All-around teacher at the magic academy

Walking home, Rhine's mood was as bright as the spring sunshine.

His steps were light and quick, each step feeling like he was walking on clouds. The surrounding scenery became more vivid in his eyes; the trees on both sides of the street seemed to be smiling at him, and even the pedestrians who usually hurried by looked exceptionally lovely at this moment.

He hummed an unknown tune softly, clutching the newly borrowed magic book tightly in his hand, his heart filled with anticipation for the future.

Just as he turned the corner, he accidentally bumped into a young man coming from the opposite direction.

Because Rhine was walking fast, the other person stumbled and was knocked to the ground.

The person sitting on the ground was clearly stunned by the impact and was about to start scolding when he looked up and saw a familiar face.

“Rhine?” he blurted out.

When Rhine heard someone call his name, he was momentarily stunned.

He wondered if this stranger knew him. He squinted and carefully examined the man he had bumped into.

Hmm, it does seem a little familiar. The other person's face does give him a sense of déjà vu, but he can't quite remember where he's seen it before.

"You are……?"

Rhine hesitated before speaking, trying to recall information about this person from his memory.

His brain was working at lightning speed, but he still couldn't retrieve the relevant information from his memory bank.

"Rhine, don't you remember me? We were in the same class, and I was ahead of you in the last exam."

The man got up from the ground, brushing the dust off his clothes as he spoke excitedly.

Rhine maintained a polite smile, but his mind was in turmoil.

He genuinely didn't remember this person at all, and the other person's self-introduction left him feeling somewhat amused and exasperated.

Being ranked first in the last exam? That's a really bizarre way to remember someone. "Who introduces themselves like that?" Rein thought to himself, unable to contain his disbelief.

"Oh, I remember, I remember, it's you." Rhine responded awkwardly.

"Then what's my name?" The man seemed oblivious to Rhine's embarrassment, and instead asked even more excitedly.

These words instantly froze Rhine's smile on his face. He hadn't expected the other party to ask such a direct question, which caught him completely off guard.

Normally, shouldn't I introduce myself? Besides, who asks someone their name directly? This really embarrassed me.

Rhine's mind raced as he tried to find a way out of the awkward situation.

"Oh, by the way, what are you planning to do?" Rhine quickly changed the subject, trying to avoid the awkward question.

"Um, I was going to buy something. I almost forgot. Look at my brain, you knocked it out of my head."

The man smiled and said, seemingly not angry at being knocked down.

Rhine was speechless after hearing this. This person's thought process was really peculiar, and he simply couldn't understand the other person's way of thinking.

"Then hurry up and go buy it, don't delay."

Rhine said politely, but in his heart he wished the person would leave quickly and end this awkward encounter.

"Oh oh oh, good."

The man responded, then turned to leave. Seeing that he was finally leaving, Rhine secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible; the scene was just too uncomfortable.

"Oh, right." Just as Rhine was about to take a step, a voice came from behind him.

He involuntarily shuddered, sighed inwardly, turned around, and forced a smile as he asked, "What's wrong?"

"There's a class reunion this weekend. Everyone's graduated now and busy with their own lives, so we thought we'd get together. I didn't have your contact information before, but now that we've run into each other, I thought I'd let you know," the man explained.

“Okay, I understand,” Rhine replied casually, but in his mind he was wondering what this gathering was all about, as he had no recollection of it.

“Do you know where it is? Then you’ll know.” The man pointed out Rhine’s oversight with a hint of helplessness.

Rhine scratched the back of his head awkwardly, realizing that his answer had indeed been somewhat hasty.

"The party will be at 7 p.m., and the location is..." the man continued.

"Okay, thanks for letting me know." This time, Rhine really did write down the specific details of the gathering.

"Then farewell, see you this weekend," the man said finally, seemingly pleased that he had found Rhine and informed him of the gathering.

See you this weekend.

After the man left, Rhine finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was somewhat puzzled as to why he had felt nervous; perhaps it was because he hadn't interacted with people for so long that his social skills had become rusty.

In this new world, he spends most of his time with books and magic, and has very few opportunities to interact with people.

He shook his head, feeling a bit self-deprecating; in the end, he still didn't know that person's name.

He recalled that he used to be bad at socializing, rarely greeted his classmates, and rarely participated in group activities.

No wonder he had no impression of this person at all, only that the other person's face seemed somewhat familiar.

Forget it, Rhine decided to stop dwelling on it.

As for the party, we'll see when the time comes. He's more interested in the book on dark magic he just borrowed.

He wanted to master the knowledge in the book as soon as possible and learn some dark magic, which might help him survive in this world.

...

Arthur finished his day's work, the last rays of the setting sun bathing him in its glow, but he had no time to appreciate them.

His steps were heavy; his exhaustion seemed to make even his steps feel heavy.

As he walked home, his thoughts drifted involuntarily to Rhine.

The changes in Rhine during this period surprised him.

Rhine used to be restless and agitated, but now he seems to have been reborn, becoming calm and even somewhat mysterious.

The relationship between the two has also improved significantly. They no longer argue as often as before. Since being educated by law enforcement last time, Line seems to have really started to change.

However, lately Arthur has had a feeling that Rhine is hiding something from him.

For example, the water pipes in his house broke down for no reason a while ago. Arthur always felt that it was not an accidental damage, but more like deliberate sabotage.

He shook his head, trying to shake off the uneasy thought. Rhine was grown up; it was normal for him to have his own thoughts and secrets, and he shouldn't interfere too much.

Arthur took a deep breath and decided to stop dwelling on it.

Everyone has their own privacy, and Rhine is no exception. If he feels the time is right, he will naturally come clean to himself.

As his older brother, I can just support him unconditionally.