Hearing about Xia Yu drowning, Mo Yidong didn’t hesitate for a second.
He immediately turned around and quickly swam to Xia Yu’s lane.
Seeing Xia Yu struggling in pain and panic, flailing his arms, legs stiff, his body sinking deeper and deeper, Mo Yidong furrowed his brows.
He swiftly reached above Xia Yu, stretched out his arm, almost able to grab his shoulder but falling short.
Mo Yidong thrust his hand forward with force, not knowing what exactly he grabbed, but the person vanished before his eyes.
Xia Yu was nowhere to be seen under the pool.
Mo Yidong surfaced, staring at the thing in his hand, which looked like a clump of black seaweed.
This is…?
He had clearly intended to pull Xia Yu out of the water, but instead, he had grabbed Xia Yu’s hair.
No, wait, it looked more like… a wig?
At that moment, a splash sounded behind Mo Yidong, droplets hitting his head, creating a fleeting illusion.
The afternoon sunlight shone on the silver hair, making it gleam even brighter.
The wet strands clung to the side of a face like a mermaid emerging from the water, holding Mo Yidong’s gaze for a long while.
Has he changed?
Mo Yidong blinked, then caught Xia Yu’s panicked, murderous glare, which instantly calmed his surprise and shattered any lingering fantasy.
No, he hadn’t changed.
Xia Yu was gasping heavily, having swallowed several mouthfuls of pool water while sinking—it tasted terrible.
Who was the kind person who grabbed his hair to save him?
Xia Yu wanted to punch them.
Just as the wig was pulled off, the flustered Xia Yu suddenly felt his legs move again.
He decided to avoid the rescuers’ eyes and swim up by himself.
Xia Yu hurriedly held onto the pool wall and pushed off hard from the bottom, surfacing.
The first thing he saw upon surfacing was Mo Yidong holding the black seaweed-like thing—realizing it was his wig.
His face burned red with embarrassment as he hung on Mo Yidong’s baffled expression.
“You…”
Mo Yidong wanted to ask if Xia Yu had taken his medicine today and to return the wig, but by then, many classmates had gathered on the shore, staring at Xia Yu with worry and curiosity.
So he hid the wig underwater instead.
“Xia Yu’s hair is actually silver!”
“But wasn’t it black just now?”
“Xia Yu, are you okay?”
“Yu-ge, you…”
Seeing the classmates’ curious gazes, Xia Yu just wanted to dive back into the water.
He didn’t care what the others asked on the shore, but now he dreaded Mo Yidong suddenly handing back the wig.
If Mo Yidong asked,
“Did you lose something?”
at this moment, the whole class would find out Xia Yu wore a wig to swim class.
Not only that, he’d become the laughingstock of the entire class.
Xia Yu swore he’d never speak to Mo Yidong again in his life.
Zhang Wenshan noticed Mo Yidong hiding something before everyone gathered on the shore and quickly offered a cover story for Xia Yu.
“I guess Xia Yu was just trying to get past the Head Instructor’s check. He only dyed his hair yesterday; after soaking in water so long today, the color must’ve faded, haha.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Xia Yu was a bit dazed, but since everyone believed it, he quickly nodded along.
“Perfect. Next time, I’ll find a good hair salon, and we’ll go dye our hair together!”
“Sounds good.”
Because Xia Yu had nearly drowned, the final five-person exam was postponed.
The Homeroom Teacher said they would make up the test next time, so the rest of the class time was free.
After most classmates returned to the locker room, Mo Yidong remained in the water.
Suddenly, someone on the shore asked,
“So, what did you pick up in the water?”
Mo Yidong still held the seaweed-like thing, looked up at Zhang Wenshan’s curious stare on shore, and calmly replied with two words:
“Black seaweed.”
Zhang Wenshan raised an eyebrow, eyes brightening instantly.
Mo Yidong was clearly holding Xia Yu’s wig.
Why hadn’t he thought of this method?
“Right? Wearing a wig really is a good way! That way, you don’t have to dye your hair and can smoothly avoid the inspection.”
Mo Yidong didn’t actually listen to Zhang Wenshan’s words.
His mind was full of thoughts about Xia Yu wearing a wig.
Every time Xia Yu reverted to being a boy, he would cut off some extra long hair, style it short, and dye it.
But this time, he happened to wear a wig out, with even his eye color dyed red…
Floating on the water surface, Mo Yidong gazed at the clear sky, pondering for a moment.
Only one possibility came to mind.
Could the blood Mo Yidong had given Xia Yu yesterday, infused with abundant spiritual power, be preventing his hair from taking dye?
If so, what if he let Xia Yu feed more times?
Could it eliminate the inhibitor’s effect?
Then Xia Yu would have no choice but to live obediently as a member of the Blood Clan.
“Oh, by the way, tonight’s Welcome New Students Party is at 7 PM. Don’t be late.”
As class was about to end, Zhang Wenshan reminded Mo Yidong of the plan they had discussed during swim class.
To welcome the new students, Zhang Wenshan had reserved several tables and invited classmates to the party.
Mo Yidong had originally said he wouldn’t go because he wanted to observe Xia Yu’s condition more.
But Zhang Wenshan insisted the new students were just the two of them, and it wouldn’t do for the main character to skip it.
That morning, Mo Yidong even asked if Xia Yu was okay.
Xia Yu’s “yeah” then was completely different from how he looked now.
Since Xia Yu wasn’t telling the truth, Mo Yidong would have to use his own method.
Because other classes were still in session and the hallways empty, with no chance of running into Guangtou Qiang, Xia Yu arrived back at the classroom earlier than Mo Yidong.
Only one class period remained.
Xia Yu lay on his desk, eyes open, wanting to sleep but unable to.
He suddenly realized that as long as he kept his eyes open, no strange sounds would enter his ears.
He didn’t know how long this would last.
If it went on for too long, he might become a 24/7 wide-awake owl, with red eyes and red blood vessels filling his eyeballs.
Just thinking about it sent chills down his spine.
When Mo Yidong and Zhang Wenshan returned to the classroom, Xia Yu saw Mo Yidong’s hands empty, meaning he hadn’t brought back his wig.
Maybe it felt too weird to carry around, so Mo Yidong left it behind.
Xia Yu didn’t think much of it.
He was suddenly troubled.
If he couldn’t dye his hair back after school, tomorrow he’d have only two options.
Shaving his head bald was useless.
The Blood Power inside his body made his hair grow quickly, so he used hairbands to suppress it.
If he couldn’t dye his hair, he’d still have to wear a wig.
As soon as Mo Yidong sat down, Xia Yu sneaked glances at him, eyes occasionally fixed on his pockets and hands, as if searching for something.
“Thanks for earlier.”
“No problem. Glad it’s settled.”
“Where did you put that thing?”
Xia Yu looked around but couldn’t find his wig.
He decided to just ask Mo Yidong where he put it.
The class bell rang.
Mo Yidong opened the page the teacher was about to lecture from and said calmly and plainly:
“I threw it in the trash.”