Shen Ning thought her future self mustโve gone through something unimaginableโotherwise, how else could she have ended up like that? Being sexually repressed was one thing, but now she was also overly helpful, waking up at the crack of dawn just to give her a morning pep talk.
โDonโt get the wrong idea. I canโt be bothered about anything else, itโs just that I have way too much to say when it comes to the grass that is Chuyao,โ the reflection said, leaning against the classroom window, emphasizing her point.
โAnyway, donโt interrupt meโjust listen. After you buy the phone, donโt leave right away. Have the store clerk unlock and activate it for you. Then hang around and use their wifi for as long as you can. The school networkโs garbageโeven if you get a SIM card, itโs still slow as hell. Downloading videos is torture, so use the time there to download as many as you can.โ
Got it. Shen Ning only needed to hear things like that once to remember them.
โAnd another important thing: make sure Chuyao doesnโt catch you downloading anything! Or sheโll mock you for life!โ
โโฆโฆโ
Okay, that was a pretty important tip she might have overlooked.
Today was already the last day before the operation. After their meeting the day before yesterday, Xu Chuyao had announced that sheโd found out the exact time of the product launchโit was two days later at 10:30 a.m.โwhich meant, from their current perspective, it would happen tomorrow morning.
And so, as their commander, she promptly declared, โWeโre departing at 7 a.m.!โ
Three and a half hours earlyโshe really didnโt take this lightly.
Some students had never gotten up that early before, but since the commander had spoken, everyone agreed without complaint and began preparing in their own ways.
As for Shen Ning, aside from listening to her reflectionโs rambling, she also checked in with the few friends she had.
โIโm going to the Trade Plaza tomorrow. Do you want me to pick anything up for you?โ she asked Xiao Snow.
โYouโre heading out? Have fun shopping.โ Xiao Snow was lying on his desk, examining the latest newspapers with a magnifying glass. โI donโt need anything.โ
Shen Ning glanced at the paper and saw that it was the latest issue. โNew news?โ
โNope. But the buzz over the mall attack has died down. Iโm back to tracking those fringe disappearance cases, looking for clues.โ
โAlright. Good luck.โ
Next, Shen Ning checked in with Li Renhao. He didnโt ask her to buy anything this time, but instead offered some useful tips:
โI know Trade Plaza well. After entering the main gate, go left, then take the third alley. Thatโs the electronics section. There are a lot of phone stores there. I wouldnโt suggest the biggest one, thoughโitโs right next to the Liandong service center, and their SIM cards suck at school. Go to the one at the very backโitโs next to Diantongโs service center.โ
See? This is why it pays to have friends.
Shen Ning had her friends. Xu Chuyao had her sisters too. Although Mi Xiaolu had fled in the middle of their last mission, that was understandable, and Yaoyao wasnโt mad.
Itโs fine. Sisters are sisters.
Regarding this operation, Xu Chuyao summed it up concisely:
โMy eyelid twitchedโI knew something was off. Someoneโs trying to set me up. But once I noticed it, the plot was doomed. I just asked our homeroom teacher to hang around nearby. When the person shows up, theyโll be furious. Ha.โ
โYour tactics are amazing, Xu Chuyao,โ Mi Xiaolu said.
If only youโd use more tactics next time when Shen Ning grabs your ankle in battle.
Class passed in a blur of daydreaming, and soon, the day of the operation arrived.
โRoll call!โ
โShi Lei.โ โ โCheng Li.โ โ โZhong Ming.โ โ โYou Jia.โ โ โYu Yuwei.โ โ โShen Ning.โ
Winter mornings came late. At around six, the sky was still pitch black. The early team members stood in front of the school gate, trying to stay awake as they reported their names to the commander.
โGreat. Very energetic.โ Xu Chuyao gave a crisp wave. โOn the bus!โ
The academy had never run such an early operation during winter. Even the driver couldnโt help but yawn. Outside, it looked like the middle of the night, with no sign of the sun rising anytime soon.
Sitting in the front seat, Xu Chuyao started to wonderโmaybe they really had left too early. Sheโd initially wanted to scout the area ahead of time, but now she questioned whether three hours of scouting was truly necessary.
The sun wasnโt even upโhow were they supposed to see the terrain?
โUh, driver, just take it slow, okay? Itโs still dark, and we really need to be mindful of road safety.โ
As always, Shen Ning sat in her usual spotโthe back row, next to the window. A layer of white fog had gathered on the glass, and her reflection was the only thing visible in it.
It was too early. Even her reflection hadnโt shown up yet.
