Only after reviewing the photos the teacher had sent earlier that morning did Aya Tone belatedly realize someone had tagged him in the parent group.
Such an occurrence was rare, as he typically remained an unnoticed presence in the group, a true master of lurking.
No one, apart from the teacher, had ever specifically tagged him before.
Something felt amiss!
He scrolled down through the messages.
[Wang Zixuan’s father: @Aya Jiu’s Dad, is this your wife?]
A picture followed immediately after.
Aya Tone’s brow furrowed slightly. ‘Wife?’ he mused.
As a confirmed bachelor, he wondered where on earth he would have acquired a wife.
Nonetheless, suppressing his bewilderment, he tapped to open the image.
The image loaded swiftly.
It depicted the bustling entrance of a kindergarten, where a constant stream of parents arrived to drop off their children for the day.
Amidst the crowd, a striking head of silver hair shone with exceptional brilliance.
In Z Nation, after all, as a prominent Eastern country, black hair had been the prevailing norm throughout its history.
Though it was hardly unusual for younger generations to dye their hair, one could almost always detect subtle traces of the artificial coloring.
Yet, the silver hair in the photograph seemed utterly natural, devoid of even a single dark strand.
Such a sight inevitably drew attention.
Coupled with a fair, adorable face and a petite physique, it was truly captivating.
“Damn it…”
He buried his face in his hands.
Aya Tone now understood precisely why he, the perennial background figure in the group, had suddenly found himself tagged.
It dawned on him that Big White had simply gone out without wearing a mask…
Within Yan’an City, her distinctive appearance was instantly recognizable to virtually everyone.
Her reputation had long been widespread; constantly tackling dungeons made it impossible for her to remain obscure.
Moreover, who could resist the charm of a white-haired loli?
One mustn’t forget Z Nation’s traditional preferences, after all.
Her presence in Yan’an City far surpassed that of Fire Finch, the esteemed leader of the Vermilion Bird Guild.
Indeed, when Fire Finch had dropped off Aya Jiu for several consecutive days previously, not a single person had bothered to tag him.
Yet, Big White had only done so for a single day, and the group chat had erupted into a frenzy.
Subsequent messages streamed in, one after another, all rife with gossip concerning Aya Tone’s relationship with the enigmatic silver-haired woman.
Even the homeroom teacher’s name could be spotted amidst the flurry of messages.
Aya Tone’s lips twitched involuntarily. ‘Gossip truly knows no age limits,’ he thought wryly.
‘And another thing! Teacher, don’t imagine for a moment that I didn’t see you lurking among those messages!’
‘I’ve screenshotted it, and I’ll remember this!’
As he scrolled further, the torrent of messages gradually subsided.
Since Aya Tone remained conspicuously absent and offered no explanation, the others eventually paused their chatter, though their thirst for gossip remained unquenched.
Given that this was a class group, they understood that continuously flooding the chat was inappropriate.
Consequently, the more curious parents simply created a new group chat.
Their intention had been to invite Aya Tone, the central figure, into this new chat for a thorough investigation.
Regrettably, however, Aya Tone remained oblivious.
Aya Tone glanced at the timestamps. The most recent message had been at 11:16.
Now, it was…
12:31.
Never mind, he decided. So much time had elapsed; he would simply pretend he had seen nothing at all.
Fully aware that some matters only grew more complicated with explanation, Aya Tone turned away, setting his phone aside and choosing to ignore the ongoing drama in the group chat.
Time for sleep.
****
Girls’ Dormitory
Within the confines of their four-person dormitory, Lin Ling meticulously examined the seed before her, her curiosity piqued.
“Wushuang,” Lin Ling began, “is this truly your infallible winning strategy? It looks utterly unremarkable.”
She weighed it in her palm, scrutinizing it from every angle, yet it appeared to be nothing more than a common seed.
Could this single seed genuinely bring down their teacher?
The three girls exchanged skeptical glances.
“This is a vine seed,” Huo Wushuang stated calmly.
“A friend of my sister once mentioned that the natural enemy of a magical girl is a tentacle monster!” she declared, her eyes gleaming. “If I channel my power to strengthen this seed into a monstrous entity, we can leverage its bloodline suppression to secure our victory!”
A triumphant smile played on Huo Wushuang’s lips, certain of their impending victory.
With this seed, success was all but guaranteed!
Tentacles!?
At the mention of the word.
