My Years as the Pure Love Interest at the Noble Academy

When her "secret" was exposed, there was no fear as she had imagined.

But an alliance? She didn’t need such a thing.

Song Yi lowered her gaze and channeled her ability into the red string bracelet in her hand.

Shen Yujing, who had just blown up a zombie’s head, instantly appeared, staring at Hang Feng standing in front of him—

Shen Yujing: “?”

What was he doing?

Without a second thought, Shen Yujing stepped forward, grabbed Hang Feng by the collar, and pulled him away, sneering as he asked, “What are you doing?”

Hang Feng’s gaze fell on the red string bracelet in Song Yi’s hand, and he immediately understood why Shen Yujing had appeared.

Hang Feng took a step back, breaking free from Shen Yujing’s grip, and said expressionlessly, “I was worried she might be in danger alone, so I came to check.”

After speaking, he walked toward the pile of zombies and joined the fight.

Shen Yujing turned to Song Yi and asked nervously, “He’s lying, right? Did he do anything to you?”

“No,” Song Yi replied with a guilty expression. “I was just startled when he suddenly showed up, so I…”

Song Yi didn’t finish her sentence, but Shen Yujing understood. “It’s fine. As long as it’s just a misunderstanding.”

Song Yi smiled at him and said, “Bend down a little.”

Shen Yujing was momentarily confused but obediently complied.

Song Yi pricked her index finger and gently dabbed her blood on Shen Yujing’s face, where a scratch from the recent battle had been.

Shen Yujing was stunned for a moment, then quickly felt the wound heal. He said sheepishly, “It’s just a minor injury. This is too much of a waste.”

Her blood, in these times, was the most precious treasure.

Just then, Quan Le’s angry shout echoed from nearby—

“Shen Yujing, what the hell are you doing?! These zombies are all coming at me! You’re such a terrible teammate! You really just run when things get tough!”

Shen Yujing: “…”

He shouted back, “I’m not running, you idiot! Screw off!”

After yelling, Shen Yujing pulled out a band-aid from his personal space and handed it to Song Yi. He turned to leave but then spun back around, stammering, “Earlier… I didn’t… scare you, did I? I’m not usually like that. Really, I’m not.”

“I know,” Song Yi said, genuinely amused. “You should hurry back. He’s going to lose his patience.”

“Right,” Shen Yujing nodded and immediately returned to the zombie-infested area to continue fighting.

Nearly half an hour later, the zombies in the area were mostly cleared.

One of the fire-ability users had suffered a severe leg injury. Without immediate treatment, amputation would be necessary.

Song Yi wanted to go over, but Jiang Yiheng stopped her.

He held a test tube and said, “Do it in the car. The fewer people who know about this, the better.”

Song Yi extended her hand, and after the tube was filled with her blood, her face grew even paler.

Jiang Yiheng paused, then said, “Thank you.”

With that, he hurried off toward the injured person.

Soon after, everyone regrouped and set off on their way back.

In the A-zone vehicle.

Xu Che, driving with his eyes fixed on the road, asked, “What’s the situation?”

“Just as you guessed, it’s her,” Hang Feng said casually, raising a hand to his forehead. “But she refused to cooperate with me. I told you, I don’t look like a bad guy.”

“Hmph.”

Xu Che responded with just a single word.

Hang Feng didn’t press further, only asking, “So what now? Should we tell Jiang Yiheng about this?”

“If I’ve figured it out, he probably has too,” Xu Che said coolly. “Song Yi, the person from the tenth year of the apocalypse, codenamed SY. If I’m not mistaken, she never intended to hide it from us.”

Hang Feng asked again, “Then what’s her goal?”

Xu Che accelerated the car, the wind roaring past their ears.

After a long pause, he said, “That’s a question for Jiang Yiheng. I feel like he’s been hiding something from us.”

*

C-zone research lab.

The A-zone and C-zone teams had gathered again, but this time, the B-zone was excluded.

