Shen Ning and the others engaged in a heated discussion over this issue.
First up was the Sexually Repressed Shadow, who was always the one to charge ahead first:
“Why bother talking? Just go straight in and ask Chuyao if she’ll do it. If she won’t, then do her in!”
The Broken Shadow wiped the sweat from its brow: “Can you not be so rude? Besides, either way it’s going to happen. Why does Chuyao have to choose the hardest way?”
It was like someone pointing a gun at your head and telling you to jump off the building, or else they’d shoot you dead. Might as well just close your eyes and jump.
The Sexually Repressed Shadow thought there was some logic to that and proposed another idea: “Force her up, then force her to move. If you practice your current power a bit, you can definitely pull it off.”
The wind control flowed like ribbons, tying Chuyao up. Then, at the target spot, she was gently lowered before a strong gust blew her back and forth.
“Sorry, your method won’t work,” said Broken Shadow. “The core of the mission is Chuyao’s own movement.”
Not the hands moving, not the wind moving Chuyao has to move herself.
“What if we manage to glitch it?” The Sexually Repressed Shadow, undeterred, looked to a certain bug-exploiting expert. “You agree, right?”
The Milky Ning Reflection had just pulled a comb from under her skirt and was leisurely combing her hair like a noble lady. She answered slowly:
“Chuyao said no moving.”
So she’s basically a loyal follower of the Motionless Ming King.
“Ugh, this doesn’t work, that doesn’t work. Come on, tell me your brilliant ideas.”
The Sexually Repressed Shadow passed the turn to Broken Shadow, who twirled a strand of hair thoughtfully.
“This kind of thing isn’t completely unnegotiable. You could go talk to Chuyao. She’s a gentle and kind girl, not necessarily unwilling.”
When Broken Shadow spoke the penultimate sentence, an unharmonious sound echoed seemed like one of the reflections couldn’t hold back their laughter. But it didn’t interrupt Broken Shadow’s earnest proposal:
“Also, since you’re asking a favor of a woman, you should bring a gift when you approach her. Asking for something always requires sincerity.”
Shen Ning lowered her head to think, feeling this suggestion might actually be viable.
After all, there were only two proposals so far. She couldn’t possibly choose the foolish “If you don’t do it, I’ll kill you” option.
“But what if Chuyao just takes the gift and refuses to help?” The Sexually Repressed Shadow turned pessimistic.
Broken Shadow paused, frowning as it thought for a long while: “Then… you beg her on the road?”
“What a loser!”
And so the discussion concluded.
Shen Ning dressed and went downstairs to the teaching building. After searching around, she found her good friend Li Renhao in the third-year, first-class classroom. He was a good person, and she asked if he had any stock.
“I don’t, but you can buy some at the school store,” Li Renhao pointed out a clear path. “Recently, the school store suddenly got chocolate milk, but they never sell it to students right away. Only when the next batch is about to arrive do they open sales of the previous batch. It’s weird like they’re waiting for someone, giving priority supply… Do you have any leads?”
Shen Ning shook her head, also finding this strange.
Even stranger was when she went to the school store and explained her purpose. The owner sized her up carefully, then promptly sold her a whole box giving her a discount to boot.
The girl specifically checked the production date: it was fresh, arrived just last week, and nowhere near expiration.
Really strange, but no matter. She’d contact her girlfriend first.
[Shen Ning: Are you free? Come down to the dormitory. I brought you something.]
Chuyao had been bored these past few days, skipping classes and waiting endlessly for a notice that never came, so of course she was free.
But when she came downstairs and saw the girl carrying a box of chocolate milk, she was momentarily inexplicably surprised.
“Alright, I’m coming. Why bring a whole box? Don’t tell me you want something from me.”
Chuyao said casually, with a little mischievous smile that was just part of her formal act. Unexpectedly, she caught Shen Ning’s flushed and somewhat embarrassed expression.
“Ah, really?”
Shen Ning said nothing, only quietly nodded, eyes full of expectation directed at her girlfriend.
“…You start talking first.”
Chuyao wasn’t unkind or truly mischievous. If it was something within her power, she’d definitely help.
A few minutes later, a sweet, soft girl’s scolding came from below the dormitory building:
“Get down here!”
Then Chuyao grabbed the box of chocolate milk and ran back to the dormitory.
“Xiaoshuang, you won’t believe what Shen Ning just asked. She actually tried to bribe me with a box of chocolate milk to make me get up and move on my own!”
Mi Xiaoshuang had just woken from her nap and the first thought that popped into her head was: “I’m not going to see this scene in the dorm in a few days, am I?”
“No way. I refused, obviously.”
Chuyao put the chocolate milk on the table and sat down on the edge of the bed, puffing out her cheeks in anger.
“Just kidding. What does she think I am? Doing something as troublesome as moving on my own, and she thinks a box of chocolate milk is enough to bribe me?”
Mi Xiaoshuang seemed to understand a bit: “You mean the reward she offered wasn’t enough?”
“Of course not! At least I have to be mad. Yeah, speaking of which, that really ticks me off.” Chuyao crossed her arms and lifted the big chest up a bit, as if even the Big White Rabbit candy was angry too. “Lately, Shen Ning’s been getting more and more annoying. When I tease her, she gets shy. When I scold her, she reflects. It’s like I’m always right, no fight left in her, and I can’t even get mad at her.”
