Lin Xun

The beating of Jiang Yu seemed to unexpectedly bring Yu Fuli a brief period of peace.

Life suddenly became routine. I would enter Class F on time, facing gazes that were either wary, curious, or still defiant, and leave get out of class on time, walking along the cherry blossom avenue where no one would suddenly jump out to confess their love or challenge me anymore.

The surface was calm and still.

But Yu Fuli's anxiety grew day by day.

On the system panel, the value representing the stability of the world line is still hovering in the danger zone, and the glaring red warning line shows no signs of fading.

He hadn't even scratched the surface of the real anomaly, the root cause of the protagonist Lin Xun's repeated suicides and the constant collapse of the timeline.

All scan results were normal, and all surface clues pointed to trivial campus friction.

It's like looking at a fire through frosted glass; you can see distorted light and shadow, but you can't touch the actual heat source.

The most crucial figure, Lin Xun himself, became an extremely slippery fish.

He always sat in the corner of the classroom, as quiet as a shadow. When asked a question, his answers were extremely concise, and he never made eye contact with anyone for more than a second.

As soon as the bell rang, he quickly packed up his old schoolbag, lowered his head, and disappeared silently into the crowd or at the end of the corridor.

Yu Fuli tried to find his way to the same place by chance, assigned him homework that required one-on-one communication after class, and even had the system track his after-class movements. The results all pointed to the south area of ​​the library, the oldest part of the academy with few surveillance cameras, or he simply left the academy and disappeared.

"They ran away again."

After school that day, Yu Fuli stood by the corridor window, watching Lin Xun's slender figure almost run away and disappear around the corner of the building, her brows furrowing slightly behind her glasses.

This near-reactive avoidance goes far beyond the cautiousness of ordinary poor students in elite academies.

Yu Fuli unconsciously tapped the windowsill with her fingertips.

How did a boy who came from the lower city and got into a top college through his own efforts become the way he is now?

"Is Teacher Yu still here?" A smiling voice came from inside.

Yu Fuli turned around and saw the chestnut-haired student Sirius, along with his small group, leaning against the wall a few steps away, a nonchalant smile on his face, but a hint of resentment hidden between his brows and eyes.

Since the water basin incident and the heart-to-heart talk in the office, these guys have obviously toned down a lot, but that bit of competitive spirit is still in their eyes.

"What is it?" Yu Fuli asked in a flat tone.

"It's nothing, it's just that the teacher seems quite concerned about that top student in our class." Sirius shrugged, hinting at something. "But he's from the lower city, he's not like us, he's used to being alone, so teacher, don't waste your time on him. He might just like to hide away and lick his wounds."

"Licking wounds?" Yu Fuli caught the key words.

A boy next to Sirius, quick to speak, scoffed, "Exactly! Pretending to be high and mighty, refusing to listen, he'll only suffer for it..."

Before he could finish speaking, Sirius nudged him with his elbow, silencing him.

Sirius forced a strained smile: "Teacher, don't listen to him, he's talking nonsense. Let's go."

After saying that, he quickly pulled his companion away.

Yu Fuli stood still, his eyes growing darker.

They'll suffer a little, but they won't listen...

It seems that beneath Lin Xun's silent, hard shell lies something more than just the inferiority complex brought about by poverty.

The bullying at this prestigious academy was even more severe than he had imagined.

He could no longer passively wait for the anomaly to surface on its own.

It's time to use unconventional methods to knock on that tightly closed door and see what kind of darkness lies hidden inside.

Yu Fuli turned around and walked towards the old section of the college library, which was opposite to the faculty apartments.

The setting sun cast a long shadow over him, and though his steps remained steady, they carried a resolute air.

The peaceful days are over.

It's time to take the initiative.

The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the spires of the Gothic buildings of Saint Laurent College in a dark gold, but it couldn't penetrate the somber shadows of the old library area.

This place is lush with greenery, has narrow roads, and few surveillance cameras; it's a corner that's almost forgotten on the college map.

Yu Fuli walked unhurriedly along the stone path, her fingertips lightly brushing against the overly lush vines beside the road.

A faint trace of demonic power emanated from his fingertips, seeping silently into the surrounding environment like invisible ripples.

As a nine-tailed white fox, his perception of aura and traces far surpasses that of any technological device.

Although most of his demonic power was sealed in the small world, the Time and Space Administration left him a little bit of almost useless demonic power just in case.

Now he's using it.

Soon, he caught that familiar yet fragile aura, which belonged to Lin Xun.

It was also mixed with old books, dust, and a sense of oppressive pain.

The aura meandered deeper and deeper, eventually disappearing behind the old library, near an abandoned old warehouse almost completely swallowed by vines.

The warehouse door was ajar, its rusty surface creaking loudly.

There were no lights inside, only the dim yellow light filtering through the high windows, illuminating the dust particles dancing in the air.

Lin Xun was indeed inside.

He squatted among piles of discarded tables, chairs, and old instruments, with several precious books he had brought from the library that were not allowed to be borrowed spread out in front of him.

He was extremely focused, his fingertips carefully pointing at the formulas on the pages, his lips moving silently, as if the surrounding ruins and darkness did not exist, and only the knowledge before him was the only light in the world.

But Yu Fuli's gaze fell on his slender forearm beneath his rolled-up sleeves.

Several fresh, purplish bruises were still glaringly obvious in the dim light.

The edges of the marks were neat, as if they had been repeatedly struck by some narrow, hard object.

Seemingly sensing someone's presence, Lin Xun trembled violently, like a startled animal. He quickly pulled down his sleeve, closed his book, and stood up. His movements were so fast that he knocked over an empty metal can next to him, and the "clang" sounded particularly jarring in the silence.

He lowered his head, clutching the books, and tried to leave through the gap on the other side of the warehouse.

"Lin Xun!"

Yu Fuli quickly called out to him.

Lin Xun stood rooted to the spot, his back stiff, without turning around.

"Your injury," Yu Fuli slowly approached, her voice as gentle as possible, "needs to be treated."

"...No need, it was from falling." Lin Xun's voice was low and hoarse, filled with resistance.

"Is that so?" Yu Fuli stopped a few steps behind him, not forcing her way closer. "I happen to know that falls and injuries don't usually show such regular parallel stripes."

Lin Xun's shoulders twitched almost imperceptibly.

Yu Fuli looked around the warehouse filled with waste. There was a simple quilt in the corner, and a half-empty bottle of water and a piece of dry bread against the wall.

"Do you stay here after school?" he asked.

silence.

After a long while, Lin Xun gave a very soft "hmm," with a numb, resigned tone.

"Why are you hiding here? Class F may be special, but there's always a place for you in the dorms." Yu Fuli asked tentatively, her gaze fixed on the boy's tense back.

Another long silence followed.

Just when Yu Fuli thought he wouldn't answer, Lin Xun's voice rang out softly: "...The dormitory is even noisier."

It's not that it's bad, it's just noisier. That's a subtle way of putting it.

Yu Fuli recalled Sirius's pointed remark about licking his wounds and his refusal to obey.