Edited by Jules
Xiao Lan was still in a delighted mood when he woke up from his dreams. The smile at the corner of his lips also followed him from his dreams all the way into reality.
It turned out he was the one who had chosen Luo’s name?
It had to be said that choosing a name this way, by casually flipping open a book and pointing at a word, was genuinely Xiao Lan’s style.
When Xiao Lan thought of Luo’s speechless and choked-up expression, his lips couldn’t help ticking up a little more.
Perhaps Luo should rejoice that the book on the table at that time had been on the cultured topic of archaeology, and not something like ‘Sow’s Postnatal Nursing’, or ‘Tractor Driving Skills’.
Xiao Lan’s gaze fell on his wrist. Even now there was still a scar there from when he burnt himself.
During that period, he encountered too many things and had been in a fluster. He already could no longer clearly recall the particulars of his wound, and only remembered that he seemed to have wrapped it carelessly, and it had then healed in some muddleheaded fashion.
Now that he thought about it, with such crude bandaging skills that year, how could his wound have healed so smoothly?
It turned out that Luo was the one who helped him wrap it ah.
Who knew what in the world happened later for them to become like this now.
Xiao Lan studied the ceiling.
His mood was still quite good. Even when he saw the handwriting formed by water spots on the ceiling again, it didn’t affect his mood.
On the ceiling, the water formed words different from yesterday:
【She killed him】
【I can’t stand it anymore】
There was no concrete description of these ‘she’ and ‘him’ in these sentences, and one couldn’t figure out what they were trying to say. However, it at least currently explained that the one leaving the writing wanted to show that three people were involved.
A female killed a male, and the onlooker couldn’t take it.
Coupled with the ‘blood blood blood’ and ‘she’s gone mad’ from last time, the situation back then must have been very wretched.
Among these three… was Adeline included?
And which one was she?
•
Breakfast.
The students were still very calm, and gossiped and chatted about trifle matters in school like before. The dangers of the nights of the red moon had no impact on them at all.
Xiao Lan listened to their conversation, but didn’t hear anything related to a body.
The location of the body was very conspicuous, and the person’s death was tragic. In a normal situation, there was no way it could be overlooked. Thus, it should be that someone had dealt with the corpse before the students were out and about.
Xiao Lan then turned his attention to the teachers.
Sure enough, he didn’t see in the crowd the male player who had obtained the identity of a teacher. It seemed very likely that the dead from last night was him.
However, Xiao Lan might need Luo to use his identity as a teacher to confirm it for sure.
In addition, there was also something else very strange.
The headmistress Madam Wilder had red eyes today, and they were a little swollen. She looked like she had been crying. Her eyebrows were knitted deeply and her whole body looked pretty listless.
Every time her gaze swept over the empty seat at the teachers’ table, the worry and pain in her eyes didn’t seem fake.
She probably knew what happened last night, and it was possible that she was the one who had dealt with the corpse. There was even a big chance that she had an unclear connection to Lady Red Moon, but she also appeared genuinely upset.
Everything about Madam Wilder confused Xiao Lan.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
•
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Coafg atja, Wljb Ojc jgglnfv ja atf mijrrgbbw obg tlr olgra ifrrbc.
He arrived ahead of time again and carefully listened to the students speaking around him. Unfortunately, there was no special gossip today, and he didn’t encounter any students like Cily and her friends who were keen to spread school rumors.
When class began, the one who entered was a blonde male who looked very young.
He was wearing the teacher’s uniform and was carrying a box. He walked into the classroom with a smile and greeted the students. From the students’ reactions, he was a teacher who had a good relationship with the students.
Xiao Lan initially didn’t pay much attention to him.
But a student in the crowd called out, “Hey~ Lawrence.”
The blonde teacher smiled at the student and said, “Jack, in class, you have to call me Teacher Cook.”
That student laughed and nodded; it was clear that the two were very close in private.
Hearing the name, Xiao Lan then observed the other.
After that, he realised the box in Lawrence’s hands looked incredibly familiar; it was identical to the medical box that had appeared in his dream last night.
After that, Lawrence opened the box on the podium and said to the students in a relaxed tone, “Today, I’ll be explaining first aid knowledge to you. After all, you energetic kids always get injured easily.”
The students agreed happily, and the mood in the classroom was very relaxed.
The things in Lawrence’s medical box were also identical to what Xiao Lan had seen in his dream.
This person should be the real Lawrence, a teacher at Kriv.
The Luo in his dream probably entered the institute by temporarily taking Lawrence’s identity, and the office should belong to Lawrence as well.
Xiao Lan couldn’t help wondering: what on earth was Luo’s original identity?
