Chapter 4: Not Good!

Then I’ll choose option A.

Faced with the multiple-choice question, Xia Mengxi pondered for a moment before deciding that option A was the safest choice. 

After all, giving others the impression of being delicate and fragile was better than getting beaten up and hospitalized for a week.

Having made her decision, a sandglass appeared as the text dissipated. 

The moment the sand grains in the upper half began to fall, the world returned to its original state.

Subsequently, Xia Mengxi saw a fashionably dressed girl with pink highlights in her ponytail emerge from around the corner and walk up the stairs toward her.

Seeing this, Xia Mengxi deliberately slowed her pace. 

When the girl named Li Siqi was close enough, she “accidentally” missed a step and tumbled forward.

To be honest, Xia Mengxi was quite nervous at this moment. If the other girl didn’t catch her, she might end up with more than just a week in the hospital.

Fortunately, the multiple-choice question didn’t disappoint her in terms of execution. 

Instead of landing on the right-angled floor tiles that could have left her paralyzed, she fell onto two large, soft, and bouncy melon breads.

“Ah! Are you okay?”

“S-sorry!”

Helped back to her feet, Xia Mengxi blushed deeply as she apologized to the girl before her. 

This impromptu face wash was something she hadn’t anticipated when making her choice.

What was worse, the sensation of those large, bouncy objects had already imprinted itself in her mind, lingering there for a long time.

“No need to apologize. Just be more careful on the stairs next time.”

Noticing Xia Mengxi’s embarrassed expression as she hung her head, Li Siqi glanced at her original destination before turning her gaze back to Xia Mengxi.

“Classmate, were you also planning to visit the rooftop?”

“Mm-hmm! But the door to the rooftop is chained shut.”

“A chain, huh… Maybe I can do something about that.”

With that, Li Siqi walked up to the rooftop door under Xia Mengxi’s watchful eyes. 

She tugged at the chain, and then somehow-the chain just fell off!

Witnessing this, Xia Mengxi was dumbfounded. Was this girl some kind of lock-picking expert?

In response to her shocked expression, Li Siqi simply smiled and explained, “Actually, the chain was just wrapped around the door handle. The two ends weren’t connected.”

So that was it! If she had observed more carefully, she might already be on the rooftop.

Seeing the look in Li Siqi’s eyes, Xia Mengxi knew she had inched closer to the label of “idiot” in the other girl’s mind.

Though she wanted to prove she wasn’t an idiot, Li Siqi had already pushed open the rooftop door and extended an invitation.

“The door’s open. Want to go take a look?”

“Sure!”

Xia Mengxi didn’t hesitate. 

With such a perfect opportunity to get to know the second potential romanceable beauty, she wasn’t about to let it slip away.

The rooftop wasn’t particularly large or small—about the size of two basketball courts—and it was spotless, clearly maintained by dedicated cleaners.

As for what was on the rooftop, there were the usual water tanks, electrical units, and other outdoor equipment for the building’s use. 

The only thing worth seeing was the view of the entire school from the railing.

“Wow…! This is amazing!”

After taking in the general scale of the school, Xia Mengxi could only describe it with the term “aristocratic academy”—no, this place was even more extravagant than that.

Though its area wasn’t as vast as a university, no expense had been spared in its architectural style. 

The buildings, predominantly designed in a Western retro aesthetic, were arranged in an orderly fashion. 

Standing below, one couldn’t fully grasp the grandeur and epic atmosphere.

Damn, parallel worlds really allowed people to do whatever they wanted, completely disregarding any real-world constraints.

“It’s magnificent, isn’t it?”

“Ah, yeah!”

“Too bad it’s just a cage.”

Li Siqi brushed back a few stray strands of hair that had been tousled by the wind, gazing regretfully at the school below. 

“No matter how beautiful it looks, this place is actually a monster that devours people without spitting out their bones.”

“….”

Instinct told Xia Mengxi that this girl, dressed like a rebellious bad girl, must have some dark secret-one deeply connected to this school.

Perhaps sensing the heaviness of her words, Li Siqi gave her an apologetic look.

“Ah, I haven’t even introduced myself yet. I’m Li Siqi from Class 1-A. And you?”

“I’m Xia Mengxi, from Class 1-B.”

“Oh? So you’re from the class next door. What a coincidence.”

Li Siqi smiled, then leaned in close to whisper in Xia Mengxi’s ear.

“Mengxi, since we’ve met like this, let me give you some advice. With your personality, you’ll suffer a lot in this school. So if you can change yourself, try to. Of course, if it’s really impossible, you can always come to me. I’ll do my best to help you.”

With those words, Xia Mengxi formed a general impression of Li Siqi.

On the surface, she seemed like an unapproachable delinquent, but in reality, she was a kind-hearted girl willing to lend a hand. 

This contrast made Xia Mengxi sigh in relief-otherwise, she wouldn’t have known how to talk to her, let alone “win her over.”

“Mm! Thank you, Li Siqi.”

“Just call me Siqi. I’m already calling you by your name, after all.”

“Okay, Siqi.”

With just this brief exchange, the distance between them instantly shrank, much to Xia Mengxi’s satisfaction.

Unfortunately, the other girl had to leave for an errand, or else Xia Mengxi felt she could have raised their rapport even further.

“Huh?”

Just as Xia Mengxi was about to leave the rooftop, she suddenly felt as if someone was watching her. But the vast rooftop was empty except for her, leaving her puzzled.

“Must be my imagination…”

She shrugged it off, ignoring the inexplicable sensation.

However, when she returned to her seat in the classroom, she noticed something off about Lin Xue’er’s expression.

“Xue’er?”

Seeing the dark look on Lin Xue’er’s face, Xia Mengxi shivered slightly. 

But no matter what she did, Lin Xue’er acted as if she were invisible.

This continued until after school, when the two were about to head home. 

Finally, Lin Xue’er spoke.

“Hey… Xiao Xi, why did you lie to me?”

“Eh? I-I didn’t lie to you…”

“No! You did!”

Xia Mengxi froze at Lin Xue’er’s sudden outburst.

The most crucial thing was, she simply couldn’t understand why the other person, who had been perfectly fine moments ago, had suddenly turned like this.

“Xue’er… you, calm down first. Let’s talk this through slowly, okay?”

“Calm down? Heh, fine, I’ll calm down, but…”

As she spoke, Lin Xue’er suddenly darted to Xia Mengxi’s side in one swift movement. 

Before Xia Mengxi could react, she pressed a tubular device against Xia Mengxi’s fair neck.

“Ah…!”

Feeling a sharp sting, Xia Mengxi quickly distanced herself from Lin Xue’er, clutching her neck while looking at Lin Xue’er’s hand.

“Xue… Xue’er, why would you do this!”

“Why? Heh…”

Before Lin Xue’er could finish speaking, Xia Mengxi felt a wave of dizziness overwhelm her. 

Just before losing consciousness, the last thing she saw was Lin Xue’er approaching her with a sickly expression.