Once the affection level is maxed out, the rivalry begins!

Bai Ze was certain that he had never had any contact with the elementary school version of Lu Xingyao.

Ultimately, even their ages don't match up. If it were revealed at this point that they were actually childhood friends who met by chance, it would be too hilarious.

Therefore, this sudden appointment as a tutor must be the result of unusual influence.

Let's follow its lead and see what it's really up to.

"Xingyao is in her room. That child hasn't been very focused lately. Could you please say a few words to her, Teacher Bai?"

It was Lu Xingyao's mother who invited him in; she was handing him a cup of hot water.

Bai Ze readily agreed and began to observe his surroundings.

Unlike the future version of Lu Xingyao who owns a mansion, she now lives in an ordinary apartment. On the wall opposite the door, there is a row of certificates of merit that Xingyao, who was a primary school student, once won.

The latest signature is for Lu Xingyao, a fifth-grader.

He remembered that this was the period when the other party first awakened their abilities.

"Lu Xingyao's grades are quite good; I don't really think she needs any extra tutoring."

To confirm his guess, Bai Ze said it on purpose.

He certainly didn't know the guy's current academic level, but parents always think their child's grades are good.

Sure enough, Lu Xingyao's mother hesitated for a moment: "It's alright... but it seems she's not getting along well with her classmates, and lately she's been saying she doesn't want to go to school."

It seems that the timeline within the anomaly is after Lu Xingyao was isolated.

The only remaining clue is to contact her directly.

After exchanging a few polite pleasantries, Bai Ze knocked on Lu Xingyao's door under the pretext of tutoring her.

"Come in."

The moment he pushed open the door as instructed, a long, narrow object flew over with a "whoosh"!

Bai Ze caught the thrown pillow with one hand, closed the door, and looked at the despicable attacker.

"You actually blocked it? Who are you?!"

The little girl stood on the bed, striking a boxing pose, her still-childish voice exceptionally clear.

—Although their attitude was very unfriendly.

"I'm your tutor...didn't you let me in?"

"Liar! I've never heard of hiring a teacher!"

She became even more vigilant and shrank into the corner of the bed against the wall.

From this, we can conclude two things: she has no future memories of Bai Ze, and she was not affected by anything unusual and genuinely treated him as a tutor.

Why can't I see your painting?

As Bai Ze was pondering, he suddenly heard Lu Xingyao throw out a new question.

He immediately retorted, "What painting?"

"It's like... a picture where everything overlaps, just like when Xiaowen got hit on the head by a ball... it's so annoying!"

Lu Xingyao, whose language skills were only at a sixth-grade level, clearly didn't have much of a natural ability to organize her thoughts. She waved her arms and tried her best to explain.

However, Bai Ze still understood what she meant—it clearly referred to her powers going out of control, causing her to see visions of the future from time to time.

It wasn't until two years later that she gradually learned to control her powers through tarot card divination.

Before she learned how to manipulate it, she was probably suffering from the shock of future information.

Bai Ze raised his head solemnly: "Because I—am a magician."

He spread his five fingers, which transformed into invisible, fine threads of judgment, binding the plush cat doll on the girl's bedside table and quickly pulling it towards him.

It looked as if it had flown into his hand out of thin air.

However, Lu Xingyao did not have the insight to see through magic tricks at this time, and she immediately cast an admiring look at her.

"Master...Master!"

The little girl jumped up with a bang and landed on the bed in a "tiger descending the mountain" style.

This guy's chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) doesn't seem to have started in middle school; it might have already entered the realm of congenital diseases. I wonder if his children will inherit it?

"Well, I don't just take on apprentices casually. Tell me again about the painting you saw, so I can test your talent."

Bai Ze tossed aside the cat plush toy, put his hands behind his back, and said in a deep voice.

"Okay! Actually, I really did draw them all, there are so many!"

Lu Xingyao jumped off the bed, walked to the desk placed by the window, pulled open the drawer with a clatter, and took out a stack of papers.

She ran over and shoved the manuscript paper into Bai Ze's hand.

They were all rough drawings made with crayons or pencils, which were quite difficult to identify, and the contents of each one were completely different.

Stick figures fall at the crossroads, and grotesque monsters grab people and bite their heads;

There was even a series of numbers and bar charts resembling stock price movements.

Bai Ze flipped through the manuscript and found that the drawing at the very bottom was exceptionally exquisite.

The paper is outlined with several lines to represent the geometric shape of a house. A character who is clearly female rather than a stick figure is running away from the house with her head in her hands. Behind her are vases and chairs flying in the air, as if something invisible is constantly throwing things at her.

That's Mom.

Lu Xingyao stood on tiptoe beside her and pressed her fingers against the fleeing woman.

"If she goes to see the new house today, she will be driven away by the ghosts living there, and she will also get hurt."

Earthbound Spirits—Bai Ze vaguely remembered hearing Lu Xingyao introduce this type of anomaly during a future strategic meeting.

Spirits bound to fixed dwellings are generally not very strong in urban environments; they are weak and abnormal, so weak that even the Bureau of Spirit Disasters can't be bothered to deal with them unless they cause a major incident.

"Didn't you remind her?" Bai Ze asked, naturally.

The young girl pursed her lips and turned her face away almost imperceptibly.

"Even if I told her, she wouldn't believe me."

She lowered her head sullenly.

Instead, she stopped being a mother and started taking me to the hospital, turning to strange religions, telling my father I had problems, and eventually finding a way to move out of the house.

"I've seen paintings like that too."

[I don't get along with them] - Bai Ze remembered hearing Lu Xingyao mention this when he first visited her home.

Could the root cause be that the "paranormal events" she predicted when she was a child were reenacted within her family, causing the fear she experienced at school to repeat itself?

It is said that the earliest motivation for humans to create myths was to have someone to take responsibility for them when faced with unpredictable natural disasters and unknown forces.

Why was it my child who was eaten by wild animals? Why did lightning burn down my house instead of his? ... By attributing the blame to God's will, we can find a reassuring answer.

But what if, after a disaster strikes, it is suddenly discovered that someone had the foresight to predict that the disaster would occur?

One reaction is to develop dependence on and reverence for it, which may lead to worship in a religious sense;

It could also be fear and disgust, or even blaming the disaster itself on those who issued warnings.

Unfortunately, Lu Xingyao lacked the talent to establish a cult or to tell fortunes on the street; she always encountered the second type of reaction.

The question now is—why did this anomaly, named the "Hero's Return Phenomenon," choose this moment to create another world?