"It's nothing."

Sunny Xu coughed and answered calmly.

When he looked at Seigetsu Zhu, he suddenly froze.

Sunny Xu was still wearing the uniform of No. 15 Middle School as usual. He usually didn't bother changing clothes, even on rest days, he would often go out in his school uniform.

But Seigetsu Zhu was different.

The upper part of her clothes did resemble a kind of student uniform, but it was not the plain blue and white sports uniform of No. 15 Middle School, but rather similar to the suit jacket Sunny Xu had seen in a foreign language school before. The lower part was a pleated skirt of the same color and black stockings. The headband on her head was replaced with a red bead rope tied to one side of her hair.

The girl had a refreshing bob haircut, and her bangs were neatly trimmed as always. She held her shoulder bag in front of her, giving off a gentle and well-behaved aura, like she had walked out of a magazine cover.

Although today was not a rest day, it was not strange for girls who loved beauty to wear their own clothes.

This sight, which was slightly different from what he was used to, easily caught his attention.

But no matter how Seigetsu Zhu dressed, it only made him feel a momentary trance. What truly surprised him was her face...

"Your dark circles seem to have worsened?"

Sunny Xu pointed at her eyes.

The tiredness in her originally beautiful and bright pupils was almost impossible to hide. The area around her eye sockets was a bit swollen, and her complexion was equally terrible, pale like a vampire.

"R-really?"

Seigetsu Zhu wiped the corners of her eyes a bit unnaturally.

"Maybe it's because I didn't get enough rest last night."

"...Has it been two consecutive days of insomnia?"

Sunny Xu suggested with some concern.

"How about going to see a doctor?"

"It's okay..."

At this moment, they both heard someone calling out to them.

"Seigetsu, Sunny, come over here! The location is here!"

Sunny Xu turned his head and saw a girl with braided hair and casual clothes, who had a tall figure among girls, standing next to a staircase and waving at them.

So they left the roadside and followed Sun Xiaofang into the cement staircase leading to the upper floor next to a small shop.

Sunny Xu walked at the back, looking at Seigetsu Zhu's figure, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

...

Sun Xiaofang explained to them why she chose this place.

It turned out that her family operated private tutoring and extracurricular classes. Her father had bought this five-story building a long time ago. After renting out the first floor, the remaining floors were used as classrooms for the tutoring classes.

During the rest days of the week, some high school or middle school teachers would serve as lecturers for the tutoring classes here to earn some extra money. Teacher Yang, the homeroom teacher of Class 5, was one of them.

This time, Sun Xiaofang's father reached a cooperation agreement with the school and temporarily used this place as a study location for No. 15 Middle School students during the suspension period.

There were a total of 100 students from the top 50 in both science and liberal arts, which was considered a considerable number.

The interior of this old residential building had been renovated and expanded. It didn't seem spacious from the outside, but once you walked in, you would find that the area was quite spacious and well-lit.

The science classes were on the second floor, and the liberal arts classes were on the first floor. Each floor had several classrooms, with one classroom able to accommodate 50 students in a class, and the remaining two classrooms were used for other fixed-time supplementary courses.

It was said that lunch was provided, and you needed to buy meal vouchers at the small shop on the first floor.

"But I think it's rare to have such an opportunity, so everyone will probably choose to eat outside."

Sun Xiaofang said with a smile.

She looked very happy. It was not surprising, as having a group of students from No. 15 Middle School coming to take classes in the tutoring classroom was a rare opportunity for publicity.

After all, among the students attending the classes, there were also those who were preparing for the middle school entrance examination, and No. 15 Middle School was the goal for quite a number of them.

...

After Sun Xiaofang brought the two of them to their destination, she hurriedly ran out. At this time, there weren't many people in the classroom.

Sunny Xu put down his backpack and once again looked at Seigetsu Zhu.

The girl took out paper and pen from her bag and neatly arranged them.

He hesitated for a moment and walked up to her.

One standing, one sitting, they stared at each other without blinking.

Sunny Xu felt that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, but Seigetsu Zhu seemed to be unaware of it and made a gesture for him to sit.

"..."

