MRSG Chapter 8

This human really holds a grudge.

Gui Youqi watched in disbelief as Zhou Mu directly took his severed tentacle to the stir-fry counter, bringing his own seasonings and instructing the chef: “Chef, this is super fresh. Please cook it using human-style methods—one dish boiled, one stir-fried on high heat. Save the rest for me, I’ll take it back to make takoyaki. Be careful with the heat; don’t waste it. I worked hard to pick this up.”

Chef: “……”

Student, I’m right here. I saw everything that just happened, the whole cafeteria saw it, okay?!

But he didn’t dare refuse. With trembling hands, he took the enormous octopus tentacle. It was so big, it wouldn’t even fit in one pot.

If it were just Zhou Mu, it might be fine, but You Qi was standing nearby watching, and in the distance, Gui Youqi was shooting him a look of pure resentment. The pressure on the chef was immense.

The actual cooking method was simple—high-quality ingredients only needed the simplest preparation.

For example, boiled octopus required absolute freshness, but the cooking itself was straightforward. After being properly cleaned, the tentacle was blanched for a few seconds in boiling water and then chilled—ready to be dipped in sauce and eaten.

The boiled dish was prepared first. Zhou Mu picked it up, grabbed a piece with his chopsticks, and took a bite. As expected, it was crisp and bouncy, as if it might jump in his mouth at any moment. Boiled octopus was meant to be ‘cooked but not overdone, tender but not tough.’ The timing was perfect. Dipped in soy sauce and wasabi, each bite was bursting with the fresh, sweet taste of the sea.

After taking his first bite, Zhou Mu turned to glance at Gui Youqi at his table, eyes full of amazement.

Gui Youqi: “……”

That look made Gui Youqi want to cry. Damn it, did you hear that?!

Zhou Mu ate with elegance, but his speed wasn’t slow, and he looked absolutely delighted.

As he finished the first plate, the chef brought over the stir-fried dish. The tentacle, marinated and flash-fried, was golden and glistening, garnished with green onions, ginger slices, and dried chilies—visually irresistible.

Unwilling to be ignored, Chun Shijiu interjected, “Is it good? Give me a bite. You already used my Nine-Star Cauldron to make scorched rice…”

Zhou Mu immediately hugged the plate and turned his back, not even letting him look.

Chun Shijiu: “……”

Chun Shijiu laughed in exasperation. What a stingy little guy.

“Just wait, you’ll be crying later,” Chun Shijiu stood up and left, tossing out a threat. Before leaving, he shot Zhou Mu a glare, eyes landing on Zhou Mu’s puffed-up cheeks.

Fine. When the time comes, he’ll bite right there first!

“So fresh, so fresh,” Zhou Mu said between bites, completely unfazed by the attention. Once Chun Shijiu left, he continued, “We humans have a saying: ‘You are what you eat.’ I think eating octopus tentacles is better than taking medicine.”

Having lived among humans for a long time, Zhou Mu was used to referring to them as ‘we humans.’ His mannerisms made it feel natural.

“You want more?” You Qi asked.

After all, an octopus’s regeneration ability was famous. Theoretically, it would grow back in a few days…

Zhou Mu hesitated, remembering Cui Jue’s reminder that some demon clans still received subsidies. He then smiled sheepishly. “No, I have a small appetite.”

—Besides, it’s not like Gui Youqi is dropping out of school. He’ll always be around.

Just as Zhou Mu was thinking this and looking over at his (one-sided) good schoolmate Gui Youqi, he inadvertently spotted Yan Xingke.

Yan Xingke had actually been searching for Zhou Mu. He had heard that Zhou Mu was in the cafeteria—Teacher Luo had sent him to check on his junior, so he had come straight here.

At this moment, their eyes met, and Yan Xingke waved, walking toward them.

He also saw You Qi beside Zhou Mu…

Just like the rumors said, his junior wasn’t hurt at all—not counting the bite from Senior Little Howl. And You Qi was actually staying by his side, as if they were truly close roommates.

