Mingzhe walked slowly along the stone path, letting the morning settle around him. The air smelled faintly of damp soil and trimmed grass. Somewhere nearby, someone had dropped a breakfast sandwich, and a small group of sparrows were arguing loudly over the crumbs.
He paused near a campus map standing beside the path.
Students passed behind him in a steady stream. Someone laughed loudly. A bicycle bell rang twice before weaving through the crowd.
Yize floated beside Mingzhe's shoulder, bobbing gently.
[Host's first lecture begins in twenty minutes.]
Mingzhe studied the map. Rows of buildings were arranged neatly around the central square. Libraries, lecture halls, dormitories, sports fields.
"…Literature building," he murmured. This atmosphere actually doesn't strayed far from his original academy back at home. But, theirs is less lively. Probably because they're all immortals. People live a noble life. Politeness has been ingrained deep inside of their bone marrow. Now that he's here, he wanted to experience a full different vibes.
A small blinking dot appeared on the map in his mind as Yize projected directions.
[Three minutes walking distance.]
"Convenient."
They started down a shaded path lined with tall gingko trees. The leaves rustled softly in the wind, making shifting patterns of light across the pavement.
A few students passed him going the opposite direction. One girl slowed slightly as she walked by, glancing over her shoulder before whispering something to her friend.
Mingzhe noticed the movement but didn't react. Instead, he asked quietly, "Yize, what classes does this identity usually attend?"
[Modern literature analysis, classical poetry, cultural theory, and two elective courses.]
"…Poetry?"
[Host scored very high in language-related abilities.]
Mingzhe smiled faintly.
"That sounds like something he would arrange."
Yize tilted slightly.
[Master did personally prepare Host's identity including the background.] But, Yize didn't told Mingzhe one thing. The world consciousness can detect the anomaly. Yize couldn't promise a very perfect life for Mingzhe according to their Master's wishes. After all, nobody lives a perfect life. That means Master have to wronged Mingzhe a little bit.
Mingzhe's fingers brushed the strap of his bag as he walked. "He always did like details."
A breeze swept down the path, carrying the smell of wet leaves and something floral from the nearby gardens.
They turned a corner, and the literature building appeared ahead. It was older than the surrounding structures, built from pale stone with ivy creeping along the lower walls. Tall windows reflected the sky like sheets of glass.
Students clustered on the front steps. Some were reading. Others were complaining loudly.
"I swear Professor Lin assigns essays just to watch us suffer."
"That's literally his hobby."
"You finished the reading?"
"Absolutely not."
Mingzhe slowed slightly, watching the group with quiet interest. "They are discussing academic distress."
[This is common behavior before lectures.]
"Do they always sound this dramatic?"
[According to data, yes.]
One boy groaned loudly. "Shitttt, I only slept two fucking hours."
His friend shrugged. "Skill issue, bro."
Mingzhe chuckled under his breath. The sound was quiet, but one of the students near the door glanced over instinctively. His gaze landed on Mingzhe and lingered for a second before he nudged the friend next to him.
"Hey."
"What?"
"…Nothing."
Mingzhe climbed the steps without noticing. It's not that his senses has dulled but rather in such a peaceful world and out of trust for his life carved by his partner, worries are the least of his concerns.
Inside, the building was cooler. The hallway smelled faintly of paper and cleaning solution. Fluorescent lights hummed softly above. He followed the room numbers until he reached Lecture Hall 304.
The door was already open. Students were scattered throughout the room, some chatting while others leaned across desks sharing notes. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows along one wall.
Mingzhe stepped inside.
The room wasn't full yet, but conversations paused for a brief moment as people instinctively registered someone new entering the space. Then the noise resumed.
Mingzhe walked down one of the aisles and chose a seat near the window. The desk was smooth from years of use. Someone had carved tiny initials into the corner. Some exam notes also could be seen written on some surfaces on the wall.
Outside, branches from a nearby tree brushed lightly against the glass. He opened his notebook and set his pen down. Yize floated just above the desk, invisible to everyone else.
[Host appears to be adapting well.]
"I've only been here for ten minutes."
[Still impressive.]
Students continued filing into the room. A girl near the front was arguing with her friend about whether the professor accepted late homework. Two boys in the back were comparing answers from last week's assignment.
A paper airplane suddenly glided across the room and landed two rows ahead.
Someone yelled, "Nice throw, dude !"
Mingzhe rested his chin lightly against his hand and watched the small chaos unfold.
"…They really are lively."
[Host seems entertained.]
