5: I'm getting a little restless, my apologies.

After dinner, the two arrived at Kirisu Mafuyu's apartment door. When Lin Luo pushed the door open and that familiar, sickeningly sweet and sour smell rushed out, he felt his temples throbbing. It had only been half a month, and this place had reverted to a reserve site for a landfill.

He took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the anger in his heart, and turned his head to look at Kirisu Mafuyu beside him, preparing to see what excuse she would come up with this time.

However, to his surprise, the panicked explanations and rambling he expected did not appear.

Kirisu Mafuyu just stood blankly at the doorway, staring vacantly at the mess in the room, her Face wearing a strange calm mixed with numbness, despair, and the feeling of "it's completely over." Those blue eyes, usually sharp and cold, had lost all their luster at this moment, as if she had already seen the end where her dignity as an educator and a member of society completely collapsed.

She didn't even try to block Lin Luo's view or explain those bags of trash emitting a suspicious sweet smell. She just stood there like an exquisite doll that had its Soul extracted, not even bothering to blush at the ears.

After several seconds, she muttered in a voice that was almost ethereal and resigned, lacking any strength:

"Ah... that's right... that's how it is... as you can see..."

She even gave up on herself, using her toe to gently kick an empty beverage can that had rolled near the door, making a "clanging" sound.

"...There's... nothing left to say..."

This attitude of completely giving up, of totally "letting it rot," actually caught Lin Luo, who had a belly full of lectures ready, off guard. He looked at this "ice queen" who was usually untouchable, now slumped in spirit like a salted fish that had lost its dreams, and for a moment, he didn't know whether to be angry or amused.

He sighed helplessly, feeling like he had punched a pile of cotton.

"Teacher," he rubbed his brow, his tone carrying a hint of exhaustion he hadn't even noticed himself, "Your speed of 'self-abandonment' is faster than your speed of creating trash."

Kirisu Mafuyu looked at him with empty eyes, pulling out a soulless smile that was uglier than crying:

"Hehe... you'll get used to it..."

(Internal thought: It's already rotten to the core anyway, so be it.)

Lin Luo: "..."

Lin Luo had not expected that Kirisu Mafuyu's "letting it rot" could be so thorough.

After two hours of hard work, sweating profusely, he finally restored the room, which had been almost submerged in trash, to a presentable state. Throughout the process, Kirisu Mafuyu was like a puppet without a Soul; she would hand over a trash bag when asked, move her feet when asked, her eyes unfocused the whole time, as if her Soul had already undergone Soul Emergence, escaping this scene of her social death.

As Lin Luo cleaned, he was under constant shock. He had helped before, but mostly just handled the "macro" trash in the living room and kitchen, never deep into the bedroom Domain. During this thorough cleaning, he was shocked to discover that this teacher, who looked glamorous and had an icy temperament, could be so "slovenly" in private.

Just as he was cleaning the corner of the bedroom and preparing to pick up a piece of soft fabric that looked like it had been discarded casually, a change occurred.

The moment his fingertips touched that unusually silky and soft material, before he could even exert force, Kirisu Mafuyu, who had been in "standby" mode behind him, seemed to have her Soul injected back into her instantly, letting out a short, distorted scream:

"Wait, wait! Not that—!"

She lunged over with near-teleporting speed, her Face instantly flushing from its previous numbness to the color of a cooked shrimp. She snatched the fabric from Lin Luo's hand, clutched it tightly to her chest, and curled up, so embarrassed she was almost steaming.

Only then did Lin Luo see clearly by the light what it was that his fingertips had hooked and what she was clutching tightly to her chest—it was an extremely private, skimpy, and daringly designed piece of black lace underwear!

The rich, faint fragrance that had just touched his fingertips and lingered there now reminded him with crystal clarity what exactly he had just touched!

Lin Luo: "!!!"

He felt his fingertips go numb, as if they had been scalded. Even with his steady Heart-Nature, his mind went blank for a moment, and his ears heated up uncontrollably.

The air was deathly silent.

Kirisu Mafuyu buried her head extremely low, almost embedding it into her chest, shaking like a leaf in the wind, and frantically muttered in a voice as thin as a mosquito, filled with sobbing and extreme shame:

"It's over... it's all over... just kill me... I have no Face to see anyone for the rest of my life... it's completely over..."

Lin Luo stiffly turned his Face away and cleared his throat, trying to find his voice, only to find his own throat a bit dry.

"Ahem... well... Teacher," he tried to make his voice sound calm and waveless, though with little effect, "The bedroom... I think it's mostly cleaned up, the rest... will you tidy it yourself?"

Kirisu Mafuyu didn't answer, just hugged the thing to her chest tighter, and let out a sound like the whimpering of a small animal, with a sobbing tone: "...Mm."

