According to Fang Ke’ai, the boy she had a secret crush on was currently staying in the infirmary because of an injured leg. He was a quiet, uncommunicative guy, and Fang Ke’ai had tried many times to muster up the courage to talk to him, but always fell short.
“Maybe… he doesn’t even know who I am,” Fang Ke’ai muttered dejectedly, her head hanging low.
Xia Miao encouraged her warmly:
“With how cute you look and how sweet your personality is, how could he possibly not remember you?”
Fang Ke’ai’s face flushed slightly.
“Then what do you think I should do right now?”
“Make him chase you, of course!”
Fang Ke’ai blinked in surprise.
“How could he possibly chase me?”
“Don’t worry, leave it to me!” Xia Miao patted her chest confidently, a gleam of supposed wisdom shining in her eyes.
After school, Xia Miao didn’t rush back to her dorm. Instead, she sat in the now-empty classroom and furiously scribbled away, drafting a comprehensive romance master plan for Fang Ke’ai.
Her phone kept buzzing incessantly, but she couldn’t be bothered to spare it even a glance. She didn’t notice that the tree outside was swaying wildly, shedding a cascade of rustling leaves filled entirely with the boy’s bitter grievance.
“Alright! Just follow this step-by-step, and there’s no way it’ll fail!”
Fang Ke’ai stared down at the dating strategy guide Xia Miao had written out:
Fang Ke’ai looked troubled.
“But I’ve barely spoken two words to him. I have no idea what his hobbies are.”
“No problem, leave it to me!”
Finding a sense of playful joy in playing matchmaker, Xia Miao took on the task and trotted over to the entrance of the infirmary. Sneaking up behind the door, she peeked her head out, carefully observing the boy lying on the hospital bed inside.
The boy on the bed had an ordinary appearance, with his left arm in a cast, propped up against the headboard as he scrolled through his phone.
So, that was the guy Fang Ke’ai liked?
She muttered under her breath:
“Mediocre at best.”
Suddenly, another head popped out right beside Xia Miao’s, echoing her words:
“Mediocre at best.”
Startled, Xia Miao looked up to find a familiar figure. She quickly yanked him aside, crouching down behind the wall.
“Why are you here?”
Lu Yan mumbled grumpily:
“Just passing by.”
His clean voice was heavy with deep-seated grievance. Sulking, he felt too embarrassed to admit that he was upset because she hadn’t replied to his messages for ages.
Stealing another covert glance at the girl’s face, he awkwardly stammered:
“School’s already over. Let’s go grab dinner together.”
Xia Miao shook her head.
“No can do, I still have to help someone out with something.”
Lu Yan asked:
“What kind of favor?”
Xia Miao explained:
“I need to find out everything about the guy inside—what his hobbies and interests are.”
If she had to dig up all that information herself, who knew what hour of the night it would be!
Lu Yan’s eyes rolled as an idea sparked.
“I’m pretty familiar with that guy. I’ll go ask for you.”
Xia Miao’s eyes lit up.
“That’s fantastic!”
“I’ll go in alone, so don’t follow me inside,” Lu Yan added. “If he sees an unfamiliar person staring, he might get nervous and clam up, which would ruin everything.”
Thinking that his reasoning made sense, Xia Miao nodded.
“Alright, I’ll wait for you right here.”
Letting out a reliable-sounding grunt, Lu Yan shoved both hands into his pockets and walked into the infirmary, pulling the door shut behind him.
The boy recovering from his broken arm was named Ding Renlu. He had been injured during the “game” the previous night, though he had managed to salvage his life against the odds.
Shortly before, he had accepted a friend request from someone named Lin Gaoshan, whose appearance made him look far older than his years.
[Ding Renlu, the fact that we’ve managed to survive this many games proves we both have some grit, doesn’t it? If we team up, we’ll definitely have a much better shot at staying alive.]
In Red Moon Academy, lone wolves generally didn’t survive for long. Teaming up with others was practically the only way to significantly increase one’s survival odds.
Tempted, Ding Renlu typed out a reply:
[Judging by what you’re saying, you’ve got a good plan?]
Lin Gaoshan replied promptly:
[Have you heard of Xia Miao?]
Ding Renlu:
[That really pretty girl?]
Lin Gaoshan:
[That’s the one. I’ve got insider info that someone among this batch of players possesses a special ability, and I suspect that person is Xia Miao. You must have heard whispers about it by now—Xia Miao actually faced a murder ghost head-on and survived! That’s something completely unheard of before!]
Ding Renlu’s heart skipped a beat.
[What are you trying to do?]
[Coordinate with me, and we can squeeze the secret right out of Xia Miao together.]
This so-called “squeezing out” was nothing more than a crude, brutal kidnapping.
Ding Renlu still harbored some hesitation.
[Why should I trust you?]
Lin Gaoshan sent over an image.
[I’m with SU, you know.]
The photo he sent was a picture of an employee ID badge featuring a sunflower pattern emblem.
SU—short for Sunflower Company—was a twenty-first-century business titan, particularly renowned for leading the entire world in biotechnology engineering. Rumor had it that Red Moon Academy, shrouded perpetually in thick fog, was actually one of SU’s former sites.
Since Lin Gaoshan claimed Xia Miao possessed some sort of special ability, and Lin Gaoshan himself hailed from this famous tech corporation, Ding Renlu involuntarily found himself placing quite a bit of trust in his words.
He replied:
[Fine, I’ll cooperate with you.]
Just as Ding Renlu hit send on that message, he suddenly heard the sound of the door closing. Looking up, he let out a piercing shriek.
Outside the door, Xia Miao had squatted in waiting for a short while. Before long, the infirmary door swung open, and the boy walked out with his signature arrogant swagger.
She hurried over to him.
“Well? Did you get all the details?”
Lu Yan said offhandedly,
“Of course. That guy and I are great friends; we just had a friendly little chat, and he was super cooperative.”
Pulling out a slip of paper, he handed it over.
“Look, all his information is written right here.”
Ten minutes later, that very same slip of paper landed in Fang Ke’ai’s hands.
[Has a history of three past relationships. Prefers men; does not like women.]
Upon reading just that single sentence, Fang Ke’ai’s face froze in utter shock. Then, clutching the slip of paper tightly, she let out a tearful sniffle.
“So… so he likes guys!”
Xia Miao rushed to comfort her.
“This isn’t your fault at all! There are so many guys in the world, and you’re so amazing—you’ll definitely find someone even better!”
“But… but…” Letting out a loud wail, Fang Ke’ai buried her face in Xia Miao’s embrace, completely heartbroken. “Is it too late for me to go get a sex change?”
“Now, now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves!”
With a loud sob, Fang Ke’ai finally broke down completely and burst into tears.