Lin Yuexin walked fast. Very fast. Not running. But definitely not walking like a normal, calm, mentally stable person.
"Yuexin—slow down!" Tang Meiling huffed behind her. "We already left him like three streets ago, he's not chasing you!"
"That's exactly what someone who would chase me would want me to think," Yuexin replied seriously, not slowing down.
Qin Ruo raised an eyebrow. "You think the guy who calmly offered to pay for your phone is secretly planning your downfall?"
Yuexin turned, walking backwards now.
"Yes."
"…Why?"
"Because he talks like we have unresolved emotional history."
Meiling burst out laughing. "You DO have unresolved emotional history—with your alarm clock!"
"That's different," Yuexin said. "My alarm clock has betrayed me multiple times."
Beside them, Zhao Wenxi walked quietly, her gaze thoughtful. "…He was strange," she said softly.
Yuexin pointed at her immediately. "SEE? Wenxi gets it." Wenxi nodded slightly. "Not dangerous… but not normal either." Qin Ruo crossed his arms. "He just sounded dramatic."
"He sounded like he knew me," Yuexin shot back.
"Maybe you do owe him money." Qin Ruo asked that already!"
Meiling leaned closer. "Okay but—putting all that aside—he was really handsome."
Yuexin paused. "…That's not the point."
"That is absolutely the point.
"Yuexin sighed dramatically. "Why does everyone ignore the suspicious part and focus on the face?"
They walked in silence for a moment.
"…Still," Yuexin muttered, glancing back once more, "something about him felt weird."
Then— Qin Ruo suddenly stopped.
"…Wait."
All three turned to him. "What?" Meiling asked. Qin Ruo's expression shifted. From lazy. To mildly horrified. "…The project."
Silence.
"…What project?" Yuexin asked slowly.
"The project," he repeated. "The one due tomorrow."
Another pause.
Then— "Oh." "Oh." "Oh."
Meiling grabbed her head. "ANOMALY-DETECTION SIMULATION—"
Qin Ruo:"It's just a basic anomaly-detection simulation," Qin Ruo said."First-year level."
"Then why does it feel like it's trying to destroy us?" Yuexin muttered.
All three slowly turned to Yuexin.
Yuexin blinked. "…Why are you looking at me?"
"Because YOU said—" Meiling pointed accusingly, "—'Let's relax today, we'll finish it later.'"
Yuexin raised a finger. "In my defense…" She paused. "…I have no defense."
Qin Ruo groaned. "We need to go to the net café after class." Wenxi nodded. "We'll need at least a few hours." Yuexin sighed. "Fine… but I just lost my phone, so if anything goes wrong, I'm blaming that cat." "…You're still on that?" Qin Ruo asked.
"That cat has responsibilities."
They continued walking, now slightly more rushed. After a few steps— Yuexin suddenly froze.
"…Wait."
The others stopped again. "What now?" Meiling asked. Yuexin slowly turned around. Eyes widening.
"…I didn't ask his name."
Silence.
Qin Ruo blinked. "Whose?" "That guy!" Yuexin said. "The phone criminal's owner!"
Meiling stared at her. "…You mean the suspicious man you just escaped from?"
"Yes."
"…You want to go back?" "…No."
"Then why does it matter?" Yuexin looked deeply troubled. "…He said he'd compensate me." Qin Ruo stared at her. "…So this is about money."
"This is about justice." "You switched from justice to 'reasonable person' in 0.2 seconds." "That's called adaptability."
Wenxi tilted her head slightly. "You didn't ask for contact information either."
Yuexin froze again. "…I didn't ask for his number." Another pause.
"…You lost a phone," Qin Ruo said slowly, "and also lost the person paying for it."
Yuexin clutched her chest. "…Great. This might actually be my villain origin story." Meiling laughed. "You're unbelievable." Yuexin sighed dramatically. "Why does life treat me like this? First the cat, then the man, now the money…"
Meiling stopped laughing for a second and said, "But why are you worried so much about you phone? Just tell your mother about it and she'll get you a new. And I'm pretty sure that you already have a copy of your data."
"The thing is a few days ago I got into a fight with my mother. She said that I can't survive in the outside world without her help. So I've decided that I will no longer ask my family for help and become an independent woman." Yuexin stated in a firm voice.
Wenxi sighed saying, "story of a sheltered kid."
"I'll earn my own money," Yuexin said. "I'll solve my own problems."
They finally reached the main road. The crowd grew thicker. Voices louder. Everything felt normal again.
The Xuanjing Academy of Arcane Science plaza was unusually crowded that morning. Students weren't just passing by—they were stopping. Watching. Murmuring. "Why is everyone gathered here?" Tang Meiling asked, trying to peek over someone's shoulder. "Big screen's on," Qin Ruo said, pointing ahead. "Must be something important." At the center of the plaza, a massive transparent projection screen shimmered into view—its edges barely visible, like glass made of light. Streams of data flickered briefly before stabilizing into a clear broadcast.
This wasn't unusual. In Xuanjing, technology had long blended with something… less explainable. Energy systems powered by refined Ling Shu (spirit cores), surveillance arrays that could detect fluctuations in unusual activity, and networks that operated far beyond normal coding logic.
The broadcast sharpened. "—recent developments within the Mingxuan network continue to draw attention, particularly with the emergence of one of its youngest leading figures…"
Yuexin wasn't paying much attention. Until— The screen shifted. And he appeared.
She froze. "…No way." "Who?" Meiling asked. Yuexin pointed.
"That's him." Qin Ruo squinted. "The… phone incident guy?" "The cat criminal's owner," Yuexin corrected.
"…Right."
On screen, the man stood composed, dressed in dark, refined clothing. Behind him, the backdrop displayed faint insignias—symbols that weren't entirely corporate, yet not fully traditional either. A strange blend. Just like everything else in this world.
"Mingxuan's influence has expanded across multiple sectors," the announcer continued, "from security enforcement to anomaly regulation…"
"Anomaly regulation?" Meiling repeated. Wenxi's gaze sharpened slightly. "That refers to irregular phenomena… things that don't follow standard laws."
Yuexin blinked. "…You mean like glitches?" "…Something like that," Wenxi said.
On screen, the man finally spoke. His voice was calm. Measured. Every word precise.
"Unstable variables cannot be ignored," he said. "Whether they originate from technological error… or something beyond it—" "They must be identified, understood… and contained."
The plaza fell quieter.
"Control is not about restriction," he continued, his tone even, "It is about preventing collapse." "A system without balance… will eventually destroy itself."
Yuexin stared. "…Why does he sound like he's talking about the world ending?" Qin Ruo shrugged. "Maybe he's dramatic." "…He sounded like that earlier too," Yuexin muttered.
On screen, the man's gaze shifted slightly. Just for a second. Yuexin stiffened. "…Nope," she said quickly, looking away. "Still creepy."
Meiling nudged her. "You're scared." "I am not scared." "You ran away." "I did not."
The broadcast continued, shifting to data visuals—maps, signals, and strange fluctuating lines that didn't quite make sense.
"Let's go. We still have class—and apparently, a project we're about to fail." "HEY—"
They walked off, their voices blending back into the noise of the campus. Behind them, the screen dimmed. But for a brief moment— One frame lingered. The man's image.
Still. Unmoving. Watching.