“The punishment is this—cancel all the tutoring sessions you arranged with Yu Weian.”
Mu Wan’s lips curved into a wicked smile as she looked down at the blindfolded Lisiluo resting on her lap and made her announcement.
Lisiluo’s body jolted as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her head.
But Mu Wan’s punishment declaration wasn’t finished.
“Also, starting today, you are not allowed to meet Yu Weian in private without my permission. That’s all. Understood?”
Cancel the tutoring… and never meet her privately again?
Lisiluo didn’t know how to describe what she was feeling.
The first thing that came to mind was the past few weeks she had spent with Yu Weian-senpai—the gentle voice and smile during explanations, the patient guidance during practice, the praise whenever she successfully learned a new spell.
All of that was going to disappear?
“You’re not going to disagree, are you?”
Mu Wan’s little-devil whisper brushed against her ear, yanking Lisiluo back to reality.
Out of fear, Lisiluo instinctively denied it.
“No, I don’t…”
“Then you agree?”
Lisiluo’s lips trembled.
No—don’t agree!
Her heart was screaming at her to reject this tyrannical condition.
If she accepted, she would never see Yu Weian-senpai again. She couldn’t even imagine how she would get through her days.
But… but…
Her hands and feet were bound, her eyes covered. Right now she was nothing more than a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, lying on an execution block called a lap pillow.
If she refused Mu Wan now, would she even have a chance of walking out of here alive?
Even if Mu Wan wouldn’t hurt her physically, with her abilities, the label of “cheating” would probably spread across the entire academy in an instant.
From the moment she chose to hide her meeting with Yu Weian-senpai from Mu Wan, she had already run out of escape routes.
“…Yes. I agree.” Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.
“Agree to what? Say it clearly.”
Lisiluo clenched her fists and spoke in a tone of near surrender.
“I agree to cancel the tutoring, and I will not meet Yu Weian-senpai in private without Mu Wan… without Mu Wan-senpai’s permission.”
The moment she finished, she felt something snap inside her chest.
“Very good~ Don’t you dare go back on your word.”
Mu Wan’s tone returned to normal, the same teasing lilt she used every day.
She reached out and untied the ribbon covering Lisiluo’s eyes.
The sudden brightness forced Lisiluo to squint. It took a while before she could clearly see that mischievous little face again.
“However, that was only the punishment. I never said we were done, you know?”
“Eh? There’s—there’s more?”
“You didn’t forget that you still owe me compensation, did you? You haven’t paid it yet.”
As she spoke, Mu Wan reached out and began pinching and kneading Lisiluo’s cheeks from every angle.
“Umm, ngh— I-I’m sorry, ngh…”
“But looking at how half-dead you are right now, even if I demanded compensation, you probably couldn’t give me anything worthwhile. So—”
Mu Wan released her cheeks and instead pressed a finger lightly against Lisiluo’s forehead.
“Sleep first.”
“Sleep?”
“That’s right. Rest here properly first, and then I’ll tell you what the compensation is.”
“If you need it, I can even provide singing services~?”
“N-no no no, I’m sleeping right now—”
Once the ribbons loosened, Lisiluo could finally choose which direction to face. She turned her back to Mu Wan and continued resting her head on her lap.
Even with her eyes closed, her mind was a chaotic mess—exhausted yet wide awake.
Beneath her head were those black-stockinged thighs, soft and fragrant, incredibly comfortable to pillow against.
It was just a shame that—
Their owner was that little devil. Otherwise, this would have been a very heartwarming scene.
Right now, Lisiluo’s feelings could only be described as “extremely conflicted.”
Was Mu Wan a bad person?
Lisiluo thought she was.
According to the rumors floating around campus, Mu Wan always repaid grudges, stirred up trouble even when there was none, and was the one person no one at the academy should ever provoke.
Both the reactions of her classmates and Yu Weian-senpai’s warnings had made it clear that Mu Wan was no good—she should be avoided at all costs.
On top of that, during the time they had spent together, Mu Wan had never missed an opportunity to tease her and seemed to genuinely enjoy it.
Everything pointed to the fact that she definitely could not be called a “good person.”
Yet strangely, even after everything that had happened, Mu Wan had never caused her any real harm.
On the contrary, Mu Wan had helped her several times, and had done all sorts of intimate things that would make other people’s jaws drop if they ever found out.
Like right now.
Even though Mu Wan had decided she was guilty of cheating, after delivering the punishment she continued to tease her as usual while still maintaining the “lover” act by offering her lap as a pillow.
Lisiluo couldn’t imagine why Mu Wan was being so tolerant toward her.
After all, Lisiluo had been the one to confess. Lisiluo was also the one who kept making mistakes. Mu Wan had countless opportunities to simply abandon her.
But in the end, Mu Wan had brushed everything off with a joke, and the next time they met it was as if nothing had happened at all.
This feeling.
This complicated, even painful emotion that Mu Wan gave her—
How was she supposed to handle it?
Lisiluo clutched the fabric over her chest, unsure how to release the frustration building inside her.
Ah, right.
There was still that gem.
Why did her magic power only react to Mu Wan? Why not Yu Weian-senpai? Why not anyone else?
None of it made sense.
Everything was wrong.
Lisiluo quietly slipped her hand into her skirt pocket. As expected, the gem was still there.
If everything really was pointless, then at the very least—
She gripped it tightly and poured her magic power into it.
Along with it, she poured in the bitter frustration she had just been feeling.
The gem grew warm, just like the first time.
Lisiluo secretly pulled it out a little and glanced at it.
Two rainbow stripes.
Unexpected… or maybe not so unexpected after all.
“…Senpai.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
Lisiluo didn’t turn around. She stayed with her back facing Mu Wan.
Only in this position did she have the courage to voice the doubt in her heart.
“You… really aren’t angry?”
“Angry about what?”
“About… me lying to you. About going to see Yu Weian-senpai. You said I was cheating earlier—”
“Oh, that.”
Mu Wan gave a casual shrug.
“I don’t have any reason to be angry. I already knew you wouldn’t betray me.”
“Eh?” Lisiluo hadn’t expected that answer at all. She spun around in surprise.
“But I…”
“For you, showing off your progress really was something urgent, right? I’m not petty enough to get mad over something like that.”
Mu Wan tilted her head, her face clearly saying Isn’t that obvious?
“And besides, you failed the test, didn’t you? That already says plenty.”
Wait—what does that mean?
Mu Wan’s explanation had been so offhand that even Lisiluo could tell she was skipping over something important.
Lisiluo suddenly sat up, kneeling on the sofa as she grabbed Mu Wan by the shoulders.
“Senpai!”
“Uwah, what are you doing?”
Their faces were now directly opposite each other. Mu Wan actually looked a little startled by Lisiluo’s sudden forcefulness.
“What did you mean when you said the test failure already says plenty?!”
“Hmm? Didn’t I already tell you?”
Mu Wan blinked innocently.
“The method of using external emotions to raise your strength only works when both people are willing lovers.”