Chapter 67: Masks (IV)

“What a wonderful night…”
Gazing at the dim, soft light in the hall, Allen chuckled. Then he turned to look at the senior student beside him, dressed in a black suit, who occasionally took out his pocket watch to check the time, and said softly, “Don’t you think so, senior?”
The senior raised his head in confusion and glanced at Allen, then smiled and said gently, “Of course. If you have a charming girl as your dance partner, then tonight might leave a memorable impression on you young folks—why don’t you go back to your partner?”
“Oh, oh,” Allen pretended to look sad, pouting, “Do you think I’d like to stand alone in a corner watching others flirt? Ugh… The dance has been going on for a long time, but I still haven’t seen her—maybe I’ve upset her!”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” the senior shook his head, glanced at Allen, and said regretfully, “If I were you, I’d go back right away to ask that lady for forgiveness instead of wasting time here. Well…” He paused, glanced at his pocket watch, and shrugged. “As a friendly advice from a senior to a junior, if you can win back your charming dance partner’s forgiveness and bring her here within twenty minutes, I think you two might have an interesting time…”
“Twenty minutes?” Allen glanced at the hall, licked his lips, and pretended to be troubled. “I don’t know if I can do it…”
“It’s not whether you can do it or not—it’s that you must do it,” the senior said with a slight smile, shrugging again. “If not, you might miss out on some wonderful time… Go now, kid!”
“Oh, oh,” Allen pretended to be confused, asking awkwardly, “Could you please be more specific, senior? What do you mean by ‘wonderful time’…”

The senior seemed a bit helpless. He shook his head, hesitated for a moment, and whispered to Allen, “Alright, just because others can hold their favorite girls while we can only stand by and watch… Damn it! Listen carefully, kid—twenty minutes from now, I’ll control the lights in this hall and turn off the starlight above for two minutes. You know what two minutes of darkness at a dance means, right? Like a shy kiss? Of course, that’s assuming you’re prepared for your date to get angry and slap you, or maybe…” He winked at Allen.

“Oh, my God!” Allen looked shocked and asked anxiously, “Will… will something really that wonderful happen?”

“Of course,” the senior said proudly before shaking his head and cursing, “I really should thank that jerk Casper for giving me such an interesting task!” Seeing Allen staring at the ceiling, he asked curiously, “What are you looking at, kid? If I were you, I’d run out right now to ask your date for forgiveness instead of wasting time here!”

“Oh, oh,” Allen nodded quickly, then pretended to be confused and said, “I was just thinking about how to control the lights here…”

“You don’t even know that? It seems like you haven’t been to many dances like this.” Pointing to a mural beside him, the senior shrugged and said, “See these stars? They control all the lights in this hall, and the moon controls the switch. Move those clouds with your wand to cover the moon, and then… whoosh!” He looked at Allen in surprise and asked teasingly, “But why are you asking all this? Is it… oh, no, no—there’s only two minutes tonight, that’s the rule!”

“Can’t we get a little more time?” Glancing at the mural, Allen sighed and shrugged, “You know…”

“No, no, no,” the senior interrupted with a laugh. “I understand what you kids are thinking, but remember, this is in Riox. Believe me, two minutes is enough. If your face isn’t red by the time the starlight comes back on, I think you’ll have plenty of time. Do you get what I mean?”

“I think I do!”

“Then what are you waiting for?”

