Faced with such a “strange” version of herself, Shen Ning didn’t know what to say for a moment.
The Sexually Repressed Shadow pulled the Broken Shadow aside, whispering quietly.
“Why did a noblewoman suddenly show up?”
“Don’t be too hasty. Maybe this is just a surface phenomenon.”
After thinking it over, Sexually Repressed felt that Broken Shadow’s words made sense, so it cleared its throat: “Ahem, Newcomer, hello. We spent a fortune to bring you here because there is actually a problem we want to ask your opinion on. You can see what happened tonight, right?”
“Pfft~ Please allow me to take a brief look.”
The Newcomer stepped away from the small mirror, and under the room’s light, another shadow was cast on the wall behind the girl. Wearing a formal hat and with her hair pinned up, she gently held up the bedding.
“Ah, it’s truly tragic. Such a sad incident between people really pains me deeply.”
It touched its slightly curved chest, as if genuinely in pain.
“Wait a moment, don’t hurt yourself yet,” said the Sexually Repressed Shadow. “We want to hear your suggestions on how to deal with the aftermath of this incident.”
“Suggestions on the aftermath? Please allow me to think.”
Judging by the tilt of the formal hat on the shadow, the Newcomer first lifted her head, then lowered it, and after a few minutes, tilted it back again.
“Ah, I believe the key to this problem is finding the key problem. As long as we grasp the key, the problem will be solved.”
After waiting so long, the Sexually Repressed Shadow suddenly smacked its forehead.
“Oh no, we got an idiot.”
Broken Shadow still thought it best not to be so rash and stepped forward to ask carefully: “May I ask what exactly we should do?”
Faced with this question, the always elegant Newcomer suddenly went blank, thought for a few seconds, then shrugged both hands.
“I don’t know, Chuyao didn’t say.”
As soon as those words were spoken, the Sexually Repressed Shadow finally saw her true nature.
“Alright, alright. I thought you were about ten years older than us, carrying a mature aura. I thought you were some expert, but it turns out that the long passage of time didn’t bring wisdom—it just made you a wife’s treasure girl!”
Sexually Repressed had heard the term “mama’s boy” from Chuyao before, and it fit the Newcomer’s state perfectly. Only her “treasure” was not her mother, but her wife.
Broken Shadow whispered: “Are you going to call her ‘wife’s treasure’ from now on?”
And so her nickname was born.
However, Sexually Repressed sneered coldly: “Wife’s treasure? Bull! From now on, I’ll call you Milk Ning!”
“Ah, you asked me first.”
It sounded a bit aggrieved.
Shen Ning didn’t mind whether she had gained yet another Milk Ning Shadow. She only knew that in all the multiverse timelines, the second person to respect Xu Chuyao had appeared.
And who was first or second was still unclear.
Perhaps because this version indeed came from a later timeline, like her adult self in the future, Sexually Repressed Shadow felt a sort of frustration at her, an iron-willed attitude towards Milk Ning Shadow and launched a moral reprimand.
“You can’t go on like this. How old are you? Look at us all independent thinkers and then look at yourself. Where’s your character? Where’s your thinking?”
Milk Ning Shadow shrugged again, repeating the same line:
“I don’t know, Chuyao didn’t say.”
Sexually Repressed nearly burst out laughing: “She didn’t say? Can’t you think for yourself? When we face problems, we think independently!”
Milk Ning Shadow pinched the brim of her hat, thought for a moment, and asked: “Have you thought it through? How do you solve the aftermath of tonight’s issue?”
For a moment, the small dorm room was silent.
Just like the parking lot outside, where the wind had just blown fiercely.
The hat’s shadow on the wall drooped, showing its owner lowering her head: “I usually ask Chuyao when something comes up. You guys don’t ask her?”
The other two shadows glanced at each other, while Shen Ning herself scratched her head.
It seemed they really could ask Xu Chuyao. After all, she was her superior with a generous chest, so following proper procedure was right.
“I… you… we…”
Sexually Repressed Shadow stammered, unable to speak, while Broken Shadow sighed quietly seeing this. Thinking that after being companions for so long, it should help speak up.
“It’s not that we don’t ask Chuyao. We want to think it through ourselves first, rule out wrong answers, and organize our thoughts and the situation before approaching her.”
Not a refusal to ask, but a slow, careful, and responsible inquiry.
Knowing the discussion was over, Shen Ning flipped off the bed, grabbed the things on the desk, and left.
Since the “self meeting” had taken some time, it was already half past midnight. The curfew had long passed, and most students in the dormitory were already sleepy.
The corridor windows were open for ventilation, revealing countless moons and stars shining beautifully on this cloudless night. Looking at them, the girl suddenly remembered a lyric she once sang.
Tonight the stars sparkle, my heart for you… no longer full of questions, but four times over.
If nothing unexpected happened, such a night was perfect for sleeping.
Xu Chuyao had a dream.
In the dream, she was distressed because dozens of previous attempts had yielded no gold. Then the next ten shots suddenly gleamed with gold two consecutive Gold Medals instantly making her a high-level late Second Rank expert. Passersby marveled, the female lead admired, and she ruled decisively forever, becoming a righteous Sky Gang.
