The next day, around seven-thirty in the morning.

I was at Xia Xi’s place, face blank, standing at her door and knocking. “Xia Xi, time for school.”

No response. The whole hallway was quiet.

I’d been knocking for almost ten minutes. My mood was shot, and one thought kept looping:

Why am I putting myself through this…

Man.

I let out a sigh and fished the key from my pocket. Auntie Cai gave it to me before work, and told me to get Xia Xi to school today no matter what.

I unlocked the door and went in. After my all-nighter last night, the room looked much better. At least there was somewhere to step that wasn’t a pile of trash.

The quilt was a puffy mound. She was still in bed. I let out a small breath. I’d worried she’d snuck out again like before.

I walked to the bed and lightly patted her cheek. “Hey. Xia Xi, up.”

“Mmm~”

She murmured and rolled over, still sleeping.

“Get up. Do you even know what time it is?”

“Five more minutes.”

“Still sleeping? Are you a pig? Even pigs aren’t this lazy.”

Maybe I was too noisy. She pulled the blanket over her head.

I grabbed for the blanket, annoyed. “Alright, enough. What are you, Sleeping Beauty? Need a prince’s kiss to get up?”

“Then hurry and go. What kind of prince looks like you? I’ll get up when the real prince comes to kiss me.”

She clung to the blanket with all her might, voice muffled under it.

“You’re definitely awake. Your disses are way too coherent.”

“Let me lie down a bit. Who do you think made me lose my draft last night and redraw till morning!”

“Yeah, right. If you don’t get up, I’m lifting the blanket.”

She peeked her head out, cheeks puffed, and glared at me. “I’m warning you, I’m not wearing anything.”

I let go at once. She sat up wrapped in the quilt and gave a little yawn. “Next time, knock before you come in. What guy sneaks into a girl’s room at dawn? You want some H-manga plot to happen?”

Her words choked me. I snapped, “Fine, I get it. I won’t come call you for school again. Happy?”

“Wait!” she stopped me.

I turned back. Her face was red as she looked at me.

“Geez, I can’t deal with you. It’s just an H-manga scenario, right?”

She lifted the blanket a little and showed a pair of pale legs.

“That’s all you get today. You still have to come wake me for school.”

Heat rushed to my face. I turned away fast and muttered, awkward, “Got it. I’ll come. I’m leaving—get dressed.”

I hurried out of her room.

...

On the way to school, Xia Xi trailed beside me with a piece of bread clenched in her teeth. “Ugh, it’s so dry. Whole wheat is nasty.”

“If you hate it, get up earlier and eat a real breakfast. Auntie Cai made you one.”

“I told you I was rushing my draft last night. I usually get up early. This is all your fault!”

“Yeah, yeah, all my fault.”

I brushed off her squawking.

Because she dawdled, we hit campus right as the warning bell rang.

Xia Xi didn’t follow me to class. She’d been absent for so long she had to report to our homeroom teacher, Ms. Li, and take care of some stuff.

As soon as I got back to the room, Tian Yao came over.

“Zong Jun, let’s go to classmate Xia Xi’s place again after school.”

She’d clearly worked hard to decide that. She looked at me, waiting for my answer.

I smiled. “No need.”

“Huh? Why?” She froze, then shook her head fast. “We can’t just give up! Studying matters. It’s hard to get a job even with a college degree. How can high school be ‘unnecessary’? And also—”

She nagged on like a mom, all worried about Xia Xi’s future.

Well, I didn’t hate it.

The class bell rang, so I couldn’t explain. The class rep had to head back to her seat.

First period was Chinese, taught by our homeroom teacher, Ms. Li.

Ms. Li walked in and stood at the lectern. “Before we start, there’s something to announce. A student who’s been on medical leave this term has come back to school today.”

She called toward the door. “Xia Xi, come in.”

When Xia Xi stepped in, the room filled with low whispers.

“She’s tiny… is she from elementary?”

“So cute. Like a doll.”

“I wanna scoop her up and pinch her cheeks.”

The most excited one was Wu Ze, the damn fat otaku next to me. He panted and leaned in to whisper, “Holy crap, twin-tailed loli. I love that!”

A moment later he calmed himself. “Still not as cute as my Princess Hatsune. 3D is just inferior.”

He said it with utter disdain, then drooled at his PSP, staring at that blue-haired, twin-tailed virtual idol.

I silently scooted away from him.

Xia Xi stood near the lectern, a little ill at ease. Her eyes kept sneaking my way.

Ms. Li said, “Xia Xi, please introduce yourself.”

She hadn’t even opened her mouth, and I was already nervous. I was terrified she’d blurt something insane.

Like a guild-leader-style intro: “Xia Xi, pen name LOVE Lolita, H-artist and part-time light novel illustrator. Not interested in non-H. If you like NTR, assault, orgies, group stuff, sadistic, yuri—come see me. Over.”

Or a chuunibyou entrance line straight out of Haiyore! Nyaruko-san: “One who wanders the realm of lewd art, bearer of the revival of H-lit, ever accompanied by the gasps of drawn maidens. As chaos encroaches—Xia Xi, LOVE Lolita. Call my name, and I shall appear.”

I was so wound up about how she’d introduce herself that my brain went off the rails.

To my surprise, Xia Xi just did a normal, plain self-intro. Like a regular person.

“Um, my name is Xia Xi. I’m your classmate. Please take care of me.”

It was only a short line, but she stuttered for quite a while. You could tell she wasn’t good at this. I noticed her legs were trembling a little.