Victoria’s voice cut through the air, sharp and clear. “Come to school after classes, alright?”
Zhou Huanan watched Victoria, her face a thundercloud, as she spoke loudly without a care, inviting him to the back of the sports warehouse. He was utterly bewildered.
Even during the lunch break, the classroom held a considerable number of students.
Victoria’s audacious move naturally drew gasps from all the students, who, bored with their mundane lives, reveled in gossip.
Many boys remaining in the classroom stared at Victoria, who was always popular and possessed an exotic charm along with stunning looks.
Could she truly be so bold now?
She was inviting Zhou Huanan to the school’s legendary spot for confessions and dates. The classroom filled with the grinding sound of teeth.
Zhou Huanan’s body stiffened, a clear sign that ‘this wasn’t right at all!’ Victoria’s face was dark; it bore no resemblance to someone about to confess. Though, saying so might invite a punch.
Yet, Zhou Huanan’s ample experience with confessions told him, ‘This isn’t right!’
Just look.
Victoria’s face was currently pitch-black.
Calling him to the back of the sports warehouse was more likely to end with a knife in his gut, killing him outright!
Zhou Huanan ignored the jeering onlookers, attempting to use his superb diplomatic skills to negotiate with Victoria.
“My stomach hurts a bit. Can I not go?”
Victoria seemed unfazed.
Her response, delivered in a tone so bland it was terrifying, dismissed Zhou Huanan’s attempt to escape. “I don’t care, which means I truly don’t care.”
“Then waiting at your doorstep will also suffice.”
‘Holy crap!’ Zhou Huanan’s mouth twitched. He could only concede, indicating his understanding. Victoria then dropped a final, chilling command: “Don’t scatter.”
This left Zhou Huanan contemplating for the rest of his life whether he should flee.
But they were, after all, classmates.
If something truly dire was to happen, escaping would merely change whether he died today or tomorrow. He was also somewhat curious to know why Victoria had sought him out at this particular moment.
Therefore.
After school.
Under a forgotten, squat fir tree behind the sports warehouse.
Zhou Huanan, displaying a gentleman’s initiative, stood beneath the tree, awaiting Victoria’s arrival.
The girl did not come alone.
Behind her followed several student council elites in white uniforms, along with a number of adorable girls whose armbands proclaimed ‘Discipline,’ radiating an aura of righteousness. These were the school’s discipline committee members, clad in red uniforms.
These students might not amount to much outside the school, walking on the streets.
But within the school.
They were a security force comparable to national military police and secret agents!
‘Holy crap, did I break a heavenly rule?’ Zhou Huanan, as a member of an evil organization, instinctively wanted to leap over the wall and escape this righteous enforcement lineup. However, such an act would only solidify various accusations against him.
In reality, Victoria did not mobilize the force behind her.
She merely asked them to clear out any students lurking nearby, attempting to eavesdrop or cause trouble.
“Shhh—”
Zhou Huanan watched, a little stunned, as a burly student council member successfully made a student jump down from the fir tree where he had been standing.
“Damn it! Larissa Victoria, our news club will remember you,嗷嗷嗷嗷—”
Apparently, a student from the school’s news club had hoped to capture a major scoop, having ambushed himself in the tree after catching wind of the situation. Unfortunately, he was dragged away by two student council members Victoria had brought.
After their righteous enforcement.
He was also severely reprimanded by the discipline committee. Oh, what a tragic spectacle. The area around the sports warehouse was thoroughly cleared, becoming a no-man’s-land.
Once even cats and dogs were nowhere to be found.
Once the student council and discipline committee members had all departed.
Once Victoria nodded in satisfaction and began walking toward Zhou Huanan.
Zhou Huanan finally had the chance to ask why Victoria had gone to such great lengths to invite him here.
However, Victoria’s opening words struck like thunder.
“Captain 19, did you enjoy yourself yesterday, unbeknownst to Banjao?”
Oh?
Zhou Huanan raised an eyebrow, showing no alarm at having his identity exposed. He also didn’t waste words trying to argue; after all, the other party had gone to such great lengths precisely because they were certain, leaving him no room for explanation.
Everything switched to work mode.
Zhou Huanan calmly sought an opening for a counterattack.
“Don’t mention it, it wasn’t bad, Glimmering Yellow Magical Girl.”
Zhou Huanan merely made a casual guess, given that Victoria and Glimmering Yellow Magical Girl shared a similar aura. Within his line of sight, the other party smiled, offering no denial.
With that.
The other party had, in a way, tacitly admitted it. Zhou Huanan, seeing this, furrowed his eyebrows — if he still had eyebrows, that is.
If Victoria truly was a Magical Girl, then now that she knew his identity, calling him over likely meant she wouldn’t be giving him any pleasantries. Zhou Huanan, realizing this, braced himself for a beating.
Yet, to his surprise, the other person merely sighed.