Then she was rudely awakened by Mi Xiaolu’s noisy voice, so rhythmic that Chuyao almost thought she was being beaten.
“What is it, Xiaolu?”
“I don’t know,” said her equally awake roommate, “Someone’s knocking. I’ll go open.”
First the lights, then the door. Xu Chuyao took this chance to sit up. Mi Xiaolu gestured as she opened the dorm door, and the girl’s white hair fluttered.
“Ah!” Mi Xiaolu raised both hands, “Shen Ning, I’ve never heard of any funny stories! Nor have I ever laughed at any!”
The girl gave a deadpan look. “What are you talking about?”
“Ah, weren’t you here to clear up some funny stories? That’s good… ahem, please come in.”
It was such a human moment, knocking on a door in the dead of night. Mi Xiaolu almost thought it was a ghost seeking revenge after opening the door and seeing the person standing there.
Xu Chuyao had already slept a while; half her soul was still in dreamland. She yawned and said: “What’s up, Shen Ning? It’s so late, let’s sleep first. You can come tomorrow… I mean, submit an application tomorrow.”
Pure Chuyao wasn’t such a casual person.
Shen Ning walked into her girlfriend’s dorm, gently closed the door behind her, and whispered, “There’s something important I need to tell you. Very important. Serious.”
Hearing it was serious, Xu Chuyao finally woke fully and looked a little surprised.
“What is it? Tell me.”
Shen Ning hesitated, then glanced at Mi Xiaolu.
Yes, that’s right. Xiaolu knew it was time to go back under the covers, but when she pulled back the quilt, she hesitated.
It was so cold outside at this hour; where could she possibly go?
“It’s nothing. You go ahead,” said Xu Chuyao, waving her small hand, “Xiaolu has heard worse before.”
“All right then.”
Shen Ning pulled over a chair, sat down, and began to recount what had happened after she left this afternoon.
First, she left the Academy using her specialist identity, then stayed in the city for a short while, preparing to return. On the subway, she saw a group of…
“Wait,” interrupted Xu Chuyao, blinking, “Why did you go so far?”
Silently, Shen Ning took a bottle of pineapple juice from her bag and handed it to her.
“You look thirsty. I bought you a drink.”
Honestly, when Xu Chuyao took the drink, she was somewhat touched. But then she looked closely, good heavens the legendary pineapple juice meant to improve “taste.”
Looking closer, the brand logo was two slender female fingers entwined, with a small caption underneath: Food Finger Romance, Center City, X City, XX Street, XXXX Number.
“You bought me a drink from a lesbian bar?” Xu Chuyao’s emotions were complicated.
That couldn’t be just to quench thirst.
“But it’s really tasty,” Shen Ning said sincerely.
“All right, all right. How about you get on with the serious matter?” Mi Xiaolu came out to break the ice.
So Shen Ning continued telling the story. At the subway station, while preparing to return, she saw several people wearing white robes and white headscarves clearly from the Ahabi Financial Group getting off at the stop before the Academy.
Hearing this, Xu Chuyao finally tensed up.
“And then?”
“Then I followed them into a tall building. Some of them were scanning the Academy’s direction, while others took out photos to confirm.”
Shen Ning took a deep breath. “I quietly peeked. The photo was of you.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. They’re coming for you. And the most important thing, they are all Peak of Second Rank.”
Xu Chuyao immediately sat up, her heart pounding as she frantically searched for her phone.
“Oh no, I knew this wasn’t over. Those Ahabi Financial Group experts definitely hold a grudge against me. They came to retaliate. I have to find the old boss… no, that won’t do either. I have to find someone named Long; he gave me this mission in the first place.”
Mi Xiaolu also sensed something was wrong and got up to help find the phone.
Seeing their panic, Shen Ning quickly comforted: “Xu Chuyao, don’t worry. I’ve already taken care of it.”
“How can I not worry? You said they’re coming for me! Fear the thief, not the watchman. I won’t dare leave the school gates anymore. You say you took care of it, but how exactly… huh?”
Xu Chuyao finally found her phone but was stunned: “You took care of it? How?”
Shen Ning rubbed her hands, looked at her and then at Mi Xiaolu, seemingly a bit embarrassed, and whispered:
“I killed them all.”
The dorm room fell silent for a moment as the two girls sat back down on their little beds.
Especially Mi Xiaolu, whose mind was buzzing.
One of the three largest mining Financial Groups, due to political struggles affecting their interests, sent a team of assassins after her roommate in revenge, only to be wiped out by her roommate’s girlfriend.
She felt she should have just gone back under the covers.
Xu Chuyao’s reason was different: “You just said, all five of them are Peak of Second Rank?”
Shen Ning nodded: “Yes.”
“What about you?”
“Third Rank.” The girl thought for a moment and added, “Lucky. I broke through at the last minute.”
Xu Chuyao’s cute little face twitched slightly, feeling a bit dizzy.