Hang Feng, his narrow eyes filled with irritation, said bluntly, “The foundation of cooperation is trust. If Leader Jiang can’t trust us from the A-zone, then this partnership ends here.”

Jiang Yiheng wasn’t angered. Instead, he asked, “Why would you think that?”

Xu Che smiled and said, “About Song Yi—or rather, SY—how much information are you still keeping from us? Since the apocalypse began, nothing in this world is purely good. The Spirit of Purification can’t only have benefits. What are its drawbacks?”

“Xu Che, I’ve always said you’re the opponent I admire most. You haven’t disappointed me yet,” Jiang Yiheng said, then glanced at Murong Huan. “Bring me what I prepared.”

“Yes,” Murong Huan turned and fetched a sealed bag containing what looked like a newspaper.

In the tenth year of the apocalypse, the economic order had briefly stabilized, and this was one of the rare pieces of documentation from that time.

Jiang Yiheng took out the contents and spread them on the table. “Take a look.”

The newspaper featured an interview with the highest-level healer at the time, who was also the head of the only safe zone’s shrine, as well as reports following his death.

Jiang Yiheng said, “To avoid public panic, some things weren’t disclosed. But in reality, everyone involved in that research died from blood diseases within three years.”

Jiang Yiheng then looked at Xu Che and said, “As you said, nothing in this world is purely good. The Spirit of Purification doesn’t only bring benefits. This is its drawback.”

SY didn’t just commit suicide; she also used the Spirit of Purification to kill those who had once wanted her dead.

Hang Feng asked directly, “So why has Song Yi appeared now?”

A sweet but cold voice answered, “Because when I died, it hurt far more than it did for them. My hatred hasn’t faded.”

Song Yi pushed open the slightly ajar door and walked in, smiling at Hang Feng. “Your acting was too clumsy. If you hadn’t kept glancing at the ring on your hand, you might have actually fooled me.”

In the apocalypse, rings were generally used for two purposes: storage or communication.

Song Yi smiled at everyone and said, “Congratulations on figuring out another use for the Spirit of Purification. Do you also want to die this way? It won’t hurt much.”

*

Three days later, in the morning.

Shen Yujing noticed something was off.

While having breakfast, he turned to Quan Le and asked directly, “Do you feel like something’s been off these past few days?”

Quan Le looked down at the bun in his hand and said, “The meat filling seems a bit skimpy these days. Is C-zone going bankrupt?”

Shen Yujing glared at him. “I’m not talking about the buns.”

At the entrance, Xu Che and Hang Feng walked in but immediately turned and left upon seeing them.

Quan Le realized something and whispered, watching their retreating figures, “Have they been acting strange lately?”

Shen Yujing added, “They’re clearly avoiding us.”

As ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‍Shen Yujing spoke, Quan Le frowned.

He hadn’t thought much about it before, but now that Shen Yujing brought it up, he couldn’t ignore it.

Quan Le asked, “What are they hiding?”

“We haven’t seen Song Yi these past few days either.”

As soon as Shen Yujing said this, the two exchanged a glance, then simultaneously put down their utensils and headed straight for the living quarters.

The residential area was segregated by gender, so when they reached the building, someone stopped Shen Yujing and Quan Le.

Shen Yujing said bluntly, “Don’t you know who I am?”

The guard looked uneasy. Of course, he recognized Shen Yujing, but this was against the rules.

Shen Yujing demanded, “Take us to Song Yi’s room.”

“What?” The guard was startled and flipped through the registration book. “She left yesterday.”

Shen Yujing sneered, “Killing someone in C-zone territory isn’t a big deal for me.”

The guard’s face turned pale with fear, his legs trembling. “Leader Shen, I wouldn’t dare lie to you even if I had a hundred lives.”

Seeing him so frightened, Quan Le took a step closer and said, "I think he's telling the truth."

The man quickly turned the registration book over for Shen Yujing to see, saying, "Look, it's written here. Vice-leader Murong Huan personally took Song Yi away. Leader Xu from Area A was also there at the time. I really don't know anything else..."

