“That’s right, exactly, perfectly correct.” The Doppelganger Reflection gave the girl a thumbs up, “That’s how you have to do it!”
It’s just as the saying goes: a person without credibility cannot stand. It doesn’t matter if your handwriting on the IOU is sloppy, as long as you actually pay back what you owe when the time comes.
If you keep saying “I’ll pay you back next time,” and when the next time comes you say your feelings aren’t up to it, then aren’t you just a braggart?
But Chuyao didn’t think so. Chuyao felt that those nine hundred Counter Villain Value last time were earned fair and square.
Otherwise, wouldn’t all that happiness when tossing it on V have been for nothing?
“No more talking, I want to sleep,” she muttered.
“Go ahead and sleep,” Shen Ning replied matter-of-factly, “I won’t ask you to move.”
Xu Chuyao rolled her eyes: “Then how am I supposed to sleep at all?”
The princess at the head of the bed isn’t really a princess. It doesn’t matter if you just mention or poke a bit, but if you keep it up, even a counterbalance won’t be enough.
Shen Ning didn’t care about all that. She always did what she said she’d do. A few days ago, she said she’d come back and sort out Chuyao, and now was the time to do it.
She picked up her girlfriend and placed her on the bed, pinning her down with practiced hands, unfastened the evening buttons, then undid the rest.
“Exactly, just like this. No need for Chuyao to say so much, just go for it in one fell swoop, and let her purple aura rise from the east!”
Hearing the highly pressurized words of the Doppelganger Reflection recited with such familiarity, the usually refined, poetic Reflection almost fainted.
“No way, I already said it,” Xu Chuyao squeezed her eyes shut and strained, “I said no!”
Squeak!
Shen Ning instantly withdrew, her hands tingling.
[Counter Villain Value 41000]
[You just poured a bucket of cold water on the heroine’s anticipation, snapping her back to reality and dousing her passionate, lingering mood.]
This was the first time she had earned Counter Villain Value not by making the dog angry.
So that’s it—keeping the heroine from getting too happy really is villainous behavior.
Looking at her electrocuted, listless girlfriend, Xu Chuyao revealed her Tiger Teeth and grinned.
Splendid.
Then the Counter Villain Value increased by another thousand.
[The heroine believes that your agreement to do it after returning from the plane counted as an Effective Suspension Transmission Agreement, and now your resistance is equivalent to breaking that agreement, so she’s angry.]
“What are you talking about, I never signed any agreement! That was your own idea, if you were so mad on the plane you could’ve just said so then! I never forced you to hold back, now you’re saying we have to do it? I absolutely—hey!”
She was flipped over, almost knocked out by the sudden cold wind blowing fiercely from outside.
Xu Chuyao tried using electricity, but Shen Ning didn’t respond at all.
Only wind! Pure, whistling wind! Lively and fierce wind!
“Caw, caw, caw…”
This time, the little whirlwind Xu Chuyao woke right up.
Zzzz
[Did you guys hear? The leader and Shen Ning went to Freiden Free City again. Good news, more important events.]
[They say, if it weren’t for Xu Class Leader helping out, their school would’ve lost a lot more people.]
[Bro, I feel like I’ve missed so much lately. What a pity I have to go intern.]
[Why aren’t you interning? We’re about to graduate. But speaking of which, both my internship and career placement are with the local Security Department. After graduation, I’ll still be the leader’s most loyal subordinate.]
[Bro, I applied too, but I only got assigned to a Secondary County.]
Xu Chuyao opened her phone and checked the Q Group in the Ascension Academy Student Special Group, seeing these bits of recent chat history.
Ha, everyone’s discussed so much, yet she’d been knocked out by her girlfriend last night. Now she was finally back.
With spring deepening, the four fifth-year students of the original group were facing graduation anxieties. According to the chat history, the two higher-tier boys would stay in Center City, while the other two were assigned to Secondary Counties under the main city’s jurisdiction.
[Chief Officer (Group Owner): It’s fine, there are still two months left. Maybe when you report after graduation, I’ll already be your superior.]
Getting a promotion in just two months isn’t easy, commanding all Security Departments across the main city’s jurisdiction—how could even Starlight pull that off?
[Tang! It’s the leader!]
[When did Team Leader Cheng get back?]
[Are you guys all right?]