"I think I understand what he meant."
[About what?]
Mingzhe's eyes softened slightly as he watched two students arguing about a poem they clearly hadn't read.
"He once said humans live intensely."
Yize floated a little closer. He watched as Mingzhe's eyes wander around.
[Do you miss Master?]
Mingzhe didn't answer immediately. Instead, he watched sunlight slide slowly across the wooden desks. Then he spoke quietly.
"…Every moment." He missed him so much he feels like his lungs gonna explode. He missed him so much that he brought along a hair knot they had tied together on their wedding night. He missed him terribly he feels like crying. He missed him dearly.
A chair scraped beside him. Someone had just taken the seat next to his. Mingzhe glanced sideways.
A young man with slightly messy hair was dropping his backpack onto the floor and pulling out a notebook. His bag has this little strawberry chain, a few plush toys and random objects string together at the zipper. Mingzhe watched with interest. What a huge contrast.
He noticed Mingzhe looking and gave a casual nod.
"Hey."
Then he paused for a second, taking a quick look at Mingzhe's face. That face is a tad bit dangerous.
"…You're new, right?"
The room buzzed with conversation as the lecture hall slowly filled, the ordinary rhythm of university life settling in around them while, far across campus, sunlight continued to pour quietly through the glass roof of the greenhouse where rows of plants grew toward the morning light.
.........…
Warm sunlight filtered through the glass panels of the greenhouse ceiling, turning the rows of leaves into shifting layers of green and gold.
Professor Mu moved slowly between the tables, watering can in hand. The soil darkened as the water sank in. A faint earthy scent rose into the warm air. He paused beside a tray of seedlings, crouching slightly to inspect the thin stems. One leaf had begun to yellow at the edges.
"Too much sun," he murmured. Too much exposure to the sun will make the plants turned unhealthy and will die in the next few days. He adjusted the shade cloth above the tray before straightening again. The greenhouse was peaceful compared to the rest of campus.
Outside, students hurried between lectures, voices echoing along the stone paths. Here, the sounds softened into distant murmurs and the gentle drip of water.
Professor Mu preferred it that way.
He reached out, lightly brushing a fingertip across a broad leaf to clear a bead of water. The droplet rolled off and fell into the soil.
For a moment, he stilled.
A strange feeling flickered through his chest. Like a faint tug somewhere far away.
Not pain. But, something unexplainable. It feels like something he has been waiting for finally came for him. But, what is it?
Professor Mu frowned slightly.
" Very odd."
The feeling faded almost immediately. He adjusted his glasses and continued watering the next row of plants, the quiet rhythm of the greenhouse settling back around him. Outside, the campus carried on as usual.
Unaware.
.........
Three weeks later.
Late afternoon sunlight stretched across the campus pathways, long shadows cutting through the crowds of students heading home. Mingzhe leaned against the railing outside the library, watching people pass below.
Three weeks.
He had walked almost every corner of the campus by now. The libraries. The dorm courtyards. The old academic buildings. Even the sports fields at night when no one was around. Nothing. No sights, no noise, no presence.
The soul fragment still hadn't appeared.
Beside him, Yize floated quietly.
[Host has completed today's classes.]
"…Mm."
Mingzhe rested his chin on his hand, gaze drifting over the steady flow of students. Backpacks. Laughter. Someone arguing loudly about an assignment. Life moved in small, noisy patterns everywhere he looked.
Normal. But, this is far too normal.
"Are you sure the fragment is here?" he asked quietly. It has been this long and yet Yize still haven't found him.
[System scans confirm this world contains Master's soul fragment.] Yize answered honestly. He's currently thinking how to remind Mingzhe about the fact that this soul fragment is very weak currently and Master has already forgotten everything. He's living as native to this world.
"But we still can't detect its location."
[Correct.]
Mingzhe exhaled softly. The wind stirred his hair as he watched a group of students rush past the library doors.
Three weeks of searching.
Three weeks of waiting.
Three weeks of walking through crowded halls and classrooms where no one felt familiar. He had almost begun to wonder if he had missed it somehow.
"Maybe the fragment isn't active yet," he said, trying to ease his emotions.
[Possible.]
"Or maybe it's avoiding me."
[That is statistically unlikely.]
Mingzhe hummed thoughtfully. Below them, a student tripped on the stairs and nearly dropped a stack of books. His friend burst into laughter. Then his gaze shifted toward the far side of campus where several older buildings stood behind rows of trees. A quiet area and less crowded. He had walked past it before but never gone inside.
