FXDL V1C6

This story has some of the hardest titles to translate, I swear…though I guess they’re nothing compared to the RoM chapter titles haha.

Translated by: TaffyGirl13

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Chapter 6: Innocent acts may be misconstrued, the shadow attacked upon first sight

The next day, the special ability class started a more complicated section. In addition, Samukawa required people to form pairs with those from the same race to test each other. Anyone that did not pass would have to stay behind to receive guidance.

Fu Xing inwardly rejoiced to himself. Fortunately, he had already learned how to use his special ability. Otherwise, he might have been forced to stay behind for “post-class instruction” today. He had no desire to act out a scene of “an enthusiastic classroom [setting] after class” with Samukawa.

“The next unit is illusory magic and mind control. Simply put, you need to conceal yourselves from the opponent’s eyes and make them believe an alternate truth. If you can manipulate this well, it will assist and strengthen your attack power, or increase your time for defence and escape,” Samukawa said from the podium as he swept a look across the students.

It seemed that as a result of the Halloween activity nearing, there had been quite a few people being absent-minded in class recently. Whispers and note-passing would frequently occur too. Even during Samukawa’s class, there would still be people with lowered heads, speaking among themselves with hushed whispers.

“There is a difference between illusory magic and mind control. Illusory magic creates illusions. The illusion is something that everyone can see, like this.”

Samukawa glanced down as he recited an incantation. A red dragon suddenly appeared mid-air inside the classroom, twisting and dancing around as it spat out fire.

“As for mind control, commonly referred to as bewitchment, it is instead aimed at a specific target to affect their brainwaves and emotions so that they think they’re seeing something.”

Samukawa turned his head and snapped his fingers towards the direction of some chatting students hiding in the corner. The next moment, fearful cries rang out. Two students continuously patted their bodies all over, as if trying to get rid of something.

“This is just the basic theory. Please give your full attention in class. I do not want to hear any meaningless noise.”

Samukawa snapped his fingers again, and the two students seemed to wake from a dream. They glanced around at their surroundings, still shaken.

“These two special abilities can change even more when combined with witchcraft. For example, an illusion created from a special ability does not have a corporeal form. But if used with witchcraft, the illusion can concretise and possess power. This material falls under Professor Abram, so I won’t say much for now.”

Then, Samukawa wrote a few critical points and procedural steps on the blackboard. After explaining them once, he had the students split up into pairs to practice.

Since Fu Xing and Zhu Yue were both jingguai-type, Zhu Yue immediately came running over to become partners once the main types were divided.

“People in the same group have to each try using illusory magic and bewitchment once. Which one do you want to do?”

“Illusory magic.” Zhu Yue smiled. “Has Fu Xing seen an arowana before? It’s a type of fish that lives deep under water.”

Fu Xing shook his head.

Zhu Yue quietly recited a few words, and Fu Xing felt a light whirlwind whip up before him. Then, a faint image began to form together in the air, the colours gradually darkening. The next moment, a strange and ugly-looking fish floated into appearance. Its sharp and pointed teeth seemed to burst out from its mouth. It had round eyes bulging out, and a long body with slim ray-fins, truly giving the feeling of an alien animal.

“Uh…it’s a very special fish…looks a bit fierce.”

“It’s pretty scary, isn’t it? What do you think about having it set inside our checkpoint?”

“Hm, maybe the background needs to be made more detailed. Just having it floating in air is a bit too fake to scare anyone.” He stared at its glistening, sticky skin and his face seemed to tingle.

“It’s your turn, Fu Xing. Make something scary!” Zhu Yue happily chuckled, “See if you can frighten me or not.”

Unwilling to concede, he replied, “You’re better not underestimate me.”

Zhu Yue raised a brow, somewhat sceptical. Fu Xing immediately lowered his head to recite the spell. The next instant, a Chinese-style zombie with a charm stuck on its forehead and Qing-dynasty palace clothing on its body appeared in front of Zhu Yue.

“What is this?” Zhu Yue watched the zombie jumping back and forth with both its arms stretched out, and she began to bend over in laughter. “Fu Xing, this isn’t scary at all. It’s actually very funny!”

“What are you guys fooling around for?!”

A cold, stern growl came from behind them. Zhu Yue, who had been laughing uncontrollably, immediately trembled. She looked back to see Samukawa standing next to them with a furious expression.

“Is this a time for you to be playing around?” Samukawa’s face was frigid as he frowned and glared ferociously at Zhu Yue. “Such a disappointment!”

