Chapter 82
by Need_More_SleepChapter 82: Eagle (Hawk) And Bear To The Rescue
“Let me see… turn to page fifty-eight.”
In the infirmary, Gloria sat with a lollipop in her mouth and a textbook in hand.
Now that Heli—who had spent most of her time tutoring Mi Xiaoliu—was finally focusing on her actual work, the teaching duties had been dumped onto Gloria. Along with managing the infirmary. Waste not, want not.
After all, Gloria’s daily routine in class consisted of either sleeping, playing on her phone, or simply not showing up at all.
Some people could afford to laugh and slack off because their families had the means to let them. Even if Gloria did nothing after graduation, her mother’s wealth would sustain her for lifetimes. As an only child, she didn’t even have siblings to split the inheritance with.
What Heli hadn’t considered, however, was Mi Xiaoliu’s feelings. If given the choice, Mi Xiaoliu would rather stay as far away from Gloria as possible.
“What’s the hold-up? Turn the page.” Gloria impatiently tapped Mi Xiaoliu’s head with the textbook.
Mi Xiaoliu shook her head, pressing both hands down on the book.
“Tch, so fussy.” Gloria yanked the book away by force and flipped to the correct page herself.
Only to find that in the illustration, Uncle Jules—who should have been bowing humbly—had been redrawn with sharp fangs, pulling a grenade from a bucket to hand to the boy beside him. Who knew where Mi Xiaoliu had learned about grenades—probably some cartoon.
“Pfft—if my elementary school Chinese teacher saw this, you’d have to buy a new book before she’d let you back in her class.”
Gloria set the textbook aside and patted Mi Xiaoliu’s head, suddenly turning serious. “Listen, kid. Be careful around that old woman, got it? At least lock your door when you sleep.”
Heli’s tastes were… complicated. Not something a thirteen-year-old boy should be exposed to.
For once, Gloria’s conscience had kicked in—only for the brat to turn her head away, ignoring her.
“You little—!” Gloria clenched her fists and pressed them against Mi Xiaoliu’s temples.
“Excuse me, is the school doctor not here?”
Someone pushed the door open, interrupting Gloria’s assault.
It was Tiger Girl.
She peeked in, surprised to see Mi Xiaoliu in such an… intimate position with Gloria.
“Patient’s here.” Gloria hauled Mi Xiaoliu off the chair and shoved her aside, then guided Tiger Girl into the seat. “So, what’s wrong with you?”
“I think I’ve caught a cold. My throat’s itchy, and I keep wanting to cough. Can I get some medicine?”
“Cold medicine…” Gloria rummaged through the medicine cabinet.
Weird. For such a big infirmary, there wasn’t a single bottle labeled “cold medicine.”
Gloria plopped back down, grabbing Mi Xiaoliu—who had been trying to sneak away—by the collar. “How about I give you poison instead? You can use it to kill the germs.”
Zhang Huba: “……”
“Fine, just lie down here and wait for the doctor to come back.” Gloria pulled open the curtain to the infirmary bed.
Tiger Girl had been waiting for this exact offer. There was no way she actually had a cold in this heat—she was just dodging Old Gao’s pop quiz next period.
Last class, Old Gao had announced he’d randomly pick students to recite texts next time. He’d also hinted that the ideal candidate would have red hair, a single ponytail, be female, and preferably surnamed Zhang.
Who could he possibly be referring to?
But before Tiger Girl could even lie down, another uninvited guest arrived.
This time, it wasn’t a student—but someone who should’ve been in the office.
The Principal.
Despite being in her forties, her beauty remained striking. Years of leadership had honed her presence to the point where a single glance could suffocate others with pressure—as if meeting her eyes for too long would get you instantly expelled.
“I’m cured.” Tiger Girl bolted.
Mi Xiaoliu, warned by Sasha, followed her out. The Principal spared her a glance before stepping aside to let her pass.
Gloria straddled the chair backward, resting her chin on the backrest as she eyed the Principal warily. “What?”
“I came to see the school doctor. Shouldn’t you be in class?” The Principal frowned.
“The old lady dumped her babysitting job on me.” Gloria seized the chance to throw Heli under the bus.
“Is staying with her uncomfortable? Listen—come home. I’ll buy you whatever you want.” The Principal pulled up the chair Mi Xiaoliu had been sitting in and reached for her daughter’s hand—only for Gloria to dodge.
“Great. I want Misha. Buy her back for me.”
The atmosphere froze solid.
“Did you see something that day?” The Principal pressed on.
Before Gloria moved in with Heli, there hadn’t been any big fight like she claimed. From the Principal’s perspective, Gloria had just suddenly run away—though the broken basement door might’ve had something to do with it.
“Nope. Saw nothing.” Gloria leaned forward, tilting the chair onto two legs. “Didn’t find out we had a basement, didn’t see the jars inside, and definitely didn’t see the human bones floating in them.”