"…What building is that?" he asked.
Yize paused. A small projection map flickered briefly in Mingzhe's mind.
[Botany department. Includes research greenhouses.]
Mingzhe's eyes lingered there for no clear reason. Just a vague, quiet curiosity he had since the buildings looks a bit gloomy.
"…Greenhouses."
[Does Host wish to investigate?]
Mingzhe pushed away from the railing. The wind moved through the trees as he adjusted the strap of his bag. "…I think I'll take a walk." He started down the steps toward the lower path, blending easily into the flow of students heading across campus.
Three weeks into the semester, the campus had settled into a rhythm.
Then the professors ruined it.
It started on a Tuesday morning.
Mingzhe walked into Lecture Hall 304 with his notebook under one arm, expecting the usual chaos like half-awake students, last minute reading, someone whispering "Did you do the tasks?" five seconds before class. Instead, the room felt tense. The silence is defeaning. Mingzhe raised his chin to look at the floating souls in the air.
Students were already seated. However, several looked pale. One girl was staring at the front desk like it had personally betrayed her. Mingzhe paused beside his seat.
"…Did someone die doing homework?" he asked mildly, trying to inquire about the sudden depressed atmosphere. The boy next to him looked up with hollow eyes.
"Fucking worse." He slid a sheet of paper across the desk. At the top, in calm printed letters, were the words:
POP QUIZ.
The boy whispered hoarsely, "He said it's only ten percent of the grade." He probably just done crying, still sniffling like a toddler.
Another student leaned over from the row behind them. "It's a lie," she said grimly. Her usual neat hair now have a few strands lay loosely on her trembling shoulders. "Ten percent emotionally. One hundred percent spiritually." She closed her eyes in despair. Fucking exams and quizzes. Just let her die !
Mingzhe looked down at the paper. Then back at them. He almost burst into laughter. "…This causes distress and emotional instability." Mingzhe pretend to put a fist to his mouth tho it didn't hide the corner of his lips that quirked a bit.
"THIS causes trauma and PTSD," the girl corrected. Her hands gripped the edge of her desk like it can split into two with the force under her dying struggles.
At the front of the room, the professor cleared his throat. Pens immediately began scratching. Someone in the back whispered, "I didn't read the damn poem."
His friend whispered back, "Neither did the professor probably."
The quiz lasted fifteen minutes. When it ended, the collective exhale of the room sounded like survivors leaving a battlefield. The gunpowder smell also slowly dissipated. Mingzhe watched the reactions with quiet fascination. Humans really did live intensely. He wrote the last answer calmly and turned in the paper.
Wednesday.
Another lecture.
Another betrayal.
A different professor walked into the room carrying a stack of papers. Students stiffened instantly. "Good morning," the professor said cheerfully. "Before we begin today's topic, we'll have a short diagnostic test." His eyes sparkled like the brightest demon's eyes, coming out of Hell.
A collective groan rolled through the lecture hall like thunder.
Someone howled loudly, "WHY FOR THE LOVE OF GOD."
Another student slumped against the desk. He looks like he wanted to write his will based on the murmurs and his trembling fingers holding a pen. "Academia is a trap."
Mingzhe glanced at the paper when it reached his desk.
"…Again? Am I going to die like this? I haven't even got a girlfriend or a boyfriend! Is it cus I boiled noodles yesterday after my mom cooked a feast?! " Beside him, the same boy from yesterday buried his face in his hands.
Author's Note: Asians lol if mother is already cooking, don't go and cook a pot of noodles. You'll recieve a chancla to your face lmfao (based on my experience)
"We're being fucking farmed for suffering, the professors are watching us and probably laughing their ass off right now." It really looks like they see the professors as demons and ghosts that sucked their souls away.
The test lasted twenty minutes. Afterward, the class staggered out into the hallway like survivors of a natural disaster. They walked like zombies. Some sighs and cries can be heard everywhere.
Mingzhe followed them, thoughtful.
"Are sudden examinations a common tradition?" he asked Yize quietly.
[Yes.]
"…Fascinating."
[Host appears calm.]
"I studied the material."
[Correct.]
A student walking ahead overheard that and spun around. "You STUDIED? STUDIED?!" His eyes were as big as copper coins. Some smoke could be seen coming out of his nostrils.
"…Yes."
The student stared at him like he'd just admitted to sorcery. Mingzhe swear he can see hidden cries of betrayal and the wolf's howling wails in those eyes.