Shrugging, Allen turned and took a few steps toward the entrance of the hall, then turned back and said in a low voice, “How should I address you, senior?”
“Hm? Neum,” the senior replied, lifting his head and shrugging jokingly. “If it’s to thank me, then there’s no need…”
“No, no,” Allen said, waving his finger and speaking softly. “I just wanted to say… I’m sorry, Senior Neum!”
Looking at Allen in confusion, Senior Neum asked in surprise, “Why?”
“For this…” As he spoke, Allen’s left hand quietly reached behind Senior Neum’s neck and delivered a quick chop.
With a muffled groan, Senior Neum slowly collapsed, but Allen quickly caught him. After glancing around, he quietly dragged him behind the thick dark green curtains.
A few minutes later, a student dressed in a black suit with a wizard hat stepped out from behind the dark green curtains. After glancing at the students in the hall, he raised his hand to press down on the brim of his hat and chuckled.
“Want a surprise, gentlemen? It will surely ‘shock’ you, but not necessarily ‘please’ you… Hehe!”
Meanwhile, in a corner of the hall, Jiang Zhe and Dia were in a very awkward situation.
Especially Dia…
She seemed to have guessed something, but precisely because of that, she couldn’t face the boy in front of her.
To be honest, Dia admitted she felt a strong liking for the boy, but it stemmed from special memories and had nothing to do with emotions. Even if she accepted his invitation, it would simply be to repay his concern and care for her, or to avoid embarrassing him with a refusal. But…
If five minutes ago Dia hadn’t felt much about the boy holding her waist, now, her flushed cheeks and slightly rapid breathing showed just how nervous she was.
She had thought it would just be a simple, fun dance party game, but now…
What to do?
Date a junior two years her junior? That’s crazy!
Dia admitted that the boy had extraordinary talent, which she had sensed from the moment she first met him: no first-year student had such a strong presence of fire energy around them… none!
He was a genius!
But…
What to do?
“Dia… Dia?”
“Hm?” Like a startled rabbit, Dia trembled violently.
“Are… are you okay?”

“I’m fine… really fine…” Feeling the heat on her cheeks, Dia whispered those words. Then, she sneaked a glance at the boy in front of her and saw his eyes filled with deep embarrassment and perhaps panic. Unable to help it, Dia let out a soft laugh and lowered her head, saying, “Sos, I…”
“Hm?”
Biting her lip, Dia shook her head and said, “No, it’s nothing…”
“Do you want to say something?”
Dia noticed that the boy’s voice also carried a hint of tension, which made her hesitate. After thinking for a moment, she shook her head again and pretended to be casual, saying, “No… I just want to say my right hand is a bit sore—can we change positions?”
“Uh, of course…”
Looking up at Jiang Zhe, Dia slowly removed her right hand from his shoulder. After a brief hesitation, she gently wrapped her arm around his waist. She could feel him shudder when her hand touched his waist. Despite the embarrassment and shyness, Dia still found it a bit funny and whispered, “Are you nervous, Sos?”
“Of course not… Um, a little, just a bit…”
“Giggle…” Dia chuckled softly. Just as she was about to speak, an accident happened—she suddenly felt someone bump into her back, causing her to fall into Jiang Zhe’s arms.
“Oh, sorry, sorry!” The boy from the other team quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, please forgive our rudeness. Believe us, we definitely didn’t mean to. It’s too crowded here—maybe there are hundreds of people…” As he spoke, he performed a magician’s gesture of apology.
Unfortunately, neither Jiang Zhe nor Dia responded. The boy just shrugged and led his companion to a less crowded area. Of course, he couldn’t understand how Jiang Zhe and Dia were feeling at that moment.
Feeling the warmth in his arms, Jiang Zhe felt sweat of nervousness pouring from his forehead. After a long silence, he managed to say, “You… are you okay?”
“Um…” Dia replied in a faint voice. At that moment, she could only feel her heart pounding violently, her cheeks and ears burning hot. She wanted to leave, to get away from that embarrassing embrace, but all the strength in her body seemed to vanish in an instant. Now, she could barely stand.
Good heavens, Dia! What are you doing?
Leaning shamelessly against the chest of a junior who was two academic years younger than her?
Get away from here!

She had to make things clear to him—this was a mistake, a real mistake…
As Dia struggled internally, suddenly, she felt arms gently wrap around her back…
“Suo…” Dia barely lifted her head to see the boy in front of her avoid her gaze, clearly flustered.
It’s a mistake… It’s a mistake, Dia…
She repeated those words in her mind. After hesitating for a moment, she relaxed, pressing her face gently against the boy’s chest without resisting.
Both of them remained silent for several minutes. Then, with a soft sigh, Dia leaned against Jiang Zhe’s chest and whispered in a strange tone, “Sos, do you know what you’re doing?”
“Mm!” Perhaps out of embarrassment, Jiang Zhe replied vaguely.
With a helpless sigh, Dia lifted her head from Jiang Zhe’s chest, looked into his eyes, and said softly, “Look at me, Sos!”
Instinctively, Jiang Zhe met her gaze, which filled him with extreme embarrassment. Maybe he hadn’t expected himself to act so irrationally—perhaps he had secretly felt fond of this gentle senior from the start.
It was so unexpected. This dance party had truly taken him by surprise. Accepting an invitation from a junior two semesters younger than himself, being held by him, resting in his arms—without resisting—and even feeling, deep down, that she didn’t dislike this feeling…
Good heavens! Was there anything more embarrassing than this?
But his eyes…
Would they hurt him?
Could they?
Could they not?
Could they?
After staring into Jiang Zhe’s eyes for a long time, Dia sighed slightly and lowered her head again, resting in the arms of the boy two semesters younger than her.
It was truly crazy. But somehow… she didn’t dislike it either. The feeling of being needed by someone…
At least she didn’t dislike him. Yes, not dislike him…
It was impossible to dislike him!
Meanwhile, Kasper, who was chatting with several charming mage girls in a corner of the hall, felt someone tap his shoulder. Turning his head, he glanced at the person and said jokingly, “Is it time?”
The senior student shrugged.
“Alright,” Kasper glanced at the crowd in the hall, snapped his fingers lightly, and said with a smile, “Then what are we waiting for?”

