An Uninvited Guest

"Hanhan, the Beast Tooth around your neck is glowing."

"It really is!"

"Take it off and let me see."

"Here, take it!"

Shen Qinghan obediently took off the Beast Tooth and handed it to Lin Zichen in front of her.

Lin Zichen accepted the Beast Tooth and examined it carefully in his hand.

The lights were off in the room, making it somewhat dim. This made the glow radiating from the Beast Tooth seem exceptionally bright, as dazzling as a firefly in the night.

Holding it in his hand, he could sense the vigorous vitality contained within the Beast Tooth.

However, it was vitality that did not belong to humans. It felt more like that of an Exotic Beast, brimming with savage ferocity.

Only at this moment did Lin Zichen realize that the faint inhuman aura on the white-haired girl had come from the Beast Tooth, not from the girl herself.

So... what kind of creature's tooth was this?

An Exotic Beast?

Lin Zichen studied the Beast Tooth for quite some time but failed to figure anything out.

Because the light emanating from it soon faded away.

It became utterly unremarkable again.

He could not investigate it any further.

Seeing this, Lin Zichen could only put away the Beast Tooth for now. Then, under Zhang Wanxin's urging, he went downstairs with Shen Qinghan for breakfast.

While eating breakfast, he borrowed Zhang Wanxin's phone, took a picture of the Beast Tooth, and uploaded it online for image recognition.

Unfortunately, he still found nothing.

There was no other way around it. He could only rely on himself.

So before leaving for school, he returned to his room and brought along his own Beast Tooth as well, planning to study it properly at school.

On the road.

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan walked side by side, drawing the attention of everyone around them wherever they went.

The two were simply too good-looking. They were even prettier than those child stars on television with filters piled all over them, making every passerby unable to resist taking another look.

Lin Zichen had long grown accustomed to such gazes and paid them little mind as he silently headed to school with Shen Qinghan.

"Wow, what adorable children! Are you two brother and sister, or an older sister and younger brother?"

As they passed a bar, a heavily made-up woman walked over and asked with a fond, motherly smile.

She was dressed extremely revealingly, as though she wanted to display every part of herself that could draw a man's attention. She held a lit cigarette in her hand and did not look like a respectable person.

"We're not siblings. We're childhood sweethearts and best friends," Shen Qinghan said in her soft voice.

"Childhood sweethearts? How lovely. Big sister wants a childhood sweetheart too." The woman smiled enviously, then asked,

"You're both so young. Why are you carrying your schoolbags to school by yourselves? Where are your parents?"

"Mom and Dad, they..."

"Stop talking. We'll be late, hurry up."

Before Shen Qinghan could finish, Lin Zichen interrupted from beside her, took her little hand, and led her away at a quick pace.

Only after they had gone quite some distance did Lin Zichen slow down slightly. He looked at Shen Qinghan earnestly and said,

"Don't casually chat with strangers on the street in the future, understand?"

"Mhm, I understand."

Shen Qinghan nodded obediently.

Before long, the two arrived at school.

During class, the teacher at the front spoke endlessly while Lin Zichen lowered his head and studied the Beast Tooth beneath his desk.

What he had seen in the room that morning had filled him with curiosity about the Beast Tooth the white-haired girl had given him.

What kind of creature's tooth could glow for no apparent reason and still contain such vigorous vitality after being separated from its mouth for so long?

Ordinary creatures were obviously impossible. It was most likely an Exotic Beast.

Moreover, it was probably an Exotic Beast that had yet to be cataloged by humanity.

Otherwise, with the obvious traits the Beast Tooth had displayed in the room that morning, he should have been able to find the answer with a simple online search.

Yet when he had specifically used Zhang Wanxin's phone to look it up over breakfast, he had found nothing at all.

This somewhat proved that the tooth's owner was very likely an unknown Exotic Beast that had not yet been recorded.

What exactly did the white-haired girl's family do?

How could her mother give her such a special birthday present?

Could she be the illegitimate daughter of some martial arts family?

Lin Zichen could not make sense of it no matter how hard he thought.

Time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, it was time for school to end in the afternoon.

