She really couldn’t figure out when exactly she had started cooperating with Pei Keke. However, at that time, she didn’t seem to have clearly shown any intention to refuse. Perhaps that was what made the other person misunderstand her? That’s possible too.
Su Ziling continued observing Lin Yizhou and Fan Zhicheng, who were chatting and laughing on the other side. They were clearly monsters, but no different from ordinary people. It wasn’t that Su Ziling was judging them with prejudice, but she had encountered so many monsters, and not a single one was good. That was also why she remained vigilant towards Lin Yizhou.
While Su Ziling’s mind was full of thoughts, Fan Zhicheng continued speaking.
“Boss, how’s your situation over there? Found anything?”
Hearing this, Su Ziling couldn’t help but hold her breath. She was indeed worried—worried that Lin Yizhou might leak her identity. To be targeted by the Monster Organization was extremely dangerous.
If she were alone, it wouldn’t matter, but she had Su Xiaomeng and Su Lili by her side. A thief could only strike for a thousand days, but one could not guard against a thief for a thousand days. Once targeted by the Monster Organization, they could fail countless times, but she could only fail once.
Under Su Ziling’s tense gaze, Lin Yizhou calmly shook his head.
“No progress. That Magical Girl is hiding too deep. I really can’t find her.”
Lin Yizhou’s calm tone finally allowed Su Ziling to breathe a sigh of relief. ‘At least this guy has some conscience—he didn’t sell me out.’
Fan Zhicheng didn’t seem too concerned, only frowning slightly.
“Urgh… that’s a problem. If I can’t complete the mission, my performance this month is going to be a big issue.”
Even though the Monster Organization wasn’t exactly a serious organization, they still had a performance review system. Even if many monsters didn’t care about it, it did exist.
“Why do you care so much about that score?” Lin Yizhou glanced at him. “It’s not like they’ll give you a raise.”
“Who do you think you are?” Fan Zhicheng couldn’t help but complain. “We have to hunt for Monster Cells to improve our strength, but you, my dear Boss, I just want to ask—how did you get so strong?!”
“Persist for three years—100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10-kilometer run every day…”
Lin Yizhou repeated a certain anime’s lines without any emotion.
Fan Zhicheng twitched the corner of his mouth. “How come you haven’t gone bald?”
“My armor really doesn’t have hair.”
“Damn…”
After joking around with Lin Yizhou for a while, Fan Zhicheng flopped onto the table, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, and proposed a sly idea.
“Oh, right! Since we can’t find the Protean Witch, why not start from that Magical Girl, Pei Keke?”
“I’ve got some stuff to deal with lately. I really can’t handle this.” Lin Yizhou naturally didn’t want to continue investigating this matter. In fact, he needed to find a way to cover it up.
“What stuff?”
“Credits, credits,” Lin Yizhou patted the textbook on the table. “It’s almost final exam time, and I’m short on credits. So I don’t have time for this… Besides, can’t I let you handle everything? Then what’s the point of me being the Boss? If I have to show up for every little thing, where’s the dignity of a final boss?”
Fan Zhicheng twitched his mouth again.
“Fine… I’ll go investigate myself. I’ll start by finding clues about that Magical Girl, Pei Keke. She’s much easier to find than the ‘Protean Witch.'”
“Good luck,” Lin Yizhou waved his hand. “Oh, and don’t go head-to-head with the Protean Witch. You can’t beat her.”
“Says who?” Obviously, Fan Zhicheng was quite confident in his own strength. He even patted his chest. “You never know until you try.”
“Heh… if the young won’t listen, they’ll suffer.”
Watching Fan Zhicheng rush out of the classroom, Lin Yizhou sighed helplessly.
After a while, the bell for lunch break rang as scheduled.
Su Ziling packed up her textbooks, left the classroom, and went to the canteen to get a boxed lunch, planning to take it home for Su Lili.
Unlike the teachers from her previous life, who would always drag out class another five minutes and were very conscientious, the teachers in this world were quite lax about their work. Not just at university, but even in high school, middle school, and elementary school.
“Hm?”
Just as she stepped out of the cafeteria, she noticed Lin Yizhou walking alone toward the rooftop. Seeing this, she remembered what Su Lili had said yesterday. Finally, she sighed helplessly and followed.
As she expected, Lin Yizhou was sitting on the rooftop, opening the seasoning packets of instant noodles.
“You’re not having instant noodles for lunch, are you?”
Seeing Su Ziling approach, Lin Yizhou was startled and blurted out, “No, strictly speaking, this is my breakfast.”
“…”
Su Ziling couldn’t help but cover her forehead. This guy was just like Su Xiaomeng—without supervision, he’d wake up at noon and combine breakfast and lunch into one meal.
“Aren’t you going to the canteen to eat?”
“Too far,” Lin Yizhou shook his head. “Plus, the canteen is crowded at this time. I don’t really want to go.”
“You… don’t have any friends, do you?”
“Well, you have to define what a friend means first…”
“Okay, I get it. You have no friends.”
Su Ziling cut off Lin Yizhou’s lengthy explanation.
“No wonder that little girl Su Lili can’t stop worrying about you.”
“Speaking of which,” Lin Yizhou looked at Su Ziling and couldn’t help asking, “Is there something you want to see me about?”
“There are two things,” Su Ziling said slowly and deliberately. “First, I want to ask—as a monster, why are you helping me hide my identity?”
Su Ziling stared at Lin Yizhou sitting on the steps. The latter replied calmly.
“There aren’t so many ‘whys’ in this world. Being a monster is just an identity. You have to understand that there are also bad people among Magical Girls, and there are good people among monsters who save lives. Identity has never been the standard for defining good and evil.”
“I’ve been a Magical Girl for a long time, and I’ve never met a monster who wasn’t up to no good. I hope you can be the exception.”
After finishing, Su Ziling stepped forward and placed her boxed lunch in front of Lin Yizhou.
“Second thing. This is for you.”
“This is?”
“A boxed lunch from the canteen. But to save money, I’ll start cooking lunch myself and bring it from now on.”
“No, I mean… why are you bringing me lunch?”
“I don’t want that little girl Su Lili to keep worrying about you and then run over late at night to bring you food,” Su Ziling said, crossing her arms in a somewhat firm manner. “Also, this isn’t free. I don’t have that much money. I’ll bring you lunch from now on, but you have to pay for the food.”
Looking at the boxed lunch shoved into his hands, Lin Yizhou finally understood one thing.
“Has anyone ever told you… you’re a bit of a tsundere?”
Hearing that, Su Ziling’s mouth twitched.
“…If you don’t want it, give it back.”
“I didn’t say I don’t want it.”