In just a few seconds, the already faint starlight in the hall vanished abruptly, accompanied by a few sharp, stifled screams from the dance floor. Soon after, everything returned to silence, and the entire area was engulfed in thick darkness; everyone was in the dark.

“What’s going on?” Unaware of what was happening, Jiang Zhe instinctively used his mental senses to scan the surroundings, but nothing unusual was detected. Everyone was still standing there normally, which left him puzzled.

However, Jiang Zhe’s confusion didn’t mean Dia knew nothing about such things. Although she never attended parties like this, she had heard some stories from her friend Lilith.

Seeming to sense something odd about the boy before her, Dia raised her head and said softly, “Don’t worry, it’s okay…” But then she suddenly noticed that the boy’s eyes seemed to be fixed on her.

Looking into those eyes, which glowed with a faint dark golden hue in the darkness, Dia suddenly felt her heart pounding violently. Her breathing became rapid, and out of nervousness, she tightly grasped the boy’s arm.

Good heavens, this was absolutely crazy… Lilith would laugh herself to death…

Imagining being teased by her friend, Dia slowly closed her eyes and then slowly raised her toes off the ground.

Jiang Zhe watched helplessly as those pale blue eyes closed in the darkness, listening to her rapid breathing. He didn’t need to guess—everything was too obvious.

Instinctively, Jiang Zhe swallowed hard and then slowly lowered his head…

After a few seconds that felt like suffocation, he faintly sensed his lips touching something—something softer, with a slight chill and a tingling sensation, as if electrocuted.

Just as Jiang Zhe… no, most people there wanted to explore this feeling further, suddenly, with a flash, the stars on the hall’s ceiling emitted bright light once again, illuminating the entire hall.

It was as if the secret between Jiang Zhe and Dia, which should have remained hidden in the darkness, had been exposed abruptly—how embarrassing!

In an instant, Dia’s face turned crimson as she lowered her head, too afraid to look into Jiang Zhe’s eyes.

Jiang Zhe was the same way. His earlier anticipation and surprise had been replaced by frustration and embarrassment, just like all the male students present.

“Yah!” After a strange silence, the screams of the girls in the hall erupted suddenly, accompanied by angry roars.
“Bastard!”
“Which bastard?!”
“I’m going to kill him!”
“That bastard will pay a heavy price!”
The angry boys scanned the room with their eyes before focusing on a corner where a student in a black suit, wearing a tall wizard hat, stood.
“What’s that bastard Neuhm up to?!” an tall senior student said angrily beside sixth-grade representative Casper Rollins. “That jerk has messed things up!” He unconsciously rolled up his sleeves.
“No, wait,” Casper said, holding up a hand to stop him. Frowning at the corner, he said jokingly, “Neuhm would never do such a thing. He doesn’t have the guts—unless he wants to become the school’s public enemy and be hunted by all the boys!” With that, he picked up a glass of fruit wine from the table and drank it in one gulp.
As Casper said, the male students present were extremely angry. Their gazes toward that corner carried flames of fury.
After a brief moment of restraint, the “bastard” under everyone’s gaze finally raised his head, revealing a face eerily similar to Allen’s… Well, not just similar—clearly it was him!
With one hand on the brim of his hat and the other on the wall, Allen glanced at the angry crowd and said in an awkward and teasing tone, “Oops, seems I turned off the wrong switch—should I turn it off again?”
For a moment, all the male students in the hall were speechless, stunned by such a shameless excuse.
Turn it off?
Was it even useful to do that now?
The atmosphere that had built up earlier had vanished completely due to this “surprise,” along with any good mood that might have existed.
After another moment of tension, an angry voice shouted, “Who’s that bastard?”
“I know him. It’s that second-year kid from Allen’s group, Allen Skander!” Clearly, some in the crowd recognized Allen’s face.
It had to be said that even the boldly fearless Allen felt uneasy when surrounded by senior students, especially when their eyes burned with furious flames.
“Allen?” Jiang Zhe stared at the corner in disbelief.

