In Suite 404 of the Academy District dormitory building, in the largest room.
After successfully claiming the room, Su Ming first put away all his luggage before flopping onto the bed.
He had to admit, the living conditions here were excellent. Not only was the environment great, but even the furniture was extremely high-end. The unusually soft and spacious bed made Su Ming so comfortable he wanted to roll around. If he hadn't considered how embarrassing that would be, he might already have let his girlish heart run wild.
"Were these excellent accommodations prepared only recently, or have they always been here?"
Su Ming had heard that, for this battle, Base City had carried out extensive renovations in Huaming District. Not only had defenses been built in every direction, but massive construction had also been undertaken in military and civilian areas.
The scale of the construction was such that even Huaming District's original residents would probably be stunned if they returned and wondered whether they had taken the wrong road home.
The camp where the Academy District was located had such perfect and complete facilities that it was hard not to wonder whether Base City had built the whole place from scratch.
"Although the entrance to the Spirit Fiend Abyss in Huaming District was only discovered three days ago, logically speaking, even if all the manpower and resources of Base City were mobilized, it would be difficult to build a residential compound like this in only three days. But this world has Alchemy Tools and all sorts of extraordinary items, so ordinary logic can't be applied."
Su Ming idly pondered the matter.
It was also a way to relax.
Under these circumstances, someone suddenly knocked on Su Ming's door.
"Who is it?"
Su Ming assumed it was Lei Hao and Ye Bai, those two fellows who refused to give up and had come to bother him again. His tone was therefore casual and lazy.
Who could have expected that the voice from outside would not belong to those two rough men's irritable voices, but would instead be a sweet, adorable, and timid one?
"Brother Su Ming, are you resting?"
The owner of the voice was An Zijin.
"Little Zijin?" Su Ming's dazed mind finally returned to him somewhat. He rolled off the bed and looked toward the door. "Come in."
After his voice fell, the beauty outside hesitated before pushing the door open.
"Brother Su Ming."
An Zijin still looked somewhat cautious. She pushed open Su Ming's door and looked at him sitting on the bed, seeming timid and nervous.
Ever since Su Ming had finally lost his temper on the train, both Xu Qianqian and An Zijin had become strangely cautious around him.
An Zijin in particular seemed to be watching Su Ming's expression every moment, acting especially careful.
Su Ming scratched his cheek. "If you have something to say, come in. Why are you standing in the doorway?"
At that, An Zijin blinked her adorable wide eyes. After studying Su Ming's expression, she finally entered the room awkwardly.
Seeing An Zijin like this, Su Ming suddenly felt somewhat dazed.
He remembered some things from his childhood.
He recalled that whenever he lost his temper back then, this neighbor girl, who was only a year younger than him, would hold a stuffed doll while cautiously studying his expression, as if trying to determine whether he was still angry.
Especially when they had first met, Su Ming had been insanely jealous of how much his parents favored An Zijin. He had never shown her a pleasant expression. Back then, An Zijin had acted just like this, carefully observing him while timidly following behind him.
Now, ten whole years had passed.
Over those ten years, Su Ming had changed greatly, and An Zijin had changed greatly as well. Yet some things seemed to have remained completely unchanged.
Even after transmigrating into this dangerous parallel world with a completely different style from the old one, the bond between him and this neighbor girl seemed to remain.
Thinking of this, Su Ming began to reflect on whether what he had done that day had gone too far.
As a result, Su Ming's tone unconsciously softened considerably.
"What is it?"
Su Ming asked An Zijin.
"N-nothing." An Zijin lowered her head and twisted her fingers, looking extremely nervous. While secretly peeking at Su Ming, she timidly said, "Everyone says that people should eat hot pot on the first day after moving into a new dormitory. What do you think, Brother Su Ming?"
Hearing An Zijin's words, Su Ming understood. This girl was deliberately looking for a topic.
After all, she had chosen a remarkably awkward one.
But Su Ming did not expose her.
"I think it's a good idea." Su Ming seemed to be deliberately going along with her topic. "The weather has gotten quite cold too, so hot pot would be a good choice."
"R-really?" An Zijin's expression brightened somewhat. She immediately said, "Then let's go to the cafeteria to get ingredients and borrow some tools."
"Let's?" Su Ming raised his brows. "What about the others? What are they doing?"
"They..." An Zijin's eyes began to dart around as she stammered, "They're still tidying their rooms. They probably don't have time."
By this point in the conversation, Su Ming had more or less understood what was going on.
"So the hot pot idea was something you came up with on the spot, and those guys don't even know about it?"
Su Ming found the situation both funny and exasperating.
He knew An Zijin had chosen an awkward topic, but he hadn't expected it to be this awkward.
She must have racked her brains just to find an excuse to talk to him, right?
