This happened half a year after he enrolled at the Pre-Education Academy.
That day.
Li Changsheng opened his bleary eyes. He rubbed them, his undershirt showing beneath his clothes. He looked somewhat tired; after reading all night, he had returned to the dormitory, taken off his clothes without a second thought, and gone straight to sleep.
Through his bleary eyes, he saw a masked face leaning close over him.
It was a little girl. Her long, silvery-white hair, unnatural in color, spilled down like a waterfall. Sunlight from the window shone through it, making it glimmer. Its unimaginable luster and softness were something you had to see with your own eyes to appreciate. It made you wonder how the handiwork of nature could be so unfair.
His gaze shifted slightly, taking in the familiar, enchanting mask, then the delicate skin at her neck, milky white with a rosy flush.
Her large, water-blue eyes seemed to hold a glistening film.
Her figure was petite and delicate, yet she wore a pale dress with a lace-trimmed hem.
What astonishing face lay hidden behind that mask?
Who else could have such a mysterious air, if not the Seven Absolute Zither Master?
"Oh, you're here."
Li Changsheng wasn't particularly surprised. For more than half a year, he and the Seven Absolute Zither Master had spent their days reading or sparring at Teacher Zi Buyu's place. They had grown closer and talked much more.
Because of what had happened half a year ago, the Pre-Education Academy's reforms had gone completely to waste. The team missions that had once been planned had vanished like a bubble.
Fortunately, Zi Buyu possessed the miraculous Book Fragrance Domain. It meant Li Changsheng and the Seven Absolute Zither Master didn't have to rely on painstaking meditation and battles to quickly increase their Soul Power.
The Seven Absolute Zither Master suddenly raised her right hand, which she had kept lowered. It held a bag filled with vegetables, all unique to the Douluo Continent and delicious beyond compare.
Seeing this, Li Changsheng immediately scrambled up, excitedly exclaiming, "Oh, I get to taste your cooking again! I'm about to throw up from eating the cafeteria food lately. I'm so lucky."
That was right.
Ever since the day Li Changsheng had accidentally caught the Seven Absolute Zither Master making herself a meal in her free time, he'd tried her cooking once and become completely hooked.
She was clearly just a child, yet the food she made was so delicious.
The Seven Absolute Zither Master said, "The cafeteria food isn't that bad, is it?"
As he got dressed, Li Changsheng shook his head. "It's nowhere near as good."
Before long, Li Changsheng had washed up and was carrying the ingredients the Seven Absolute Zither Master had brought as they headed to their classroom.
In their classroom was a Soul Guidance Fire-Starting Device that Teacher Zi Buyu had specially bought some time ago. It was much like the natural gas of Li Changsheng's previous life and very convenient. The reason Zi Buyu had installed this Soul Tool seemed to be that she, too, couldn't stomach the Pre-Education Academy cafeteria food.
Zi Buyu wasn't there, but the Seven Absolute Zither Master was already sorting the ingredients with practiced ease.
Many ingredients in this world were the same as those in Li Changsheng's previous life.
Eggs, for instance.
"Why do you always stand there watching?"
The Seven Absolute Zither Master was sorting the ingredients. She wasn't tall enough, so she had to stand on a little stool. Li Changsheng was doing the same.
Noticing Li Changsheng had come over, the Seven Absolute Zither Master asked him.
"I'm curious. Did you really come up with these dishes yourself?"
Everything the Seven Absolute Zither Master cooked was delicious and looked good enough to eat.
What made Li Changsheng's scalp tingle even more was that he could recognize some dishes from his previous world among them.
Take ordinary soup, for example. In this world, people usually added seasonings like salt to their ingredients, but the Seven Absolute Zither Master had a whole lot of little jars and bottles—actually, she kept them in her room. They were all spices, and she added them to her cooking every time. Her dishes were so varied that even Zi Buyu, who had read widely, couldn't help praising her and declaring that she wanted the Seven Absolute Zither Master to be her master.
The Seven Absolute Zither Master's hand paused slightly. She didn't look at Li Changsheng and only stammered, "I learned from my mom. Then I practiced a lot when I was little, so I got better with experience."
"Learned from your mom?" Li Changsheng immediately realized the Seven Absolute Zither Master had just lied.
After studying together for half a year, Li Changsheng had gotten to know the Seven Absolute Zither Master's personality.
She was usually a little absent-minded and had a bit of a snarky streak. She kept her distance from people she didn't know, but once she became familiar with someone, she'd get a little fussy. When she lied, she'd start stammering.
Of course, because of her mask, Li Changsheng hadn't been able to study her expressions closely enough to figure out more about her personality.
"By the way, you don't have to wear your mask here, do you? It's been more than half a year. Let me see what you look like." Li Changsheng stood steadily on his stool, turned to the side, and stared at her, full of curiosity.
The Seven Absolute Zither Master's hand paused again as she stirred the food with a spoon. "N-no. I can't break the school rules."
"...There you go lying again."
Li Changsheng was a little helpless. In the past half year, the Seven Absolute Zither Master had worn her mask every time they met.
Li Changsheng had grown a lot over the past six months and honed his skills considerably. He also got along very well with their teacher, Zi Buyu. So, in the academy, he never wore a mask, and nothing ever happened.
Zi Buyu was a shut-in. If she had to be given a title, she would certainly be Otaku Douluo.
Aside from reading, she truly had no other hobbies, and he never saw her meditate.
Her usual approach to teaching Li Changsheng and the Seven Absolute Zither Master was simple:
Read.
If Li Changsheng hadn't often sparred with the "perverted" Seven Absolute Zither Master over the past six months, his combat ability would probably have declined.
Because of what had happened half a year ago, almost all the Pre-Education Academy students stayed in the academy to study. For more than half a year, sparring between students had been restricted to those in fifth year or above.
At the same time, even though word had eventually spread that people from the Shrek Inspectorate had arrived, they still hadn't been able to uncover the cause of Li Zishuo and the others' deaths. So the instructors' system of taking students outside the academy for field training had been suspended indefinitely.
Li Changsheng snapped back to his senses and was about to ask another question.
But the Seven Absolute Zither Master beside him spoke first.
"Do you still want breakfast? If you keep asking me questions, I'll get distracted. If I get distracted and ruin the food, are you going to eat it?"
"Ah, sorry, sorry. Other than peeling the ingredients, what else can I help with?"
Hearing the Seven Absolute Zither Master change the subject again, Li Changsheng could only let it go. There's no way you'll wear that mask for all six years, right? Even if you do, you'll have to take it off when you graduate, won't you?
In his previous life, Li Changsheng had known nothing about cooking. His dream back then had been to find a virtuous wife who could cook, but he hadn't married before transmigrating. His wife after transmigrating... Heh, she was even less of a prospect than Li Changsheng.
"There's nothing I need help with. Just stand over there and watch. You can admire me all you like."
The Seven Absolute Zither Master said something that could be taken in more than one way.
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