“That’s… Junior Allen?” Seemingly hearing Jiang Zhe’s surprised voice, Dia raised her head, putting aside her earlier shyness. She gently covered her mouth with her small hand and murmured, “Oh my god, I hope nothing bad happens…”
“It won’t!” Jiang Zhe said softly. He released his arms around Dia and turned toward Allen, but before he could take two steps, Dia pulled him back.
Facing Jiang Zhe’s puzzled gaze, Dia shook her head and said, “I know what you want to do, but… don’t go, Thor!”
Glancing at Allen in the distance, Jiang Zhe frowned and said, “Allen is strong, but not yet strong enough to deal with dozens of senior students at once. I can’t just stand here doing nothing!”
“I know,” Dia said, gripping Jiang Zhe’s arm tightly. She shook her head and whispered anxiously, “If it were before, I probably wouldn’t have stopped you, but now…” She looked deeply at Jiang Zhe, sighed silently, patted his back with her right hand, and said softly, “Alright, go… but don’t get hurt. If an apology can solve the problem, don’t start a fight. Please…”
“Dia…”
“Don’t get hurt…”
After giving Dia a deep look, Jiang Zhe nodded and promised, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Wait for me!”
“Mm, okay—if a fight breaks out, I’ll report it to the professors right away. Be careful until they arrive, Thor…”
“Mm!”
Meanwhile, Allen’s situation seemed to have become extremely dangerous.
“You brat!” A senior student grabbed Allen by the collar of his robe and growled angrily, “Do you know what you’ve done? You’ve ruined everything!”
“Hey,” Allen said jokingly, glancing at his own collar, “Let’s talk properly. Using force won’t solve anything. Someone might get hurt instead.”
“Oh?” The senior sneered, slapped Allen on the left cheek with his left hand, and said in a deep voice, “Who’s going to get hurt, kid?”
“Of course…” As he spoke, Allen suddenly raised his knee and struck the senior in the abdomen. The senior looked at Allen in disbelief before slowly collapsing to the ground.
Allen smoothed his wrinkled collar and said calmly, “Who’s going to get hurt? Now do you understand?”
“What the hell do you want?”
“Jean? Are you okay, Jean?”
“Bastard!”

A dozen senior students stared in shock at the student named Jean, who was collapsed on the ground. Then, in anger, they rushed at Allen. But soon, as if sensing something, they turned their heads abruptly and saw a student dressed like a clown walking swiftly toward them. Around him, within about ten yards, there were dozens of glowing fireballs. He whispered to the senior students, “Dozens of people bullying one person?”

“That many fireballs…” One of the seniors looked at the floating fireballs and realized, “That kid is Sos from the second year—he’s that jerk’s friend!”

“You little brat, what do you think you’re doing?” A senior pointed ahead. In just a second or two, a large mass of water appeared in front of him, floating in the air.

“Two second-year brats thinking you two can take on everyone here?” As he spoke, the dozen seniors began chanting spells. Soon, fireballs, water arrows, water shields, and protective barriers filled the area.

“Hey, buddy!” Taking advantage of the seniors’ distraction, Allen ran over to Jiang Zhe with a smile. “Nice to meet you!” He then turned to look at the seniors and said cheerfully, “Good thing my buddy is reliable!” After saying that, he frowned slightly, and a faint red glow flashed across his body, accompanied by a crackling sound. His muscles instantly swelled.

“Two fools who don’t know their place!” one of the seniors growled angrily. But from his expression, it was clear he was wary of these two juniors, especially the one controlling the fireballs—the power of the fireballs and fire bombs he used was no joke.

“Wow, wow,” as the two sides stood off each other, a few crisp applause sounds came from the crowd. Then, Casper Rollins stepped forward slowly, with a relaxed expression, and said mockingly, “Gentlemen, I don’t think magic is needed at a dance, right? Or perhaps you’d like to put on an exciting performance for this dance?”

