The night grew darker and colder.
Xia Miao rested her chin on Lu Yan's shoulder as she lay on his back, yawning lazily. She playfully poked the bandage on his cheek with her finger.
He glared at her fiercely. "Careful, or I'll bite you!"
Xia Miao wasn’t scared at all. She snorted, "If you dare bite me, I’ll bite you back."
Lu Yan muttered under his breath, "With those teeth of yours? You think you can win against me?"
Of course, he spoke from experience—during their kisses, her delicate teeth couldn’t even break the skin of his tongue.
Xia Miao tugged at his hair without hesitation. "Lu Yan, are you looking for a fight again?"
Lu Yan shrank back slightly, his bravado fading. He didn’t dare provoke her further, lest she chase him down.
In his heart, he told himself he wasn’t afraid of her—it was just that a real man shouldn’t fight a woman. Besides, she was so tiny; people might accuse him of bullying the weak.
Lu Yan carried her all the way to her dorm room. As Xia Miao slid off his back, she hesitated, feeling a little awkward. Part of her wanted to invite him inside, but then she wondered—would asking him in at this hour make her seem too forward?
Lu Yan, however, was utterly clueless about such nuances. Without a second thought, he rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a pinecone, placing it in her hand.
He tilted his head away, avoiding her gaze, and mumbled, "For you to play with."
Xia Miao examined the pinecone carefully before saying, "A gift for me?"
"This is the prettiest pinecone I found in a squirrel’s nest! It’s really nice!"
He was so simple, like a schoolboy on a hike, collecting random but fascinating things with no real use, treating them like treasures.
Xia Miao thought of all the unremarkable photos he’d sent her—clouds in the sky, mud on the ground—things that seemed endlessly fascinating to him, things he couldn’t wait to share with her.
For some inexplicable reason, her heart softened.
She tightened her grip on the pinecone, cleared her throat, and said, "Lower your head."
Lu Yan, still wary from past beatings, eyed her suspiciously. "Why?"
"Just do it! Hurry up, or I’ll deduct points!"
She always used that threat against him!
And annoyingly, it worked.
Grudgingly, Lu Yan bent down. The next moment, the girl stood on her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on the corner of his lips.
"That’s a goodnight kiss. Bye!"
She spun around, dashed into her room, and slammed the door shut.
Left standing outside, the tall young man froze in place. After a long pause, he slowly raised a hand to cover his mouth. Black smoke curled from his bandages, and the heart inside his chest burned fiercely.
How strange. She’d kissed him so many times before—deep, lingering kisses—so why did this simple touch still send his pulse racing?
Was this what the headless woman’s comic books called "the power of love"?
Inside her room, Xia Miao took a deep breath to steady herself before placing the pinecone on her desk.
Next to it sat a bouquet of hand-shaped flowers, pale and eerie, exuding a sinister beauty.
How odd. They were ugly things, yet because they came from him, she found them beautiful.
This had to be the power of love.
Xia Miao let out a muffled squeal, buried her face in her pillow, and pulled the blanket over her head.
Outside, in the terrifying darkness, the young man pressed himself silently against the window, his glowing eyes fixed on the girl inside. His breathing grew ragged, his heartbeat thunderous, his fingers whitening from the force of his grip on the glass.
His usually dull eyes—too much white, slit pupils—were now consumed by an unsettling obsession.
The elderly gardener, who slept early when not working, was jolted awake by a persistent knocking. As an old man with poor sleep, once disturbed, he struggled to drift off again.
Slowly, he shuffled out of bed and pulled back the curtains—only to jump in fright.
The conjoined twins hung upside-down from a tree branch, tied up with rope. With every gust of wind, their bodies swayed, knocking repeatedly against his window.
The gardener frowned. "What game are you two playing?"
The twins wailed, "That idiot attacked us! Help!"
The next day, Lin Gaoshan’s shock and suspicion deepened when he saw Xia Miao walk into the classroom unharmed yet again.
He was desperate to uncover whether she possessed some special ability, but Xia Miao had repeatedly ignored his overtures. This seemingly airheaded young lady was proving far harder to crack than expected.
Refusing to give up, Lin Gaoshan decided to test her once more. Leaning in, he whispered, "Have you heard the rumors about the inhibitor?"
Xia Miao glanced at him. "Inhibitor?"
"They say there’s an inhibitor hidden somewhere in Crimson Moon Academy. If injected into monsters, it causes their flesh to rot and their bodies to disintegrate."
Xia Miao unconsciously touched her phone, which buzzed incessantly. "Flesh rotting…"
She eyed him skeptically. "How do you know so much?"
"I have my sources," Lin Gaoshan said, barely containing his excitement. "Xia Miao, I know far more than anyone else. If you team up with me, clearing these games will be a breeze. Even killing those monsters would be child’s play."
His expression grew more suggestive. "And those monsters… they’re worth a lot."
Xia Miao brushed him off. "Maybe another time."
She returned to her seat. Lin Gaoshan wanted to press further, but a glance at her deskmate made him grit his teeth and hold back for now.
Xia Miao greeted her deskmate as usual, then noticed the girl folding paper cranes. Curious, she asked, "Why are you making so many?"
Fang Keai blushed. "No reason. Just for fun."
Xia Miao smelled a secret. "Are they for someone you like?"
Fang Keai stammered, "N-no! It’s just… he’s a senior who helped me before. I heard he got hurt, so I wanted to make him a gift to wish him a speedy recovery."
The more she explained, the more obvious it became—she was protesting too much.
Xia Miao had a terribly misguided perception of herself. She slung an arm over Fang Keai’s shoulder, raised an eyebrow, and declared with exaggerated flair, "If you want to pursue someone, you should consult me! I’m practically a love expert!"
Fang Keai’s expression was dripping with skepticism.
Undeterred, Xia Miao straightened her posture, adopting an air of solemnity. "I’m not exaggerating! On my very first day at school, someone fell head over heels for me at first sight—swore they’d chase me no matter what!"
Fang Keai’s gaze shifted slightly.
Outside the classroom window, perched on a tree branch shrouded in shadows, crouched a boy. He clutched the foliage to obscure himself, leaving only his gleaming eyes visible—fixed intently on the girl inside who was spinning such tall tales.
Motionless, he looked every bit the creep.
Xia Miao took a moment to pull out her phone and reply to a message with a single, indifferent "Oh," a stark contrast to the barrage of texts he’d sent her.
Yet, hidden in the shadows, the boy retrieved his phone, read her reply, and pressed a hand over his mouth to stifle a damp, gleeful chuckle. "Hehehe."
He’d only sent 80+ messages today—not even 99+—and she’d already responded.
This could only mean one thing: she was falling harder for him by the day!
Fang Keai turned back to Xia Miao, gripping her hand with grave sincerity. "Oh great love guru, please… help me win over the one I adore."
