Still arguing.
Lin Zhong propped his chin on his palm, idly playing with the gray cat on the desk. His earlier worries seemed utterly forgotten.
Instead, the two women by the bed kept chattering away.
"Hungry? How about Stargazy pie?"
Lin Zhong stood up, heading toward the kitchen—only to have his wrist seized the moment he reached for the door.
The hand belonged to Su Han. He could feel a faint tremor in her grip.
The bickering in the room died instantly. Ning Bixuan and Su Han turned their heads in mechanical unison, their strikingly different faces mirroring identical expressions of sheer horror.
"S-Stargazy pie?"
Su Han swallowed hard, despair etched into every line of her face.
"Mm. The canned fermented herring in the fridge vanished last night. I think there’s still some sardines left," Lin Zhong mused, recalling the fridge’s contents.
*Of course the herring’s gone*, Su Han thought desperately. *I threw them out yesterday when he didn’t come home…*
Beads of cold sweat trickled down her temples.
"Heh… no need to trouble you. I’ll handle it," Su Han said slowly, rising to block Lin Zhong from the kitchen. Ning Bixuan nodded frantically beside her.
They’d both survived Stargazy pie—the infamous British horror dish—before. The last time Lin Zhong made it, they’d nearly met the ferryman of the River Styx.
"Disappointing," Lin Zhong murmured, shoulders slumping slightly.
He remained blissfully unaware of the abyssal dread his cooking inspired.
"It’s fine, next time—"
*WHOOSH!*
A kitchen knife whistled past Ning Bixuan’s fingertips, embedding itself in the wall a centimeter from where she’d reached to pat Lin Zhong’s head.
Su Han stood in an apron, casually flipping another knife in her hand. Her smile remained dazzlingly bright.
"I didn’t give you permission to touch my husband."
"Oh ho! Since when can’t a mother pet her own son?" Ning Bixuan yanked the knife from the wall and tossed it aside, resuming her head-pats. Lin Zhong’s silken, snow-white hair felt divine under her fingers.
"You—" Su Han gritted her teeth, knife half-raised—until she met Lin Zhong’s pitiful gaze.
"Han… hungry," he whispered softly. The words pierced straight through them. That flawlessly beautiful face…
"Right away!" Su Han bolted into the kitchen. Ning Bixuan immediately wrapped Lin Zhong in a tight hug, nuzzling her mature beauty’s face against his cheek.
*Should be safe now.*
Lin Zhong silently pulled out his phone.
**Student Handbook APP**
Two identical names appeared: *Lin Zhong*.
Beside them glowed two distinct titles:
**【Joker】**
**【White Reaper】**
After returning from today’s *Shadow Over Innsmouth* dungeon instance, a second account had materialized beneath his primary one—the dormant profile he’d nearly abandoned.
Yet today, it had reactivated.
Lin Zhong tapped the **【White Reaper】** profile, opening its bounty notice. *Had his face been exposed?*
If *that person* saw it… disaster.
Relief washed over him at the photo. Only his profile was visible, his long hair obscuring ninety percent of his face. All that remained visible was one fiercely crimson eye—burning like wildfire—and a sliver of porcelain skin.
*So little.*
Lin Zhong stared at the number beneath it. Anyone who knew his thoughts would’ve choked. *300,000 credits… too low?*
That bounty ranked among upperclassmen elites. Enough to buy a decent dorm upgrade. Here at the Academy, credits were currency—though most students spent theirs on gear to boost bounties or survive dungeons.
Bounties measured strength. Glory. A 300,000-credit starting bounty screamed veteran.
Yet Lin Zhong thought: *Too low?*
As he moved to exit the **【White Reaper】** interface, a notification popped up:
**【Student Charlotte Flore de Jeanmard requests to add you as a friend】**
No title followed his name. An untitled student.
**【Accept】**
Charlotte’s avatar appeared in Lin Zhong’s friends list.
**【New message. Accept?】**
**【Accept】**
Lin Zhong tapped **【Accept】**, and Charlotte’s chat window replaced the main screen.
**【Thank you again for saving me! Is Su Han still mad? I’m so sorry!!!!】**
*(Accompanied by an apologetic bowing emoticon)*
**【Not your fault.】**
**【No! I dragged you into the dungeon—I’m sorry!!!】**
**【I’d have gone anyway.】**
Charlotte was merely a ticket to high-tier dungeons. Lin Zhong would’ve entered regardless—just not as the **【White Reaper】**.
**【I’m sorry, it’s all because of me…】**
*(Another apologetic message)*
**【Fine. I’ll blame you.】**
Lin Zhong hit send. A rare smile touched his lips.
*Pfft!*
In a dorm room across campus, Charlotte lay sprawled on his bed, legs swinging gently. His damp, unbound hair spilled over his shoulders. Anyone seeing him now would struggle to believe he was male.
*Am I really… chatting with Lin Zhong?*
This was beyond his wildest dreams.
*Lin Zhong is actually… amazing.*
Today had shattered every rumor he’d ever heard.
The "ugly, cowardly weakling"? Charlotte had seen his true face.
*Ugly?* He’d refute that instantly. That unforgettable, perfect visage outshone anyone he’d ever met.
*Cowardly?* The guy who got *angry* when an S-rank dungeon lacked a boss?
*Weak?* The student banned for soloing S-rank group dungeons—treating monsters like paper cutouts and bosses like punching bags?
"What a strange person."
*Ding!*
A new message lit up Charlotte’s screen:
**【Stargazy pie?】**
