A Sister’s Strategic Demands

At this very moment, Wenlu Academy’s three most popular and influential figures were:

The university division’s favored daughter of heaven and campus goddess, Xi Ruo.

Aileen, the high school division student council’s Jerusalem (TL Note: A metaphor used here to describe Aileen as an unassailable and highly respected, almost sacred, figure within the student council).

And… Xiangxiangzi, the cafeteria’s legendary speed-eater.

In essence, these three individuals found themselves separated by a single, unassuming door, located within a simple sports room in Zone A3 of the gymnasium.

Aileen, whose every movement was steeped in elegance, walked with such silent grace that, when she chose to make no sound, even Xi Ruo would detect nothing as she glided by.

Thus, the two inside continued their conversation, oblivious to anyone else.

“But, Sister Xi Ruo, this doesn’t feel quite right.”

“What’s wrong with it? What are your concerns? In what regard?”

“I…”

“Do you think I can’t do it?”

Aileen seemed to grasp a sliver of understanding: Xi Ruo intended to do something to Xi Yao, but Xi Yao was quite reluctant.

Consequently, Xi Ruo was indignant, questioning what she lacked, implying it might be a technical issue.

“Sister Xi Ruo, this… it’s not that I don’t trust you, but with this kind of thing, the faster, the better,” Xi Yao’s voice was somewhat hesitant. “If it drags on too long, the output gets ‘stuck on the axle’ (TL Note: A gaming term, ‘ka zhou,’ referring to a delay or bottleneck in skill execution or damage output), and that’s really unpleasant.”

“‘Stuck on the axle’?”

“Exactly. If the elemental energy recharge efficiency isn’t fast enough, and the ultimate skill (TL Note: A powerful, often delayed, special ability in video games) can’t be unleashed in time, there’ll be no damage output.”

Aileen tilted her head, a profound confusion clouding her beautiful eyes.

Even with her formidable intellect, she couldn’t make heads or tails of their bizarre conversation.

“How can you claim my elemental energy recharge efficiency is insufficient when you haven’t even tried?” Xi Ruo scoffed, a cold note in her voice. “Come to Lounge Room 13 in the ‘Hou De Zai Wu’ (TL Note: ‘厚德载物,’ meaning ‘great virtue carries great things,’ a classical Chinese idiom) Hall this weekend; I’ve already secured its usage rights.”

Xi Yao gasped in surprise: “You’ve already booked the room?”

‘She came utterly prepared!’

“Don’t concern yourself with the details; the location is set, and you absolutely must come this weekend,” Xi Ruo stated coldly. “If you don’t show up, you’ll know the consequences yourself.”

“Ugh.”

Xi Yao let out a disgruntled whimper, yet offered no refusal, implying that her dear sister held some significant leverage over her—a fact Aileen coolly assessed.

‘But what exactly are they planning? All this talk of elemental energy recharge and ultimate skills—it’s incomprehensible. Is it jargon or code?’

‘Hou De Zai Wu Hall?’

Aileen suddenly recalled that, as the permanent secretary-general of the student council, she held a key to the hall.

‘It seems I can slip in beforehand, hide, and observe secretly to uncover the truth.’

Xi Yao was her chosen president, and due to recent events, she had completely alienated others, leaving no room for retreat.

Thus, Xi Yao was of paramount importance in Aileen’s mind.

Everything suspicious connected to her had to be thoroughly investigated.

“As long as you understand the consequences,” Xi Ruo said, “I’m heading back now. See you this weekend.”

‘Is she leaving?’

Aileen turned, stepping away with cat-like stealth.

Her graceful figure vanished silently to the other side, as if she had never been there at all.

Moments later, Xi Ruo pushed the door open, scanned her surroundings for a while, and, feeling confident that no one was near, departed with ease.

Having come midway through her physical education class, she now had to rush back.

A few minutes later, Xi Yao also emerged slowly from the sports room, her adorable small face etched with weariness.

Her body was tired, and her heart was weary.

‘Why did things turn out this way?’

She mused that she hadn’t done anything wrong recently, and Xi Ruo’s words today were clearly premeditated, not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Which meant… it was a long-standing plot?

