I'll also work hard to conquer the dungeon today.

What was that gurgling sound?

"The noise from afar grew closer and closer, filling the night sky and domineeringly driving everything away, and in the end... I could only hear it."

The sound of the teacher gently reading the textbook filled my ears.

Behind the transparent lenses, those dark golden eyes stared intently at the fountain in the courtyard outside the window, their minds still replaying the secret path they had entered last night and the lily field that seemed to exist only in a dreamland.

Mu Yin rested his chin on his hand and turned to look out the window. Sunlight streamed through the glass, bathing the young man in its glow and gilding him with a golden light.

'Snapped'

The crisp sound echoed throughout the classroom, instantly pulling Mu Yin back to reality. He turned to look at the teacher, whose hands were clasped together.

"We have a transfer student arriving today," the teacher called softly towards the classroom door. "Come in."

A girl with short blonde hair walked in through the classroom door.

Her fluffy, soft, slightly wavy short hair barely reached her shoulders, yet it exquisitely outlined her beautiful face. A shy blush lingered on her cheeks, as if she were somewhat unaccustomed to being the center of attention.

Her clear, emerald-green eyes carefully avoided the gaze of others, but eventually landed on a boy with long, blue-gray hair in the back row of the classroom.

But the instant those blue-gray eyes looked over, she looked away, avoiding eye contact, her blush deepening.

"Lan Xiao transferred to our school due to family reasons, so please get along well with her."

The teacher scanned the students' expressions in the classroom and finally called out a name.

"There's an empty seat next to Bertias, so let's sit there."

"Okay, teacher." Lan Xiao's head moved slightly, and her voice was very soft as she answered.

His blue-gray eyes coldly watched the blonde girl approach him step by step, a hint of scrutiny and wariness in them, but it vanished in the next second. He put on a friendly and polite smile and nodded to the transfer student.

Lan Xiao blushed and sat down next to him, but dared not look him in the eye, extremely shy.

Mu Yin watched this scene and forcibly suppressed the inappropriate act of whistling. He raised an eyebrow, finding it quite amusing, but unfortunately there was no one he could share gossip with.

between classes.

Because it was a rare occasion to see a transfer student, the students surrounded Lan Xiao with a barrage of questions. Bertias, annoyed by the constant chatter, stepped in to silence the students for Lan Xiao, though he was essentially just trying to avoid being bothered himself. Lan Xiao seemed extremely grateful to him.

There's a gap between top students and ordinary people, let alone academic geniuses. Although Bertias didn't interact much with his classmates, almost everyone listened to him.

After all, this is someone who can easily get the top score in the whole school even if he doesn't attend classes much. Moreover, Bertias is the president of the student council, so there will always be times when he needs the student council to do something for him.

The next class was physical education. Mu Yin had just changed into his sportswear and stepped out of the locker room when he saw Bertias standing by the door.

"Why aren't you taking care of your deskmate? What are you waiting for me for?" Mu Yin raised an eyebrow and teased.

"You're such a gossip," Bertias said indifferently, her blue-gray eyes showing a hint of impatience.

"After all, this is all the fun I have," Mu Yin said with a shrug and a grin.

Bertias leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his blue-gray eyes glancing at the playground outside the window. He slowly said, "There's an auction on the black market tonight at seven. One of the items seems to be the key you mentioned." Mu Yin's expression instantly turned serious. His dark gold eyes behind his transparent glasses stared intently at Bertias. He was silent for three seconds before speaking, "Guaranteed authentic?"

"What good would it do me to deceive you with false clues?" Bertias glanced at Mu Yin and asked in return.

"Are you making fun of me?" Mu Yin chuckled softly.

Bertias gave Mu Yin a cold glare and said, "Let's go."

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Mu Yin called out to Bertias, "If I remember correctly, you need a password and proof to enter the black market, and you also need an additional invitation to participate in the auction."

Bertias glanced at Mu Yin in surprise, which only made Mu Yin extremely annoyed.

"what!"

“No… I just feel… you seem to have suddenly become smarter,” Bertias mused. “You don’t usually seem to think of this.”

"You really were setting a trap for me!" Mu Yin said angrily.

Bertias raised his hands in surrender. "I admit I deliberately didn't mention that, hoping to see you fail. But you didn't ask me in detail either, did you? Besides, you already thought of that beforehand, which shows you're still somewhat cautious and don't believe everything others say."

"You need to teach me!"

"Alright, alright," Bertias replied dismissively, then changed the subject, "Since you've thought of that, have you already figured out how to get those three things?"

"No," Mu Yin said bluntly, "Isn't it because of you?"

"I've already done more than enough by bringing you the message. There's no reason for me to provide after-sales service. Why don't you just say you didn't know how to serve food, so you made me eat dinner with you?"

"Will you help me or not? If you don't, I'll tell everyone that the new transfer student has a crush on you, and I'll annoy you to death." Mu Yin smiled and threatened.

Bertias frowned. "I have absolutely no connection with the transfer student."

"You think it's okay just because you say so? The way that transfer student looks at you isn't innocent. Who knows if you two knew each other before, or what you, the academic genius, did to them that made them so hung up on you, even following you to school, and even becoming their deskmate?" Mu Yin glanced at Bertias and said with a smile.

“That’s all nonsense.” Bertias’s face was very ugly.

"Then tell me whether you'll help me or not?" Mu Yin looked at Bertias with a light smile.

Bertias took a deep breath, trying to calm his anger, and reluctantly said, "Enough, stop talking, I'll help..."

"Mu Yin, are you a dog? How dare you spout such rubbish?" Bertias said with a dark face.

"What do you care what it is? As long as it works, that's all that matters. You've already promised me, haven't you?"

"I'll be waiting for you at the school gate at five o'clock after school. If you're late, I'll assume you don't need my help anymore." The blue-gray eyes gave Mu Yin a cold look, then left without hesitation, as if staying even a second longer would be disrespectful to him.

Mu Yin watched Bertias storm off, his dark gold eyes behind his silver-rimmed glasses cold and scrutinizing.

To be honest, he didn't really trust Bertias, but he had to admit that Bertias was very clever. So even if Bertias was a ticking time bomb, he would definitely use him, especially since it was uncertain who would be the one to be blown up in the end. (End of Chapter)