Right now, Yu Zhou was facing several problems.
The first problem — he now had to keep Camearra by his side at all times, whether he was going out or going home.
The second problem naturally came from the first — if he was bringing Camearra home, that meant she would meet his parents.
In other words, he was about to bring his girlfriend home to meet his parents.
That was no small matter.
Yu Zhou could already imagine his parents' curiosity and the countless questions they would ask Camearra.
Questions like: "Why does your name sound so foreign?" or "Where are you from?" and "What do your parents do?"
And, of course, they would definitely ask how the two of them met and ended up together.
All of that needed to be prepared in advance — otherwise, it would be impossible to explain properly.
"Camearra, we need to go home today," Yu Zhou said, still lying on his back and staring at the ceiling.
"Go home?"
Camearra immediately rolled over and leaned in close to him, her eyes gleaming with interest.
"Yes, home," Yu Zhou turned to face her, their eyes meeting. "But before that, we need to prepare some answers — there are a few things we'll have to arrange."
"How do you want to arrange it? Go ahead and tell me."
Camearra gazed steadily at Yu Zhou's face, her warm breath brushing against his skin.
Her expression didn't show much emotion, but deep down, her heart was filled with excitement.
Thirty million years ago, she had once asked Tiga about his parents — after all, in any union or marriage, parents were always present.
But Tiga had never mentioned his family, and so, back then, Camearra never had the chance to meet them.
Now, that unfulfilled wish was finally about to come true — even if in a different way.
Yu Zhou, of course, had no idea what Camearra was thinking. Seeing her cooperative expression, he thought for a moment and began to speak slowly.
"I looked it up — apparently, there really is a surname 'Ka' in China," Yu Zhou said while scrolling on his phone.
Since the surname existed, there was no need for Camearra to change her name.
Though while searching, Yu Zhou also found people with surnames like Shi (meaning feces) and Niao (meaning urine) …
How on earth do people pick names like that and make them sound decent?!
As for Mearra, the second part of her name, Yu Zhou decided to leave it as is. If asked, he could just say it was given by her parents — a bit odd, but still acceptable.
After all, "Camearra" was just a transliteration anyway. There was no need to overthink it.
"As for your identity… let's say you're my university classmate."
Yu Zhou thought for a moment — that would be the easiest cover story.
If his parents asked how they met, saying they were classmates would make everything sound natural.
Two college students falling for each other — nothing strange about that.
"Now, about where you're from…" Yu Zhou frowned. "We'll need to decide that too."
If Camearra was supposed to be his classmate, she'd need a hometown — something plausible.
"How about here?"
Camearra pointed at a location on the phone's map — a coastal island city in the southernmost province.
"From Hailan Province, huh? That works," Yu Zhou nodded.
After all, back in R'lyeh, they had both lived by the sea. A seaside hometown suited her just fine.
"As for the rest, you can just improvise when the time comes," Yu Zhou said finally, feeling a little more at ease now that they had a plan.
"Don't worry," Camearra replied softly, resting her hand against his chest.
After living for so many millennia, she might still have a streak of wilfulness at times, but she knew how to behave when necessary.
She was no longer the unstable, impulsive being she had been right after her seal was broken.
Now, she had fully regained her composure — her temperament was, in many ways, no different from that of an ordinary woman.
Since train tickets were completely sold out, Yu Zhou already had another plan in mind.
He had told his mother the approximate time he'd be home. Before then, he planned to simply teleport back — quietly and quickly.
Knock, knock, knock.
Just then, a sudden knock came from the door.
The unexpected sound startled Yu Zhou — who would come looking for him now?
"I'll get the door," he told Camearra, getting out of bed and walking to the entrance.
When he opened it, he saw one of his few close friends — Wei Feng.
"Yu Zhou! I knew you hadn't gone home yet!" Wei Feng grinned widely, clearly pleased with himself.
"What, are you that happy I'm still here?" Yu Zhou raised an eyebrow. "Planning to treat me to dinner or something?"
Wei Feng's home was nearby, close to campus, so he didn't need to travel far even during holidays.
"Exactly!" Wei Feng laughed. "Your ticket isn't for today, right? Come on, let's go grab some barbecue tonight!"
As he spoke, Wei Feng's gaze drifted past Yu Zhou — toward the inside of the small room.
He tried to peek in, but Yu Zhou subtly shifted his body to block the view.
All Wei Feng managed to see was a white dress hanging by the closet — Camearra's.
Instantly, his expression turned mischievous.
No way…
Could the usually quiet and honest Yu Zhou really be hiding a girl in his tiny rental room?
"Well, what are you looking at?" Yu Zhou said quickly, tightening his stance to block the doorway completely. "And no, I can't go — my ticket is for today."
"Ah, that's too bad," Wei Feng sighed. But his eyes still flicked toward the room again and again, curiosity written all over his face.
"Alright, then I'll see you when the semester starts."
Seeing that look, Yu Zhou hurriedly pushed him back toward the corridor — even closing the door behind him.
"Hey, don't be like that! I'm thirsty, man! Let me come in for a drink at least. You're definitely hiding something from me, aren't you?" Wei Feng protested, half-laughing.
"Here."
Yu Zhou reached one hand behind him, quietly pulled a bottle of mineral water out from his space bracelet, and placed it in Wei Feng's hand.
"Where'd this water come from?"
Wei Feng blinked, puzzled — he'd just looked behind Yu Zhou and seen no place to store anything.
"Don't worry about it. Just drink," Yu Zhou sighed.
"Wait, don't tell me you pulled this out from there— ew!"
Wei Feng suddenly made a disgusted face as if he'd imagined something awful.
"What the hell are you thinking?!" Yu Zhou smacked him on the head. "Just drink it already — and I'll see you next term."
"Fine, fine."
Wei Feng shook his head, still giving Yu Zhou a teasing look as he waved goodbye. "Man… once a guy gets a woman, he forgets his brothers!"
Yu Zhou: "…"
With his sharp hearing, Yu Zhou caught every word clearly.
He could only sigh helplessly, then called out to Wei Feng before he left — reminding him that if he went out at night, he should at least take note of the nearest air-raid shelters, just in case.