Two days had passed since Hua Jianxi—that annoying pink-haired girl—suddenly showed up.
In those two days, Ling Ling had been living quite peacefully—so peacefully that it felt a little off to her.
After sending that ‘couple cup’ text message, that pink-haired troublemaker had actually gone completely silent.
She hadn’t harassed her in any way, and everything was so calm that it felt like the encounter at the café was just a bizarre dream.
But Ling Ling knew very well that Hua Jianxi wouldn’t just give up on harassing her that easily.
She was probably brewing something big for her.
The thought alone made cold sweat run down Ling Ling’s back, and she mumbled, “How troublesome…”
“Big Sis.”
Lin Jiu’s voice came from the kitchen.
“What do you want for lunch today? There’s sweet and sour pork and cola chicken wings as options, or both?”
“…Both.”
“Okay~”
Ling Ling sat at the small coffee table in the living room, one hand propping up her chin while the other swiped the screen of a tablet.
Displayed on the screen was the recent activity of the Seventh District Underworld over the past week.
Recently, the Ability Countermeasures Section had been focusing their efforts on searching for “Bai Ye” because of the Seventh Facility incident.
And during this time when she had disappeared and the Countermeasures Section had no time to spare for the Underworld, those shady forces—like cockroaches crushed under a rock—had quieted down for a short while, only to start poking their heads out again.
These people really never learn, do they?
Expressionless, Ling Ling noted down a few addresses and times in her memo app, then turned off the tablet.
Looks like she’d have to work overtime tonight for the first time in a while.
But this time, she didn’t plan on using the “Bai Ye” identity.
The “Bai Ye” identity was too conspicuous. The Countermeasures Section had already filed that figure with white hair and red eyes as a key observation target. If she appeared too frequently in the Underworld, it would only excite Ishida Sanae and Asakura Minori and their group even more.
She needed another disguise.
A persona with a completely different modus operandi from Bai Ye, but equally elusive.
As for the new disguise, Ling Ling had already thought of one, but that was a matter for tonight.
For now, her top priority was going to school and playing the role of an ordinary high school girl, then properly enjoying this hard-earned daily life.
The morning at Luter Academy was the same as always. At the school gate, students entered in small groups, sunlight reflecting a soft luster off the white school gate.
Ling Ling and Xiao Jiu walked shoulder-to-shoulder through the school gate. Just as they turned past the flowerbed in front of the school building, they saw a small crowd gathered in front of the bulletin board, chattering about something.
“A transfer student? We’re already halfway through the semester, how can there still be a transfer student?”
“And they’re transferring from Vien Academy, no less! Isn’t that place specialized in supernatural ability equipment development? Why would they come to a comprehensive development academy like ours?”
“Could it be that they chased someone here?”
Ling Ling’s footsteps didn’t pause.
This sudden, as-yet-unnamed transfer student gave her a bad feeling.
“Big Sis doesn’t seem too interested,” Lin Jiu said, tilting her head.
“…Just a transfer student.”
“That’s true.”
The two of them continued walking toward the classroom.
As they passed the bulletin board, Ling Ling unconsciously glanced at the notice posted in the center. The transfer student’s name was omitted; it only said “From Vien Ability Academy,” with the enrollment date being this week, and the assigned class was Class 2C.
Ling Ling’s footsteps faltered.
Class 2C—’wasn’t that her class?’
“Big Sis, what’s wrong?”
Lin Jiu noticed her pause.
“…Nothing.”
Ling Ling averted her gaze and kept walking.
A coincidence. It had to be a coincidence. Transfers between the Six Academies of Akasha City weren’t common, but they weren’t without precedent.
Vien Academy was known for supernatural ability equipment manufacturing and technology development, while Luter Academy followed a route of comprehensive development for ability users.
In theory, it was perfectly normal for a student to transfer to another academy due to adjustments in their ability development direction.
Although she had already guessed who the transfer student might be, she still didn’t want to accept that reality. She planned to continue deceiving herself a little, convincing herself that this transfer student was definitely just some “innocent passerby.”
She entered the classroom and sat down in her seat. The girl in front of her, as usual, cautiously said “Good morning” to her, and she, as usual, replied with an emotionless “Mm.”
Everything was the same as always.
But—
When the bell rang for class, Ishida Sanae, the homeroom teacher of Class 2C, walked into the classroom.
She pushed up her thin-framed glasses, then looked around the classroom before announcing the arrival of the transfer student.
“Today, a transfer student will be joining our class. She is from Vien Ability Academy in the Third District. Please take good care of her.”
Ling Ling’s fingers unconsciously tapped the desk.
Come on, let her see who this mysterious transfer student really was.
The classroom door was pushed open.
A pair of shiny black patent leather shoes stepped in first, black thigh-high socks wrapped around slender calves, a pleated skirt swaying lightly with each step.
The black-and-pink short-cropped, waist-cinching sailor uniform had been noticeably altered from the Vien Academy standard—the collar was loosely open, revealing a hint of delicate collarbone, and the cuffs and hem were adorned with tiny pink lace trims, transforming the originally strict and proper uniform into something like a cosplay outfit.
Long, light pink hair was tied into a side ponytail with a silver hair accessory, a few loose strands falling from her ears.
Her gray eyes curved into crescent moons, and a green apple-flavored lollipop hung from her lips.
She stopped in front of the podium, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote three characters on the blackboard.
Hua Jianxi.
“I’m Hua Jianxi, transferred from Vien Academy.”
She turned around, tilted her head, and her voice was as sweet as if she were singing.
“Things I like are lollipops and interesting people. Things I dislike are boredom and rules. I hope we can all become good friends~ If you ever need any help, feel free to ask me, like fixing supernatural ability equipment, hacking into some annoying person’s social media account, or—”
“Miss Huajian.”
Ishida Sanae pushed her glasses.
“Please watch your wording during self-introductions.”
“Okay, teach~” Hua Jianxi blinked, completely unfazed.
Whispers broke out in the classroom.
The transfer student’s appearance and aura were too striking, and with the background of Vien Academy, she instantly became the center of everyone’s attention.
Ling Ling watched the pink figure on the podium with an expressionless face.
Just now, in front of the bulletin board, she had been trying hard to convince herself that the “Vien Academy transfer student” wasn’t necessarily Hua Jianxi.
After all, Akasha City was huge, and Vien Academy had so many students—how could it possibly be her?
But as it turned out, her intuition was never wrong.
This troublesome, annoying pink-haired girl had directly transferred into her class.