Yun Buran, Class 35, Grade 12. Class beauty, reclusive, rumored to have androphobia.
Androphobia?
After returning, Su Nian secretly inquired with his good buddy in the class, Han Yayi. Brother Yayi’s lips were sealed, and he was full of jokes.
Brother Yayi was a Yellow Badge on Sun Bar, usually dropping memes left and right. Though repressed and low-key, he never harassed women and was popular among the guys.
As for why he had to inquire secretly?
“Yun Buran!”
“Shh, shh. Keep your voice down, bro.”
Su Nian quickly covered his mouth. Fortunately, they were in a corner of the hallway. Although there were quite a few girls busy with their own things—yes, all around him, very close, various activities—he rarely came out during breaks.
“Finally, finally someone can take you down! But you actually chose that senior sister? Good taste.”
“Details?”
Su Nian knew that as long as he got Yun Buran’s name, the basic info would come out quickly. After all, she was very beautiful.
“I don’t know much either. She was the aloof ice queen of the previous Key Class. Very reclusive, no friends. Rumor has it that the girls’ dorm also spreads that she has androphobia.”
“Are you sure she’s in 35?”
“Yeah, need any help from your bro?”
Han Yayi put his arm around Su Nian’s shoulder, about to let out a villainous laugh, but suddenly felt many gazes fixed on him.
“Remember to keep it secret. I’ll bring you breakfast tomorrow.”
Su Nian gently pushed his arm away and returned to class, deep in thought.
“Damn, I want that rice noodle roll from the school gate!”
Except on holidays, only day students could swipe their faces to get in and out of their school. Su Nian was the only male day student in their class, but few people bothered him for favors.
“What is androphobia? Afraid of dying at the hands of men?”
This little demon only knew that humans feared death.
“It’s like people who are allergic to cat fur.”
Su Nian hadn’t intended to get very detailed information anyway. Just the basics would do.
“What! Then why isn’t she allergic to you?”
After surfing the internet, the cat couldn’t understand humans who were allergic to cats. After all, when it shape-shifted, it was told it would become the form humans liked most.
“Because I’m the most special.”
Su Nian brushed it off casually.
Not enough information. Still no medium found. Should he ask about her hobbies? Or someplace she often hung out? Too bad she had already withdrawn from clubs in her senior year.
Su Nian secretly pulled out his phone in his seat. He sat in the second-to-last row in the innermost part of the classroom.
He planned to look up Yun Buran’s grades. Every time, a high-achiever would dig up the grade files and share them in the school group.
“Su Nian? Do you need me to keep watch?”
An Hexi casually struck up a conversation, her voice very light.
“Okay, thanks.”
But Su Nian didn’t even lift his head. Still, An Hexi was happy. She leaned slightly closer to Su Nian, seriously staring out the window to prevent any teacher from passing by. But the corner of her eye secretly peeked at Su Nian’s focused expression.
Last mock exam. Found it. Rank 131? There were about 1,200 people per grade. As a key high school, this score was actually pretty good.
Bottom two in the class? I see.
Androphobia?
Anxiety.
Reclusive.
If he just wanted to pursue her, he could use tutoring as an excuse, making tutoring their medium. But in Su Nian’s current life plan, there was no place for a girlfriend yet. He might not know how to love, but he deeply understood the importance of responsibility. So he chose not to let responsibility appear first.
Too little information. Start with her family.
“An Hexi, if someone checks on self-study later, can you explain that I went to the bathroom?”
Su Nian’s sudden lifting of his head made An Hexi’s body tremble, but she quickly smiled softly and said, “Sure.”
Skipping self-study was a common thing, and Su Nian was no exception. But An Hexi knew that Su Nian had his own rhythm.
He quickly went to the Administration Building and found his laid-back homeroom teacher.
Their homeroom teacher was a very kind fat man, also the Grade Department Director.
“Bro Tao.”
He called out to the young uncle playing on his phone alone in the office. He looked very young, fair and chubby, but his usual personality exuded a strong uncle vibe.
“Little Nian? Skipping self-study so openly?”
Bro Tao quickly locked his screen and struck first.
“Are you familiar with Yun Buran?”
As another Key Class, the subject teachers were close with each other, especially Bro Tao, who was such a nice guy. The male teachers all called him brother, and the female teachers could be good girlfriends with him too.
“Have you gone crazy studying?”
Bro Tao was very shocked. Because of this student, he had handled countless harassment incidents in his career. The teachers often talked about this succubus with great interest.
Especially the female teachers, who were very worried he might develop gynophobia sooner or later.
“So you know her.”
Su Nian understood what he meant. Bro Tao was usually laid-back, but he actually cared deeply about every student, whether he taught them or not.
“Old He has talked to me about her a lot. Seriously, what do you mean?”
Bro Tao had already gone from lounging back to sitting upright in his chair.
Old He was Yun Buran’s homeroom teacher. Su Nian answered directly, “I want to know some information about Yun Buran’s family. She approached me earlier, said she was my relative, and mentioned a lot of my personal info. But I have no memory of her at all.”
“You’re joking, right? How could Yun Buran ever talk to a guy? But if it’s you, it’s possible… No, why would you come to me about something like this?”
Bro Tao asked suspiciously.
Androphobia.
Su Nian repeated it silently in his mind.
“Anyway, Bro Tao, just treat it like you’re chatting with me about everyday stuff. Just tell me a little non-private info.”
Out of trust for Su Nian, Bro Tao still answered, “I don’t know much either. Old He only mentioned that her androphobia might be due to family reasons. And he always worries that the kid has internal conflict, studying worse and worse. The internal conflict also seems family-related. But her mom seems to treat her well, doesn’t put pressure on her, and even wants to get her a tutor.”
“Thanks, Bro Tao.”
Su Nian didn’t waste time. He turned and left.
“Seriously, so what do you mean?”
“Heh, just think I want to pursue her.”
Su Nian’s voice faded away. But if he deliberately said that, Bro Tao would actually believe the first part of his story a little more.
Xiali lay lazily on Su Nian’s shoulder. Although Su Nian was rushing around, she rested steadily.
“So, is the Information Gap enough?”
“Not enough. Next step is to find her mom. My entrance has already been arranged by heaven. The most important info will probably have to wait until I get inside.”
Xiali knew what the most important information was—the ability Yun Buran would gain after the demon took up residence inside her.
Su Nian found a quiet place and prepared to call An Hexi’s mom’s phone. Where did he get the number? As a student, he had filled in parents’ contact info countless times. It was way too easy to obtain.
And at the same time, Su Nian also noticed a piece of information: Yun Buran basically only filled in one number.
“Hello, is this Yun Buran’s parent?”
“What is this regarding?”
A somewhat stern female voice came through.
“I heard from Old He that you’re considering finding a tutor?”
Yun Yuan frowned. The voice sounded like a student. What the hell was Old He doing? But she didn’t hang up directly.
“Sorry, we don’t consider male tutors.”
“Parent, let me introduce myself. My name is Su Nian.”