Zhu Yue instantly paled and she stammered in panic, “S-sorry, Professor Samukawa.”

Fu Xing suddenly laughed out loud. “I scared you, didn’t I?”

Zhu Yue stared at Fu Xing in confusion, then turned back around to look at Samukawa. Fu Xing snapped his fingers, and Samukawa’s image immediately vanished.

“While the zombie drew your attention, I did another illusion,” Fu Xing grinned smugly. “You got tricked, didn’t you?”

Zhu Yue was stunned for a moment before her lips curled up in a smile of admiration.

After discussing for a while, they started bewitchment practice. Seemingly still feeling some fear from the previous practice, Zhu Yue suggested that they make each other see something cute this time.

“I’m starting, Fu Xing.” Zhu Yue voiced the incantation.

Fu Xing felt his vision seem to shake. Then, he saw that where Zhu Yue had previously been standing, there was now a dolphin floating in mid-air.

“It’s a dolphin.” Originally, he wanted to reach out to touch it, but he immediately realised that the dolphin’s physical body might be Zhu Yue, so he immediately retracted his hands.

Zhui Yue released the bewitchment, and it was Fu Xing’s turn. Fu Xing slowly read out the spell that had been taught earlier as he pondered to himself.

Something cute…should I turn into a kitten? No, that’s a bit too common…

An idea flashed through his mind. Then, I’ll just change into this…

He activated the spell at Zhu Yue. Two seconds later, a look of delight appeared on Zhu Yue’s face.

“It’s a seal!” Zhu Yue’s smile was glowing as if she had just seen a new season’s Luis Vuitton bag placed in front of her.

“How’s that?” Fu Xing was very happy about Zhu Yue’s reaction, but her next action exceeded his expectations.

“An adorable little seal!” Zhu Yue suddenly jumped at Fu Xing and hugged him.

Zhu Yue’s soft body pressed against him. Her warm skin and faint scent enveloped him, and he felt his face burn up like fire!

“Zhu Yue! Slow-slow down! It’s me! It’s me!” How! How did it come to this?! He had just wanted to make Zhu Yue happy, so he had changed into the seal that she liked. But he had not imagined things would end up like this!

“Ahhh, this plump tummy is truly too hard to resist!” Zhu Yue said as she pinched his stomach. Fu Xing was ticklish, but he could not bring himself to laugh, because he felt that Zhu Yue’s hand was moving too low. Just a bit more, and she would touch his embarrassing part—

“Zhu Yue!” Fu Xing hurriedly pushed her away and used this moment to release the bewitchment spell.

Zhu Yue stood still as she returned to her senses, then glanced around as if waking up from a dream.

Just as Fu Xing was about to relax, a powerful force suddenly slammed into his back.

“Huh?!”

Fu Xing fell face-first into the ground as he felt a sharp pain come from his back and his joints. Before he could even figure out what was happening, he was dragged off the ground and slammed heavily down once more.

“Fu Xing!”

He heard Zhu Yue’s cry of alarm. He wanted to try and prop himself up, but the pain from his shoulders made it impossible for him to muster any strength. What exactly…is going on?

When his body was yanked up another time, he saw Brad’s furious face appear in front of him.

“Why is it you again…” How did I provoke him again this time…?

Brad did not reply. He gritted his teeth as he glared at Fu Xing, then violently punched him in the face.

Hurts so much! For a moment, Fu Xing felt a bunch of bright spots flash before him.

So people really do have golden stars pop up around them…

The punch just now had given him a splitting headache. His skull buzzed as his eyelids grew so heavy he was nearly unable to keep them open.

“Don’t do this!” Zhu Yue’s voice sounded out again, sounding like she was on the verge of tears.

Fu Xing felt Brad’s body shudder. What happened?

He forcefully pried his eyes open to see Brad’s face right in front of him. At the moment though, the other’s gaze was not on him, but turned towards Zhu Yue.

Within that vicious gaze, he could clearly see vexation and shame instead.

—Did you grab his favourite dish? Suddenly, Rocort’s words appeared in Fu Xing’s mind.

Ah! So that’s what it is…That is the reason Brad hates me.

He had grabbed Brad’s dish…no, Brad had thought he was grabbing the dish. But he had not done anything.

A loud strike rang out, and Fu Xing heard Brad let out a pained groan. The hand holding Fu Xing up suddenly loosened, and he collapsed back onto the ground like a soft blanket.

