Lin Zichen was speechless, then said, “Watch less of that. Look at you—your thoughts aren’t pure anymore. You’ll turn into Shen Dirty‑han at this rate.”

“I’m eighteen. I’m allowed to be dirty.”

“Being eighteen is one thing. If you can stay pure, why be dirty?”

“No way. If you’re eighteen and still know nothing, that’s not purity—that’s stupidity!”

She paused, cheeks flaming, then asked, “Xiao Chen, do you think doing that really feels as good as it looks in the videos?”

She was curious—wanted to try with Lin Zichen—but didn’t know how to say it, so she brought up the topic instead.

“Probably.”

Lin Zichen answered perfunctorily.

He didn’t want to dwell on it. With a man and a woman alone in a room, that topic could easily get out of hand.

Shen Qinghan thought the opposite—seeing him dodge the topic, she simply mustered her courage and said directly, “Xiao Chen, I want to try… with you.”

The line was so bold that Lin Zichen was stunned into silence.

He hadn’t expected her to be so forward.

After a moment, he said, “It’s a bit too soon. Let’s wait until school starts.”

Their first kiss was only a few days ago. He wanted to savor the steady climb of romance, not jump straight to the summit.

At least give it a month or two.

Yes, the summit is beautiful—but the scenery on the way up has its own flavor. He didn’t want to miss it.

Turned down, Shen Qinghan felt a little crestfallen.

She pressed her rosy lips together, “Xiao Chen, after training it’s always you massaging me to relax, making me feel good. I want to make you feel good too.”

“Oh? You’re going to massage me?” Lin Zichen chuckled, “But you’re so delicate—can you even press hard enough?”

Teased, Shen Qinghan—rarely—didn’t bicker back. In a shy voice she said, “Close your eyes and don’t open them. Sit still. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

What kind of massage requires closed eyes and no moving?

Lin Zichen was puzzled, but didn’t overthink it. He obediently closed his eyes and let Shen Qinghan have her way.

Soon, he felt a soft warmth in her palm. His body shivered in surprise.

Hiss—

This massage was too comfortable—

Way too comfortable…

* * *

The next morning at nine, they lazed in bed chatting, with no intention of getting up.

Early morning, air‑conditioning humming, snuggled under the covers—it felt like they were sealed to the mattress.

“It’s already nine—aren’t you two coming down for breakfast?”

Upstairs, Zhang Wanxin was tidying the second floor. Hearing voices in the room, she knew the two were awake and knocked to call them down.

They hadn’t planned to get up yet, but since Zhang Wanxin had called, they got dressed and went downstairs.

Breakfast was sandwiches and soy milk—both handcrafted by culinary ace Mom Zhang.

“Hanhán, try the soy milk—see if it’s sweet.”

Zhang Wanxin paused her cleaning to sit downstairs, waiting for Shen Qinghan’s verdict.

She’d only just learned how to make soy milk a few days ago and Shen Qinghan hadn’t tried it yet.

“I’ll try.”

Shen Qinghan smiled sweetly and raised the glass of warm off‑white soy milk.

But as it reached her lips, she looked at the milky liquid in the glass and her expression grew a bit odd—remembering last night’s embarrassing scene.

Steadying herself, she stopped overthinking.

She took a small sip.

“Is it sweet?”

Zhang Wanxin asked expectantly.

She’d already tasted it—very sweet and very good—but she wanted to hear the future daughter‑in‑law’s review.

“Very sweet. It’s delicious.”

Shen Qinghan smiled and praised it highly—but only her mouth tasted sweet. Her mind did not.

Her mind had been “polluted” last night.

Now, she wasn’t Shen Qinghan—she was Shen Dirty‑han.

While munching a sandwich, Lin Zichen noticed her odd look and teased, “The after‑effects can’t be that strong, can they?”

“You still have the nerve to laugh at me—it’s all your fault!”

Shen Qinghan bit her lip and shot Lin Zichen a reproachful look.

Lin Zichen felt wronged, “You were the one who started it. How is that my fault?”

“It’s your fault! Your fault!”

She puffed her cheeks in mock anger—a willful little girlfriend.

What a perfect pair… Watching the two kids flirt and bicker, Zhang Wanxin’s face was full of an auntie’s smile.

* * *

For the rest of the summer vacation, Lin Zichen’s life was monotonous—he was basically busy with Bone‑Tempering. Every session left him drenched in cold sweat and paper‑pale.

By contrast, Shen Qinghan’s days were much more colorful.

She was on the Gene Fusion path—growing stronger depended entirely on gene fusion. As long as she completed basic daily training, she could spend the rest of her time as she pleased, going wherever she wanted.

Whenever Li Chuxin asked her out, she almost always said yes.

After so many stifled years, she planned to make up for it this summer.

Mid‑August.

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan made time to take their driving tests.

When she gripped the shift lever during practice, Shen Qinghan couldn’t help thinking of that night’s ‘polluting’ scene with Lin Zichen; her hand felt weird on the stick.

Not just driving—earlier, when she and Li Chuxin went to classmate Guo Yanling’s house for karaoke, holding the microphone felt weird too.

Sometimes even seeing kids on the street playing with water guns made her feel awkward. Her head would fill with a jumble of images she couldn’t dispel.

‘This is bad—I really have become Shen Dirty‑han…’

Shen Qinghan felt impure now and it bothered and flustered her.

* * *

As the summer days slipped by, before she knew it, it was September 7th—only two days until university started.

On that date, after more than a month of Bone‑Tempering torture, Lin Zichen finally finished tempering all 206 bones in his body.

At the moment he completed the full‑body Bone‑Tempering, his Biological Level leapt from Ordinary Tier Eight to Ordinary Tier Nine—only one step away from advancing to a High‑Level Being.

That very day, he began researching how to open acupoints.

According to the notes in Blood‑Tempering Art, if he could successfully open his acupoints—even a single one—he could break through the ordinary boundary and advance straight to a High‑Level Being.

But that was only simple in theory. In practice it was fiendishly difficult.

To this day, there had never been a case of advancing to a High‑Level Being with a pure‑blood human body.

In such circumstances, to be the first meant groping one’s way across the river by feeling for stones.

‘How do I open these acupoints, exactly?’

Lin Zichen spent a full day studying the opening of acupoints, trying every method in the notes—only to come up empty‑handed.

Skin, flesh and bone had progressed quickly because the notes contained explicit tempering methods—no need for his own trial‑and‑error.

Now that it depended on his own exploration, the difficulty had spiked.

Forget it—put acupoints on hold for now. Once university starts, he’ll consult Liu Chuanwu, the pure‑blood human expert.

For the moment, he would keep up the tempering and see if he could reach five total rounds.

Unwittingly, only two days remained until university opened.

‘What would college life be like…’