Speaking of which, the decision to hang herself wasn’t purely impulsive.
Last night, when the debt collection call came in, Su Ruanruan had already completely broken down once.
At the time, she had hugged her terminal, tears streaming down her face as she begged, “Please, just give me a few more days… I’ll pay it back, I really will…”
The woman on the other end of the call merely let out a lazy laugh, her voice light and sticky-sweet.
“The contract won’t be void just because you cry a little. You have to own up to the mess you made yourself, little girl.”
Su Ruanruan had rambled on incoherently, saying she could take any job—wash dishes, do odd chores, anything—as long as they didn’t take her away.
The other side let out another laugh.
“That won’t do. Our boss said she’s very interested in you.”
“A pretty little thing like you, stubborn-mouthed but trembling at the slightest touch—bringing you back and keeping you in a cage to play with would be so much fun.”
Even now, just thinking back on it made Su Ruanruan’s entire body run cold.
So she had cried for a long time, then found a rope and prepared to end her rotten, miserable life.
In the end, the fact that even something as simple as hanging herself had been botched proved just how much of a failure she was.
“What a sin…”
Su Ruanruan covered her face, feeling like she wanted to shrink into the cracks in the floorboards.
Just as she was still wallowing in the wreckage of her pathetic life—
Creak—
The wooden door was pushed open from the outside.
Su Ruanruan’s body stiffened. She slowly lifted her head.
The gap widened. Cold light from the hallway spilled in, illuminating two figures.
One was tall and sturdy, with gray hair and gray ears, a wolf tail swaying lightly behind her.
She wore a cropped leather top and shorts—Gracia.
The other had slightly tanned skin, small bat-like wings on her back, heavy eyeliner, and was lazily twirling a spiked short whip in her hand—Noelle.
Debt collectors from Axel Nightmare Financial.
A notorious thug duo in the nearby blocks.
Su Ruanruan’s face drained of color in an instant.
“Hey there, little Witch Ruanruan.”
Gracia leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed.
Her gaze first landed on the rope marks around her neck, then on the broken rope on the floor.
The corners of her mouth slowly curled up, revealing sharp canines.
“Trying to dodge your debt by hanging yourself, huh?”
Noelle let out a soft “Oh dear,” her tone carrying a hint of regret.
“What a shame. You were so close to actually dying.”
Being stared at by the two of them sent chills running down Su Ruanruan’s back.
She instinctively shrank backward.
“T-The deadline hasn’t passed yet…”
“Hm?”
Gracia raised an eyebrow.
“You owe two and a half million, and you’re still talking to me about deadlines? Looking to get slapped or what?”
She spoke with such righteous confidence that Su Ruanruan briefly had the illusion that she was the one being unreasonable.
Wait, no—she was clearly the one being bullied here, right?
Noelle strolled in slowly, her heels clicking crisply against the wooden floor.
She stopped in front of Su Ruanruan and looked down at the silver-haired little Witch curled up on the ground, letting out a soft laugh.
“To be honest, every time I see you, I find it fascinating.”
Su Ruanruan froze.
Noelle crouched down, resting one cheek on her hand as she smiled at her.
“You’re clearly a Witch, yet you’re this soft. Normally, shouldn’t you guys be the ones hunting us? But look at you—you’re about to cry just from seeing us.”
The more she spoke, the more playful amusement shone in her eyes.
“I really don’t know how you’ve managed to survive this long.”
Su Ruanruan’s face flushed red then paled.
Of course she knew why.
Under normal circumstances, these two women shouldn’t have dared speak to a Witch like this.
Whether werewolf or succubus, they were supposed to be the ones trembling in fear when facing a real Witch.
But Su Ruanruan was simply too unlike a Witch.
That was why these beings who should normally fear Witches became especially excited when they encountered such an abnormally easy-to-bully softie like her.
It was like finally getting to step on a predator’s head, and the thrill was overwhelming.
The more Su Ruanruan thought about it, the colder she felt.
She took a deep breath, forced her tears back, and raised her voice with reddened ears:
“Sh-Shut up! Who gave you permission to speak to this Witch like that?! You inferior races should—!”
