Back in the classroom, Xiao Wangyi and the others immediately crowded around me.

"Zong Jun, do you have a girlfriend now?"

"Damn it! My brothers from the FFF Inquisition are already itching to light their torches—burn the couples!"

Wu Ze lunged at me, jokingly grabbing my collar. "You snagged someone before even the Young Master? Unforgivable."

"Hey, fatty, cut it out. Do I look like someone with a girlfriend?"

Frankly... it’s an undeniable truth that light novel authors struggle to find girlfriends. I once knew an author on a certain forum whose book title *Is It Wrong to Like Busty Girls?* scared off the only female reader he’d ever had. Poor guy.

Besides, if I *were* to find one, I’d want a gentle girl like our class rep—not some brute-force girl with violent tendencies. That "wild girlfriend" trope only exists in movies. Anyone actually into that in real life must be a total weirdo! If I ever met someone like that, I’d report them to the police.

After roughhousing with Xiao Wangyi and Wu Ze, Zhao Yin—who’d been standing silently nearby—suddenly spoke up. "That girl... her name’s Gong Xinyan, right?"

I blinked in surprise. "Huh? Brother Ying, you know her?"

Rare indeed. With Zhao Yin’s top-tier "keep your distance" aura, people usually avoided him. He rarely socialized, let alone knew Gong Xinyan, who was a year older than us.

Zhao Yin nodded. "President of the Literature Club. I know her. She’s... formidable."

*Formidable?* In fighting?

My imagination ran wild: Maybe Gong Xinyan was actually a notorious gang boss outside school. She and the lone-wolf Zhao Yin had dueled at sunset, ending in a draw that sparked mutual respect.

Or perhaps they’d sparred before? Trading blows like martial arts masters?

Though I doubted Brother Ying would lose if serious, he’d probably hold back against a girl and lose by a hair.

Zhao Yin dropped the subject after that single remark.

I was curious how he knew her—he didn’t strike me as the literary type—but since he didn’t volunteer more, I didn’t press.

The twenty-minute break flew by. We returned to our seats.

After morning classes, I was packing up to head home when Gong Xinyan stormed into our classroom. She yanked the dazed me out by the collar.

She marched ahead, gripping my shirttail while I stumbled behind, tugging at my clothes. "Hey! What are you doing?!"

Only at the corridor corner did she release me. She straightened up, calling my name with solemn weight.

"Zong Jun!"

I flinched. "W-why so serious all of a sudden?"

"Please take me as your disciple."

"Eh?"

Gritting her teeth, her face flushed with reluctance, she forced the words out. "I hate admitting it, but *Midnight Zero* is... really good. Since you’re so skilled at writing novels, teach me your techniques."

"Eh?! EH?!"

I squeaked like a rabbit startled by a hawk’s dive.

As if steeling herself for a life-altering choice, Gong Xinyan took a deep breath and bowed ninety degrees. "I’m begging you, Chidori... that’s your pen name, right? Master Chidori, please accept me as your disciple."

"Even if you say that... this is really awkward for me."

Truthfully, I’d never taught anyone to write. Could novel-writing even be learned through coaching?

Hearing my hesitation, she panicked. "Didn’t Teacher Li assign you to mentor me? What’s awkward about just making it official?"

"It’s not that simple... Being suddenly asked to mentor someone is troubling enough—I have zero experience."

"If you refuse," she declared, eyes blazing, "I won’t give up. Never. I’ll keep finding you until you agree. At school, at home—even when you go to the bathroom—"

"Whoa! Bathroom breaks are off-limits!"

Gong Xinyan glared, making *me* feel like the harasser despite her threat. That glare almost made me feel guilty.

"If you don’t agree," she insisted, cheeks flushing but gaze unwavering, "I... I won’t let you leave."

A headache throbbed behind my eyes. This girl wasn’t easily brushed off. If I walked away, ten of me wouldn’t escape her grip.

She might even punch me... Today’s high school girls are terrifying.

Trapped, I surrendered. "Fine. I’ll mentor you—but on one condition."

Her eyes lit up instantly. "What is it?"

"You can only seek *me* out. I won’t come to you."

She scowled. "What if I have questions later?"

I scratched my head. "Bring them to the Literature Club’s multimedia room during activity period."

"Hmph..." After a pause, she bit her lip and nodded. "Deal."

...

After finally shaking off Gong Xinyan, I returned to a near-empty classroom—most had gone for lunch. But one person sat in my seat.

A flat-chested loli with a stormy frown shot up when she saw me. "You... where have you *been*?"

Xia Xi stomped over, pouting. "You tricked me into coming to school, then completely ignored me!"

"Sorry. Something came up." I checked my phone—Gong Xinyan had cost me twenty minutes. "It’s this late already. Let’s just eat at school."

"Whatever..." She huffed, lips pursed. "Is that senior your girlfriend? She hunts you down between every class."

"No way. Do I *look* like I have a girlfriend?" I shoved books into my bag as I spoke.

"Oh."

Xia Xi fell silent but helped stuff my textbooks into my backpack.

Once packed, I leaned my bag on the chair and texted Bai Yu: *"Not coming home for lunch. School stuff."*

Her reply flashed instantly: *"Go die! Don’t bother coming back."*

"...".

Bai Yu was clearly furious. She’d probably been waiting at home, stomach growling. Her temper would be volcanic.

Xia Xi tugged my sleeve impatiently. "Done yet? You move slower than a snail... Are you even a real man down there?"

"Uh... you don’t talk like this to others, right?"

"Hah? Do I look stupid? Of course not."

"Then why’s your mouth so filthy with me? Like a choo-choo train—"

"Train?"

"*Choo-choo-choo...*"

Xia Xi’s face burned crimson. "Why d’you think?! I’ll talk however I want to you! Now hurry up—I’m starving."