move to the back row for three consecutive days.
"Today is practical combat training, two people per group." The instructor clapped his hands, "Old rule, abilities complement each other."
This was a rare ability training session for an ordinary class, and the classroom immediately erupted with noisy group-forming.
Luo Qingxue turned to look at the corner; Lin Xiaoyu was desperately shrinking herself, as if hoping to become invisible.
"I'm with Lin Xiaoyu." Luo Qingxue's voice clearly cut through the noise.
The instructor frowned: "Luo Qingxue, you are currently an F-grade Fire-type, you should find..."
"I'm with Lin Xiaoyu." This time her voice carried an unyielding firmness that brooked no refusal.
Lin Xiaoyu walked over, head bowed, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes.
The cuffs of her uniform were already faded from washing, and there was a not-so-obvious patch on the collar.
I could feel a pang of bitterness in Luo Qingxue's chest—before meeting Lin Xiaoyu, she had never known that some people couldn't even afford a new school uniform.
On the training ground, other groups had already begun practicing ability coordination.
But their group fell into an awkward silence—Lin Xiaoyu's F-grade Fluorescent ability had almost no practical combat value.
"I, I'll still go apply to switch..." Lin Xiaoyu's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"Don't go." Luo Qingxue grabbed her wrist, but immediately softened her grip when she felt the other's trembling, "Xiaoyu, why are you avoiding me?"
The sunlight cast long, long shadows from Lin Xiaoyu's eyelashes.
When she finally looked up, her eyes were very red: "Qingxue, you're an ability user now... we're not the same anymore..."
"Nonsense!"
"It's true!" Lin Xiaoyu's tears finally fell, "Do you know what my parents said when they heard you awakened your ability? They said, 'Now Xiaoyu won't even have her last friend left'..."
Luo Qingxue felt as if struck by lightning.
I felt the sharp pain in her heart; that taste of being hurt by the words of loved ones, she understood better than anyone.
"Listen." She suddenly cupped Lin Xiaoyu's face, forcing her to look into her eyes, "My friends, Luo Qingxue's friends, are never chosen based on the strength of their abilities."
Lin Xiaoyu's pupils widened slightly, reflecting the sudden firelight that flared behind Luo Qingxue—her unconsciously released ability, warm but not scorching.
"But, but our team will drag you down..."
"Who says?" Luo Qingxue curved her lips, "Come, I have an idea."
She leaned in and whispered a few words into Lin Xiaoyu's ear.
I silently observed the plan—using the Fluorescent ability to create a temporary blinding effect, then following up with a Fire-type sneak attack.
Theoretically feasible, but requiring extremely precise...
"No!" Lin Xiaoyu suddenly cried out, "Using my ability as a diversion? What if you get hurt...?"
"Trust me." Luo Qingxue held her trembling hands, "And trust yourself."
When they stepped onto the practice stage, a chorus of jeers erupted around them.
"Look, it's the useless duo!"
"Miss Luo must have lost her mind, right?"
"What good is that Fluorescent ability? To be a light bulb?"
Cold sweat beaded on Lin Xiaoyu's palms, but when she looked at Luo Qingxue's determined profile, a long-lost courage gradually welled up in her heart.
"Start!"
Their opponents were two D-grade Wind-type ability users, who casually waved out wind blades with an air of indifference.
It was at this moment—
"Now!"
Lin Xiaoyu closed her eyes and released her ability with all her might.
Surprisingly, the intense light she produced was more than ten times brighter than usual!
The blinding white light was like a falling sun; screams erupted across the entire training ground.
"I can't see!"
"What the hell is that!"
I quietly withdrew the auxiliary energy—that's right, I secretly enhanced her ability output.
Luo Qingxue, meanwhile, seized this brief chaos, three precise lines of fire erupting from her fingertips, directly hitting her opponents' weapon belts.
"Clang—"
The sound of two training swords hitting the ground was exceptionally clear in the silence.