“Let me explain—”
“You dug up Misha’s grave. You’re disgusting.” Gloria spat at her mother’s feet.
……
……
Many large schools had basements, but few ever ventured into those cold, gloomy spaces.
At Meiqiantu Academy, the basement primarily stored equipment for physical exams.
The sheer volume of devices meant it took nearly a full day just to haul them out, so exams were usually scheduled for Mondays—with weekends reserved for prep work.
But very few knew the school basement had two levels.
No stairwell led there—only a hidden switch in a specific elevator.
Checking the time, Heli returned the lab mice to their cages, deciding to leave the rest for tomorrow.
School was over. She needed to pick up Mi Xiaoliu.
The security scanner detected movement, and the door slid open automatically. The Principal stepped in.
“I heard you made my daughter skip class to tutor your pet project?” She cut straight to the accusation.
“I didn’t force her.” Heli defended herself—while mentally noting to sabotage Gloria’s dinner later.
The Principal said nothing, watching her silently.
“She forced me to force her.” Heli attempted to reverse the blame.
“You didn’t tell her anything, did you?” The Principal narrowed her eyes.
“Tell her what?” Heli genuinely had no idea.
She’d never been to the Principal’s house. How would she know about the secret lab?
“My husband wants to speak with you in person.” The Principal walked over, picking up a test tube for inspection.
A fresh sample of Dark Element—and an inferior variant of N1202. As expected of the former Third Fractal. She could effortlessly produce what other medical researchers had spent years failing to replicate.
“Fine.”
———
Owner (Heli): “Go home by yourself today. Don’t talk to strangers. Buy something nutritious—you’ve been getting heated lately. No spicy food.”
Mi Xiaoliu replied with a single dot, then shouldered her bag and started walking.
Buns for dinner today.
“Hey—you! Don’t walk away!” A girl’s voice.
Mi Xiaoliu ignored it. None of the girls she knew spoke like that.
“I’m talking to you.”
A shove from behind.
She turned. It was Barrett from her class, with Tiger Girl standing beside her.
Mi Xiaoliu took a step back, watching them silently.
Tiger Girl seemed to want to stop Barrett but was instead pushed aside.
Barrett grabbed Mi Xiaoliu’s chin, scrutinizing his (her) face.
Nothing special. If this kid could be considered “handsome,” she’d livestream herself doing a handstand split.
“What’s your deal with Yiwen? Do you know something about him?”
Tiger Girl didn’t know Yiwen was a girl, but she did! If Tiger Girl’s suspicions were just fujoshi delusions, hers were educated guesses.
Yiwen always turned down her offers to walk home together—yet yesterday, when she visited Yiwen, the girl mentioned wanting to play tennis with Mi Xiaoliu after returning to school?
Hell no. This loser didn’t deserve it.
It was like those harem anime, basement-dwellers loved—some bland protagonist inexplicably attracting girls despite having zero appeal.
He wasn’t even taller than the girls! What’s next, a childhood friend trope?!
And Tiger Girl said he’d been cozy with some blonde girl too. At this point, she wondered if his (her) ability was literally being a succubus.
Plus, this guy had the nerve to say that to her in public last time—
Mi Xiaoliu stayed silent. Meaning: I don’t know.
“I’m talking to you.” Barrett shoved her against the wall.
“Barrett, come on…” Tiger Girl thought this was going too far.
“Is this chick bullying you? Master, wanna punch her? With your healing, we can’t lose in a fight.” Sasha fumed.
Why wouldn’t Barrett care about Yiwen’s business? As a best friend, wasn’t it her job? If your friend gets a boyfriend or crush, shouldn’t you assess them first?
And from every angle—fate, society, science, even mysticism—this guy was absolutely wrong for Yiwen!
Look at how pathetic he was!
“What’s going on here?”
Just as Mi Xiaoliu was about to follow Sasha’s suggestion and drive a dainty fist into Barrett’s nose, someone smacked the back of Barrett’s head.
She whirled around, ready to tear into whoever dared touch her—unofficial supernatural police status or not.
But the moment she saw the culprit—a blonde senior with a lollipop in her mouth and one hand in her pocket—her anger evaporated.
This was not someone she could mess with.
Abort mission.
She grabbed Tiger Girl and fled.
Gloria pulled the lollipop from her mouth and spat in their direction—flavored saliva and all—before turning to Mi Xiaoliu with disdain.
“Getting cornered by girls? Are you even a guy?”
Mi Xiaoliu retreated two steps.
This was someone she genuinely feared.
“Oh-ho?” Gloria stomped forward mockingly. Mi Xiaoliu turned and ran, backpack bouncing.
Leaving Gloria cackling behind her.
———
Author’s Note: Taking a Day Off.
Friends came over today. Between being a night owl and my insomnia, I barely slept—kinda rough. Might help fix my sleep schedule, though. Would be great if the insomnia just… stopped.
100 characters, 100 characters, 100 characters…………………………………………………………………………………………………………