The Luo back then understood the Advent World like the back of his hand and even casually entered a game by replacing an NPC. Although he seemed absorbed in slacking off and was unwilling to work, he probably didn’t have a simple status.
•
Lunchtime.
As Xiao Lan headed for the cafeteria, he suddenly recalled the garden where the figure had appeared last night.
At that time, it seemed like the figure had wanted to pass him something, but was unsuccessful. Who knew if there was something different if he checked now.
The garden still brimmed with life. The plants grew luxuriously and blocked the line of sight slightly.
As Xiao Lan slowly walked through the garden, he paid attention to his surroundings, in case he ran into that figure again.
After turning a corner, a small figure crouching on the ground appeared up ahead.
It was a little similar to the blurry figure he had seen, but this one was a lot clearer and solid. Aside from the lack of a shadow, it was practically no different from a small girl.
Xiao Lan approached carefully.
The girl was playing with a small flower on the ground by herself. She had long, flax-coloured hair, was wearing a little white dress, and looked lovable and cute.
When Xiao Lan was about three steps from her, the little girl suddenly spoke. Her voice was very soft and she didn’t raise her head. She sounded like she was speaking to herself. “I miss dad…”
Xiao Lan tried to ask, “Where did your dad go?”
The little girl: “Gone.”
Xiao Lan: “Who’s your dad? Do you know what happened?”
The little girl, however, was silent and didn’t respond.
Xiao Lan tried to ask the little girl a few questions, but also didn’t get any reply. The little girl was like a machine with installed preferences as she played repeatedly with the flower without any change in her expression.
Both sides were silent for a while.
“My name is Adeline,” the little girl suddenly said.
But before Xiao Lan could ask anything, just like during their meeting last night, her figure instantly disappeared.
Xiao Lan’s gaze swept over where she had been crouching, and he noticed something that clearly wasn’t a plant among the cluster of flowers.
He picked it up and realised it was an old photograph.
The paper was already yellow and faded; it was clearly from a different era. The photograph was of a family of three. All of them looked very familiar: there was Headmistress Wilder, her husband, and the little Adeline whom he had just seen.
But strangely, after so many years, the headmistress and her husband still looked the same as in the photograph.
Adeline hadn’t changed either, but from the few times that Xiao Lan had seen her, it was highly unlikely that Adeline was still alive.
Then… What was up with the headmistress and her husband?
It seemed that he had to find an opportunity to investigate them.
•
During lunch, Xiao Lan met Luo’s gaze, and he used a meaningful look to indicate for him to create a chance for the two of them to talk.
Luo nodded subtly.
After Xiao Lan was just about done eating.
He realised that the students around him were once again revealing excited looks filled with anticipation.
Based on the past few days, the only one to receive such treatment was the new teacher, Luo.
If there was a teacher popularity list, the votes for Luo would put him far at the top of the list. Even the headmistress revered by the students wouldn’t be his opponent. He could be said to be the new generation of campus traffic.
Xiao Lan turned his head; sure enough, he saw Luo walking towards him.
He was still wearing the teacher’s uniform. All the teachers clearly had the same attire, but it was especially fitting on Luo, as if it was tailor-made. It perfectly emphasised his long legs and his well-proportioned figure that wasn’t even the slightest bit too much or too little.
“Student Xiao Lan.” Luo walked to Xiao Lan’s side.
Under everyone’s eyes, his tone was a little strict. “Why haven’t you handed in the self-reflection essay I told you to write yesterday?”
The surrounding students looked at Xiao Lan as if they were looking at a school slag.
Xiao Lan: “…”
Wait a second, when did we arrange for this sort of plot?
Do you have to include such a complicated plot to create a chance to meet?
Luo’s eyes narrowed slightly and he bent a little towards Xiao Lan, the eyes behind his glasses like that of a predator.
He said in a slightly dangerous tone, “Looks like you need to be taught a lesson.”
Without waiting for Xiao Lan’s reply, Luo stood up and strode forward.
After walking two steps, he turned his head and shot a glance at Xiao Lan. “Keep up.”
With the attitude of one who was cold-heartedly preparing to properly sort out a rebellious student, neither his expression nor his tone was out of place; it felt like the Advent World owed him an Oscar.
Soaking in the ‘brother, you just arrived and you’re already doing this?’ gazes of the students, Xiao Lan expressionlessly followed Luo, putting into practice the setting of a bad student who was disobedient and fond of always clashing with the teachers.
Seeing how happily Luo was acting, he would reluctantly play along ba. In any case, they had achieved their objective.
He followed Luo back to his office.
After closing the door.
