Douluo: This Legend of the Dragon King is not quite right

Chapter 451 Leng Yaozhu's Heart Knot
"...Teacher, why did you suddenly pull this stunt?"

Lu Jun was speechless.

"I should be the one thanking you."

Upon hearing this, Leng Yaozhu's gaze softened even more, like the warm sun melting ice and snow. She looked deeply at Lu Jun, her voice filled with an indescribable gratitude and emotion:
“Lu Jun, I want to thank you more… Thank you for choosing to believe me, for exposing your true identity to me, and for being honest with me about everything. You didn’t choose to keep it a secret any longer.”

She took a slight breath, still seemingly finding it somewhat unbelievable:

"However, I really didn't expect... I always thought I had just picked up a pitiful child with extraordinary talent and was a student I taught with care... but his true origin was actually the existence of the sacred artifact that fell from the sky in the far north ten thousand years ago and changed the entire continent's landscape."

Her tone became somewhat ashamed:

"This really makes me feel... flattered, and even a little apprehensive."

"Given your status and position, how could I... how could I possibly be qualified to be your teacher?"

She subconsciously used honorifics; the sudden change in her status made it difficult for her to adapt, and she felt a sense of unreality.

Seeing her like this, Lu Jun sighed inwardly, quickly stepped forward, gently placed his hand on her slightly cool shoulder, and gazed intently into her eyes:

“Teacher, I don’t want my relationship with you, or anything else, to change just because I’ve told you about my background.”

"From beginning to end, no matter who I am, I am the child you picked up from the street when I was about six years old, and who gave me warmth and a future."

He paused, his tone becoming even more earnest:
“As I said, without you, there would be no Lu Jun today. This kindness has nothing to do with my status.”

"So please, just like before, treat me as your student who is almost thirteen years old, okay?"

"I don't need you to treat me as some kind of master of divine artifacts, I just hope you can still be my teacher."

Leng Yaozhu looked up at Lu Jun, who was standing close to her. The boy's face had long since lost all its childishness, with distinct features and extraordinary handsomeness. In particular, his deep eyes clearly reflected her somewhat helpless expression.

Being gazed at so closely by him and hearing his sincere words, Leng Yaozhu's pretty face involuntarily flushed slightly, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Really... is it really possible?"

Her voice carried a hint of timidity and hesitation that she herself was unaware of.

“Of course.” Lu Jun smiled, his smile warm, clean, and refreshing, like the sun, trying to dispel her unease. “You see, even your sister, after learning about my situation, still treats me the same as before, even bullying me even more.”

"If your sister can do it, why can't you, teacher?"

Upon hearing her younger sister's name, Leng Yaozhu subconsciously shook her head, a look of helplessness mixed with doting affection on her face:
“That girl Yu Lai… I spoiled her too much in the past, which is why she has become so clueless, seemingly never growing up, and living a carefree life.”

She sighed softly, her gaze refocusing on Lu Jun's face:
"...So, I also need some time...to adapt and adjust. After all, this is really shocking."

Seeing that her attitude had softened, Lu Jun stopped pressing the matter and took his hand off her shoulder, smiling broadly.

"That's good. As long as you don't abandon me as your student because of this, I'll be satisfied." "I... how could I abandon you?" Leng Yaozhu immediately retorted, her tone even carrying a hint of urgency, as if afraid he would misunderstand, "I... I'm not like Yun Ming."

When Yun Ming was mentioned, her eyes dimmed imperceptibly for a moment. Although she quickly concealed it, the fleeting emotional fluctuation was still caught by the perceptive Lu Jun.

Lu Jun glanced at her, then suddenly stretched out his finger, a pure, cool scent lingering around his fingertip, and gently touched Leng Yaozhu's smooth forehead.

"!"

Leng Yaozhu's delicate body trembled slightly. A cool yet not piercing aura, like a clear spring, instantly flowed into her mind, calming her somewhat chaotic thoughts caused by memories and emotional fluctuations. She became much calmer.

She looked up at Lu Jun with some surprise.

Lu Jun withdrew his finger, his tone calm yet concerned:

"Teacher, it seems that... your mood becomes somewhat depressed and unstable whenever you mention the name Yunming."

Leng Yaozhu remained silent for a moment, but did not deny it.

She raised her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her gaze fixed on the distant, crystalline ice wall, her eyes becoming distant and dim.

“Hmm… my sister must have told you some of this,” she said softly. “I also studied at Shrek Academy before, and I was from the same era as Yun Ming…”

Lu Jun didn't interrupt, but quietly walked to her side and sat down on the cold ground, assuming a listening posture.

Leng Yaozhu hugged her knees and curled up slightly, as if this would give her some sense of security.

She rested her chin on her knees and continued speaking in a low voice:
"Back then, we were all very young, in the most impulsive years of our youth."

"And back then, Yun Ming... was just like you now, the undisputed number one among his peers, radiating brilliance. He possessed an appearance that surpassed all others, and strength that was unparalleled in his time..."

At this point, she suddenly paused, then shook her head violently, turned to look at Lu Jun, and earnestly corrected herself:
"No. I misspoke. Comparing Yun Ming back then to you now is unfair to you. He can't be compared to you at all."

"If... if you could live in the same era as Yun Ming, even he, Yun Ming, would be completely overshadowed by your brilliance and become dim and insignificant."

Her tone was incredibly certain, as if she were stating a fact.

Lu Jun simply smiled and did not interrupt her.

Leng Yaozhu turned her gaze back to the void ahead, continuing to immerse herself in her memories, her voice tinged with a faint bitterness:

"It's just a pity that you weren't there in that era. And I... naturally, like many young girls in the academy at the time, was attracted by his dazzling light and developed feelings for him because of the stirrings of puberty."

Her voice gradually took on a hint of confusion and detachment:

"However, as I spent more and more time studying at Shrek Academy and gained a deeper understanding of the academy's philosophy, I suddenly realized more and more clearly... that Yun Ming, and many of my classmates, had become... a little strange."

(End of this chapter)