# Chapter 16: The Magical Store (Part 5)
"I watched the curve of his lips, and felt my soul being redeemed, slowly melted by that sacredness."
Li Li's murky eyes flickered with a trace of nostalgia, then gradually turned mad.
"I really have no words to describe that feeling. His smile had a strange magic that made me lose all ability to speak. I stared at him blankly, and then he walked toward me, took my hand, and said gently..."
"You need to atone for your sins."
Li Li's voice shifted from soft to manic, her beautiful face distorting slightly. She murmured, "...The angel vanished, taking heaven with him. I couldn't find him anymore..."
"I'm so sad, so sad... So sad that I walked to the edge of the rooftop..."
"And then..." The girl suddenly laughed excitedly, revealing white teeth beneath crimson lips. She僵硬地扯了扯嘴角，像是个残破的布娃娃，以一种不协调的姿势说，"我接到了一张邀请函。"
[System, help me record the entire class's reactions right now.] While Qi An spoke unhurriedly, he gazed at Zhang Zhaoqi—who had now arrived at his side—as if he'd been granted salvation. He subtly shifted his body a small degree toward the latter, then shifted again.
Little by little, like seeking shelter.
Slowly, instinctively leaning toward someone he could ask for help.
Zhang Zhaoqi's expression stirred slightly.
[On it.]
"Ah no, no, I can't say any more." As if remembering some taboo, Li Li giggled and covered her mouth, frowning with the frustration of someone caught in a prank. She repeated in an odd tone, "Can't say any more."
Li Li reached up to straighten her crooked face, then gently patted her cheeks. She displayed that elegant, perfect smile once more and walked straight back to her seat.
The entire class watched her slowly make her way to her seat.
No one dared make a sound or disturb her.
Qi An also stared at Li Li as if terrified. He watched her pass by Pei Ying and return to her seat, then furrowed his brow slightly. His gaze kept shifting between Li Li and Pei Ying.
He couldn't say why, but he suddenly felt that there was something indefinably similar between these two people.
The same... sense of incongruity.
"Thank you."
Qi An forced a勉强虚弱 smile toward Zhang Zhaoqi. His face had lost all color from today's events. Zhang Zhaoqi realized that Qi An was truly delicate, like an exquisite piece of fine porcelain.
One light touch, and this precious flower could wither.
Zhang Zhaoqi淡淡地点了点头, his gaze quickly sweeping over the boy who had just taken his seat. The moment Li Li left, Qi An had begun gradually distancing himself from Zhang Zhaoqi. Observing the widening gap between them, Zhang Zhaoqi's eyes flickered subtly.
The classroom maintained a stifling silence. When the teacher entered, even he couldn't understand why the usually noisy Class F was quieter than Class A today. Nevertheless, he dutifully had the students take out their books for morning reading.
In the morning teaching building, the clear voices of youths reciting texts drifted through the halls. Qi An called up the recording the system had captured in his mind.
His gaze swept over Li Li, who had behaved so abnormally.
Slowly, he watched each person's performance.
Their missions in this world were all connected to that magical store.
To enter that store required a trigger.
Qi An微皱眉头, then suddenly paused.
He had the system zoom in on a particular section of the footage. Everyone in the class—whether shocked, confused, or afraid—should have shown appropriate reactions. All except for the transmigrators who had been expecting this. Only one person had shown differently.
And that was Pei Ying.
She had been working on calculations on her scratch paper, but the moment Li Li began acting strangely, the pen in her grasp unconsciously drew a thin line across the paper.
The forceful pen stroke tore through the paper.
Qi An noticed that the beautiful girl was trembling lightly. She maintained her posture of looking down at her work, as if completely undisturbed by the strange scene outside. But her back was trembling.
She was... nervous.
Why... would she be nervous?
The day's classes were terribly dull for the transmigrators who didn't belong to this world. They agreed to meet for dinner that evening. To avoid drawing attention, they didn't go to the overcrowded cafeteria but instead reserved a private room at a restaurant on campus.
"We need to send someone to watch Li Li." Zhang Zhaoqi tapped the table, his tone cold. "And figure out who gave her that invitation, and where it leads."
