Yu Weian stood in the doorway, one hand still resting on the doorknob, a stack of lecture notes cradled in her arms.
Her gaze burned against the back of Lisiluo’s hand, making cold sweat trickle down her spine.
This is bad. I need to pull away right now—
But Mu Wan only tightened her grip, slipping her fingers between Lisiluo’s until they were fully intertwined.
The gesture felt like a death sentence.
“Oh my, if it isn’t Yu Weian. Good afternoon~” Mu Wan tilted her head, her black twin-tails swaying with the motion.
Lisiluo clutched Mu Wan’s arm, unsure what to say. She didn’t dare lift her head and could only watch Yu Weian’s reaction through the edge of her glasses.
Yu Weian said nothing.
Her lips were pressed into a thin line, her face wearing an expression of seriousness Lisiluo had never seen before.
Normally, Yu Weian-senpai would greet her softly and smile before starting their tutoring session. But right now, her eyes held only wariness… and a hint of something else.
Disgust?
Lisiluo had heard that Yu Weian-senpai and Mu Wan had been at odds since the day they enrolled. With Mu Wan still refusing to let go of her hand, there was no way this wouldn’t be misunderstood.
What do I do? What do I do…?
Say she accidentally delivered the love letter to the wrong person?
Say Mu Wan randomly agreed to her confession?
Or admit the letter had actually been meant for Yu Weian-senpai—?
No. She couldn’t say any of those things.
Lisiluo’s heart pounded so violently she felt dizzy. For a moment, she even considered banging her head against the floor.
Yu Weian’s gaze finally left their joined hands and locked onto Mu Wan.
“Mu Wan, what are you doing here?”
“I came to play with Lisiluo junior, of course.”
As she spoke, Mu Wan turned and winked at Lisiluo.
Her warm fingers traced a slow circle in Lisiluo’s palm, sending goosebumps racing up her arms.
“It’s not every day I find a cute junior willing to be my friend. Of course I want to get a little closer. Is that so wrong?”
Lisiluo froze.
Is Mu Wan… covering for me?
Yu Weian’s brows furrowed slightly. When she looked at Lisiluo, her tone softened at once.
“Liseluo junior, is that true?”
“Eh? Y-Yes! Mu Wan-senpai came… to hang out with me today.”
Lisiluo answered before she could think it through. It was the first time she had ever lied to Yu Weian-senpai. She kept her head lowered, terrified the older girl would see through her.
She was overthinking it.
To anyone watching, it simply looked like the socially anxious Lisiluo had been hijacked by Mu Wan, that notorious social terrorist.
Yu Weian thought the same.
“It’s all right, junior. She’s just an ordinary student here. If she’s forcing you, you can refuse her directly.”
“N-No, that’s not it.”
Seeing Yu Weian about to step forward and forcibly separate them, Lisiluo quickly waved her hands and continued explaining.
“Mu Wan-senpai and I… really are just friends. Really!”
“Eh? But…”
“Honestly, am I not allowed to have friends? Yu Weian, just how much prejudice do you have against me?”
Mu Wan cut in at the perfect moment, putting on an injured expression.
“Do you really think I’m that terrible of a person?”
“You…”
Yu Weian had been about to retort that if Mu Wan didn’t count as a bad person, then no one did. But she suddenly remembered—if there was even the slightest chance, however small, that Lisiluo junior had genuinely become friends with Mu Wan…
If the girl heard her badmouthing her friend, she would definitely be hurt.
After thinking it over, she changed her words.
“You’re serious about being friends with Lisiluo? The kind you’d swear on the gods for?”
“Of course. We’re going to be best friends for life~” Mu Wan nodded without hesitation, her tone completely confident.
“Eh? For life?”
Yu Weian was surprised, but Lisiluo’s reaction was even bigger. After all, she had no intention of pretending to be Mu Wan’s lover for the rest of her life!
“Mm, for life! The kind that sleeps in the same bed.”
“Wait, do friends have to sleep together too?”
“Obviously.”
“Ahem. We can talk about friends later.” Yu Weian interrupted, her face oddly flushed. “You should know that Lisiluo junior only just entered the academy. In a few weeks, we have the Magic Potential Assessment.”
“So I’m sorry, but she doesn’t have time to play around with you. Please leave. I need to start today’s tutoring session.”
Yu Weian stepped aside and gestured toward the door with a cold look, signaling for Mu Wan to go.
“How could you—”
Mu Wan released Lisiluo’s hand with a disappointed pout and walked toward the exit.
Lisiluo let out a quiet breath of relief. Thank goodness Yu Weian-senpai could keep this little devil in check.
