Su Ling had sworn to herself back in the Lower City that she was unclean and shouldn’t ruin good girls.
Ji Lingyuan was like that. Luo Qianxue was too.
They were genuinely good to her—especially Ji Lingyuan, who had saved her multiple times in the Lower City. She could never forget that.
But when they wanted to sleep with her, she felt no disgust. She even cooperated on purpose.
But going any further… Su Ling couldn’t get past that hurdle in her heart.
Even though she had recovered all her memories, she still felt unworthy.
A dirty rat belonged with rats.
Su Ling glanced at Yan Lin, who was blushing and stiff not far away, and let out a soft sigh.
‘Her… I’ll just be an ordinary friend with Yan Lin.’
She knew her place well. Yan Lin was too good—strong, innocent, probably the dream wife of countless witches.
And her? She was almost a hundred-slayer. Better forget it.
“Hehe, this outfit looks really good. You’re so lucky to have such a great girlfriend.”
Nearby, the shop assistant looked at Yan Lin and giggled behind her hand.
Yan Lin was currently dressed in a light-colored ensemble. On top, she wore a loose milk-white knitted short-sleeve, the neckline slightly slack, revealing a slender collarbone, sleeves casually rolled up to her forearm.
On the bottom, she had on a light blue high-waist pleated skirt, not too long or too short, swaying gently as she moved, making her legs look slender and straight.
On her feet were white canvas shoes with neatly tied laces—clean and refreshing.
Her hair was loosely tied into a high ponytail, soft wisps of bangs hanging down. No extra accessories, just a delicate white hair tie on her wrist—simple yet strikingly eye-catching.
The whole look wasn’t flashy or revealing, just neat and fresh. Paired with Yan Lin’s burning eyes, it truly made one’s eyes light up.
“Wh-what girlfriend… It’s, it’s just…” Yan Lin’s small hands tangled together as she replied to the shop assistant’s words, flustered beyond measure.
“Hehe, close enough. If you weren’t that close, who would buy you such nice clothes?” The shop assistant adjusted Yan Lin’s clothes, a glint of sophistication in her eyes.
In this high-end store, she had seen scenes like this countless times.
A rich lady bringing an innocent young witch, waving her hand generously—wasn’t the goal to win her over?
And she was just saying a few extra words.
She really wanted to level up.
The shop assistant’s words seemed to explode in Yan Lin’s mind.
Her thoughts were in a mess.
B-but… they had only known each other for less than a day.
And that was exactly the problem.
Someone you’ve known for less than a day not only goes with you on a life-or-death mission but cares for you without expecting anything in return.
Yan Lin felt like her whole body was about to burn up.
She had no idea what Su Ling was after.
The textbooks and storybooks never taught her this.
She thought back to her sister’s earlier advice.
“If a pretty older sister or younger sister suddenly treats you well for no reason, buys you nice clothes—run. She’s after your body.”
But if that were really the case, then last night…
Actually, she hadn’t slept well last night at all.
Come on, besides her sister, it was the first time she had slept with another girl.
Last night, her heart was pounding like a V8 engine—she couldn’t fall asleep.
She felt Su Ling seem to move closer. She could even smell that sweet cherry blossom scent and the hot breath.
At that moment, her mind went blank, her body stiff.
But in the end, nothing happened.
Strangely, she felt a sense of loss.
Thinking of this, she subconsciously looked in Su Ling’s direction.
Just then, Su Ling walked over.
Seeing Su Ling, Yan Lin lowered her head again.
‘M-maybe it’s not so bad…’
‘If Su Ling really wants my body… I feel like I’m not losing out?’
“Hehe, it looks really good. It suits you perfectly~”
Su Ling’s eyes lit up, and she gave the shop assistant a thumbs-up.
‘Good eye.’
But the shop assistant misunderstood, thinking that Su Ling was approving her assist, and gave a knowing look.
‘I get it, I get it~’
“But… this is too expensive… it’s not necessary…”
Yan Lin’s voice was as soft as a mosquito’s.
Taking her in, buying her clothes…
Other than her sister, Su Ling was the second person who had ever been this good to her.
“Hmph, think of it as my investment.”
Su Ling shook her head and spoke with a serious expression.
“I’m very optimistic about you. I feel like you’ll at least become a Great Witch in the future. Just think of this as me investing in you early. When you become a Great Witch later, just remember me.”
She did have that reason.
Yan Lin’s talent was terrifyingly strong.
From the bits and pieces, she could tell that Yan Lin had learned almost exclusively from textbooks.
You see, among witches, knowledge was the most expensive thing.
To learn any extraordinary magic, you had to spend money to buy it.
Some magic books were only available for rent, not for sale, or were not circulated outside at all—only within a specific circle.
Knowledge was power.
That’s why almost all Great Witches nowadays came from good backgrounds. Very few crawled up from the mud step by step.
A big part of it was that with a massive influx of resources, they could buy a sea of magic books. The more knowledge you had, the more spells you knew, the stronger you were.
But Yan Lin’s case was almost terrifying.
Su Ling had seen Yan Lin’s magic last night—very plain, just the textbook magic from the Witch Academy. Su Ling had read up on it before and had some memory.
It was the kind of magic almost everyone knew, yet Yan Lin used it with a wild, brutal force to slaughter Se Lin.
This talent, this comprehension—terrifying.
So Su Ling’s words weren’t entirely to comfort Yan Lin. She really did want to be on good terms with her.
If Yan Lin really became a Great Witch in the future, that would be an incredible profit.
After all, her identity wasn’t clean.
She wasn’t a pure witch; she was an Insectoid Princess. If she were discovered later… at least she could give herself a sliver of a chance to survive.
But to Yan Lin’s ears, it sounded different.
‘She… she actually believes I can break through to Great Witch?’
Yan Lin’s head spun.
Even her sister, who was the best to her, had never said that.
In her twenty-three years of life so far, she had spent it amidst the slightly disdainful glances of classmates, her mother’s nice wish for her to marry a good witch, and her sister’s doting.
“You bookworm, boring. You just keep your nose in books.”
“Your mother and I only hope that little Lin here can find a good family to marry into—that’s enough for us.”
“Linlin, don’t think about those things. Your sister is here.”
No one had ever said that one day she would become a Great Witch.
A Great Witch was not only a realm, but also a status, a symbol.
In this era when Sequence Witches lay dormant, a Great Witch was no different from the legendary gods in the eyes of some witches.