An Zijin still had no idea that she had given herself away completely. In a panic, she hurriedly said, "I-it's fine! Beibei and Wanyu will definitely agree with me. Senior Ye Bai seems like he'll agree too. As for Senior Lei Hao, he doesn't seem to care what he eats. As long as there's food, he'll be happy."
An Zijin counted them off on her fingers one by one, looking completely serious. It was hard not to laugh.
Still, she wasn't wrong, in a sense.
Just think about how much Yao Beibei and Jiang Wanyu doted on An Zijin. Could they possibly refuse her suggestion?
There was even less need to mention Ye Bai. He was a standard bootlicker. If An Zijin said she wanted to eat shit, he would probably be the first one to run off and get it.
Lei Hao, meanwhile, had a carefree personality and was a complete brute. As long as there was something to eat, he really would be happy with anything.
Thinking about it this way, although the topic had been awkwardly forced, An Zijin had accurately grasped every member of the team's personality and style. This girl was surprisingly not to be underestimated.
With that thought, Su Ming smiled inwardly and looked at An Zijin.
He stared straight at this neighbor girl, who was as adorable as she had been in childhood, a trace of amusement in his eyes.
"W-why are you looking at me like that?"
An Zijin blushed under Su Ming's gaze and shyly fiddled with her fingers.
"Nothing." Su Ming said with a sigh, "I just feel like you're still the same as you were when you were little."
Su Ming's deeply sentimental remark left An Zijin dissatisfied.
"I'm not the same!" An Zijin protested. "I've already grown up, okay?"
It seemed this girl did not like Su Ming treating her as a child all the time.
To prove it, An Zijin puffed out her chest, making her uniform stand out slightly.
"Ahem."
Su Ming choked and coughed twice before glaring at An Zijin in exasperation.
"Hehe."
An Zijin seemed pleased by Su Ming's reaction. Her adorable smile finally returned, as if the storm had passed.
"Brother Su Ming, you're not angry anymore, right?"
An Zijin reached out her small hand, tugged at Su Ming's sleeve, and spoke pitifully.
"I'm not angry anymore."
Su Ming still wore that exasperated expression.
"Really?"
An Zijin stared at Su Ming with her bright eyes.
"Really." Su Ming glanced at An Zijin, as if he did not want her to get too pleased with herself. "But there won't be a next time, okay?"
Being treated as a tool for two girls to quarrel over, while being completely ignored, had seriously provoked Su Ming's masculine pride.
So he still gave her a warning.
"Okay! (^o^)/~"
An Zijin answered with a grin before pouncing to Su Ming's side and skillfully wrapping both arms around his arm.
She looked exactly like a younger sister acting spoiled, and she was incredibly cute.
The cautious atmosphere between them finally vanished completely.
An Zijin seemed satisfied.
Su Ming, on the other hand, took the opportunity to ask An Zijin a question.
"Seriously, why does it seem like you've started competing with that woman Xu Qianqian?"
Su Ming asked the question outright.
The smile on An Zijin's face stiffened slightly before vanishing altogether.
"...Who told her to try to steal my man?"
An Zijin muttered.
"Steal your man?"
Su Ming's expression turned strange.
"That's right!" An Zijin simply decided to go all out and said bluntly, "I feel like that person has ulterior motives toward Brother Su Ming, so I really don't like her!"
That explanation left Su Ming speechless.
Ulterior motives toward me?
Where could there be such a good thing—bah, what am I saying? How could that be possible?
The person with ulterior motives toward me has always been you, you incompetent little sister.
Besides—
"Would Xu Qianqian even take a liking to me?" Su Ming rolled his eyes. "I think you've misunderstood."
That female vampire was, at most, lusting after his body—his blood, to be precise.
Unfortunately, An Zijin did not seem to think so.
"She appears to be a cold senior in everyone's eyes, but only in front of Brother Su Ming are her eyes and expression completely different from what the rumors describe." An Zijin spoke with utmost seriousness. "When a woman shows a particular man a side of herself that differs from her usual self, it only means that man is special to her."
An Zijin spoke in such a firm, matter-of-fact tone that she almost made it sound true.
Su Ming could not explain the "love-hate entanglement" between himself and Xu Qianqian, so he could only tell An Zijin, "I don't know how to explain it to you. In any case, you've definitely misunderstood. Don't react so strongly next time, understand?"
Su Ming began lecturing her in a rather earnest tone.
But this put An Zijin in a very bad mood.
"I didn't misunderstand!" An Zijin said angrily. "Brother Su Ming, you're such a big idiot."
After leaving him with that, An Zijin jumped off the bed and ran out of Su Ming's room.
"Hey, wait! I haven't finished speaking yet!"
Su Ming's stunned attempt to stop her failed to hold An Zijin back.
An Zijin stuck out her tongue at Su Ming and muttered,
"You really are a big idiot."
Before you continue