“Let’s go, Ren-ge. Why are you still sitting there? Let’s go back and play games.”
After the class bell rang, Xu Wenxing patted Lu Ren on the shoulder, calling him to head back to the dorm together.
“I’m a bit dizzy. Let me rest for a bit…” Lu Ren closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before his complexion regained some color.
“Hey, Ren-ge, why are you working so hard? That Rich Woman doesn’t need to work or attend classes. When she’s tired, she just goes home to sleep. You’re just a student. If you don’t study well, why chase after a Rich Woman?” Xu Wenxing shook his head mockingly, as if feeling sorry for Lu Ren’s choices.
“Get lost. I’m just asking you, if a Rich Woman offered to support you, would you accept?” Lu Ren retorted irritably.
“Ren-ge, what kind of person do you think I am? Someone who’d stoop for five bushels of rice? Show some respect for my dignity.” Xu Wenxing’s expression suddenly turned serious.
“Fine, then I won’t give you the Rich Woman’s contact info. Good luck after you graduate.” Lu Ren saw through the act at once and teased him.
“Don’t say that, Ren-ge, I was wrong. If a Rich Woman likes me, you have to tell me.” Xu Wenxing immediately changed his tone. “If not, a Rich Young Lady would do. And if that’s also not available, just find me some Ice-cold Female CEO. I’m not picky.”
“Do you think you’re buying groceries? Want something and it just appears?” Lu Ren mercilessly burst Xu Wenxing’s bubble. “Alright, stop talking nonsense. Let’s go back and rest. We still have class at four in the afternoon.”
“Alright, let’s go. Anyway, it’s not a Professional Course this afternoon, nothing to be afraid of.”
Xu Wenxing stretched, picked up his phone and textbook, and followed Lu Ren out of the classroom.
Once in the corridor, he pulled out his phone and started browsing the Forum.
But after a few steps, Xu Wenxing felt something was off.
He looked up and saw Lu Ren suddenly stop in the corridor, his eyes fixed straight ahead toward the main Staircase of the teaching building, as if watching someone.
“Ren-ge, what’s wrong? Why did you stop?”
Xu Wenxing didn’t understand why Lu Ren had stopped. He followed Lu Ren’s gaze and glanced toward the Staircase but didn’t see anything unusual.
“…Has our School always allowed outsiders onto the campus?”
Lu Ren didn’t answer but instead asked Xu Wenxing a question.
“Uh? Oh, yeah, our School has always been open to the public. It’s normal for others to come in. Haven’t we often seen outsiders eating in the School Cafeteria?”
“I see.”
After getting the answer, Lu Ren lowered his head, as if thinking about something important.
“Ren-ge?” Xu Wenxing still couldn’t figure out what was going on.
“Nothing, maybe I just didn’t sleep well and my nerves are a bit on edge.” Lu Ren looked up and exhaled. “I’m going to the restroom to wash my face. Wait here for me.”
“Okay, Ren-ge, go ahead.”
Xu Wenxing didn’t pay much attention. He nodded casually and leaned against the corridor wall, continuing to scroll through the Forum for topics he cared about.
Lu Ren glanced once more toward the Staircase, then hurried down to the first floor of the teaching building, passing by other students.
Except during exam periods, only a few classrooms on the first floor of the teaching building are used for general classes daily; most of the time, they serve as study rooms for graduate students.
So this area always held the quietest atmosphere in the teaching building, even the restroom felt unusually silent.
Lu Ren quickly scanned the surroundings, finding the familiar calming peace, then slipped into the men’s restroom, heading straight to the innermost stall and hurriedly locked the door.
No sooner had he locked it than he pulled out the Dormitory Key from his pocket.
“…Strange. What exactly was going on with those people at the Staircase?”
Holding the Red Star Pendant on the key, Lu Ren felt a sudden unease in his heart.
Just before approaching the Staircase, he noticed his Magical Outfit in his pocket heating up.
Though only for a few seconds, he was certain it wasn’t an illusion.
Normally, his Magical Outfit only heated up when it detected Magic Power, not randomly for a brief moment.
Recalling the scene, Lu Ren remembered that his outfit became scorching hot the moment a few men in casual clothes approached the Staircase.
Thinking further, those plainclothes outsiders kept glancing around, as if searching for something, their eyes often lingering on the students—especially when they looked at a female student, they quickly averted their gaze.
Lu Ren suddenly understood.
Those outsiders were searching for someone.
It had to be a special girl; otherwise, they wouldn’t be using those Magic Tools that only Official Personnel are authorized to use.
Who were they looking for?
Could it be a new Magic Girl?
Either way, as long as it wasn’t him, it was fine.
After figuring out the situation, Lu Ren breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed.
But just as he let his guard down and was about to wash his face at the sink, two heavy footsteps sounded outside, one after the other.
The sound of leather shoes on tile.
Was it a teacher? Or the two outsiders he had seen earlier?
Lu Ren hesitated for a few seconds but didn’t open the door. He planned to wait until whoever it was finished and left before stepping out.
He remained silent, quietly waiting inside the innermost stall of the restroom.
“…Ah, damn, I’m exhausted.”
A man wearing leather shoes entered the restroom, twisted open the faucet, and washed his face while complaining.
“Yeah, it’s not like the higher-ups know what they’re thinking. Sending us to the university to find someone, how could we possibly find them? Hey, want one?”
“Sure, thanks.”
With a click, a lighter flickered to life in the restroom.
The pungent smell of cigarettes began to fill the air, forcing Lu Ren to pull up his collar and cover his nose and mouth with his clothes.
“Phew… that’s better.”
“Are we going to the girls’ dorm later? Two grown men seem out of place there.”
“It’s fine. We’ll just have the Housemaster watch for us. We don’t need to go inside.”
“If we ask someone else, there might be blind spots. What if she really is in some hidden corner of the dorm?”
“No way. Look, there are barely any high school students who become Magic Girls, let alone university students. Having Sapphire and Meteor as Magic Girls in A City is already ridiculous enough. There’s no way there’d be some exception of an exception.”
“…True.”
“Relax. Look at Blazing Flame’s figure—she’s obviously a middle schooler, definitely not a university student. Let’s finish this quickly and go back. This weird weather, I don’t want to stay outside a moment longer.”
“Yeah, okay.”
After their complaints, the two men fell silent, savoring this rare moment of comfort.
A few minutes later, the cigarette smell lightened considerably, and Lu Ren heard the two men leave.
It seemed they had gone.
Lu Ren stepped out quietly from the stall, approached the sink, and noticed some grayish-white ash on the tiles.
He looked at the ash and fell into thought.
“Official Personnel from the Monster Response Department are actually looking for me…”
Lu Ren murmured to himself.