What irritated Chuyao the most was that Shen Ning didn’t have a proper righteous system. Otherwise, those days would have gained her several thousand righteous points.
Mi Xiaolu tilted her head: “Isn’t that wrong? The last time you came back from out of town, I felt Shen Ning really got mad.”
That was the night she almost had nowhere to sleep. She remembered Shen Ning being so angry that the whole body radiated killing intent. Two days later, when Xiaolu returned to the dorm, sure enough the whole room was a bloodbath.
“That time… she was way too mad. Let me explain it like this.”
Chuyao stretched her hands out and gestured in the air first long, then short.
“In quantified terms, her small anger is about fifty points, medium anger about two to three hundred. What I want is just over a thousand, maybe two or three thousand if I grit my teeth and bear it. But the night we came back from Freiden Free City, her anger hit ten thousand. Way too much.”
Mi Xiaolu nodded.
Got it. Small anger is bearable, medium anger hits a little more, big anger really hurts. Ten times the anger brings an unbearable overload. Chuyao can’t take it, so she doesn’t dare do something like last time… that’s the meaning, right?
“I’m a bit curious. What exactly did you do before to make Shen Ning so mad?”
Chuyao put her hands down and sighed:
“It’s a long story. We found Shen Ning at the Fred Valley Research Institute in Freiden Free City. Turns out she had joined a top-secret project. The X Crystal that awakened her didn’t just turn ordinary people into monsters it could imprison their souls, granting them unlimited regeneration. So the real goal of the Valley Research Institute was to use Shen Ning to find a way to control this Unlimited Regeneration Army.”
Chuyao spoke quickly and clearly, so much so that by the time Mi Xiaolu realized what she was hearing, it was already too late.
“Well, since you’ve heard this much, you might as well hear the whole thing.”
Chuyao’s light-hearted words made her roommate put down the noise-canceling earphones.
Yeah, might as well hear it all. There’s nothing left to be afraid of.
Then Chuyao described the crucial operation on the battlefield how, when the situation was settled, she bit into a mouthful of ketchup and ran out, singing in front of Shen Ning.
“Let me tell you, on the scene she was the only one who believed me. The squad leader saw it instantly, and even those who didn’t see it smelled it. Only Shen Ning was fooled into losing her little marbles.”
The lesson was harsh, but recalling the scene made Chuyao happy.
After hearing her roommate’s story, Mi Xiaolu sighed: “You really had it coming those two days.”
“After the event ended, a big shot came out and saved the research institute. He wanted to use the soul-imprisoning power of the crystal stones to pursue eternal life for himself.”
She said it all in one breath, without pause, greatly shocking Mi Xiaolu, who had just been about to grab her earplugs.
“See? I told you, you had it coming. That’s Chuyao’s revenge.”
After a moment, Mi Xiaolu put down the earplugs, her expression calm as if she hadn’t quite caught everything earlier, and asked patiently, “So you’re really troubled about how to get Shen Ning to blow off a thousand or two thousand anger points?”
“Exactly.” Chuyao nodded, then thought for a moment and added, “Three or four thousand would be good too, as long as it clears it out.”
“Then take your time thinking about it. Good night.” Mi Xiaolu pulled the blanket over.
A few minutes later, she opened her eyes again.
“That big shot can really live forever?”
It seemed Xiaolu couldn’t fool herself once she heard it, she heard it. If she didn’t hear it, she couldn’t sleep.
Meanwhile, the failed Shen Ning was somewhat annoyed but quickly thought of someone she could turn to for help. She slung her empty backpack over her shoulder, left the school, and entered the city.
“I’m here to buy soda water.”
The girl said so, sat down, and pushed the backpack forward, then whispered:
“I want to ask you a question.”
The Red Sister came over and sat across from her, listening as the silver-haired girl told the story of her and her girlfriend’s youthful ups and downs.
As for why she suddenly had this idea, the girl explained:
“I feel like it’s not good for her to lie around all day. I want to make her move a bit.”
“No problem. You don’t have to explain why.” The Red Sister smiled and scratched her head. “That’s human nature.”
She smiled, but Shen Ning felt uncomfortable because those were the exact words from the System mission description, not her own excuse.
Sexually Repressed Shadow: “Sigh, the system is so cruel. Without the system, you’d definitely be a pure, good girl, holding Chuyao’s hand and blushing so hard your face would turn red.”
It was just throwing out a sarcastic remark. The girl herself was used to it, so she was indifferent, but another reflection’s face turned green.
“Don’t mess up the rhythm with companions.” Broken Shadow said coldly.
Meanwhile, on Red Sister’s side, after hearing the girl’s request, she quickly gave some advice based on her extensive knowledge:
“You could try slacking off halfway, turning your girlfriend from a leisurely receiver into an eager demander.”
The girl blinked: “What do you mean?”
Too many jargons and slang—she didn’t understand.
Red Sister smiled slightly, stood up, and called out to the bar: “Little Green, get me a bottle of sparkling water.”
“Grape flavor?”
“Any’s fine, as long as it’s carbonated, not soda.”
Taking the sparkling water from the clerk’s hand, Red Sister shook it vigorously for half a minute, then put it in front of Shen Ning.
“Have you ever heard the old saying, ‘An arrow on the bowstring must be released’?”