Chapter 52 : Chapter 52

Chapter 52 : Playing the Temporary Guide

“Thanks…”

“Stop saying thanks all the time. Be optimistic,” I interrupted, realizing how annoying it was to hear constant gratitude.

“Ah… sorry, I don’t know what else to do… I mean, I’m like this now…”

“How about, as thanks, you give me your contact info?”

I said with a slight smile.

“More friends, more paths. Let’s be friends, yeah?”

“Thanks… you’re treating me like a friend…”

“What, you’re thanking me for that too? Don’t you have any friends?”

I asked, helping her up to leave.

She looked pitiful, like she’d been assaulted technically, she had been bullied by a senior sister right after arriving.

“I really don’t have friends. Those were just classmates…”

“Your tone sounds like you’ve seen through the world. You just turned into a girl, not like you were castrated. Since you don’t even have friends, I’ll let you in on a secret girls happiness is dozens of times greater than boys.”

I leaned in with a mischievous grin, whispering to her.

I hadn’t experienced it myself, but that didn’t stop me from teasing her.

Just some playful banter.

If one day she came to me, accusing me of lying, saying girls’ happiness was a hundred times better than boys’, I’d know she tried it.

Then I’d ask if she was secretly doing naughty things alone checkmate.

Quan Xiuzhu’s face flushed at my words, looking flustered.

“I… you… I’m not going to try it!”

“I’m just telling you. I didn’t say you had to try. Unless… you secretly want to?”

“No! Absolutely not!”

I didn’t press further, amused by her response.

She had a hint of tsundere.

Maybe I could nurture that trait.

Sure, tsundere was outdated to me, but trends cycle.

What if it came back in style?

“Alright, alright, we haven’t added each other as friends yet. Where’s your phone?”

“Um…”

Quan Xiuzhu pulled a phone from her pants pocket, shocking me.

That thing survived?

But when I saw it, I realized, “Not that phone. The academy issued one.”

“Academy-issued?”

She asked, confused.

“You didn’t get it?”

I asked, equally puzzled.

“There was one? I only knew…”

“Alright, let’s not bring up sad stuff. Since you didn’t get it, let’s see if we can still grab one.”

I cut her off, speaking first.

I was annoyed at the senior sister who dragged her here.

So irresponsible.

Just brought her to register and ditched her?

“Okay…”

I led Quan Xiuzhu out of the alley, exiting from the other side.

I wasn’t great with directions here, but I roughly knew where the registration office was.

It shouldn’t be far.

Otherwise, that senior sister wouldn’t have dragged her this far for witchification play, right?

“By the way, it’s evening now. Are you hungry?”

I turned to ask.

“I’m… fine, I guess…”

She was fiddling with her phone, following my lead out of the alley.

But when I mentioned food, she seemed to realize her hunger.

Her mouth stayed stubborn, but her stomach wasn’t.

The growl was faint, but I heard it.

“Don’t push yourself. If you’re hungry…”

I looked around.

This street was different from the one I’d walked earlier with fewer food shops.

“Never mind, I’ve got some snacks left. Have these for now.”

I handed her the snacks I was carrying.

The grandmas had stuffed me with them earlier while chatting.

I’d only eaten one, planning to save the rest for a late night snack.

“They’re a bit cold. That's okay?”

“No… thanks.”

“I told you, no need for thanks!”

I handed her the snacks, keeping the one I hadn’t finished.

Looking at her, how long had she been starving?

It couldn’t be that bad, right?

When I brought Quan Xiuzhu to the registration office, I saw the senior sisters were still there.

They must be on duty round-the-clock.

After all, who knew when a senior sister might drag in a “recruited” freshman?

“Quan Xiuzhu, are you sure you registered here?”

“Mm.”

She nodded firmly.

She clearly remembered being forced here.

“And you didn’t get a phone? So after registering, that senior sister just… uh… didn’t do anything else?”

“No.”

“So irresponsible! Ugh!”

I acted indignant on her behalf.

Since she’d registered, I took her to get a phone.

Hello, Senior, I'm here to help my friend pick up her phone.

Uh, the senior who brought her ditched her after bringing her here.

Sorry about that.

“Mm, take it. Don’t grab extras,” the senior said, approving my request since I was polite.

Phones weren’t tightly controlled, but they couldn’t handle people taking multiples.

“Thanks, Senior”

I gave her a sweet thank you, then asked, “Um, Senior, we’re both freshmen. Where can we charge these phones?”

“Charge? Get your dorm keycard. The dorm should have a way,” she said bluntly, with no intention of helping us charge.

I’d hoped to mooch a charge, but no luck.

After saying goodbye to the seniors, we continued Quan Xiuzhu’s enrollment process.

I didn’t give up, though.

After asking a few more seniors, one kind soul agreed to charge the phone a bit, not much, but enough to turn it on.

“Here’s your phone. The academy system inside is important. You’ll probably need it for school life,” I said, handing it to her.

“I’ve added myself as a friend. Contact me if you need anything. I’ll reply when I see it.”

“Thanks.”

Quan Xiuzhu took the phone, still clutching her old one.

“What’s wrong?”

I asked, noticing her urgency with her old phone.

“No signal…”

“No signal?”

I looked up instinctively.

The huge crack in the sky was still visible, though it seemed nearly repaired now.

Has the old phone’s signal disappeared again?

“Mm… I can’t contact my family…”

“That’s normal. The academy doesn’t let you leak its info. You know that, right? The outside internet can’t find anything about supernatural academies. Your old phone’s basically a brick now. Try the new one.”

“Can one contact the outside?”

“Sorry, no. But it works fine within the academy,” I said, shaking my head, crushing her last bit of hope.

She looked utterly defeated.

“Don’t be sad. Witch Academy’s a great place. We’re bound to touch the supernatural eventually. The academy just sets us on different paths. Maybe you can give it a try.”

“But… this isn’t how it should be!”

My words hit a sore spot, and she shouted instinctively.

“Hey! Keep it down. You want everyone to see your drama?”

“Mm… s-sorry…”

Quan Xiuzhu realized her outburst, quickly covering her mouth and calming down.

Her self-regulation was pretty good.

She accepted the situation quickly.

No suicidal thoughts, no breakdown.

Guess for someone just entering adulthood, death was too heavy a concept.

Then we slipped away to get her dorm keycard.

It was almost night and she couldn’t sleep on the streets.

What if another senior sister picked her up?

That thought was terrifying.