Huai Shi was so creeped out by the scrutinizing glances Professor Li kept casting his way from time to time that he naturally didn't notice the odd look his close friend, Fu Yi, was shooting him.

In fact, he hardly tasted the meal; his thoughts were all over the place, not landing on anything concrete, clueless about what agenda the professor might have.

"Relax, I'm not like that old fogey Fu. I won't think that just because kids mess around together and hold hands, it means they're going to sleep together."

After the meal, Professor Li elegantly wiped her mouth and said succinctly, "Moreover, you're not that young anymore. If you really do hold hands and it leads to sleeping together, no one can stop it. In America, young people your age are already throwing wild parties. What can their parents do? They should be grateful if they take the right precautions."

"..."

Huai Shi froze, eyes wide and mouth agape, subconsciously raising his hand to say, I didn't do it, I'm not like that.

Heaven knows, he had never had any improper thoughts about his close friend. They were, at most, members of a support group for the ill, occasionally leaning on each other when slacking off and acting as each other's emotional dumping ground. It was already a luxury to find someone to listen, let alone covet her body.

He didn't even dare to think about it!

That would be just too despicable!

After struggling for words, he could only marvel. It's no wonder she's from Rome; Professor Li's thinking is really too liberal.

"Fu Yi is my daughter. She's been a decisive person since she was a child, much more so than I was at her age. I don't need to worry about her."

With her discerning eyes, Professor Li saw right through the little schemes in Huai Shi's heart. "Besides," she said, "don't you already have several rumored girlfriends?"

"I don't, I'm not!"

Huai Shi no longer had the energy to defend himself. Why was his reputation already tarnished when he hadn't even done anything? Were the rumors that he was a playboy and a jerk really that popular?

Swallowing his frustration, he was more afraid of Fu Yi's mother than Director Fu; she was leagues above him in rank.

"All right, let's stop the jokes here."

Professor Li waved her hand, speaking as if she genuinely had been joking. Glancing at her daughter, who was still composed beside her, she nodded in approval. "This friend of yours isn't bad... Hmm, just a bit thin-skinned. Don't mind the nonsense Fu spouts."

Fu Yi shrugged. "He even told me a few days ago that men and women can't have pure friendships."

"HEH."

Professor Li adjusted her glasses and scoffed. "As if men can have that with other men..."

Old Scholars, when they got saucy, were just too terrifying!

Huai Shi surreptitiously inhaled sharply, forcibly swallowing his frustration and shrinking his neck like a little quail. How could he dare to foolishly challenge such a formidable being?

So terrifying!

Unlike Director Fu, who seemed to have paranoid delusions about his daughter being persecuted, Professor Li didn't seem to care at all about whatever might be between him and Fu Yi. Was she truly open-minded, confident in her daughter, or had she decided after just one meeting that he might have the hots but not the guts?

After the meal, she received a phone call and hurried away.

Leaving behind Huai Shi, sweating profusely, slumped in his chair, feeling utterly spent and not wanting to move a muscle.

"What in the world happened today?" he looked towards Fu Yi. "What was your mom up to?"

"Well, she had someone investigate you before, right? This time, it seemed like you were participating in some newcomer's contest, got pretty famous, and she said she wanted to meet you..."

Fu Yi patted his shoulder. "Actually, bringing you here was partly by chance, and partly to take the heat off me. Anyway, thanks for your trouble."

"Huh?"

Huai Shi's eyes lit up at the mention of the kind of traditional drama beloved by the masses. "Could it be that your mother is plotting to introduce you to some high-class youngster? Do you need my services to elope? I'm lightning-fast at hailing cabs..."

"What are you thinking?"

Fu Yi looked at him strangely for a while. "She just plans to take me to Rome, and I don't really want to go. She has always been reluctant to let me stay in Dongxia, intending for me to join her in scholarly work. Even if I can't become a Scholar, she can find me a more leisurely job at the Astronomical Society."

"Honestly, that's not a bad idea."

Huai Shi nodded in agreement.

A formal Scholar takes much more effort to cultivate than a Sublimator.

The latter depends on luck, and most are just tool-persons and foot-soldiers for big Great Torus corporations, whereas with Scholars, it's all about talent. Without it, a lifetime might be wasted in vain, but with talent, a few years could surpass another's lifetime of toil.

Knowledge is Power.

The Domain of the scholarly elite is just so unreasonable.

As a Marine Current Scholar, and one qualified to participate in yearly current maintenance and adjustment meetings, her position was naturally high. Finding a somewhat leisurely post for her daughter would be a breeze.

Even at the Astronomical Society, there is a lot of work to be done by ordinary people.

