Ruan Zhizhi noticed that the monster over there seemed to have lost its ability to fight. She quickly struggled to her feet and fled into the distance.
Xia Miao turned back to ask Lu Yan if they should give chase, only to find the boy squatting on the ground like a mushroom. She walked over and kicked him unceremoniously. "What kind of performance is this?"
A muffled voice came from under the hood. "Maggots."
Xia Miao was disgusted, but then suddenly found his revolting demeanor oddly endearing. She threw herself onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck, and said with a grin, "It's all your fault for not coming to get me sooner, so I had to come find you myself."
Lu Yan stiffened slightly. The gap in his hood parted, revealing eyes that weren’t particularly pretty. "Miao Miao, why did you come looking for me?"
"Duh, we're a couple madly in love! Even a short separation makes us miss each other, right?" Xia Miao narrowed her eyes. "Don’t tell me you didn’t miss me?"
"I missed you!" Lu Yan answered quickly, afraid that even a second’s delay would upset her.
He turned to face her, and the two squatted there, staring wide-eyed at each other in a world drenched in the scent of blood and dim, murky colors—a comical sight.
Xia Miao said, "Lu Yan, I want a kiss."
But Lu Yan seemed oddly hesitant, leaning back slightly to avoid her gaze. His hands clutched his hood, knuckles white, nails digging into his palms as if ready to pierce the flesh.
Xia Miao frowned. Normally, he’d pounce on her the moment she asked for a kiss.
Suddenly, she pointed behind him. "Look, a spaceman!"
Lu Yan instinctively turned his head, and in that moment, the girl yanked his hood down, fully exposing his face to the air.
His face, much like his body, was covered in scars—raised, discolored patches where new skin had grown, uneven and brown.
Realizing what had happened, Lu Yan immediately covered his face with his hands and shrank into the corner. "Don’t look at me!" he shouted.
But Xia Miao pressed forward, squeezing into the darkness beside him. "You’re my boyfriend. Why can’t I look at you?"
Lu Yan trembled, eyes squeezed shut, every muscle in his body taut, as if all the strings inside him were pulled tight, strangling his already freezing heart.
He felt like that child again—trapped in a cage, a beast surviving only because he hadn’t died in those rotting experiments, only to be dragged back again and again, a specimen rotting and regenerating.
Lu Yan knew he was ugly. He didn’t look like a normal person—no, he wasn’t even human. If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t hesitate to gouge out their eyes. But this was Xia Miao.
His girlfriend. The person he loved.
Xia Miao ignored his dramatics, grabbing his hands and prying them away. "Hey, are you planning to ignore me forever? Lu Yan, couples who give each other the cold eye end up ruining their relationship!"
It took her a long time just to loosen one of his pinkies.
Xia Miao huffed. "Those marks on your face are the most unique identifiers! They let me spot you in a crowd instantly. That’s cool as hell, so what’s there to be upset about?"
Lu Yan’s fingers twitched. "Unique… identifiers?"
"Yep! Just like how there are countless stars in the sky, and hardly anyone can name them all. But when someone mentions the brightest one, everyone thinks of the Morning Star!"
Lu Yan muttered, "Morning Star…"
"Exactly. To me, you’re that Morning Star."
Slowly, the boy’s fingers parted, revealing watery eyes. "I’m… a star?"
Xia Miao leaned in, her face close to his hands, her beautiful eyes reflecting only him, sparkling as if she’d captured the brightest star in the night sky.
She beamed. "Mhm, that’s right. Lu Yan is my star."
He was dark, damp, twisted, obsessive, stupid, and terrible at making girls happy. Worst of all, he was ugly—his flesh would turn mushy if exposed to high heat.
But she called someone like him a star.
Suddenly, an overwhelming surge of emotion flooded his shattered body. He didn’t know how to handle this terrifying intensity. The heat burning in his chest was uncontrollable, searing through him—until, with a wet plop, a chunk of flesh fell from his face, landing right in Xia Miao’s palm.
She stared at it for a moment.
