Chapter 42

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Chapter 42: Kick Him Out, Kick Him Out!

“Okay, the cuffs are off.”

Mi Xiaoliu rotated her wrists slightly after Hermit Sister unlocked them, then silently tucked herself behind the older girl’s back.

“There should’ve been a tracker on these, but… it seems to have malfunctioned?” Hermit Sister murmured as she destroyed the built-in device on the cuffs.

All thanks to the overpowering enchantments of the beginner combat suit.

Meanwhile, Wei Shi was still gaming. The crystal had just exploded—”Victory”—but his expression remained flat as he quietly lit a cigarette.

He exhaled a puff of smoke before slowly turning his gaze to Mi Xiaoliu, who had been crouched in the corner of the room, still shielding her forehead.

This time, she’d raised her hands to protect it before Wei Shi could flick it.

“You’re really useless,” he said, glancing at her as he flicked away some ash. “Don’t act alone again.”

And with just that one sentence, the incident was considered over.

——

“Morning.”

Monday morning, Yiwen greeted her desk mate like always.

Her expression was still dark as she walked into the classroom. What had happened last night? There was no way she could tell anyone. She’d gone home in a foul mood, only to find her mother wearing the same stony face.

The fact that the black-clad fugitive who’d caused so much trouble for the police turned out to be a little girl had surprised Yiwen. But the real surprise wasn’t that she was young—it was that she’d been able to take on the likes of Humpback Whale head-on.

It wasn’t rare for kids their age to commit crimes after awakening abilities. In fact, childhood malice was often the purest kind.

That little brat…

Yiwen clenched her teeth again at the thought.

“Not in a good mood?” Mi Xiaoliu, slumped over her desk, looked over at her.

“Yeah. I bumped into something yesterday. Just feeling off.” Yiwen answered vaguely.

“Want me to rub it better?” Mi Xiaoliu reached out, mimicking what Hermit Sister often did—but clearly had no idea where to start.

“No need. It doesn’t hurt anymore.” Yiwen blushed and turned away.

No way she could let him rub there!

Ah, if only all middle schoolers were as sensible as Mi Xiaoliu… The world would be a better place. At least he wasn’t like that damn little brat from last night.

The more she compared them, the more pleasant Mi Xiaoliu seemed.

“Wanna play tennis tonight? I can teach you,” Yiwen offered.

Nothing vented frustration better than repeatedly smashing tennis balls with a racket.

“Okay.” Mi Xiaoliu nodded.

That meant she’d get sweet water again.

Watching Yiwen extend yet another personal invitation—and to the same person—the girl in the front row with the ponytail instantly panicked. She needed to know what had happened over the weekend. Her rotted, fangirl-brain was already spinning with possibilities.

As Yiwen’s most loyal fan, she’d obviously bought movie tickets for Saturday in hopes of spying on them—but hadn’t spotted either of them in the sci-fi theater.

Maybe she just missed them in the crowd? Impossible. Yiwen’s aura was so radiant she could sense it from across a shopping mall. Besides, that day only one sci-fi movie was playing, and barely anyone showed up for it—it was boring as hell.

Between classes, while Yiwen was in the bathroom, the ponytail girl turned and casually struck up a conversation with the boy who had once teased her from the back row.

“Mi Xiaoliu, right? Is that your name?”

“Mi Xiaoliu?” he answered, a little unsure.

“Ohh, so your name really is Mi Xiaoliu. I didn’t know before.” The ponytail girl nodded, then hesitantly introduced herself. “I’m Zhang Huba.”

“…”

No reaction. Odd. Most people had some kind of response to hearing her name for the first time—was it because he was a Defective?

Back in middle school, she’d once had a long-distance online boyfriend. She asked him for “spending money” in a cutesy voice, and right as he was about to send it, he saw her username included the characters “Tyrant”. He paused, then immediately deleted her without even saying goodbye.

“Um, I don’t think I’ve seen you in the class group chat. Want to add me so I can invite you?”

“Oh, I’m already friends with him, I’ll add—” Jim tried to chime in, but Zhang Huba gave him that look. The same one Yiwen had used last time.

Friend request accepted +1.

Zhang Huba immediately turned and dove into Mi Xiaoliu’s profile space, searching for dirt.

It was empty. Not a single post.

Disappointing.

Yiwen slept through the entire morning’s lessons. It wasn’t until lunch that she finally woke up.

As usual, Mi Xiaoliu’s lunch had been delivered by Heli. Her cooking was delicious. Though she always said it was “extra she accidentally made,” it just happened to be all the things Mi Xiaoliu liked.

Of course, she never told Heli her preferences. But when Heli dragged her to her place to eat, she’d observed which dishes she ate the most.

After class, Yiwen really did want to get him interested in tennis. But Mi Xiaoliu seemed more curious about how Yiwen had managed to leave a butt print on the concrete steps than about the sport itself.

Today, though, Heli didn’t come to pick her up.

Backpack slung over her shoulders, Mi Xiaoliu stood in front of the school gate, dazed.

“Master, you went to play tennis with that white-haired guy after school, so the school nurse probably thought you went home and left,” Sasha said, trying to comfort him. 

“You really shouldn’t play with that white-haired guy again. He’s definitely up to no good.”

Mi Xiaoliu pulled out the durian-patterned phone Heli had given her.

On it was a message she’d sent while Yiwen was teaching her tennis:

Owner: “You looked like you were having fun, so I didn’t want to interrupt. I’ve got something to do and need to head home early today. Walk back on your own, okay? Don’t believe a word that white-haired boy says.”

At the final line, Sasha, who was sharing vision with Mi Xiaoliu, couldn’t help but silently praise Heli in her heart.

Besides that, there was a long string of unread messages—but they weren’t DMs. They were from a group chat. Probably the one Zhang Huba had added him to.

Its name?

“Girls of Class 1, Meiqiantu High”

Latest messages:

Taige: “@Barrett, you here?”

“No response.”

Taige: “What are you doing, Barrett? You ZW again?”

Barrett: “Yep yep, I’m ZW right now. Staring at your photo while I do it.”

Barrett’s profile picture was a beautified selfie of the class’s blond, glasses-wearing queen bee, sitting in the center of the room like it was a throne.

Taige: “Wanna game?”

Mi Xiaoliu stared at the unfamiliar letters “ZW.” As usual when confused, she sent three dots in the chat:

“…”

Scottish Fat Chicken: “WTF! How did he get in here?!”

Thanks to Heli, Mi Xiaoliu’s ID had been updated to match his actual name.

Taige: “Sorry! I added the wrong group! 😭”

Call Me “Go Memorize Vocab”: “Kick him out! Kick him out!”

[You have been removed from the group chat.]

Mi Xiaoliu: “…”

Backpack still on, she walked a long way before finally asking:

“Sasha, what does ‘ZW’ mean?”

“Ah? Uhh… Oh! Master, ‘ZW’ is an acronym for ‘zìwěn’—it means suicide. These girls are secretly playing suicide games?! Don’t hang out with them anymore.”

“Mmm.” Mi Xiaoliu began to ponder what suicide really meant.