Chapter 53: I’m So Excited I Could Burst

"I never expected you to be like this, Li Peijun." Chen Fan took off his VR headset and gave a middle finger to Li Peijun, whose eyes were still covered.

"This is all part of the plan, you know? But it wasn't my idea. Xiao Yuhuo discussed tactics with us last night, and I'm just the one carrying them out during the day." Li Peijun grinned smugly, pressing down his messy bangs.

Gu Kai couldn’t help but praise, "Your strategy worked brilliantly. You had a wolf jump as the fake hunter standing next to the real seer, and the rest just charged ahead with you. Even if the real and fake hunters are decided on the first day, the witch will still believe the real seer is fake and poison him at night. Not to mention, a fool died right at the start, so we were already at a disadvantage."

Li Peijun shrugged, carefully placing the VR headset on the table, then stood and said, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If by chance the real seer had been assigned to you, I’d have self-destructed on the spot. But with no guard in play, it's not a loss, just a one-for-one trade."

Gu Kai handed over two pre-prepared documents to them and said, "Would you like to join our Werewolf Club and help bring more people into the game?"

"Absolutely, I’d love to." Chen Fan pulled a pen from the holder and quickly filled out his personal information. Li Peijun bent over to scrawl his details, the handwriting so messy it could rival a doctor's prescription.

"You know, I guessed you’d trust Xiao Yuhuo more, so I felt confident letting her make the bold move," Li Peijun suddenly added.

Chen Fan paused mid-signature, looked up and retorted, "Oh? Not a bad guess. But who could blame you—Xiao Yuhuo was up against Gu Kai. If it had been someone else, maybe I'd have hesitated."

"Yeah, yeah, male intuition—I get it, you don’t have to explain." Li Peijun chuckled and signed his name on the registration form.

"Chen Fan, sorry about making you the first target."

Just as Chen Fan handed in his form and turned around, he saw Xiao Yuhuo approaching. She wore a striped white shirt and black denim shorts that showed off her long legs. Her pink-and-white sneakers perfectly complemented her aura, and with a height well over 173 centimeters, she stood out from the crowd.

Despite her dominant, mature presence, she had a childlike face, with plump cheeks that just begged to be pinched.

"I bet she's prettier than Xu Ying," Li Peijun muttered under his breath, quickly sliding his chair several spaces away and pretending not to know Chen Fan as he played with his phone.

Chen Fan hurriedly left his seat, suddenly realizing his shirt wasn’t buttoned up, exposing his navel between rolls of flesh. Face flushed, he quickly turned away to fix his buttons.

"Pop~"

In his rush, Chen Fan misaligned the buttons, and the already snug shirt strained and tore. He stood there, clutching the fallen button, completely lost.

With no choice, Chen Fan carefully fastened the remaining buttons, tucked the shirt back into his pants, and tried not to think about anything else for now.

"I know you weren't the one who targeted me. I’m guessing it was this guy," Chen Fan slipped the button into his pocket and shot Li Peijun a glare.

Li Peijun didn’t even look up, still absorbed in his phone.

Xiao Yuhuo smiled warmly and said, "Haha, yes, he was the main culprit. There's a department meeting soon—did you get accepted by the Discipline Committee?"

Chen Fan nodded, "I only got the news this evening. Did you join the Discipline Committee too?"

"Yeah, I spent ages torn between several departments, and in the end, I just rolled dice to decide," Xiao Yuhuo pouted. "It's getting late, we should head over soon. Where’s your friend who came with you? Is he joining too?"

"Oh, you mean Li Peijun? He’s from another faculty, but… hey, where’d he go?" Chen Fan looked back to find the seat empty. Li Peijun had vanished without a trace.

"Beep~ beep~ beep"

"Wait a second, let me check a message." Chen Fan glanced at his phone.

[I'll leave you to it. When you succeed, remember to treat me to dinner.]

"This guy, he ran off." Chen Fan looked at Xiao Yuhuo, feeling a strange flutter in his chest. "What about your roommate?"

Xiao Yuhuo replied, "Oh, she already went back."

"Then let's head to the meeting together." Chen Fan wasn’t sure why he took the initiative to say that, touching his face and noting it wasn’t burning hot.

"Okay." Xiao Yuhuo didn’t refuse, flicked her bangs aside, and followed behind Chen Fan.

The stalls along the campus avenue were still there, but the crowds had thinned out. Many booths were left with only tents, and even the slogans had been taken down early, probably because it was too quiet and everyone had finished up for the day.

The streetlights weren’t bright, and the deepening night seemed ready to swallow all the light in an instant. The wild wind swept up fallen leaves, slapping them haphazardly against passersby.

They didn’t walk side by side; Chen Fan led, and Xiao Yuhuo followed a few steps behind, keeping close.

Watching the swirling leaves at the roadside, Xiao Yuhuo started a conversation, "I heard a typhoon will make landfall in the next couple of days. From the looks of it, it must be getting close."

"Yeah, typhoons are normal here in Yuanyu. It's by the sea, so we get a few every year. Your werewolf game skills are impressive—who taught you?" Chen Fan responded, not showing much enthusiasm.

Xiao Yuhuo replied, "I’m pretty much self-taught. I play casually and watch pandakill videos to learn. I mostly stay home and don’t go out much."

"Oh, by the way, has Xu Ying been chatting with you lately?" Xiao Yuhuo quickened her pace, walking shoulder to shoulder with Chen Fan.

"Xu Ying? It’s been a few days, I think. Why do you ask out of the blue?" Chen Fan even counted on his fingers, giving Xiao Yuhuo a detailed rundown.

"It's nothing, I was just curious. I rarely see girls so proactive," Xiao Yuhuo turned her head, deliberately avoiding Chen Fan’s gaze.

"Girls really are strange," Chen Fan mused, unable to figure it out, focusing on his walk.

"If a boy likes a girl, would he confess his feelings?" Xiao Yuhuo asked again.

Chen Fan scratched his head and answered, "Of course. How else would a relationship start if you don't confess?"

"Oh, so by that logic, Wei Youlong must like me too?"

Hearing Wei Youlong’s name, Chen Fan bristled, "Don’t believe a word from that guy. He’s as slick as they come, juggling relationships with more than twenty girls at once—a real fishing expert. Don’t let him fool you."

Xiao Yuhuo looked skeptical, half convinced. "Is it really that bad? He seemed pretty sincere to me. I was starting to like him, but now that you say this, I’m starting to doubt."

Chen Fan turned around and blocked Xiao Yuhuo’s path with a wide stride, "My dear Xiao, have you never dated before? Even if you haven’t, surely someone has tried to pursue you. Can’t you see through these little tricks?"

Xiao Yuhuo shook her head slightly, surprised, "Never dated, never been pursued. My best friend says maybe people think I’m hard to get, so they just secretly admire me without acting on it. Also, I’m younger than you."

Chen Fan realized it made sense—over 173 centimeters tall, she’d need a boyfriend at least 180 even without heels, and if she stayed home all the time, it was understandable she didn’t have much luck with guys.

"Anyway, trust me—don’t get involved with Wei Youlong. He’s not a good person."

His words had a commanding tone, and Chen Fan couldn’t tell if she’d heed them. If not, he’d have to have a friendly talk with Wei Youlong himself.

"Okay." Xiao Yuhuo blinked, replying crisply, as meek as a lamb.

"Rip~"

"My... my pants!"