That night, aside from the gloomy atmosphere in the dormitory, there was another place that was far from harmonious.

Director Luo was practically spitting into the phone. “I already used the maximum dose!”

“The effect is still that weak?”

“I don’t know either! He acted like nothing happened!”

The voice on the other end said coldly, “I’ve told you many times—your heart needs to be ruthless. You’ve failed twice already. What kind of work ethic is that?”

Luo Shi gritted his teeth. “I didn’t expect the guy to be this hard to kill.”

The voice replied, “Maybe it’s time to try a different approach.”

Luo Shi hesitated. “But getting him involved will make things messy.”

“That’s your problem. I only care about results.”

Luo Shi muttered, “What if he doesn’t even know about that incident? Then all this effort would’ve been for nothing...”

A cold laugh came from the other side of the line.

Luo Shi cursed under his breath. “I’ll think of another way. Damn it, the real problem is First Squad has Fu Zhi watching over things. I can’t reach in. Otherwise, I would’ve just let him meet Ruan Zhi directly.”

After hanging up, Luo Shi’s face turned grim. So what if it’s the First Squad? It’s not like he hasn’t used others to do his dirty work before.

He glanced at his phone and made another call. “Are you still working at the company?”

—

The “bait” in the signal jammer had almost completely faded, but Fu Zhi, with his sharp instincts, still picked up on the anomaly. Otherwise, even if they found the device, they wouldn’t have connected it to today’s pollutant. They would’ve just chalked it up to bad luck again.

But by now, it was already a bit too late to chase down whoever planted it.

Ruan Xing had a full class schedule in the morning. In the afternoon, he grabbed lunch at the cafeteria and met with many people at the Quarantine Center. He mentally combed through everything and still didn’t spot any suspicious figures.

What puzzled him more was why someone would go to such lengths to kill him.

Before crossing over, Ruan Xing had led a simple life, and after arriving in this world, he hadn’t made any enemies. If he had offended anyone, it might’ve been those involved in the United Middle School incident.

But that was their own fault. It had nothing to do with him.

So who could it be?

Fu Zhi lifted his eyelids and said, “Switch with Qiao Zhi. You’ll be following me in class for the next few days.”

Ruan Xing was about to say that wasn’t necessary—the words were already on the tip of his tongue—but changed his mind after thinking it through.

Having a bodyguard like this… why say no?

He hopped lightly down from the bed, reached out, and plucked the black metal chip from Fu Zhi’s hand. His fingertips brushed against Fu Zhi’s finger, not noticing the almost imperceptible tremble that passed through him.

Ruan Xing flashed a smile. “Thanks!”

The young man wore silky pajamas, soft and glossy, accentuating his fair skin. He stood facing Fu Zhi under the warm orange glow of the lamp. The soft glow outlined his features, filling even his pupils with warmth.

It was rare to see him smile so genuinely.

Fu Zhi was extremely grateful for the warm-colored lighting that hid the heat rising to his face.

For some reason, the image of Ruan Xing sleeping peacefully in his arms that morning flashed through his mind again.

He seemed momentarily lost in thought. Ruan Xing leaned back slightly with hands on his hips, giving the man a skeptical look: [What’s with this guy? Spacing out all of a sudden?]

Fu Gui snorted with a laugh: [Ah, the joys of adulthood… You’re still too young to understand, kid.]

Ruan Xing scoffed. [Me? I’m a few hundred years old. What haven’t I seen?]

Fu Gui shook his head: “You still don’t understand it.”

—

The next day, Qian Hua learned that his assistant teacher had been changed. He patted Ruan Xing’s shoulder. “It’s for the best. I’m getting old anyway. Fu Zhi’s better suited for the role.”

Qian Hua had always had a thing about his age.

Only Qiao Zhi looked resentful. “What, trading friends for love now? What kind of deal did you two make behind my back? Weren’t you about to throw hands a few days ago?”

Ruan Xing didn’t bother explaining. He just waved him off. “Stick with Teacher Qian and do a good job.”

With Fu Gui on his shoulder, he leisurely headed off to report to Fu Zhi’s office.

Fu Zhi only taught the graduating class, unlike Qian Hua, who had scattered classes. The school knew how to make full use of its top talents, so while they had him, they packed the schedule tight so students could learn as much as possible.

As Ruan Xing pushed the door open, he saw a graceful figure.

A woman he didn’t know was leaning over to talk to Fu Zhi. She wore oversized sunglasses that hid half her face, revealing only a delicate, pointed chin. She was dressed in a rose-red spaghetti strap dress and was leaning so close she was almost touching him.

He couldn’t even see her face clearly, yet for some reason, he couldn’t look away. Everything else blurred into the background except for that striking splash of color in his vision.

Ruan Xing froze with his hand on the door handle.

“Hey, stop working for once and look at me! Don’t you think I’m prettier than your computer?” the woman giggled.

They seemed way too familiar to be just regular friends.

Fu Gui spat, “Bah! Scumbag!”

As if he’d heard, Fu Zhi turned his head. “Come in.”

The woman glanced at Ruan Xing, displeased. “Why are you letting him in? I’m not comfortable talking with him here. Can’t he wait?”

Ruan Xing acted like he didn’t hear a thing and plopped down in a nearby chair.

Facing him, Fu Zhi said, “Just wait a bit. I’ll wrap this up quickly.”

Ruan Xing nodded and glanced at the woman. For some reason, she seemed familiar.

Fu Gui perched on his shoulder, tilting his head. Then, a shocked: [Holy crap—Su Su! It’s actually Su Su!]

Ruan Xing suddenly remembered that Pei Ye’s favorite TV actress was called Su Su. Gorgeous. Pei Ye once described her as “a rainbow in a dark world.”

