Two-pronged Attack

I found myself being dragged along by Queen Lan, making our way towards the bank.

Every last Yuan I possessed had been squandered on amusement park rides while I evaded Butler Lin Yi. Now, I was utterly penniless.

“Then why didn’t we just avoid playing at all?” I grumbled, even as Queen Lan continued to pull me along into the bank’s entrance.

“Absolutely not!”

Queen Lan declared, her tone righteous: “Li Qingchen, honestly! You clearly promised another round, yet at the most critical moment, you spout such nonsense, leaving me utterly… suspended.”

‘Hold on, I understand your implication, but this conversation is truly awful! Who exactly left you “suspended”? Care to elaborate?’

I shot Queen Lan a sidelong glance, gritting my teeth. “Can’t you speak properly?” I demanded.

“Oh, did I say something amiss?”

Queen Lan merely smiled back, her gaze meeting mine. It was impossible to tell if she genuinely didn’t understand, or if she was merely feigning ignorance.

I pressed a hand to my forehead, a visible vein throbbing there. This woman was utterly impossible to communicate with.

The bank’s automatic doors parted slowly before us. Queen Lan stepped inside first, and I followed closely behind her.

“Speaking of which, how long have you even been in this world that you already know about things like banks?”

As I pulled my bank card from my pocket, I simultaneously posed the question to Queen Lan, my curiosity piqued.

Queen Lan lifted her head with a hint of smugness. “Before arriving in this world,” she declared, “I made sure to thoroughly study its knowledge, especially concerning financial matters.”

“Is that so?”

I would bet my last Yuan that the only reason she delved into such knowledge was undoubtedly to swindle people out of their money.

“Never mind. I’m too weary to argue with you any further.”

This entire day had been exhausting enough. Truth be told, all I craved was to comfortably recline on my bed, catch up on the latest anime, and lose myself in some games.

Due to the transmigration incident, I hadn’t touched a single galgame in days. By now, a mountain of newly released, pre-ordered titles must be accumulating in my mailbox at home.

If I didn’t retrieve them soon, my mischievous little sister might just get her hands on them and play them indiscriminately!

‘Hold on, these are eroge! Children absolutely shouldn’t be messing with them!’

At the thought, I couldn’t help but shoot Queen Lan a fierce glare. If my sister were to learn anything unsavory, it would be entirely Queen Lan’s fault!

Queen Lan, however, seemed utterly oblivious to the righteous gaze I directed at her—a gaze brimming with protective love for my sister.

Her pretty face darted left and right, taking in her surroundings. This was likely her first visit to a bank, and everything about the place clearly fascinated her.

With a sigh, I reluctantly pulled my gaze away, preparing to head towards one of the ATM machines to withdraw some cash.

Just then, a series of voices drifted into my ears from a short distance away, instantly capturing my attention.

“So, Cheng Tianxiong, I’m simply withdrawing money. There’s no need for you to follow me.”

“No way, Class Monitor. What if that otaku deceives you into going home with him again, just like yesterday? That would be disastrous!”

“Cheng Tianxiong! I’ve already told you, I went voluntarily yesterday! Besides, I was merely helping Li Qingchen as the Class Monitor!”

“Even so, it’s unacceptable. I simply don’t agree.”

………

‘Wait, those two voices sound incredibly familiar. It seems to be the Class Monitor and Cheng Tianxiong.’

The voices grew steadily closer.

I glanced in their direction and, sure enough, spotted the Class Monitor approaching the ATM machines, her backpack slung over her shoulders. Cheng Tianxiong trailed closely behind her.

That means it’s just after school hours right now.

‘No, this isn’t the time to be thinking about such things! These were the two people I least wished to encounter!’

If we bumped into each other, setting aside Cheng Tianxiong’s reaction, the Class Monitor would undoubtedly be utterly disappointed in me.

Skipping an entire afternoon of classes to visit an amusement park, and now, I didn’t even have money to withdraw from the bank!

‘No, absolutely not. The Class Monitor couldn’t see me now.’

“Your Majesty, let’s postpone withdrawing money. We need to leave this place immediately—”

I turned my head, just about to instruct Queen Lan to slip out of the bank and avoid the Class Monitor, when Queen Lan pointed towards the bank’s entrance. “Li Qingchen,” she announced, “Lin Yi is catching up again.”

“What?!”

My gaze shot towards the bank entrance in surprise, and sure enough, there was Butler Lin Yi, his face a mask of solemnity, striding in from outside.

“What the hell? How did he know we were here?”

“How should I know?”

Queen Lan frowned, a crease forming between her brows. “What do we do now?” she asked.

I surveyed the bank lobby. It was practically empty.

If I ran across, not only would Butler Lin Yi spot me immediately, but the Class Monitor would also surely notice.

Yet, turning back meant colliding with the Class Monitor, and rushing out of the bank would mean running straight into Butler Lin Yi. Every direction was a dead end!

‘Could this timing possibly be any worse?’

Sweat beaded on my forehead as I frantically racked my brain, desperately trying to devise an escape route that wouldn’t lead to discovery by either party.

“Li Qingchen, this way.”

Just then, Queen Lan suddenly seized my hand. I froze, before I could even process what was happening, she pulled me into a small room adjacent to the ATM machines.

The moment we stepped into the small room, a pungent scent of disinfectant assaulted my senses, momentarily clouding my mind.

When my eyes registered the neat rows of cubicles, I instantly realized this was the bank’s restroom.

“We won’t be discovered by hiding here, will we?” I asked Queen Lan, my voice laced with doubt.

“Absolutely not.”

Queen Lan winked her left eye at me, a confident smile playing on her lips as she spoke.

‘Where did she get such boundless confidence? Surely she wasn’t naive enough to believe that simply hiding in a restroom would keep us safe, was she?’

“Hm? Wait, a restroom?”

Suddenly, a realization dawned on me. I turned to Queen Lan. “Hey,” I began, “is it really alright for you to just waltz into the men’s restroom like this?”

“Men’s restroom?”

Queen Lan shook her head. “I didn’t enter the men’s restroom,” she replied.

“How can that be? This is clearly—”

As the words left my mouth, my mind went utterly blank for a moment. Then, I blinked slowly, a dazed expression on my face.

“This… this is the women’s restroom?”