The Principal’s Predicament and a Cat-Girl Conundrum

With a resounding bang, the middle-aged man, who had been leisurely sipping his tea, was startled, spilling a bit from his cup. A surge of irritation washed over him. Who would dare burst into the principal’s office like this, and with such blatant disregard as to kick the door open? Was this truly tolerable?

Just as he was about to reprimand the intruder, he recognized the person, and his indignation utterly deflated. He stood trembling, unable to utter a single word.

The principal remained silent, and Chen Sishi offered no words either. They simply stood there, staring at each other in an awkward standoff. Finally, the principal could bear the silence no longer and ventured a question.

“Pardon me, Miss Chen, is there something I can do for you?”

Only after his query did Chen Sishi slowly speak.

“A student named Lin Ling will be applying for a transfer shortly. I don’t care what methods you employ, but you *must* ensure he stays. Otherwise, consider your tenure as principal over.”

Her voice was chilling, and the principal shivered uncontrollably. Fortunately, Chen Sishi departed as abruptly as she arrived, and the principal finally released a long-held breath of relief.

****

Lin Ling strolled towards the assembly point on the sports field, a blissful smile playing on his lips. Once his transfer was approved, he could finally break free from the novel’s plot. Then, he’d be as free as a bird soaring through the boundless sky. Even if he couldn’t return to his original world, Lin Ling was determined to live a good life in this one.

Lin Ling precisely located his class’s formation. Most of his classmates had already gathered. Up front, Qin Ruoxue, who was taking attendance, still had her brows tightly furrowed, indicating that someone was likely still missing.

Without a word, Lin Ling quietly rejoined the ranks. After a short wait, a figure in white dashed out from the classroom. Lin Ling felt a touch of surprise; only then did he realize Chen Sishi hadn’t been in the line.

Lin Ling didn’t dwell on it, ‘assuming Chen Sishi had simply been in the restroom. After all, girls usually took longer than boys.’

As soon as Chen Sishi joined the group, the school’s loudspeakers crackled to life.

“Please lead your students in an orderly fashion to the grand auditorium. Please lead your students in an orderly fashion to the grand auditorium.”

This grand auditorium was, in fact, the cinema mentioned earlier. Situated at the very back of the campus, the large group made their way towards it in a bustling stream.

The scenery along the way was quite pleasant. On one side of the asphalt path lay a running track, while the other was lined with simple brick walls. Several trees were planted nearby, their shadows casting a cool canopy over the entire path, making the walk rather refreshing.

Lin Ling didn’t know the names of these trees, but they didn’t quite resemble the species common in the north. ‘He wondered what it would be like when autumn arrived, and the fallen leaves blanketed the entire street.’ Lin Ling imagined such a sight would be truly beautiful. His impression of autumn had always been one of vibrant falling leaves and biting winds.

Along the way, students chatted and laughed, their clamor growing a little excessive. Since no one was there to supervise, some simply let loose and chatted freely. Of course, these were only a minority; many others walked in quiet contemplation.

“Brother Lin, you don’t seem to be in the best spirits lately. Has something happened?”

Feeling a pat on his shoulder, Lin Ling didn’t even need to turn to recognize the voice as Li Yan’s.

Lin Ling had no intention of elaborating. He simply turned his head slightly, his amber eyes casting a sidelong glance at Li Yan. The gaze made Li Yan visibly uncomfortable, and he subtly widened the distance between himself and Lin Ling.

“It’s nothing. I just feel a bit stressed lately.”

“Oh, good, as long as it’s nothing serious.”

Li Yan seemed to let out a breath of relief, quickly changing the subject.

“Brother Lin, a new zombie-themed game just launched. It’s an anime-style one—wanna try it? We could play together.”

Li Yan’s words struck a chord deep within Lin Ling. As an experienced anime fan, Lin Ling couldn’t possibly be uninterested after such an introduction.

“Console game?”

“Of course, it’s console! Why else would I recommend it?”

“And get this, you can even choose cat-girl characters!”

“What?!”

[Notification: Li Yan unleashed a cat-girl bomb on Lin Ling! It was super effective! Wild Lin Ling was attracted!]

“Cat-girls! What game? Tell me, quickly, quickly!”

Seeing Lin Ling’s excited reaction, Li Yan smiled knowingly.

“Hey, don’t rush! It’s not out for a few more days. Look at you! I’ll send you the game link once it launches.”

“I’ll bring you food later. What do you want?”

****

It was at this moment that a girl’s soft voice drifted from behind them. The smiles on both their faces froze simultaneously, especially Li Yan’s. ‘He felt as if a gleaming knife had been pressed against his waist.’

“What are you two chatting about? I want to hear too.”

“Ah, haha, we were just talking about games.”

Li Yan was the first to speak. There was no other choice; the sharp sensation behind him was intensifying, and if he didn’t say something, he might genuinely get stabbed.

Hearing this, Chen Sishi tilted her head in confusion.

“Games? But I distinctly heard you two talking about cat-girls just now.”

Just as Li Yan was about to reply, his arm was suddenly tugged, and Lin Ling stepped in beside him.

“We were just discussing characters *in* a game, not actual cat-girls.”

Chen Sishi seemed not to hear Lin Ling’s explanation, continuing to mumble to herself.

‘Does Lin Ling like beast-eared girls, then?’

She gestured above her own head, as if… measuring for size?

Suddenly, a truly terrifying thought surfaced in Lin Ling’s mind.

‘She couldn’t possibly be planning to drill two holes in her head and attach ears, could she?’

Lin Ling himself was startled by the idea. Glancing at the still-pensive girl, he frantically reached out to grasp Chen Sishi’s arm, intending to lower her hand.

Chen Sishi’s body stiffened for a moment, her face quickly flushing crimson. Her gaze, fixed on Lin Ling, brimmed with longing and affection.

Lin Ling’s heart pounded at the intensity of her stare. Involuntarily, he distanced himself from Chen Sishi, and his grip on her hand loosened.

Great, now Lin Ling felt as if the ambient temperature had plummeted. Chen Sishi’s sky-blue eyes were locked onto Lin Ling, following him wherever he moved, his image filling her entire vision.

“Is Lin Ling… rejecting me?”

The sudden question caught Lin Ling off guard. Before he could even respond, Chen Sishi had already closed the distance between them. Lin Ling could even smell the faint scent of shampoo on the girl—a milky fragrance. ‘Ahem, this is hardly the time to be thinking about such things.’

Shaking his head, Lin Ling was still carefully choosing his words when Li Yan shot him an encouraging look and swiftly retreated to the back of the line. ‘Lin Ling was seething! They’d promised to be brothers for life, to walk together, yet someone had abandoned him so readily?’

Just as the light in Chen Sishi’s eyes threatened to vanish entirely, Lin Ling made a bold decision. ‘She’s already gone dark, might as well go all in.’

The young man’s warm hand once again gripped Chen Sishi’s arm. At this, Chen Sishi no longer cared if Lin Ling was rejecting her; her mind instantly erupted into a disco party.

The crimson flush on her cheeks looked as if it could be squeezed for blood, and her heart, surging with newfound energy, pounded against her chest with maximum force.

“Chen Sishi, I am not rejecting you.”

A finishing blow. Chen Sishi’s eyes rolled back, and she instinctively collapsed against Lin Ling, leaving him utterly bewildered.

‘She couldn’t be *that* excited, could she? Sister, you’re scaring me.’

Muttering a complaint inwardly, Lin Ling looked at Chen Sishi leaning against him, then at the surrounding classmates, and sighed helplessly.