Before she could finish, her voice started trembling on its own.
Gracia and Noelle fell silent for a moment.
Then they both burst into laughter.
The kind of laughter that came from being genuinely entertained.
Su Ruanruan’s heart sank with a thump.
This was the worst.
Her pathetic attempt at intimidation was not intimidating at all in their eyes. Instead, it only made them more excited.
“Did you hear that?”
Gracia licked her canine tooth, her shoulders shaking with laughter.
“She’s putting on airs again.”
Noelle sighed as if troubled, then reached out and pinched Su Ruanruan’s chin, forcing her to lift her face.
“Miss Ruanruan. Do you know how illegal that little tsundere act of yours is? You’re clearly terrified and on the verge of tears, yet you still try to look fierce… It makes me want to… prprpr.”
Su Ruanruan’s pupils shrank.
She instinctively tried to pull away, but her back was already pressed against the wall.
Gracia stepped forward and looked down at her from above.
Her gray wolf ears twitched lightly.
“Stop teasing her. Where’s the money?”
Su Ruanruan’s lips trembled.
“If you can’t pay, then you’re coming with us.”
Gracia’s gaze fell on the rope marks on her neck. “Besides, you already know our boss doesn’t care about the money. She wants something else.”
A loud buzz rang in Su Ruanruan’s head as all the color drained from her face.
“N-No— You can’t touch me! I’m a Witch! I’m a registered academy student! If you dare—!”
“Dare what?”
Noelle tilted her head slightly, her smile sickeningly sweet.
“Go tell your teacher? Or sue us in federal court?”
She leaned in closer, almost whispering into Su Ruanruan’s ear with a laugh.
“But you signed the contract yourself. The debt is yours alone. Who’s going to come save you, little Ruanruan?”
Su Ruanruan opened her mouth, but no words came out.
That’s right.
Who would come to save her?
Gracia grew impatient.
She bent down and grabbed Su Ruanruan’s wrist in one swift motion, yanking her up from the floor.
“Kyaa—!”
Su Ruanruan let out a short, startled cry. Her body instinctively curled up as tears immediately spilled from her eyes.
She was so light.
Light as if she barely weighed anything, so slender that one hand could easily wrap around her completely.
Gracia lifted her, her expression turning somewhat mocking.
“Tsk. Are you really a Witch? You’re so pathetically weak.”
Under normal circumstances, even the weakest Witch would never react like Su Ruanruan after being grabbed—they wouldn’t tremble, wouldn’t cry, and wouldn’t shrink into a shivering little ball like a frightened animal.
Noelle watched the scene, her smile deepening.
“Don’t say that. No matter how unlike one she is, she’s still a Witch.”
She reached out and brushed aside the messy silver hair on Su Ruanruan’s forehead.
Her tone was as gentle as if she were coaxing a child, yet her words were incredibly malicious.
“It’s just… the kind of Witch that makes people really want to commit insubordination.”
Su Ruanruan completely fell apart.
“Let me go… Please… Don’t touch me…”
Her pretense of being strong shattered completely.
Su Ruanruan’s voice was thin and trembling, tears falling plop plop down her cheeks.
She looked pitifully adorable to an illegal degree.
Noelle smiled with curved eyes and gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
“Now you’re begging? Too bad, it’s already too late.”
Of course, they didn’t dare do anything serious to an officially registered Witch right there on the spot.
But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t enjoy the feeling of stepping on such a Witch.
After all, opportunities like this were extremely rare.
…
Cold wind from outside blew in through the broken window.
Su Ruanruan was being carried out by Gracia, her legs still shaking, tears flowing nonstop.
Her whole body had shrunk into a tight ball.
Noelle followed leisurely beside them, her tail swaying lightly.
She glanced down at the girl and suddenly narrowed her eyes in thought.
“Though it’s kind of strange. Your scent is much fainter than other Witches.”
Gracia snorted.
“Isn’t that better? Saves us from smelling something annoying.”
“True.”
Noelle smiled and didn’t pursue the thought further.
For them, the most important thing right now was to bring this debt-ridden little Witch back to complete their job.
PS: Images of the duo attached below