Her arms, previously crossed over her chest, dropped to her sides as she spoke in a heartfelt tone, “I know young people in love like to get swept away, to seek thrills. Lili disappeared for days, and now we’ve finally found her…”
‘Huh?’ Zhou Huanan wondered what connection existed between the two. Then, suddenly, his mind cleared, entering a state of profound enlightenment.
At this moment, Victoria continued her outpouring of words.
“I understand, but… you must also distinguish between right and wrong! Magical Girl Grey Moon is *everyone’s* Magical Girl! I don’t care what kind of possessiveness you have over her.”
Victoria looked at the completely petrified Zhou Huanan, gritting her teeth and scolding him for playing dead, unable to suppress her temper. “No, you, kitty, can you at least let Magical Girl Grey Moon join the fight!? Do you know how detestable the Sword King is? Do you know how much I, kitty, want to kill that great demon hiding in armor? Do you know how many Magical Girls the Sword King has killed? You don’t, you bastard! Yesterday was the best chance, you, kitty…”
“You can’t. You can’t be so selfish, you, kitty, can’t! Magical Girl Grey Moon, meow—”
Overcome with emotion, Victoria directly transformed into Glimmering Yellow Magical Girl. Her golden eyes fixed on Zhou Huanan. But Zhou Huanan was completely stunned, entirely oblivious to what Glimmering Yellow Magical Girl said next.
Glimmering Yellow Magical Girl grew somewhat displeased. “What does that mean, looking down on Glimmering Yellow Magical Girl, you bastard~! I’ll show my true form and scare you to death, you bastard!!”
“When someone talks to you, at least say something, kid. Kid? Zhou Huanan, kid??”
Glimmering Yellow Magical Girl poked Zhou Huanan’s shoulder, a hint of worry in her expression. But there was no reaction.
‘No.’ Glimmering Yellow Magical Girl realized something was amiss. ‘This guy can’t be hurt. If Zhou Huanan suffers any mishap, Magical Girl Grey Moon will instantly blacken. Who could possibly withstand that?’
“Hey, hey, kid, wake up!! Can you see me, meow? Can you see me waving? No—! Look, look, Magical Girl is lifting her skirt in front of you with a disgusted look, meow? Boys like this kind of thing, right? Snap out of it and take a look. Come back to the real world, kid!”
Glimmering Yellow Magical Girl tried everything in her power, but Zhou Huanan, at some unknown point, had stopped reacting to the outside world.
‘I’m sorry, I was wrong.’ Glimmering Yellow Magical Girl admitted she was a little flustered, apologizing internally to Zhou Huanan. Her tone gradually grew deeply worried.
“I’m sorry!!”
Finally, Zhou Huanan and Glimmering Yellow Magical Girl shouted at the same time. Glimmering Yellow Magical Girl yelped, looking nervously as Zhou Huanan suddenly bent into a deep bow toward her.
From a distance, they looked like a comical married couple bowing to each other. However, Zhou Huanan now needed to rush immediately to meet his true wife.
“I have something very important to do right now!” Zhou Huanan didn’t wait for Glimmering Yellow Magical Girl to say anything more. He uttered this sentence and hastily ran out of the school.
Hearing the commotion, the student council and discipline committee members who had been hiding in the sports warehouse emerged. They all wore expressions of eager anticipation, watching Victoria stomp her foot in frustration under the fir tree.
“Ah…”
Upon seeing this,
Both the student council members and the discipline committee members tacitly fell silent, then pretended that nothing had happened and departed.
Thus, the rumor quickly spread throughout the school: the beautiful English committee member from Class 2-E confessed to the school heartthrob Zhou Huanan, only to be tragically rejected.
Zhou Huanan’s actions earned him the affirmation of many male compatriots.
Another rumor claimed that upon hearing the news, the school club president was ecstatic, rising to the heavens, and immediately announced that Zhou Huanan would forever hold a seat in their “High-Quality Singles Club.”
However, Zhou Huanan’s seat was revoked just two days later.
****
The scene shifted. What was Liu Li doing today?
She stood on the sidewalk, acting as a human traffic cone, “punishing” pedestrians glued to their phones. In front of a store specializing in “decisive lingerie” for girls, her face was flushed, her left foot constantly tapping the tip of her right foot, then her right foot repeatedly tapping back and forth, hesitating whether to go inside.
The shop assistant inside accidentally caught sight of Liu Li, who was standing by the display window. She quickly covered her mouth, murmuring, “Oh, what a cute child.”
She waited, hoping Liu Li would eventually walk in.
Finally, the shop doorbell chimed.
Liu Li stepped inside, thinking that she had already tempted Zhou Huanan in various ways multiple times. So, buying this wouldn’t necessarily mean she’d use it. She considered it a way to boost her ‘shame resistance’ and ‘level up.’
“Ex-excuse me…”
To choose clothes that only her husband might see. Liu Li resolutely walked in, thinking, ‘Anyway, I won’t use it…’ ‘Anyway, I won’t use it!’ She walked in!!