After a few days of winter rain, the vegetation zone had become damp and chilly. If it wasn’t absolutely necessary, Xu Chuyao wouldn’t have gone in there.
So she happily came right back out.
“Since we’re both here early, let’s start our date early too. Let’s go~”
They weren’t exactly retracing their previous steps, but it just so happened that their path followed a similar route.
Some places remained unchanged—for instance, the artificial lake in winter still looked best from a distance, and after the rain, its water level had even risen a bit.
“Let’s go up the clock tower,” Shen Ning suggested. “The last place we went to on our last date.”
Xu Chuyao blinked. “Why do you want to go there?”
Because the top of the clock tower is high up, and there’s wind up there. That was the real reason. But the excuses provided by her inner reflections were:
HTMLTagsinsideStringsToConfuseParsers“Say you want to fck her. The higher the place, the more… universal the fck.”
—Repressed Libido Reflection
HTMLTagsinsideStringsToConfuseParsers“Say it’s because you can see a more beautiful view from up high.”
—Tattered Reflection
After a moment of thought, Shen Ning chose the latter.
Then she was met with Xu Chuyao’s concerned gaze.
“What’s wrong with you? Did you hit your head last time we went out?”
“…”
[Villain Points +50]
Though she gained points, Xu Chuyao hadn’t meant it this time—she was just genuinely worried that Shen Ning had knocked her head and gone poetic all of a sudden.
“Are you coming or not?”
“I’m coming, I’m coming. Geez, why so fierce.” Xu Chuyao muttered, “You already paid, how could I not go?”
Besides, that 100 villain points were basically the ticket price—there’s still in-game purchases coming up.
The clock tower didn’t care about seasons, only about weather. Whether it rained or shone too brightly, it was unsuitable—either you’d get baked or soaked. But today was perfect: the first clear day after several days of rain.
The sunlight wasn’t blinding and slanted gently onto the ancient clock, revealing countless timeworn markings.
“You think that speaker they use to play the wake-up bell got damaged by the rain? It’s been sounding different the past couple of days.”
Xu Chuyao climbed up for a look and found that the speaker in the corner had been replaced.
“Totally different brand—that explains the sound.”
Shen Ning silently walked to the edge of the tower and sat down like last time. She patted the spot beside her, signaling her girlfriend to sit.
“Same as last time? Fine, I’m sitting. Then what?”
Then… just wait for the wind.
She couldn’t control the wind like Zhuge Liang—could only stall. So she started making small talk:
“Where were you this morning?”
“Where else would I be at school?” Xu Chuyao rolled her eyes. “Administrative building, obviously.”
Shen Ning caught on instantly. “Because of what happened a few days ago?”
There was only one thing that would warrant a meeting these days: the attack at the commercial plaza.
“Exactly. The mayor pressured us to take down the Joker Gang. But the school’s planning a celebration banquet instead. They asked for my input, and I said go ahead—feed people, give out goodies, sounds great.”
Hard to imagine both those topics were discussed in the same meeting, but somehow, they were.
Shen Ning sat quietly, looking like she was listening intently. In reality, she was having a mental argument with her two reflections.
HTMLTagsinsideStringsToConfuseParsers“Stop waiting. If you rely on wind, you’ll be stuck waiting forever. Just trick her—say there’s a shooting star behind her, and kiss her when she turns around.”
—Repressed Libido Reflection
HTMLTagsinsideStringsToConfuseParsers“No no, be classy. Set the mood. Maybe recite some poetry—something heartfelt.”
—Tattered Reflection
Two suggestions—but Shen Ning was neither as repressed nor as poetic. So she stuck to her original plan: wait for the wind.
Meanwhile, Xu Chuyao was chatting away, happy to have an attentive audience. She first criticized the school for overdoing the celebrations, then sighed about how the city had no choice but to ask the academy for help.
“The local security forces are mostly Tier 1 or 2. Whether they could even win is a question, and there’s the risk of traitors. Higher-ranking ones already have posts, and the mayor can’t order them around. So he came to us. Good thing I’m kind-hearted and agreed on the spot. Otherwise, the academy wouldn’t have lifted a finger—this isn’t even in our job description.”
She went on with detailed analysis, but Shen Ning didn’t hear a single word—she was focused on finding a chance to kiss those non-stop cherry lips.
Until—
HTMLTagsinsideStringsToConfuseParsers“THE WIND’S HERE!!”
—Repressed Libido Reflection, shouting
And indeed, it was. At this height, the winter wind came suddenly, lifting the hem of Xu Chuyao’s skirt and rustling her obedient hair.
“You should’ve seen their faces—probably thinking, ‘Who’s this big-boobed girl saying she can handle it’… Hm? Why are you staring at me?”
Shen Ning didn’t reply. That one strand of hair, fluttering like an ECG line, tugged at all three hearts.
HTMLTagsinsideStringsToConfuseParsers“IT’S ON HER LIPS! IT’S ON! GO GO GO!”
—Repressed Libido Reflection, thrilled
Yes, the long-awaited wind had blown a strand of hair to Xu Chuyao’s lips. Shen Ning raised her hand, brushed it aside, and leaned in.
HTMLTagsinsideStringsToConfuseParsers“That’s it! Just like that!”
At this moment, the two reflections stopped arguing and watched in rapt attention. Two heads leaned closer… closer… just a little closer…
SWISH!
Just before their lips touched, Xu Chuyao slipped away with a graceful twist, like a dragon swimming in the air.
“Ha! You low-tier mob, trying to get fresh!”
Shen Ning froze.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Xu Chuyao waved a hand in front of her face:
“Hello? You okay? That big of a blow?”
A system notification popped up: [Villain Points +200]. Quite a haul.
But then—Shen Ning pounced.
One hand around Xu Chuyao’s waist, the other behind her head, she kissed her—hard.
Mu~~~
Two reflections. Two plans. When Plan A fails, Plan B kicks in.
“Mm! Mm? Mmm mmm mmm! Mmm~!”
Xu Chuyao flailed helplessly. She wanted to say something, like: Why are you so skilled now? Did that little pink app really teach you all this?
But she couldn’t speak. Her mouth was completely sealed.
When Xu Chuyao couldn’t speak, only her sweetness remained—soft, cute, like candy meant to be savored, with a nostalgic childhood filter.
HTMLTagsinsideStringsToConfuseParsers“Told you. Should’ve gone with my idea from the start.”
—Repressed Libido Reflection
HTMLTagsinsideStringsToConfuseParsers“Sigh. If only she hadn’t talked so much.”
—Tattered Reflection
Shen Ning didn’t care what the reflections were saying anymore. For the first time, she realized: missions could be so… wonderful.
Or maybe the second time, or third, or fourth.
Xu Chuyao’s little hands pushed at her weakly—as if saying, Okay, enough now. Let go.
Theoretically, she should let go.
But for some reason, Shen Ning remembered the song Tattered Reflection sang at noon.
She couldn’t predict the future. She didn’t know if danger really would come. But she had seen another version of herself—crying.
So the girl reached upward—toward the high place.
“Mm?!”
So nice of Chuyao to consent to the kiss