Emma was exhausted.
Maintaining the persona of "Fox Lian's crazed fangirl" drained her more than the most complex divine formations. Every day she had to time her "coincidental encounters," put on just the right look of "obsession," and rack her brain to "casually" display her supposed knowledge of his preferences.
Worst of all, she realized she had become completely immune to his fluff. She could now, in theory, touch his tail with a blank face while mentally working through rune problems. The split between her outward act and inner detachment left her utterly drained.
It was time to end this charade. Emma resolved once again to quit.
Her plan was simple: gradually grow distant, find excuses to reduce "coincidences," and eventually fade out naturally. Perfect.
But on the very first day of her "quit plan," disaster struck.
During recess, a bird-clan girl nervously offered Fox Lian a box of spirit fruit. Normally, he would politely refuse or ignore it.
But today… he accepted it.
He only nodded faintly, without even a glance, but for the aloof "flower atop the peak" who had always ignored such gestures, this was unprecedented.
The girl nearly fainted with joy.
The academy erupted.
Fox Lian had accepted a gift! Even if it was just fruit, even if his attitude was cold—it meant something. Did it mean His Highness was finally moved, even a little?
The frenzy reignited. Discouraged admirers found hope again, their pursuit intensifying.
Emma stared, stunned, her "quit plan" nearly slipping from her hands.
And worse came the next day.
A flower-spirit girl "accidentally" spilled petals as Fox Lian passed. He paused—and brushed one off his shoulder himself.
Though his brow furrowed and his gesture was impatient, still—he touched it.
His Highness had a cleanliness obsession! Yet he brushed it off himself! Wasn't that a tacit signal?
The academy went wild.
Emma watched her classmates enter "battle mode," eyes gleaming, while Fox Lian stood in the center, expression blank but clearly "allowing" it all. Her vision darkened.
Her "quit plan" was dead before it began.
If she showed the slightest coldness now, she'd be branded an outlier, even suspected of playing coy games.
So Emma had no choice but to keep performing.
She had to act even more "obsessed"— When Fox Lian brushed petals, she exclaimed: "Even His Highness's gesture of brushing flowers is elegant!" When he accepted fruit, she anxiously asked around: "What flavor does His Highness prefer? I'll find it immediately!" And when he occasionally (surely deliberately) glanced her way, she had to display "shy surprise" and "racing heartbeat."
Inside, she longed to grab his tail and demand: What are you playing at?!
Fox Lian seemed to enjoy her "forced performance." Each time Emma delivered an award-worthy act of obsession, she caught the faintest smile flicker in his violet eyes.
That day, after she "gazed longingly" as he left class, she turned—only to find Gu Liang watching, arms crossed, dragon eyes sharp.
"Emma," Gu Liang whispered, "your acting's getting a bit over the top."
Emma's heart jolted. She forced calm: "Is it? I just admire His Highness so much…"
"Please," Gu Liang rolled her eyes. "That line about 'His silver hair outshines the moonlight'? It made me want to vomit last night's dinner." She narrowed her eyes. "Tell me—what are you really up to?"
Emma had no answer, only awkward laughter.
Later, weary, she returned to her dorm—only to find a small brocade box on her desk. Inside lay a pair of delicate, fluffy fox-ear hairpins, with a note in Fox Lian's elegant script:
"Today's performance was acceptable."
Emma clenched the soft hairpins, teeth grinding at the mocking words.
That damned, scheming fox, reveling in the chaos!
She angrily pinned the ears to her hair, glared at her reflection.
…They looked kind of cute.
No! That wasn't the point!
When would this cursed disguise finally end?!