"Be good," Xialin reached out and gently rubbed my cheek. "Wujiang could never be that kind of cat, you know."

I didn’t know why, but Xialin seemed to really enjoy petting me. Was I just that soft to touch?

"W-who’s a cat? I’m not one!" I crossed my arms and turned away, refusing to look at her.

"Oh my, Wujiang," Xialin said, seeing my cold shoulder. She paused, then switched tactics to soothe me. "Don’t you want to know why I know so much about this school?"

"...Hmph! I-I don’t care at all!" Sensing her moving closer, I spun to the other side in a tsundere huff, avoiding her gaze completely.

If I didn’t teach Xialin a lesson now, she’d bully me nonstop later. I hated doing this—it made me feel so guilty, QAQ.

Still, I really wanted to pinch her cheeks. They looked incredibly soft...

"Really don’t want to know?" Xialin lowered her voice mysteriously. Her question teased my curiosity, making my heart itch.

I’d wondered this since meeting her. How did she know every building and person here? We were both freshmen—she couldn’t have been here before. I was dying to know.

"Hmph!"

"Mmm, if Wujiang ignores me like this, then I’ll have to..." Her voice cut off. Just as I felt uneasy and started to turn, Xialin suddenly wrapped her arms around me, burying my face in her chest. I braced for something outrageous—but she only gently tapped my head, then stopped.

My earlier warning must’ve scared her off. She wouldn’t dare tease me again.

Yay, I won in the end (*^▽^*).

"Oh my, the reason is this." Xialin released me, pulled something from her skirt pocket, and showed it to me. When I recognized it, I nearly fainted.

Just a phone.

"Yes, a phone," Xialin laughed at my shocked face. "Did you think I had some ancient secret? My little cat, are you a Matrei cat from the Middle Ages or a Himalayan cat cut off from the world?"

"...N-no! I..." Realizing I’d overthought it—and she’d noticed—I burned with shame. I wanted to vanish into the floor, unable to meet her eyes.

"Alright, Wujiang," Xialin leaned closer, her floral scent wrapping around me as she held the phone screen to my face. "Time to learn modern info-gathering."

"I know how to use it..." I mumbled weakly, but she ignored me, focused on teaching me "The Crown" app—a hub for anonymous, unverified school gossip.

"Still, Wujiang," her tone turned serious, "if you join this site, be careful. You upload your student ID to register—your real info could leak."

"Huh? Why?" I asked.

"And some posts are lies. You’ll have to judge for yourself." She patted my head. I stayed still, thinking it was fair repayment for her help.

Wait—why was letting her pat me repayment? Wasn’t this selling out my body? Σ(ﾟдﾟlll)

While I wrestled with this, the lunch line cleared. It was finally our turn.

My tray held cold broccoli salad, salt-and-pepper tofu, a braised egg, and braised pork belly.

Dinner passed smoothly—delicious food paired with Xialin’s angelic face—wrapping up my first meal at Heavenly Stand Academy.

After eating, I asked Xialin to show me our classroom. Tomorrow, I wouldn’t need to rush; arriving just in time was a skill I’d mastered in middle school.

After all, I’m a genius Demon Hunter. Wind-element acceleration tricks? Easy—if no one spots me. Mom and Dad would scold me hard if they did.