“Ah, life,” the girl sighed, gazing at the cloud-laden sky. “Fate is truly fickle.”

Recalling her initial enrollment, Xi Yao had imagined that with her strength from before her rebirth, returning to high school would be a purely simple difficulty, allowing her to fully enjoy a new campus life and, incidentally, continue to revel in the joys of being a girl.

Indeed, she had experienced the joys of being a girl, but then her sister, who was also her fiancée, had appeared, declaring her intention to ‘accelerate’ those joys.

Although A’Yao (TL Note: A common diminutive for ‘Xi Yao’) wasn’t entirely innocent and had a bit of a spicy side, when faced with something like this, she still felt… quite embarrassed.

Primarily, she had never experienced it; in her previous life, she had ‘opened the prize’ herself (TL Note: A euphemism for experiencing sexual intimacy or self-pleasure), but had never allowed anyone else to ‘open the prize’ for her.

After a long moment, the girl sighed again, her myriad thoughts coalescing into a soft murmur:

“Never mind. Looking on the bright side, at least she hasn’t discovered anything about Sister Wan.”

Although A’Yao wasn’t entirely innocent and was a bit timid, she was fundamentally optimistic.

‘Not ending up imprisoned in a supermarket was, in itself, a victory.’

As for Xi Ruo’s talk of elemental energy recharge efficiency, Xi Yao paid it no mind whatsoever.

What could a woman who took two and a half years of ‘practice’ just to hold hands possibly comprehend about elemental energy recharge?

‘Perhaps I should put on a bit of an act when the time comes, pretending she’s very impressive. It would, after all, be a way to protect Sister Xi Ruo’s ego.’

‘What a kind and considerate good sister I am!’

It wasn’t particularly late, just past five in the afternoon, and the sun had yet to set.

For the high school division, physical education class had already concluded.

This meant an early dismissal from school.

When Xi Yao returned to her dormitory, Jiang Li was reading—as always, engrossed in her blasted German textbook.

“Jiang Li, you read for so long every day,” Xi Yao said, her voice tinged with reverence for her roommate. “You’re incredibly diligent.”

‘Unlike herself, whose days were spent either gaming or ‘opening prizes’.’

Jiang Li gently lowered her book, explaining, “Because reading something I don’t understand helps me to calm my mind and quell the anxiety and unease within me.”

Xi Yao understood. “Just like with a math textbook?”

She experienced a similar effect whenever she looked at math books, her mind feeling as if it were stuffed with paste, utterly incapable of processing anything else.

“Then… why have I never seen you read a math textbook?” Jiang Li asked, intrigued. “Don’t you ever feel anxious or uneasy?”

Xi Yao shook her head. “No, I use another, happier method.”

‘Directly ‘opening prizes’ to wash away all worries.’

Jiang Li remained silent for a moment.

Then, a thought suddenly struck her. “By the way, what did you and Aileen talk about?”

Xi Yao paused. “Aileen?”

“Yes, I saw her on my way back. She said she wanted to talk to you about something. Didn’t she come looking for you?”

No sooner had Jiang Li finished speaking than Aileen pushed the door open and entered. “I remembered something on the way and went back to the student council first, intending to come find you in the dorm after school. And here I am now.”

It turned out Xi Yao hadn’t closed the door when she entered the room, and Aileen, having just reached the entrance, overheard Jiang Li speaking about her.

Of course, she wouldn’t tell Xi Yao that she had quietly stood outside the sports room door for quite a while, listening to most of the sisters’ conversation.

Having maxed out her stealth attributes, even Xi Ruo hadn’t detected a single trace.

“You’re here! Please, come in, have a seat,” Xi Yao greeted with her usual warmth, then turned to fetch a cup of hot water. “Here, sit down and have a drink.”

It was already a conditioned reflex.

Aileen didn’t mind; since they would be chatting for a while, she was sure the water would cool down eventually.

“Xi Yao, you’ve seen the campus forum these past two days, haven’t you? I have some things to discuss with you regarding the current election situation.”

Upon realizing the conversation had turned serious, Xi Yao promptly sat down opposite the table, lifting Tuantuan instead of merely placing them on the surface, thereby adopting an exceptionally earnest demeanor. “Speak,” she urged, “I’m listening.”