“Casper, it wasn’t us who used magic first—it was that little brat!”

“Oh, is that so?” With a slight smile, Casper stepped forward. As he passed by Jiang Zhe, he stopped, glanced at the dozens of fireballs floating in the hall, and said with some praise, “Impressive control. But I still have to say that if any of these burn anything in this hall, we’ll be in trouble. Disperse those fireballs, junior Sos—I believe you can do it. We don’t need them here!” He paused briefly before adding in a low voice, “Trust me, you won’t have any trouble!”

Frowning at Casper, Jiang Zhe snapped his fingers, and instantly, the dozens of fireballs vanished without a trace.

“Brilliant!” Casper nodded at Jiang Zhe before turning his gaze to the dozen or so senior students. Shrugging, he said jokingly, “Hey, I don’t want to end up in Professor Manhert’s office over such a trivial matter. Hurry up!”

The senior students exchanged glances and dismissed their magic. One of them said to Casper, “Alright, Casper, we’ll follow your lead. But what about that brat?” He pointed at Allen.

Glancing at Allen, who seemed completely unbothered, Casper chuckled and said, “Gentlemen, today should be a nice night, right? Let’s forget all the unpleasant things. How about that?”

“Including that brat knocking Gene to the ground with vulgar tactics?”

“If you don’t want to get punished by the academy for making things worse… then yes!” Casper clapped his hands and smiled. “It was just an unpleasant episode. Compared to this wonderful night, it’s nothing. I think junior Allen won’t make the same mistake again, right?”

“I guess so!” Allen chuckled and dismissed the enhancement magic from his body.

“Casper, does that include Neuhm too, who was knocked out by that brat?” asked a senior student standing near the curtain, seemingly having come with Casper, expressionlessly.

“Oh, dear,” Casper said with a wry smile as he glanced at the guy who had been knocked out by Allen and dragged behind the curtain. He looked at Allen helplessly, shook his head, and said, “As I said earlier, Boniface, let’s put an end to these unpleasant matters, okay? Take a few people to carry Neuhm and Gene to the lounge. As for Neuhm’s suit, I think junior Allen will return it later and apologize and compensate, okay? Is it over now?”

Frowning, he glanced at Allen. Boniface, a senior student, nodded, called over a few others, and carried the two unconscious guys to the lounge. The remaining dozen or so seniors glanced at Casper, then at Allen, muttered some curses in anger, and walked away. One of them stopped when passing by Allen and said in a threatening tone, “Be careful around me from tomorrow, kid!” Allen smirked at him and said jokingly, “Using force is bad—someone might get hurt!” “What the hell are you talking about?” “Looking for a fight, kid? Do you really think the two of you can handle everyone here?” “Hey!” Casper stepped forward and pulled them apart, frowning. “Do you want to draw the professors’ attention?” “Tch!” Forced to back down, the seniors left in frustration. “Phew,” Allen sighed in relief, patted Jiang Zhe’s shoulder, and shrugged. “Thanks, buddy!” He smirked and added softly, “I didn’t ruin your fun, did I?” “I should thank you for your concern!” Jiang Zhe rolled his eyes and turned toward Dia, but was called back by Casper. “Wait, Thors!” “Hm?” Jiang Zhe looked at Casper skeptically and asked calmly, “What else?” “Of course,” Casper said with a smile as he stepped forward. He looked at Jiang Zhe and whispered, “Professor Hode… must have taught you Flash Flame, right? Don’t deny it—I saw you use it in the competition!” “Yes! So what?” Noticing the wariness in Jiang Zhe’s eyes, Casper smiled. “I’m leaving for Salonia in a couple of days, but before that, as a thank you…” He paused, then lowered his voice. “I’ll be waiting for you at the playground west of the ancient castle during lunch tomorrow!” “What?” Seeing Jiang Zhe’s puzzled expression, Casper smiled. “Think of it as my challenge to you… Make sure to come. It’ll be good for you!” He patted Jiang Zhe’s shoulder, then turned to Allen with a smirk. “Be careful from tomorrow—you’re now the public enemy of the whole school!” With a wry smile, he shook his head and returned to his group.

