Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Lonely Touch

Bing Zhi Xie was relieved that he had taken out all the things he needed when he suddenly heard a knock on the door!

"Sophina! Sophina, are you at home?"

Bing Zhi Xie's nerves tensed. It was a woman's voice. He hesitated about whether to open the door, but then he heard the sound of the door being unlocked.

"Not at home!" A red-haired woman, holding a set of clothes, walked into the living room and then to the balcony to check: "Really no one here."

Bing Zhi Xie thought that anyone who could enter with a key must be a good friend of the teacher. He was about to go out to greet her but quickly retreated when he saw that the woman had started to take off her clothes. He wondered, "What's going on?"

The red-haired woman, seemingly unaware that someone had just been behind her, picked up the new set of clothes on the chair and said to herself with a smile, "You asked me to get your clothes, but you're not at home. I'll try them on; you shouldn't mind, right?" Just as she was about to put on the new clothes, she suddenly heard a voice from the bedroom and turned around to see that the bedroom door was open. She stopped changing: "So you were sleeping in there."

Bing Zhi Xie, out of fear, accidentally knocked over a wooden teacup on the bedside table.

The red-haired woman walked into the bedroom and found it empty and quiet: "Huh, no one?" She looked around the room, but there was indeed no one. However, she was puzzled by the teacup on the floor.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew in, lifting the curtains and causing a roly-poly on the table to wobble. The red-haired woman picked up the teacup and said, "Really, you should close the windows when you go out." She then looked up at the ceiling and crouched down to peek under the bed: "Was it really the wind?" She put the teacup back on the table.

Bing Zhi Xie let out a sigh of relief and carefully landed on the ground. He was now under the bed, having hung from the bed frame with just his hands and feet. If he had used wind magic, the elemental movements would have been noticed. He was so cautious about not being discovered that he preferred not to meet her at all in such a situation.

A pair of high-heeled legs walked back and forth in front of him. After a while, a bra fell to the ground, followed by the high heels and then the underwear. Bing Zhi Xie wondered what she was doing, making it even more impossible for him to leave.

The red-haired woman, noticing the messy clothes on the bed, put them back in the wardrobe. Unexpectedly, she found a new and fashionable set of underwear inside and decided to try it on. She knew it was new because the tailor's tag was still on it.

After putting on the underwear, she walked to the mirror and looked at herself: "Hmm, this underwear is really comfortable. She must have spent a lot on herself. My few pieces should be thrown in the toilet." She then put on the outer clothes and skirt she had brought and felt quite satisfied with her appearance.

She walked to the wardrobe again and opened the top drawer, suddenly laughing: "27 years old and still unmarried, I thought she would be single for life. It's hard to be alone in a secluded room! Hahaha..."

Bing Zhi Xie, under the bed, broke into a sweat. He had seen those things too.

"Huh, what's this?" The red-haired woman closed the drawer and noticed a black-covered book on the bedside table on the other side of the bed. It looked new. She walked over, picked it up, and took a look: "Ah! This, this is..."

Bing Zhi Xie was puzzled by her exclamation but didn't want to turn to see what she was doing. However, her next words made him pay attention.

The red-haired woman exclaimed, "The 'Dark Magic Insights of St. Bart Gethbalon'—isn't this the book of the dark mage Bart Gethbalon from 1,500 years ago? How could it be here?"

"Gethbalon!" Bing Zhi Xie was shocked. This was the first thing that caught his attention. He knew who St. Bart Gethbalon was, a name known throughout the continent. Gethbalon had been the 112th Sage of the Holy Garden, but he became famous for killing the invincible bloodthirsty killer, Mordo Biseron.

The red-haired woman was puzzled: "This is a handwritten copy. Isn't Sophina a fire mage? Why does she have this book? Oh, right, she's a famous teacher at Kulantin Academy and the granddaughter of Vasiliev. It's not surprising that she could copy this book from the Great Blue Crystal Tower. Hmm, what's this?" She noticed a folded piece of paper under the book, opened it, and read: "I know you want to learn dark magic. This book is for you. Remember to thank me. Oh, Bing Zhi Xie, don't let anyone else know."

Bing Zhi Xie was deeply shaken: "This... is for me?..."

"Who is Bing Zhi Xie? Why would Sophina give him this book?" The red-haired woman thought for a moment and said, "Could she have a boyfriend?"

Bing Zhi Xie felt as if he had been hit with a hammer: "Why would she think that?" He was curious and cautiously poked his head out, only to see her back. Unfortunately, he saw her taking off her clothes again. He cursed his luck, thinking, "Why does this keep happening today?" He was about to pull his head back but didn't.

