In the tranquility following the crowd’s departure.
The last rays of the setting sun had long faded, and the night, like a huge piece of dark blue velvet, gently covered the entire Han Hai Cheng.
The only things still busy within the academy were probably the street lamps along the bluestone paths.
These lamps tirelessly released dim yellow light, attracting countless moths to circle beneath them.
Inside the dormitory belonging to Tunzuo and the others, the bathroom door was gently pushed open.
A misty, white cloud of steam, mixed with a faint jasmine fragrance, poured out from the bathroom, instantly filling the entire hallway.
Olivia, dressed in a soft white bathrobe, stepped out of the bathroom, her bare feet on the slightly cool wooden floor.
Her freshly washed long golden hair was wet and spread over her shoulders, with water droplets still dripping from the ends.
The droplets slid down Olivia’s slender neck and disappeared into the slightly open collar of her bathrobe.
Amid the lingering steam, Olivia’s originally aggressive beauty now gained a touch of hazy allure.
The bathrobe, moistened by the steam, clung to Olivia’s powerful body curves, vaguely outlining the taut muscle lines forged through countless trials.
Her flat stomach was faintly visible beneath the fabric, very enticing, making one want to take a bite.
Olivia casually wiped her hair with a towel, walked to the refrigerator in the kitchen, pulled open the door, and poured herself a glass of cold milk.
A fine layer of mist condensed on the cool glass cup in Olivia’s hot palm.
Olivia raised the glass and downed the cold milk, the icy liquid sliding down her throat, slightly dispelling the heat after her bath.
Olivia let out a soft breath, her hot breath turning into a puff of white mist in the cool night air, then dissipating.
After her bath, Olivia didn’t choose to go back to her room to rest.
Instead, she turned and walked toward the living room.
On the coffee table in the living room, a thick stack of notebooks was spread out.
These notebooks, like silent little mountains, filled the entire table.
The yellowed, curled pages proved that these notebooks had been carefully used.
Every page was densely covered with various information.
Olivia sat down on the sofa in front of the coffee table, reached out, and after some selection, pulled out a notebook and began to read it carefully.
The notebook detailed Tunzuo’s all living habits and behavior patterns for the past week.
Under the warm yellow light in the dormitory, one could see that the notebook was filled with dense observation records.
“Wakes up at seven in the morning. Doesn’t like being woken up by other witches. Has serious morning crankiness.Likes to linger in bed.”
“Prefers liquid food for breakfast, doesn’t like overly greasy things. Has a great appetite, eats a lot in one meal.”
“Nap time is usually from 12:30 to 2:30. Sleeps curled up hugging a pillow, like a cat lacking a sense of security.”
“After school in the afternoon, there’s an 80% chance she’ll go back to the dorm to sleep and rest. Another 20% chance she might go to the cafeteria to buy snacks because she’s craving them.”
Olivia’s eyes swept over the words on the notebook, a playful smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
These weren’t just her observation records of Tunzuo; they were also carefully deduced strategy methods, version after version.
From the initial crude and rough thug style to the later gentlemanly attitude, even including her little trick in the bathroom of provocatively showing off her figure to test Tunzuo’s preferences—all of this was actually part of Olivia’s plan.
Olivia knew very well that in the duel where she first met Tunzuo, she had left a very bad impression on her.
Cold and indifferent, arrogant, self-righteous.
It was difficult for Olivia to remove these initial bad impressions from Tunzuo’s heart.
Therefore, she chose an extreme method.
Since she couldn’t redeem herself, she might as well smash the pot to pieces.
Olivia chose to use the most shameless and overbearing way to forcefully break into Tunzuo’s life, leaving a deep impression on her.
Olivia wanted to make Tunzuo’s impression of her as bad as possible, so bad that she thought this witch was utterly perverted and unreasonable.
Once this step was achieved, Olivia would then slowly, bit by bit, begin to change.
When Olivia started to show tenderness, thoughtfulness, and even a fragile side in front of Tunzuo, Tunzuo would naturally develop an illusion.
An illusion that “she’s not that bad after all,” or “she changed for me.”