Murong Huan and Xu Che?

Upon hearing these two names, Shen Yujing and Quan Le immediately had their answer.

The two of them quickly walked out, no longer arguing with the gatekeeper.

Shen Yujing's voice was serious as he said, "Murong Huan and Xu Che came together. I suspect they took Song Yi to the lab."

"This is all your fault," Quan Le said irritably, scratching his head. "Your refusal was too obvious during the discussion that day. They were on guard against us."

Shen Yujing sneered, "Do I have a problem? Should I have been as hypocritical as them?"

Quan Le replied, "Could there be some misunderstanding? I always felt that Murong Huan isn't that kind of person."

Over the years, he had interacted with Murong Huan a few times. Although the girl had a fiery temper and a strong personality, she wasn't a bad person.

Once, they had fought side by side during a zombie siege. For the sake of ordinary people's survival, Murong Huan had nearly lost her life.

He still remembered her bravery at that time, which had given him hope for survival. That was how they both managed to make it through.

Shen Yujing, however, said, "Area C is under Jiang Yiheng's control."

Quan Le added, "But Area C rarely gets involved in wars. They mainly take in the wounded. Jiang Yiheng doesn't seem like an ambitious person."

"He's a kind person," Shen Yujing directly stated what Quan Le hadn't said, then continued, "That's why he wants to save more people. Since you don't believe it, let's go ask him directly and see for ourselves what he's really doing."

When the two arrived at the door of Jiang Yiheng's research lab, the guard didn't stop them but respectfully let them in.

Quan Le asked in surprise, "You're just letting us in like this?"

The guard replied, "Leader Jiang already gave the order. He said you would come."

"Stop wasting time talking to him. Let's go," Shen Yujing said, stepping inside first.

They took the stairs up to the third floor and opened the door to the lab.

Jiang Yiheng was indeed inside, and besides him, Xu Che and Hang Feng were also there.

Xu Che looked at him and said, "You're here too, though later than I expected."

"What are you doing?" Shen Yujing stood at the door, not stepping inside, and continued to ask, "Where is Song Yi?"

Jiang Yiheng, who had been facing away from him, turned around and took a step to the side, revealing the young girl sitting on the instrument behind him.

The girl sat there with her eyes closed. If not for the restraints binding her, she looked as gentle and beautiful as if she were asleep.

Shen Yujing's eyes widened as he struggled to control his anger. "What are you doing?"

Jiang Yiheng took off his gloves, adjusted his glasses, and said calmly, "As you can see, we've restrained her."

Shen Yujing's voice trembled as he asked, "And then?"

Jiang Yiheng explained calmly, "Once we drain her blood, we can extract the Purification Spirit from it. Placing the Purification Spirit in an area with a high concentration of zombies will act like a contagion. If even one zombie is infected, it will destroy all the zombies in the shortest time possible."

"If the world is completely rid of zombies, everything will return to peace. In five or ten years, we can truly live the ordinary lives we had before the apocalypse."

"Are you insane?" Shen Yujing stepped forward and punched Jiang Yiheng in the face, grabbing his collar and shouting, "This is a human life we're talking about!"

"But every year, people still die because of the zombies. I'm saving more lives," Jiang Yiheng said, pushing his crooked glasses back into place and smiling. "Shen Yujing, you can just be a bystander. You don't have to play the role of the villain here."

"You're all lunatics. You scientists are all lunatics," Shen Yujing said, letting go of Jiang Yiheng and preparing to punch him again, but this time Xu Che stopped him.

Shen Yujing and Xu Che had been friends for several years.

But later, because two tigers cannot share one mountain, they chose different paths in life and grew distant.

Shen Yujing looked at Xu Che with suspicion, but more than that, with disappointment.

The young man's Adam's apple bobbed as he spoke, his voice tinged with an unconscious fear. "Xu Che, let go. It's not too late yet."

Song Yi wasn't dead yet. There was still time.