Jiang Zhe made a wildly strange face at Allen, who said with glee, “You’re in trouble, buddy. He’s Kasper Rollins from the sixth grade, the champion of the competition a couple of days ago. Like you, he studies fire-based blue magic… Tsk tsk, this is going to be interesting!”
Rolling his eyes at Allen, Jiang Zhe snapped, “It’s not as bad as yours—everyone in the school hates me!”
“Hey, buddy, I have my reasons… By the way, if I’m surrounded by dozens of people, you definitely have to help me!”
“I’ll help you? Dream on!”
“Hey, that’s not fair at all! Hehe, is it because I messed up your plans?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“Really don’t know? Hehe…”
“Okay, I promise I’ll help you before you get beaten black and blue!”
“Hey, don’t make it sound so bad. If my face gets ruined, many pretty girls will cry over it…”
“You jerk!”
The unpleasant interlude came to an end. Under the dimming starlight, Jiang Zhe, who had finally shaken off Allen, made his way through the crowd back to Dia.
“Phew!” Seeing Jiang Zhe safe and sound, Dia’s tense emotions finally eased. She let out a long sigh, grabbed his arm, and said, “Sos, you were too impulsive—I was almost scared enough to ask the professors for help…”
Feeling the tenderness on his arm, Jiang Zhe whispered, “Didn’t I say it? It’s okay!”
“Okay!” Dia nodded obediently, then seemed to remember something. She quickly pulled her hands back as if shocked, giving the boy a nervous glance, clearly recalling what had just happened.
“Dia? What’s wrong?”
“I… I’m fine,” she said, stealing another glance at Jiang Zhe. Her cheeks flushed again as she bit her lip, hesitantly gripping his hand before whispering, “I’m sorry, Sos. I feel a bit tired…”
“Huh? Shall I take you home?”
“No, it’s okay,” she shook her head, lifting her gaze with a hint of shyness. “Next time—you know, a lot happened today—please, okay? Sos!”
“Okay—if that’s what you insist on!”

“Thank you,” she said with a slight smile at Jiang Zhe. Dia took a gentle breath, then, under the dim light, suddenly stood on tiptoes and hesitantly kissed the boy’s cheek lightly before lowering her head and murmuring, “And thank you for inviting me to this dance party—if it were you…” She glanced up at Jiang Zhe, then shyly lowered her head and turned to leave.
“Be careful on your way…” she said softly. Jiang Zhe instinctively touched his cheek where he had been kissed, then touched his lips as well.
Did it happen just now…?
It seemed not only Jiang Zhe was thinking about this—at least it could be seen from Dia’s flushed face.
It must have happened…
If only it had been a little later, even just one second…
Good heavens, what am I thinking!
With one hand covering her cheek and the other holding up her dress, Dia fled from the hall. Right now, she really didn’t know how to face him… or perhaps she wasn’t mentally prepared to face him yet.
Suddenly, Dia stopped in her tracks because she seemed to see a familiar figure. But sadly, after turning back and tilting her head to look around the hall for a long time, she couldn’t find that somewhat familiar figure again.
Had she mistaken it? Dia blinked in confusion, then seemed to remember something. With a flushed face, she lowered her head and hurried back to her dormitory as if afraid of being noticed.
She needed time—time to change some of her old beliefs…
After Dia left, Jiang Zhe also wanted to leave, but unfortunately, Allen stuck to him…
“Hey, buddy, you made me search so hard—are you here alone? Where’s Senior Dia?”
Glancing at Allen irritably, Jiang Zhe shook his head and said, “She said she was tired and went back first!”
Phew, that’s much better. What luck!
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Allen said with a pretended sigh, grinning and whispering, “Right, buddy? It’s a shame, isn’t it? I hope I didn’t ruin your plans.” He raised his hands and made a subtle gesture, adding with a hint of mockery, “Have you guys… hey, you know what I mean!”
Glancing at Allen, Jiang Zhe covered his forehead and said irritably, “I don’t know—I’m going back!”
“Hey, hey,” Allen hurriedly stepped in front of Jiang Zhe, saying repeatedly, “You can’t leave now!”
Looking at Allen strangely, Jiang Zhe frowned and asked, “Why?”