This psychological gap was precisely Olivia’s best weapon to break through Tunzuo’s defenses.
The constant internal strife within the Gold Family had long trained Olivia into a perfect actress who could adapt to any situation, allowing her to adjust her expressions and emotions at will, hiding her true self beneath layers of disguise.
It was thanks to this skill that Olivia was able to stir up Tunzuo’s emotions step by step and perfectly conceal her dark, paranoid, even pathological nature in front of her.
Although Olivia’s pursuit of Tunzuo was full of calculations, her love for her was real.
Olivia truly liked Tunzuo.
The moment Tunzuo pressed her silver sword against Olivia’s neck, Olivia fell hopelessly in love.
Olivia wanted to completely possess Tunzuo, regarding her as her most precious treasure, tightly gripping her in her hand, never letting go.
Earlier, on the way back to the dorm, the words Olivia had confided to Tunzuo—about family bondage, about the hypocrisy behind glory, about the longing for freedom—were all true, without any falsehood.
She just used some little tricks in this relationship to hide her unworthiness, so that Tunzuo could better accept her.
As for those dark sides hidden by Olivia…
If they can be hidden for a lifetime, then they don’t exist, right?
Olivia picked up the pen on the coffee table and wrote a few more lines in the notebook, re-reviewing her love pursuit plan.
Time slipped away quietly amidst the rustling friction of the pen tip.
After a long while, Olivia rubbed her brow and tiredly put down the notebook, letting out a soft sigh.
“Still too limited…”
Olivia began to mutter to herself, her somewhat exhausted voice echoing in the empty living room.
“After all, I’m always interacting with Little Ghost from the perspective of a pursuer. Relying solely on my own witch’s thinking is still too easy to fall into dead ends. I can’t grasp many details.”
Olivia looked up, staring blankly at the chandelier on the ceiling.
She thought for a long time, then came up with a brilliant idea, a glint flashing in her eyes.
Olivia pulled out her beautifully covered golden grimoire and tapped a few times on the screen.
Soon, an encrypted group chat named “Golden Dragon’s Strategy Team” was established.
In the member list lay Sally, Huli, and Hai Lanyue, who had just recently become friends.
Of course, Tunzuo was naturally not in the group chat.
The moment the group chat was created, three messages almost simultaneously popped up in the chat box.
[Flying Black Cat (Sally): Huh? Lady Olivia? What kind of group is this? Why isn’t Tutu Gege in it?]
[Teddy is the cutest (Huli): Yeah, Lady Olivia, is there something urgent for creating this group?]
[Don’t Want Good Luck (Hai Lanyue): Um, hello everyone.]
Olivia looked at the dancing text on the screen, a gentle yet calculating smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
Her slender fingers quickly tapped on the screen, replying:
[Perverted Golden Dragon (Olivia): Sorry to bother everyone. I want to learn more about Tunzuo from you all, but I don’t want her to know, so I created this group. As a reward, I can provide anything you want, for example, new flying brooms and limited edition teddy bear plushies.]
Seeing the “special conditions” Olivia offered, Sally and Huli’s eyes instantly lit up.
Although the two little ones felt it was a bit unkind to sell out their Tutu Gege, the conditions Lady Olivia proposed were really tempting.
And Lady Olivia wasn’t a bad witch;
She just wanted to know a little more about Tutu Gege.
This shouldn’t count as betrayal, right?
Just as the two little ones were tangled about whether to sell out their Tutu Gege, the innocent Hai Lanyue threw fuel on the fire for Olivia.
[Don’t Want Good Luck: Um, I also want to know more about Tunzuo. She’s been very kind to me, the first witch to take the initiative to befriend me, so I also want to know what she likes…]
Hai Lanyue’s words became the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
Sally and Huli, whose positions were already wavering, instantly switched sides.
[Flying Black Cat: Alright! For Tutu Gege’s happiness, I, Sally, will do my duty!]
[Teddy is the cutest: Me too!]
Thus, a grand intelligence analysis session about Tunzuo kicked off under Olivia’s guidance.
