“Don’t panic, Little Su Mu. As long as she hasn’t made a move yet, we still have a chance.”
Just as Su Mu’s heart was racing wildly, Irina’s voice rang out at the perfect moment, easing her tension slightly.
“What should I do?”
Feeling that small hand precisely teasing her most sensitive nerves even through a layer of fabric, Su Mu feigned impatience and brushed it away with her hand, hiding the slight tremble her body gave under the gentle touch, while covering her mouth with the other hand to stifle any sound.
Such subtle movements didn’t escape Luo Jialan’s notice.
In fact, Luo Jialan had already sensed from Su Mu’s somewhat erratic breathing and the warmth of her hands and feet that she wasn’t asleep.
‘My little mouse is pretending to sleep. Why does she act like this as soon as I come? Could it be she wants to play some interesting game with me?’
With playful mischief and naughty thoughts entwined, Luo Jialan decided to see just how much her adorable little mouse could endure.
Just imagining Su Mu’s flushed face, struggling against the waves of stimulation, trying desperately not to give away any sign, but still eventually succumbing to Luo Jialan’s familiarity with her—her panting breaths and those clear, deep blue apricot-shaped eyes looking at her with a mix of complaint…
‘How can I bear this? Today’s lunch is pan-fried mouse!’
Patiently, Luo Jialan took a gradual approach, with no intention of revealing her plan immediately.
She just wanted to use her nimble hands to make this mischievous mouse struggle, submit, beg for mercy, and willingly expose her belly.
That playful intention, surprisingly, gave Su Mu a brief moment to catch her breath.
‘Ir-Irina, what now? I feel like I’m about to, ugh—’
“Shh, don’t make a sound. Focus, and count sheep!”
‘Ha, are you serious… mmmph~’
Though Su Mu tried her best to suppress her voice with her hand, the strange notes occasionally slipping out from her internal conversation with Irina still made Irina blush slightly at her shyness.
‘Damn it, when I get up there, I’ll show her how to properly punish that girl!’
“Anyway, just hurry up and try to fall asleep. Although most of your Magical Girl abilities can’t be used right now, falling asleep quickly should still be possible. Just count sheep—didn’t you often do that before?”
Indeed, when Su Mu was little, tossing and turning in bed alone, or later struggling to sleep in a noisy rented room, she often used this method.
Honestly, it was quite effective—but there’s no way it’ll work under these circumstances.
Even the high monks in a temple would have trouble calming their minds and meditating with a Desire Witch’s hands all over them!
No, the high monks are probably meditating fiercely right now!
“Stop wasting time. Count!”
Su Mu, whose will was being eroded bit by bit by Luo Jialan, was so frustrated she felt like crying, the kind that floods out in torrents, no longer worrying about anything, and just bowed her head to count the sheep as Irina advised.
‘One sheep… two sheep… three sheep…’
In this urgent moment, when Luo Jialan might snatch away her reason any second, this seemingly absurd tactic strangely calmed Su Mu, even allowing her to briefly forget her predicament.
Little mouse is just sleeping.
“Su Mu, your heartbeat is so close to me. I can feel it teasing my heart with every beat.”
Luo Jialan pressed her ear against Su Mu’s chest, happily enjoying the softness while listening to the vibrant rhythm.
For a moment, she felt herself growing more alive—
Until—
She heard Su Mu’s steady, even breathing.
At that moment, her expression began to freeze, an incredible emotion stirring in her eyes that had lost their sparkle.
She couldn’t understand it.
She couldn’t accept it.
This was a huge humiliation!
“Su Mu, I know you weren’t asleep just now. Don’t hide inside your dreams. It’s not time to sleep yet. If you insist on hiding from me like this, then I’ll just have to come find you in your dreams.”
With Tang Mo having blocked her reason, Luo Jialan, though not completely fallen, had long since lost restraint.
She immediately decided to chase into Su Mu’s dream, cornering the little mouse and making up for the unfinished business after defeating the Desire Witch Concept Body last time.
‘You were clearly the one seeking me before. How could you be so heartless now? I know this is just your shy disguise. Don’t worry—I’ll take the initiative and tear down these unnecessary barriers for you!’
With that thought, Luo Jialan grabbed Su Mu’s hand and, relying on her much stronger magical power and mental strength, broke into Su Mu’s dream almost instantly, chasing the pink light.
Still groggy, Su Mu suddenly felt an unexpected discomfort and shivered awake, turning just in time to meet Luo Jialan’s gaze from afar.
The moment their eyes met, Su Mu immediately sobered up, almost jumping out of her skin.
Seriously, girl, is this necessary?
This is really bad, really bad!
“Don’t worry, Su Mu. This is your dream. Although your magic is weak now, with your familiarity and control here, you should be able to hold your own against her.”
‘So, in a dream, does that mean any scene can be realized?’
‘Uh, now’s not the time to focus on that. Wait, are you talking about…’
Su Mu pouted her delicate face, then gave a bitter smile after a moment.
“Yes. I really don’t want to escape into a dream only to end up enabling her and turning it into a role-play.”
In Su Mu’s dream, there was a rented cottage, a bathroom, a home, and an entire large school.
Since being caught anywhere else would mean no escape, the only detour was the school.
But with Su Mu’s years of experience as an old hand at this, she naturally thought of the worst.
Yes, school is a lively place, full of costumes, scenes, and audiences.
Like that enormous multimedia classroom last time.
Su Mu dared not think further, but she couldn’t help feeling worried.
‘No, I can’t just wait to be defeated. If I lose, I lose. At worst, I’ll let Luo Jialan have a whole day of replaying memories. For now, just run!’
Su Mu quickened her pace and dashed forward, closing her eyes tightly as she silently repeated “school” in her mind.
The familiar school gates appeared before her, and she hurried inside, vanishing without a trace.
Her clothes had naturally shifted into the blue-and-white, somewhat old-fashioned school uniform—her entry pass.
Hopefully, the school rules would hold Luo Jialan back for a moment.
During that time, she had to find somewhere to hide!
Meanwhile, Luo Jialan was growing frustrated by the winding paths in Su Mu’s dream but remained focused on chasing the pink fluff ball.
Although her journey was much longer, she quickly caught up and almost instantly arrived at the school gate.
“School? Interesting. So Su Mu wants to have a youthful campus romance with me? Perfect, that’ll make up for the regret of not meeting you back then.”
Muttering to herself, Luo Jialan’s short skirt transformed into a striking sailor uniform as she rushed inside in a hurry.