Chapter 161
by Need_More_SleepChapter 161: Small Can Be Cute Too
“4 minutes 36 seconds—suboptimal physical condition?” Jim stared dejectedly at his physical exam report, specifically the 1000-meter run evaluation.
He’d been running around with the Tian Xing Dao group every day, hadn’t he? Though admittedly, he rarely did manual labor—mostly just standing behind Isaac during negotiations to look intimidating as a lackey.
Turning to his deskmate’s result of 10 minutes 43 seconds, Jim felt slightly better.
“Master has improved significantly! It seems the combat suit’s binding doesn’t hinder physical growth,” Sasha encouraged.
But Mi Xiaoliu wasn’t upset about being dead last in the school rankings.
In fact, she was happy—progress meant praise from Heli.
At the start of the semester, Mi Xiaoliu’s physical condition had been the worst. Kept imprisoned by Easter with only minimal nutrients for survival, she’d barely eaten anything for six years, let alone exercised.
Back then, while others could walk to catch their breath after running, even walking left Mi Xiaoliu’s legs sore.
Now the improvement was obvious—when Gloria chased her, she could actually run a few meters before being caught.
Yiwen reviewed her own exam report (Filled with the Chairwoman’s arbitrary entries) and found no major issues—though her updated 6-meter ability radius wasn’t reflected.
Exam results were announced alongside physical evaluations. Some students groaned in despair, others cheered excitedly, while a few remained expressionless and indifferent.
The last group secretly envied the first two—having someone at home who cared about their scores was a privilege.
As for Lu Mingxue? Her only reaction to failing was gritted teeth. She’d been copying answers smoothly until accidentally glancing at Mi Xiaoliu—suddenly her equations transformed into chicken-and-rabbit cage calculations.
“Wanna work summer jobs together? Found a factory paying 6,000 a month,” Jim invited Yiwen.
Both were sixteen, Mi Xiaoliu wasn’t.
“Can’t. Going back to my hometown,” Yiwen declined.
“The countryside? Can Xiaoliu and I come?” Jim’s eyes lit up.
“Not this time. Private matters.” Yiwen refused again, despite having already invited Mi Xiaoliu.
No third wheels allowed.
“What’s the big deal? After you’re done! Three guys hanging out—” Jim muttered.
Yiwen could only laugh dryly.
Who’s a guy with you?
At lunch break, Yiwen and Mi Xiaoliu hurried to their secret hideout, denying Gloria any last chances to bully Mi Xiaoliu before vacation.
Not exactly “lunch break”—after collecting reports, summer vacation officially began.
Students were paradoxical creatures, during term, they longed for breaks, counting every second until freedom, yet once holiday arrived, lingering at school felt fine. By mid-vacation, they’d miss school life—only to panic again as the new term approached.
An entire semester’s worth of textbooks needed hauling home. Those who hadn’t gradually transported them earlier now faced the consequences.
Students who’d mocked Mi Xiaoliu’s childish backpack daily now eyed it with envy, desperately wishing they could trade their tote bags for it.
Without Yiwen and Sasha, someone would’ve scammed it off her already.
“Here—I made this myself.” Yiwen produced a lunchbox.
She’d succumbed to the classic Japanese heroine trope after all.
Handing it over, she deliberately showed Mi Xiaoliu the three band-aids on her fingers.
No actual injuries—just props for sympathy.
Calculated? Please—since when do beauties need calculations?
Mi Xiaoliu didn’t notice the band-aids at all, happily accepting the lunchbox because she didn’t even recognize what they were.
Yiwen, her little scheme unrewarded, fumed silently and crossed her arms, vowing to ignore Mi Xiaoliu for at least five minutes.
Think happy thoughts… Going back home soon… Can finally wear girls’ clothes again after so long… At least a whole week without worrying about work, the Black-Clothed One, the miracle herb, the missing dream server…
The future looked bright—except for…
Yiwen glanced down at her flat chest.
Just then, Mi Xiaoliu tugged at her sleeve. “Water.”
Yiwen had prepared food but forgotten drinks.
But having sworn to ignore her for five minutes, Yiwen turned away without a word.
Mi Xiaoliu.exe has stopped responding.
“Is the white-haired brat starting to worry about her development?” Sasha noted Yiwen’s subtle gesture.
“Development?”
“Didn’t Master just learn this? Girls’ chests grow bigger—that’s what ‘sexy’ means. If they don’t, girls get self-conscious. Maybe the Master will care about it someday too.”
“Why?”
“Because bigger looks nice! A good figure satisfies vanity… Though too big isn’t great either. Actually, small is fine too—cute works.”
