The next day, the three of them sat together again, discussing how to scout for new team members. Their teacher had announced during class that their team was the only one in the whole class still short of a member. Being singled out like this was unpleasant, so at their meeting, Tangmo, who was the team captain, was visibly upset.
"In that case," Luo'er suggested, seeing the situation, "I'll talk to the teacher again, and see if we can manage with just four of us."
"Please do." Tangmo waved to her from where he was slumped over the desk.
Luo'er took a deep breath and once again made her way to the office where she found Wang Xu.
"You've been seeking me out more frequently than the sum of the past few months, I'm quite flattered," Wang Xu joked from his leaning posture on his chair.
"It's not what I would prefer," Luo'er sighed.
"So, what brings you here this time?"
"Do our teams definitely have to be composed of five people?"
"That's the headquarters' requirement."
"Is there room for flexibility?"
"Possibly, if you ask the Principal, there may be hope." Wang Xu joked, knowing full well what Luo'er associated with the word 'Principal'. That's because whenever he brought up the Principal, she would start hurling abuse towards her grandfather.
However, to his surprise, Luo'er chose a rare path of silence. For the sake of forming their team, to achieve top performance, Luo'er compromised for the first time.
"Didn't I give you a list yesterday? Were you unable to find anyone?" Wang Xu asked, curious. There were exactly three hundred students in a single batch, so no one was left out if grouped into five.
"She didn't want to join...." Luo'er responded, sounding slightly disheartened.
Wang Xu sighed softly, looking at her sympathetically.
"If I - if I beg her, perhaps..." Luo'er started, hesitating.
"No," Wang Xu cut her off decisively. "It's the headquarters' requirement, and even the Principal is powerless to change that."
As he spoke, he turned and opened his computer to browse the school's team roster. As expected, of all the students in the first batch, only Tangmo's team was lacking a member and the only one unassigned was Baiyue. It struck him as absurdly ironic that Luo'er, who he'd alerted first, was the only one still scrambling to fill her team.
"Baiyue..." Wang Xu muttered the name. He glanced at Luo'er and sighed again. "Honestly, there's not much I can do to help. My only advice would be to try asking that girl again. If she agrees, great. If not, the school will probably force her into your team, so there's no need for you to worry too much."
"Okay, I understand." Luo'er nodded, still looking disheartened. Wang Xu was unsure of what else to say, and could only watch her leave in silence.
Back in the classroom, Luo'er summarized the situation. After a moment of silence, Tangmo responded, "I'll ask her again!"
As she rose to leave, Luo'er stopped her.
"I'll go," volunteered Luo'er, remembering their exchange from the day before.
"You..." Tangmo started looking at her, but couldn't seem to find the words. "Are you sure?"
"Yes!" After a moment of hesitation, Luo'er nodded confidently.
Tangmo's expression was complex as she watched her. Biting her lip and unsure of what to say, she finally said: "Luo'er, thank you for your hard work..."
"It's nothing, just doing my part." Luo'er was as polite as ever.
Watching Luo'er leaving, Tangmo staggered, her face full of frustration. As the captain, she was powerless, and for the first time, she felt pressure.
"Cheer up, Tangmo. Here, have some fruit," Hu Daoke consoled her on the side.
"No need..." Tangmo mournfully mumbled from where her face rested on the desk, "I don't have any appetite."
"Hello."
When Luo'er arrived in Baiyue's classroom it was break time. Baiyue was quietly sitting alone studying, while the other students around her were joking and laughing with a bit of distance from her. So when Luo'er appeared and stood before her, she finally looked up.
Luo'er couldn't clearly see her face. Her small face was hidden under a large fluffy hat and amongst disheveled silver hair. What she could see was a pair of cold, dark eyes. Her skin was so white that the deep hue of her eyes appeared even more striking.
"You again," Baiyue said, looking down and resuming her work.
"I truly hope you will join our team," Luo'er said in her most polite tone of voice. She paused, then added, "And as you are probably aware, you are now the only student in our year who is not part of a team."
"And what if I am." Baiyue's voice was as indifferent as ever.
"Actually, I didn't need to come here. If you refuse to join, the school will soon force you into our team. But I respect your wishes and still want to sincerely invite you to join us."
At her words, Baiyue stopped writing and stared down in silence, seemingly considering Luo'er's proposal.
Luo'er dragged over a chair and sat down opposite Baiyue so they could meet eye-to-eye. She watched Baiyue, who had lowered her head in contemplation, then glanced at the big fluffy hat on Baiyue's head. After a moment's hesitation, she asked, "Can you tell me why you don't want to join the team?"
The pen in Baiyue's hand tightened. She lifted her head and met Luo'er's gaze. Luo'er had a head full of black hair but a pair of emerald green eyes and pointy, hanging ears. Baiyue seemed surprised and about to speak, but suddenly, as if remembering something, she abruptly clapped her hand over her mouth, turned her face away, and avoided Luo'er's gaze.
"Why..." Luo'er heard the sound of words muffled by Baiyue's hand.
"What?" Luo'er asked.
"Nothing!"
Baiyue covered her mouth with both hands, her small palm concealing half of her face. Her eyelids were still drooped, appearing as though she had just woken up. But Luo'er felt her gaze wasn't as icy as before. She was like a shy little girl, she couldn't resist staring at Luo'er's face for a few seconds, only to quickly divert her eyes when she sensed his gaze in return.