Immediately, the expressions on the three girls’ faces contorted uncomfortably, as though they had just heard something truly repulsive.
“Wushuang,” Lin Ling ventured cautiously, “are you absolutely certain this… thing… is truly alright?”
“Of course!” Huo Wushuang affirmed, her voice filled with conviction. “All we need to do is adjust the magical power according to Teacher Aya’s physique, enhance the vine’s rigidity, and subdue her before she can even draw her magic wand. Then, victory is ours!”
A subtle ripple of excitement underscored Huo Wushuang’s otherwise calm voice. After all, they were dealing with an S-class witch.
The thought of an S-class witch being toyed with by a monster of her own creation—how utterly delightful that would be!
Huo Wushuang felt her ‘executive soul’ blaze to life, now needing only to await the practical session scheduled for that afternoon.
Heheheh—
Lin Ling and her two companions watched Huo Wushuang, who was now utterly lost in her own peculiar world, and felt an involuntary shiver run down their spines.
Listening to that chilling, insidious laughter, they couldn’t shake the feeling that their roommate harbored truly ambitious, even nefarious, schemes!
This was, without a doubt, the quintessential behavior of a villain.
“Lingling,” Liu Fei whispered, subtly poking Lin Ling’s waist, “does this count as defecting to the enemy?”
Their own awakened powers were also those of magical girls.
However, compared to the ridiculously overpowered Aya Tone, their abilities were decidedly conventional.
Now, they were poised to conspire with Huo Wushuang, this peculiar executive, to plot against their own senior.
From a narrative perspective, labeling this as defection would be entirely accurate.
“Defection? Nonsense!” Lin Ling retorted. “Wushuang is our irreplaceable comrade! She’s our sister! She’s…”
“Oh, just shut up already,” Liu Fei interjected, rolling her eyes.
‘Don’t think for a second I don’t know you’re just lusting after the teacher’s body, eager to see her entangled in vines and screaming,’ she thought with disdain.
‘Despicable, tsk!’
Ignoring the two bickering girls, Ye Liu turned to Huo Wushuang, her voice tinged with worry. “Teacher Aya is an S-class powerhouse, after all. If she merely struggles a little, wouldn’t even a strengthened vine simply snap?”
“You mustn’t underestimate this particular seed,” Huo Wushuang replied.
A mysterious smile played on Huo Wushuang’s lips. “This vine,” she revealed, “originates from an S-class dungeon.”
An S-class dungeon!!!
Lin Ling and her companions immediately gaped, their eyes wide with disbelief as they stared at the ‘unremarkable’ seed clutched in their hands.
Anything connected to an S-class dungeon was, without exception, a rare and invaluable treasure.
Furthermore, S-class dungeons were under strict state control, and every item that emerged from them was meticulously labeled.
Its ultimate destination was always thoroughly documented.
They simply couldn’t fathom how their roommate could possibly possess such a rare artifact.
“Wushuang,” Lin Ling pressed, “tell us the truth! Are you secretly some high-society young lady?!”
“A young lady?”
Huo Wushuang tilted her head, earnestly pondering the question.
‘Probably… not?’ she mused.
Her ancestral home was nestled in the mountains; despite recent advancements in transportation, every journey back still entailed hours of travel.
Her entire family worked for the guild, leaving early and returning late each day; her mother even spent occasional nights within dungeons.
As for her father… he associated with Uncle Li and was considered a semi-entrepreneur.
While they possessed some wealth, her family could, at best, be described as comfortably middle-class.
To be called a ‘young lady’… it truly didn’t suit her.
With this thought, Huo Wushuang shook her head, denying it. “No,” she stated.
“Then where did you acquire this seed?!” the three girls demanded, clearly unconvinced.
Without a certain standing, how could one possibly obtain an item from an S-class dungeon?
It was preposterous!
“My sister helped me procure it,” Huo Wushuang admitted, making no effort to conceal the truth.
She vividly recalled Fire Finch’s remarkably enthusiastic reaction upon learning that she desired a vine seed to use against Teacher Aya.
Within a mere thirty minutes, the seed had been air-freighted directly into her hands.
In exchange, Huo Wushuang was to record a video of herself using the vine and send it to Fire Finch.
She couldn’t quite fathom what new madness possessed her sister, but with the item now in her possession, she had, of course, readily agreed.
It was merely a video, after all.
How kinky.