“Mmm.” Mi Xiaoliu nodded.
Hearing it was about appearance, she lost interest—she didn’t think she was pretty anyway.
But being thoughtful, she poked Yiwen’s arm and repeated Sasha’s words to comfort her.
“Small can be cute too.”
Yiwen: “……”
“What kind of shameless talk is this?!” The Tiger Girl, who’d been secretly following them, was stunned.
To her ears, that line carried very different implications. How could a handsome guy like Yiwen be snatched up internally?!
“Big Sis Barrett, you have to help me,” she whined to her best friend.
Barrett rubbed her temples. “I need to talk to that Mi Xiaoliu alone. Lure Yiwen away later—say a teacher wants to see him.”
Not that she was playing wingman—she genuinely needed to speak with Mi Xiaoliu.
Because of him (her), Yiwen barely hung out with Barrett anymore. They used to eat lunch together every day.
Not that she was jealous—if Yiwen got a boyfriend, this would be inevitable. But the problem was who this “boyfriend” was. No matter how Yiwen denied it, everything about her screamed “girl in love.”
Was Mi Xiaoliu’s hidden ability charming people or something?
First the “hero saves beauty” trope—what next?
The more she thought about it, the more disgusted she felt. Mi Xiaoliu fit every cliché of those outdated harem protagonists: scrawny, plain-looking, probably shorter than the heroine, relying on tired heroic plots, no obvious merits, surrounded by pretty girls, inexplicably pursued.
Oh, but he’s kind, right? Kindness doesn’t cut it these days—only works on naive girls like Yiwen who don’t know anime tropes.
Disgusting.
The mere idea of someone so mediocre getting girls falling for him was nauseating.
“Yiwen, a teacher wants to discuss your missed exams,” Zhang Huba said, finding a plausible excuse.
“Thought that was settled… Xiaoliu, wait here. We’ll visit Beibei together later. Bye!” Yiwen waved.
“Bye.” Mi Xiaoliu waved back at her.
Just like that, Yiwen was successfully led away by Zhang Huba.
Seizing the opportunity, Barrett emerged from behind the dirt slope.
Mi Xiaoliu, sitting on the picnic mat, glanced up at her without any reaction. She continued eating, undisturbed and unafraid.
“I’ll cut to the chase—you already know Yiwen’s a girl, right?” Barrett got straight to the point.
“Mmm.”
“Then are you two dating?”
Barrett first scanned the area to make sure Gloria wasn’t nearby. She didn’t dare lay a hand on Mi Xiaoliu either—if she went crying to Gloria, she’d be in for a beating.
“Dating?” Mi Xiaoliu looked confused.
“Honestly, at your age, you shouldn’t even be thinking about romance. You probably don’t even know what love is. And have you ever actually looked at yourself in the mirror?” Barrett stared down at her.
Mi Xiaoliu lowered her head, checking her clothes.
“This woman’s insane! What’s wrong with Master? That white-haired brat isn’t even good enough for her!” Sasha was itching to jump hosts just so she could bombard Barrett’s mind with insults every waking second.
“And last time, on Yiwen’s birthday—even that idiot Jim gave her a gift. Meanwhile, you showed up empty-handed. And you still have the nerve to stick around her? Do you know what everyone in class says about you behind your back…?”
Barrett didn’t lay a finger on her, nor did she curse outright—but her words were laced with venom, dissecting Mi Xiaoliu from head to toe. When you despise someone, even their breathing feels wrong.
Her goal was to crush Mi Xiaoliu’s spirit with words alone, avoiding physical confrontation. That way, if Mi Xiaoliu had any pride left, she wouldn’t go running to tattle.
“I can tell Yiwen likes you—I don’t know how you managed that. Watching you two makes me sick. It’s always Yiwen buying you drinks, cooking for you… Are you so useless as a guy? A girl forced to live as a boy—don’t you feel even a little sympathy…?”
“……”
Sometime later, Yiwen realized Zhang Huba had tricked her just to get alone time. Furious, she scolded her and rushed back.
But by the time she returned to their hideout, Mi Xiaoliu was already gone. All that remained was an empty lunchbox, neatly placed on the ground.
[Translator’s Note: Both Mi Xiaoliu and Yiwen are Female, but different Pronouns will be used based on what the Characters themselves and what other Characters think their gender is.]
[Translator’s Note: Night Hawk and Night Owl refer to the same secret organization. Also, Foboler and Feds both refer to the same police force that has superpowered ability users.]
[Translator’s Note: See the index page for this Novel if you want to see the Amazon Link for the eBooks.]
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