Chương 58: A Gaze from the Corner

In the following days, in addition to spending time with his family and practicing his transformation every night, Lin Che had an extra special "mission": to search for Luo Bingli on campus.

He didn't deliberately follow her, and he rarely took the initiative to talk to her. Instead, he would seize every "chance" opportunity after school, during lunch break, or even during the short ten-minute breaks between classes to appear near places where she might be alone—next to bookshelves in the library where there were few people, on a quiet path behind the teaching building, or in an inconspicuous corner of the cafeteria window.

Then he would stop and watch from a distance without disturbing the other person.

He watched Luo Bingli alone in the library, flipping through books, her fingertips gently brushing the yellowed pages; he watched her walk quietly along the path, her slender figure elongated by the sunlight; he watched her stand alone in line for food in the cafeteria, her eyes indifferently avoiding the surrounding noise.

He just watched, making sure she was safe and sound at school, making sure she hadn't skipped class to deal with danger like she had that afternoon. It was as if he felt a sense of relief as long as she was on campus, rather than on the battlefield against the Void Beasts.

Such behavior naturally did not escape Luo Bingli's notice.

On the first day, she might have thought it was a coincidence, but on the second and third days, this boy named Lin Che, wearing a high school uniform, always appeared not far from her, but he didn't come close or bother her. He just stared at her with an indescribable gaze.

That was one thing, but what puzzled her even more was that he often had her favorite orange juice or cute little desserts in his hand. Several times he tried to hand them to her, but she coldly refused each time. Even so, he would still insist on doing so next time.

This behavior made her even more confused and uncomfortable. What did he take her for? A kitten waiting to be fed by a kind person?

This thought carried a hint of self-mockery and annoyance. She felt as if he had silently defined her as a weak being who needed to be taken care of, just like the stray cats she fed, while Lin Che played the role of the "kind person".

Beneath this confusion and annoyance, a strange sense of familiarity was beginning to sprout, a feeling carrying a faint warmth and tenderness, like a gentle breeze brushing across a lake—weak, yet undeniably real.

This situation also made her feel a strong sense of helplessness. She did promise Xing Shuang that she would try to make more friends and get to know more people, and she was also trying to open her heart to the outside world.

But in her mind, this process should be very, very slow, slow enough for her to adapt and adjust her tense nerves.

Lin Che's actions were clearly not what she expected; he was like a patient, unshakeable shadow, lingering around her.

This constant "sense of being noticed" made her feel pressured, as if she were under a spotlight, unable to fully relax. Yet, there was no malice or probing in this gaze; even her curiosity was tinged with caution.

He didn't try to pry into her privacy, didn't boss her around, and barely even communicated with her, making it difficult for her to say anything even if she felt annoyed.

In addition, there was something else that puzzled her: the frequency of those less dangerous small-scale virtual infiltrations that even the Bureau of Paranormal Affairs couldn't detect had decreased significantly in the past few days.

Although she didn't know why, the pressure she felt as Liuli was indeed much less, allowing her to have more energy to face the life of "Luo Bingli".

Of course, this also made her feel Lin Che's gaze more intensely.

The complex emotions finally reached their peak on the afternoon of the third day after school.

That day, Luo Bingli packed her schoolbag, walked out of the junior high school building, and habitually headed to the quiet corner at the back of the school to check on the stray cats.

As expected, she saw that familiar figure again on the tree-lined path leading there.

Lin Che was leaning against a big tree, holding a black cell phone in his hand, his gaze seemingly casually drifting into the distance.

But she knew he was actually looking at her, still holding the bottle of her favorite orange juice, just like the other day.

A surge of inexplicable annoyance and awkwardness welled up inside her. She took a deep breath and, instead of pretending not to see him or taking a detour as she had done the previous two days, walked straight toward him.

Lin Che seemed somewhat surprised to see her approaching. He put away his phone, a hint of doubt on his face: "Student Luo? What a coincidence, you're here for a walk too?"

Luo Bingli stopped in front of him, looked up at him, her eyes brimming with the confusion and faint anger that had been suppressed for days: "What exactly do you want to do?"

Lin Che tilted his head, a puzzled look on his face: "What? I didn't do anything, I was just taking a walk... What's wrong?"

His eyes were clear, and his tone was innocent, as if he really didn't understand what she was saying. This feigned ignorance made Luo Bingli even more annoyed. She felt like she was the one being unreasonable.

"Why... why do you always appear near me?" She bit her lower lip.

"Why are you staring at me like that? And... why do you always bring these things?"

Looking at her tense face, with that awkward expression that seemed to want to question her, Lin Che understood what was going on.

He knew she had come not merely out of annoyance, but also out of a deep and urgent confusion—about him, and about herself.

He dropped his joking expression, his eyes softened, and instead of continuing to dodge or evade, he took a step forward, leaned slightly forward, and closed the distance between them.

"What for?" His voice was gentle, and his face held a smile that seemed to encompass everything.

"I just want to see if you've... given it a try and made more friends."

Luo Bingli froze instantly; these words were completely unexpected.

That promise she had just made to Xing Shuang—a promise to reach out for a "normal life," that carefully concealed effort known only to a very few—was now being casually uttered by a "stranger."

That incomprehensible gaze that lasted for days, the occasional drinks and snacks offered, the unobtrusive silent waiting... at this moment, all the inexplicable fragments were connected by this sentence.

She made that promise reluctantly and awkwardly in front of Senior Xing Shuang and Yu Qing. Although she was determined to change, she never thought that someone would be like this, like a real "supervisor," silently watching whether she fulfilled that promise.

This was a kind of patient and considerate care that she had longed for but had never truly experienced in the past many years from her busy and distant father or from any adult who tried to get close to her.

It was so real, yet so unfamiliar, that it even made her feel panicked. The sudden, direct approach, which carried a hint of "control" but also undeniably contained a sense of concern, gave her a strong, unprecedented shock.

A blush spread rapidly from her cheeks to her ears at a visible speed.

It was confusion, shock, bewilderment, and a profound... emotion that she had never learned to confront before.

Looking at her shocked and somewhat confused expression, Lin Che felt a smile rise in his heart. He knew he had made the right bet.

This sentence accurately struck a chord with Luo Bingli's deepest desire to "be cared for," as well as her discomfort at being directly concerned about.

However, Luo Bingli's reaction was more intense than he had expected. She turned around abruptly, like a small animal whose secrets had been exposed and had nowhere to hide, and almost fled in panic, leaving Lin Che standing alone in the same spot.

As Lin Che watched her hurried departure, the smile on his face slowly widened. It wasn't a mockery, but a complex emotion mixed with triumph and satisfaction.

Although the process was a bit... awkward, she accepted his presence and took the first step in negotiating with him. Her "straightforwardness" made him impossible to ignore.

She didn't completely shut herself off, but reacted strongly to his behavior. Even though she didn't understand the full reason behind his words, she still felt this unique attention.

This is significant progress.

"Well done, Lin Che," he said to himself, then turned and walked in another direction with light steps, as if everything that had just happened was just a tacitly understood game.