Chapter 46: A Bad Premonition

"It's such a pity! We lost by just one point! Just one point!" Zhuge Yun had been muttering all the way from the end of the match to their walk back to campus.

"I know, right," Zhao Luezheng couldn't help chiming in. "We lost just because of a single point!"

It was simply too frustrating!

……

Xiao Xiao did not join in their complaining, his thoughts drifting somewhat. When the final whistle of the match had blown earlier, the team from University of Science and Technology naturally erupted in cheers and jubilation, and several of their basketball players even roared with excitement.

Amidst all this commotion, Yang Yi's gaze locked directly onto Xiao Xiao before the latter could guard against it. Xiao Xiao raised his eyebrows, returned the look with a completely placid expression, and then naturally averted his eyes. They weren't close, thank you very much. Besides, Yang Yi wasn't a pretty girl; he had no interest in "exchanging glances" with a guy.

Xiao Xiao had a feeling that Yang Yi wanted to walk over and find him, but the boy was conveniently grabbed by his excited companions, giving Xiao Xiao the chance to quickly pull Zhuge Yun and Zhao Luezheng away. As for the boss, Zhang Bo, he naturally stayed with the basketball team and didn't walk back with them.

"Old Third, Old Third!"

"Third Brother!"

"Yeah, what is it?" Xiao Xiao stepped sideways and retreated a few steps to put some distance between himself and the overly close Zhuge Yun.

"I should be asking you what's wrong. What are you zoning out for?"

"Did you catch your eye on some girl from somewhere?"

"No." Xiao Xiao flatly denied it, though in the eyes of those determined to read into things, it just looked like protestations too loud to be believable.

"Don't be shy. Come on, tell your Second Brother, and I'll help you figure it out."

……

Amidst the banter, Xiao Xiao smoothly pushed the matter concerning Yang Yi to the back of his mind.

They were just strangers to begin with.

The Gudiao was dead, and their interaction ended right there.

To be honest, at the very beginning, Xiao Xiao had felt a bit of lingering resentment for not teaching Yang Yi a lesson—after all, that bastard had actually helped a monster hunt humans! It was simply intolerable to both heaven and earth!

Later on, however, he figured that Yang Yi had essentially received his lesson. Furthermore, the mastermind behind the cannibalism had already been executed, and as for the accomplice, Xiao Xiao lacked any crusading, self-righteous urge to act as a guardian of justice. As long as the guy didn't lose his mind and court death again, Xiao Xiao naturally had no desire to bother with him further.

The whole affair should rightfully come to a close here.

……

On this day, Yenching welcomed its first snow of the year.

Everyone who woke up early and pulled back their curtains was greeted by an unexpected gift—a world blanketed in silver.

The snow must have fallen through the night, leaving a thick layer by early morning.

Beneath a remarkably clear and pristine sky lay pure, untainted snow, exuding a restrained and elegant aesthetic unique to medieval poetry.

A piercing, biting chill floated through the air, forming a delightfully contrasting cuteness with the fluffy, soft-looking snow.

Many people couldn't resist the temptation to grab a huge handful of snow. Despite the soft texture quickly freezing their hands red, it didn't dampen their enthusiasm for playing in the snow or their joy at seeing the first snowfall.

……

Xiao Xiao was forcibly yanked out of dreamland bright and early by Zhang Bo's booming bellows.

"It's snowing!"

Clutching his head, Xiao Xiao rolled over slowly inside his comforter, wrapped up like a silkworm cocoon. In truth, his head didn't hurt at all anymore; after all, the Monster Manual was remarkably effective. Especially after the Lingling ate the Gudiao, the energy fed back into the Monster Manual had been passed on to him, and the pleasant sensation of that warm current flowing through his entire body was almost addictive.

Even so, though both his body and mind had been comforted and he felt no fatigue, there still existed such a thing in this world as waking up on the wrong side of the bed.

And as it happened, Xiao Xiao had a rather severe case of morning crankiness.

Previously, the others in the dorm always woke up even later than he did, and later on, when his complexion was poor and he didn't wake up early for class, they had all considerately refrained from making noise that might wake him. Now, however, Xiao Xiao's complexion had returned to normal, so they had dropped their reservations.

