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Chapter 78: Strange Thoughts

Hugging the fluffy silver wolf, covering most of her face and only revealing a pair of eyes full of sorrow, she looked like a little wolf cub that had been bullied, trying to be fierce but failing miserably.

Turns out, Teacher Xue Nuo can make that kind of expression too.

Unexpectedly a bit… cute.

Of course, Roy could only think about this in his heart; saying it out loud could be quite disrespectful to his mentor.

“Alright, don’t be mad. It’s my fault.” Roy took the medicine bowl and said with a pleasant tone, “Teacher Xue Nuo, it’s time to take your medicine.”

Who would’ve thought that as soon as he said that, Xue Nuo froze and turned her head away.

“Teacher Xue Nuo?”

“Today, I already took it.”

Roy frowned, “If you’ve had your bloodline disturbed, how can you still be in this state…?!”

Realization struck Roy as he felt a twitch at the corner of his mouth, suspicion creeping in, “You’re not saying you haven’t been taking your medicine, are you?”

Xue Nuo said nothing, slowly curling up and using “Little White” as a shield, leaving only a tuft of her bangs exposed.

This reaction said it all.

Roy solved the mystery; with the potion personally brewed by the grand wizard “Sage”, Xue Nuo’s bloodline disturbance shouldn’t be this noticeable.

It seemed that this person most likely just hadn’t taken her medicine on time!

Noticing the intense questioning in Roy’s gaze, Xue Nuo defended herself, “The bloodline disturbance can be dealt with through rest, no need for medicine…”

“Teacher Xue Nuo, the potion from the Sage is incredibly precious; if you don’t take it, it’d be a waste! Besides, relying on yourself to recover is both painful and exhausting! Who knows how long it’ll take!”

Xue Nuo would say one thing, and Roy would retort with three. But Xue Nuo couldn’t deny that Roy had a point.

However……

“But this medicine is really……” Xue Nuo shut her eyes, slumped her shoulders, and hung her head, showing a struggle as if she were facing a grave crisis.

Roy noticed and got anxious, “Really?”

Xue Nuo shot him a serious glare, sighed deeply, “It’s just too bitter!”

A brief silence.

“Argh?” Little White lifted its head, looking at the two with wide, confused eyes.

After a moment of silence, the boy couldn’t help but stifle a laugh.

“No laughing! Roy, I told you not to make fun of the teacher!”

“Not at all, I just remembered something happy…”

Besides almost losing his life, this might be the most emotional moment Xue Nuo had ever had.

However, no matter how hard she tried to keep a straight face, just thinking about her looking like a little girl struggling with the medicine made Roy want to chuckle.

Until Xue Nuo’s gaze grew colder and the chill emanating from her caused Little White to shiver, Roy bit his tongue to forcibly suppress his laughter.

“Being afraid of bitterness is, well, normal; nobody likes bitter stuff. But good medicine is often bitter, you really have to take it.”

“I already said, I can recover by myself…”

“But if you recover on your own, you won’t make it to the New Year’s party, right?”

The Festival of Saint Grace is like a celebration near the end of the year, but it’s not really the New Year.

Strictly speaking, it’s a holiday from the Holy Light Church of the Eastern Continent; people in the Western Continent celebrate too, but it’s more like how Roy celebrated those Western holidays in his previous life, just another excuse to enjoy and unwind.

The actual New Year is on the last day of December, which is recognized as the New Year in the Western Continent, and it’s way grander than the Festival of Saint Grace.

At that time, the academy holds a New Year’s party for the faculty and students who stay behind, featuring feasts, balls, and performances, which are much livelier than ordinary banquets.

Roy feigned a troubled expression, teasing playfully, “If Teacher Xue Nuo doesn’t go, I’ll be really disappointed.”

Surprisingly, upon hearing this, Xue Nuo stood frozen for several seconds before replying in astonishment, “You… are inviting me?”

This wasn’t Xue Nuo’s first invitation to a New Year’s party.

She just had no interest in entertaining the crude intentions of the rude people, and she felt fatigued by the kindness of her well-meaning colleagues.

The New Year is supposed to be spent with family.

After the New Year’s party, most colleagues would return home to be with their families. Celebrating with them would only deepen the realization at the end that she was all alone.

Every year, Xue Nuo spent the New Year by herself.

But this year was different.

This wasn’t the first time Xue Nuo was invited.

But it was the first time she wanted to respond to an invitation.

Seeing Xue Nuo’s shocked expression, Roy’s smile froze.

The silver-haired girl sometimes showed indifference and sometimes revealed concern, making it hard for Roy to gauge the right distance for intimacy.

Wait, why such a big reaction?!

Did I say something wrong?

Hold on, the New Year is usually spent with family, right? Even if the relationship isn’t great, Xue Nuo still has some cousins.

Only I’m the lonely one studying abroad.

Thinking this, Roy felt a bit guilty and quickly backtracked, “Uh, if you have other plans, then never mind.”

“I can go alone…”

“I don’t have any plans.” Xue Nuo suddenly interrupted, raising her head.

The girl abruptly sat up, almost knocking the silver wolf off the bed.

“I don’t have any plans.”

“But the New Year’s party is supposed to be with important people, right?”

Xue Nuo leaned forward, edging closer. Her ice-blue eyes gazed intently, filled with both tenderness and seriousness.

The exquisitely beautiful face chiseled from ice stood nearby, deeply reflected in the boy’s eyes. He could see his slightly startled expression, just as her sapphire-like eyes sparkled more brightly than gems.

“To me, you are an important person.”

Her softly spoken words were like the gentle winter breeze, cool yet not cold.

Perhaps due to her unstable bloodline and lingering illness, the girl seemed more delicate than usual. In the dim light, dressed in a loose nightgown, her drenched skin glistened with an unusual charm.

The sudden attack stirred something in Roy, leaving him a bit flustered.

“Uh? This….”

But the next second, Xue Nuo reverted to her original demeanor.

Her face returned to its usual indifference, cocking her head with a look of confusion.

“Question. I mean as your mentor and student, what are you thinking?”

“Oh, oh, oh, oh.” Roy chuckled awkwardly, forcing himself to look away from his mentor’s skin, “I thought you had some strange thoughts, you startled me!”

“Ah, it’s my fault; I think too much.”

Xue Nuo didn’t say anything, just gazed over with her usual calmness, lacking even the slightest hint of confusion.

Seeing her not react at all, Roy also dropped the topic.

Xue Nuo was never good with words, not skilled in socializing; perhaps she just said that off the cuff.

“Anyway, since you’re going to the New Year’s party, Teacher Xue Nuo should really get better soon.”

“True.”

Xue Nuo sighed lightly, then picked up the medicine bowl. After a moment of struggle, she finally downed the potion with a determined expression.

Who knows how bitter that potion is; the girl’s features twisted slightly, and tears sparkled at the corners of her eyes after drinking it. She lay on the bed, looking like she had half a life drained from her.

Seeing this, Roy reminded her several times to take her medicine on time before taking his leave to avoid disturbing her rest.

However, as the boy walked away, the silver-haired girl who lay on her side stroked the silver wolf’s head, revealing a hint of confusion.

“Strange thoughts, what does he mean?”

“An important person means a teacher-student relationship, right?”

“Why… did my heart race a bit just now…” Xue Nuo frowned, a blush she hadn’t even noticed creeping onto her face.

Little White licked the girl’s cheek but didn’t answer.

After all, it was just a wolf.

Understanding the feelings that its owner herself hadn’t sorted out was quite too difficult for it.

 

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