Sunny Xu pulled open the front row seat and pretended to cough.

"Before going to bed last night, I watched a DVD."He started the topic very seriously... or rather, very stiffly.

"I didn't expect you to have such a hobby. It's really surprising."

Seigetsu Zhu covered her mouth and chuckled.

"Yeah, when I'm tired, I relax by watching movies. This movie is about a group of American young people who go into the forest to play, but they are targeted by cannibals from a primitive tribe."

Sunny Xu spoke at a moderate pace.

"Some of the young men and women in the group were caught in traps set by the cannibals from the beginning, while the remaining few, including the male and female protagonists, quickly witnessed the brutality of the cannibals. In order to avoid being killed and eaten, they naturally thought of escaping..."

He sighed.

"They originally had a car to escape with, and the cannibals hadn't realized their presence yet, so they could have escaped. But the result was that one of them decided to go back and save someone because his younger brother was captured. When others tried to stop him, he cursed them as heartless and decided to go save the person alone... As a result, he dragged everyone down, and they were discovered by the cannibals on their way back and were either captured or killed one by one."

Last night, Starry Lin sat on the sofa and watched it with him. Now she was cursing them as a bunch of idiots.

He himself had watched many movies like this, so he was already used to this kind of plot. But...

"If something like this really happened, wouldn't you find that guy who went back on his own annoying? If he had chosen to call for help, the rest of them wouldn't have died, and maybe there would have been a chance to save the captured person."

"..."

Seigetsu Zhu fell silent for a moment and asked softly.

"Sunny Xu, are you mocking me? Do you think what I did that night was wrong?"

"No, quite the opposite. I'm praising you."

Sunny Xu shook his head.

"Rescuing someone is not wrong; it is actually commendable. The reason I find the person in the movie annoying is because he doesn't have the ability to save others. He acts impulsively, which results in his friends dying in vain. If I were to think of the plot, I would have him return to the car before saving anyone, take the prepared weapons like guns or even chainsaws, and rush back. Even though in reality, he may not necessarily be able to defeat the cannibals by doing so... But when most of the audience sees this scene, they will definitely be filled with excitement."

"What you did may not be as exaggerated, but you thought of turning on all the lights in the school by exploiting the weakness of the monsters being afraid of light, and you didn't forget to call for help. And Guo Zixuan, considering the speed of the monsters, the police would definitely not have caught up. From the results, it can indeed be said that you saved his life. I think no matter how you look at it, you have done well and there is no need to blame yourself."

Seigetsu Zhu realized that the other person had said such a long string of words just to comfort her.

That night, she had said those words; and her terrible mental state these past two days. Sunny Xu probably connected these two things together and thought she was fixating on this issue, so he came to persuade her.

Seigetsu Zhu sighed softly.

"...Well, I just feel that my thoughts at that time were different from yours."

"What do you mean?"

"I was able to speak up not because I was brave. I don't know if you noticed, but when Sun Xiaofang said those words, everyone... instinctively looked at me."

Sunny Xu was stunned for a moment.

"In that situation, if I hadn't spoken up, and if something had really happened afterwards, when everyone found out that I didn't take any action, they would definitely gossip about it privately. Do you believe that?"

"I..."

It was only at this moment that Sunny Xu finally understood why every time he said things like "deeply trusted" or "loved by classmates," which were clearly compliments, Seigetsu Zhu always remained silent.

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"Being too outstanding sometimes isn't a good thing."

He couldn't help but sigh.

"That's true."

Seigetsu Zhu smiled.

"Anyway, compared to you, Sunny Xu, I spoke up for myself, and it was for the somewhat ridiculous reason of wanting to maintain the image in others' minds at that moment. It's not worthy of too much praise. Of course, I didn't really care about that incident in the first place, so please don't worry."

"Is that so?"

"Yes." Seigetsu Zhu's smile softened. "Because I know very well what kind of person I am."

Sunny Xu fell silent."In any case, thank you." The girl lowered her voice and half-jokingly said, "Xu, are you considering my proposal for us to become friends?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean, do you remember that I wanted both you and Starry Lin to become friends with me? Are you still up for it?"