But her relief didn’t last long.
Mu Wan suddenly stopped, as if she had just remembered something. She clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward until she was only one step away from Yu Weian.
“Hmm?”
“But I heard that recently, junior’s magic hasn’t improved at all…”
The moment those words left her mouth, both Yu Weian and Lisiluo’s expressions changed.
“Who told you that—” Yu Weian asked sharply, voicing the exact thought running through Lisiluo’s mind.
“Hehe, secret~”
Of course the game plot told me, Mu Wan thought, sticking out her tongue as she watched their reactions with great interest.
She also knew the real reason lay in Lisiluo’s Bloodkin bloodline.
But neither of the other two had any idea.
“If you ask me, you should relax a little and go out to play. It might even help.”
“I think you just want to play,” Yu Weian replied coldly.
“Not at all. I actually think you’ve been pushing her too hard.”
“After all, whenever you’re around, she always looks so tense.”
“You’re saying… it’s because of me?”
The casual remark struck right at Yu Weian’s weak point.
Seeing her waver, Lisiluo couldn’t help but cry out.
“No, it’s not like that! It’s all my fault—”
“Senpai hasn’t done anything wrong. It’s because I haven’t been focused enough, because…”
Because I’ve been thinking about the confession this whole time.
Of course, Lisiluo couldn’t say that out loud.
“No… You don’t have to blame yourself, junior.” Yu Weian shook her head with a troubled expression, her white ribbon swaying with the motion.
“There must be some other problem. I’m still looking through materials to see if I can find a solution.”
She hugged the stack of notes tighter and spoke to Lisiluo in the gentlest tone she could manage.
“So until then, please believe in me, all right?”
Lisiluo’s lips opened and closed, but in the end she could only lower her head and answer weakly, “Okay.”
“Having said that—”
Yu Weian’s tone shifted, her gaze turning sharp as it landed on Mu Wan.
“This doesn’t mean I agree with your idea. It’s just… today really isn’t suitable for continuing the lesson.”
She walked over to Lisiluo and handed her the neatly bound stack of notes.
“Liseluo junior, these are the tutoring materials I mentioned before. I’ve marked all the important points. You can study them on your own when you get back.”
Lisiluo quickly reached out to take them.
The notes were thick, and Yu Weian had used colored pens to highlight key sections. It was clear she had spent a lot of time preparing them.
The thought made Lisiluo’s chest ache.
“At the very least, you should relax today. Go take a walk around the academy with your… sigh… ‘friend.’”
Yu Weian’s eyes were still cold when she looked at Mu Wan, but the latter didn’t seem to care and simply returned a mischievous smile.
“Since you’re so worried, Yu Weian, why don’t you come with us? I heard the academy café has some new desserts…”
“No thank you. I still have things to do.” Yu Weian rejected the invitation without hesitation.
“Also—”
She turned around. Before leaving, she glanced at Lisiluo one last time.
There was no anger in her eyes, only worry. That made Lisiluo feel even worse.
“Please choose your friends carefully. Don’t let someone lead you astray.”
With that, she walked out of the classroom without looking back. Her footsteps gradually faded down the corridor until they disappeared completely.
“Whew… I kind of expected it, but she’s really straightforward, huh? Looks like our secret relationship…”
Mu Wan stepped forward and looped her arm around Lisiluo’s.
“…will have to stay hidden from her for now, right?”
Lisiluo didn’t respond. She stared at the notes in her hands, the pages rustling softly beneath her trembling fingertips.
“Senpai…”
Yu Weian-senpai might not have shown it, but she had to be really disappointed in her.
They had agreed to study together, yet Lisiluo had run off to play with her senior instead and even made up a bunch of excuses.
What do I do…?
She’s going to think I’m a bad kid now.
The moment that thought sank in, a strange sensation surged up from her stomach.
Her hand shook. The notes slipped from her fingers and scattered across the floor.
“Eh?”
Senpai’s notes! I have to pick them up—
But her knees suddenly lost all strength. If someone hadn’t been holding onto her, Lisiluo would have face-planted right there.
Her vision began to blur. Her breathing turned rapid and loud in her own ears.
“Oh no, junior, what’s wrong?”
Mu Wan’s voice came from above.
Lisiluo tried to answer, but her throat was too dry to make a sound. Her gums itched strangely.
It felt like something was waking up inside her blood and rushing toward her head.
Thirsty.
So thirsty.
When she didn’t reply, Mu Wan bent down, bringing her beautiful little face close—close enough that Lisiluo could almost see the veins beneath the pale skin of her neck.
…I want to…
I really want to bite her.