After saying this, Ji Xiaoyu's face turned slightly pale. Apparently, she was once again remembering Li Li's bizarre behavior earlier.
But Zhao Qizhu—the small, thin girl—seemed completely unafraid. She kept smiling sweetly, using her lively eyes to observe those around her.
Zhang Zhaoqi glanced at her, then turned to look at Qi An. A flicker of something crossed his eyes as he said flatly, "Let's split into two groups. Zhang Zhaoqi and I will go to the rooftop tonight. You all observe Li Li this evening."
"No way!"
The moment Zhang Zhaoqi finished speaking, Ji Xiaoyu objected. She looked at him and spoke in an almost coquettish tone, "Can we be in the same group? Please?"
Her face was pale, but it didn't diminish her delicate beauty. Her half-genuine, half-feigned vulnerability easily evoked a sense of satisfaction in others.
Qi An raised an eyebrow, clearly understanding why Ji Xiaoyu was acting this way.
Among their group, only Zhang Zhaoqi appeared reliable.
However...
Qi An turned to glance at Zhao Qizhu, who sat乖巧 on the side. The latter seemed completely unconcerned, watching Ji Xiaoyu's pitiful display with her doe-eyed gaze. She showed neither resentment at being excluded nor the survival instinct that Ji Xiaoyu displayed in wanting a strong partner.
Zhao Qizhu turned her chubby cheek slightly to look at Qi An. She perked up interestedly, wrinkling her small nose in an adorable way. Her tone was light as she said, "Okay, I'd like to be with little brother too."
After finishing, she smiled sweetly again, like honey.
Her demeanor was too natural. Either she was innocent enough not to understand the dangers of this horror world, or she had absolute confidence in her own abilities.
Zhang Zhaoqi淡淡地瞥了她一眼, a warning in his gaze.
The atmosphere between them was subtle, a faint sense of confrontation emerging.
Zhao Qizhu finally relented with a giggle, looking somewhat unhappy as she stuck out her tongue. She waved her hand lightly, "Fine, whatever you say. But little brother really does seem interesting."
As she said this, she glanced at Qi An again, pouting her lips in disappointment like a child who hadn't gotten candy.
Ji Xiaoyu tried to make more attempts at persuasion, but no matter what she said, the others showed no reaction. In the end, she could only transform her frustration into appetite, stuffing more than half the table's worth of food into her mouth.
After they parted ways, Qi An suddenly softly asked Zhang Zhaoqi, "Are those two really okay?"
"Mm." Zhang Zhaoqi looked at Qi An's pale cheeks and nodded with an indecipherable expression. Then, as if thinking of something, he added, "Zhao Qizhu is very dangerous. Try not to interact with her from now on."
"Do you two know each other?" Qi An seemed startled.
"We've crossed paths a few times." Zhang Zhaoqi didn't elaborate further. A cool breeze brushed against them. His expression unchanged, he deliberately slowed his pace and walked back to the dormitory together with Qi An.
The dormitory door was open.
Zhang Zhaoqi pushed the door open without changing expression, then lightly furrowed his brow.
There was a boy inside who had just finished showering.
He was only wearing underwear, baring his upper body, walking around inside without any regard.
When he saw them enter, he flashed them an especially brilliant smile.
Zhang Zhaoqi suddenly felt an impulse to close the door again.
"You two must be the new roommates." The boy gave Zhang Zhaoqi no time to react, walking toward them with a smile. He extended a fair, slender hand. "My name is Gu Wang."
"Zhang Zhaoqi." Zhang Zhaoqi had no intention of shaking his hand, merely saying his name in a cold tone before walking past him to his bed.
When he moved aside, he revealed Qi An, who had been hidden behind him.
Qi An微微低着头, as if somewhat embarrassed to see the other person's naked body. But he still extended his hand to shake Gu Wang's comparatively larger palm. After shyly saying his name, he prepared to withdraw his hand and return to his bed.
Then, he discovered that his hand wouldn't come back.
The other person held his hand firmly. Qi An tried to struggle lightly a few times, but it was completely useless.
Then he heard the other person speak in a slightly magnetic voice, appearing flustered, "Oh no, this is the feeling of being in love."
Zhang Zhaoqi's face instantly darkened.