Chapter 112: Good Friend Hyacine
In the following days, you began to frequently interact with Phainon. You helped him get familiar with the Tree Garden and introduced him to some friendly classmates. Phainon was like a curious child, full of interest in everything. And you always patiently helped him, whether it was with interpersonal relationships or schoolwork. Gradually, some students also began to change their perception of Phainon.
"Brother Orion, thank you," Phainon said sincerely one day. "If it weren't for you, I might still be alone right now."
"Don't say that," you said with a smile. "Friends don't need to say thank you."
In the distance, Castorice silently watched you two talking and laughing. She felt a bit lonely in her heart.
"Butterfly Baby?" Hyacine's voice rang out. "What are you looking at?" Following Castorice's gaze, she saw you and Phainon.
"Oh..." Hyacine understood. "Butterfly Baby, why don't we go find them?"
"No need," Castorice shook her head. "Orion is busy."
"But..."
"Let's go," Castorice turned around. "To the library."
Hyacine looked at her back and sighed. Then she secretly looked back at you. Orion-kun… Is he really that gentle to everyone?
That evening, when you returned to your residence, you found Hyacine waiting at the door. Seeing her serious expression, it was clear she had made up her mind to talk to you. This girl, who would go to great lengths for her friends, finally couldn't help but seek an explanation for Castorice.
"Hyacine? It's so late, is something wrong?"
"Orion-kun," Hyacine's expression was unusually serious. "Can I talk to you?"
"Of course, please come in."
Inside the room, Hyacine sat on a chair, seemingly organizing her thoughts. You poured her a glass of water and waited quietly. "Orion-kun..." She finally spoke, looking directly into your eyes. "I want to ask you a question. What exactly do you think of Butterfly Baby?"
You were taken aback. "Why are you suddenly asking this?"
"Because I can't stand it anymore," Hyacine bit her lip. "Butterfly Baby really likes you. Her eyes light up every time she mentions you. She thought there was something special between you two… But what about you?" Hyacine's voice was a little agitated. "You've been together in Tree Garden for so long, inseparable, everyone thinks you're a couple. But you've never given her a clear answer, what kind of behavior is this?" She paused, then bravely continued, "What exactly do you consider her? A research assistant? Or… Or perhaps, you still have Aglaea in your heart?"
Silence fell in the room. Hyacine stared at you nervously, awaiting an answer. This was her self-initiated test, wanting to see your true feelings.
"You're right," you sighed, showing a guilty expression. "I shouldn't have gotten so close to Castorice and given her hope."
"Then why did you treat her that way?" Hyacine pressed.
"Because I'm selfish," you admitted frankly. "Castorice's trust and reliance on me made me greedy. Even though I knew I shouldn't, I still..." You rubbed your temples, looking very troubled. "Hyacine, you are right. It's unfair for me to treat Castorice like this."
Seeing the guilt and self-reproach on your face, Hyacine felt somewhat at a loss. She had prepared to confront you, but she didn't expect you to be so honest.
"Then… what do you plan to do?"
"I will keep my distance from Castorice and make things clear," you said seriously. "I can't let her fall deeper."
"Really?" Hyacine was a little skeptical.
"Yes," you nodded, your eyes sincere. "Thank you for reminding me, Hyacine. If you hadn't come to talk to me, I might have continued to avoid it. Castorice is really lucky to have a friend like you."
Hyacine's face flushed slightly, a little embarrassed. "That's right! I won't let anyone bully her!" After saying that, she seemed to feel she was too fierce, so she added, "But… Orion-kun, don't blame yourself too much. Matters of the heart are unpredictable. I just hope you can be more honest with Butterfly Baby."
"I understand," you nodded seriously.
Hyacine stood up, and before leaving, she looked back at you again. "Orion, will you really keep your distance from Butterfly Baby and make things clear?"
"I keep my word."
"That's good," she breathed a sigh of relief. "Good night."
"Good night."
Watching her retreating figure, your heart was calm. Hyacine, oh Hyacine… Your probing was too obvious.
The next day, you found Castorice.
"Castorice, I have something to tell you. It's about Phainon," you whispered.
Castorice was startled. "Phainon?"
"Yes, that so-called Savior. We need to get on good terms with him."
"Why?"
"Because he is the core of the Journey of Chasing the Flame," you looked at her seriously. "If we want to stop the Journey of Chasing the Flame, we must first gain his trust. That way it will be more advantageous."
Castorice's eyes lit up. "You mean..."
"Exactly," you nodded. "First, lull him into a false sense of security and gain his trust. When the time is right, we will work together to stop this deception."
Castorice immediately understood your meaning. "I understand," she said. "What do you need me to do?"
"Not yet," you looked at her gently. "I'll approach him first. Remember, this is our secret," you whispered. "Don't tell anyone, including Hyacine."
"Okay," Castorice nodded vigorously. As long as she could be with you, she was willing to do anything.
In the following days, you did indeed reduce your interactions with Castorice on the surface. But privately, your connection became even closer. And during this period, Hyacine began to appear frequently by your side. At first, it was to supervise whether you had kept your promise. "Orion-kun, did you make things clear with Butterfly Baby?"
"Of course," you answered seriously. "I keep my word."
Hyacine nodded with satisfaction, but inexplicably felt a little disappointed. Later, gradually, her reasons for seeking you changed.
"Orion-kun, come help me grade your assignments!" One afternoon, Hyacine came to you with a large stack of assignments.
"So many?" You looked at the thick notebooks, a little surprised.
"Teacher Anaxa had an urgent matter and dumped all these on me," Hyacine said with a bitter face. "It'll take until tomorrow to grade them alone."
"Then I'll help you," you took half of the assignments. The two of you sat side by side at the table and began grading.
"This student's argument has a problem," you said, pointing to an assignment. "He got the cause and effect reversed."
"Hmm, indeed." Hyacine leaned over to look. "Then how many points should be deducted?"
"Deduct half; after all, the general idea is correct."
Hyacine nodded and made a mark in the notebook. As she graded, she noticed that your method of grading was very special. You didn't just give scores, but also wrote detailed comments, pointing out problems and offering suggestions for improvement.
"Orion-kun, you're so meticulous," she couldn't help but say.
"Students need to know where they went wrong to improve," you said seriously.
Hyacine secretly looked at your focused profile, unconsciously captivated.
"Hyacine?"
"Ah!" She snapped back to reality, realizing the pen in her hand had stopped. "Sorry, I was thinking… how to grade this question..."
"Which question? Let me see." You naturally leaned closer to her. Her face felt hot as your warm breath brushed against her.
"It, it's this essay question about the essence of the soul."
"This one, huh..."
Hyacine watched your slender fingers hold the pen, writing smoothly on the paper. His hands are so beautiful… Wait, what am I thinking?!