Lu Yan panicked. "Miao Miao, don’t be scared—"
He finally lowered his hands, scrambling to retrieve the fallen piece before she could be disgusted. But Xia Miao pressed it back into place on the gap in his cheek.
She was meticulous, gentle, fitting the mangled flesh seamlessly back where it belonged.
Her fingers lingered on his face, tracing the uneven border between brown and white skin. The texture wasn’t pleasant, but it was undeniably real.
She kissed him, eyes curved into crescents. "My star is so handsome."
Lu Yan’s eyes stung, his throat tight. The tall boy curled into himself, burying his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent like a lifeline.
Strangely, the scorching heat that had threatened to consume him lost its bite, melting into warmth that spread through his veins, thawing his icy flesh.
Meanwhile, Ruan Zhizhi stumbled through her escape. Thankfully, the precious inhibitor was still in her possession. She’d kept this last one for two purposes:
If she encountered monsters, it would be her weapon.
If she made it out safely, she could trade it to the SU Group for maximum profit.
Dawn was approaching—she was almost through the night—when her foot caught on something, sending her sprawling.
It was a woman’s head.
The Headless Woman appeared, picking it up and fitting it onto her neck. Her long hair shrouded her face as she sighed in relief. "My head… finally found it."
The conjoined twins leaped out from behind a tree, giggling as they stared at the woman on the ground.
Nearby, the old gardener trimmed the overgrown bushes.
Ruan Zhizhi’s heart nearly leaped out of her chest. She brandished the green vial. "Stay back, or—or I’ll kill you!"
In the dark corner, the boy clung to his girlfriend, sniffling for what felt like ages.
Xia Miao’s body was going numb. She patted his head. "Feeling better now?"
"Mhm." His voice still carried a hint of tears—soft, almost coy.
Xia Miao suddenly remembered something. "That inhibitor—it's still in Ruan Zhizhi's hands!"
It was a ticking time bomb; they had to get it back.
Lu Yan tightened his embrace around Xia Miao, his hand already slipping stealthily beneath her skirt. "It doesn't matter. That thing isn't important."
Xia Miao: "How is it not important?"
"It's expired. It’s been useless for a while now."
Xia Miao fell silent for a moment.
After a long pause, she said, "Dawn is breaking."
Lu Yan lifted his face in alarm, his eyes locking onto hers. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he forced himself to press his lips together and whispered instead, "I... Miao... I'll take you... take you..."
"Take me back to the dorm?"
Lu Yan’s eyes flickered with disbelief.
Xia Miao coldly pulled out his hand, which had already wandered to her chest, and yanked him to his feet. "We’ve been busy all night. We’re both sweaty. Come back with me and wash up first. No touching until you’re clean."
Lu Yan let himself be led, dazedly following her for a few steps before finally finding his voice again. "You won’t... you won’t leave me?"
"Why would I leave you?" Xia Miao glanced at him. "Didn’t we agree when we first met? We’re getting married someday!"
Lu Yan turned his face away, roughly wiping at his eyes with his free hand. When he looked back at her, he gripped her hand tightly, his lips splitting into a wide grin. "Yeah. I’m marrying Miao!"
Xia Miao stopped walking and held out her arms. "I’m tired. Carry me."
Lu Yan effortlessly swept her up into his arms. A low, eerie chuckle rumbled from his throat as he nuzzled her cheek, his satisfaction so overwhelming that his stitched-like mouth stretched upward, revealing glimpses of his jagged, beast-like teeth once more.
Xia Miao thought his little fangs were rather adorable.
As the first light of dawn crept in, a cold wind howled through the empty, dimly lit hallway, its mournful wails eerie and unsettling.
The boy’s black shadow engulfed the girl in the white dress—as if cruelly devouring her, or perhaps completely enveloping her within his darkness, protecting her in his own way.
Either way, in that moment, she truly seemed to merge with him, stained by his colors, as though she had fully become a part of this world.
And perhaps before long, this uncanny school would welcome yet another new legend.
