Detention and Hair

The Charms classroom seemed especially empty at night, filled only with the scratch of quills across parchment and the occasional soft rustle as Professor Flitwick turned a page.

Skofot kept his head down. The effect of the [Rabbit Rhymer] card made him look exceptionally focused and vulnerable as he copied out a punitive essay on the principles of the Levitation Charm, stroke by stroke.

He spared a sliver of attention and habitually glanced at the system shop.

[Today's Items: [Lily Evans' Hair - 50 Emotion Points]]

Lily Evans?

Skofot's heart gave a violent jolt. The hand holding his quill trembled uncontrollably, and a drop of dark ink fell onto a line he had just copied, quickly spreading into a blot.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Lily Evans, Harry's mother, Snape's obsession... Why would something like this appear in the shop?

Just what was the system?

What use could this hair have? A collectible? Or... something more practical?

For example, to provoke a certain Potion Professor?

"Mr. Leoqi?" Professor Flitwick keenly noticed something was off. He looked up from his book and gazed over with concern. "What is it? Are you feeling unwell?"

Skofot abruptly came back to himself, realizing he had lost his composure. He swiftly adjusted his expression and raised his head. The [Rabbit Rhymer] card's effect was pushed to its limit in an instant—his eyes quickly misted over from his brief excitement and the shock he was now forcibly suppressing, his rims reddening as his long lashes trembled wetly. He looked at Professor Flitwick, his gaze filled with the humiliation and panic of someone whose private thoughts had been exposed.

"It's... it's nothing, Professor." His voice was low, carrying a faint nasal sound, as though he were trying hard to endure something. He quickly lowered his head to avoid Professor Flitwick's gaze, his fingers clenching tightly around the quill, his knuckles turning pale.

At the same time, he gave the order in his mind without hesitation: Purchase [Lily Evans' Hair]!

[Emotion Points -50]

[Emotion Points: 1450/100]

A barely perceptible ripple passed through the air, and the lock of hair that carried the past and obsession silently fell into his system backpack.

Feeling the new item in his backpack, an inexplicable thrill stirred in his heart, as though he were holding a scorching secret that was impossible to resist.

Seeing him like this, Professor Flitwick's doubts only deepened.

The child had clearly seen or thought of something just now to lose his composure so badly.

That look in his eyes for that instant had not been mere humiliation. There had also seemed to be a trace of... incredulous terror?

And now he was putting on the appearance of someone who had suffered an enormous grievance and refused to communicate.

Professor Flitwick did not believe for a moment that it was simply because of copying an essay.

Thinking of the boy's usual isolation, his earlier coercion of Malfoy, and the many inexplicable mysteries surrounding him, Professor Flitwick felt that things were far from simple.

What could make this child, sometimes strange and sometimes fragile, reveal such an expression?

Family troubles?

Or... something darker?

"Mr. Leoqi," Professor Flitwick said, setting down his book. His tone became especially gentle as he tried to guide him into speaking.

"If you've encountered any difficulties, whether with your studies or... anything else, you can tell your professor. The professors of Hogwarts will help you."

Skofot merely shook his head hard. His voice was muffled and stubborn. "Really, it's nothing, Professor. I'm just... a little tired."

He picked up his quill again and tried to wipe away the ink blot. His movements seemed flustered and clumsy, as though he wanted to hide the turmoil in his heart by keeping busy.

The less he said, the more certain Professor Flitwick became that he was hiding something.

That tear that seemed on the verge of falling, those tightly pressed lips that looked as though they had suffered a great injustice, and that obvious evasiveness...

Professor Flitwick sighed and did not press him further.

He knew that for some sensitive, closed-off children, being too eager would only backfire.

"All right." He picked up his book again, though his gaze still swept worriedly toward Skofot from time to time. "If you change your mind, you can come find me anytime. Focus on finishing your essay, Mr. Leoqi."

He watched the black-haired boy lower his head over the parchment once more, his thin shoulders slightly hunched, looking especially lonely in the vast classroom.

Professor Flitwick's sense of responsibility as an educator intertwined with his concern.

The mist shrouding this child seemed even thicker than he had imagined.

He decided that he would speak with Professor McGonagall later. They had to pay closer attention to Leoqi's mental state.

Perhaps they had all focused too much on his outrageous behavior before and overlooked the unknown pressure or pain he might have been enduring.

Skofot could feel Professor Flitwick's worried gaze upon him.

Humiliation? Pain?

He was merely excited by unexpectedly acquiring a potentially valuable "prop," and skillfully used the card's effect to drape himself in an even more perfect disguise.

As he mechanically copied his essay, he calculated in his heart.

Lily Evans' Hair...

How could he use it to extract the greatest possible value?

Perhaps he should find an opportunity to pay another visit to that ever-gloomy Potion Professor in the dungeons.

In truth.

There was humiliation.

There was pain.

Every day, every moment in the magical world, he had been uneasy.

So what if he had a system? Was he some chosen one?

Overall, he had not even come of age.

At night, he could always be seen curled up beneath the blankets, trembling.

At his core, he was only an ordinary person with an unfortunate childhood.

He was neither a hero nor a brave warrior.

Skofot—no, Xiang Beifeng—was merely a child driven into a corner.

Inferiority had shrouded his entire life.