Fate

The outcome of the bet regarding Jiangbei and Fang Yuan’s first meeting had finally been revealed. The two mischief-makers, Wang Fu and Fox Lady Nine, emerged victorious and were thoroughly delighted, basking in their triumph. The other bigwigs who had lost were all visibly displeased; had it not been for their self-restraint, they might have rushed over to teach Wang Fu and Fox Lady Nine a lesson for their shamelessness.

Wang Fu was especially smug, wearing a grin that begged for a beating. “A bet’s a bet, you have to accept the result. Don’t look at me like that—I didn’t deceive you. You just lack social experience.”

Fox Lady Nine nodded enthusiastically. “Maybe you should look at it from a different angle. Sure, you lost money, but you gained experience!”

The group of bigwigs, led by King Cat, were speechless.

Let’s go! Don’t even look at those two shameless rascals any longer. If this keeps up, we’ll lose our appetites for lunch.

The bigwigs turned and left; Wang Fu didn’t stop them, only reminding, “See you next time, then. And remember to look into those Awakened and the so-called ‘system’ business.”

“We know, you’re such a chatterbox,” someone grumbled.

On the last morning of August, the Peach Blossom Spring Villas grew suddenly quiet. Luxury cars rolled out of the community one after another. Soon, only Ha Xiaoming and Gu Mimi remained as residents.

Ha Xiaoming stretched out comfortably. “Finally, peace and quiet! Now I can do whatever I want!”

Gu Mimi, the little skeleton girl, currently appeared as a ten-year-old child, though she was certainly older than that. She shot Ha Xiaoming a sidelong glance, her expression the perfect blend of youthful innocence and ancient cunning—a rather amusing sight. “I honestly don’t know how you’ve made it this long in life.”

Now that the Skeleton King had departed, Ha Xiaoming had nothing to fear. He reached out and ruffled Gu Mimi’s head, his face gleaming with delight. “That’s easy—I survived because I’m handsome!”

Gu Mimi was speechless.

“Thank goodness I’m a skeleton. If not, hearing that would have made me sick… Enough of your vanity, get to work.”

“No rush, no rush. Let’s play first. They’ll be living here for four years—what’s the hurry?” Ha Xiaoming waved his hand dismissively. “Come on, you’ve just arrived in the capital, haven’t had a chance to see the sights yet. I’ll show you around.”

“Not interested.”

“How about checking out some pretty girls?”

“No.”

“You’re so difficult! Fine, what do you want to do?” he asked in exasperation.

At that, little skeleton Gu Mimi’s eyes glinted with mischief. “Heh heh…”

That morning, in the capital’s most famous and reportedly most thrilling amusement park, Ha Xiaoming’s terrified screams echoed for a long time.

“Holy crap! I’m done! I want to go home!”

“Somebody save me!”

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Chen Xiya, the elegant forest elf, possessed beauty rivaling Fang Yuan’s. Yet, she could never lay claim to those star-bright eyes of Fang Yuan, nor could she hope to match that inexpressible, unique aura Fang Yuan carried. When the Elf King had once made this comparison, Chen Xiya had felt indignant. Only today, meeting Fang Yuan face to face, did she truly understand, her head instinctively bowing in shame, that the Elf King’s words had been an act of kindness. If one were to speak frankly, comparing herself to Fang Yuan was nothing short of overestimating herself. And this, despite the fact that as a forest elf, she was already outstanding.

“How can such a perfect being exist in this world?” Chen Xiya silently wondered, heaving a long sigh before mustering the courage to walk over to Fang Yuan.

Jiangbei had Mao Xiaobai by his side. Mao Xiaobai, though always munching on snacks and rarely pausing her chatter, was endearing and innocent. Most importantly, Jiangbei was not annoyed by her presence. So, unless she did something truly foolish to anger him, she would remain his classmate, friend, and, by some “incredible coincidence,” a neighbor in the same community for the next four years.

As for Fang Yuan…

According to the original plan, Chen Xiya should have appeared during the summer. But thanks to Dracula’s stubborn insistence on letting Eric step in first, two precious months of summer had been wasted. In the end, Eric, who had made little progress, was now out of the picture.

Thus, Chen Xiya only made her entrance now, hoping that, as a fellow major and a resident of the same community, she could quickly become friends with Fang Yuan—perhaps even close confidantes. She was confident, unlike that foolish vampire Eric, for she had done her homework and believed she understood Fang Yuan well enough.

“There’s no way this will fail,” Chen Xiya silently encouraged herself as she walked up to Fang Yuan. “Hello.”

“Hello,” Fang Yuan replied.

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The freshman orientation was a dull affair. To cope with the boredom, Mao Xiaobai chose to eat snacks—hence the bag she carried stuffed with treats. After all, as a cat, school meant little to her.

Jiangbei, for his part, simply pulled out his phone and started playing his current favorite game. Mao Xiaobai glanced over, found gaming equally uninspiring, and went back to focusing on her snacks.

The orientation dragged on, speaker after speaker droning on endlessly. At last, it ended.

When they met up with Yang Xue, Mao Xiaobai, ever the food lover, suggested trying the cafeteria. “I heard the food here is pretty good—let’s check it out.”

It was about lunchtime, after all. Although they hadn't spent much time together during the summer, Yang Xue had grown fond of the adorable Mao Xiaobai and agreed with a smile. The two girls quickly linked arms and headed for the cafeteria.

Jiangbei, left trailing behind like a third wheel, followed with a grin.

The walk from the gym to the cafeteria was a bit of a trek. Mao Xiaobai, chattering away with Yang Xue, suddenly remembered something important.

“I almost forgot!”

Relieved at her timely recollection—no scolding for her today—Mao Xiaobai asked, “Xue, which dormitory building are you in? I’ll come find you to hang out later.”

Not suspecting anything, Yang Xue replied truthfully that she lived in the Peach Blossom Spring Villas and didn’t stay in the dormitories.

According to the script, this was when Mao Xiaobai should act surprised and incredulous.

“You live in the Peach Blossom Spring Villas? Which building?”

Yang Xue answered, “Building sixteen, why?”

Mao Xiaobai lit up with delight. Her acting skills might not be great, but it was enough to fool the innocent Yang Xue.

“I’m in building eight… What a coincidence!”