Fu Xing was dizzy and had no strength to keep his eyes open. So painful…

He had truly been too slow. How could he not have thought of such a reason? The signs had been clearly visible…

Brad liked Zhu Yue.

And Fu Xing had still stupidly moved around together with Zhu Yue every day.

I’m really an idiot…

His consciousness gradually returned to his body. Light passed through his eyelids, faintly piercing his vision. Fu Xing slowly opened his eyes and discovered that he was lying in a foreign room. The faint antiseptic smell in the air told him that this was the school’s medical centre, locating in the south wing of the main bailey.

“Your flesh wounds have already been dealt with.” The doctor named Edes wore a long white coat. He stood next to the bed and explained, “Although your injuries weren’t light, that werewolf brat had already been holding back. With his strength, he could have burst your head open with a single punch.”

Fu Xing glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was 4 AM of the next day. In other words, he had already been unconscious for around ten hours. Fu Xing looked down at his bandaged arms, then touched his face. He felt a stab of pain, but it was much less than he had anticipated.

“Did you give an anaesthetic?”

“No. Your wounds are already around eighty percent recovered. The remaining twenty percent is up to your own healing ability.”

“That fast?” He asked in shock. “What kind of awesome special medicine is that powerful?”

“It’s not medicine, but Brad’s life force. We directly extracted his energy and transferred it to you to speed up the healing of the wounds.” Edes smirked. “One has to take responsibility for the trouble one causes. It’s very fair.”

After Edes gave him some medicine and treatment instructions, he let Fu Xing leave.

Upon returning the dorm, he saw Emerald and Rocort already sitting in Fu Xing’s room waiting for him. Apparently, they had specially urged the medical centre to immediately call their dorms and notify them when Fu Xing left.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m already fine.”

“If it hurts, I have some special medicine…” Emerald paused for a moment, then continued somewhat awkwardly, “Preferential treatment for patients, free of charge.”

Fu Xing was grateful as he chuckled, “Thank you.” He changed the topic, “Oh yeah, what happened to Brad afterwards?” He was quite curious about what punishment the other had received.

“Soon after you fainted, Grod and the other professors rushed to the scene to suppress Brad’s power. Grod activated some spells and the gold ring on Brad’s hand suddenly glowed and stretched out into a layer of film made of light to bind him.”

“I see…” Fu Xing glanced at the ring on his hand. He had not imagined the tiny gold ring was secretly hiding so many mysterious mechanisms.

“That gold film was super powerful!” Rocort added, “After it wrapped around Brad, he was quickly forced to change back into his beast form.”

“I’m guessing that the light film can absorb life force,” Emerald said.

“Then what happened to him after that?”

“He’s been shut inside the confinement room to self-reflect. Not sure when he’ll be able to come out. The confinement room has enchantments set up so that the person inside is stuck in a semi-complete form and a very weakened body so that they cannot resist or escape.”

“Is that so…” Sounds pretty unbearable.

 

The next morning, Fu Xing requested for half-day leave and rested in the dorm, only appearing during the compulsory class in the afternoon. Quite a few people expressed their deep concern towards him, and most believed that Brad had suffered the consequences of his own actions.

When class started, the beastmen sitting on the sofa in the corner were all depressed, apathetically participating in the meeting and seemingly isolated and marginalised from the others. The couch that Brad usually sat on was empty, which was a quite a painful sight to Fu Xing.

Although Brad had injured him, after hearing about his situation, Fu Xing only felt sympathy instead.

Brad had not actually hated him for no reason; rather, it had been out of jealousy. Of course, that did not mean being jealous gave one reason to attack another person. However, special animate beings had extreme difficulty with expressing their thoughts, making it even harder to accurately show their emotions.

Brad liked Zhu Yue, but did not dare to voice it. While Brad often bantered flirtatiously with the hot female beastmen, Fu Xing guessed that Brad was the type of person that would step back when facing their target of true affection. On the other hand, a minor character like him that was both weak and powerless had been able to get so close to Zhu Yue. He could well imagine why Brad would be angry.

He had no way of feeling happy about Brad being punished. It was the opposite; his mood was melancholic instead.

He didn’t like this!

It didn’t matter if others called it hypocritical or false; either way, he didn’t want to see others get punished because of him!

“Sorry!” Fu Xing interrupted the meeting, causing everyone below to look at him questioningly. “Um, I think…it’s better to discuss in another class meeting later when everyone is gathered together…Let’s just end here today. Everyone can stay behind and talk further if they want, I have to leave first!”

