The next morning, the alarm clock buzzed loudly on the bedside table.
“Ugh…”
Ethan groggily reached out to the alarm, slapped it off, then turned over and buried his face in the pillow to continue sleeping.
[Master, get up quickly! You’re going to be late for school!]
Ethan suddenly opened his eyes wide, remembering that he was now a student.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he climbed out of bed and dragged himself into the bathroom.
While brushing his teeth, he glanced at his reflection and suddenly paused to study it carefully.
“Actually, bro, the modeling isn’t too bad.”
The boy in the mirror did have a decent face, with sharp features typical of an East Asian.
The goddess had slightly adjusted his appearance during reincarnation to better fit this world’s aesthetic.
Ethan’s features were quite neat, clean and pleasant to look at.
Especially after pushing aside the overly long bangs on his forehead, revealing those deep, captivating eyes.
[Master, stop being narcissistic! You’re really going to be late!]
Ruby spun anxiously on the sink.
“Alright, alright.”
Ethan spat out the toothpaste foam, casually wiped his face, tidied up briefly, grabbed his school jacket and slung his bag over one shoulder before rushing out the door.
Because he lived nearby, Ethan soon arrived at the academy gates.
At the entrance of Saint Diyashi Magic Academy, several Student Council members wearing Disciplinary Committee armbands stood on either side checking students.
Ethan glanced at the time.
Fifteen minutes until class, so he naturally walked inside through the gate.
“Wait, stop. We need to check for prohibited items.”
Suddenly, a senior male student stretched out his hand to block him.
“Why only me?”
Ethan looked around; the other students passed through without issue.
“Random checks, got it?”
The boy pushed up his glasses, deliberately raising his voice.
“Transfer students are a special focus.”
Ethan sighed helplessly, took off his shoulder bag, unzipped it to show the contents.
Inside were neatly arranged textbooks, notebooks, and stationery — no prohibited items at all.
“Is this enough?”
He zipped it back up and prepared to leave.
“Hold on, take off your clothes too.”
The senior suddenly blocked him again.
“Take off my clothes?”
Ethan froze, narrowing his eyes, wondering if he had heard wrong.
“That’s right. How do we know you’re not hiding something on your person?”
The boy crossed his arms, wearing a malicious smile.
Ethan’s brow furrowed.
From the teasing glint in the boy’s eyes, he vaguely understood what was going on.
This so-called “special treatment” wasn’t because he was a transfer student, but because he had offended Rufus yesterday.
That incident had obviously spread around the academy.
This senior was clearly one of Rufus’s people, using the clothing check as a way to humiliate him in front of everyone at the gate.
Ethan naturally wasn’t about to let him get away with it.
If he dared confront Rufus directly, this small lackey was nothing to fear.
“I’m not carrying anything prohibited.”
“Who’s going to prove that? You have to take off your clothes so I can check properly.”
The boy raised his voice deliberately, attracting the attention of the surrounding students.
He smugly waited for Ethan to embarrass himself, expecting Rufus to reward him afterward.
Ethan chuckled softly.
This baseless accusation was clearly an attempt to trap him in a Coercive Self-Proving loop.
He knew exactly what would happen next:
If he really took off his clothes, the boy would continue finding faults, raising more unreasonable accusations and fabrications.
Then Ethan would have no choice but to prove himself again, falling into a never-ending cycle.
The more he tried to prove himself, the more points the other side would seize upon to attack him, eventually wearing him down mentally and physically, leaving him unable to escape the misunderstanding.
This common form of school bullying was designed to trap the victim in an endless cycle of being cornered the more they tried to explain.
But for Ethan, who had studied Psychology in his past life, this was not unfamiliar.
In Psychology, “Coercive Self-Proving” is a manipulation strategy.
It begins with an unfair judgment imposed unilaterally by the other party.
Then, when you try to provide evidence to refute it, they shift targets and raise new doubts, forcing you into an endless cycle of self-proving.
This process gradually erodes your dignity and reason until the victim’s psychological defenses are completely broken.
At this moment, you must turn the tables and avoid falling into the self-proving trap.
“So, Senior, you’re so sure I’m hiding something. Have similar things happened before?”
Ethan put on a confused expression, innocently asking like a harmless child.
“No.”
The senior instinctively answered.
No one had ever offended Rufus before—this transfer student was the first.
“Then on what basis do you make such a guess? Could it be that you yourself have done this kind of thing, so you’re so sure about it?”
Ethan tilted his head, looking like an innocent and curious little kid.
The boy’s expression instantly stiffened.
He had indeed once secretly carried prohibited items, but there was no way he’d admit it.
“How could I possibly? Don’t slander me!”
His voice involuntarily rose as he denied it too eagerly.
“I see… then how will you prove you’re not crying ‘thief’ yourself, hiding things and afraid of being found out, so you accuse me of doing the same?”
Ethan nodded thoughtfully, deliberately pausing his tone.
“If you’re not hiding anything, can you take off your clothes first to prove it? After all, the Disciplinary Committee should lead by example and strictly follow the Saint Diyashi Academy Regulations.”
The senior opened his mouth but was speechless, his face turning pale and red in turns.
He had the impulse to tear off his clothes and show the transfer student up, but on second thought, if he took off his clothes, it would be he who ended up embarrassed.
Ethan smiled and whispered softly to Ruby on his shoulder.
[See, now he’s the one trapped in the self-proving loop. Whoever claims it must prove it.]
“I am a Disciplinary Committee member. This is a routine check. If I say take it off, then take it off. No need for so much nonsense!”
The senior, unable to respond to the question, refused to undress publicly and began to grow angry and embarrassed.
“Senior, which article in the handbook allows the Disciplinary Committee to conduct body searches?”
Ethan’s face darkened.
Slowly, he took out a blue-covered handbook from his bag.
The cover read “Saint Diyashi Academy Regulations.”
His voice turned cold.
“I memorized it all the day I transferred here. So can I now accuse you of abusing your authority?”
“What’s going on?”
Just as the senior was about to lose his temper, a cool female voice suddenly sounded nearby.
A girl with long black hair approached gracefully.
Her crimson eyes and exquisitely sculpted features made her breathtakingly beautiful.
The black stockings under her uniform skirt accentuated her long legs.
The “Disciplinary Committee Chair” armband on her arm gleamed in the sunlight, announcing her identity.
“Chairwoman, I was just doing a routine check. Right, Junior Ethan?”
The senior immediately switched to a respectful expression and gave Ethan a threatening glance, silently warning him not to say anything or he’d be doomed.
“Senior sister… I’m so scared…”
Ethan chuckled softly, refusing to indulge such an idiot.
Then he turned to the girl, his face suddenly contorted into the most aggrieved expression, pointing at the senior.
“This senior just insisted I take off my clothes. I suspect he is Nantong.”