Since Yan Xingke had never smelled Zhou Mu’s scent himself, he hadn’t fully grasped what everyone was talking about. Seeing this scene, he was surprised but not overly shocked—he had already been through the worst of it.

“Junior, Senior You,” Yan Xingke greeted cautiously as he sat down. He caught a whiff of the spicy stir-fried octopus and instinctively stroked his chin, swallowing a little. His junior was living quite the leisurely life, even enjoying fresh stir-fry.

The cafeteria was generous, serving seafood like this. With these ingredients, this portion size— given today’s food prices, could they even break even?

“How are you? I heard Senior Little Howl bite you,” Yan Xingke asked, though what he really wanted to say was, “I heard You Qi almost bite you.” He glanced at Zhou Mu’s plate and swallowed again. Sigh, his junior wasn’t even offering him a bite.

“Oh, it’s nothing, really,” Zhou Mu said while chewing on a crispy, bouncy piece of octopus. “I told the teacher too, it wasn’t a big deal. No need to worry.”

The stir-fried octopus was truly spicy. Zhou Mu turned to You Qi, “So spicy…”

His lips had already turned red.

You Qi hesitated.

In theory, his role in this symbiotic relationship was just to ensure Zhou Mu’s safety. However…

Zhou Mu whimpered, “I want soup.”

Yan Xingke was dumbfounded. He watched as, after a two-second pause, You Qi actually stood up. He really stood up! And then asked Zhou Mu, “What kind of soup do you want?”

The cafeteria’s soups were free, but you had to go get them yourself. Judging by You Qi’s actions, he was going to fetch soup for his junior, who had trouble walking.

This…

Yan Xingke pondered—could it be that You Qi had turned over a new leaf? Or had he reached some critical point in his cultivation where he needed to accumulate good karma by fulfilling others’ wishes?

Zhou Mu clasped his hands together. “I want seaweed soup.”

Yan Xingke hesitated, then copied Zhou Mu’s gesture and made a wish: “I want corn and pork rib soup.”

You Qi: “……”

You Qi slowly turned to look at him.

His gaze was incredibly easy to read: Do you have a death wish?

Yan Xingke: “…………”

Locked in You Qi’s death stare, Yan Xingke awkwardly lowered his head, scraping his foot against the floor. “I was just joking.”

As soon as You Qi left, Zhou Mu immediately grabbed Yan Xingke’s arm while steadying the wobbly dining table. “Senior, stop that! You’re about to dig my table into the ground!”

Seriously? Scratching a cement floor? Did the school janitors have to be trained in all trades?

Yan Xingke covered his face. “Ugh!”

Next time, he was keeping his mouth shut.

After calming himself down, he pulled a softcover notebook and a talisman from his bag. “This is one of my old notes, and the talisman was a gift from our teacher. You can have both.”

“Oh, a talisman? I haven’t seen this one before.” Zhou Mu’s eyes lit up—he had always been interested in ancient runes.

“It’s just a casual charm. The teacher said you can play around with it. If you have trouble sleeping, stick it on. It’s reusable about ten times,” Yan Xingke explained.

He suddenly felt a prickling sensation on his back, like he was being watched. Confused, he turned around.

It was  ghosthead fish (Gui Youqi). Since You Qi had left to get soup, his expression had once again become sharp and full of resentment. Cunning humans! Cowardly humans who rely on stronger beings to back them up!

“Tsk, it’s Gui Youqi. Why does he keep staring over here?” Yan Xingke muttered. “Don’t tell me he’s targeting you now? Junior, you’d better be careful. That guy is notoriously vengeful and unreasonable. He’s bad news.”

“No way, Senior, don’t say that about our classmate,” Zhou Mu protested. “I think he’s really… bouncy and crunchy.”

Yan Xingke: “What…? You’re not—”

Halfway through his sentence, he realized something was off. He looked at Zhou Mu, then at Zhou Mu’s plate.

Yan Xingke: “……!!!”

Junior, what do you mean by bouncy and crunchy?! That’s terrifying!

Zhou Mu mused, “I wonder what kind of medicinal properties  ghosthead fish gallbladders have? They look like they might be… ahem, invigorating.”

