"You really are a crazy person... I honestly don't understand why you're doing this?"
The boy had no way of figuring out her motives, nor could he comprehend why he had such a bizarre urge to obey her every word.
"If you happen to have a better place to go, I'll take back what I said."
"My luggage is still at the hotel..."
Li Wei let out a scoff of disdain.
Clearly, an answer like "the hotel" had already been dismissed before it even left his mouth, making it rather absurd.
"A hotel? It costs money and isn't even safe. And it's definitely not as comfortable as the bed in my house."
"I just meant my luggage is still there..."
...Awkward. The smug pretty girl had choked on her own misunderstanding.
"I give up. Just give me the hotel name and room number, and I'll have someone bring your luggage right to the front door."
"???"
What does a blank mind feel like?
Lin Xiu had once pondered this question, but on this second day of studying abroad at age seventeen, he was experiencing the sensation to perfection.
In his own words, it was an experience somewhere between death and ecstasy. Though you could probably get a similar feeling from various habit-forming drugs, it was still a bit different.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Displeasure flashed in the white-haired beauty's eyes, and her tone turned playful.
"No. But please allow me to apologize to you; your zealous hospitality, Madam President, takes me aback."
Rarely did Lin Xiu feel and respond so genuinely to the kindness extended to him by another.
After all, this was a "privilege" he couldn't even experience at home.
Li Wei led the boy up to the Ancient Mansion, leaving Lin Xiu, who had been silent until now, utterly astonished.
Though the surrounding environment carried the desolate flavor of a country lane, it was cut off by a private enclosing wall.
The exterior of the Ancient Mansion resembled an old-style villa from the previous century, European in style, looking like a place where a mysterious Magician would live in a classic fantasy novel.
A scattering of vines and moss clung to the walls, interspersed with dreamlike murals and patterns. The small forest in the backyard was clearly private property.
Numerous rare and precious flowers and plants dotted the grounds, dazzling like glowing crystal balls.
"What do you think? Anyone can see it's a very comfortable residence." Li Wei waved her hand, motioning for Lin Xiu to follow her inside.
"This Ancient Mansion looks like it was decorated in the previous century. I had no idea President Li Wei's family was so wealthy."
Lin Xiu said this as he stared at the massive living room and numerous rooms inside.
What surprised him the most was the noble Molcas pine staircase behind the beauty; setting aside its texture, just looking at it from afar was a feast for the eyes.
"This isn't just some interior decoration. Strictly speaking, it was always like this, just very well maintained. Call it what you will, it's a rare and superior residence in Anmi and Heixia, and it has quite a long history."
According to what Li Wei said, a place like this shouldn't be privately owned, which meant... her background must be unfathomable. Lin Xiu thought to himself.
"Miss Li Wei, wouldn't you feel a shred of fear living alone in a mansion like this?"
"What's there to be afraid of? It's not a haunted house, nor is it a place where people died unnatural deaths. Although Heixia has plenty of paranormal incidents, they haven't happened to me yet."
So-called paranormal incidents were merely a perspective from an ordinary person's point of view; as for the truth, one only needed to look at Lin Xiu's actions from last night.
Li Wei brewed two cups of premium Western black tea in the kitchen and brought them, piping hot, to her guest.
"I suppose this is what they call the awareness of a great family's heir; I simply can't compare at all."
"Sit down and try some. Why are you just standing frozen by the door?"
After changing out of her school uniform into casual home clothes, Li Wei sat gracefully on the sofa, took a sip, and turned to address the restrained and cold boy.
The boy sighed and silently walked over to sit on the sofa opposite Li Wei. He took a sip of the black tea and spoke again.
"Miss Li Wei must also come from an overseas family; by the sound of it, it doesn't sound like an English or French family name."
"That's right. Theoretically speaking, I'm of mixed descent. My surname is Anna, which is my mother's surname."
"So your father married into your mother's family, then."
"Yes. My mother has the bloodline of a British noble family—it's a bit complicated to explain. As for my father..."
"You don't have to say if it's inconvenient."
Lin Xiu read the unspoken difficulty in Li Wei's tone and tactfully helped her stop.
