In a series of flashing scenes, two weeks slipped by quietly.
Ever since successfully summoning Yuge and deducing her somewhat horrifying lineage, Tunzuo had assumed her peaceful life was about to drift away, and that the open and covert struggle called faction conflict would soon descend upon her, spiraling out of control.
However, reality proved Tunzuo overthought it.
Her calm and serene life continued for the entire two weeks.
The Witch Academy of Vast Sea City remained placid, with no eccentric incidents occurring.
Samotush and Anne hadn’t contacted Tunzuo again either.
Tunzuo’s little days were quite comfortable.
If not for the Ghost Witch’s special constitution, she’d probably have stacked several spare tires around her belly by now.
Academically, with Professor Lei Ruiya’s one-on-one professional guidance and Yuge’s exceptionally overpowered auxiliary support, Tunzuo’s mastery of Summoning School knowledge advanced like a rocket.
Lei Ruiya hadn’t brought up the topic of Tunzuo joining a faction again after that lesson, but the near-end-of-class gossip session had become a fixed routine.
The relationship between Tunzuo and Lei Ruiya grew increasingly close, showing signs of evolving into a solid friendship.
Sally and Huli, the two little ones, remained as energetic as ever, as if they had inexhaustible energy every day.
They often debated the pros and cons of Combat System fighting techniques versus Element System spellcasting techniques.
Meanwhile, Tunzuo curled up like a snake basking in the sun, shrinking into a corner of the sofa, listening to the two kids bickering while enjoying the vibrant stillness.
Hai Lanyue occasionally visited Tunzuo’s dorm to hang out.
That lonely girl, always carrying a faint melancholy aura, seemed remarkably relaxed around Tunzuo.
Sometimes the two witches would cuddle up and snack together; other times they’d just sit in silence, staring off into space, not disturbing each other yet oddly harmonious.
As for that perverted golden dragon, Olivia—well, how to put it?
The feeling Tunzuo got was that she’d finally come to her senses.
Olivia seemed to have finally understood the aesthetics of distance.
She neither stuck to Tunzuo’s side constantly like before, making Tunzuo uncomfortable, nor did she disappear completely.
Instead, she would appear at just the right moment.
When Tunzuo felt bored, Olivia would tell jokes or share interesting stories to cheer her up.
When Tunzuo craved some snacks, Olivia would suddenly show up and, like a magician, pull a box of exquisite desserts from her bosom and hand them to Tunzuo.
That kind of gentle, all-encompassing doting left Tunzuo with nothing to complain about.
Sometimes Tunzuo couldn’t help but have the illusion that the perverted dragon wasn’t so bad after all.
But every perfect thing has its flaws.
The only blemish in Tunzuo’s blissful routine was probably An Lin’s face, always frowning over account books.
Whenever An Lin sighed over her financial situation, Tunzuo would feel a bit guilty and shovel more rice into her mouth.
What could she do?
She just had such a big appetite.
An Lin was the one who said she wanted to take good care of her.
The scene shifted.
It was Thursday afternoon after school.
The sunlight was just right, and the breeze was mild.
Tunzuo wore a loose white T-shirt that hung down long enough to cover half her thighs, her pale legs completely bare.
She held a large, freshly opened bag of chips, plopped down ungracefully into the soft sofa, and melted into it like a liquid.
That slacker vibe was totally like a middle-aged unemployed man.
“Phew… ah… I’m pretty much a useless witch now.”
Tunzuo tossed chips into her mouth, crunching noisily, her eyes glazed as she stared at the chandelier on the ceiling.
Her mind blanked, and occasionally she let out a silly chuckle from her fantasies.
Sally and Huli sat cross-legged on the carpet beside Tunzuo.
Today, the two little ones were acting out of character.
Instead of rushing out after school to play until evening like usual, they huddled together, whispering mysteriously about something.
“Hey, Sally, what do you think about going to the Aurora Valley in Lingdong City? I heard the ice cream there is made with Saint Diss milk. It’s supposed to be delicious.”
Huli lowered her voice, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
“But I’m a bit uncomfortable with Lingdong City’s environment, and the travel time is a bit long…”
Sally frowned, holding a map and gesturing.
“How about the Misty Forest in Yungu City? They have a regular witch market there. They say you can find lots of interesting trinkets.”
“But the mist in the Misty Forest is so heavy. My fur will get tangled…”
Feeling a bit bored, Tunzuo perked up her ears to eavesdrop, catching every word from Sally and Huli.
Hearing their travel plans, Tunzuo couldn’t help rolling over onto her side.
She tilted her head and looked at the two little ones, asking curiously:
“Xiao Hei, Xiao Bai, are you planning a long trip? Getting ready to travel after graduation?”
Tunzuo’s sudden question made the two kids simultaneously lift their heads, blinking their big eyes at Tunzuo.
“Tutu, we’re planning where to go for the Cool Break!”
Sally shook the map in her hand, explaining excitedly.
“Cool Break?”
The new term made Tunzuo pause.
With half a chip dangling from her mouth, she wondered to herself, ‘What’s the Cool Break? A special holiday for escaping the heat?’
Seeing Tunzuo’s blank look, Sally and Huli realized that their Tutu was a Lost Witch who only half-understood the common knowledge of witch society.
She definitely wouldn’t know the holiday system.
“Oh! I forgot, Social Common Sense class hasn’t covered that yet, so it’s normal that Tutu doesn’t know. Let me explain!”
Huli lightly tapped her forehead, putting on a little scholar’s expression, and started lecturing seriously.