Fu Xing raced down from the platform and grabbed a stunned Zhu Yue to run towards the confinement room together.

 

The confinement room was located in the Forbidden Tower. Originally, ordinary students were not allowed to enter. Fortunately, Zhu Yue had the foresight to go find Grod first and receive a pass for permission.

Like the last time, Fu Xing felt something peculiar rise from underneath his feet the moment he stepped into the Forbidden Tower. Although the building was made of white bricks, the solemn atmosphere gave off the feeling of going into an execution site.

The student confinement room was located on the second floor. On both sides of the long and narrow corridor were a long series of doors. The rooms had no windows, just a dim lightbulb as illumination.

“Brad is in Room 209. Wait nearby for a moment. I’ll go and chat with Brad first, then I’ll call you in afterwards,” Fu Xing said to Zhu Yue as they stood in the hallway.

“I also want to go in.”

“Don’t worry, it’s very safe here.” Receiving others’ concern is such a nice feeling.

“Ah, I know…” Zhu Yue was silent for a while, then lightly sighed. “I just wanted to see the scene of a handsome youth being locked up…”

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“Nothing.” Zhu Yue replied with a warm smile, “I’ll wait here. You be careful, Fu Xing.”

Fu Xing walked down the long corridor and arrived in front of Brad’s confinement room. He knocked twice without receiving a response. Thus, he placed the access card he had received from Grod on the spell plate stuck to the door. The symbols on the plate rippled with a red light, and then there was the sound of [the door] being unlocked.

“Um, sorry for the interruption!” He slowly pushed open the door and entered the room.

The room was very narrow, and much darker than outside. Moreover, there was no furniture; it was just an empty floor covered in arrays with dark-red runes. Brad, in a half-transformed state, was currently sitting in the middle of the array.

At the moment, Brad had a human body, but his limbs now had beast claws and were covered with dark brown fur. Brad’s face remained unchanged, though it looked quite wan and sallow. There were also two fuzzy wolf ears that had appeared on his head.

“Um, good evening, Brad…”

“What did you come here for?” Brad darkly glared at the visitor.

“I-I came to…”

“Came to get revenge?” Brad lightly scoffed, “Seems like you have more guts than I thought.”

“No!” As if he was that violent! “I just wanted to chat with you.”

“There’s nothing to chat about.”

“There are some misunderstandings between us that I believe should be resolved,” Fu Xing gently said in the sincerest tone he could muster.

“There’s no need!” Brad looked away. “There aren’t any misunderstandings. Stop acting so opinionated.”

“There isn’t?” Fu Xing scratched his head in confusion. “I thought you liked Zhu Yue, and got jealous because you saw me getting too close to her…”

Brad’s face flushed red and he suddenly shouted, “That’s not it at all!”

“Is that so?” Could he have gotten it wrong? But, Brad’s attitude was clearly because he was jealous, why—

Ah! Don’t tell me…

A thought that sent chills down his own spine flashed through Fu Xing’s head.

“Um, well, although it’s not a common situation, it does happen, so I can understand…”

“What are you going off about now?!”

“When I was little, my entire family went to France to search for my maternal grandparents. On the way, a beautiful, young foreign girl was shooting flirtatious glances at my dad. My mom’s reaction wasn’t to happily give that girl a beating, but rather to directly pour hot Darjeeling tea on my dad’s thighs…”

“What the hell do you want to say?!”

“Brad,” Fu Xing looked at the other person gravely and took a deep breath. “Could it be that the reason you’re angry is because of me, and you’re jealous of Zhu Yue?” Oh, I’m such a sinner!

Brad nearly fell backwards. “What kind of idiotic act are you trying to pull?! As if that kind of bullshit could happen! Are you trying to humiliate me?!”

“Then what is it!” So annoying! “Meaning, the one you like really is Zhu Yue?”

“At least, it’s not you!” Brad growled out, then abruptly stood up. However, he immediately collapsed powerlessly off to the side, just barely standing up with the support of the wall. “If you don’t have anything to do here, then get lost!”

“I already said that I just want to chat with you.” Seeing how weak Brad was, it would be better not to upset him too much. “Zhu Yue and I are just friends. My relationship with her is the same as her with other classmates. There aren’t any special feelings involved.”

Brad coldly glared at Fu Xing without saying a word.

While Fu Xing had no idea if the other was actually listening or not, he continued on. “Besides, I’m sure you also know this, but there’s no way a girl as great as Zhu Yue could fancy me.”