[Perverted Golden Dragon: So, first, what does Tunzuo like to do most besides sleeping?]
[Flying Black Cat: I know this! Besides sleeping, what Tutu Gege loves most is eating desserts! Especially that super sweet strawberry cake. Every time she eats it, her eyes squint happily, looking so happy!]
[Teddy is the cutest: Hmm, also, Tutu Gege actually loves playing pranks.]
Seeing the word “pranks,” Olivia was slightly stunned, her finger hovering over the screen.
[Perverted Golden Dragon: Pranks?]
That Tunzuo liked eating desserts was within Olivia’s expectation, after all, most witches had a sweet tooth.
But this “loves playing pranks,” Olivia really hadn’t noticed.
In Olivia’s impression, although Tunzuo occasionally used some clever tricks, she mostly came across as cold, world-weary, and lacking motivation for anything.
[Flying Black Cat: It’s true! Lady Olivia, don’t be fooled by Tutu Gege’s aloof, laid-back look. She actually has a lot of mischievous intent!]
[Teddy is the cutest: Mm-hmm! I still remember the first time Sally and I met Tutu Gege. She was hiding in the shadows and scared us! Another time, Tutu Gege hid Sally’s broom, and Sally looked for it for a long time.]
[Flying Black Cat: Ahem, that was an accident. That day, I was in bad spirits, so Tutu Gege got the better of me.]
Watching the two little ones spill the beans on the screen, the doubt in Olivia’s eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by a smile of sudden understanding.
Olivia remembered the scene at the academy gate earlier, when Tunzuo had instigated An Lin to teach her a lesson, looking like a sly fox who loved watching the world burn.
So that’s how it was.
Beneath the aggrieved exterior lay mischievous intent; behind the sweet, coquettish voice was a black-bellied nature.
Olivia had always thought Tunzuo was the kind of little white rabbit that needed protection, but she never expected that her Little Ghost was actually a little fox in sheep’s clothing.
“Indeed, I need to talk more with other witches to broaden my perspective.”
Olivia put down the grimoire, the smile on her lips growing richer, even carrying a hint of danger.
It was the hunting instinct aroused by discovering another side of the prey.
It seemed that the Little Ghost named Tunzuo had a bloodline of troublemaking flowing in her bones.
She loved to tease people, loved to see others flustered.
But before, oppressed by the burdens of life, Tunzuo had hidden this playful nature, not even knowing it herself.
However, in front of familiar witches, in a safe environment, that mischievous, black-hearted Tunzuo would slowly awaken without realizing it.
The smile at the corner of Olivia’s mouth grew wider and wider, finally she couldn’t help but let out a light laugh.
“You really are to my taste, Little Ghost.”
Olivia murmured softly, her fingers tapping a line on the screen.
[Perverted Golden Dragon: Thank you for the information. This is very helpful to me. I won’t shortchange you two little ones on the reward. Remember to check it.]
[Flying Black Cat: Thank you, Lady Olivia! You’re the best witch ever!]
[Teddy is the cutest: Thank you, Lady Olivia.]
[Don’t Want Good Luck: So, Tunzuo is this kind of witch. Thank you everyone, I’ve learned a lot too!]
Ending the group chat, Olivia leaned back on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling.
The image of Tunzuo in her mind became more vivid and three-dimensional.
Although the previous strategy plan was correct in the big picture, it had indeed overlooked some details.
Since Tunzuo loved playing pranks, simply a gentle offensive might not be enough.
Olivia needed a little stimulation, something that could stir Tunzuo’s competitiveness and playfulness.
Only by making Tunzuo find it interesting would she truly invest her energy into paying attention to her.
Olivia picked up the pen again and solemnly wrote down the key word for the new strategy plan in a thick notebook.
[Prank]
“Since you like pranks, Little Ghost, I’ll just have to be a bit weaker and let you bully me. But…”
“Once you completely become mine, who bullies whom won’t be certain anymore~”
Olivia closed the notebook, her eyes shining with the excitement of a hunter seeing prey fall into the net, a mix of affection, possessiveness, and dark amusement intertwining on her face.