Luo’s elegant and gentle smile returned, and he began to prepare black tea in a very good mood. “Do you need anything, sir?”
Xiao Lan casually sat on the table and didn’t beat around the bush. “Do you know the headmistress’s usual whereabouts?”
As Luo steeped the tea, he said, “Madam Wilder always stays inside the school. I hear that she basically never leaves. If she isn’t teaching, she’ll usually return to her own office. Even at night, she’ll rest in the office’s breakroom and basically won’t come out.
“She doesn’t have any classes in the afternoon today, so she’ll probably spend the entire afternoon in the headmistress’s office.”
Xiao Lan: “Is there any way to make her leave the office?”
Luo passed him the black tea. “Why? Do you want to enter her office? How long do you need?”
“Hm, probably about an hour ba.” Xiao Lan accepted the black tea and took a sip. Tea prepared by Luo was always at the best temperature.
Luo: “If that’s the case, I can use the topic of educational administration to invite her out for afternoon tea. She should be very willing to explain it to a new colleague. I will do my utmost to delay as long as possible.
“But it’s said that Mister Wilder rarely comes out because of his weak health, and he generally stays in his room. His room isn’t far from the headmistress’s office, so you might have to pay attention to him.”
As he spoke, he took out a pocket watch from his clothes and gave it to Xiao Lan. “This is for you, so that it’ll be easier for you to check the time.”
Xiao Lan took the pocket watch. It had good craftsmanship, but it wasn’t an item, and just an ordinary object in this instance. Aside from telling the time, it had no other use.
The pocket watch still carried Luo’s body heat. Perhaps it was because Luo had absorbed more of his remaining fragments, but his body temperature had risen slightly and was almost no different from human body temperature. Coupled with how close it had been to the skin, it seemed to scorch Xiao Lan’s palm a little.
Xiao Lan was looking at the pocket watch with a bowed head when he suddenly felt a hand cover his head. It moved very gently, and didn’t make him feel offended at all.
He raised his head in confusion, and just happened to meet Luo’s smiling face.
Luo’s eyes were filled with a gentle smile. “Apologies, but it feels a little nostalgic.”
Xiao Lan also thought of the head pat in his dream.
The atmosphere at that time had been relaxed and cheerful.
And the person before him had been so strong back then that he almost seemed omnipotent. He was confident and unrestrained, and carried a slight refusal in his elegance to stick to etiquette. It was like there was nothing in the world that was difficult for him.
What on earth happened to turn him into a weak black shadow sealed inside an envelope?
Vaguely, Xiao Lan felt that it had something to do with his own appearance.
The current Luo should also be able to surmise this as well ba, but his eyes still had a warm expression. There was no regret or annoyance, just calm acceptance of everything.
Thinking his, Xiao Lan’s heart stung slightly, like a very thin thorn had pierced it. It wasn’t that painful, but made one so uncomfortable it was hard to ignore.
Sensing the change in Xiao Lan, Luo withdrew his hand, and there was worry hidden in his tone. “Sir?”
Xiao Lan looked at the floor. “You shouldn’t call me sir anymore ba. You aren’t my adjunct to begin with, so just call me by my name.”
Luo, however, laughed quietly. “But I’m already used to it; ‘sir’ is also an address that only I can use ah. Do you want to deprive me of this privilege?”
Xiao Lan lifted his head to look at him. Seeing Luo’s calm smile, he suddenly felt a lot more relaxed.
Regardless of what happened in the future, it couldn’t prove that their encounter had been a mistake.
Xiao Lan also smiled. “Then change ‘you’ ba. I can’t treat a friend like this.”
That was right; clearly, they had already been friends since very long ago, yet it took such a long time before they got to know each other again.
A gentle light flickered in Luo’s eyes. “Alright, I’ll listen to you.”
But what he wanted might not to just be friends.
The author has something to say:
Luo: In certain situations, it’s still ‘you’ that has more feeling ah ♂
Xiao Lan: …You be quiet.
Thank you for the chapter 💛
Luo is a fan of roleplay it seems.
So sweet.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I’m really curious, if Luo find his fragment in this instance, how much he will remember?
thanks for the chapter~
He already found it when they were separated, that’s why he was able to remember they met before.
Thank you for the chapter ❤️
Thanks for the chapter! (♡´▽`♡)♡
Thank you for the chapter!
thanks for the chapter! <3
That family of three don’t have an easy background, eh?
Thx for the ch (ㅅ˘ㅂ˘)
“But what he wanted might not to just be friends.” Yay! As if we all didn’t already know what Luo wants.😜😂
Ah… the good ol ‘I’ll listen to you.’ line.
Hmm certain situations hmm