A dance studio. Reserved just for her.
“…Is that so. I see.”
Zhou Meng put down the pancake in her hand and wore a serious expression: “Perfect timing—I also have a dream, which is to be kidnapped by a super rich handsome mafia guy, forced not to work…”
“…What exactly did you understand?!”
Zhou Meng said regretfully: “So it’s not that you want to keep me?”
“It’s just an invitation to dance, dance!!” Meike stomped her foot: “Don’t think of it as something weird, you idiot!!”
“That’s because Meike’s invitation is too suspicious.” Zhou Meng smiled slightly: “Would anyone invite a dangerous stranger to their own home?”
“Huh?” Meike looked her over without understanding, her gaze lingering on the pancake in Zhou Meng’s hand that had three eggs and two strips of bacon, and the corners of her lips curled up: “Where’s the danger, hmph.”
Zhou Meng went “hmm” and took a bite of the pancake.
That’s not necessarily true.
On the surface, she looked like an ordinary high school girl, but in reality, she was a cleaner for Eden Group…
Well-versed in how to destroy human DNA, and how to clean up her own traces.
From an ordinary person’s perspective, Zhou Meng thought she might be a somewhat dangerous person too.
Even so… in her daily life, she was still an ordinary person.
Very harmless.
Zhou Meng reached into her pocket, her fingers lightly brushing against the sealed bag containing black ash.
Her dark eyes curved slightly, and she said gently to Meike:
“So why are you inviting me?”
A conflicted expression appeared on Meike’s face.
“…Um, well…” She hesitated for a moment, glanced at the time, and steeled herself: “Because there’s not much time, I’ll just say it straight—for the national championship registration, I want you to use my family’s club’s spot. Of, of course, this year’s training camp and lessons can all be free!”
Huh.
Zhou Meng blinked slowly.
Meike’s mother was a very famous dancer, and her family’s club was also very well-known, so the training camp naturally wasn’t cheap…
So, this is…
Zhou Meng said tactfully: “A scam?”
“It’s not!!”
Meike’s face flushed red.
She wanted to say something more, hesitated again, but still shoved a business card into Zhou Meng’s hand:
“Anyway, that’s how it is. The training camp starts this Friday, so you have to come.” Meike said quickly, then ran backwards toward the station: “Call me! I’ll come pick you up!”
…She was gone.
Zhou Meng watched her figure disappear around the corner, then looked down at the card in her palm.
【Bao Qiuyue Dance Studio】.
How strange.
In all the previous 8 cycles, nothing like this had ever happened.
In the past, she had been a nobody among the Latin dancers—she could get second place, but she had no presence, no popularity, and rarely did other dancers take the initiative to pay attention to her like this.
Meike’s attitude had changed a lot…
It became like this after she saw her dancing wildly in the middle of the night.
“Could it be that I have inspiration at night…?”
Zhou Meng muttered to herself, put the card in her pocket, crossed the road, and slowly approached the tall young man.
“What are you thinking about?”
Sun Zhen hunched his back, minimizing the height difference as much as possible so he could meet Zhou Meng’s gaze: “You look like you’re thinking about something… Did that girl just now cause you any trouble?”
His face leaned in, as if about to whisper, with a friendly curve at the corner of his mouth, but his gaze silently flicked toward where Meike had been, as if considering whether to do something.
If she said “yes,” would he go help her “resolve the problem”?
Cat, dangerous.
Sun Zhen was a member of the Action Team.
From Zhou Meng’s perspective, he should be a codename member… Although he looked harmless on the surface, like a strangely friendly and cheerful handsome guy, that was definitely not the case.
“No.”
Zhou Meng shook her head and handed the other pancake she was holding to the cat: “For you.”
“Huh?”
A hint of a smile spread across Sun Zhen’s face: “There’s one for me too?”
“Yeah. I bought it specifically to treat you.”
She yawned slowly again, drowsily getting into the car.
“You’re so listless, still going to school?” Sun Zhen got in from the other side and handed her the warm soy milk: “How about I help you ask for leave?”
“You?” Zhou Meng held the soy milk, looking at him curiously: “How would you do that?”
The black-haired young man sat in the driver’s seat, slightly turning his face closer, his light tone and soft features giving a sweet impression: “I could pass as your older brother, you know? Name… hmm, how about Zhou Zhen?”