The lighting in the Ancient Mansion was quite modern, especially the chandelier on the ceiling, which combined classic style with modern practicality.
"What about you? Your name sounds simple enough."
"Actually, it's not that simple. 'Lin Xiu' is just an abbreviation. Think of it as a nickname."
The boy took another sip, then picked up his phone to check the evening news. As expected, there wasn't a single piece of useful information related to last night's events.
"I don't get it. You aren't actually surnamed Lin?"
"Both Lin and Xiu are abbreviations of my given name. I'm not familiar with my family history; I only know that my parents and ancestors were part of the Hua race, and only went to Europe later because of certain events."
Hearing this, Li Wei didn't reply with a single word.
She zoned out, as if she had just realized something.
Her own father was actually of the Hua race as well, and had once told her a legendary story.
The protagonist of the story had been a sworn brother to her father. While fleeing the pursuit of Magicians from the Three Churches in Phoenix Huadi, the protagonist didn't use magic to counterattack his enemies, but rather secret pupil arts.
Magic was the microscopic unit of sorcery, while pupil arts were simply a means to open the Demon Eye, having nothing to do with magic at all.
In this modern society encompassing both magic and technology, "pupil arts" should be considered an "heretical" existence.
However, this race, which inherently possessed the bloodline of the Demon Eye, had no conflict of interest with the magic-using races. In ancient legends, there were even quite a few celebrated tales of them fighting side by side to withstand disasters and dangers.
Why pupil masters were eventually completely excluded from the "magic world" formed by the community of Magicians must have been due to a critical turning point.
Li Wei hadn't learned that much, nor was she particularly interested.
She knew that the only thing that could currently influence her actions was what her mother had told her a few months ago: to keep an eye out for anyone from the pupil art race in Anmi, as her father's recent magic experiments required it.
And now, he was right in front of her.
"Are you sleepy? You've been zoning out for so long that your tea has gone cold."
Lin Xiu pointed to the tea in his own cup, which was already lower than Li Wei's.
"No... I was just thinking about the past."
"The past? I miss the past, but I can't go back to it. Now I'm the least favored person in my family. But before I was eight, at least I could still get treated equally."
Ever since Lin Xiu participated in his father's sacrificial ceremony alongside his older brother and younger sister at age eight, he had increasingly headed toward being abandoned.
His mother was submissive to the opinions of his father, Lin Joseph, and couldn't say much.
And ever since then, rather than a father-son relationship, his two older brothers and his father were more like scientists and assistants; regardless of whatever spell research was taking place, communication and interaction were kept exclusively with them.
Lin Xiu's younger sister, Freya, also occasionally participated in their father's research activities, leaving only Lin Xiu completely cast out into the cold.
"Big brother looks so sad... Don't be upset. Dad probably just didn't want you to get hurt."
————Freya would always quietly stay by Lin Xiu's side after finishing her chores, speaking words that felt like the temperature of the only spark of warmth in the abyss.
Yet later on, Lin Joseph still snuffed out this perpetual night's faint gleam.
Even Freya was ordered not to have too much contact with Lin Xiu.
"So you don't even know why you were ostracized?"
"I don't. Even the only younger sister who would comfort me didn't stand by me to the end."
Naturally, Lin Xiu didn't tell Li Wei about pupil arts or experiments, simply substituting them roughly with other things.
The girl stood up, pulled the curtains attached to the living room's massive French glass doors, and turned on an old-fashioned cassette player from the previous century to play a melodious classical tune.
Though the sound quality of a phone or speaker equipment would be a hundred times clearer, it would never possess that elegant, tasteful atmosphere.
"How about it? Listen to some music, relax, and forget about these things. Since they kicked you out, the moment you walked out that door, you could never return to the warm nest you wanted."
Though the words were blunt and straightforward, that was simply the reality of it.
Lin Xiu no longer cared about family status or relationships with relatives. Because a much more realistic problem lay right before his eyes.
"Yes. Right now, I just want to get back the things I left behind in Anmi. As for my childhood, I'll just treat it like a dream."
Li Wei nodded slightly, her gaze dimming a bit, carrying sympathy while also holding a stronger curiosity to pry.
"Aren't you curious why I trusted you like this and even brought you home?"