Yan Xingke: “………………”

Zhou Mu burst out laughing. “Senior, why do you look like that? I’m just joking. Classmates shouldn’t harm each other. His tentacle accidentally broke off earlier, and I just said we shouldn’t waste it, so I picked it up to eat. If you don’t believe me, ask You Qi.”

At that moment, You Qi returned with the soup. “Hmm?”

There was no way Yan Xingke was going to ask. How much force would it take to ‘accidentally’ lose a limb? He could already guess that You Qi played a significant role in that meal…

Junior, you’re ruthless!

……

After dinner, Senior Yan had already made his escape.

Zhou Mu and You Qi walked back together.

You Qi walked ahead, looking down at his phone with one hand while extending the other backward. Zhou Mu held onto it, limping along.

There was no other way—whether it was You Qi transforming and flying Zhou Mu back, or Cui Jue’s teleportation techniques, none of it was allowed under school regulations. Flying and teleporting were strictly forbidden unless under special circumstances.

So, naturally, their walking speed was painfully slow.

Especially since the path back from the cafeteria led through Jinjiang Road, infamous for its countless potholes—a safety hazard emphasized during student training. And, of course, many students were conveniently passing by, pretending to be in a hurry while sneakily observing the scene.

Though their faces remained expressionless, the fine wrinkles at the corners of their eyes were practically shaped like exclamation marks.

Gui Youqi also had to take this road back. But he didn’t dare get too close—even though neither You Qi nor Zhou Mu were looking at him, he still only dared to stick to the very edge of the road.

Meanwhile, Zhou Mu was fully focused on his limp-walking game, stepping precisely along the tile lines for fun.

You Qi seemed focused on his phone, but in reality, he was contemplating a profound question:

Why isn’t Zhou Mu asking for help anymore?

His movements were obviously difficult, yet he wasn’t whining or pleading like before…

This was his first time experiencing ‘symbiosis.’ Raising a mutually beneficial companion felt so unfamiliar—it completely overturned everything You Qi understood about interacting with others. Every emotion Zhou Mu displayed, whether fear, happiness, or even anger, carried an oddly relaxed quality, subtly putting those around him at ease.

Even when Zhou Mu asked for help, You Qi found himself feeling… strangely unsatisfied when the task was done.

Zhou Mu continued playing his childish game, stepping diagonally across the tiles—left, right, left, right—when suddenly, his world flipped upside down. You Qi had scooped him up and tucked him into his arms. The eye wrinkles of the onlooking students immediately morphed from exclamation marks into question marks—so intense they nearly turned into a collective squint.

Zhou Mu froze. “Huh?”

What was this about?

You Qi, sounding completely at ease as if he had acted on pure impulse, said, “You just ate—don’t jump around, it’s bad for digestion.”

Huh? Bad for digestion? Since You Qi studied herbal medicine, Zhou Mu naturally didn’t doubt him. Without any resistance, he obediently draped himself over You Qi’s shoulder, even rubbing his chin against it twice.

The touch was so light that it shouldn’t have registered at all, yet somehow, You Qi still felt it—comfortable. The wind swirled through the treetops, brushing past their cheeks like a gentle kiss, tickling You Qi ever so slightly.

Meanwhile, Zhou Mu, resting against You Qi’s shoulder, let his gaze wander. He suddenly spotted Gui Youqi, who was walking along the edge of the road and nearly fell into a pothole. Immediately, Zhou Mu called out in concern, “Careful!”

Gui Youqi had actually been fine—he had caught himself at the edge of the pit. But Zhou Mu’s sudden shout startled him, and he completely tumbled in.

Zhou Mu gasped. “Oh no, do you think he got hurt?”

You Qi turned his head slightly, examining Zhou Mu’s expression. It was genuine concern. “Weren’t you just holding a grudge?”

Zhou Mu sheepishly replied, “Ah, well… I’m the type who remembers food, not beatings…”

You Qi: “…………”

… That’s what you mean by ‘remembers food, not beatings’?!

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<Campus Story: He’s Both Fragrant and Soft> by Zhou Mu