Chapter 17: Desperate Measures and a Dreadful Smile

What truly constitutes despair?

Most people might not fully grasp it, but Su Qianyu understood it with absolute clarity.

Despair, for her, was betting on a fart when suffering from diarrhea.

A gamble that always ended in utter defeat.

Now, although Su Qianyu hadn’t felt anything yet, merely gazing at the ceaseless flow of traffic made her stomach churn with an even deeper sense of dread.

The rushing torrent of vehicles seemed to mirror the turbulent state of her own insides.

Several minutes had passed since she left home, yet the medicine had still not taken effect.

Every step Su Qianyu took felt like a desperate gamble.

She had no way of knowing if, in the very next second, a sudden, unwelcome warmth would betray her on the street.

The anxiety over her stomach far outweighed any concern for the gazes of those around her.

She breathed in, then out, trying to steady herself.

Fortunately, Su Qianyu reached the school gates without experiencing any unusual sensations in her stomach.

Unfortunately, she was now at school.

If she had suffered a sudden bout of diarrhea outside, the worst consequence would have been a momentary loss of face.

But now, within the school grounds, a public incident would mean bidding a definitive farewell to her entire campus life.

Her physical presence would arrive in the morning, but her notorious reputation would spread throughout the school by afternoon.

Illo glanced at the date, then turned to look at Su Qianyu.

Today marked a pivotal moment in her previous life.

Just as Illo was about to give the little one her instructions, she noticed beads of cold sweat relentlessly breaking out on Su Qianyu’s forehead.

Su Qianyu occasionally hunched over, as if enduring some inhuman agony.

Ordinarily, having been utterly heartbroken in her previous life, Illo would have paid no mind to such trifles.

However, recalling the rare instance when Su Qianyu had shown her concern, Illo simply shrugged.

‘Never mind,’ she thought. ‘It’s probably best to look after her.’

After all, she was counting on Su Qianyu to steal something for her that afternoon.

“Are you feeling unwell? Shall I take you to headquarters?”

Yet, upon hearing Illo’s solicitous queries, Su Qianyu found herself wanting to do nothing but force a strained smile.

It wasn’t that she wished to appear aloof; rather, she was already sensing a vague discomfort stirring in her stomach.

“I… I’m fine!”

“It’s just that… making breakfast was a little tiring, that’s all!”

With a nervous laugh, Su Qianyu gently pushed Illo into the classroom.

Under Illo’s scrutinizing gaze, the little fox maiden barely managed to pass this hurdle.

After all, she couldn’t very well confess to Illo that she had accidentally consumed all the laxatives intended for her.

No sooner had she returned to her seat than the urgent sensation intensified dramatically.

‘Paper… paper!’

Instinctively, Su Qianyu began to frantically search for tissues.

Yet, after a desperate scan of her surroundings, she couldn’t find a single usable sheet.

All that remained were various drafts and, on the windowsill, sandpaper meant for polishing.

‘No!’

‘How could this enormous classroom not have even a single piece of usable paper!?’

‘Surely, no one could have stolen all of it!’

Just as despair threatened to consume Su Qianyu, and she contemplated using her ‘golden finger’ (TL Note: A common web novel trope referring to a cheat-like ability or supernatural power) to summon a miracle, a flash of white caught her eye.

“Are you… going to the restroom?”

Qincai, noticing Su Qianyu’s pale complexion, extended her own tissues out of concern for her classmate.

‘A lifesaver!’

‘And it’s my favorite kind of tissue—I’ll accept it immediately!’

Without a moment’s hesitation, Su Qianyu bolted into the restroom.

After a tumultuous, earth-shattering ordeal, the little fox maiden finally emerged from the restroom, trembling weakly.

“Are you still alive?”

Qincai, holding a pen, poked the half-dead fox maiden slumped over her desk.

Su Qianyu remained silent, merely twitching her ears occasionally to signal that she was indeed still among the living.

‘Ugh, I don’t want to talk. I’ll just check my phone instead.’

Expertly, she navigated to the little blue app, then clicked into the Sub-Moderator’s chat once more.

Staring at Illo’s avatar after her transformation, Su Qianyu couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss.

‘Was it her imagination?’

‘Why did it feel like ever since she added them, she’d been plagued by bad luck?’

Before she could even type a message, a scattered clamor of footsteps drifted from outside the classroom, eventually halting near the back row.

“What are you lot doing here again?”