He curved his pitch-black eyes, and his sweet smile was somewhat dizzying.
Zhou Meng took a sip of the soy milk.
Sweet.
“It feels so embarrassing…” she finally said.
“Huh? You’re so cold.”
Sun Zhen wore a sulky expression, the strands of hair on top of his head seeming to droop.
“Is it because of today’s hairstyle? Or the outfit? What is it that you find unsatisfactory?”
Zhou Meng instinctively took a second look at his hairstyle and attire.
His black hair was parted in a clean three-seven style, freshly styled. A long trench coat paired with light gray trousers and a shirt… it all looked good. Not only that, he’d even accessorized with a silver necklace.
…So the cat had actually gone out of his way to dress up while she was in the dance studio.
“It’s not that kind of problem,” Zhou Meng said.
Saying he wanted to change his name to “Zhou Zhen”… doesn’t he feel embarrassed?
Her handsome coworker wanted to pretend to be her older brother? That was too weird.
As if he could read her thoughts, Sun Zhen leaned in with a smile, his eyes sparkling with amusement:
“Oh… are you feeling shy?”
Zhou Meng: “I’ll splash soy milk in your face.”
“Hm?”
Sun Zhen actually paused to think about it, keeping the smile at the corner of his lips while a fresh glint slowly crept into his eyes: “That’s fine? You want to?”
“?” Zhou Meng said cautiously, “Do you have some kind of special fetish?”
“No, not at all. But I think I’d let you do it, Zhou Meng.” Sun Zhen tilted his head. “It seems I wouldn’t get angry at all… How strange.”
As he said this, his round black eyes fixed on Zhou Meng. That harmless face of his was radiating a kind of allure.
Zhou Meng looked at him for a moment, then reached out with the hand that wasn’t holding the soy milk.
Sun Zhen didn’t move, though his dark lashes trembled slightly as he let her fingers gently touch his cheek and give it a pinch.
He held his breath.
“Mhm…”
Zhou Meng withdrew her hand and said nonchalantly, “Maybe it’s because you’re an M?”
“…”
Sun Zhen said nothing, smiling softly as he sat back and gripped the steering wheel with one hand.
The car started, driving smoothly along.
Zhou Meng finished her soy milk and soon felt drowsy, her mind growing hazy.
Just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard Sun Zhen beside her mutter, almost to himself, out of nowhere:
“So you like M’s, huh.”
Zhou Meng: “…”
“I don’t.”
“You do.”
“I don’t.”
“You do.”
“I don’t.”
…
The bickering continued until she arrived at school.
A mistake… I was hoping to get a little sleep in the car…
Zhou Meng stepped out of the car with a pallid face, blending into the crowd of youthful, energetic students. Her sunken cheeks made her look like she hadn’t slept in three days.
“Xiao Meng, you… whoa.”
Her deskmate’s eyes went wide, and she whispered, “Did you stay up studying last night?”
“…Lili seems to have a bit of a misunderstanding about my diligence.”
She sighed:
“Do I look like the type who works hard?”
Her deskmate shook her head, then quietly gestured with her gel pen toward the back.
Zhou Meng turned her head slightly to look behind her. The brown-haired boy was already seated in his spot.
But unlike his usual quiet reading posture, Le Zhile was propping his cheek on one hand with his eyes closed, breathing softly and rhythmically. His fair, elegant sleeping face caught the morning light, though faint dark circles under his eyes hinted at a lack of sleep.
Zhou Meng: “He’s asleep.”
Her deskmate wore a grave expression: “The teacher saw him earlier and said he probably stayed up late reading last night, so we shouldn’t disturb his sleep…”
Zhou Meng: “…I see.”
Lili and the teacher had been fooled!
Though the protagonist Le Zhile was a perfect honor student in speech and manner, he was hardly a well-behaved one.
He’d been out being a Phantom Thief, hadn’t he?
After all, he had to pretend to be a normal student during the day, leaving only the night for his activities—that was what they called a “visitor of the dark”… Being a manga protagonist really wasn’t easy.
Zhou Meng cooperatively softened her movements, setting her bag down on the desk. Just as she was about to pull out her chair, Le Zhile’s lashes fluttered, and he opened his eyes, looking at her with a hint of confusion.
