Standing there like a deer in the headlights, Long Yuan froze up in front of the crowd. He could hear everything they said: all the snickering and buzzing and mumbling that made its way into his ears.
Even that girl and Master Ding weren't shy with their eyes, though they were more of sadistic amusement than anything else.
However, there was one notable outlier among them, and it was someone he noticed straight away.
In stark contrast to the intrusive nosiness of the others, the person in question sat off on her own, in complete silence.
'Uhh... yeah let's go with her!' He decided and began shuffling through. People gave him a wide berth the moment he was close, so it wasn't really "shuffling" and more... an awkward version of Moses parting the Red Sea.
When he sat down on the mat, the girl barely acknowledged his existence, with only a sideways glance to indicate she'd even realized at all. He was content with just that; after all, he chose her for her placidity, not her sociability.
Taking the chance to study his surroundings in this weird lull of sorts, Long Yuan was fairly impressed. As with everything else, the room felt indescribably ancient. Couple that with the actually ancient Master Ding, and you've got yourself a recipe for something special
Long, intricately decorated designs presented themselves to him; on the ceiling, on the walls and the floor(though he couldn't see them with all the mats). Then, there were the mats themselves: despite being made of the same material as the ones back home, they didn't have the same itchy feeling one would get when sitting for too long, which made for a far more comfortable experience!
Finally, there were the tables. Due to the students having to sit on the mats, they were relatively short, but that didn't deduct from their apparent luxury. Floral patterns danced across the legs, and when he touched the surface of the table, a silky smooth finish greeted his delighted fingers.
Come to think of it, ever since he arrived, nothing here ever felt "cheap". From the doors to the classrooms — and hell — to his clothes, everything was as opulent as the Chateau de Versailles.
'Hah, if I can live here rent-free...' He smiled to himself, unconsciously speaking out loud, "I can get used to this,"
Unbeknownst to him, the girl he'd thought inanimate turned ever-so-slightly, her eyes bore into him with an intensity unmatched by everyone else.
Class started soon enough, and although Long Yuan tried his best to listen, he fell asleep halfway through when all Master Ding would talk about was some hocus-pocus scam on how to reach immortality.
***
"Oi! Wake up! Class is over!" Long Yuan awoke to a tap on his head and the hushed tones of disapproval in his ear, "Or would you rather spend the night in class? At least then you'd be on time..."
He frowned, opening his eyes up just a crack to see who it was. What greeted him was the irritated visage of "Yue'er". She had her arms to her sides akimbo-style, and a gradually worsening scowl plastered itself to her face.
'What is she doing here...?' He thought, 'Isn't supposed to hate me or— oh right. My father saved her life or whatever,'
"I'm up, I'm up," He groused, trying and failing to stifle a yawn, "...What time is it?"
"Supper." She narrowed her eyes, "And how long 'ave ya been asleep?"
Holy—
"Whatever," She scoffed and walked away, apparently uninterested in an answer, "Come down to the mess hall if you wanna eat. Or don't. It's not my job to care,"
-Bang!-
'What's her problem...' He grumbled, getting up and dusting himself off. He didn't think too much about it, though, as his stomach began to rumble.
-Grrrrroooowl!!!-
'Oh! Good thing I'm alone,' He thought back to what the girl had said, 'Maybe I should pay this mess hall a visit...'
After a moment's contemplation, he decided: "Right! Time to get some grub~!"
***
Unsurprisingly, even in as crowded a place as the mess hall — it wasn't an exaggeration to say it was packed even tighter than the Hall of Daos — his mere presence still drew eyes and turned heads.
He tried his best not to get too bothered by it, but by the time he sat down to eat, it was starting to get to him.
'Ignore it.' He told himself, 'Focus on your food and go back to your... wait, is it a home? Or maybe a dorm? Well, whatever it is I'll be back there lickety-split!'
The food was standard fare; pork noodle soup, a couple of side dishes, and iced tea to help wash it all down. He quite liked the simplicity of it all, though it would be nice if he had some dessert...
"Here." Long Yuan nearly jumped out of his skin when, from out of nowhere, the silent girl from before sat in front of him. In her hands was a bowl, filled to the brim with gooey, sweet-looking balls of slime.
She pushed the bowl towards him, saying, "You forgot. Chef told me to bring it to you,"
"Oh... Thanks, I guess," He accepted, and immediately began to chow down.
As he ate, however, Long Yuan noticed something strange:
"..."
She was watching him.
Staring.
Staring..
Staring...
She didn't blink once; not after one minute; not after five. She just sat there.
"Um... hello?" Long Yuan waved a hand in front of her face, eliciting nothing but... no there was just nothing.
'O...kaaaaay... I think I just found out why everyone ignores her,' He thought back to five hours ago, how no one seemed to want to sit next to her, with him being the only person — and even that was debatable considering how he only did it to avoid having to sit with the others.
'Welp, I can't help it if she doesn't wanna tal—'
"Who are you."
"HM?!" Speak of the devil and he shall appear...