Fu Xing gave a hollow laugh as he looked at the stern-faced Brad and let out a soft sigh. “I’m nowhere close to being a threat; your reaction is too extreme.”

“But she treats you particularly well…”

Fu Xing was stunned. Brad spoke? He’s willing to chat with me now?

“Probably because I’m small and weak, which makes it easier for others to approach me.”

Brad did not reply, but his taut expression immediately relaxed quite a bit.

“A werewolf like you that’s both handsome and strong is attractive, but sometimes it gives people an unapproachable feeling that makes them keep their distance,” Fu Xing added another sentence of flattery.

“That’s quite pertinent,” Brad nodded, seemingly agreeing with these words.

Fu Xing inwardly rejoiced.

The thought patterns of special animate beings were different from those of humans, but once one grasped the key to it, communication became very easy. It was even simpler than interacting with humans.

“Yeah, it’s really great that you understand.” He let out a sigh of relief as the weight lifted from his shoulders. “Oh right, I asked Grod just now, and he said that you can go back tomorrow morning.”

Brad eyed Fu Xing, and after a while, slowly said, “Grod already set a restriction on my body. From now, if I ever make a move against you, I will be punished severely. You’re already safe, so why come looking for me to say these things?”

Fu Xing was dumbstruck by Brad’s question for a moment. “If you were from another class, I might not have paid you any mind. But in the end, we’re all in the same class and still have to interact with each other for another two years. I think it’s better to have a more harmonious relationship.”

Brad did not speak and just quietly stared at Fu Xing. “You’re a really strange human…”

Fu Xing smiled. “Wrong, I’m a bat spirit.”

Brad lightly snorted. “Whatever.”

“Um, in that case, my part ends here.” Fu Xing cleared his throat and took a step back. “Next is someone else’s turn to take the stage.”

“Who?”

“Zhu Yue. I asked her to come see you with me.”

Brad’s cold expression immediately changed to alarm. “She came??”

Fu Xing grinned evilly. “Don’t you want to see her badly?”

“B-but—” Brad was flustered and very panicked. “But my current appearance is so miserable…”

Hoho~ Tough guy Brad is embarrassed!

“Don’t worry, Zhu Yue is very compassionate. She might even feel sorry for you and give you a hug for consolation.” Fu Xing stuck his head outside the door and called out to the corridor, “Zhu Yue, you can come in—”

“Slow down! Wait a minute—” Brad raced over and grabbed Fu Xing’s arm to pull him back in.

Fu Xing had no time to react to the sudden yank, and he easily tumbled over. And Brad, whose strength had been mostly stripped from him, could not support a person’s weight at the moment. The two figures simultaneously crashed down in the same direction like dominoes.

Bang!

So-so painful…that’s a pretty heavy fall…

“Fu Xing, did you just call me? —What are you guys doing?!”

Before Fu Xing could get up, Zhu Yue’s surprised exclamation came from the doorway.

What-what’s wrong? Why is Zhu Yue shouting like that? Did something happen? Also, why is it so warm underneath this part of my body…

Fu Xing propped himself up with both hands and slowly lifted his head. What entered his vision was Brad’s face filled with shock and fury mingled together.

“Gah! Brad!”

Fu Xing got a good look of his surroundings. Currently, he and Brad were both lying on the ground. Moreover, his entire body was stuck on top of Brad’s in an extremely awkward position. What was even more awkward was that his hands happened to be right on Brad’s chest.

Ahhh! Holy shit! Fu Xing hurriedly stood up. “Zhu-Zhu Yue, this is a misunderstanding! Don’t think the wrong way!”

Zhu Yue’s expression turned extremely strange. It looked like she was trying her best to maintain her calm, but the top corner of her lips kept twitching upwards ecstatically.

“It’s fine, you and Brad take your time chatting.” She paused for a moment. “I’ll support you guys.” Then, without even a backwards glance, she flew out of the confinement room.

“Zhu Yue!”

“He – Fu – Xing!” Brad furiously roared out. “You idiot!”

“You were the one that pulled me!” It wasn’t like it was his fault!

“Shut up!” Brad suddenly swung his palms at him, the two wolf paws striking his body with a series of slaps.

Although the chain of punches had a very imposing air, it did not hurt at all. The soft pads on the bottom of the wolf paws knocked against his shoulders and actually felt really comfortable.

Fu Xing huffed in annoyance, “Stop hitting, your little paw pads don’t hurt in the slightest.”

