The Ten Thousand Ways to Hug the Female Protagonist’s Thigh - Chapter 2.2

Wen Xuening woke up with a start, knocking over her ink bottle. As the ink spilled onto the floor, she quickly cleaned it up under the curious gazes of her classmates. When she returned to her seat and saw Wen Shu’s cold expression, she whispered sheepishly, “You scared me! I was dreaming about a delicious meal, and when you tapped me, it flew away!”

In the original story, the classmate who had manipulated Wen Yuning was moved to the back. Wen Xuening, despite her humble background, reached the second level of Qi Refinement at just thirteen years old. Though she only had an ordinary three-element spiritual root, an elder from the outer family recommended her and allowed her to take the entrance exam for the main family’s school. She not only passed but also came in first among the new students.

The Wen family believed in nurturing talent based on individual potential, not just spiritual roots. However, it was still rare for an outer disciple to become a direct disciple. The direct disciples of the family school were generally well-mannered. Though they looked down on Wen Xuening’s background, they didn’t openly bully her. They simply kept their distance, maintaining a cold and indifferent attitude.

This was when Wen Shu saw her opportunity.

Wen Xuening and Wen Yuning’s names were only one character apart. In the original story, Wen Yuning’s parents often called her “Xiao Ning.” Coincidentally, this was also the name Wen Xuening was most often called. During her first class, she introduced herself, “My name is Wen Xuening, but you can call me Xiao Ning.”

The girl who had manipulated Wen Yuning was named Wen Ling. Knowing that Wen Yuning’s parents had passed away, Wen Ling had used this sensitive topic to provoke her. After all, if there were two “Xiao Nings,” wouldn’t Wen Yuning’s parents’ spirits be confused about whom to recognize during family rituals?

Whether this logic made sense, the naive Wen Yuning, who was solely focused on cultivation and lacked social awareness, had fallen for it. Wen Ling had no real grudge against Wen Xuening; she simply wanted to teach her a lesson for stealing the spotlight by coming in first during the entrance exam.

But this time, Wen Shu wasn’t the foolish Wen Yuning. When Wen Ling tried to provoke her, Wen Shu remained indifferent. Not only did she not respond, but she stood up and silently moved to sit next to Wen Xuening, who had no deskmate.

“You—” Wen Ling was stunned. She hadn’t expected the usually gullible Wen Yuning to ignore her and even distance herself.

Wen Ling gritted her teeth. Wen Shu was the family head’s niece, with a balanced water-wood dual spiritual root. Her parents had died as heroes defending the family against a beast tide. Even though Wen Shu was usually cold, people tended to accommodate her. Wen Ling didn’t dare cause trouble for Wen Shu and had to let it go.

On the other hand, when Wen Shu showed apparent kindness toward Wen Xuening, the other family members’ attitudes toward Wen Xuening also began to change. Though they still didn’t interact much, they were now willing to speak to her.

Wen Xuening was deeply grateful for this. As a newcomer to the main family, she had no one close to her. Though she had grown resilient from years of enduring cold shoulders and mistreatment, having someone stand by her side during her isolation touched her heart.

Though quiet and seemingly indifferent to everyone, Wen Shu was kind-hearted. She often silently helped others in small ways. She would quietly get an extra portion of food for Wen Xuening in the dining hall, save seats for frequently late students, and even sneakily lend restricted notes from the family head’s lineage to Wen Xuening and other disciples.

When Wen Xuening pretended to nap during class (actually meditating), Wen Shu would pull her aside afterward and seriously explain the lesson. Despite being only ten years old, Wen Shu acted like a little adult, rarely expressing herself but always doing things for others without saying a word.

As the two grew accustomed to attending classes together, Wen Xuening realized she had finally made a friend.

Wen Shu, having lost her parents at a young age and come to the main family alone, had spent most of her time by herself. Perhaps it was because she saw herself in Wen Xuening’s isolation that she chose to stand by her side, protect her, and care for her.

“I’ll take care of you, too,” Wen Xuening silently vowed.

Through a mysterious inheritance, Wen Xuening improved her challenging cultivation physique. On the surface, she appeared to have an ordinary three-element spiritual root. Still, it had transformed into a wind-fire dual spiritual root with a strong fire element. If she followed the instructions in the inheritance and placed in the top ten during the family’s annual competition, she could enter the family’s secret realm and find the ten-thousand-year stone milk, which would thoroughly cleanse her wind spiritual root and turn her into a pure fire-element heavenly spiritual body.

Through the inheritance, Wen Xuening knew that the world outside was vast. She had no intention of staying in this remote border region. Her sights were set on the boundless seas and the stars beyond.

Legend has it that the Wen family’s ancestors were once a top-tier family in the Central Continent. After a sudden disaster, they were scattered, with only a few branches surviving. They settled at the border between the cultivation and mortal worlds three hundred years ago, establishing the current Wen family.