Chapter 14 : Diligent Yaoyao’s Reward

“How is that even possible? She actually…?”

“Wasn’t she still at Tier 1 just a few days ago? What happened in the past two days?”

“That upperclassman is about to graduate, right? And she beat him?”

Although Shen Ning and the older student had already been escorted away by their respective homeroom teachers, discussions about the shocking event continued to ripple through the training grounds. No one could believe their eyes. How could a girl who sat in class and ate lunch with them every day suddenly surge ahead in strength by an entire tier?

The P.E. teacher who had stayed behind to maintain order cleared his throat and walked forward:
“Alright, everyone, you all know how hardworking Shen Ning is. She should be your role model—hard work and sweat always pay off.”

“What hard work and sweat,” Xu Chuyao muttered from the side, flashing her little tiger teeth. “She obviously just unlocked.”

That’s a protagonist for you—defying logic as always.

Mi Xiaolu blinked. “Didn’t you say before that she was supposed to become really strong eventually?”

“I said eventually, not now. I checked—I calculated—she wasn’t supposed to reach Tier 2 until next semester at the earliest!”

Damn it. What went wrong? What caused the protagonist to suddenly level up out of nowhere?

Xu Chuyao sat on a bench at the edge of the training field, thinking hard. First, she ruled out anything from the original storyline. The biggest deviation recently was Shen Ning participating in the shopping day and the deadly battle with the Clown Gang at the mall.

Could it be that she broke through in the heat of that life-and-death fight? That seemed possible.

But wait—why did Shen Ning go shopping in the first place? Because she wanted chocolate. And why did she want chocolate? Because she, Xu Chuyao, had casually mentioned it during lunch…

So… was it my fault?

Xu Chuyao broke into a cold sweat.

“What are you going to do now?” Mi Xiaolu asked. “Back off and stop provoking her?”

Back when their strength levels were close, Chuyao could tease Shen Ning all she wanted, and Shen Ning couldn’t do anything about it. But now that there was a tier gap—even if they were safe from actual harm inside the school—if Shen Ning really lost it, things could get ugly.

And if Chuyao got caught, there were plenty of ways Shen Ning could retaliate.

“No way,” Xu Chuyao shook her head. “It’s exactly times like this when you have to strike back. Otherwise, I’ll never get another chance.”

She glanced at her system’s Villain Points: 1120. After her recent mastery of verbal warfare, she was only 480 points away from a ten-pull. If she hit the jackpot and got three golden draws or something, her power would catch up in no time.

Dream big. You gotta fight to win.

With that thought, Xu Chuyao jumped to her feet.
“Let’s go, let’s go—time to come up with a new evil… I mean, justice plan!”

Mi Xiaolu didn’t quite get what she was planning but asked from a normal-person’s perspective,
“Didn’t you tell her last time that you wouldn’t bully her for the rest of the week?”

“Exactly! So now she’ll let her guard down, thinking I won’t make a move. But then I will make a move! It’s called strategic deception. Besides, I said ‘this week’, not ‘the next seven days.’ And tomorrow’s Monday, right?”

Ah yes—the art of language. Study it, little sister. The learning never ends.

As for the aftermath of the training ground conflict, the upperclassman was clearly in the wrong, so he took full responsibility. Still, given the circumstances, his punishment was reduced—just a demerit and a few days of suspension.

As for Shen Ning, Dr. Helena had tried to argue the “it takes two to tango” angle, only to get chewed out by Yu Jing, the homeroom teacher. Even Director Luo Kangsheng didn’t step in to defend her—because, let’s be honest, that reasoning was a bit dumb.

That said, Yu Jing still called Shen Ning into her office. It wasn’t a punishment—just a talk.

“Sit.”

Compared to the cold attitudes in the lab, Yu Jing was the complete opposite. She even poured Shen Ning a cup of tea. After a moment, she got down to business:

“When did you reach Tier 2?”

“Day before yesterday. That night,” Shen Ning replied honestly. “Right after I came out of the confinement room.”

Even though she had mentally prepared herself, Yu Jing couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that answer.

Seriously? The school puts you in confinement for self-reflection and moral development… and you come out enlightened?

Still, she couldn’t hide her joy. After a moment’s thought, she straightened up and addressed Shen Ning seriously:
“Director Luo and the others are a bit conservative, which is why they’re hard on you. But that’s just temporary. According to one of your classmates’ analyses—by the way, are you close with Xu Chuyao?”

Shen Ning blinked, caught off guard.

Why bring up Big Boobs Girl all of a sudden? How was she supposed to answer that? If she said they were close, well, it was always Xu Chuyao doing the provoking. If she said they weren’t… well, they were supposed to get married in the future.

So she thought for a second and replied, “I guess… we’re familiar.”

“She’s smart—or rather, insightful,” Yu Jing commented.

Among the teachers, the consensus had always been that Xu Chuyao represented talent and Shen Ning represented hard work. But now it seemed that Shen Ning might surpass even that. Still, what Xu Chuyao had said the previous day left a deep impression on Yu Jing.

“She believes the mall attack was just the beginning. That those clowns were merely pawns being pushed forward. That more attacks—and more dangerous enemies—are sure to follow. If that really happens, the academy will be forced to change, and you’ll get the recognition you deserve.”

Shen Ning nodded, finally understanding that this meeting was just a gesture of reassurance—a confidence boost.

“I’ll get going, then… Oh, and thank you, teacher. Xu Chuyao told me you were the one who got me out of confinement.”

Yu Jing froze for a second, then chuckled wryly.

Good grief. She had underestimated the sweet-looking girl—she even figured that out.

But now that she thought about it… weren’t these two pretty close? Xu Chuyao had even gone out of her way to tell her that.

After leaving the office, school was almost over. Instead of returning to the training grounds, Shen Ning—just like Xu Chuyao the day before—headed straight to the cafeteria to grab a good seat.

And so, another chaotic day in campus life came to an end. Stories of the incident at the training field spread fast. Many students now knew that a Tier 2 genius had emerged in the lower grades—an 18-year-old girl who was also rumored to be the “murder demon” from the other day.

The gossip kept people up late into the night, and several students overslept the next day.

As for Shen Ning, the person at the center of it all—she slept like a log, though the usual nightmares made her rest a little uneasy. Waking up in the morning, she wiped the sweat from her brow and leaned back against the bed, reminiscing about the blissful dream from yesterday afternoon.

Since that’s the case, let’s go find Xu Chuyao today, she decided.

Meanwhile, in another dorm room, Xu Chuyao had also woken up early. She got dressed and combed her hair, ready to seize the day.

Mi Xiaolu rubbed her eyes and asked sleepily, “Xu Chuyao, why are you up so early?”

“Obviously to carry out my evil plan.”

Chuyao was off to earn Villain Points. Now that’s true effort and hard work—unlike the cheat-code protagonist.

“Evil? I thought it was supposed to be justice?”

“Oh right—justice plan!”