Lin Luo backed out of the bedroom almost walking with the same hand and foot, and gently closed the door. He stood in the newly tidy living room, looked at his right hand that had just touched the private clothing, remained silent for a moment, and then sighed silently.

(Internal thought: This guy... really brings me new 'surprises' every time...)

And inside the bedroom door, Kirisu Mafuyu slid down the door panel, buried her burning Face into her knees, and let out a silent scream.

(Internal thought: I can't live like this! I absolutely can't live like this! How will I Face him in the future ahhh—!)

In the living room, Lin Luo forcibly moved his attention away from that awkward sensation and fragrance, his gaze subconsciously scanning the now tidy space, and finally landed on the closed bathroom door.

A trace of extremely faint but definitely existing cold, eerie aura was seeping out from the crack in the door.

He frowned slightly; his Spiritual Perception told him there was something unusual there. But upon sensing it, the aura was very thin and low in power level, probably just enough to lower the ambient temperature or cause someone to have a few nightmares. Considering that Kirisu Mafuyu was wearing the stone he gave her that contained Spiritual Qi (though she didn't know it herself), it should be enough to resist this meager negative energy, so there shouldn't be any major problems.

"Forget it," he rubbed his brow and thought to himself, "That incident just now has thrown me off balance too; I'll come back to check another day."

Now was clearly not the time to investigate this. If he stayed any longer, the person in the bedroom might really be so ashamed she would evaporate on the spot, or simply shut herself in the room until the end of time.

Thinking of this, Lin Luo smiled with annoyance and shook his head. This teacher, in front of him, really couldn't maintain any dignity as a mentor at all; she was just a troublesome person who couldn't take care of her daily life but was obsessed with Face.

He raised his voice and said towards the bedroom:

"Teacher, I've put some of the trash by the door, remember to throw it out tomorrow. It's getting late, I'll head back first."

He kept his tone as flat as possible, as if nothing had happened just now.

A faint rustling sound came from the bedroom, followed by a muffled, nasal response, as if she had buried her Face in something:

"...Mm. Tha... thank you..."

The voice was so small it was almost inaudible.

Lin Luo said nothing more, turned to open the door, and left the apartment that had just experienced a "great battle." The moment he closed the door, he seemed to faintly hear a long sigh of relief and extreme shame from inside.

He stood in the hallway and looked back at the two adjacent doors.

(Internal thought: This neighbor and class advisor is really a... fun trouble.)

And inside the door, Kirisu Mafuyu leaned against the bedroom door panel, slowly slid to the floor, and covered her Face with her hands.

(Internal thought: I have no Face to be seen... next time I see him... what should I do...)

Returning to his spotless apartment, Lin Luo tidied up the living room briefly, then went to the bathroom for a hot shower, as if to wash away the sweet, sticky scent and awkward memories of the night.

Changing into comfortable home clothes, he walked into the bedroom and closed the door. The night outside the window was deep, and only a warm bedside lamp was lit in the room. He sat cross-legged on the bed, his expression returning to his usual calmness.

He extended his finger and gently tapped on the pendant on his chest.

Hum—

With a faint, almost imperceptible tremor, the space seemed to ripple slightly. The next moment, a book appeared out of thin air on his open palm—it was the "cicada song collection" he had collected from the library.

The moment the book appeared, the air in the bedroom seemed to freeze instantly.

The room, which had been warmed by the heater, suddenly dropped several degrees in temperature. An invisible, cold, eerie aura centered on the "cicada song collection" quickly spread, like ink dripping into clear water, eroding every inch of space. The warm light of the bedside lamp seemed to dim and flicker, casting twisted, dancing shadows on the wall, and within the shadows, it seemed as if countless eyes filled with malice opened, staring fixedly at Lin Luo.

In the air, countless fragmented whispers filled with negative emotions echoed faintly—temptation, resentment, irritability, despair... all sorts of dark thoughts tried to burrow into Lin Luo's mind.

Lin Luo's expression remained unchanged, his internal Spiritual Qi flowing naturally, a warm and peaceful aura emanating from his body, forming an invisible barrier around him, isolating the cold, eerie aura and mental erosion. A faint light flashed in the depths of his eyes, and he had already activated his Spiritual Perception.

In his "vision," the "cicada song collection" in his hand was no longer an ordinary book, but a source constantly emitting dark purple energy like filthy tentacles. The twisted haiku text squirmed crazily on the pages, as if it had come alive, wanting to break free from the constraints of the paper.

"It really is evil," Lin Luo whispered, his fingertips condensing a wisp of pure Spiritual Qi, carefully opening the cover.

He wanted to see what kind of secret this seemingly ordinary haiku collection hid, and why it appeared in the school library. Behind this pervasive malice, was there something deeper involved?

A night without disturbance was the best time to investigate these secrets. And what he didn't know was that while he was focused on the evil book in his hand, that faint, cold aura in the bathroom of the next-door apartment seemed to have a very subtle resonance with the malice permeating his room.