When the intense light dissipated, everyone saw—two D-grade students standing blankly on the sidelines, their weapons already knocked out of bounds.
"Luo Qingxue and Lin Xiaoyu's team, win!" The instructor announced in disbelief; two F-grade abilities had actually defeated two D-grades!
Lin Xiaoyu stared blankly at her hands, as if seeing them for the first time.
Luo Qingxue had already hugged her, whispering in her ear amidst the cheers: "See, I told you you're the best."
Sunlight passed through the gap where they embraced, casting a complete, flawless light spot on the ground.
In the shadow of the teaching building in the distance, Nangong Ao slowly put away his recorder, a cold light flashing across his lenses: "Interesting... that fluorescent intensity is definitely more than F-grade..."
The training ground lights were dazzling and dizzying.
The second match had just been announced to begin when Luo Qingxue stumbled, her right hand bracing her knee, her left hand subtly making a gesture to Lin Xiaoyu behind her back.
"Energy... can't keep up..." She deliberately raised her voice so the two D-grade students opposite could hear.
Lin Xiaoyu first froze, then understood and lowered her fluorescent light.
Through Luo Qingxue's vision, I could clearly see the confusion and relief flash in her friend's eyes—this girl was much more perceptive than she appeared.
"Tsk, turns out it was just luck earlier." The short-haired boy opposite scoffed, casually flicking out a water arrow.
Luo Qingxue "barely" dodged, but "accidentally" grazed her arm.
Blood dripped down her school uniform sleeve, blooming into dark red flowers on the sand.
"Qingxue!" Lin Xiaoyu cried out, rushing forward, but was forced back by another water arrow.
"Give up, you useless ones." Another girl yawned, "Fighting you is really boring."
I felt the steady flow of energy within Luo Qingxue—she could clearly still fight easily, yet she had to suppress her instincts to play the weakling.
Her fingertips trembled slightly under my subtle guidance, and even her breathing was deliberately disordered.
"We give up." She lowered her head, her voice carrying just the right amount of humiliation.
Laughter immediately erupted from the sidelines.
"Sure enough, their true colors are revealed!"
"Exhausting all their energy in one fight, worthy of an F-grade!"
"That fluorescent girl is even funnier, her brightness is like a candle..."
The taunts coiled around Lin Xiaoyu's neck like poisonous snakes.
On the way back to their seats, her shoulders were heavily slumped, as if those words weighed a thousand pounds.
"I'm sorry..." In the locker room, Lin Xiaoyu's tears hit the metal cabinet door, "It's me dragging you down again..."
"What nonsense." Luo Qingxue used her uninjured hand to turn her shoulder, "We lost on purpose."
"What?"
"Winning one match is enough." Luo Qingxue lowered her voice, "Winning more would cause trouble."
Tears still clung to Lin Xiaoyu's eyelashes, but her eyes were already wide: "So you were just... faking it?" She suddenly gasped, "Wait, your injury!"
"Just a small injury." Luo Qingxue carelessly pulled off the blood-soaked bandage, revealing the mostly healed wound underneath—the result of my accelerating its repair with a tiny amount of energy.
Lin Xiaoyu's fingertips gently brushed the edge of the wound: "This... this recovery speed..."
"I have secret special training." Luo Qingxue winked mysteriously, "When the time is right, I'll teach you too."
The door to the changing room suddenly pushed open, and several girls walked in, laughing. The two immediately fell silent and quickly left the changing room.
The setting sun's afterglow streamed through the floor-to-ceiling window, casting a golden light on the floor of Luo Qingxue's bedroom. She hummed an out-of-tune melody, pulling three energy liquids from her backpack—these were the high-grade items she had "borrowed" from her father's study today.
"Did you see the expressions on those people at the training ground today?" She twisted open the cap of an energy liquid bottle, and the blue light illuminated her triumphant smile. "Especially Nangong Xiang, his jaw almost dropped to the floor!"