“According to the Witch Code, there are four major holidays a year, corresponding to the four seasons: the Flower Dance Break in spring, the Cool Break in summer, the Harvest Break in autumn, and the Hibernation Break in winter. The week after next Monday, we’ll be having the Cool Break.”
Huli held up four fingers, counting them off.
“The Flower Dance Break is one week, celebrating blooming flowers and the revival of all things; the Cool Break is one week, welcoming the most vibrant period of the year; the Hibernation Break is one week, rewarding the witches who’ve worked hard all year. And the Harvest Break, which celebrates the year’s harvest summary, is the most special.”
“Special? Is the Harvest Break different from the others?”
The uneven holiday arrangement felt a bit odd to Tunzuo.
“The Harvest Break is the longest! Twice as long as the others—a full two weeks!”
Sally jumped in, her face full of longing.
“Because during the Harvest Break, it’s when large plantations all over the Duonayongla World are harvesting en masse. Even with magic assistance, the huge number of various crops still requires a lot of hands for harvesting and care. So to ensure sufficient labor, the Witch Council just waved their hands and extended the Harvest Break, letting everyone have time to rest well after the busy season.”
“I see.”
Tunzuo nodded thoughtfully, listening to Sally and Huli’s explanation, and sighed inwardly.
‘Well, witch society also has the classic case of going home for harvest during holidays. It seems the essence of labor is the same for all races—no one escapes.’
“So that means we’ll have a long vacation the week after next? Ah… looks like next week will be weekend-less.”
“Weekend-less?”
Sally and Huli exchanged confused glances, not understanding what Tunzuo was talking about.
“Tutu, what are you saying? Why would next week have no weekend?”
“Because of adjusted days off, of course.”
Tunzuo said it as if it were universal truth.
“To piece together a full week holiday, next weekend will definitely be used for classes to make up the hours. That’s the absolute essence of adjusted days off—sacrifice the weekend to offer for the holiday.”
Tunzuo’s words instantly turned Sally and Huli’s expressions from confusion to terror, as if they’d heard some horrible curse.
Sally gasped, her voice distorted with fear.
“A-Adjusted days off?!”
Huli even bounced up from the ground in excitement, her fluffy white tail puffing into a furball.
“Moving the original rest days away to work, then paying them back with holidays? Wh-What kind of terrible system is that?!”
“That’s no different from fraud!”
“The ordinary rest days taken by the holiday must be compensated with the following workdays! How could it be the opposite?! Isn’t that just tricking witches into working?!”
Seeing the two little ones’ disgusted and repulsed expressions, Tunzuo was startled.
She gradually realized she’d been thinking by habit.
She hadn’t expected witch society to have no such evil adjusted-days-off system.
“Uh… we witches don’t have this system?”
“Of course not! If anyone invented such a system, she’d definitely be minced into meat sauce by angry witches!”
Sally and Huli answered in unison.
Then the two kids huddled together, pointing at the air, as if they were mentally cursing that heinous inventor.
After hearing their answer, Tunzuo inexplicably felt a surge of emotion.
She clasped her hands together in front of her chest and silently prayed to the ceiling.
‘Praise bad mommy, thank you for turning me into a witch so I could escape the clutches of adjusted days off.’
“So, Tutu, do you have any plans for the Cool Break?”
Sally leaned in curiously, interrupting Tunzuo’s grateful prayer to Antuxi.
Facing Sally’s question, Tunzuo blinked and curled her lips mysteriously, lowering her voice:
“Heh heh, unlike you, I already have a plan. It’s going to be a very grand, very fulfilling, very anticipated plan.”
But Sally and Huli didn’t believe Tunzuo’s boasting at all.
They both narrowed their eyes and spoke one after another:
“You plan to sleep through the whole break, right.”
“Probably won’t walk more than a few steps from the bed the entire holiday.”
“After all, what else can Tutu do besides sleep?”
Caught red-handed, Tunzuo’s small face instantly turned bright red.
She angrily grabbed a nearby throw pillow and threw it at the two little ones who gave her no face.
“Hey! What do you mean by that! I call it enhancing my perception of the Spirit World through deep sleep! That’s something taught in the Specialized Theory class!”
Just as the three witches were tussling, a golden figure had somehow appeared silently behind the sofa.
Olivia wore a comfortable casual outfit, her golden hair draped over her shoulders.
A gentle smile hung on her face, handsome enough to make any witch unable to look away.
Like a lurking leopard, she quietly watched Tunzuo until Tunzuo felt the overly intense gaze behind her and turned around.
Olivia leaned down slightly, bringing her mouth close to Tunzuo’s ear, her voice low and magnetic.
“Hey, little ghost. Got any fixed plans for the Cool Break?”
Tunzuo was startled by Olivia suddenly appearing behind her.
She wondered how Olivia, being this big, managed such good stealth.
So Tunzuo gave Olivia a dirty look and cursed:
“Hey, perverted dragon, how come you don’t make any sound when you walk? Do you think you’re a cat witch?”
Facing Tunzuo’s scolding, Olivia chuckled lightly without replying.
She just continued to stare at Tunzuo with her brilliant golden vertical pupils, waiting for an answer.
Tunzuo stared at Olivia’s face for a long time before finally sighing in defeat and answering honestly:
“No. Unless something unexpected happens, I’ll probably stay home and sleep.”
“If you have no plans, how about listening to my suggestion?”
Olivia’s lips curled into a confident smile, as if she had expected Tunzuo’s answer.
She straightened up and smilingly extended an invitation to Tunzuo.
“Are you interested in coming to Golden Sand Beach with me during the break?”
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