“Well…” Allen scratched his head awkwardly and said shyly, “You know… didn’t Casper Rollins say it? It’s a beautiful night…”
“Yes, absolutely. So beautiful that I almost got into a fight with a dozen seniors!”
“Hey, man, I have my reasons,” Allen said helplessly, waving his hands. “Please, do you think I want to be the enemy of the whole academy? Who knows when I might get surrounded by a dozen people in some corner of the academy…”
“Who told you to tease others?”
“Dude, didn’t I say I have my reasons? Look, Lisa still hasn’t come back yet. It’s so boring being here alone. How about you keep me company for a while?”
“Keep you company?” Jiang Zhe gave a strange expression and whispered, “Come on, I’m going back—I’m tired too!”
“Okay, okay,” Allen said helplessly as he saw he couldn’t stop his roommate from leaving. “Go ahead and rest. I really don’t understand your mind. On such a wonderful night, why do you choose to go back and sleep alone? Don’t you think it would be great to invite a charming lady to enjoy the moonlight in the academy’s garden? Tell me you don’t want to?!”
Looking at Allen’s serious expression, Jiang Zhe shook his head speechlessly.
Allen put his arm around Jiang Zhe’s shoulder and whispered, “Hey, man, I have to tell you—if you leave now, you’ll definitely regret it later!”
“Regret?” Jiang Zhe frowned, looking at Allen in surprise. “Regret what?”
Shrugging, Allen teased, “Maybe you’ll miss out on something good, like a pretty, charming lady offering you an invitation because you have no dance partner…”
“An invitation?” Jiang Zhe said, half-laughing, half-angry. “Who would invite me—come on, Allen, I’m going back…” But before he could finish, Allen interrupted him.
Allen’s eyes were fixed on Jiang Zhe’s back, and he said mockingly, “Who knows…”
“Enough…” Jiang Zhe said irritably. Just as he was about to turn and leave, he suddenly heard a gentle voice behind him—a voice that was both familiar and strange…
“May I invite you to dance with me, sir?”
“…” Jiang Zhe turned around in confusion. With just one glance, he was stunned.

There stood a girl dressed in a black-red gown, wearing a little demon mask, staring at him with eyes that resembled flames. Though there was a hint of anticipation and shyness in her gaze, she didn’t deliberately avoid eye contact due to embarrassment.
“Impossible…”
Looking at the girl’s fiery red hair cascading loosely over her back, along with those familiar eyes, Jiang Zhe could hardly believe what he saw.
“Ai… Avi?”
So shocked that he almost bit his tongue, Jiang Zhe wondered if this noblewoman with alluring curves and a mature demeanor could really be the girl who more resembled a boy than a girl—Lavia?
That’s impossible!
“I don’t want to hear anything else…” The girl gently placed her right hand, clad in a white glove with delicate lace, on Jiang Zhe’s lips, speaking in an unbelievably gentle voice. “I just want to know if you’re willing… or not?”
Such a domineering tone—only Avi would use it.
But… how could that be?
Staring at this breathtakingly beautiful girl, Jiang Zhe was too stunned to speak. Could this really be Avi?
“If you stay silent… I’ll take it as an answer!” With her usual unarguable assertiveness, the girl smiled softly. Her gentle, sweet smile made Jiang Zhe doubt his eyes once again.
“Well then…” Glancing at Jiang Zhe, she slowly lowered her hand and stretched it out in front of him. A few seconds later, she said calmly, “Do you want me to keep my hand out like this? That’s quite rude!”
“…” After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Zhe reached out and gently took her hand, then bent down to kiss the back of it.
“That’s better!” A hint of satisfaction appeared in her eyes, followed by a slight blush. She gently wrapped her arms around the boy’s waist—her movements stiff, clearly due to nervousness.
“Y-you’re… Avi?”
Looking up at Jiang Zhe, the girl lowered her head and spoke in a soft, pleading voice, “Don’t say anything, don’t ask anything. I just want you to dance with me…”
“Oh… oh…” Nodding in shock, Jiang Zhe felt his thoughts struggling to keep up. Even though he had guessed who the girl was, his memories made it hard for him to associate her with the Lavia he knew.

In a daze, Jiang Zhe suddenly felt as if his right foot had stepped on something. Before he could figure out what it was, a low moan from the girl in front of him, tinged with pain, confirmed the answer.
It’s over…
Just as Jiang Zhe sensed a storm approaching, the girl simply gave him a reproachful glance, filled with a hint of jealousy and sarcasm, and said softly, “You hurt me—do you do the same when you’re with other girls?”
“…” Hearing those gentle words like a soft breeze and light rain, and seeing her eyes devoid of any anger, Jiang Zhe was stunned and opened his mouth.
Could this gentle girl be Ai Wei?
That can’t be true!