Oh right, speaking of paw pads…

“Do you have paper here? Could you give me a paw print?” He had nearly forgotten about this important matter.

I’m already here anyways, might as well finish the mission as well! Killing two birds with one stone.

“Hmph!” Brad shot Fu Xing a glare and walked towards a corner.

There was a short table there with several pieces of paper left over from his written repentance. Brad stabbed a brush into a bottle of ink, spilled it over his paw, and then slammed it down onto the paper on the table, leaving behind a strong and bold paw print.

“Thanks!” Fu Xing grabbed the paper and held it up in front of him to study it, as if appreciating some kind of inked treasure.

“If you have nothing [else], then scram!”

“I’ll clarify things with Zhu Yue. Since you like Zhu Yue, you should take some more initiative. There’s no use in constantly watching from the sidelines. I’ll try my best to help you.” Fu Xing backed out of the door. “See you next week! Don’t forget to hand in the assignment questionnaire, I delivered one to your room. Make sure to bring it with you to the next meeting.”

Brad did not glance back and only responded with a cold snort.

Fu Xing did not mind, and smiled as he shut the door, leaving Forbidden Tower.

The matter of Fu Xing going to visit Brad had spread around their class.

Most people were surprised by his actions, but their reactions were fortunately pretty neutral. Some couldn’t understand Fu Xing’s conduct, such as Rocort. However, those people did not reject him just because they did not comprehend him. This was somewhat different from humans, who would often end up with intense criticisms or opposition due to lack of understanding.

Special animate beings strongly respected others’ decisions. Sometimes, it felt like they were acting indifferent, but after interacting with them for a while, it seemed very natural instead.

Friday’s class meeting was moved to Monday at dinnertime. As soon as it turned six, the students all entered the classroom. This time, the entire class had assembled. Brad walked into the classroom with the beastmen crowd, looking the same as usual. He wore a conceited smile as he chatted and laughed with his companions.

This time, the class meeting progressed very quickly. Quite a few people directly suggested ideas related to the content of their checkpoint. Most believed the illusory magic and bewitchment could be used in an alternating fashion to create illusions, which were more effective than dressing up into something. Moreover, it saved a lot of effort in preparations.

Though Class C’s checkpoint was a path of survival, it had many misleading traps. For example, bewitchment would be used to conceal a certain member, then illusory magic would be used to create an identical double, which would then attack the other teammates. Once every person started to attack that double, the double would play dead. At this time, the illusory magic would change into a professor and scare them while they were caught unprepared.

In addition, they would use witchcraft to control the group’s movements, making it so that an enemy member would suddenly be in the heat towards their own teammates and do some crazy actions to pursue their love. Controlling fake roads would lead people running away from the main road.

Rather than a checkpoint, it was more like a screenplay.

Two hours quickly flew by. Fu Xing stood in front of the platform to flip through the notes as he organised the documents. Suddenly, a piece of paper was shoved in front of his face and placed above a page in the notebook.

He looked up to see Brad standing before him with a haughty expression.

“Brad?”

“I’m handing this over now, so don’t come running to my room to annoy me with unimportant things in the future,” Brad scoffed conceitedly, then turned around. “Don’t forget what you said last time.” After saying this, he immediately strode away.

Fu Xing lowered his head. Once he got a closer look on what exactly had been stuffed in his hands, he couldn’t help but feel the urge to laugh.

It was the assignment questionnaire. Brad had boldly drawn a large check mark next to the blank for “execution group”, then signed his name in big letters on top.

Fu Xing looked up at Brad’s tall and proud back leaving as he came to a sudden realisation—

So you are actually an authentic tsundere-type, Brad…

But what do you mean by “what you said last time”?

 

After Wednesday evening’s class, Fu Xing, Emerald, Rocort, and Zhu Yue headed to the dining hall to eat together as usual.

The pickier Fu Xing and Rocort always went to the buffet section to get their food and select the items they liked. On the other hand, Zhu Yue and Emerald went up to the front counter to order set meals.

Fu Xing excitedly grabbed fried chicken and stewed meat to put on his plate, while Rocort chose a bunch of foods that were somewhere between a dessert and a proper food.

“Rocort, you’re too picky. Why do you always choose only starchy things?” Fu Xing couldn’t help but chide.

“Isn’t Fu Xing the same? Only taking meat.”

“At least it’s a proper meal.”

Fu Xing continued walking. Just as he was about to head to the next display section, a tall and sturdy figure crowded into the space in front of him, blocking his path. “Brad?”