I controlled the stylus on the table to write on the tablet: 【Keep a low profile. The more they underestimate you, the more advantageous it is for us.】
"I know, I know~" She stretched out the word, curling into the beanbag chair like a satisfied cat, pouring the energy liquid into her palm. "I'll share a bit more with you today."
The moment the liquid touched her skin, I guided the energy into my body. Compared to a month ago, the absorption efficiency was much higher now—at least she no longer had to guess my meaning word by word.
"By the way, why did you suddenly make me concede today?" She changed her posture, crossing her legs on the coffee table. "I was only two wins away from the ranking matches."
The stylus moved quickly: 【Nangong Ao was in the spectator stands. He noticed Lin Xiaoyu's unusual burst of power.】
Luo Qingxue's expression suddenly froze: "Xiaoyu… is she really only F-grade?"
I hesitated. According to the original plan, I shouldn't tell her the truth so soon. But seeing her tightly furrowed brows, I still controlled the pen tip to write: 【Her ability is very special; it requires more observation.】
"I knew it!" She sat up abruptly, almost spilling the energy liquid. "That strong light today was definitely not normal! Did you secretly—"
The stylus quickly interrupted: 【Don't tell her yet.】
"Why?" Luo Qingxue narrowed her eyes. "You wouldn't be…"
The pen tip hovered in mid-air, and I suddenly realized this was a dangerous topic. But a strange impulse drove me to continue writing: 【Go to the changing room less often.】
"Huh?" She tilted her head, looking bewildered.
Damn it. I quickly tried to erase the line, but then I heard her gasp in sudden realization.
"Wait… you can see?" Luo Qingxue's voice suddenly rose an octave. "Everything? Anytime?"
An awkward period appeared on the tablet.
Her face flushed at a visible speed, from her earlobes all the way to her collarbone. I had never seen anyone change so many expressions in one second—shock, embarrassment, confusion, finally settling on a bizarre realization.
"So that day when I changed—"
The stylus frantically drew Xs on the screen.
"When I was showering—"
More Xs almost covered the entire screen.
"When I was using the bath—"
I directly forced the tablet into shutdown mode.
The room was eerily quiet. Luo Qingxue stood still, steaming like a boiling kettle. I had never been so grateful that I was just a mass of energy now—at least I wouldn't blush.
"Yun! Feng!" She bit out my name, word by word, and threw a pillow at the tablet. "You pervert! Peeping Tom! Perverted ability!"
I controlled the stylus to write in the last second before shutdown: 【Can only see energy flow.】
The pillow hung in mid-air.
"...Really?"
【Like an X-ray.】 I lied against my conscience, comparing it. 【Only bone outlines.】
She put down her weapon, half-believing: "Then the changing room…"
【When there are many people, the energy is chaotic, which is not conducive to recovery.】 I quickly changed the topic. 【Continue the special training plan?】
This explanation clearly didn't fully convince her, but at least it diverted her attention. She shuffled back to the edge of the bed, arranging the remaining two energy liquids in her palm: "Today's portion… no peeking."
I obediently focused on absorbing the energy, but a strange sense of awkwardness still rippled through our mental link. When the last drop of liquid was absorbed, she suddenly asked softly:
"So… you really didn't see…"
The stylus drew a firm X.
"Then what if…" Her fingers unconsciously twirled a strand of hair. "I mean, what if… you wanted to see?"
The pen tip snapped on the screen.
Luo Qingxue burst into laughter, her previous embarrassment completely gone: "Just kidding! Teasing an ability is so much fun!"
I silently used energy to repair the broken pen tip, suddenly missing the right to sigh and rub my forehead when I was human. This girl was definitely getting revenge for my slip of the tongue about the changing room earlier.
"Alright, seriously now." She wiped away tears of laughter, opened the bedside cabinet, and took out an exquisite metal box. "Look what I found."
Inside the box lay a damaged academy badge—my badge. The edges were blackened by the explosion, but the SSS-grade rating mark was still clearly visible.