"It's too late, because I agree with him," Xu Che said, looking at Shen Yujing. "I've always said that trading one life for the sake of everyone else is a fair deal."

"Do you think you're some kind of saint for this? But this isn't fair! What did she do wrong? Why should her life be the price?"

The young man shouted these words, his usually carefree peach-blossom eyes now filled with rage.

"Let him go first," Xu Che said, holding Shen Yujing's other hand. "What if we told you that the Purification Spirit's power isn't limited to ending the apocalypse?"

Shen Yujing let go and asked, "What else? Healing? Bringing the dead back to life?"

"No," Jiang Yiheng said, straightening his clothes. "It's immortality."

As soon as Jiang Yiheng's words fell, the room was plunged into an eerie silence.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Then Quan Le's awkward laughter broke the silence. "You're insane? How could anyone achieve immortality in this world?"

"The Purification Spirit can," Jiang Yiheng said. "Because Song Yi isn't just Song Yi. She's also the SY from ten years ago."

Quan Le's smile faded. "Are you saying she's the one who possessed the Purification Spirit ten years ago?"

"From the very beginning, there has only ever been one person who possessed the Purification Spirit," Jiang Yiheng continued. "Back then, those who tried to kill her weren't just trying to end the apocalypse. They were also after immortality."

Jiang Yiheng then went on to explain the newspaper articles and events he had shown to Xu Che and Hang Feng earlier, recounting them to Shen Yujing and Quan Le.

Shen Yujing listened in silence for a long time.

When he finally looked up, Xu Che asked, "Do you understand now?"

"I understand your ass!" Shen Yujing sneered. "If we do this, how are we any different from those people? Don't forget, they all died from blood diseases. None of them had a good ending!"

"That's because they failed to kill SY. SY died by suicide, which was actually a feigned death. But we're different. If we successfully extract the Purification Spirit, we'll be the winners," Jiang Yiheng paused, then added, "And this secret will remain a secret forever."

"Immortality is something humanity has pursued for thousands of years, and now it's right in front of us. Shen Yujing, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Ordinary people don't think about death until they reach old age or fall ill.

But in the apocalypse, people face the threat of death every moment. It's a constant fear that haunts them.

Immortality—those two words were undeniably tempting.

After a long silence, Shen Yujing asked, "What do we need to do?"

Jiang Yiheng replied, "Just stand by and watch. I'll handle the rest."

But Shen Yujing stepped in front of him and said, "Why should I? How do I know you won't tamper with anything? You give the orders, and I'll carry them out. That's the only way I'll feel at ease."

At first glance, Shen Yujing's reasoning seemed sound.

So Jiang Yiheng called Murong Huan in and instructed her to prepare some things.

Shen Yujing pointed at the restraints on Song Yi and asked, "What are these for?"

"They're for controlling her. The purple wire prevents her from waking up, the blue one ensures that even if she does wake up, we can still control her body. The green one controls her thoughts, and..."

Shen Yujing interrupted, "Where's the master switch?"

Jiang Yiheng asked warily, "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm afraid I might accidentally touch it. If she wakes up during the process, I won't be able to continue because of the guilt."

Jiang Yiheng continued preparing his things, lowering his head as he said, "The main control is this remote in my hand. Don’t worry, there’s no way you’ll accidentally touch it during the process."

But the moment his words fell, Shen Yujing immediately snatched the remote and quickly positioned himself in front of Song Yi.

Quan Le rolled his eyes. Seeing this play out, he knew it would happen. He didn’t trust Shen Yujing one bit.

But as a brother, he still stepped forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Shen Yujing, making his stance clear.

Xu Che asked, "Shen Yujing, what are you trying to do?"

Shen Yujing pressed the button in his hand and sneered, "I don’t care about immortality."

Besides, what would he even do with such a long life?

Turtles live for thousands of years, and tortoises for tens of thousands. If you want to live that long, why not just become a turtle?

Jiang Yiheng’s expression remained calm as he said, "Four against two. You’re bound to lose."