Emmmmโฆ Is the phone store even open yet?
Anyway, thanks to the driverโs perseverance, the bus finally rolled into the Trade Plaza by the time the sky had lightened.
Most shops werenโt open yet, and there were no tourists in sightโonly people getting ready to start work. There were quite a few of them, but the atmosphere wasnโt lively. The streets were empty, except around the breakfast shops, which were crowded.
โIโm going to scout the area around the parking lot. Yu Yuwei, come with me. Everyone elseโfree time, but stay inside Trade Plaza and regroup at the exhibit booth by 9:30,โ Xu Chuyao instructed.
She knew Shen Ning wanted to shop, so she took someone else familiar along instead.
The rest of the group exchanged glances and quickly reached a unanimous decision:
โLetโs eat first.โ
While the others headed to the breakfast shop, Shen Ning quietly walked off in the opposite direction and soon found the electronics section Li Renhao had described. She followed his directions all the way to the back and spotted the Diantong service center.
Right next to itโthis was the place.
The phone store had just opened. A clerk arranging some items at the front desk looked up. โSorry, miss. Weโre not officially open yet. For after-sales, battery replacements, screen repairs, or returns and exchanges, please come back after 10 a.m.โ
Ten? But the meetup was at 9:30.
Shen Ning thought for a second and asked, โWhat about just buying a phone?โ
The clerks at the front desk blinked in surprise, then immediately smiled brightly.
โOf course you can, sweetie!โ
The purchasing process went smoothly. Shen Ning didnโt understand all the tech jargon, so she asked the salesgirl to recommend something. The girl quickly brought out three models for her to choose from.
โThese three will meet your needs and offer great value. Plus, thereโs a discount if you buy today!โ
Shen Ning glanced at the pricesโ5,000 yuan. No idea if that was expensive or not, but she had three yearsโ worth of school stipends saved up, so she could afford it.
โThis one, then.โ
She picked a porcelain-black modelโsame color as Xu Chuyaoโs hair.
โNo problem, Iโll wrap it up for you right away. By the way, sweetie, where do you live? If itโs inconvenient, we can offer home delivery service.โ
The salesgirl smiled even more warmly. She hadnโt expected this teenage girl, showing up at dawn, to be so easy to deal withโnot picky about specs, price, or even gifts. And sheโd just sold a tough-to-move business model so easily. Out of guilt, she even wanted to offer delivery.
โI donโt live at home,โ Shen Ning blinked. โIโm a student at Ling Awakening Academy. Can you still deliver there?โ
The other clerks nearby fell silent instantly. The salesgirl, quick as lightning, swept all three models off the table in one motion.
โActually, I just rememberedโwe have another phone thatโs much more suitable for students and also cheaper.โ
โBut I liked the style of that one just nowโฆโ
โElegant Piano Black, right? No problem! Weโve still got it!โ
So much for delivery. Shen Ning was a bit disappointed. Sitting in the store with her new phoneโover 3,000 yuanโshe stared into space.
Where was her reflection?
โUm, sweetie, is there a problem?โ the salesgirl asked gently. โNeed help with anything?โ
โNo, Iโmโฆ just using the wifi.โ
Sheโd learned that line from her reflection yesterday.
โOh, sure! Go ahead, take your time. Iโll bring you some water.โ
But her reflection still hadnโt shown up. Shen Ning just sat there awkwardly. She didnโt know what to download, or even where to start. And for some reason, she felt like the staff kept sneaking glances at her, with even their movements growing quieter.
She felt kind of embarrassed.
Whether to break the awkwardness or to avoid wasting time, she couldnโt just sit there. She had to do something.
Closing her eyes slightly, Shen Ning opened her system panel and entered the Achievement System.
[Achievement Points Remaining: 2. Use to summon a version of yourself from a future timeline to provide tactical support.
Use now?]
She never really used it anywayโit always came to her on its own. Might as well. Confirm!
Buzz~~
A strange, invisible ripple, like a stone tossed into the river of time. Shen Ning looked downโand saw the reflection of a white-haired girl in the glass display case.
It was her. But not quite.
Her bangs nearly covered her eyes, messy white hair stirring despite the still air. Her emotionless gaze shimmered with shattered killing intent.
โโฆSo? Want me to teach you how to kill them?โ
Shen Ningโs eye twitched.
Thisโฆ wasnโt the sexually repressed one.
That’s probably the original original Shen Ning where Chuyao doesn’t exist. I wonder what she’ll think of the current Shen Ning ๐ญ