“Well then, I’ll be going now.”
With a calm expression, Huang Xiaoyi walked out and slammed the office door shut with a “bang!”—clear evidence of the resentment simmering within her.
Behind the desk, Xiye waved with a smile. Once she was sure the girl wouldn’t turn back, she slowly lowered her hand, restrained her smile, and let out a long sigh of relief.
Her heart was pounding and cold sweat soaked her back. Facing an Evil God unarmed was still too much pressure. Fortunately, her bluff had worked; as long as she acted unruffled, she could intimidate Huang Xiaoyi. The only question was how long she could keep up the act.
If Huang Xiaoyi lost her temper, she’d discover that the Old Seal was Xiye’s only trump card. That was the last thing Xiye wanted:
If the Old Seal was banned, Xiye would be retired on the spot, left utterly powerless in front of two Evil God girls.
So, she must never reveal that this was all she had; otherwise…
“I’d be dead, wouldn’t I…”
She loosened her collar and managed a wry smile, dropping her gaze. Through her thick black stockings, she gently rubbed her ankle, still faintly stinging, though it no longer affected her walking. The ointment Yumeya brought yesterday worked wonders.
She picked up her phone from the desk and opened her contacts, dialing Yumeya’s number:
“Teacher?”
As always, Yumeya picked up instantly. Her voice was light, but the background was noisy, with muffled “bang bang” sounds every now and then.
“Yumeya?” Xiye unconsciously raised her voice. “What’s going on over there? It’s pretty loud.”
“Ah… Don’t worry about it. There’s a construction site nearby,” Yumeya paused before replying. Then she asked, “Is there something you need, Teacher?”
“Yeah, could I trouble you to help me find an internship company? The school has arranged an internship project for students.”
Xiye glanced at the form. Huang Xiaoyi’s and Kesu Su’s sections were already filled in—Kesu Su’s was completed by Huang Xiaoyi, and for ‘anticipated work’ it just said “Accepting assignments”.
That was your writing, huh?
“Of course, anything else, Teacher?”
The background noise on Yumeya’s end suddenly disappeared, but the pounding only grew louder, turning from “bang bang bang” to “clang clang clang”, as if she’d switched from a 40-sized hammer to an 80-sized one.
Thinking she ought to properly teach those two kids a lesson, Xiye said,
“Kesu Su and Huang Xiaoyi—filter their job placements for me. Best if it’s in the service industry, right, something where they’ll actually have to interact with people and work hard…”
“Did those two make Teacher angry?” Yumeya asked curiously.
“Not at all, it’s just a little ‘care’ from the teacher to her students,” Xiye put extra emphasis on “care”, a not-so-virtuous smile curling her lips.
“Got it, I’ll send it to your email once it’s arranged.”
Yumeya paused, then eagerly added,
“Teacher, have you had lunch yet? Any plans for this afternoon?”
Xiye’s smile stiffened. She casually made up an excuse:
“Mm, I was just about to grab something at the school cafeteria. Got a pile of work to handle this afternoon… Thanks for your help. I’ll hang up now—I need to head back to the classroom soon.”
After a few more words of polite chatter, fortunately Yumeya didn’t offer to rush over to the school gate; that would’ve been another headache to deal with.
After hanging up, Xiye glanced at her performance tasks. Aside from that strange additional recognition, there was still no progress. She figured getting more recognition any time soon was unlikely, so she turned to the side quests:
“Handle the requests of three students, huh…”
This task was a bit like an errand. The simplest way to get a request was to browse the city forum for student help posts.
She happened to have no classes this afternoon. Should she spend some time taking on a commission?
Resting her chin in her hand, Xiye hovered her finger above the forum app.
Ding dong!
Just as she was about to tap it, her phone buzzed softly. With a crisp notification sound, a message popped up from the top bar—a friend request.
“Hm?” Xiye curiously tapped it open.
The other party’s avatar was a star holding a paintbrush. The name was Sonnet, with the note “Huang Xiaoyi”.
Xiye froze for a moment and shot a glance at the door, which was tightly shut.
Clutching her phone, she stared hard at the note for a long time without accepting.
What’s this supposed to mean?
She’d just stormed out, slamming the door, and now she was sending a friend request?
Though she knew Huang Xiaoyi could be a bit tsundere, this seemed a little too fast.
No matter how she looked at it, something felt off. A closer look showed she was logged in to her “Xueli” account—that explained everything… or did it?
Xiye glared at her own profile icon—a cute pink little dragon, probably Xueli’s dragon form.
She was sure she hadn’t shared this account with anyone, so until now, Xueli’s friend count remained at one—and that “1” was Xiye herself.
So how did Huang Xiaoyi add her as a friend?
Don’t ask—if you ask, it’s an Evil God thing. Amazing, right?
Shaking off the random thoughts, Xiye clicked accept. Instantly, her phone lit up with “ding ding” notifications.
Sonnet: So slow. Why are you only accepting now?
Sakura: I was in the bathroom, didn’t see it… How did you get my account?
Sonnet: Not telling you.
Sakura: [Kitty crying]
Sonnet: …Asked a friend to check. Is there a problem?
Sakura: No, your friend’s really something…
Sonnet: Are you free this afternoon?
Sakura: No.
Sonnet: Meet me at the Arkham Academy gate at two.
Sakura: I have something to do…
Sonnet: Come anyway, even if you’re busy.
Sakura: [Kitty huffing]
Sonnet: No huffing.
Sakura: …At least tell me what we’re doing…
Sonnet: Amusement park.
The moment that message popped up, the Academy app also displayed a notification:
“This is a student’s request. Complete it to increase your task progress.”
“Huh?” Xiye raised an eyebrow.
Wasn’t she unable to complete tasks as Xueli? So why would this count?
Could there be a difference between main and side quests?
While she was spacing out, her phone buzzed again.
Sonnet: ? Where are you (the other party is typing)
Sakura: Here.
Sonnet: Be on time. Face the consequences yourself.
It seemed Huang Xiaoyi’s way of speaking carried over into her typing. She left out words like “otherwise”, making the sentence feel oddly abrupt.
Sakura: Got it.
Xiye put down her phone and sighed.
Though she’d practically run into the quest herself, hanging out with Huang Xiaoyi was bound to be a trial. Would she end up as a punching bag?
Ding dong!
The Academy app popped up another message:
“You have accepted a student’s request and received a limited-time item: [Extraordinary Twin Souls].”
“Item description: You may freely switch between ‘Xiye’ and ‘Xueli’, with a cooldown reduced to five minutes. Good luck with your mission, Teacher.”
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