Xu Chuyao answered each group member’s questions one by one, saying she had returned the day before, together with Shen Ning, and that both of them were in a stable mood and condition.
In fact, when she glanced at the girl beside her, who was still dozing contentedly, she wanted to raise her Tiger Teeth and make a few threatening gestures.
What a wicked heroine, seizing the chance when she fainted to be so audacious—moving constantly, restless as could be, turning the Pillow Princess’s sweet dream into a nightmare, where she became a huge candied hawthorn stick, and people just kept eating and eating…
She glanced at the system account’s balance—over two thousand—so Chuyao’s little head finally relaxed.
All right, at least she paid up.
Should she go? Or not?
The girl didn’t wait for a response. Whether it was because the doppelgangers couldn’t reach this place, or because everything here disrupted the continuity of time and space, all three reflections were forcibly silenced.
It seemed both possibilities were quite likely. In any case, she’d figured it out for herself.
Shen Ning looked around. The old miners were already heading for the entrance; the Small Gate to that world was about to open. If she was going, now was the time.
But she suddenly remembered her fierce performance at Freiden Academy the previous day.
For some reason, after that, the breeze from afar seemed to carry whispers—like there were many people waiting on the other side for her and her companion.
There was no power in paradise, nor any storms, so she’d better keep a low profile for a few days.
The girl crouched down lightly, picked up her Mining Pickaxe again, and as she was heading toward the White Zero Cave, the old miners ahead looked back at her from time to time.
“Yin 1”
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang…X27
She woke from the dream. It was the same as her daily life for the past three years.
Shen Ning opened her eyes and saw the afternoon sunlight shining through the curtains, saw that there was no one beside her anymore, but a little note was left on the pillow.
[Set fish -]
A concise, emotional message, symbolizing a Pillow Princess who gets up early, expressing her disapproval of someone coming alive at night but not being able to get up in the morning.
Shen Ning picked up her phone, found her girlfriend’s name in the contacts, and sent a message.
[Where did you go?]
Xu Chuyao was in the classroom, attending the first class of the afternoon. It might sound unbelievable, but Chuyao really was the kind of beautiful, smart, and studious good girl.
The truth was, she came looking for Xiao Si Nuo. She went to the Meeting Room first but found no one there. From Flower’s mouth, she learned he was in the classroom. Since it was just in time for a Culture Class, and as Shengling Academy’s top Culture Class student, Chuyao sat down to listen for a bit.
“Xu Chuyao, what does the green window in the essay symbolize in terms of the author’s feelings?”
“Loneliness, being shut in, enduring oppression, homesickness.”
“Absolutely correct, even more thorough than the reference answer!” Yang Xueli said excitedly, “Everyone should learn from Xu Chuyao never missing a chance to learn while lending a hand, achieving excellence in both culture and physical practice!”
Everyone was busy, but even with all this, Culture Class learning never slacked. Teacher Li was very moved.
The short class ended quickly, and only then did Xiao Si Nuo realize she was looking for him. He asked if it was for official business or something else.
“If it’s official, let’s talk in the Meeting Room. That way, I can skip a few classes.”
In the Special Intelligence Team Meeting Room, Flower made tea, and Xu Chuyao sat elegantly, legs crossed, and said very seriously:
“I want you to investigate someone.”
Work again—and the most exciting kind. Xiao Si Nuo, as always, got out his notepad, ready to take notes. “Class Leader, who do you want me to investigate?”
“I don’t know,”
“…”
“I don’t know the name, or their public identity,” Xu Chuyao said, “About thirty years old, around the same age as Swina, male, looks… hang on, I’ll send you a portrait in a bit. He’s from Freiden Free City’s main city, and most likely in the Great Judicial Division. His strength is between Three-Stage Late Peak and Stage Barrier Peak, wood element, often uses Leaves as the form for his skills.”
Hearing the last two sentences, Xiao Si Nuo breathed a small sigh of relief.
Age, gender, and location weren’t so important—even if you had a portrait, it was still like searching for a needle in a haystack. But as long as you had stage-level positioning, it was much easier, especially for those above third stage.
“Understood, Class Leader, I’ve noted it down. If I may ask, is he…?”
“Don’t ask,” Xu Chuyao flashed her Tiger Teeth, “Just know that he’s dead for sure.”