Gu Qinghan couldn't help frowning.

He didn't understand what Katarina meant, but one thing was certain.

His situation still seemed dangerous.

"Explain it in detail," Gu Qinghan asked in a lowered voice.

Katarina first glanced around. After confirming no one else was eavesdropping, she carefully leaned closer.

She brought her soft lips to Gu Qinghan's ear. Her white teeth parted slightly, and she whispered with a warm breath,

"Do you know why I was the first one to inspect you this morning?"

Gu Qinghan froze for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

Come to think of it, Katarina's inspection this morning had happened exactly at eight.

Under normal circumstances, from the start of random inspections to the moment it reached you, there should've been some delay.

Like lining up for a PCR test. From the moment the line started to the moment it was your turn, there was always some time in between.

But this morning, in Gu Qinghan's case, there hadn't even been a one-minute gap. It had been exactly eight on the dot.

In other words, Katarina had already been waiting outside his door, ready to knock the moment the time came.

Gu Qinghan's expression darkened.

He quickly thought of one possibility.

"Because I've been listed as a key watch target?"

Gu Qinghan's gaze turned icy as he asked, word by word.

"Yes."

Katarina wore a serious expression. She nodded solemnly and continued,

"Then do you know why you were put on that list?"

Gu Qinghan frowned again. That really was terrible news.

"I don't. Why?"

Katarina glanced around once more. Then she took a deep breath, looked at him sincerely, and said word by word,

"Because you're too much of a shut-in."

Gu Qinghan: ?

A confused look appeared in his eyes.

Was being a hardcore homebody illegal now?

Katarina bit her lip lightly. She seemed to have expected his confusion, then lowered her voice and said seriously,

"According to the intelligence we've privately gathered, when you moved to Diet Street in the City of Devoted Love, it was like you appeared out of thin air."

"That's very strange."

At that point, Katarina's eyes shifted, and she continued,

"On the other hand, after you moved here, the neighbors knew nothing about you."

"People have all kinds of guesses about you. They think you may be hiding some secret no one knows."

"The neighborhood gossip is the real reason the higher-ups are suspicious of you."

Gu Qinghan looked into Katarina's eyes, and suddenly it clicked.

I see.

So it was basically a mass complaint from the locals.

No wonder Katarina said he was too much of a shut-in.

"In that case, the thing I most need to do right now is...?"

"Make more friends with the neighbors. Let everyone clear up their misunderstandings about you."

Word by word, Katarina stared into Gu Qinghan's eyes as she spoke.

"People's prejudice is like a mountain. If this keeps up, the misunderstanding will only deepen. The Inspectorate will definitely send someone else to watch you."

"And when that happens, you won't be able to clear your name no matter what."

Gu Qinghan frowned and nodded.

What Katarina said really was important.

This morning, it was only because Katarina had come to inspect him that he had gotten through it without incident.

If it had been someone Gu Qinghan didn't know, maybe he'd already be eating prison food by now.

"Thank you, Miss Katarina, for your sincere help. I'll consider going out more and interacting with the neighbors to avoid misunderstandings."

Gu Qinghan gave a faint smile and bowed slightly in thanks, his expression earnest.

On the other side, Katarina revealed a gratified expression.

"Good. I'm glad you realize that."

Katarina looked at Gu Qinghan with a smiling squint, then spoke casually,

"In that case, why wait for another day? Why not start right now?"

There was clearly a trace of delight in her tone.

Gu Qinghan froze for a moment, then blinked. He vaguely realized this situation seemed to be heading somewhere bad.

"You mean... deal with the neighbors right now?" he asked tentatively.

A bad feeling rose faintly in Gu Qinghan's heart.

Things seemed to be developing in the worst possible direction.

He had just changed classes, and with the negative effects of his Golden-haired Affinity, this was the worst possible time for social interaction.

"To be honest with you, I've actually already picked the person."

As she spoke, Katarina reached out with a slender, gentle hand and took Gu Qinghan's hand.

Then she shot him a grinning glance, turned around, and slowly said,

"Mr. Richard, you can come out now~"

Her pleasant voice echoed through the dark, narrow corridor.

As the words rang out, the orange magic lamp overhead flickered, lighting up the barren hallway.

Gu Qinghan stood there in a daze.

His gaze stopped at the neighbor's door across from him, less than three meters away.

There was a small crack in it.

The opposite neighbor hadn't fully closed the door on purpose.

He had been eavesdropping on their conversation.

At that moment, Katarina turned back with a smile and happily said to Gu Qinghan,

"Mr. Hohenheim, your neighbor Mr. Richard has really been looking forward to becoming friends with you. He's been waiting all day!"

"Hurry and seize the chance to make a friend with him!"

"Don't spend all your time reading those books! You need to go out more once in a while too!"

Looking at Katarina's slightly flushed cheeks, Gu Qinghan instantly realized something, and his face turned livid.

This Katarina was setting him up!

At the same time, from the opposite side, less than three meters away, that door slowly opened—

Creak!

A thin figure slowly stepped out from behind it.

He was a little over 1.7 meters tall. His manner was gentle and refined. He wore plain, common civilian clothes and looked at Gu Qinghan with a smile.

It was a man.

"Hello, Mr. Hohenheim. I'm your neighbor, Richard Plantagenet. I just moved here today."

The man secretly glanced at Katarina. Only after confirming her approval did he extend a hand toward Gu Qinghan for a handshake.

He forced out a somewhat stiff smile, and a hint of ingratiation showed on his face.

"We even greeted each other at noon... do you still remember?"

Gu Qinghan stood there blankly, but he quickly remembered this man.

Earlier today, after Gu Qinghan drank the potion and took a nap, a man had woken him up.

The man had claimed to be the neighbor who had just moved in.

He had wanted to make friends with him.

Gu Qinghan looked at Richard's expression, and his own face gradually darkened.

When it rains, it pours.

The corner of Gu Qinghan's mouth twitched. Right now, he had an inexplicable urge

to shut the door immediately and turn around and leave.

But at this moment, he couldn't do that.

Beside him, Katarina was smiling as she watched the two of them. The curve at her lips carried a deeper meaning.

She had come prepared.

Gu Qinghan's mouth twitched again. He forcibly suppressed the urge to curse out her entire family, then stiffly squeezed out a trace of a smile and asked,

"Mr. Richard, may I ask you a question?"

The man named Richard froze for a moment.

He clearly didn't understand Gu Qinghan's intention.

"I know it's a little strange to ask something like this right after meeting... but please believe me, I absolutely mean no harm."

"This is a question I have to ask to avoid misunderstandings."

"What I want to ask is—"

"Do you have a lover, a girlfriend, or maybe a fiancée or something?"

Gu Qinghan said with a face full of awkwardness, the corner of his mouth twitching.