Perhaps because he hadn’t fully woken up, the brown-haired boy’s pupils still held a moist, hazy sheen. It took him two seconds to register who she was.
His voice was a little hoarse: “Zhou Meng?”
Zhou Meng nodded politely. “Sorry, did I wake you?”
Her tone was sincere, but with her weakened complexion and dark circles from a night of exhausting activity, the words didn’t carry much conviction…
Le Zhile’s gaze followed her, and he let out a casual “Hm?”
“You look like you need rest more than I do. Trouble sleeping at night?”
Night…
The smell of burning seemed to envelop her again.
Black ash drifting through the air. The traces she’d cleaned from her hands—she didn’t know if any human remains were left behind.
Zhou Meng’s eyelids and cheeks began to burn again.
She couldn’t let anyone know what she was doing now.
Though she wanted to brush it off… she remembered that in Le Zhile’s character profile, his Conceptualization Power was 8 out of a maximum of 10.
In Heigu’s manga, anyone with a Conceptualization Power of 7 or above was not to be underestimated.
Even Mikhail only had a Conceptualization Power of exactly 9.
In other words, this person had formidable logical reasoning skills and a sharp mind.
If she told an easy lie, he’d see right through it for sure.
How should she put it?
The two of them, both sporting dark circles under their eyes, exchanged a glance. Zhou Meng pulled out a chair and casually brushed the ziplock bag in her pocket. “Work was a bit busy yesterday, so I went in to help.”
“Does the pay suit you?”
“?” Zhou Meng wondered if she’d heard wrong. She looked at Le Zhile again. The brown-haired boy’s expression was natural, waiting for her answer.
Le Zhile was concerned about her financial situation?
Zhou Meng: “It should be fine… The boss gives bonuses.”
“Mm, that’s good then.”
Le Zhile curved his lips upward:
“I always feel like Zhou Meng is very earnest. She deserves to be treated well.”
…Huh. Huh.
Hard as it was to believe, this was just who the protagonist was.
He was a genuine person—one who could truly be called good.
Not the type to meddle in others’ affairs, but if someone came to him for help, Le Zhile wouldn’t sit by and do nothing.
Le Zhile, who would reach a charm rating of 9 in the later chapters of the manga… If this guy ever became a villain, he might turn into some terrifying cult leader…
Zhou Meng weighed her response: “It’s just simple work. Nothing impressive.”
The unremarkable black-haired female classmate in the protagonist’s class, working as an ordinary cleaner in a fringe department of Eden Group…
After cleaning up the blood-soaked scene, exhausted from overtime, she’d dance wildly in the studio late at night.
Zhou Meng’s lashes lowered.
Perhaps because she hadn’t rested well, her body was weary, yet her mind was still buzzing with excitement, thoughts leaping quickly.
She was distracted for two seconds, a faint glimmer passing through her obsidian-like eyes.
Le Zhile didn’t seem suspicious.
“You’re very careful with your words.”
His gaze was calm, those golden-amber eyes looking at her with a faint trace of contemplation.
“Did I make you nervous?” Le Zhile asked softly.
His speech and choice of words were gentle, yet they made one’s heart pound involuntarily, feeling a strange sensation of being slowly peeled open and invaded by his gaze.
“That’s right.”
Zhou Meng held her breath slightly and looked away: “Actually, I have a phobia of handsome guys.”
“Ah?” Le Zhile let out a small laugh.
That invasive feeling dissipated.
“Mm… thank you. I’ll be happy all day today.”
His expression looked very gentle. Beneath his brown hair, his fair features held a composed, understated beauty.
Did he believe it?
“Ding-dong-dang-dang…”
The bell for class rang just in time. Zhou Meng nodded, pulled her hand out of her pocket, and turned back around.
After she turned away, Le Zhile stared at Zhou Meng’s back for a few seconds.
Zhou Meng’s black hair was tied in a low ponytail at the back of her head, hanging down her slender spine, her khaki blazer subtly outlining the curve of her backbone.
“…”
The brown-haired boy silently leaned forward.
Near the nape of her neck, he gave a light sniff.
The movement was so small that no one could notice.
Even Zhou Meng was unaware.
By the time the teacher’s gaze shifted over, Le Zhile had already resumed his previous posture. He toyed with his pen, unscrewed the cap, and casually scribbled a few characters in his notebook.
【Disinfectant.】