Ordinarily, it wouldn't have mattered much that Zhang Bo and the others always woke up late, but this morning, when classmate Zhang Bo returned from the restroom, his brain suddenly short-circuited. He pulled back the curtain to take a look, and the "tragedy" ensued.

Xiao Xiao had always been an even-tempered person. Even when his heart was overflowing with morning irritation, his outward expression remained as calm and unruffled as ever, though his tightly pursed lips looked somewhat more stern and grim.

A palpable aura of low pressure radiated from him. Even Zhang Bo, who possessed the thickest nerves, closed his mouth with a strong sense of self-preservation, let alone Zhuge Yun and Zhao Luezheng.

Uh, Zhuge Yun glanced at Xiao Xiao, whose expression seemed perfectly normal, then touched the goosebumps standing up on his arms, and silently swallowed back the words he had been halfway through saying.

Zhao Luezheng sheepishly swallowed a few times. Actually, he had somewhat sensed that Xiao Xiao got grumpy when first waking up, but he hadn't expected it to be this severe. He resolved that from now on, he would firmly refuse to wake up earlier than Third Brother, and even if he did, he would make absolute certain not to make a single sound.

……

The scenery of Yen Da's campus had always been widely praised, and after a snowfall, Yen Da was even more breathtakingly beautiful.

Unfortunately, Zhang Bo and the other two had zero mood to appreciate it.

Xiao Xiao's lingering low pressure was still enveloping them.

……

Zhuge Yun saw Zhang Bo and Zhao Luezheng exchanging frantic glances and gesturing wildly at him, and couldn't help mentally complaining: Are your eyes twitching? Besides, why should I be the one to speak up?

On second thought, though, only he could do it. The boss? Forget it; if he didn't add fuel to the fire, that would be a miracle. Fourth Brother? Judging by his current state, Zhuge Yun doubted the guy could even string a coherent sentence together.

Fine, as the Buddha says: If I don't enter hell, who will?

Zhuge Yun wore an expression of heroic martyrdom, though his tone was carefully measured: "Old Third, it's snowing, you know."

Zhang Bo and Zhao Luezheng: ……

Xiao Xiao cast a placid, expressionless glance at Zhuge Yun, a flash of amusement flitting through his eyes. Actually, watching Boss and the others act like this was quite entertaining.

He wasn't nearly as angry as they thought; it was just that his morning crankiness had lingered in the back of his mind, making him reluctant to say anything.

Besides, the quiet, tranquil beauty exuded by the campus in the snow was better suited for silent appreciation.

Listening to the crunching sound of footsteps on the thick snow, his mood gradually brightened, mirroring the crisp sound.

Xiao Xiao narrowed his eyes, looking at the teaching buildings partially veiled behind layers of trees. The wispy white cold air drifted in and out of sight, possessing a unique, serene, and archaic charm.

Suddenly, a flash of silver crossed the corner of his eye. Xiao Xiao paused his steps. That flash of silver against the bright snowy ground was not particularly conspicuous, yet Xiao Xiao recognized its true identity at a glance.

Silver-gray fur, always appearing and disappearing mysteriously on campus—wasn't that the Ereshu?

Xiao Xiao's impression of this little monster wasn't bad. Even though he always saw it around campus, he had never heard of any harming incidents related to it. Furthermore, it had once protected him; even if it was bound by the constraints of the Monster Manual, he remained grateful.

He suddenly recalled that just before the incident with Lin Zhenzhen occurred, he had seen the Ereshu through the classroom window during a lecture. Afterward, one event after another piled up, and he had gradually forgotten about seeing it.

And now, just as he was about to forget it completely, this little monster had appeared before him once more.

Although his perception of the Ereshu wasn't negative, he always felt that seeing it meant no good would come of it. Whether it was the matter of the Qinshuai or the turtledove, both had happened after he encountered the Ereshu—even though those two events actually had zero to do with the creature.

Perhaps he was just overthinking it. Everything was merely a coincidence.

Even as he told himself this, a few shallow creases still appeared between Xiao Xiao's brows. Whether due to psychological suggestion or not, Xiao Xiao always felt he had a bad premonition.

To borrow a classic line from a certain Team Rocket cannon fodder trio: What a truly annoying feeling!