"Ahem, ahem."

Hearing this, Lu Dinfeng nearly choked on his food.

’Wait a minute,’ he thought. ’Has that brat’s reputation spread so far? Even this young lady knows about him?’

Shi Lan quickly handed him a glass of water. "Grandpa Administrator, there’s no rush. Take your time and eat."

Lu Dinfeng took a few large gulps before stammering, "Well, that kid... his people skills are a bit crude, and he’s too strict as a teacher. The title just sort of... stuck to him."

Shi Lan glanced at his slightly guilty expression but didn’t press the issue.

But her heart sank. It seemed what Jiang Yan had said wasn’t just a baseless rumor after all.

She felt even more uncertain about the job.

Shi Lan had always been someone who craved stability. She had grown up in a household that favored sons over daughters, making her childhood precarious. She often had to endure her parents’ fury.

As a child, she sometimes wondered why her life was so difficult. But after growing up, she achieved financial independence and a comfortable life all on her own. She got to see the beautiful landscapes of her country and once again felt how wonderful it was to be alive.

It was safe to say she had always cherished her life.

After all, as long as you were alive, anything was possible.

So, when she found out she had transmigrated into a book, she didn’t waste time wallowing in self-pity. Instead, she immediately started looking for ways to avoid the plot and save her own skin.

But now, she was starting to think that being the Prison Director on Black Star wasn’t a very safe job either.

Shi Lan was lost in thought for a moment. Lu Dinfeng, worried he’d say too much and misspeak, focused on eating his meal.

The sky outside had long since turned inky black. After dinner, Lu Dinfeng specially ordered a hovercar to take Shi Lan back to her dorm. Before they parted, he and Shi Lan added each other as friends. "Young lady," he said, "you don’t have to call me Grandpa Administrator anymore. Just call me Grandpa Lu. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to find me. I’m always on campus."

"Alright, Grandpa Lu."

Shi Lan didn’t hesitate.

Back in her dorm, she opened the messages she hadn’t checked in a long while.

The original character’s ID chip didn’t have many friends. Other than a class group chat and Jiang Yan, the rest were people she had added herself.

And all of them had sent her messages.

Shi Lan checked Chen Xiong’s message first, as she was rather concerned about his situation in the prison.

Chen Xiong replied: [Everything’s fine over here.]

Shi Lan asked suspiciously: [No one’s bullying you, are they?]

Chen Xiong, finally getting a long-awaited breather, replied instantly: [No, no.]

Having just been sternly threatened and warned by Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng that afternoon, Chen Xiong didn’t dare reveal the slightest hint of his suffering.

[Okay then. Keep it up!]

Seeing this, Shi Lan offered a few words of encouragement and didn’t press him further. She moved on to the other messages.

The topmost message was from Jiang Xia: [Shi Lan, you bought me a gift last time, so I had my mom send you something.]

[Oh, and don’t worry, I paid for it with my own money.]

Jiang Xia couldn’t shop for himself, so if he wanted to send Shi Lan a gift, he had to ask his family to do it for him.

Fortunately, back when he was in poor health and bored at home, he had invested in some energy companies and earned quite a few Star Coins. Otherwise, he’d feel ashamed using his family’s money to buy a gift for a woman.

When Shi Lan saw this, she quickly replied, [You don’t have to, you don’t have to.]

Jiang Xia grew unhappy. [Why can you accept Leo’s gift but not mine? We’ve known each other longer.]

Shi Lan was speechless. For a moment, she didn’t know how to respond.

She had intended to return Leo’s gift, but after that one time, he never visited Black Star again.

However, Jiang Xia had just given her an idea. Since she was now on Capital Star, she could take this opportunity to return it to him.

She was about to refuse again, but Jiang Xia typed bluntly, [Shi Lan, if you don’t accept it, I’ll never take anything from you again, either. This is a return gift. It’s called etiquette!]

[Alright, then.]

Left with no choice, Shi Lan had to agree.

Jiang Xia immediately sent a sticker of a Tuxun rolling on the ground, but he quickly retracted it.

Shi Lan, who had been about to save the sticker, lowered her hand. Inside Prison No. 4 on Black Star, Jiang Xia’s fluffy, round face was burning hot. ’I... how could I have sent that?!’

’How embarrassing!’

’Shi Lan probably didn’t see it.’

He silently comforted himself. After calming down for a long time, he didn’t dare send the sticker next to the rolling Tuxun one, which said, "You know what’s good for you."

Having finally dealt with one of them, Shi Lan had no mental energy to spare for Jiang Xia’s complicated feelings. She was busy replying to the next person.

He Hanshi wrote: [Is everything going smoothly? You’re a young woman on your own on Capital Star, so you need to be careful. I’ll have one of my subordinates protect you. He happens to be on leave right now. I’ll have him add you in a bit.]

’He Hanshi is arranging for someone to look after me, too?’

She scrolled through her other chat messages. Yan Huoshui had also sent a message. He said, [Shi Lan, are you at the Imperial Capital School? I happen to know someone there. He’s a librarian now. You can talk to him about anything you need at the school, big or small. I’ll have him contact you.]

Ye Ming’s was similar: [Shi Lan, my professor is the dean. If you need anything, just find her and mention my name.]

Shi Lan had always treated them as just part of her job, but she never expected that in this strange world where she had no one to rely on, they would be the ones constantly looking out for her.

She couldn’t help but feel touched. She replied to each of them with a "thank you" before finally scrolling to Mu Tangfeng’s message.

When she saw his message, her warm feelings instantly evaporated, replaced by a sense of exasperated amusement.

He had actually sent her a selfie of his beast form, taken in a mirror, with the message: [I didn’t bully Chen Xiong today.]

Making him prepare one iced drink didn’t count as bullying, in Mu Tangfeng’s opinion.

Sitting on her dorm room sofa, Shi Lan laughed out loud.

Still, she zoomed in on the photo and was once again stunned by the beauty of the Bird of Paradise. Even magnified, she couldn’t see a single flaw. Every feather was a pure, solid color, without the slightest speck of black, gray, or any other discoloration.

She replied with a simple "thumbs-up" emoji to show her admiration for the picture.

Mu Tangfeng, who had been admiring himself in the mirror while waiting anxiously for a reply on his chip, felt a little dissatisfied when he saw her response.

[That’s it? Shi Lan, you’re being so half-hearted!]

Seeing as he claimed he hadn’t caused any trouble today, Shi Lan added a few more lines.

[Breathtaking enough to make the moon hide and flowers blush in shame! Heavens, which Divine Bird has descended to our mortal world? Utterly magnificent!]

Mu Tangfeng had heard countless compliments in his life, many more sincere and even more extravagant than Shi Lan’s, but not a single one had ever made his heart skip a beat like this. He subconsciously leaned closer to the mirror, once again lost in his own beauty.

’Hmph. Woman, you too have fallen for my beauty!’

’Oh well. Seeing as she’s so beautiful herself, I’ll allow it.’

Mu Tangfeng couldn’t resist flapping his wings to dispel the heat coursing through his body. When he still felt hot, he rang the bell again.

Chen Xiong, who had just gotten into bed, scrambled out and ran to the main prison area.

"Young Master Mu, what’s wrong?"

"Make me an iced drink."

He snorted, finding Chen Xiong’s face so unbearable to look at that he had to avert his eyes.

Jiang Xia, whose own face was feeling hot, chimed in, "I’ll have one too."

Chen Xiong glanced at the time. He was already off the clock, but he didn’t dare utter a single complaint. He immediately said, "Okay," and ran toward the kitchen.

’Sigh, these two little tyrants...’

’Prison Director Shi Lan, when on earth are you coming back...?’