“Didn’t I explicitly reject you last time?”

Hearing Qincai’s voice, Su Qianyu subtly shifted her head to observe her surroundings.

It would have been better if she hadn’t looked; the sight nearly made her burst out laughing, which would have surely led to another stomach incident.

Black hoodies, black caps, and their signature black masks.

‘Wow, look at these posers.’

Observing the group of youths, Su Qianyu quietly buried her head back down.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to ‘eat melon’ (TL Note: Chinese slang for spectating drama); her stomach was still aching, and she simply didn’t feel like talking.

“Yare yare.”

“Esteemed Miss Qincai, we aren’t here for you, you know?”

Qincai pinched her nose, detecting a faint, peculiar odor emanating from them, and her gaze shifted towards Su Qianyu beside her.

“That’s right! The one we want is that new monster classmate!”

“Hey, did you hear that? Our boss is talking to you!”

Their commotion was considerable, and before long, it drew the attention of nearby students, who began to gather.

Illo, of course, had also noticed the group.

Yet, she made no move to intervene or stop them; instead, she merely watched the little drama unfold from a distance, a dismissive smile playing on her lips before she closed her eyes.

She had almost forgotten about this.

Indeed, Illo’s memory served her right; today was undeniably an important day.

But before that significant event, there were these clowns to deal with.

After a moment’s thought, recalling that these individuals couldn’t truly affect anything, Illo decided to adopt an attitude of indifference.

As long as no one laid a hand on Su Qianyu or Qincai, it mattered little to her.

Seeing that Illo had no intention of intervening, Su Qianyu grew irritable.

She was already suffering from stomach pain and yearned for peace, yet these people insisted on crowding her.

‘They just want to grab my attention and feed their own vanity, don’t they?’

Glancing askance at the group, Su Qianyu, being a man herself, understood precisely what these guys truly desired.

Only a man truly understands another man.

The method to deal with them was quite simple, too.

Clutching her stomach, Su Qianyu unsteadily rose to her feet and spoke.

“I’ll give you a chance: you have a few seconds to leave before you truly anger me.”

Her gaze, sharp as a blade, swept over the clowns before her; even though they knew the fox maiden’s abilities were restricted, a primal fear still rose from within their hearts.

While Illo felt no fear of Su Qianyu, that didn’t mean others shared her composure.

“Heh heh, trying to play hard to get with me, huh?”

Before long, the tallest among them was the first to break free from the intimidation.

Glaring at Su Qianyu, he took a few more steps forward.

“You provoked us, and now you want to send us away? I think you’ve forgotten this is human territory, haven’t you?”

The guy towered over Su Qianyu, and as his menacing shadow loomed, he clearly looked as if he was about to make a move.

Su Qianyu closed her eyes, gazing at this nuisance.

‘Tsk, what a bother.’

The stomach pain surged anew, and Su Qianyu let out a sigh.

‘It seems resorting to force is indeed the quickest solution.’

With her eyes still closed, she used her ‘golden finger’ to pick up a nearby pen.

Just as she was preparing to deliver a ‘chrysanthemum-shattering combo’ (TL Note: A humorous, slightly crude slang term implying a severe attack to the rear, often used in web novels to mean a painful blow or defeat), Illo suddenly appeared, interrupting the farce.

“Never mind, I’ll handle this.”

Apparently not expecting anyone else to dare interfere, the first thug to react immediately raised his hand to strike.

“You… who the hell are you…!”

CRACK—!

A sudden, sharp crack shattered the jovial atmosphere.

Everyone turned to look, only to see the first loudmouth lying on the ground, half of his face already swollen from the blow.

Indeed, male movements generally carried more force than female ones.

It was precisely this advantage that allowed them to gang up and bully girls like Qincai.

But Illo, she was a genuine Magical Girl.

“You… you actually dared to hit a person for a monster!”

“Do you want to be a traitor to humanity?!”

Almost immediately, a squeal like that of a slaughtered pig erupted.

Strangely, the classroom, which had been somewhat noisy just moments before, was now utterly silent.

Looking again at the people around, one could only see their vacant eyes, as if their very souls had been sucked out.

Gazingo at the wretched youth on the ground, Illo stretched her limbs twice.

The faint cracking of her bones resonated in the air as she slowly, chillingly, revealed a dreadful smile.

“Come on, if there’s anything you want to say, now would be your best chance to say it all.”

“After all, you might not be able to speak for quite some time after this, you know?”