The music teacher wore a floral dress and had her hair tied in a low ponytail. She was adjusting the sound equipment in the multimedia classroom before music class.
Her eyes lit up the moment Ye Chu pushed the door open. She took two steps forward and clasped his hand. "You're here, my kindred spirit."
Ye Chu: "..." He gave a couple of awkward laughs and pulled his hand out of hers. "Hello, ma'am."
"Hello, hello." The music teacher nodded repeatedly and pulled Ye Chu over to the seat closest to the lectern. "Come, my kindred spirit. Sit here..."
Ye Chu: "..." Can I say I'm not particularly fond of this guardian position?
"Ma'am, can I sit in the back?" He tried to head toward the back as he spoke, but the music teacher grabbed him. "Just sit here, my kindred spirit!"
That was the scene Pei Yanchuan walked in on: Ye Chu and the music teacher were tugging back and forth over something.
Could he, Pei Yanchuan, stand by and watch Ye Chu get pushed around?
He could not.
Pei Yanchuan raised his arm and nearly brought his blade down again, but Su Fengzi stopped him just in time. "Good lord, Pei Xiaohu." Su Fengzi rubbed his shoulder, which hurt from the tug. "Take a look at the situation before you start swinging."
He pointed his chin toward Ye Chu. "Look at your dear Ye Chu. Does he look like he's being bullied?"
Only then did Pei Yanchuan calm down. He couldn't help it; he'd slaughtered a few too many people today and gotten carried away. He looked toward Ye Chu. Ye Chu was indeed tugging back and forth with the music teacher, but his expression looked a little... embarrassed?
Pei Yanchuan stepped forward and slung an arm around Ye Chu's shoulders. "Ye Chu!" Then he greeted the music teacher. "Hello, ma'am."
The music teacher glanced at him. "Oh, hello, Classmate Dad."
Pei Yanchuan gave her a well-behaved smile. "Ma'am, could I sit with this upperclassman?" As he spoke, he tried to steer Ye Chu toward the seats in the back with his arm around his shoulders, only for the music teacher to stride over and block them again.
She pointed to the seat on the other side of the lectern. "That's all right. You two can sit together up here too."
Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan: "..."
And so the school's top two students were forced to take their positions as the left and right guardians.
With her kindred spirit safely in front of her, the music teacher's mood visibly soared. She immediately opened the multimedia system and searched Baidu for "Free Flying."
Pei Yanchuan's eyes lit up at the search bar on the screen. He turned to Ye Chu. "Ye Chu, the music teacher... likes this sort of thing?"
Ye Chu nodded, only to see Pei Yanchuan's eyes brighten even further. He heard him murmur, "She's got taste."
Ye Chu: "..." So why does a high schooler like you love these square-dancing hits so much?
Seeing that most of the students had arrived, the music teacher couldn't even be bothered to take attendance. She eagerly hit play, and loud, spirited music poured from the speakers.
"Yo yo, come on, baby, go."
"Yo yo."
Ye Chu caught a glimpse of the figure beside him out of the corner of his eye. Pei Yanchuan was already getting into it, tapping out the rhythm with his fingers, swaying from side to side, and singing along.
"This, this feeling is like..."
"Fragrance all along the way, and gentle rippling waves; my thoughts turn to all those rights and wrongs, causes and consequences..."
He wasn't singing loudly, but he sat very close to the music teacher. Soon, Ye Chu saw her eyes light up as she looked at Pei Yanchuan, just as they had when she'd first seen him.
Sure enough, the music teacher stepped down from the lectern and excitedly grabbed Pei Yanchuan's shoulders. "Classmate Dad, do you love this song too?"
Pei Yanchuan froze for a moment. He hadn't expected the teacher to touch his shoulders. He'd nearly raised his hand to punch her on reflex, but fortunately, he'd restrained himself.
Pei Yanchuan nodded. "Yeah. This song was my introduction to rap..."
The moment he nodded, the music teacher clasped his hand and delivered that familiar line: "My kindred spirit~"
Pei Yanchuan stood up, looking rather bewildered. He glanced at Ye Chu behind the music teacher and raised an eyebrow, asking what was going on.
Ye Chu shrugged, indicating that it was exactly what it looked like.
And so the music teacher made Pei Yanchuan sing "Free Flying" with her for the entire class.
"Who's singing~"
"For you..."
"Warming the loneliness~"
"Ah-ha..."
By the time class was nearly over, Pei Yanchuan could barely sing anymore. The music teacher was still brimming with enthusiasm, singing her heart out.
After class, Pei Yanchuan slumped over his desk and guzzled water. "Good lord." He coughed. "My throat's practically smoking from all that singing. Seriously, why does she love this song so much?"
Ye Chu sat beside him. "Hmm... I think she probably likes all those square-dancing hits."
While the two talked, Su Fengzi and the other two came over, forming a group of five.
"All right, let's exchange clues. We'll go first." Ye Chu's expression grew more serious. "First, surviving thirty days isn't how we clear this game. Around the thirty-day mark, the normal people here will be assimilated. We need to find a solution before that happens."
"Second, there are crucial clues in the Laboratory Building, and the boss is there too. According to some information of uncertain reliability, that monster is covered in yellow eyeballs..."
At that, Su Fengzi's expression instantly changed. He braced himself against the desk and nearly retched.
Seeing the others' confusion, Pei Yanchuan explained, "Brother Fengzi used his prophetic ability last night and saw what the monster looked like. Judging by his reaction, it's the kind of monster that sends your sanity plummeting."
Su Fengzi took a sip of water, and his expression returned to normal. "Trust me. That thing is seriously ugly."
Pei Yanchuan continued, "We suspect the monster is using the rules to harvest followers."
"Followers?" Lu Rui repeated softly.
"Yes, followers," Pei Yanchuan continued. "The students being assimilated probably means they've already become its followers. Oh, right, there's something else..."
"What?"
Pei Yanchuan's expression grew even graver, his brows knitting together. "The side effects of the Seer ability have shown themselves. When Brother Fengzi used his ability last night, the boss noticed him, and he suffered a backlash."
Everyone's expression changed at that, and they looked at Su Fengzi with concern.
The focus of everyone's attention waved a casual hand, looking utterly unconcerned. "Ah, it's fine. Just a little injury."
Pei Yanchuan: ... That's not how you were acting last night.
But he knew Su Fengzi didn't want the others to worry, so he didn't expose him.
"Then we can't use that ability recklessly anymore." Ye Chu pressed his lips together, then looked up at the clock above the blackboard. The next class was about to start. "Let's leave it here for today. We have to go to the Laboratory Building, and we need to make the most of Sunday's exam too. We need to leave ourselves a fallback."
At the mention of the exam, Su Fengzi immediately looked as though death would be preferable. "Can we clear this before Sunday? I really don't want to take that exam!!"
Ye Chu's lips curved into a smile. "We'll try."
Before you continue