By Friday, the entire literature department had entered what students referred to as "Academic War Season." It's a complete war. There is even a long war cry before they plunged themselves to the battlefield. Armors, swords, bullets and bombs are being prepared everyday.
Quizzes.
Short essays.
Surprise presentations.
One professor even assigned a five-page reflection "for fun." Morale was freaking low. Energy drinks appeared in alarming quantities. Hairs flying everywhere and some bald spot could be seen on some of the messy head.
Mingzhe remained mostly unaffected. But he did observe the chaos with increasing curiosity. Humans were very dramatic when stressed. Especially when someone lead them. And it's always the one guy at the back row of the lecture hall.
That afternoon, one of the senior professors walked into class with an unusually bright expression. Seeing the starlights decorating that face, the students have a very ominous premonition.
He clapped his hands once.
"Good news, everyone."
Students looked suspicious. They can't help it. Nobody is trusting a professor now. Everyone wanna put the old guys in a sack and beat them up several times.
"That sentence has never led to good news," someone muttered, the voice carried heavy trust issues problem. The professor ignored the comment. He also ignored the dagger like stares and glares although his back did indeed sweats a little.
"As a change of pace," he continued, "today we'll take a short academic excursion."
The room blinked. What is this sudden wheel of change? Is this trustworthy? Should they hire a lawyer?
"Where?" a student asked cautiously.
"The botany greenhouse."
Confusion spread instantly.
"…Why?" someone asked. Are the professors feeding them fat before continuing slaughtering them?
The professor waved a hand dismissively.
"Well, our department recently gained a new young professor working with the botany faculty. Very promising researcher."
Several students straightened. They've heard of it before. And also heard the rumors about the new very handsome, out of this world good looking kinda professor.
"You mean Professor Muchen?" one girl whispered awkwardly.
"Yes, yes," the professor said. "Him."
The reaction was immediate. After all, it's the one in all the rumors and posts inside of the campus's forums everyday. They all wanna see the celebrity. If this professor was a student, then he for sure will be the campus grass.
"I heard he's really young."
"My roommate said he looks like a movie actor."
"No way."
"He teaches plant linguistics or something, right?"
"That's not a thing."
"Apparently he talks to plants."
The professor rubbed his temple. The noises reaching his ears makes the alarm inside his brain blaring and kept flashing red signals.
"Please stop inventing rumors and spreading them."
But the energy in the room had already shifted. Curiosity and excitement. A few students were suddenly fixing their hair. Some sprayed a bit of cologne and perfumes. Even the boys joined in the excitement, asking for random perfumes from the girls.
The professor sighed. "Anyway. Since you all seem strangely enthusiastic, we'll visit the greenhouse. Consider it as interdisciplinary exposure."
Someone whispered, "Field trip!" They always have a field trip every year but this is a different kind of field trip.
Mingzhe tilted his head slightly. Greenhouse.
The same building he had noticed earlier that week. Beside him, Yize flickered quietly.
[Host appears interested.]
"…A little."
The group walked across campus in a noisy cluster. Students talked loudly the entire way. They didn't hide their voices at all even when walking along the hallway of another lecture halls, inviting envious glances from the students that overheard their conversations.
"Do you think he's strict?"
"I heard he's super quiet."
"My senior said half the botany department has a crush on him, well everyone did."
"Focus," someone said. "We're here for academic reasons."
"You're here for academic reasons."
They turned down a quieter path lined with trees. Ahead, the greenhouse roof gleamed under the afternoon sun. Glass panels reflected the sky like bright mirrors.
Mingzhe's steps slowed slightly.
A strange feeling stirred faintly in his chest. He looked toward the building. For some reason, he felt a very light tug.
"Host," Yize said softly.
[System detecting mild resonance.]
Mingzhe's eyes sharpened. This is good news.
"…Resonance?"
[Source unclear.] Yize also look here and there for the source but still unclear.
The students ahead were already climbing the steps.The professor pushed open the greenhouse door. Warm air drifted out, carrying the scent of soil and leaves.
"Alright," the professor announced. "Try not to touch anything expensive." If some things are broken, the one that will be responsible is his old self. He lightly squinted. None of the students knew the new professor's temper. But he, this old man, knew it.
The class spilled inside in a wave of curiosity. Rows of plants stretched beneath the sunlit glass ceiling.
Green vines.
Broad leaves.
Flowers in careful rows.
And somewhere deeper in the greenhouse, a quiet figure moved slowly between the tables, watering can in hand.
Mingzhe stepped inside.
And the faint resonance in his chest grew just a little stronger.