At long last, Shen Ning finally had some free time to herself. She rested her head on the desk, closed her eyes for a nap, and shifted her consciousness into the system to settle her task.
[Congratulations, Host. You’ve completed the one-star milestone task: First Hand-Holding.]
Reward Obtained: Spirit Power Condensation.
Gathers and compresses a large (relatively speaking) amount of spiritual power, then releases it in a burst. Highly effective for piercing through tough defenses, especially powerful at close to mid-range.
Originally invented by you a year later when you encountered an enemy with extremely high defense.
So it was a combat skill after all. Well, that worked out—she’d been lacking in unconventional offensive techniques anyway.
Closing the system, Shen Ning opened her eyes and, now with nothing to do, casually observed what her classmates were up to.
In the distance, Xu Chuyao was chatting happily with her little entourage. Shen Ning couldn’t hear what they were saying, but judging from that smug expression on Chuyao’s face, it was probably something ridiculous.
Nearby, Li Renhao was once again getting scolded by his girlfriend. Looked like he had failed yet again to buy the gift she wanted.
In the back row, Little Snow had finished his self-reflection essay and was now poring over several newspapers spread out across his desk, focused and absorbed.
“Did something happen again?” Shen Ning asked. “More developments on those missing person cases you’ve been tracking?”
Honestly, she couldn’t even remember what Little Snow had said the first time—just something about disappearances being reported.
But he shook his head. “Nope. Recently, the Jester Gang attacks have been dominating the headlines. It’s all over the news. We’ll probably have to wait until the hype dies down before the media covers anything else again.”
Little Snow didn’t like those kinds of long-winded, mainstream reports. Even grocery-shopping aunties on the street knew the whole story by now. Every possibility had been overanalyzed by journalism majors, leaving no room for personal imagination.
What he liked were those obscure local tabloids, tiny corner columns that didn’t even take up a quarter of a page. Just a few cryptic lines—like candy-coated secrets—instantly firing up a reader’s curiosity.
“It’s a pity we can’t see any of that right now. These mainstream reports are so dull. That’s why I’m reading old papers—trying to dig up past legends from our school.”
He suddenly perked up and held up a yellowed newspaper for Shen Ning to see.
“Look at this! At the end of the suppression war, after eliminating the final rebel force, only one member of the Spark Squad remained. That survivor—Yu Fenghua, just twenty years old—disappeared from the public eye afterward. Rumor has it she joined a major academy… I think this was talking about our homeroom teacher.”
Shen Ning raised an eyebrow. “Just because they both have the surname Yu?”
“The age lines up. And this paper used to operate right by our academy. More importantly, I’ve always thought our homeroom teacher gives off major veteran vibes.”
…Well, you know what, that actually does sound kind of convincing.
But Shen Ning was more curious about something else. “How’d you even get your hands on so many old newspapers?”
“Because my family runs a newspaper stand—and we collect paper recyclables on the side,” Little Snow said proudly, waving the newspaper. “Anytime I put in a request, my dad can dig it up and mail it to me.”
“That’s impressive,” Shen Ning nodded. She hesitated, then tested the waters. “Do you have anything on Luo Kangsheng? Our grade director.”
After hearing from Xu Chuyao, she’d learned that Director Luo was the person in school who disliked her the most. She wanted to know why.
“Director Luo’s a lot older. He probably won’t show up in this batch of papers,” Little Snow replied. “But I’ll have my dad send me some older editions. Might find something. Honestly, I love this stuff—reading a few words and piecing together the story behind them. It’s so satisfying.”
He carefully stacked the old newspapers and looked at the girl sitting in front of him.
“What about you? Have you found something you love?”
“Me?” Shen Ning blinked. “I guess… maybe…”
“You definitely have!” Little Snow interrupted. “The moment you walked in today, I knew you were different.”
“Different?”
“Yeah! There’s light in your eyes now. You actually look like you’re hopeful about the future.”
“…”
Was it that obvious? Honestly, what she was looking forward to… was probably just buying new clothes next time they went out.
She sighed at her own thoughts—and almost involuntarily, her gaze drifted toward Xu Chuyao again. Chuyao was still chatting with her desk partner, though it looked like they were having a bit of a spat.
That was rare. Were they having an argument? Unbelievable.
On Xu Chuyao’s end, she had just finished proudly recounting her lunchtime date when Mi Xiaolu dropped a bombshell question:
“So… are you two, like, officially dating?”
The words left Chuyao momentarily stunned.
“Are we? I don’t think so? My main goal was still to tease her, you know?”
“Really?” Mi Xiaolu said casually. “Because everything you just described sounds exactly like two people in a passionate relationship. Honestly, if one day you told me Shen Ning carried you to bed and ‘domesticated’ you into behaving, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“No way!” Xu Chuyao shot back firmly.
“No way what?” Mi Xiaolu tilted her head. “No way you’d be ‘domesticated’? Or no way you’d ever stop being naughty?”
Chuyao was stumped. She hesitated for a long while before mumbling, “Well… obviously I can’t stop being naughty. And as for the rest, um… anyway, no way.”
Truthfully, she couldn’t even be sure of the first one. Shen Ning often muttered about “taming” her like grass…
Hopefully, the heroine was just all bark and no bite—like her rowdy online friends from her past life.
“Alright, enough about that. I need to head back early tonight—got a big pull coming.”
Evening self-study passed in a blur of laziness. Xu Chuyao practically ran back to the dorm, took a bath, changed into a spotless white pajama set, lit a candle-shaped nightlight by the window, stared solemnly at the stars… and then shouted dramatically:
“PULL!”
The final 100 villain points earned from their date completed the tenth draw. The 1600 points she’d spent the past month accumulating would now transform—under this starry sky—into ten dreamy items.
ESHVSKcaamBSFSknXLLKMGjsRWoc[Frost Princess White Thigh-High Socks]: The lightest fabric with the warmest embrace. Cozy even in the coldest winter—one pair is enough.
ESHVSKcaamBSFSknXLLKMGjsRWoc[Mini Loudspeaker]: Sounds like an insult, but really just an amplification tool.
ESHVSKcaamBSFSknXLLKMGjsRWoc[Converse Sneakers (Size 37)]: A trendy item from the pre-spirit era. Certain collectors are willing to pay high prices for them. If worn, the resale value increases even more.
ESHVSKcaamBSFSknXLLKMGjsRWoc[Butterfly Hair Clip (Blue)]: ………
ESHVSKcaamBSFSknXLLKMGjsRWoc[Butterfly Hair Clip (White)]: ………
The system inventory filled with a bunch of semi-useless odds and ends. Just as Xu Chuyao was about to collapse from disappointment, a flash of golden light caught her eye—
ESHVSKcaamBSFSknXLLKMGjsRWoc[Spiritual Power Boost: Tier 1 (Late) → Tier 1 (Peak)]
ESHVSKcaamBSFSknXLLKMGjsRWocFinal round of physical enhancements, especially flexibility. Will definitely come in handy someday. Next time you receive a spirit-related reward, you’ll directly break through to Tier 2.
“YES! I pulled something good!”
Imagine your life being at the mercy of a gacha pull 😭
To be fair, she could train the old fashioned way as well. She is just too lazy to do so. Even if she wasn’t as talented as the protagonist, gacha pulls alone were enough to keep pace with her before she got a system. If she had trained seriously as well, she could have probably been a lot stronger.
Why are some many gacha games set to 1600 for 10 pulls? I have seen that exact number alot. And usually 80 pulls for pity. I wonder if there is some math behind that.