"Father brought it back from the accident site." Her fingertip gently traced the badge's surface. "I heard there are no more than ten materials in all of Xinghui City that can withstand an SSS-grade energy impact…"
【Put it away. Now I am your ability!】
"Then… you're mine!"
Saturday's morning light cut a golden line across Luo Qingxue's quilt through the curtain gap. She sprang out of bed with a carp-like jump, humming a song as she pulled open her wardrobe—this was probably the first time she had looked forward to the weekend so much since transferring.
"This one? Too formal…" She tossed aside a branded dress. "This one? Too pretentious…"
Finally, she chose a simple white T-shirt and jeans but struggled with accessories. I controlled the stylus on the bedside table to write on the tablet: 【It's not a date.】
"Mind your own business!" She made a face at the air, but in the end, she only wore the cheap brooch Lin Xiaoyu had given her. "Today is my first time visiting Xiaoyu's house."
When she drove the limited-edition hovercar out of the garage, I couldn't help but type on the navigation screen: 【Isn't that too high-profile?】
"What does it matter?" Luo Qingxue set the navigation nonchalantly. "Xiaoyu doesn't care about these things."
But as she drove into the old district on the east side of the city according to the address, the energy fluctuations from the hovercar already attracted many curious glances. The buildings here still maintained the concrete structures of the last century, their paint peeling like a skin disease. Several children in faded clothes chased the sports car, exclaiming in wonder.
"There's actually a place like this in District D7…" Luo Qingxue mumbled, carefully avoiding potholes on the road. "Father said this place should have been redeveloped twenty years ago."
The navigation finally stopped in front of a narrow alley. The scent of cheap synthetic food wafted through the alley, and dried clothes hung overhead like international flags. Luo Qingxue hesitated for a moment, then locked the car and walked in.
"Excuse me, where does Lin Xiaoyu live?" She asked an old woman who was mending clothes.
The old woman's cloudy eyes scrutinized her up and down: "Oh, Xiaoyu? Xiaoyu is doing laundry at the end of the alley."
The further she walked, the slower Luo Qingxue's steps became. I could feel the emotions churning in her chest—shock, heartache, a certain inexplicable guilt. In the open space at the end of the alley, Lin Xiaoyu was squatting in front of an old-fashioned washbasin, her hands submerged in foamy water. A mountain of dirty clothes was piled beside her, and several young people were sitting nearby, cracking sunflower seeds.
"Xiaoyu! Are these your clothes?" A girl with dyed yellow hair shrieked.
Lin Xiaoyu shook her head, sweat beads from her bangs splashing into the basin: "They're Aunt Zhang's…"
"What about these?" A boy kicked a plastic bag at his feet.
"Uncle Li's work clothes… he said they're hard to wash with machine oil on them…"
Luo Qingxue stood at the alley entrance, her fingers unconsciously clutching her backpack strap.
"Oh, your hands must be all wrinkled from washing for so long, right?" The yellow-haired girl said with feigned concern. "Do you want to use your little glow to shine on them? Maybe it'll kill the germs!"
Amidst a burst of laughter, Lin Xiaoyu just scrubbed the clothes harder, as if she could wash away the taunts as well.
"Xiaoyu!"
Luo Qingxue's voice cut through the murky air like a sharp sword. Everyone froze, and Lin Xiaoyu suddenly looked up, foam sliding down her reddened wrists.
"Qing… Qingxue? How did you…"
"Come with me." Luo Qingxue strode forward, grabbing her wet wrist. "Now."
"But these clothes…"
"Let them wash their own clothes!" Luo Qingxue's voice carried an anger I had never heard before.
The yellow-haired girl finally regained her composure and said in a sarcastic tone: "Oh, isn't this Young Miss Luo? What brings you to a place like ours?"
Luo Qingxue narrowed her eyes: "I know you. Third-year student in the regular class, C-grade water element." She paused deliberately. "You've been reprimanded twice for bullying younger students at the academy, right?"
The girl's face changed: "What's it to you!"
"Now that I'm here, it's my business!"】}```
