At last, Potions class had arrived.

This was the subject Loewen had been looking forward to the most. Aside from standard theory courses, Potions was the only subject that didn’t require magic to practice.

If he wanted to live a relatively decent life in this magic-dominated world, he had to rely on this subject as his means of survival and work hard to become a potioneer in the future.

Stepping into the classroom, Loewen did something rare—he didn’t head for the back row. Instead, he made an unprecedented decision to sit in the front.

The classroom was already filling up, and few seats remained in the first row.

He chose a spot right under the teacher’s nose, a notorious danger zone, and lazily glanced at the student beside him—only to find a girl with jet-black hair and dark eyes.

Her long black hair gleamed like ink, her eyes were as deep as black pearls, and she sat straight-backed with perfect posture, as poised as a lotus in still water.

A wanderer in a foreign land, unexpectedly meeting someone from home—Loewen felt a sudden wave of emotion.

Holding back tears, he couldn’t suppress the surge of excitement and blurted out fluently in Chinese, “Hello!”

Qixiu Dongfang blinked in surprise. Her eyes flickered with confusion as she turned her head, only to be momentarily dazzled by the brilliant gold of Loewen’s hair.

“Y-you… Hello?” Qixiu had already noticed Loewen during the sorting ceremony—his beauty was simply too striking. Now that she saw him up close, he was even more breathtaking, enough to make her stammer.

Her Chinese pronunciation was a bit clumsy, but Loewen was so thrilled that even his fake breasts nearly fell off.

“You speak Chinese?” he asked earnestly.

Qixiu hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and switched to English. “Not really. I can understand it, but I don’t speak it well. It’s my native language, though. How do you know it?”

Native language?

Loewen was even more ecstatic. Amazing! So this world had an Asian population—and this girl spoke his mother tongue! What a great news!

“Because it’s my native language too,” he replied without thinking, obviously overwhelmed with joy.

“Your native language?” Qixiu looked astonished. Her gaze turned skeptical as she studied Loewen up and down. “…But… you look…”

Like a local.

It was only then that Loewen remembered—he now looked like a complete foreigner. Hastily, he made up a lie. “Oops, I misspoke. My nanny had black hair and dark eyes. She taught me your native language.”

Qixiu hesitated, then nodded, seemingly convinced.

Felix entered the classroom deep in thought. He was trying to figure out why Loewen called "her" brother "Dumb Wolf." Did this mean she didn't really like her brother? And... she called herself "Lone Wolf"...

His face was already dark with contemplation, but upon seeing Loewen seated in the first row—with no empty seats nearby—his face darkened even further.

The first-year Potions professor was a hunched, short old man with graying hair. His lectures were dry and monotonous, strictly by the book, but his small, squinting eyes were deceptively sharp, constantly glaring at students who tried to stifle their laughter.

Loewen listened for a while, and he quickly realized that the professor just repeated the textbook without adding anything new. Seeing no reason to follow along, he dove into the material on his own.

No wonder Potions was considered a fringe subject. Even the professor had given up.

“For the rest of the lesson, I won’t be lecturing,” Professor Fingel rasped, dragging out his words. “Ahem, I’m getting old, and my throat hurts.”

“In the future, when you start brewing potions in the lab, my assistant will supervise you. For now, use this time to pair up in groups of two.”

With that, he sank into his chair, letting the class run itself.

The room instantly became a hub of activity. The outgoing students moved around, looking for partners, while the more reserved ones remained silent, waiting to be chosen.

Loewen set down his pen and turned to Qixiu Dongfang. “Wanna pair up?” he suggested.

Qixiu seemed a little surprised and slightly flustered, but she nodded quickly. “S-Sure!”

***

The day’s lessons passed in the blink of an eye.

As the evening descended, the dimming sky was bathed in the warm orange glow of the setting sun. It pierced through scattered clouds, casting a soft light over the quiet, secluded path at Charles Academy.

Loewen walked along the path, carrying a stack of textbooks and additional reading materials he had just borrowed from the library. He was headed toward the dormitory.

“Miss Flenqi…” a voice called from behind. Loewen heard it clearly, but he chose to ignore it.

“Do you need any help?” Felix jogged a few steps to catch up, matching Loewen’s pace. He smiled, and his eyes rested on the heavy stack of books Loewen was holding.

“No need.” Loewen gave him a brief glance. His voice was indifferent as he continued walking straight ahead.

Felix’s smile faded instantly. After a moment of hesitation, he spoke again. “Miss Flenqi, after we parted this morning, you didn’t speak to me at all today. Why is that?”

Loewen remained silent.

Felix, with a nervous sigh, seemed to gather all his courage. His voice trembled as he asked, “Did I do something to make you dislike me?”

Loewen finally looked at Felix. “I don’t dislike you,” he said, his tone casual.

In that instant, Felix’s eyes lit up, like a bright star hanging on the horizon.

Loewen turned his head back and spoke again, his tone changing. “But I don’t like you either. Stop following me around like a shadow. It’s annoying.”

Felix’s lips tightened, and he slowed his pace, eventually coming to a complete stop.

He stood there. His eyes dimmed as the brief spark of hope faded, leaving behind a void of emptiness.

Loewen continued walking. His figure gradually disappeared into the twilight as Felix watched him go.

Once Loewen reached the base of the dormitory, he stole a quick glance behind him. Not seeing Felix anywhere, he breathed a sigh of relief. The tension in his body finally eased.

It dawned on him then: Felix was basically an NPC on follow mode. It was ridiculously absurd!

Loewen had intentionally said a few harsh words to send him away, hoping that Felix would now understand the need to maintain a proper distance in the future.