As cries of "Goodbye, teacher" rang out, the students in the classroom soon left one after another, leaving only the unhurried Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan.

The two walked to and from school by themselves. Unlike the other students in their class, they did not need to rush out of the school gates the moment class ended to find their parents, afraid that leaving too late would mean getting stuck in traffic on the way home.

"Xiao Chen, next month we'll be celebrating our birthdays together. I already prepared your present in advance. Did you prepare one for me too?"

The moment they stepped out of the classroom, Shen Qinghan looked at Lin Zichen expectantly and asked.

Their birthdays were only one day apart. Ever since they were little, both families had gathered together to celebrate, and this year would be no exception.

However, Lin Zichen had not thought about his birthday at all, much less prepared a gift in advance.

Now that Shen Qinghan had suddenly asked, he could only lie. "Just like you, I already prepared one."

"Really?" Shen Qinghan beamed. "I'm really looking forward to your gift, Xiao Chen."

Lin Zichen merely smiled without saying anything.

"Xiao Chen, which way are we going home today?"

Shen Qinghan skipped along happily and turned her head to look at Lin Zichen beside her.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Zichen answered, "Let's take the abandoned alley in the old district today. There are still lots of paths we haven't walked before, so let's explore them."

For some reason, after being reborn, he had become exceptionally eager to explore. Every time he went home after school, he liked taking a different route.

He had thought about this before and felt that it might be because he had arrived in an unfamiliar world and desperately wanted to understand it at every moment.

Then, little by little, that had developed into a strong desire to explore as he grew up.

"Chenchen, the alley is so quiet."

Walking through the abandoned old alley, Shen Qinghan's large dark eyes curiously surveyed the surroundings all the way.

Lin Zichen explained, "This place is going to be demolished next month. Most of the residents who used to live here have already moved away, so it seems quieter."

"Xiao Chen, Xiao Chen, look over here!"

"There's a dandelion here!"

"This is the first time I've ever seen a wild dandelion!"

Shen Qinghan ran ahead and pointed at a dandelion growing in the corner by the wall, her little face full of excitement.

Lin Zichen walked over with a smile. Shen Qinghan crouched down and looked at the fragile dandelion before her, her eyes filled with regret as she said,

"Dandelions are so pretty. If only they could grow sturdier. Then they wouldn't be blown apart by the wind, and they could stay pretty forever for every passerby to see."

Lin Zichen smiled and said, "If dandelions grew sturdier, then you wouldn't be able to see such a pretty dandelion right now."

"Why not?"

Shen Qinghan raised her little face to look at Lin Zichen, her clear gaze shining through her watery eyes.

Lin Zichen explained, "Because the little fluff in a dandelion is made up of its seeds. The wind needs to scatter them and carry them to different places, where they can take root, sprout, and grow into new dandelions."

"Dandelions are so amazing." Shen Qinghan found it incredible, and at the same time, she thought Lin Zichen was so smart. He seemed to know almost everything.

After explaining it to her, Lin Zichen crouched beside her as well. He gently plucked the dandelion and handed it to Shen Qinghan, saying warmly,

"Hanhan, stand up, hold the dandelion high, and blow the fluff away so its seeds can drift with the wind and bloom in all sorts of places."

"Xiao Chen, Xiao Chen, watch closely! I'm going to scatter flowers like a fairy!"

Shen Qinghan stood up excitedly and held the dandelion high in her hand. Feeling that it was not high enough, she even rose onto her tiptoes with all her might.

Then she took a deep breath and blew hard at the dandelion in front of her!

The next moment, the dandelion fluff scattered instantly, drifting forward in a large cloud before quickly dispersing and floating farther and farther away.

Both of them found the sight beautiful. As though by mutual understanding, neither spoke, quietly watching the dandelion seeds drift into the distance on the wind.

Until a familiar woman appeared at the entrance of the alley ahead, breaking this hard-won tranquility.

It was the woman they had encountered that morning when they passed the bar on their way to school.

At that moment, she no longer had the friendly demeanor she had shown when speaking to them that morning. Her eyes were full of greed as she looked at them and smiled.

"I've been following you two little cuties all the way. I finally found my chance."

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