“Why did you fail?”
In the eyes of the losing side, the battle at the commercial plaza was incomprehensible. They had respected Ling Awakening Academy’s student task force enough to prepare a trap that was nearly without flaw.
“They saw through it. They were prepared—down to a backup plan.”
There might’ve been a narrow chance when the gang retreated to the parking lot entrance, but once the students’ supervising teacher arrived from the neighboring street, it was game over. There was no way such coordination could’ve happened unless the trap had already been exposed.
“Who figured it out?”
Good question—who saw through it?
Chuyao doesn’t know, either.
Right now, Xu Chuyao had just heard from her roommate that her girlfriend was searching all over campus for her. The news excited her.
“What a coincidence, I’m looking for her too. Haven’t pissed her off in a while. Quick—where is she?”
“Uh…”
Shen Ning was outside the teaching building. There were lots of students around, but she wasn’t getting the answers she wanted.
“I think… you’re not describing her clearly enough. If you just give a name, how would students from other classes know?”
Sexually Repressed Reflection made a fair point, but Shen Ning didn’t really know how else to describe her.
“Easy. Just ask if anyone’s seen a super-punchable-looking girl. You can tell just by her vibe.”
But Shattered Reflection objected sharply:
“That’s so rude. You should say: ‘Have you seen a gentle, kind, sweet, cute, and thoughtful girl, as graceful as a startled swan, as elegant as a dragon in flight, with the glow of moonlight and the charm of morning dew?’”
Shen Ning thought both descriptions were just… off. Not any better than just saying a name.
Fortunately, she didn’t need to keep searching—because she spotted Xu Chuyao running toward her from the stairwell. Her chest bounced gently as she ran, her face brimming with impatience and anticipation.
“Shen Ning~ I heard you were looking for me. What’s up? Missed me already?”
That line made Shattered Reflection tear up on the spot. It was still floating right in front of Shen Ning’s face, and its teary expression nearly broke her composure.
“Are you free during lunch break? I wanted to talk to you about something. We could… you know, like that other day at noon.”
“Oh~ a date, huh?”
Xu Chuyao instantly saw through Shen Ning’s actual intention. Her eyes gleamed with mischief, and a sly smile tugged at her lips.
“Sure. I’ll wait for you at the dormitory entrance when lunch break starts.”
She turned and walked away, steps light and playful, letting her skirt bounce with every little hop—making sure Shen Ning noticed.
“See that? Did you see it?” said Sexually Repressed Reflection.
“She rolled her eyes just now—definitely plotting something bad. I know that look. She’s totally setting us up for something.”
Chuyao, she’s a bad girl. Needs to be punished. No doubt.
“That’s such a harsh assumption—it’s a stereotype!” argued Shattered Reflection.
“Maybe Chuyao’s eyes were just tired. She was doing an eye exercise.”
Sexually Repressed Reflection nearly choked laughing:
“Do you even believe what you’re saying?”
Regardless of their bickering, Shen Ning figured it was best to make her own judgment. These two shadows might be experts at combat and killing—but they were both incredibly biased when it came to her girlfriend.
Back in class, Xu Chuyao found her roommate and told her Shen Ning had asked her out for lunch.
“Makes sense. You are her girlfriend, after all,” said Mi Xiaolu.
Dating at that age was like that—less sleep, more dates. Who could even nap during lunch break when they were that young?
“It seems normal on the surface, but you don’t know—when she went to the commercial plaza a few days ago, she bought a phone,” Xu Chuyao said in a secretive tone.
“And she downloaded some… private content.”
Yep—Chuyao had seen those pink-colored apps.
Mi Xiaolu’s jaw dropped. Took her a while to recover.
“She… she needs that kind of stuff?”
“Exactly. I think she doesn’t know how any of it works, so she’s using it like a textbook.”
Xu Chuyao still remembered that night—a very dangerous moment. She’d been just one pair of panties away from being ravished… but Shen Ning had just slapped her a few times and still didn’t know what to do.
“Didn’t you say she used to work in a mine?” Mi Xiaolu asked curiously.
“Wouldn’t she… dig inward or something?”
“…You’re being a bit much.”
Her roommate’s mental image was way too vivid. Xu Chuyao lost all desire to continue the topic. But it was fine—she planned to tease Shen Ning about it later and make her trigger some serious villain points.
After all, what kind of protagonist doesn’t explode with villainy every once in a while?
The morning passed quickly. School let out at 11:30. Shen Ning skipped the cafeteria and grabbed a sandwich from the campus store, then returned to her dorm. After eating, she carefully brushed her teeth and rinsed thoroughly.
Preparation was key—for a kiss.
“Don’t worry about Chuyao,” said Sexually Repressed Reflection.
“Even if she eats just before, somehow she still smells great. Same with her feet—even after a run, they don’t stink. …Why are you looking at me like that? You’ve licked them too.”
“I haven’t.”
“Well, you’ve used your hands at least, right? You’ve already taken the hardest step. Licking comes next…”
While the two were caught up in a heated debate, a faint voice suddenly rang out:
🎵 “Where’s the rainbow? Please tell me… Can I have my wish back… Why is the sky so quiet? All the clouds are gathering around me…” 🎵
Shen Ning and Sexually Repressed Reflection both went quiet and stared at Shattered Reflection with strange looks.
…Was it singing?
“Sorry, it just struck 12:00.” Shattered Reflection wiped a tear from the corner of its eye.
“Chuyao once said that 12 o’clock is ‘Net-Depression Music Hour’. You’re supposed to sing sad songs.”
“I know. I’ve heard that too,” said Sexually Repressed Reflection, face deadpan.
“But is it possible… she meant midnight?”
“She did. But I didn’t want to disturb your sleep at night, so I moved it to noon. Same thing.”
“Same… thing?”
Shen Ning hadn’t heard Xu Chuyao say anything like that before. She was beginning to suspect that both shadows had a screw loose—especially Shattered Reflection. Every time it sang, the air itself seemed to ache.
“Do you regret it that much? What exactly happened? Were you just too weak back then?”
Power-is-everything Shen Ning asked bluntly.
Bad move. One question, and Shattered Reflection burst into tears again, sticking itself to the window and sobbing until the glass looked like it had been hit by a rainstorm.
“…Okay, you don’t have to answer. I get it.”
This dorm room had gotten way too depressing. Time to head out early.
Coincidentally, just as Shen Ning got downstairs, she spotted Xu Chuyao—who had also come early and was trying to hide in a bush.
Shen Ning’s eye twitched.
“You used this trick last time. Still doing it now?”
“What kind of logic is that?” Xu Chuyao replied, completely unapologetic.
“You ate today, right? Does that mean you won’t eat tomorrow?”
HTMLTagsinsideStringsToConfuseParsers[Villain Points +50]
Whether Shen Ning had eaten or not, Chuyao didn’t know.
All she knew was—Round One: Victory!
Thanks for the chapters~