Chuyao had really been doing her best to act like a good girl. But as the saying goes—free will cannot be caged.
In other words, sometimes, you just can’t help it.
And if you can’t help it, then you just can’t. Xu Chuyao figured that after behaving for so long, a little bit of mischief wouldn’t hurt. But in reality, she barely had time to laugh a few times before Shen Ning tackled her onto the bed.
She’d been sitting right at the edge, so one push had her flat on her back. A pair of fluffy white bunnies bounced along with gravity and inertia, swaying gently as their dazed owner tried to process what just happened.
Xu Chuyao had no idea what was going on—until she looked up and saw Shen Ning’s crimson eyes glaring at her. Then, the fog began to clear.
“You’re not mad, are you?”
Right after she asked, a new system alert popped up in her mind:
[Villain Points +500]
…So yeah, she was definitely mad.
But what Xu Chuyao didn’t know was that the angriest person in the room wasn’t even Shen Ning.
It was the reflection.
Only now did the reflection realize: every time she’d dressed like that in the past, and Shen Ning had responded with seemingly sincere praise—it was all a lie?! That thought nearly made her faint from rage.
“AAAAHHHHH! Screw her! I swear, someone better screw her for real!!!”
No need to say it—Shen Ning’s fury was already boiling over. Her left hand clamped down on Xu Chuyao’s thigh, fingers sinking into the soft, pale flesh, while her other hand swung down like a scythe in harvest season.
SMACK!
“MMNPH!”
Usually when she got hit, it was on her butt—while face-down. She could live with that. But today, Xu Chuyao had been pinned on her back.
She fell completely silent. Her curvaceous little figure trembled, as if something had been switched on. Her eyes lost focus, her brain blanked out. It wasn’t until Shen Ning landed a second slap that she jolted back with a whimper:
“S-stop, stop—don’t hit me! I have work tomorrow!”
Chuyao had official duties tomorrow morning, okay?!
But Shen Ning wasn’t done. She slapped again before asking coldly, “Still feeling ‘anemic’?”
“Ahh! Not anymore! Not at all! I feel great now!”
“Do you love me?”
“Yes yes yes—totally! So much! I love you to death!”
At that moment, Shen Ning realized she might’ve stumbled upon the solution to her mission. She pressed further while the iron was hot:
“Love who?”
“You you YOU—I love you, Shen Ning!”
“Who loves me?”
SMACK.
“ME! I do! I love you—I love youuuuuu!”
Several minutes later, Xu Chuyao wobbled her way out of the room, one hand on the wall, the other clutching the hem of her skirt, walking like a penguin after an earthquake.
“Uuugh… she’s not even human…”
Chuyao was devastated. But the reflection? Ecstatic. That was a long-overdue exhale of righteous fury. Sure, the slaps hadn’t been all that hard, nor particularly skillful, but the hit rate? Flawless. Every single one was a direct hit.
“That said, you still have some problems with your technique,” the reflection commented. “You won’t get far with just slapping. Once you get a phone in a few days, I’ll teach you how to look up tutorials. You’ll thank me later.”
And with that, the reflection disappeared from the little mirror on the desk.
The reflection came and went like a ghost, leaving Shen Ning sitting on the edge of the bed in silence, finally able to breathe.
The reflection said her technique was off—and Shen Ning could feel it too. After all, if she were doing it right, why did she just end up angrier after each hit?
Granted, it wasn’t the same kind of anger as before… But still. If this kept going, she might just snap someday—wait a second. Could this be how her future repressed self came to be?
Yeah. She’d definitely get a phone in a few days. Study hard. Learn well. No way was she ending up like the future her.
As for right now, Shen Ning found a distraction:
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have completed 1-Star Milestone Mission: First “I Love You.”]
Reward: Spiritual Power Boost — Now Mid-Tier Stage 2. This power is derived from your future self 14 months later.
Shen Ning blinked in pleasant surprise. So her future self had reached mid-Stage 2 in 14 months? That was one of the fastest examples from the cases Mr. Hu listed in class.
[All 1-Star Missions Completed. Achievement Point +1 Earned.]
[Special Reward: Skill – Moonlight Rite]
[Effect: ???
Note: You will fully master it once you understand the meaning behind its name.]
A completely unexplained skill. Shen Ning had no clue what it did, or even what category it fell under. But since it came bundled like a “buy-one-get-one-free” reward, she didn’t worry too much.
[All 1-Star Missions Complete. 2-Star Missions Now Unlocked! The higher the star level, the better the rewards. Come and try!]
“Not today. Next time.”
The boost in power did wonders to extinguish her simmering rage. Shen Ning glanced at the mess in her room, stood up, and began tidying. First, she put the scattered clothes back in their bags. Then, she grabbed a few tissues and wiped her hands. The black tights she had bought were also a bit smudged—not something you could fix with a tissue. Time for a wash.
Well, people do say you should wash new clothes before wearing them.
The quilt, which she’d folded and placed aside earlier, was completely unharmed. Thank goodness. As for the bedsheet… Shen Ning tried wiping it down with a towel, but then made a decision:
Time to change it.
Meanwhile…
Xu Chuyao limped back to her dorm room, looking like she’d just survived a tragic historical drama. Mi Xiaolu was terrified when she saw her and rushed over.
“What happened? Did she really screw you?!”
“Not quite… but close enough.”
Xu Chuyao collapsed onto her cozy bed and began tearfully recounting Shen Ning’s atrocities—dramatic language, beautiful metaphors, impeccable structure. It was a story that could move grown men to tears.
Mi Xiaolu listened sympathetically, but still had questions: “So… what did you do to piss her off that badly?”
“How would I know?! I was on my best behavior, even on the way there!” Xu Chuyao wiped away her imaginary tears, only to find her hand sticky. She grabbed a wet wipe and cleaned up before muttering, “Well… maybe at the very end I couldn’t resist and said a few honest thoughts.”
She explained Shen Ning’s rather creative outfit choice and her innocent comment about how the “white tongue” thing looked kinda weird. “Right? It was weird, wasn’t it?”
After hearing the whole story, Mi Xiaolu paused thoughtfully before saying, “Honestly, considering everything, Shen Ning just slapping you a few times instead of stabbing you is probably proof that she does love you.”
“Love, my butt! That girl wouldn’t know love if it slapped her!” Xu Chuyao flopped onto her bed. “She slapped me for ages and didn’t even manage to knock off my panties.”
“…You don’t sound that heartbroken.”
Mi Xiaolu finally realized her roommate had been fake-crying the whole time.
“I was crying! Just a minute ago—tears and everything!”
Although to be fair, they might not have been tears of sadness. More like the kind that show up when you’re slapped really hard. But that didn’t matter, because—500 + 200 = 700!
Including the few hundred from earlier, her Villain Points balance was now at 1250. Not far off from her next ten-roll!
When you think about it that way, this whole “Feast at Hongmen” turned out to be quite a bargain. If there were a next time… Chuyao would definitely attend again.
After all, that dummy of a heroine still had no idea how to properly operate.
“Time for bed,” the thunder girl yawned. “I’ve got official duties in the morning.”
She’s such a bottom omg 😭