“Aya Tone, I believe you might be celebrating a little too soon.”
Aya Tone: “?”
Following Fire Finch’s gaze, Aya Tone saw the previously bustling department fall into an abrupt silence. Almost everyone’s eyes were fixed intently on her.
The tea room.
The gossiping voices of the female employees there also halted.
“Is that the shorty? Quite cute, actually.”
“Are you mad? She’s our city’s Guardian! I can’t talk any longer; if we don’t go now, we won’t be able to get close!”
“I, I, I want to take a picture with her!!! My idol!!”
The moment the first person moved, the others seemed to activate as if a mechanism had been triggered, surging forward.
‘Oh dear…’
Aya Tone watched the employees, swarming her like a pack of hungry wolves.
“President! We’ll wait for you at our usual spot tonight!”
With that, she activated her teleportation magic without hesitation, vanishing from Li Group.
‘Careless.’
‘I forgot to wear my hat when I left.’
‘No matter, I have Flash!’
“She really is popular, isn’t she? Next time, I’ll see if I can convince her to become a celebrity.” Fire Finch’s brows curved into a smile.
She’d grown tired of web dramas lately and wanted to film one of her own! With Aya Tone, the viewership would undoubtedly be immense. At the very least, there was a huge base of organic fans within Yan’an City, just like the crowd before them.
Losing sight of Aya Tone, everyone inwardly sighed with regret. ‘What a pity,’ they thought. ‘If only we could have taken a photo with the Guardian; imagine how many people would be green with envy.’
****
Days later, a groggy Aya Tone was pulled out of bed by Big White early in the morning. She slumped listlessly onto the table.
‘It’s not even seven, I’m going to die of exhaustion…’
“Big White, don’t… I don’t want to go to work…”
Big White gave a cold chuckle, ignoring her pleas, and unceremoniously shoved her out the door.
“If you don’t hurry and catch the high-speed train, you’ll be late!”
The door slammed shut with a “bang,” leaving Aya Tone disoriented in the stairwell.
‘Aren’t I the master here?’
The more she thought, the angrier she became. Adhering to the wicked principle that she shouldn’t be the only one suffering from lack of sleep, she immediately knocked on the opposite door. Upon hearing frantic footsteps from behind the door, she knew her goal had been achieved. A transformation and a teleportation, all in one swift motion.
Murderous intent blazed in Fire Finch’s eyes, and the Undying Flame in her hand instantly incinerated the door.
‘Which idiotic dog is banging on my door before dawn? Do they have a death wish?!’
****
At the gates of Dragon Court Academy.
A pink magic circle abruptly appeared. Passing students, seeing it, immediately grew vigilant.
“Eight AM! My favorite eight AM. Huh?”
Aya Tone hummed a little tune as she stepped out of the teleportation array, noticing the crowd gathered around her so early. Her singing abruptly ceased. Tentatively, she offered a greeting.
“Good morning, everyone.”
Upon realizing the newcomer was one of the four S-rank instructors, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Thankfully, they didn’t attack immediately.’ In their minds, they had already envisioned the scenario of an invading outsider being collectively repelled by their combined efforts.
Several hot-blooded martial artists discreetly put away their weapons. ‘If the instructor saw us, they might mistakenly believe we harbor rebellious intentions, and that would be disastrous.’
Over the past two weeks, almost everyone had experienced Ying Li’s ‘favor.’ Even the magic students were no exception. They certainly didn’t want to be inexplicably beaten into the infirmary.
“Good morning, Teacher Aya!” Everyone stood ramrod straight, their gazes as resolute as if they were pledging allegiance.
“Morning—”
Bidding farewell to the crowd, Aya Tone strolled along the campus path. Having been pushed out early by Big White today, she still had some time before classes began. She needed to seriously consider how to take her students out.
Her application from last week had already been approved. Her perfect money-making scheme could finally be put into action.
‘But…’
‘I don’t seem to know how to perform large-scale teleportation.’
‘Hmm… that’s a problem.’
As she passed by the lake, Aya Tone’s thoughts were instantly drawn elsewhere.
“Brother, have the fish in this lake committed some heavenly crime?”
Looking out, she saw the vast shores of Dragon Court Lake were already packed with avid anglers. With a fishing spot every meter, the fish must have been trembling with fear. But Aya Tone couldn’t help but inwardly complain.
‘With so many people, wouldn’t it be better if each person just grabbed a net and went into the water to catch fish? Why bother with fishing rods? Such a pure waste of human resources.’
Chen Yu watched the distant float, his eyes bloodshot. ‘It’s been a week! He’d been fishing for an entire week, yet that meter-long behemoth still eluded him. There were plenty of small fry, though, in scattered groups. The fish in this lake seemed to be cheating, always managing to slip off the hook. The circle of fellow anglers around him had all been thoroughly toyed with by the big fish. Initially, only about a dozen people were fishing, but somehow, it had escalated to this point. They were practically ready to drain the lake and fight the big fish to the death.’
“Brother, have the fish in this lake committed some heavenly crime?”
That familiar voice. Hearing it, Chen Yu sharply turned his head. Under the morning sun, that fair, delicate face appeared particularly vibrant. ‘It really is her!’
Seeing Chen Yu speechless, Aya Tone reached out and waved her hand in front of him.
‘He hasn’t gone silly from fishing, has he?’
“Are you alright, brother?”
“No! I’m fine.” Realizing his impropriety, Chen Yu awkwardly averted his gaze.
“What brings you here, Instructor?”
“Didn’t I say last time? I’m here to teach.”
At that moment, Aya Tone was truly convinced that this ‘brother’ had lost his wits.
‘How could he have forgotten about last week?’
“Ah, that’s right.” Chen Yu gave an awkward laugh.
‘He already wanted to slap his own clumsy mouth twice. So embarrassing…’ From online discussions, he had already learned the identity of the young woman before him. ‘It would have been better not to know.’ Once the seed of reverence was planted, it took root and sprouted in his heart. He genuinely feared that if he accidentally offended her, he would be thrown into the lake to feed the fish.
“Do you know whose bus that is?” Aya Tone asked, pointing towards the roadside.
As she walked over, she had noticed the bus parked by the lake. ‘If she could borrow it, she wouldn’t have to worry about how to take her students out.’
“That bus?” Chen Yu turned to glance at it, then shook his head.
“It was parked there when I arrived this morning. It’s probably the academy’s.”
“It’s not yours then… Thanks.”
Leaving the lakeside, Aya Tone dialed Li Huaiming’s number. After all, the young man’s position was assistant instructor, far more effective than her, an active teacher who only came once a week. Moreover, even if the vehicle wasn’t the school’s, she could still ask him for help brainstorming solutions.
“Hello?”
In the office, Li Huaiming, who had been feeling down about not being able to go speeding, instantly revived upon seeing the caller ID. His tone carried a hint of eagerness.
“Senior, have you gotten lost? Should I come pick you up?”
Aya Tone: “…”
‘Did she really seem like the type to get lost every single time?’
“I’m at school. I just wanted to ask you if that bus parked by the lake belongs to our academy.”
“I’ll go ask…”
Hearing that she didn’t need a ride, Li Huaiming was visibly disheartened. Soon, his voice came through the receiver again.
“It’s the school’s. Senior, you’re asking about this… you wouldn’t happen to want to borrow it, would you?”
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but offer himself, “Senior, I have a license, and I’ve already spoken with the director. He said we can borrow it.”
‘I wonder what it’s like to speed in a bus. I’m really looking forward to it.’
Hearing that Li Huaiming wanted to be the driver, Aya Tone fell silent for a moment.
“No… no need.”