No, it should be said that ordinary people outnumber Sublimators in the Astronomical Society. There are over a million direct or indirect peripheral employees, and officially registered staff number well over a hundred thousand, among whom are many ordinary people in high positions.

Whether one sublimates or not isn't the issue. Places like the Jurisdiction Bureau, the Existence Institute, or the Technical Department have tailored sublimation plans available for higher-ups. They can sublimate how and when they choose.

Sublimators skilled only in fighting can, at most, serve as Military Officers, their peak being a Two Flowers and Red Sticks. A competent organization is always led by the mind, not by those who fight. When has it ever been the turn of enforcers to rule the roost?

Administrative positions like Ai Qing's are the true backbone. If Fu Yi could find a job within the Astronomical Society, that would naturally be a good thing.

But Director Fu would definitely not want his daughter to cross the sea all by herself...

"Having such parents, you've had it tough too."

He shook his head in sympathy.

"Yeah."

Fu Yi gave a soft laugh. "Since I was little, my mom has always been busy with work, hardly ever around. Probably feeling guilty, she would always give me a lot of money, as if money could make me happy.

My dad was the same, quick-tempered, always drinking in frustration. After getting angry, he would feel sorry for me and buy me a bunch of things to apologize."

"I understand."

In the brief silence, Huai Shi comforted her softly, "Don't be sad."

"...Actually, it's pretty awesome."

Lost in memories, Fu Yi mused quietly, "Since I was little, I've been the richest girl in class, always the first to have the latest brand-name clothes and toys. Everyone else was so envious... Oh, right, what were you just saying?"

"No, nothing."

Huai Shi moved a bit to the side, creating a distance with indifference.

You're no longer my dear brother.

"Today, you're paying the bill," he stated coldly.

Fu Yi glanced at him; she was used to his occasional outbreaks.

After leaving the mall, Fu Yi tossed the enormous bags she and her mother had to Huai Shi to carry. She walked ahead leisurely, stretching comfortably, and suggested, "After suffering at sea for half a month, it's good to be back... How about we pull an all-nighter?"

"...I have to go out tonight," Huai Shi said, scratching his nose awkwardly. "Some other time?"

"That works."

"By the way, your mom left in such a hurry earlier. Where did she go?"

"Probably my dad looking for her?"

Fu Yi shook her head. "They're definitely going to argue again. I don't want to get involved; let them be."

"Surely not..." Huai Shi shook his head. "They're divorced, so why bother?"

"Hm? Didn't I tell you?"

The teenage girl walking in front turned, looked at Huai Shi, and calmly told him, "My mom's getting remarried."

"..."

Huai Shi stopped in his tracks, stunned.

"She's already pregnant, a boy..." Fu Yi smiled faintly, "and she hasn't told me yet."

Huai Shi was silent for a long while before saying softly, "Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing when you didn't do anything wrong?" Fu Yi turned around, looking at him quizzically. "You're really starting to sound like one of those jerks who constantly apologize."

Huai Shi didn't respond, silently following her. He escorted her to the entrance of the hotel and set down the heavy luggage. "Can you manage from here?"

"Ah, it's a star-rated place, I can just call a bellboy," Fu Yi said, waving goodbye. "Thanks for handling the bags today."

"It's nothing."

Huai Shi sighed, stopping himself from saying more. It wasn't necessary to say anything. Fu Yi seemed more accepting of the current situation, as if she had expected it all along.

"Rain's going to fall, women will get married, and she's not even your mother. Why so glum?" She was amused by Huai Shi's expression. "You looked as serious as if you were going to a funeral."

"I just... don't know what to say," Huai Shi shrugged. "You understand, I don't have that kind of experience either... COUGH, think positively, they're still alive, right?"

Fu Yi was taken aback for a long moment, looking at him strangely. After a while, her shoulders began to shake, and she burst into laughter.

"You're really good at comforting people, Huai Shi, HA HA HA… HA HA HA HA… HA HA…"

Before Huai Shi could fully process her laughter, he saw her step forward, reach out, and gently hug him. The warmth was fleeting.

She let go as if she'd received an electric shock, stepping back while still smiling, as if nothing had happened.

Huai Shi stood there, dumbstruck. He still hadn't caught on.

"Thanks, buddy."

She waved goodbye, turned, and dragged the huge bag. She entered the hotel, disappearing into the light beyond the revolving door. Just as the elevator doors were closing, she seemed to glance back at Huai Shi, and then they shut.

Huai Shi stood there for a long time until the phone vibrating in his pocket snapped him out of his stupor.

It was the fixed line from Stone Marrow Pavilion.

"I'll be right back."

He turned, glanced once more at the brightly lit hotel behind him, and walked away.

Behind him, a curtain was slowly drawn.

「The long night began.」

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