Chapter 32: Ice Language

It was Bing Shi Nagi.

Xueqiu hadn’t heard from Xia Yin that he was part of the student council.

Well, he couldn’t be—Xia Yin said he’d already graduated.

And on the morning of the rank test, Xueqiu had seen him in the library, getting scolded as a librarian.

Now, he stood in the corridor’s corner, in the shadow untouched by sunlight.

Xueqiu glanced at him, but he didn’t look back, staring instead at the sunlight spilling into the corridor.

Coincidence…?

Xueqiu didn’t dwell on it.

She just wanted to head downstairs, back to the one place in this school that felt like home—the dorm.

But as she entered the elevator, just before the doors closed, Bing Shi Nagi appeared again.

Like a relentless ghost from a horror movie.

Xueqiu found it odd to think this way.

She barely knew him, yet she’d already slapped a negative label on him.

Was it because of Xia Yin?

Because they didn’t get along, had she subconsciously picked Xia Yin’s side?

She didn’t understand.

After riding the elevator down together, Bing Shi Nagi didn’t follow her, staying put as she walked away.

Just a coincidence, then, she thought.

The old building housing the student council was a short walk from the dorm.

By afternoon, the once-quiet campus path buzzed with students, mostly in deep blue uniforms.

The breeze brushed girls’ cheeks, lifting their soft hair—a vibrant scene of youth.

For some reason, Xueqiu felt a pang of longing.

She had no reason to.

Her face was prettier, her long white hair finer, though now hidden under her white hoodie.

The further she walked, the more something felt off.

Though she’d left the student council’s turf, she sensed someone following her.

To confirm, she glanced back at a corner and saw the truth.

About ten meters away, Bing Shi Nagi was walking in her direction.

Of course, this path led straight to the dorms, and Xia Yin had said he lived there, even rooming with Chang Mu.

Maybe he was just heading back.

Xueqiu didn’t stop but quickened her pace.

The faster she walked, the faster he followed, keeping a deliberate fifteen-meter gap—not approaching, just trailing.

Why is he following me?

The question hit her only when she reached the dorm building.

She realized she didn’t need to dodge him like the plague.

This was a school, and he didn’t seem intent on devouring her.

She decided to confront him.

“Senior, why are you following me?”

The blunt words slipped out, and she regretted them instantly.

What if it really was a coincidence? Though the odds seemed absurdly low.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Bing Shi Nagi said coldly, standing before the open glass doors.

Shouldn’t be here?

Xueqiu froze, unsure why this librarian-senior, whom she’d barely met, would say such a thing.

She didn’t respond, didn’t even look at him, just stared at her shoes.

“Your rank is E, the lowest in the Academy. Even if you climb ranks through missions, your talent is limited,” he continued.

Xueqiu noted that, like Chisaki, he was from Japan, but his Mandarin was far more fluent, nearly as good as Carlos’s, as if he’d lived here for years.

“I…”

She didn’t know what to say.

She knew she shouldn’t care about his words, unsure how he’d learned her rank or what “climb through missions” meant.

Bing Shi Nagi’s face remained expressionless, as it had every time she’d seen him.

But unlike Carlos’s calm, gentle tone, his voice was like ice floes on the sea.

“Your Shadow Gene content is only 8.03%, and your Contract is the abandoned ‘Mirror Demon.’ You’ll never stand firm in the Academy. The only thing you should do is apply to withdraw.”

He’d clearly dug into her details.

Though Xueqiu felt a quiet disappointment about her E-rank, hearing these harsh words from someone else stung, like a freshly healed wound scratched open.

Before entering the Academy, she’d considered giving up.

She thought herself ordinary, believing her “early-admission” status was a mistake.

But if she went back…

She’d imagined returning alone to an empty, dim room, day after day, year after year…

What was her reason for coming here?

Revenge?

Gratitude?

Or just to find a home?

“Get lost! If you’ve got nothing better to do, crawl back to your lousy library. Slacking off during work hours? I’ll report you!” a familiar voice shouted behind her.

It was Xia Yin.

“Bing Shi, you weren’t chasing after newbies when Sister Wuyue was around. What, you’re secretly a creep targeting pitiful types like her? Whatever, just get lost!”

Before Xueqiu could react, Xia Yin grabbed her hand, yanking her away as if pulling her from a pit of tentacles, dragging her out of Bing Shi Nagi’s sight.

She was practically hauled into the elevator.

She didn’t resist, secretly relieved by Xia Yin’s rescue.

Looking up, she noticed his hands full.

His right held a bulging plastic bag of shrimp chips and instant noodles, his left a paper bag with neatly folded blue uniforms.

She couldn’t see the book tucked under his arm.

In other words, Xia Yin was just passing by, stepping in to save her.

“Thanks,” Xueqiu said, repeating the two words she’d said countless times in the past two weeks.

This time, Xia Yin’s reaction was odd.

Before the elevator reached the sixth floor, he handed her the uniform bag, then studied her closely, thoroughly.

From head to toe, like inspecting a priceless artifact for damage—or a kid checking a reclaimed doll for tears.

Xueqiu felt awkward.

Her face didn’t flush, but she stepped back instinctively.

The elevator hit the sixth floor.

“Did he tell you to withdraw? Yes or no,” Xia Yin said, walking ahead, his tone half-question, half-musing.

“Yes,” Xueqiu replied.

“Did he say your rank and Contract don’t belong here?”

“Yes.”

“Did he touch you?”

“No.”

“Do you know Wuyue Liuli?”

ps: Second update today at 5:00 p.m. Begging for monthly tickets and tips! Rants are welcome too (serious face).