Brad carried a plate, pretending to be checking out the food as he quietly said, “Don’t forget what you said last time.”

“Eh? What?”

“I’ll come find you later.” Brad finished speaking and quickly left the scene.

“Fu Xing, what did Brad say to you?” Rocort asked.

“He seemed to be looking for me.” Later, as in how much later? After dinner?

“To do what?”

“I don’t know.” At least, it wouldn’t be something bad, since the misunderstanding between him and Brad had already been resolved.

When they returned to their seats, Rocort’s plate already had a mountain of breads and sweets, while Fu Xing’s plate had a mound of meat.

“Zhu Yue, how have you been recently?” Fu Xing asked Zhu Yue sitting across from him as he ate.

“Pretty good? Why?”

“Has anyone come looking for you? Or given you anything?” He was quite curious if Brad had become more active in his approach towards Zhu Yue.

“Not really. Why do you ask?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I was just a bit curious, hahaha.”

Footsteps suddenly sounded near them. The next moment, Fu Xing’s spot was covered by a shadow. He raised his head to see Brad standing next to him with a plate.

“Brad?”

“Can I sit here?” Brad stiffly said, his expression as serious as a general about to go to war.

“There are still many vacant spots nearby.” Emerald warily looked at the other person, worried that Brad might want to harm Fu Xing.

“I wasn’t asking you.” Brad coldly glared at Emerald, then shifted his gaze onto Fu Xing to give him a strong, meaningful glance.

“Ah! It’s fine! I asked him to come!” Fu Xing hurriedly smoothed things over. “Brad wanted to discuss something with me, and anyways, the more the merrier, right? Hahaha, Brad, sit, sit!”

Brad nodded and then sat in the empty seat next to Fu Xing. Then, without speaking a word, he lowered his head to eat his food. Fu Xing did not know how to respond, and also lowered his head to eat.

Just like this, five minutes quietly passed. Everyone at the table remained silent, and the atmosphere instantly turned strange.

Emerald shot Fu Xing a questioning look, while Zhu Yue seemed to be a bit perplexed.

Please, don’t look at me! I also want to know what’s going on right now!

A moment later, he felt Brad jab at his side. When he looked up, he saw the other person staring furiously at him, then blink forcefully.

“Brad, do your eyes hurt?”

“No!” Brad furrowed his brows and growled angrily, “So your outstanding performance in human sociology is a lie then.”

Human sociology? Ah! He remembered!

In their last class, they had been taught about body language.

Sometimes, humans will blink their eyes as a type of hidden signal, possibly because they cannot express their thoughts or feelings at that moment. That was what Peiris had said.

When he thought back to Brad’s strange look just now, he involuntarily let out a suppressed chuckle.

“Fu Xing, what’s wrong?” Rocort curiously stared at Fu Xing, matching the baffled gazes of the other two at the table.

Fu Xing hurriedly covered for himself. “Ahhh! Cough, cough, I choked! Cough, cough! Yeah, Brad, can you come with me to get a glass of water? Cough, cough, cough, I’m afraid I’ll faint halfway from lack of oxygen! Cough, cough—”

Oh. His acting must have been horrible, since even Rocort seemed dumbstruck.

Brad nodded, then got up and left with Fu Xing.

The two of them arrived at a corner with less people. Brad immediately said, “Not planning on fulfilling your promise, huh?”

“Eh, what?”

Brad shot Fu Xing an indignant look. “The thing with Zhu Yue, you said you’d help.”

Ah! So that’s what it meant! “I will.”

Brad angrily crossed his arms across his chest. “I was sending you signals the entire time, but you didn’t do anything.”

“It’s not like you were clear! Your signals just made you look like sick person that lost control of their facial nerves. How could I have understood?!” Although he criticised like this, he was inwardly euphoric. The fact that Brad was willing to seek him for help meant that he was trusted.

“Just get to the point!”

“Alright, alright. I’ll help you, don’t worry.” Fu Xing waved his hand, gesturing for the other to relax. “I’ll help create a chance for you to chat later. The rest is up to you.”

Brad nodded in satisfaction, and the two returned to their seats together.

“Phew! That was close, I nearly choked to death. Good thing Brad was able to lend a hand!” Fu Xing said in feigned cheeriness. “What a kind-hearted person! Isn’t that right, Zhu Yue?”

Zhu Yue stared at Fu Xing in bewilderment, then glanced at Brad, and finally smiled. “Mm, he is.”

