Chapter 16: Genius!

Shen Ning wasn’t even sure what got into her. Maybe it was the heat of the moment, but when she pinned Xu Chuyao down and saw that annoying little butt of hers, she just couldn’t help herself—she raised her hand and smacked it.

Smack—!

It felt amazing. Incredibly satisfying, like she’d finally vented all her frustration. And the feel—like jiggly jelly—was oddly great.

Xu Chuyao’s lips trembled in a wavy line as she stammered:

“Hsss… Not painful at all!”

The last part wavered a little.

Given her late-stage Tier 1 body constitution, and the fact that the slap landed on soft flesh, there was no way she was actually hurt. The mark would fade quickly too. All in all, if she could just endure the sting, it was like it never happened.

“Really not painful?”

Shen Ning stared at the big thunder-type girl she had pinned to the desk, baffled at how she was suddenly acting so tough.

“Not painful means not painful,” Xu Chuyao huffed. “What, didn’t eat today? Who stole your chopsticks?”

“…!”

[Villain Points +60]

It worked. Damn, I’m a genius.

Smack!

“How about now? Painful?”

“Still not!”

Stretch it out! The longer this lasts, the more villain points I get. At this rate, I’ll be the one flat on the table.

Smack!

“Not~~~~painful~~~~~~~~!”

That wasn’t her trying to sound funny—the pain just changed her voice.

Hearing her warped tone, Shen Ning was both amused and annoyed. Why was she still being stubborn at this point?

“She’s like this. Hitting doesn’t work. You have to smack her hard to make her behave.”

Who said that?

The girl suddenly looked up—but the classroom was empty. No third person. Yet the voice still echoed in her ears. It even sounded a little familiar, like she’d heard it just a few days ago.

She looked toward the nearby window. In the slanting morning sunlight, she saw her own reflection—or maybe not quite her own.

Could this be the “Tactical Support” reflection given by the Achievement Point system? But why now? Was this really the moment for strategic advice?

“Don’t ask questions. Just do it.”

Shen Ning’s eyelid twitched.

Back in the underground mall, she had seen this same reflection in the glossy tiles. She’d thought her future self—a year from now—was a cold, calculating badass, rational and sharp like a trained assassin.

So why did she seem like a repressed mess today?

“Chuyao’s like this. No smack, no behave. So just smack her. What are you hesitating for? She’s your girlfriend anyway.”

Shen Ning blinked. What girlfriend?

Having not been hit for a while, Xu Chuyao’s butt stopped hurting. Still bent over the desk, she realized Shen Ning wasn’t moving and villain points weren’t increasing either. Peeking up, she saw the white-haired girl mumbling to the window, her face cycling through several expressions.

“Shen Ning… are you okay?”

Chuyao was worried for her. And also a bit for herself.

“Don’t talk!”

Shen Ning snapped at her, then turned back to the window—just in time to see the reflection slowly fade, leaving behind one last sentence:

“Not now? That’s fine. It’ll be soon. And you’ll see—I’m right.”

The illusory morning light turned into a patch of fog on the glass. That unnatural reflection had dropped too many clues, leaving the girl a bit dazed.

Having been yelled at, Xu Chuyao pouted and stayed quiet, unsure whether she should get up or not.

Time to tally today’s haul: +40, +40, +60, +60, +60—an impressive 260 villain points! Only 220 more to go until her ten-pull goal!

Totally worth getting smacked.

Just as she was wondering whether she should try saying something else spicy and push for a full ten-pull in one go, the classroom’s broadcast system suddenly crackled to life, making her jump.

“Mic test, mic test. Now issuing an important announcement. All students currently in class, please return to your own classrooms for self-study and wait for the next notice. Repeat, all students…”

Xu Chuyao quickly got up from the desk. She and Shen Ning exchanged a glance before hurrying to tidy up the classroom—putting all the desks and chairs back in place before their classmates returned.

Soon, students began filing in from the training grounds. With no teacher present, only the repeated message from the broadcast reminded them to behave. No one knew what had happened.

After the broadcast ended, someone asked what “self-study class” meant. Another replied it was basically like a normal academic lesson. That made everyone happy—PE turned into classwork? Score.

But then someone asked: “Did you guys finish your weekly journals?” and the room immediately fell silent.

Self-study or not, homework still had to be done.

Mi Xiaolu returned and saw Xu Chuyao wearing a strange expression—equal parts gleeful and disappointed.

“What’s wrong? Your plan didn’t go well?”

“The process sucked, but the result was great.”

Xu Chuyao explained everything: she’d set up a scene, but Shen Ning showed up early and smacked her.

Mi Xiaolu looked even more confused.

“Then why say the result was good?”

“Because I understand the art of language. Even though the plan failed, I got her so mad with just a few words.”

“…So your goal was just to make her angry?”

“Exactly.” Xu Chuyao smoothed her skirt. “If the result is good, who cares about a little sacrifice.”

Having a spiritual body had its perks—her butt no longer hurt, and even the marks were gone.

“Then why do you still look disappointed?” Mi Xiaolu asked.

Xu Chuyao glanced at Shen Ning, who was now sitting by the window deep in thought, and sighed.

“I’m running out of ideas. That plan took a lot of work and still failed. What am I supposed to do next?”

Mi Xiaolu paused. Wow, this girl was basically trying to emotionally exploit Shen Ning with a long-term fishing strategy.

“If you really want to piss her off and don’t care about the consequences, I have a suggestion: just be her girlfriend.”

“…What?”

Mi Xiaolu didn’t explain. She just nodded toward the two classmates sitting ahead of Shen Ning—one of the lovey-dovey couples in the class. They used to sit in front of Shen Ning, but after the mall incident, they got scared of her and moved closer to the window.

Xu Chuyao leaned forward to eavesdrop—

Boy:

“Babe, you’ve been upset all day. Did I do something wrong?”

Girl:

“You didn’t. I did!”

Boy:

“Please don’t be mad. I got candy from that student trip last week. Here—try some.”

Girl (munching):

“I feel like (chew) your candy didn’t reach my heart (chew chew), and I don’t even like this one (chew chew chew).”

Boy (takes the rest back):

“Sorry. I’ll go swap it out.”

Girl:

“I didn’t ask you to swap it! Why’d you take it back?! And do I not deserve a weekly journal!?”

At last, the boy understood—she wanted him to do her homework.

“I’ll write it. I’ll do it right now.”

After sneakily listening in, Xu Chuyao sat back and gave Mi Xiaolu a huge thumbs-up.

“Xiaolu… you really are a genius!”