Taking the food box back to his room, Chi Yuzhou couldn’t help holding his neighbor, Guanmingxue, in slightly higher regard.
It was his first time meeting a neighbor who’d offer perks like this.
But remembering the look she gave him in his child form, he withdrew that higher regard.
Staring at the still-fragrant food, Chi Yuzhou started to guess.
Guanmingxue... Is she trying to use him as the “older brother” to get at the “younger brother”?
As for the teacher seeing through his identity, or having designs on him—Chi Yuzhou found that unlikely.
Guanmingxue’s classes were near lunch or the afternoon. That’s when he was usually drowsy.
He didn’t really sleep in her class either. By rights, her impression of him should be ordinary.
At least ninety percent of students sat through her lectures—her teaching was genuinely good.
Among that tide of students, seeing through his disguised face and identity, and silently taking him down too?
No matter how he looked at it, the odds of her being an Alchemist felt higher.
He’d planned to shrink and scam food someday, but her taking the initiative to feed him went beyond expectations.
Even if he did scam, it would be when he was truly craving.
The stewed-meat dish was tender and silky. Chi Yuzhou felt like even his tongue was getting swallowed.
Way better than expected!
In no time, he zoned out, satisfied, before the little table.
Maybe... he should move up the date to turn into a kid and beg for food?
Sunday. The heat was that same familiar scorch.
Inside the Full Moon Night Tavern.
Opened in the afternoon, the tavern wasn’t busy. The warm scene held. Guests filled maybe a quarter of the seats.
In the lull, Chi Yuzhou kept reading.
Sooner or later he’d finish that book on acting. Then his “amnesia” story would sound steadier.
Maybe one day he could even fool that woman too?
Cradling that faint fantasy, the tavern soon hit its busy stretch. He lost the leisure to read.
Most faces were regulars. Despite Chi Yuzhou’s cool, blank look while mixing, they still loved ordering his drinks.
No one hates an ice-cold drink in this heat.
But today neither Hengqinghuai nor Qiujie Zhuo was in.
Facing women without much game, he usually dismissed them with a cool nod.
Women like Qiujie Zhuo—oddly driven and skilled at teasing him—were rare.
Those who choose to protect human society... really aren’t like ordinary women.
Chi Yuzhou slowly looked toward the woman who’d become a regular.
She watched him on and off. When their eyes met, she instinctively looked away.
That felt like a normal girl.
As night deepened, the crowd thinned.
Then the door chime rang. A short-haired woman walked in.
She entered, scanned the room, and let her gaze rest on the women for a moment.
Finally her eyes lit at Chi Yuzhou—just as he expected—like spotting a tasty prey.
He didn’t flinch. He met her stare for a moment.
The intent felt familiar, yet there was a subtle difference.
But after noticing him, she didn’t rush to engage. She went to the manager, ordered a drink, then casually hit on a female guest.
The woman drinking alone, a bit lonely, saw her refined looks and didn’t refuse.
They talked, grew tipsy, and without warning pressed together.
After the kiss, the chatted-up woman seemed finally overcome by drink, flushing and dozing off in her arms.
Chi Yuzhou saw it all from behind the bar.
It wasn’t his first time seeing this. Scenes like that weren’t rare here.
In the human world, brief you-and-me encounters at any time aren’t surprising.
And it didn’t look like a drug before the kiss.
Oddly, once she had someone in her arms, she just played on her phone—like the kiss had completed some objective.
The girl-on-girl scene was strangely watchable.
In the gentle, warm air, the woman on her phone kept casually watching Chi Yuzhou.
Until his shift ended. As the manager tallied the day, the place was almost empty.
Except for the woman holding the sleeper.
Cleanup after closing was part of the job.
Under her casual gaze, Chi Yuzhou stepped over and asked softly,
“Need a hand?”
“Of course. Could you help send her to a hotel?”
Her face was flushed. Her words teased, and she licked her red lips.
Was she planning to rope him into a threesome?
Both looked decent, but sorry—wrong target.
Chi Yuzhou’s expression didn’t change. He answered evenly,
“The hotel’s not far.”
“But I can’t carry her alone right now~”
“Wait a bit.”
Seeing the short-haired woman, hazy with drink, he nodded lightly, left those words, and returned behind the bar.
She said nothing, staring at his back. A subtle gleam crossed her eyes.
She’d held back for days. A mere taste, but at least she’d savored vital essence again.
And... afterward, there seemed to be something even tastier.
Finish this last bite, then switch cities.
Otherwise, dodging those hunts every day was hassle enough.
At the bar, Chi Yuzhou briefed the manager. After thinking it over, the manager didn’t step in and let him handle it.
That refusal surprised Chi Yuzhou a little.
The manager had often handled such things kindly. This time he left it to him.
Chi Yuzhou sighed softly, grateful the hotel wasn’t far.
Also, he wasn’t interested in that sort of thing now.
Outside, the sleeping woman seemed to regain some awareness. Dazed, she hailed a cab and disappeared.
Only the short-haired woman remained, tipsy, crouching by the curb.
Chi Yuzhou stepped out and raised a hand to call to her. Her hair color suddenly shifted.
As she turned, eyes tinted with sultry pink snared his thoughts.