“But he practically beat you to death before,” Emerald disapprovingly said. “You had two broken ribs, and your cheekbone was snapped too.”

Fu Xing shot Emerald a glare. This elf seriously doesn’t check the situation before he speaks!

“That was a past misunderstanding! Hahaha, it’s all in the past now, so no need to bring it up anymore. Right, Brad?”

“Yes,” Brad seriously replied.

“Hm, Zhu Yue, how have you been recently? Are there any items you’ve been missing or things you’ve been wanting?” Fu Xing gave Brad a look for him to remember Zhu Yue’s response and consider it for sending gifts later.

Zhu Yue tilted her head in thought. “I’m not particularly missing anything. But I did kind of want to upgrade my computer and also get a video camera.”

Um, Zhu Yue, I think that’s too high of a level.

“Mn, anything else you want?”

“I want cash,” Emerald said.

“I want chocolate truffles,” Rocort joined in as well.

“I see.” Nobody asked you guys! “Zhu Yue, do you like flowers? Or things like stuffed animals?”

“I like flowers, there are so many beautiful types of flowers that grow from the ground. Unlike the bottom of the sea, where the coral colours are only richer in hotter areas of the ocean,” Zhu Yue smiled in reply.

“I like peanuts¹.”

“I like spending money².”

Emerald and Rocort chimed in again.

“I see.” Fu Xing turned to face Brad. “Does Brad’s hometown have any flowers?”

Zhu Yue’s gaze shifted with the topic, looking at Brad with anticipation.

Brad’s entire body went tensed. “I didn’t particularly notice…” He quietly answered.

You dumb werewolf! Why be so honest?!

“What’s Brad’s hometown like?” Zhu Yue asked.

Brad was silent for a moment before replying, “It’s a vast, empty grassland. In the autumn, we always run around the dark-green grass and hunt for prey. In early times, the grassland had many wild oxen, and if you gazed out from a distance, you could see the striking image of them in black clusters. In the winter, it usually snows. Although it’s very cold, I like the feeling of running around in the snow.”

Zhu Yue seemed very intrigued as she asked, “And?”

“Nothing else.”

Fu Xing shot Brad an annoyed look. “Um, ahem. Zhu Yue, what did you order?” Sigh, looks like it’s my turn to take the stage again.

“It’s a seafood special set.”

“Oh! I see crab legs! Seems delicious!”

“It tastes quite good.” Zhu Yue smiled and gently twisted off half the leg from the shell. “Want to try a taste? If you don’t mind that I already took a bite.”

“Oh, no need.” An idea flashed through Fu Xing’s mind. “Brad, since you live in the grasslands, you probably don’t eat seafood much, right? Want to try it?!” Hmph! Hurry up and thank me! Look at how many opportunities I’ve made for you! It’s an indirect kiss! Instantly progressing hundreds of metres!

Zhu Yue looked at Brad curiously.

“Um, I…” Brad hesitated a bit to reply.

“Don’t tell me you mind the fact that Zhu Yue ate it already?”

“Of course not!” Brad solemnly stated, then immediately accepted the crab leg. “Thank you.”

Zhu Yue chuckled. “You’re welcome.”

“Hahaha, hurry up and eat it, Brad!” Fu Xing urged encouragingly.

Brad stared at the crab leg in a moment of hesitation, then took a deep breath and strongly snapped the crab leg into two and directly tossed it into his mouth. He chewed hard, and Fu Xing could even hear the crackling sounds next to him.

Isn’t this guy too impatient…

Then, the chewing sounds stopped, and Brad swallowed the food in his mouth. Instantly, his complexion turned unsightly.

“Brad?”

Brad sharply stood up. “Sorry, I have something to do, so I’ll have to leave first.”

He quickly picked up his backpack, and just as he was about to bound away from the table, he paused to say to Zhu Yue, “Thank you for your company.” Then, he swiftly flew away from the scene.

Has he gone crazy? Fu Xing stared at Brad’s retreating back, completely bewildered.

“I remember…that beastmen are allergic to shellfish.” Emerald faintly asked, “Was that revenge just now? Fu Xing, that’s a pretty ruthless move.”

“What?!” He hadn’t known!

Brad actually could have rejected. Who would have thought that his love towards Zhu Yue was so deep that even if he ended up with diarrhoea, he would still eat that crab leg…

Brad, you really are a pure-hearted man.

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<sup>1. Peanuts = 花生, with the first character being the word for flower. ↑
2. Spending money = 花錢, with the first character being the word for flower. ↑</sup>

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