But why was she here? Was the specialized school really that easy to walk into? Did Pei Ye even know Su Su and Fu Zhi were acquainted?

“You should go to the school infirmary and get some meds,” Fu Zhi said directly to Su Su. “I reminded you last time to get a check-up…”

The woman immediately cut him off: “I know, I’m taking medicine, but it doesn’t work that fast.”

Fu Zhi nodded and didn’t continue on that topic. “Sorry, I still have work to handle here. Could I ask you to leave for now?”

The woman, wearing sunglasses, bit her lip as she looked at Fu Zhi’s businesslike demeanor. “Got it!”

She picked up her red handbag and walked away in high heels, the sound of her steps clicking on the floor.

As she passed by Ruan Xing, aside from the pleasant fragrance of her perfume, there was also a faint, almost imperceptible, strange smell. Slightly metallic and almost rotten.

Ruan Xing watched the woman’s figure disappear from sight and quietly sat down in a chair without saying a word.

Fu Zhi asked again, “You’ve finished the handover with Qiao Zhi?”

Ruan Xing finally came back to his senses. “Yeah, all done.”

Fu Zhi nodded.

Ruan Xing thought he would be assigned work, but unexpectedly, Fu Zhi took the initiative to explain: “I saved her a few years ago, but she has a special constitution. Her pollution levels have never gone down. Sometimes, she comes to ask me questions.”

Ruan Xing blinked. “Oh.”

Why is he explaining this to me?

Fu Zhi asked, “Don’t you have anything to ask?”

Ruan Xing tilted his head. “Nope.”

The man seemed unsure how to respond and stayed silent for a while.

“From what happened yesterday, it’s clear the people behind this don’t dare act inside the school—but don’t let your guard down. Since they missed their chance, they might try again. We’ll stick together for now.”

Ruan Xing nodded. It matched his own thoughts.

“Well then, I guess I don’t need you to accompany me to the restroom, right?”

"...No need." Fu Zhi finally squeezed out.

The classes Fu Zhi taught were mostly senior-year students, with schedules packed with up to ten periods a day. Ruan Xing had to help teach these students alongside him.

They had lessons during the day, and at night, they had to prep materials and lesson plans for the next day. It was exhausting.

But precisely because they were almost inseparable, the people targeting them didn’t find an opportunity to act. For a while, Ruan Xing was able to attend classes without incident.

That afternoon, they had a combined class with Qiao Zhi’s group.

In his usual lazy fashion, Qian Hua claimed he was too old and couldn’t handle the heat, so he stayed downstairs in the shade while Qiao Zhi led the class alone, muttering curses the whole time.

At midday, the summer heat was scorching. During a break, Ruan Xing couldn’t take it anymore and dashed to the convenience store to buy ice cream.

Nothing beats a cold and sweet treat to combat the summer heat, and Qiao Zhi also asked him to bring some back.

There were no shops inside the school, but just across the street was a convenience store. It wasn’t school-run but reportedly had connections with school leadership. Since most customers were students, the goods were cheap and tasty, so they were very popular.

“Welcome!” A cheerful voice greeted him. The store clerk was a sunny young guy with a bright name badge on his chest, full of professional energy.

It was noon, so business was slow. The clerk was the only one on duty.

Ruan Xing asked, “Where’s the ice cream?”

The clerk pointed inside.

Ruan Xing glanced around. The shelves here were densely packed. There were sections for daily essentials, snacks, and hot food. It was well-organized and pretty sizable.

The freezer was located in the back behind the snack area.

In the heat of summer, shouldn’t the ice cream be displayed prominently for better sales? Why hide it way in the back, as if they didn’t want anyone to find it?

Ruan Xing walked past the shelves. They looked quite empty, as if the products had sold out and hadn’t been restocked yet. Hard to believe this store was popular—was it just the clerk’s sunny smile keeping it afloat?

He opened the freezer, and a gust of cold air drifted out. Inside was a white rack holding just a few types of ice cream. At the bottom were several black plastic bags, likely extra stock.

Most of the visible products were rock-hard popsicles with high water content, but he preferred creamy, rich ice cream.

Qiao Zhi also requested ice cream. Fu Zhi didn’t care either way. Ruan Xing leaned in and started rummaging through the freezer. The cold air swirled, obscuring his view of the bottom.

Fugui chimed in, “I want ice cream too. No popsicles, thanks.”

After searching, he only found one.

With no other choice, Ruan Xing grabbed a plastic bag and started filling it. He couldn’t just buy for himself—he had to share with the students, too.

He nearly emptied out the freezer.

Being that close to the freezer cooled his body down significantly. He counted the bars—still one short.

He bent down to open a black plastic bag, hoping to find more stock.

The bag was loosely tied. With a slight tug, something metallic fell out.

Not ice cream?

Ruan Xing picked it up. It was a yellow metal tag with a pin on the back. He wiped it clean and saw the words: Qi Yanyan.

His hand froze. That store clerk outside… seemed to have the same name.

Due to the disturbance, the black plastic bag came completely undone. A green-and-white striped short-sleeved shirt spilled out, covering the freezer’s bottom.

It was the same uniform the clerk outside was wearing—except this one had dark red splatters, like dried blood.

Beneath the shirt, a black spherical object the size of a watermelon came into view, causing Ruan Xing’s expression to change.

“Customer, haven’t picked your ice cream yet?”

Ruan Xing looked up. In the reflection of the drink cooler’s glass, he saw the smiling face of the store clerk watching him.

But the smile was a little stiff.

Next to the plastic bag was a human head that looked identical to the clerk's. It was covered in frost and lay at the bottom of the freezer with its eyes closed.