"How did you do it..." Baiyue murmured softly, so softly that it was barely audible.
"Eh?" Luo'er was somewhat befuddled by her sudden change in attitude. He stared blankly at her, unsure of what she wanted to ask.
"Your eyes…" Baiyue turned her face away and softly said, her head lowered.
"Eyes... What about them?" Luo'er was left more puzzled.
"It's weird..."
"Is it." Luo'er was taken aback for a moment, then laughed in self-mockery.
"Aren't you angry?" After a moment of silence, Baiyue suddenly asked.
"Why would I be angry..."
There was again a long period of silence before the start of class, with students streaming into the classroom, Baiyue softly asked, "Are you the team captain?"
"No, Sister Moumou is the captain."
"I will only follow you…" Baiyue's voice was barely audible again.
"Huh?"
Due to this incomprehensible sentence, Luo'er was still confused even after class had ended. He sat blankly at his desk, dwellimg on Baiyue's words. Tangmo was unaware of what had happened, and was too shy to ask. Despite being the team captain, Luo'er was currently the one putting in the most effort, which made her feel a sense of inexplicable loss.
She rested her head on the desk, staring blankly at Luo'er. Hu Daoke glanced at them, walked up to Luo'er, and directly asked, "So, how'd it go?"
Luo'er snapped back to reality, looked up to see Hu Daoke, and after a moment of pause, said, "She agreed!"
"She agreed?" Hu Daoke bent down, looking somewhat incredulously at Luo'er. His voice was so loud that it drew countless glances from everyone around them.
"Mm." Remembering Baiyue's last sentence, Luo'er hesitantly nodded.
"You've got some skills, man!" Hu Daoke clapped Luo'er's shoulder heavily, making Luo'er wince in pain.
"Sister Moumou," Hu Daoke turned back, gave Tangmo a thumbs up, and cheerfully declared, "all sorted!"
"Oh..." Tangmo was taken aback, got up from her desk, feeling even more uncomfortable now but was at a loss for what to do. "So, what should we do next..."
"Next, I will register our team members' names with the teacher." Before she finished speaking, Luo'er directly answered.
"Then, um…" Tangmo hesitated and called after him.
"What's wrong?"
"I... I'll go..." Tangmo pursed her lips, looking at him with a somewhat timid tone.
With a puzzled expression, Luo'er looked at her. As he seemingly understood something, he subsequently lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry..."
"Eh, you, you don't need to apologize to me." Luo'er's apology left Tangmo even more at a loss.
Hu Daoke watched the two of them, completely baffled, and didn't understand what they were talking about. On the other hand, Cheng Ziang, who had been engrossed in his book the whole time, glanced back at the two of them, shook his head, and gave a cold chuckle.
At the end of school, Tangmo had already completed the application with the teacher. For the first time, she acted as the team captain, gathering everyone in the classroom with the intention of getting them to know each other.
Since this was happening in their classroom, Tangmo asked Luo'er to invite Baiyue over while she and Hu Daoke moved the desks together and bought snacks and drinks. For once, Cheng Ziang was not buried in a book, he was seated on the ring of chairs created, propping his chin on the table, tilting his head and seemingly deep in thought.
Before long, Luo'er returned with the mysterious Baiyue in tow. This was everyone's first opportunity to take a closer look at the enigmatic girl. She wasn't much taller than Tangmo and appeared petite standing next to Luo'er. She was wearing a large hat, which made her look somewhat bulky. Her short silver hair was messy due to infrequent grooming. She stood by Luo'er, her gaze filled with detachment towards unfamiliar things.
Luo'er lifted his head and immediately saw Cheng Ziang, who had been tucked away in a seat burying himself in a book. The guy was much more handsome than he imagined. He had messy blond hair and facial features that inherited the distinctive traits of the Otherworld's human race; structured and profound, exuding an Otherworldly charm. In comparison, Luo'er, being a half-elf, appeared somewhat more delicate. Cheng Ziang was always strait faced, he coldly glanced at the two of them and then indifferently turned away, seeming aloof and unapproachable.
"You…" As Tangmo began to extend a warm greeting to the two, but Baiyue cut her off.
She took a step forward, lowered her head and said coldly, "I am Baiyue, from today onwards, I will officially join you all, but I only follow Luo'er's orders. If there's nothing else, I'll leave first."
Baiyue pointed at Luo'er, bluntly finished her speech, and then, without even giving a proper look at the other people in the room, she turned around and left promptly.
The atmosphere became awkward. The words Tangmo had intended to say were abruptly choked back. She lowered her head, bit her lip, unsure of what to say. When Tangmo was put on the spot, Hu Daoke instantly lost his temper. He jumped up, intending to stop Baiyue in order to get an explanation, but Tangmo stopped him.
"Sister Moumou, don't stop me, let me go confront her!" said Hu Daoke angrily. But Tangmo held onto his clothes tightly.
She looked up at Luo'er, and he could tell what she was thinking even though she didn't say anything. So, he bowed and apologized."I'm sorry. I'll go and explain things to her."
After he said this, he turned around and left, leaving the three of them behind. Hu Daoke looked at Tangmo, who had a dispirited look on her face, she had had been so delighted because their small team had been successfully formed, yet now she felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her. As someone not good with words, he didn't know what to say. He could only stand silently by her side. Cheng Ziang looked at the two of them, not sure what to say, he just shook his head and sighed.