Ch. 52 - A Temporary Guide

"Thanks…" she muttered.

"Enough with the thanks already. Chin up," I cut her off, starting to get why people found constant thank-yous annoying.

"Ah… sorry, I just don’t know how else to…" Quan Xiuzhu trailed off, looking lost.

"How about this—as a thank-you, give me your contact info?" I flashed a smile, leaning in. "More friends, more options. Wanna be friends?"

"Thanks… you really see me as a friend?" she asked, eyes wide.

"What, thanking me for that too? Don’t tell me you’ve got no friends," I said, helping her up to leave. She looked pitiful, like she’d been through hell—which, in a way, she had, getting bullied by that senior right after arriving.

"I don’t. Just classmates, not real friends…" she mumbled.

"You sound like you’ve given up on life. You just turned into a girl, not lost your spine. Look, since you’re friendless, I’ll let you in on a secret: being a girl is like, ten times more fun than being a guy," I said with a mischievous grin, sidling closer.

I hadn’t exactly tested that theory myself, but a little white lie never hurt. Just some harmless teasing.

If she ever came back saying, “You lied! It’s a hundred times better!” I’d know she’d tried "it" out. Then I could flip it on her—ask if she’d been sneaking around doing naughty stuff. Checkmate.

Quan Xiuzhu’s face turned beet red, totally flustered. "I… you… I’m not gonna..."

"Just throwing it out there. Unless… you’re curious?" I teased.

"No! Never!" she protested.

I didn’t push further. Her flustered denial had a hint of sass—cute, almost tsundere*. Could I nudge her into leaning into that? Tsundere might be old-school, but trends cycle back. Maybe it’d be hot again.

"Alright, alright, back to adding you as a friend. Where’s your phone?" I asked.

"Um…" Quan Xiuzhu fished a phone from her pocket.

I was shocked it was still intact, but then I noticed. "Not that one. The academy-issued phone."

"Academy-issued?" she asked, confused.

"You didn’t get one?" I was just as puzzled.

"Was there one? I only know about…" Her voice faltered.

"Forget the sad stuff. If you didn’t get it, let’s go see if we can grab one now," I said, cutting her off. I was annoyed at the senior who’d dragged her here and ditched her after registration. So irresponsible.

"Okay…" she agreed.

I led Quan Xiuzhu out of the alley, taking the other exit. I wasn’t great with directions around here, but I had a rough idea where the registration office was.

It couldn’t be far.

No way that senior dragged her all the way out here just for some witchification stunt, right?

"Hey, it’s getting late. You hungry?" I asked, turning to her.

"I’m… fine," Quan Xiuzhu mumbled, fiddling with her phone as I led her out.

But the mention of food seemed to flip a switch. Her stomach growled, loud enough for me to catch, even if she played it tough.

"Don’t act all strong. If you’re hungry…" I glanced around. This street wasn’t like the one I’d come from—hardly any food joints in sight.

"Whatever, I’ve got some snacks left. Have these for now." I handed her the bag of treats I’d been carrying. Those seniors had stuffed me with them earlier while chatting. I’d only eaten one, planning to save the rest for a dorm-room midnight snack.

"They’re a bit cold. That cool?"

"No… thanks," she said.

"Seriously, stop with the thanks," I groaned.

I passed her the snacks, keeping the one I’d started. She looked like she hadn’t eaten in days. Was it really that bad?

When we reached the registration spot, I saw the seniors were still there. Guess they were on duty all day, waiting for who-knows-what senior to drag in another new kid.

"Quan Xiuzhu, you sure you registered here?" I asked.

"Yeah," she nodded firmly, clearly remembering being forced to show up.

"And you didn’t get a phone? So, after registering, that senior just… ditched you? Nothing else happened?"

"Nothing," she confirmed.

"That’s so irresponsible!" I said, acting indignant for her. Since she was registered, I led her to grab her phone.

"Hey, Senior! I’m here to pick up a phone for my friend. The senior who brought her just bailed after dropping her off. Sorry about the hassle," I said, laying on the charm.

"Fine, take one. Just don’t grab extras," the senior said, waving us off. She didn’t care much, but phones weren’t exactly unlimited either.

"Thanks, Senior!" I said with a sweet smile before adding, "Oh, we’re both freshmen. Where can we charge these phones?"

"Charge? Get your dorm key. The dorms should have chargers," she replied bluntly, clearly not offering to help. So much for a freebie.

After saying goodbye, we kept going with Quan Xiuzhu’s enrollment process.

I didn’t give up, though. After asking a few more seniors, one was kind enough to charge her phone a bit—just enough to power it on.

"Here’s your phone. The academy’s system on it is a big deal. You’ll need it for pretty much everything here," I said, handing it over. "I already added myself as a friend. Message me if you need anything. I’ll reply when I see it."

"Thanks," Quan Xiuzhu said, taking the phone. She still clung to her old one, not ready to let it go.

"What’s up?" I asked, noticing Quan Xiuzhu fiddling with her phone, looking anxious.

"No signal…" she muttered.

"No signal?" I glanced up. That massive crack in the sky was still visible, though it looked like it was almost patched up now.

Our old phones would be dead again.

"Yeah… I can’t reach my family…" she said, voice heavy.

"That’s normal. The academy doesn’t let you spill about this place. You get that, right? The outside world can’t find anything about the School of Transcendence. Your old phone’s basically a brick now. Try the new one," I said.

"Can the new one call outside?" she asked, a flicker of hope in her eyes.

"Sorry, no. But it works fine inside the academy," I said, shaking my head, crushing her last bit of hope. Her face fell, like all fight had drained out of her.

"Don’t be sad. The School of Transcendence is a solid place. We’re all gonna deal with transcendence stuff eventually. The academy just sets us on different paths. Maybe give it a shot," I offered.

"But… this isn’t how it’s supposed to be!" Quan Xiuzhu snapped, my words hitting a nerve.

"Hey, keep it down! You want everyone staring at your meltdown?" I hissed.

"Uh… sorry…" She clamped her mouth shut, reining in her emotions. She was quick to pull herself together, accepting reality faster than I expected.

No breakdowns, no dramatics. Impressive.

Guess for someone just hitting adulthood, death was too heavy a thought.

We slipped away to grab her dorm key. It was getting late, and she couldn’t crash on the street.

What if some senior scooped her up? That’d be a nightmare.

Translator's note: In the past three months, I've been very busy. After finishing recruitment, I finally welcomed all the new students last week. Many of them act just like in the books: cautious or even timid, slow but polite. I get along well with them.

Also, about "Tsundere(ツンデレ)": A Japanese term for a character who starts with a harsh personality but gradually shows a warmer, friendlier side over time.

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