Chapter 39: Zero Cannot Escape

The next day’s sun rose as usual.

But Ling Ling’s mood was nothing like the bright sunlight outside the window.

She sat in the seat second from the back by the window in Class 2C, propping her chin on one hand, staring expressionlessly at the blackboard.

On the surface, she was just like any other day—her delicate features cold, as if the whole world owed her a million dollars.

But if you looked closely, you could see the corner of her eye twitching slightly.

The reason was simple.

The pink-haired pleasure seeker sitting behind her was using the plastic stick from a lollipop to gently poke the back of her neck through her collar.

“Zero~”

Hua Jianxi’s voice drifted from behind, lowered.

“Is something bothering you today, Zero? I’ve been watching you since you walked into class this morning, and you haven’t turned around once.”

“…Stop poking.”

“Then turn around and look at me.”

“Class is starting.”

“The bell hasn’t rung yet.”

Hua Jianxi tore the wrapper off a lollipop, popped it into her mouth, and bit down on the plastic stick, speaking indistinctly.

“You went out last night and beat people up too hard, didn’t you, Zero? Still haven’t recovered?”

Ling Ling’s shoulder stiffened. That annoying pink-haired girl really did know everything.

Last night, under the alias “Moriarty,” she had taken care of a bunch of small fry in the Seventh District, and by the time she got home, it was almost one in the morning.

When she woke up this morning, she made a point of scrolling through the forums to confirm that the black sticky note she’d left had already been filed by the Countermeasures Section, and that the new alias “Moriarty” was already being discussed in gossip threads.

Everything was going according to plan.

Except for Hua Jianxi.

“…When did you find out?”

Ling Ling didn’t turn around, keeping her voice low enough for only the person behind her to hear.

“Last night.”

Hua Jianxi pulled the lollipop out of her mouth and waved it between her index and middle fingers.

“The Countermeasures Section’s log entry system has decent firewalls, but to me, it’s like paper. I saw the scanned copy of that sticky note, and the physical description in the eyewitness testimony.”

She leaned close to the back of Ling Ling’s head, so near that Ling Ling could smell the faint, sweet scent of green apple on her breath.

“Golden hair, blue eyes, a black-and-red performance outfit, elegant and mysterious, using a sword cane—”

“Zero, your new alias is way more stylish than that ‘Bai Ye’ thing. Are you finally letting loose?”

Ling Ling was silent for a few seconds.

Then, she finally turned around.

There was no guilt or panic in her eyes, only a silent fury, as if to say, ‘Say one more word and I’ll stuff you into a vending machine.’

“…What do you want?”

“Nothing much.”

Hua Jianxi rested her chin on her hand, her gray eyes curving into crescents. “I just think Zero is getting more and more interesting.”

“A normal high school girl during the day, a mysterious beauty at night—how can one person have so much energy?”

“None of your business.”

“Of course it’s my business.”

Hua Jianxi blinked, an innocent look on her face. “I’m the one with exclusive intel on both of Zero’s aliases. If I accidentally slip and post it online…”

“Go ahead.”

Ling Ling cut her off, her tone flat.

Hua Jianxi tilted her head. “Eh?”

“Go ahead.”

Ling Ling repeated, her crimson eyes fixed on her. “After you do, I’ll tell Xiao Jiu, and she’ll rip out your tongue and pickle it in formaldehyde.”

Hua Jianxi’s smile froze.

She remembered yesterday in the cafeteria, the dark aura hidden beneath Lin Jiu’s gentle smile.

“Zero, are you threatening me?”

“What do you think?”

They stared at each other across the desk, one expressionless, the other forcing a smile.

The air was thick with a subtle atmosphere somewhere between “cold war” and “flirting.”

A female classmate sitting in front turned to look, then quickly turned back, thinking, ‘Lin and Hua Jian have such a good relationship.’

The bell for class rang. Ishida Sanae walked into the classroom, pushed up her glasses, and began taking attendance.

Hua Jianxi put away her lollipop, slumped onto her desk, and lightly kicked the leg of Ling Ling’s chair.

“Zero.”

“…”

“We’ll talk after class, okay?”

“…”

“By the way, I want to eat fried chicken at the cafeteria today. Will you come with me?”

“Buy it yourself.”

“Zero is so cold. You’re not like that with Lady Ye at all.”

Ling Ling took a deep breath.

She felt like she hadn’t had enough caffeine today, because why else would she already have a headache in the first period?

She barely made it to lunch break.

The moment Ling Ling stepped out of the classroom door, she saw two familiar figures.

On the left, Ye Fengxue stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the hallway wall, her emerald eyes filled with displeasure that screamed, ‘I’ve been waiting for you this long, and you were still messing around with that pink-haired girl?’

On the right, Lin Jiu was holding a lunch box, her sky-blue eyes curved into crescents, her smile as gentle and sweet as ever.

“Sister.”

Lin Jiu spoke first. “Today’s bento is teriyaki chicken thigh rice, and there’s the caramel pudding you like best.”

“Ling Ling.”

Ye Fengxue started almost simultaneously. “About last night, I need to discuss something with you. You saw that researcher named Ian in the Countermeasures Section report, right? Do you know who this ‘Moriarty’ really—”

She couldn’t finish.

Because Hua Jianxi popped out from behind Ling Ling, a lollipop dangling from her lips, and flashed a bright smile at the two in the hallway.

“Good afternoon, Lady Ye and little sister Xiao Jiu. Are you eating together today? I’d love to get to know Zero’s social circle better too.”

Ye Fengxue’s eyebrow twitched.

Lin Jiu’s smile didn’t change, but her fingers tightened slightly around the lunch box.

Ling Ling stood still.

‘I’ll skip the cafeteria today. I’ll eat on the rooftop. Alone and quiet, far from all the noise of the world.’

“What is sister thinking about?” Lin Jiu’s voice suddenly appeared next to her ear.

Ling Ling snapped back to reality and found that Lin Jiu had somehow walked up beside her and taken her arm.

“The rooftop has too much wind, sister will catch a cold. Let’s go to the cafeteria instead.”

Lin Jiu tilted her head, a look on her face as if she saw through everything.

“Anyway, no matter what clothes you wear or what you become—I can always recognize you, sister.”

Ling Ling stared at her sister’s sky-blue eyes. ‘She seems to know everything, but for the sake of my dignity, she chose not to say it.’

“…Let’s go.”

Ling Ling expressionlessly averted her gaze and began walking toward the cafeteria.

Lin Jiu held her arm, keeping pace beside her. Ye Fengxue walked on Ling Ling’s other side, half a step behind, watching Hua Jianxi with a wary gaze.

Hua Jianxi brought up the rear, lollipop in her mouth, grinning as she admired the magnificent sight of one person dragging two others ahead of her.

At a long table in the corner of the ground-floor cafeteria, the five of them sat down again.

Unlike yesterday, today’s atmosphere seemed even more sinister.