Shen Yujing’s left hand began to gather energy, flames flickering into existence as he replied, "Then let’s all go down together. But do you dare?"

"We dare, but it’s not worth it," Jiang Yiheng took a step forward, then asked, "Do you really have to save her? That’s not worth it either."

Shen Yujing replied, "I promised to protect her."

A person can’t go back on their word.

And he still remembered that when they first met, she had chosen him.

From the very beginning, she had trusted him, and he couldn’t betray that trust.

There was no need for further explanation.

At that moment, Hang Feng spoke up impatiently, "Isn’t this enough? How long are you going to keep this act up?"

Shen Yujing: "?"

Quan Le: "??"

The two exchanged glances: "???"

Xu Che’s voice, slightly hoarse, broke the silence, "Song Yi, you’ve lost."

Shen Yujing turned to look at the girl behind him, only to see her lazily yawn and respond with a casual "Mm."

Shen Yujing was confused, but he still instinctively shielded Song Yi, turning to Xu Che and asking, "What do you mean?"

"We made a bet," Murong Huan couldn’t hold back any longer. "The bet was about your choice. If you had agreed to kill Song Yi in exchange for immortality, we would have lost, and our lives would have been in her hands. But thankfully, we won the bet."

Shen Yujing looked at Song Yi, still somewhat skeptical. As he muttered, "The green control line," he reached out to remove the green wire from her body.

Everyone: "..."

"I’m not being controlled," Song Yi reached out and grabbed Shen Yujing’s hand, stopping him.

Her expression softened with relief, but then she smiled and said, "Yes, I lost."

"Besides, the Purification Spirit has always granted immortality, but it doesn’t have the power to kill all the zombies and end the apocalypse. That was just a lofty excuse made up by those people to cover up their greed."

She still remembered how dark those days, referred to as "SY," had been.

There was once a girl who treated her exceptionally well, like an older sister.

But later, after those people confirmed that her blood could grant immortality, the way they looked at her became filled with greed—including that girl.

So in the end, SY killed everyone, and she didn’t spare her either.

Song Yi had never imagined that in this apocalyptic world, there could still be someone who truly resisted the temptation of immortality.

Tears welled up in the girl’s eyes.

Shen Yujing was startled, instinctively raising his hand to wipe her tears, quickly comforting her, "It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m here. They can’t hurt you."

But Song Yi said, "I lost."

Shen Yujing froze, then immediately became alert, asking, "Does losing mean you have to pay with your life?"

"No," Song Yi forced a smile and said, "There’s no punishment. I’m happy to have lost."

She had lost, but in a way, she had also won.

It turned out that there really were people like this in the world. It was just that she hadn’t met them before. So there was no need to resent the world just because of a streak of bad luck.

She reached out and hugged Shen Yujing, burying her face in his shoulder.

Feeling the dampness on his shoulder, Shen Yujing realized the girl in his arms was crying.

His eyes widened as he slowly turned his head to glare at Quan Le, his entire face screaming one question: What do I do?

Quan Le frantically waved his arms in the air, signaling for Shen Yujing to hug Song Yi back.

Shen Yujing: "?"

Is that really the right thing to do? Wouldn’t that make him seem like a creep?

But feeling the girl in his arms crying harder, he couldn’t care less and quickly held her tighter, gently patting her back to comfort her.

Many years later, in the Apocalypse Museum.

Song Yi came across an obscure collection of poems, documenting the works of poets from the tenth year of the apocalypse.

Among them was a blond poet who would visit SY’s grave every year to place a bouquet of flowers.

Even though he had never met SY, he wrote many poems lamenting the tragedy of her life—how she had been punished for simply possessing something precious.

Later, the poet died after falling into a river while drunk.

That same year, Shen Yujing, the leader of District A, was born.

Perhaps some things are destined to come full circle, and maybe she wasn’t the only one waiting all these years.

No matter how many times they are separated, he and she will always find each other again, in every cycle of fate.

And he will always love her.

—The End.