A Flood of Friend Requests

Bai Mo had long since stopped finding Fufu's human-like behavior strange.

This little beast had been brought back by Na'er, and now Na'er's true identity had basically been confirmed: she was the legendary Silver Dragon King.

Then Fufu, whom she treasured so dearly and kept by her side at all times, was definitely no ordinary creature.

Bai Mo had long had a vague suspicion, but it was not important.

He only needed to know that Na'er's sibling-like affection for him was sincere, and that Fufu's closeness and dependence on him were genuine. That was enough.

As for what secrets they hid, he did not care.

So Bai Mo handed over the half-finished can of cola he had been drinking.

Fufu curiously leaned closer. It first cautiously sniffed it with its nose, then copied Bai Mo's movements, stretching out its two little forepaws and clumsily hugging the cold can with its soft pink paw pads. It brought the can to its mouth and tentatively licked it with its little tongue.

A sweet flavor laced with a strange, stimulating sensation—something it had never experienced before—exploded across its taste buds.

Its body suddenly stiffened, its golden fur seeming to stand on end for an instant, while its golden slit pupils widened into perfect circles.

The intense fizz rushed from its tongue straight into its nasal cavity, making it draw its neck back and sneeze softly and adorably.

"Fuchoo!"

It shook its little head, seemingly unaccustomed to that "tingly" sensation.

Yet the unique sweetness left it wanting more. After hesitating for a moment, it leaned forward again, this time opening its little mouth and taking a huge gulp.

This time, its reaction was even stronger.

Its whole body trembled under the impact of the carbonation, a string of incomprehensible "gurgle gurgle" sounds spilling from its throat before it even let out a loud burp.

"Fu... burp!"

After burping, it released the can with its paws and sat on the ground with a blank expression, seemingly savoring that peculiar taste.

A moment later, it extended its pink little tongue and carefully licked the cola stains from the corners of its mouth. Then it raised its head again, gazing at the can with sparkling, longing eyes as its tail wagged happily behind it.

Clearly, it had fallen in love with the taste.

Just as Bai Mo watched Fufu happily clutching the cola can and prepared to open another one for himself, the phone he had set aside suddenly gave a crisp notification chime.

He picked up his phone and lit the screen. A new message rested quietly in the notification bar.

The sender was signed as "Natsuki Minamiya."

Bai Mo blinked in confusion.

He was certain he had only exchanged contact information with Senior Qian Renxue. He had not added Teacher Nayue.

He opened his contacts, and sure enough, Natsuki Minamiya's profile picture had somehow automatically appeared at the very top of his friend list.

Was this a teacher's privilege? Adding students as friends directly through the system backend without their consent?

Bai Mo understood at once, and the corner of his mouth curled into an almost imperceptible smile. Sure enough, in any world, privileged classes were everywhere.

He opened the message, and its brief contents came into view:

"Get some proper rest today and familiarize yourself with the surroundings. I'll come find you tomorrow and take you to obtain your first Soul Ring."

Concise and to the point—just Natsuki Minamiya's usual style.

As Bai Mo looked at the message, a trace of warmth flowed through his heart. Though she appeared to be leaving him to fend for himself, she was very reliable when it came to action.

After thinking for a moment, his fingers rapidly tapped across the virtual keyboard as he sent a reply:

"Got it, Nayue-chan~"

To show how "well-behaved" he was, he deliberately added an adorable sticker of a little cat obediently nodding after the text.

The notification confirming the message had been sent had barely appeared when her reply immediately came back, almost the next second.

There was no text, only an animated sticker.

In it, a chibi gothic lolita lightly tapped a white little figure on the head with a lace folding fan.

Bai Mo could practically see Natsuki Minamiya's expressionless face through the screen, with the corner of her eye twitching slightly.

The brief exchange with Natsuki Minamiya had just ended, and before Bai Mo could process the convenience of this academy's "privileged class," the phone in his hand began frantically chiming with friend-request alerts, as though it had been struck by some chained curse.

He lowered his head and saw a series of familiar names quietly sitting in the request list.

Meng Hongchen, Ye Guyi, Nan Qiuqiu, and even those two seniors from the Advanced Division—Ling Luochan and Jing Ziyan.

Without hesitation, he approved their friend requests one by one.

Almost the instant he tapped accept, a series of messages arrived one after another, with constantly popping chat windows filling his phone screen.

Bai Mo first opened the message from the most active pink profile picture. It was from Nan Qiuqiu.

"Hey, hey, hey, Bai Mo, it's Nan Qiuqiu! Welcome officially to Sanctuary Academy. If anyone dares bully you at the academy from now on, just give them my name. [Proud hands-on-hips sticker]"

Next came Ye Guyi's message. Like her, it was full of righteous spirit.

"I'm Ye Guyi. Congratulations on joining Sanctuary Academy. If you encounter anything evil in the future, we can uphold justice together. [Cheering fist sticker]"

Ling Luochan's message was the briefest, perfectly matching her iceberg-like temperament.

"Congratulations."

Jing Ziyan's message, meanwhile, was filled with rationality.

"Hello, Junior Bai Mo. I'm Jing Ziyan. Welcome to Sanctuary Academy. If you have any questions about the academy, feel free to ask me anytime. [Adjusting-glasses sticker]"

Finally, there was Meng Hongchen's enthusiastic greeting.

"Little Brother Bai Mo~! It's me, Sister Meng! Did you get your enrollment procedures sorted out smoothly? That's great! We'll be schoolmates from now on. If there's anything you don't understand at the academy, come find me anytime. Your big sister has got you covered. [Kitten making a heart sticker]"

Looking at these messages, each different in style yet all full of goodwill, Bai Mo felt warmth flow through his heart. He opened his chat with Meng Hongchen, tapped his fingers over the screen, and asked the question on his mind.

"Sister Meng, how did you all know my phone number?"

Meng Hongchen's response came almost instantly.

"Oh, that? It's very simple. At our academy, the Tethys System is practically omnipotent. Once you officially enroll, all your basic information is entered into the system database. We just need to ask the Tethys System for 'the contact information of Bai Mo, a new student in the Elementary Division,' and it'll provide it directly. Since you're only an Elementary Division student right now, your information confidentiality level isn't high, so it's very convenient for academy members to look it up."

So that was how it was. Bai Mo understood. This Tethys System was practically more powerful and convenient than the household registration system and search engines from his previous life combined.