The next morning, my dark circles were so bad I’d be mistaken for a human panda on the street. I barely slept last night, tossing and turning endlessly in bed.

After preparing breakfast, Baiyu came downstairs already dressed.

"Baiyu, come here for a sec."

When I called her, she shuddered slightly. Turning to face me, she crossed her arms protectively over her chest and glared like I was trash.

That really stung.

"I’m truly sorry about yesterday. It was all my fault. But I really didn’t mean it."

"Don’t you dare mention yesterday! Are you a pervert? A rapist! Disgusting! Die, die, die!!"

As she kept shouting "Die!", she grabbed a pillow from the sofa and hurled it at me. Then she snapped angrily, "Why aren’t you dodging?"

"Well, I was in the wrong. If this helps you calm down…"

"You idiot!" she muttered under her breath. But she seemed calmer now, sitting down on the sofa.

I took a tube of ointment from the cabinet, walked over, and handed it to her. "Here. For the swelling."

Baiyu’s face flushed instantly. She instinctively touched her chest, looking utterly flustered, then grabbed the pillow and kept whacking my head with it. "Are you an idiot? What filthy thoughts are you having? Forget it! Forget everything!"

"Alright, alright, I’ve forgotten. Really forgotten."

As I moved to put the ointment away, she snatched it from me.

"Hey, didn’t you refuse it?"

"None of your business!" she snapped, face still red. She stood up. "About yesterday… what was wrong with you? Knocking nonstop—knock, knock, knock—it never ended! So annoying!"

I hesitated, but decided to ask properly. I hadn’t gotten the chance yesterday because of… that incident.

"Um… was the person you called yesterday a girl?"

Baiyu just rolled her eyes. "What’s it to you?" she frowned, glaring. "Were you eavesdropping?"

"No, no!" I blushed but denied it immediately.

Baiyu sighed. "Whatever. I was going to tell you anyway. It was the president of the Chidori Fan Club. She gave me all my cosplay outfits. She’s a really, really nice person. A girl!" She shouted the last four words extra loud.

Someone Baiyu would call "really, really nice" must be someone she adores. If she described me? Probably "trash" or "walking dog crap"—words even a witch wouldn’t say.

Relieved it was a girl, I still asked, "What the hell is the Chidori Fan Club?"

"It’s Chidori’s fan club. The president organized it." Baiyu’s eyes shone with admiration. "If anyone loves Chidori more than me, it’s definitely her."

I have a fan club too? Weirdly, I felt a little happy.

"Actually, yesterday the president wanted to meet me. And she asked me to bring you…" Baiyu hesitated, then spoke in a serious tone I’d never heard: "Zong Jun, you should stay somewhere else for a few days."

"What? Out of nowhere?"

"I’ve heard bad things about her…" Baiyu admitted reluctantly. "She’s so obsessed with Chidori, she tracked down someone who insulted Chidori online and wanted to burn their house down."

"What the hell? No way! Are you lying? Someone like that needs Professor Yang’s help. And what’s this got to do with me?"

Wait… if the president made Baiyu’s cosplay outfits, her vision of Eliza must match them. But I contradicted Baiyu’s take on Eliza. Could that have angered the president? The more I thought, the more likely it seemed.

Should I hide out for a few days? To be safe, I asked, "The Chidori Fan Club president is definitely a girl, right?"

Baiyu nodded. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Hmph, just a girl. Not to brag, but even though I earn my living with a pen, I train daily. My fitness—

"But she mentioned she’s a judo black belt. She sounds kinda scary."

Maybe I should visit my grandpa in the countryside. Not because I’m scared—I just miss him terribly.

But letting Baiyu meet an online stranger alone… I couldn’t shake the worry.

"Do you have to go?"

"Yeah. I want to."

"I don’t mind, but since it’s online, bring some classmates."

Baiyu whispered, "I don’t have friends like that."

I froze. "What?"

"I said, I don’t have friends like that!" she shouted.

It sounded pitiful. Poor communication meant I barely knew her school life—just snippets from her teacher. No friends… I wanted to help, but this was her battle.

Unable to let go of my worry, I gritted my teeth. "Go meet her. I’ll hide far away and watch. If she’s dangerous, shout—I’ll rush over."

After all, she’s my fan too. If she tries to beat me, revealing my identity should stop her.

"No need. The president’s a good person."

"Better safe than sorry."

"Fine… I can’t stop you. But if she beats you up, I won’t hold her back."

Baiyu seemed almost happy saying that. Does she enjoy seeing me hurt? How much does she hate me?

Still… what kind of person is this president? I couldn’t help but feel curious.