Although Zhang Ruofeng knew his secret had been guessed, as long as he didn't admit it, everyone could only speculate. After all, he'd spent his high school years hanging around with delinquents and getting involved in violent activities. He'd only done it because fighting with other people made him feel like he mattered, but it still wasn't exactly a good thing.
But Zhang Ruofeng hadn't expected that being found out wouldn't be the most awkward part. The most awkward part was that he and Xin Mu were sharing a room. There were two double beds side by side, but this was still a first for him. Zhang Ruofeng sat on the edge of his bed, while Xin Mu sat on the bed to his left, brushing her hair.
"Damn it, don't Xin Mu and I use the same shampoo?" Smelling the faint fragrance in the room, Zhang Ruofeng felt his heart stir. But the moment it did, a stabbing pain rose with it, and his mood immediately settled back into calm amid the fluttering and pain. He'd long since gotten used to it.
Zhang Ruofeng was genuinely baffled. He never went out of his way to approach girls, and he considered himself rather slovenly. He thought his looks were just about passable, and he had no problem keeping clean, but he rarely cut his hair, so most of the time it was a bit of a mess. He felt he'd done his best to become an inconspicuous person. Yet he'd been confessed to in high school—and again in college. As for Xin Mu, he'd looked into her background. Her father owned a major publicly listed company, and she'd grown up in luxurious surroundings. He couldn't understand why someone as impressive as Xin Mu would like an ordinary guy from an ordinary family like him. He helped out with little things now and then, but most of the time he barely spoke to anyone. Even his roommates thought he was a quiet shut-in, and aside from basic conversation, he had no real relationship with them. He'd made a clear boundary between himself and everyone else. Zhang Ruofeng thought he'd done a good job, but Xin Mu had not only barged into his world, she'd also uncovered his secret. He really couldn't understand what she was thinking.
"Good night." Too much had happened today. Even Zhang Ruofeng was exhausted, and he had no idea how to break the awkward silence. Since he rarely talked to girls, he simply shut his mouth and got ready to sleep.
"Mm. Good night." Xin Mu's voice sounded softly. The light in the room dimmed, and Zhang Ruofeng figured she'd turned off the lamp and returned to her bed. He silently began to review the day. They'd earned 000, not counting the Magic Stones and drops from the three elite monsters that had appeared unexpectedly. They'd killed seven monsters on the first and second floors, each worth about 0 on average. Pork and rice for three would cost around 500 Faris—about the price of one monster on the second floor. Xin Mu and the goddess would probably need quite a bit of clothing, too. Never mind the goddess; in this world, clothes, towels, and toiletries were all handmade. The towels and toothbrushes alone had cost nearly 1,000 Faris. He wasn't good at haggling, and Xin Mu was even worse—sometimes she didn't even ask the price. Buying clothes for Xin Mu was probably going to take more than a little while. Most importantly, she only had one outfit right now. If it got damaged, she might not even be able to go out.
His own clothes had cost 500 Faris. After learning about Xin Mu's fighting style and habits, she'd also bought four new beginner's daggers. The money the two of them had earned on their first day was already gone...
Before he could finish thinking, Zhang Ruofeng's consciousness began to blur, and he drifted off to sleep.
----Fura's Perspective----
What a lively day. Fura sat on the edge of her bed, sorting through her things. How long had it been since things were this lively? Almost half a year. Usually, apart from her customers and Evan, she spent every day alone. As the Flower Goddess, she mostly ate flowers and fruit, but she actually liked meat, too. She knew perfectly well that she wasn't a good cook. Everyone who'd ever joined her Familia had given her a stern talking-to about it. The violent woman had even once said, "Eating your cooking feels like accidentally swallowing a slime." But gods didn't change. Even when she tried to improve her cooking, no matter what she did, the food always turned out awful.
"These two new kids are really interesting." The Flower Goddess gazed at the names on the wall. Talking to the names there each day was one of her favorite things to do. Perhaps it was the influence of her first Familia member, a mischievous chatterbox. Her philosophy had been that sharing happy things with everyone made them even happier. The second, Qiong Bi, a half-dwarf, had always said that some things were better kept to yourself—or, if you had to talk about them, you should do so over drinks. But as the children gradually left, sharing in the surprising things that happened to them had become a source of happiness for Fura, too.
"Their growth has been really frightening." Thinking about how much the two of them had grown today, Fura was amazed. Apart from a few once-in-a-generation geniuses, she didn't think anyone could grow so quickly. To gain nearly the strength of an adult dwarf in a single day—that was a first for her, too.
"They may not have said anything, but they're both uneasy inside." As a goddess, it was easy for Fura to see how the children felt. "Xin Mu has let out some of her fear, but Zhang Ruofeng is like a spring. Unless the pressure exceeds its limit, he'll keep pressing it down. It's the same with his heartache. No matter how great the wound, it shouldn't leave such deep pain at his age. But he keeps suppressing those feelings, turning them into a ticking time bomb in his heart. If it goes off, it could be terrifying." Fura didn't know what had happened to give Zhang Ruofeng those wounds, but she could see them clearly in his heart.
"Ever since you all left, my reputation as the 'Goddess of Misfortune' has started spreading. And since they're both from another world, it'll probably be difficult for them to get help and support from other people in the future." The goddess grew melancholy again. It had taken half a year for her Familia to recruit new members, and the two newcomers were growing so quickly that even the gods found it a little frightening. Would that strange skill let them grow into great leaders, or would unscrupulous adventurers keep getting in their way? Even she, a goddess, couldn't predict what would happen.
----Xin Mu's Perspective----
Zhang Ruofeng seemed to have changed a little since coming to this world. Watching him sleep, Xin Mu thought quietly. He'd always done his utmost to act like an ordinary passerby, but now he was the one charging to the front. When people had confessed to her or wouldn't leave her alone, Zhang Ruofeng had never said a word about it. But today, he'd stayed in front of her every moment. Even Xin Mu, who knew Zhang Ruofeng could be quite changeable, was having a hard time adjusting. Unlike her, he hadn't grown up carefree. He had many stories, but he never told them to anyone. No one she knew had ever truly been able to open the pages of Zhang Ruofeng's story; he'd glued each one shut himself. Yet now he was willingly standing before everyone, not even afraid that a god might see through his intentions and secrets. Xin Mu didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad one.
"Good or bad, I'll stay by his side." Xin Mu made up her mind, then closed her eyes.
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