The villain, Xiao Nanliang, caused the female lead excruciating pain.

Suppressing his inner turmoil, Su Qi looked up in astonishment, his pupils trembling uncontrollably. He swallowed hard, his tone filled with disbelief.

"Is it really possible?"

"Of course we can. We are connected by blood, and we can feel a sense of closeness between each other. Why can't we?"

Tears streamed down Su Qi's face, and his body trembled uncontrollably with emotion.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but his choked throat prevented him from speaking.

Mu Xinglan smiled knowingly, reached out and pulled the person into her arms, gently stroking her.

"Good child, these years have been tough, haven't they?"

One sentence was enough to make Su Qi completely lose his composure. He buried his face in her arms and burst into tears, as if he wanted to cry out all the grievances he had held back for many years.

Seeing this, Mu Xinglan's maternal love, which had been suppressed for more than ten years, could no longer be contained. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she gently rubbed her cheek against Su Qi's head, her eyes filled with tenderness.

After an unknown amount of time, Su Qi's crying gradually stopped.

Seeing that the time was right, Mu Xinglan put forward her idea.

"Since you're willing to acknowledge me as your mother, then I'll fulfill my duty as a mother and give you a name."

Su Qi didn't speak, but simply raised his bloodshot eyes, nodding slightly with anticipation in them.

With her eyes moist and her nose red, she looked like a little rabbit enduring a storm, both pitiful and adorable.

Seeing this, Mu Xinglan's heart softened completely, and she couldn't help but gently reach out to wipe away the tears on her face, while she pondered in her heart.

It took her a while to come up with a name.

"What do you think of You Ning? 'You' means long-lasting, and 'Ning' represents peace and tranquility. You Ning symbolizes a long, peaceful, and tranquil life!"

When Mu Xinglan said those words, her face was filled with unconcealed heartache.

This name embodies her hopes for the child's future.

But... she also knew that this was just her own fantasy.

The thought that the child was about to die made her feel as if a piece of her heart had been ripped out.

"Mu Youning? That sounds nice, I really like it!"

Su Qi was overjoyed, her happy smile like a flower blooming in the melancholy of autumn, bringing peace of mind.

"I'll have my own name from now on!"

Seemingly overwhelmed with emotion, tears welled up in his eyes again.

Mu Xinglan instinctively hugged the person tighter, her eyes staring straight ahead, somewhat lost in thought.

沐？

Will this child take his surname, "Mu"?

Originally, she wanted Su Qi to share the same surname as Ye Feng, after all...

Well, since the child wants the surname "Mu," let him be.

Mu Xinglan didn't even notice that when she heard Su Qi wanted to take her surname, Mu, the tenderness in her eyes deepened.

……

At the same time, an unexpected situation arose on Su Qi's side.

The last female lead, Ying Muxue, has also arrived.

The imperial procession, representing the majesty of the emperor, marched in grand style into the White Tiger Academy.

However, she is different from the demons and monsters, who came to participate in cultural exchange, while she came to be a guest judge.

Cultural exchange naturally requires communication, and Baihu Academy has been preparing for this event recently.

There's really nothing to see here; it's just a boring contest of literary and martial arts skills, a mere discussion of philosophical principles.

Both sides knew perfectly well that this so-called cultural exchange was nothing more than a show for outsiders.

The real battle to determine the winner is yet to come.

Since Ying Muxue has come, she must visit and offer her regards to the students of the Southern Region.

These are all pillars of the future of the Southern Region.

In particular, the Bai Clan Chamber of Commerce in Bailing has developed into an economic pillar in the Southern Region.

The rapid improvement in people's livelihoods in the southern region is all thanks to her efforts.

Ying Muxue attached great importance to the Bai Clan Chamber of Commerce president who had made great contributions and wanted to visit him in person.

When Su Qi received the message, Ying Muxue had already arrived at the door, and it was too late for her to hide.

“Vice Dean Gao, are the students’ accommodations here really that bad? If White Tiger Academy is really short of money, even though our Southern Region is the poorest of the five regions, we can still afford to repair the houses.”

"Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand. We are doing this to train our students' spirit of hard work and perseverance."

"Then why do you students from Zhongzhou live in such good conditions?" Ying Muxue asked in a domineering voice.

"How can this be the same? Students from Zhongzhou are born at the top of the pyramid. Their families have already paved the way for them. Coming to my White Tiger Academy is just a formality for them."

Gao Yi was absolutely right, and even spoke with righteous indignation.

"Do the southeastern regions have the conditions for them? No! Their future path will be very difficult, which is why we need to cultivate their spirit of hard work and perseverance. So that when they walk on a thorny path in the future, they won't be so easily defeated by setbacks."

"Our college really put a lot of thought into this!!!"

That heartbroken tone...

Hearing the approaching conversation outside, Su Qi's lips twitched. Our Principal Gao didn't become the vice dean without any real ability.

They literally turned black into white.

He clearly looked down on students from the southeastern regions, but he described it as doing it for the students' own good.

"Come and meet our Empress. She is a rare beauty who will surely catch your eye."

Su Qi was pulled out the door by Bai Ling to welcome Her Majesty the Empress.

Mo Lingsu, now a little white fox, followed behind excitedly, eager to see if Ying Muxue could recognize Su Qi.

"See Your Majesty!"

As the two stepped out the door, they bumped into Ying Muxue and Gao Yi, who were walking towards them, followed by a group of guards and officials.

"Junior Du Yun greets senior, greets old Deng... oh wait, no, I mean, greets vice dean!"

Su Qi bowed to the two men with the respect due to a junior.

The two were quite satisfied with the first half of the sentence, but when they heard the word "Old Deng," Gao Yi's face instantly darkened.

Ying Muxue's lips twitched involuntarily, and she looked at Su Qi with curiosity.

Then she froze, and like the other female protagonists, she felt a familiar feeling from Su Qi.

"Ahem... Your Majesty, this is Du Yun, the junior sister Bai Luo whom I mentioned to you in my letter. Her cultivation method is a bit special, which can easily mislead people into mistaking her for an important person."

Living in the Southern Region, Bai Ling had naturally heard that when Her Majesty the Empress was in trouble, she met a young man who shared her hardships and gave his life for her.

Seeing Her Majesty the Empress like this, one knows that she, like everyone else, saw a familiar shadow in Su Qi.

"Um... what Senior Brother Bai Luo did has nothing to do with me. I hope you will not implicate the innocent."

Su Qi pretended to be afraid of being implicated by Bai Luo, but her gaze met Principal Gao's strange eyes.

Knowing what he was thinking, Su Qi directly transmitted his thoughts.

"Old Deng, what are you looking at? I need to get a fake identity to sneak in, right?"

"But wasn't your original identity from the Eastern Region? How come you've become from the Southern Region now?"

"I was originally in the Southern Region, but I switched to the Eastern Region later. Is that not allowed? Why are you meddling in my business?" Su Qi secretly rolled his eyes at the old man while transmitting his voice.