"Being friends... well, I think becoming friends is not something you can just say with your mouth. It should happen naturally."

Sunny Xu thought for a moment and replied.

Becoming friends with Starry Lin was indeed achieved through some kind of agreement, but in general, most friendships should develop naturally.

"It's different. I mean, I want both you and Starry Lin to become friends with me, so I need your introduction."

...It sounds like I'm just a tool for you to get to know Starry Lin!

"Oh, don't misunderstand. I meant you and Starry Lin." Seigetsu Zhu smiled and made a gesture of closing her fingers together. "I mean, I want both of you. But I think you, Sunny Xu, are relatively easier to talk to, right?"

"...That's different."

Sunny Xu cleared his throat and said seriously.

"Instead of being friends or not, I need to tell you something more important first."

"Please go ahead."

"- In the next exam, I will surpass you!"

Sunny Xu pointed at Seigetsu Zhu's face, his eyes filled with determination.

The girl let out a surprised "Ah?".

"During this time, you should rest well, but don't neglect your studies. I hope this will be a fair competition, do you understand?"

Seigetsu Zhu's pupils dilated, her rosy lips slightly parted, and then...

"Pfft."

She covered her mouth, unable to hold back her laughter.

"Why... why are you laughing?"

Seigetsu Zhu suppressed her laughter and pointed to the surrounding students.

By now, more and more people were coming to class, and because the girl on the seat was already eye-catching, they noticed the conversation between the two of them and occasionally cast curious glances.

Sunny Xu forgot to control his volume while speaking just now, so it's likely that someone has already heard...

"I, I need to go to the restroom."

He quickly got up from his seat, feeling a bit flushed.

*

Just as Sunny Xu left the classroom, Seigetsu Zhu caught up with him from behind and called out to him.

"Please wait."

He turned around and saw her searching in her bag for a while, then took out something wrapped in plastic film.

"I have something to give you. It's what I agreed with Starry Lin yesterday."

"What is it?"

Sunny Xu took it with some confusion.

From the packaging, it seemed that Seigetsu Zhu was very careful. Inside the plastic film was a thin board or piece of paper with sticky traces, like dried glue.

"It's a clue."

"A clue..." Sunny Xu widened his eyes and suddenly remembered the scene of the monster leaving behind a blob of paste-like substance on the wall and fleeing two nights ago. "Could it be... left by that monster?"

"Yes."

Seigetsu Zhu nodded.

"It's a handprint. There should be some residual human tissue on it."

Sunny Xu carefully observed it for a while and indeed found a faint outline resembling a palm print.

"Starry Lin told me that you can find the whereabouts of that person through these clues. Is that true?"

This statement was almost equivalent to admitting that he had some kind of special "ability," but Sunny Xu still nodded.

"...Basically."

In theory, it could be any bodily tissue or personal belongings, but he had tried to use telepathy on the peculiar substance left by the monster, and the result was only a few very vague images.

In other words, the effectiveness of his ability might depend on the duration of contact and the composition of the substance; to put it in a more mystical way, it was determined by the residual aura.

He saw a group of people helping with the search yesterday, and the clue in Seigetsu Zhu's hand was probably obtained from those classmates.

"If it was obtained from the classroom at that time, the effectiveness may have completely expired..."

Sunny Xu thought.

Even if it hadn't, it might not provide him with any clues to prove the true identity of the monster.

He had used telepathy on the monster at close range, and although he obtained a lot of clear images and knew that this guy had killed someone, unfortunately, he still didn't find out where he lived or see his true appearance.

"Well, I'll try later..."

Sunny Xu was about to say that when he heard Seigetsu Zhu firmly request.

"No, please try it now.""......Alright."

There was still some time before class, and he, who also wanted to pursue the whereabouts of the monster, wouldn't miss any possibilities, so there was no reason to refuse.

......

Sunny Xu walked to a corner with a plastic package, pulling out the materials inside.

As he expected, the spirit communication only lasted a few seconds, and the scene that emerged in his mind was not long, but...

Sunny Xu suddenly opened his eyes, revealing an incredulous expression.

"Could it be, that guy's real identity is——"