Hua Jianxi’s gaze swept across the classroom, pausing on Ling Ling’s face for a moment before the corners of her mouth lifted in an imperceptible curl.
Then she looked away as if nothing had happened, like it was really the first time she had seen her.
Ishida Sanae pointed to the back of the classroom. “Miss Hua, your seat is in the last row by the window.”
“Okay~ Teacher.”
The last row by the window—that was right behind Ling Ling.
Hua Jianxi stepped off the podium with light steps. When she passed by Ling Ling, she seemed to slow down for a beat unintentionally.
Then she sat down at the empty desk behind Ling Ling, hung her bag on the side, took out a lollipop, and said something in a voice only Ling Ling could hear.
“We meet again, Zero~”
Ling Ling didn’t turn around.
‘If her sister’s supernatural perception range could reach here from the first-year area, then at this moment she would definitely rush over and fight Hua Jianxi to the death…’
‘Ah, what a terrible day.’
She stared blankly at the blackboard, beginning to think about what to do for lunch today.
Meanwhile, on the phone screen in her pocket, a new private message from the forum was silently pushing.
The sender’s ID was “Siren’s Song,” and the content was only one line: “Zero, I saw you’ve been suppressing underground organizations recently, right? Do you need a part-time hacker technical support? The fee is just a couple’s cup~”
Ling Ling secretly glanced at her phone under the desk, then silently turned it off.
‘This woman really can find out everything.’
During the break, Ling Ling went to the restroom.
She needed to mentally prepare before lunch to deal with the upcoming four-person confrontation (if Lin Jiu saw Hua Jianxi, she would definitely take the initiative to kill her).
When she came out of the stall to wash her hands, the restroom door was pushed open, and a pink side ponytail was especially conspicuous in the mirror.
Ling Ling looked up and met those gray eyes in the mirror.
Hua Jianxi leaned against the sink, unwrapped another lollipop, put it in her mouth, and unhurriedly scrutinized her face.
“Zero, your skin is so good,” she said in a tone like appraising a work of art. “What skincare do you usually use?”
“…Water.”
“Just water? So unfair. Does a naturally beautiful girl like this really exist in real life?”
Ling Ling turned off the faucet, shook the water droplets off her hands, and turned to face her. “Did you transfer here just to discuss my skincare?”
“Of course not.”
Hua Jianxi tilted her head. “I saw someone discussing a transfer student in front of the bulletin board this morning, so I waited a bit longer to see your expression when you saw the announcement.”
“Just like your usual self, cold and aloof, but it’s pretty cute that your ears turn red when you’re shy.”
Ling Ling’s ears turned red again, but this time it wasn’t from shyness—she was already a little embarrassed.
“When you looked at the bulletin board, were you thinking in your heart, ‘The transfer student can’t be Hua Jianxi, I must be overthinking it’?”
“—And then I really appeared, were you thinking, ‘This woman is so troublesome…’?”
“—And now are you thinking, ‘How does this woman know everything’?”
Ling Ling was silent for a few seconds.
“…Are you a mind-reading supernatural ability user?”
“No.”
Hua Jianxi took out the lollipop, held it between her index and middle fingers, and waved it.
“I’m just good at observing interesting people, especially interesting people who can defeat Knights of the Round Table. How you think, what your little habits are—I’ve already looked into all of it. After all—”
She paused, a sly glint flashing in her gray eyes.
“I am one of the best hackers in this world.”
Ling Ling narrowed her eyes slightly.
She remembered “Minerva” had mentioned that the Knights of the Round Table of the Cradle each had their own specialties.
Hua Jianxi’s code name was “Siren”—she had originally thought it was an ability related to sound, but now it seemed the Cradle had given her that code name for a deeper meaning.
The siren’s song lures sailors to destruction, and Hua Jianxi’s “song” destroys data.
She didn’t need an ability to charm people; she only needed a network cable.
“Your ability is… data interference type?”
“Bingo.”
Hua Jianxi snapped her fingers. “I knew Zero would guess it.”
“My ability can interfere with any electronic signal band; firewalls are like they don’t exist to me.”
“That’s also why I know your forum alt, know you are ‘Bai Ye,’ and know what happened in the Seventh Facility—”
“As long as I’m willing, I can hack into any internet-connected device in this world.”
She leaned close to Ling Ling, her breath carrying a faint fragrance of green apple.
“Of course, I won’t hack your stuff. Privacy is something to respect. After all, I’m a law-abiding good citizen now, you know.”
“…Does a Knight of the Round Table of the Cradle call themselves a law-abiding citizen?”
“Former Knight of the Round Table,” Hua Jianxi corrected. “Starting two days ago, I already submitted my resignation—”
“Can a Knight of the Round Table resign?”
“Of course not, so I just dropped the job. Anyway, I’m usually unpredictable within the Knights of the Round Table, so they can’t find a replacement anytime soon.”
Hua Jianxi shrugged.
“As you can see, I’m just an ordinary transfer student from Vien Academy now. No threat to you and your little girlfriend at all.”
Ling Ling stared at her for a few seconds, then turned and walked toward the restroom door.
“Hua Jianxi.”
“Hmm?”
“What did you mean by ‘little girlfriend’ earlier?”
“Of course, Lady Ye~ I’ve read all the floors of your CP building on the forum, especially the ten-thousand-word analysis Zero wrote herself, describing Lady Ye—clearly you care about her a lot.”
Ling Ling walked out of the restroom, deciding not to take the bait anymore.
‘This woman is too dangerous. If I keep talking to her, my three-no beautiful girl image will completely collapse.’
‘And besides, right now she only considers Lady Ye as a very good friend.’
At that very moment, Ye Fengxue, sitting in Class 2B, suddenly felt a chill down her back.
Ye Fengxue sneezed violently.
“…Is someone talking behind my back?” She rubbed her nose, her gaze scanning the surroundings warily.
A nearby classmate asked with concern, “Miss Ye, are you okay? Did you catch a cold?”
“I’m fine.”
Ye Fengxue waved her hand, but that inexplicable chill didn’t subside; instead, it grew stronger.
She took out her phone and habitually scrolled through the forum.
A new post that she hadn’t noticed earlier was floating on the front page—
[Topic Post] [Explosive] Vien Academy’s Genius Transfer Student Suspected to Have Contacted White Snow Princess! Content of Restroom Secret Talks Unknown! (Trending: New)
Ye Fengxue clicked in and only saw a blurry photo taken secretly at the restroom door—Hua Jianxi was leaning close to Ling Ling’s ear saying something, and although Ling Ling’s expression was still cold, her ear tips were clearly red.
Her emerald green eyes stared deadly at that photo, and the pen in her hand snapped as it froze into an ice stick.
“Th-this pink-haired woman—this is only the first day!!”
The whole class turned their heads in unison.
Ye Fengxue only then realized how loud her voice was. She coughed dryly, stuffed the frozen pen into her desk, sat up straight in her chair, and forced an elegant young lady’s composure on her face.