The red-haired woman held the book, seemingly considering taking it with her, but after a moment's hesitation, she put it down. She looked at the clock in the room, quickly took off her clothes, and carefully folded them. She sniffed the underwear she had taken off and said, "Good thing I took a bath today."

After folding the clothes and putting them back, she took out the clothes she had put in earlier and arranged them to look like they were originally on the bed. She put on her own clothes, placed the fallen teacup on the ground, and, after checking that everything was back to normal, took the new clothes she had brought for Sophina and left.

The red-haired woman was trying to make it look like no one had been there, a move that was easy to spot, and Bing Zhi Xie, of course, noticed it. This action was suspicious. If she was just a friend visiting, why would she try to make it look like no one had been there?

However, Bing Zhi Xie didn't seem to care about this. He picked up the clothes on the bed and left the room.

When he arrived at the幻兽花园 (Phantom Beast Garden) again, it was already a starry night. Sophina said, "Why are you so late? I thought you forgot about the teacher."

"I... I forgot the way to your house, so I was late. Here's the clothes from the teacher."

Sophina squatted on the ground and took the clothes. When she opened the outer clothes and saw the purple thong inside, she was extremely embarrassed. She was about to ask him to stand further away so she could change, but he had already hidden where she couldn't see him.

After changing, Sophina called out, "It's okay, Bing Zhi Xie, you can come out now."

Bing Zhi Xie ran over from a distance: "Teacher, let's go back."

"Wait, wait." Sophina seemed to remember something she shouldn't have and hesitantly asked, "Did... did you open the top drawer?"

"No, no, no, I didn't see those things," Bing Zhi Xie reacted intensely.

Sophina was even more embarrassed. His reaction clearly showed that he had seen it. She thought, "I forgot to tell him not to open the top drawer."

Bing Zhi Xie realized his reaction had backfired. He had panicked when the teacher suddenly asked about it and overreacted. He cursed himself, "Idiot, I should have pretended I didn't know anything."

Both of them stood there awkwardly, unable to speak. After a long while, Sophina said, "That... that's actually all..."

"Toys!" Bing Zhi Xie said for her.

Sophina held her head in her hands and sat on the ground, thinking, "It would have been better to keep lying. If I said I didn't know, I could have fooled myself. By saying that, you're clearly telling me you saw what was inside."

Bing Zhi Xie quickly changed the subject and sat on the ground: "Teacher Sophina, about that book..."

"Oh, you saw it?"

Bing Zhi Xie nodded: "Yes, that's why I didn't let Conelia and the others go get your clothes."

"Uh... yes." Sophina felt embarrassed thinking about it and said, "That book is for you. I was planning to give it to you in a few days. Since you helped me get the clothes today, I decided to give it to you. I don't want anyone else to know about this."

Bing Zhi Xie was puzzled: "How did you know I wanted to study dark magic as a secondary discipline?"

Sophina said, "I saw that your identity card shows a high amount of dark elements, and I noticed you seemed very interested when you passed by the dark magic class a few times."

Bing Zhi Xie was shocked. Why would a fire mage notice him passing by the dark magic class several times? This implied... After a long pause, Bing Zhi Xie asked, "Teacher Sophina, why are you so good to me?"

"Because..." Sophina hugged her knees and looked at the starry sky: "Because I lost my parents when I was very young."

"Uh..." Bing Zhi Xie looked at her.

Sophina continued, "I know the feeling of being alone. I'm not helping you out of sympathy or pity. You must hate being pitied, right?"

"Yes." Bing Zhi Xie quietly responded, looking at the ground and thinking about his past.

"I also hate being pitied. Being alone, all alone, the laughter and bustle around me seem to have nothing to do with me. Under the moonlight, I can only see my own shadow. There was a time when I liked and clung to this feeling, hating and fearing any change. I didn't want to interact with others or open my heart. I just liked being alone, all alone." Sophina also thought about her past and smiled lightly, "Back then, I had a rabbit, and it became my only friend. I wanted to talk to it, even though it couldn't understand me, but I was content with this loneliness."

Bing Zhi Xie turned to look at her and then lowered his head.

Sophina continued, "Later, the rabbit died, and I was very sad, but I didn't shed a single tear. I lived alone day by day, lying on the balcony of my house, watching the passersby below, with an empty cage beside me. I liked the warmth of the sun, but it couldn't warm my heart. Until one day, my grandfather found me and brought me to the academy..."

After a long pause, Sophina moved closer, put her arm around his thin shoulder, and smiled, "Let's go back and have dinner."...