Chapter 42: Interrupted Paradise

The once familiar campus of Sacred Cherry School had been reduced to battlefield ruins, necessitating extensive repairs. Consequently, all students and faculty were compelled to accept a sudden, extended holiday—a development Jin, in particular, welcomed with open arms.

The moment Jin confirmed this news with Xia Yue, and received her silver pass—a document signifying she was ‘officially certified harmless,’ albeit with many restrictions, yet at least free from the constant threat of purification—she felt herself grow so light she could practically float.

Freedom! Was this truly the taste of freedom?!

Although her movements were still confined to the base and residential areas, it was a paradise compared to her previous days of constant hiding and apprehension. What’s more, the ten thousand yuan Yu Niannian—her incredibly wealthy younger sister—had given her was still safely nestled in her account. She no longer had to worry about living expenses!

Returning to the small, temporary room allocated to her at the base, Jin locked the door behind her. Leaning against the door panel, she couldn’t help but cover her mouth, emitting a series of irrepressible, mouse-like giggles.

“Hahahaha… I’m free! I’m rich! No more school!” She spun in circles around the cramped room, exhilarated. It felt as though the long-accumulated gloom within her was being swept away by this surge of euphoria.

She used to despise being alone, finding it isolating and helpless. Now, however, this solitude felt incredibly precious.

There were no sudden inspections from magical girls, no deadly pursuits by Witches, and no cold scrutiny from the organization. Only herself.

Carried away by her elation, she even began humming a tuneless song. Soon, she was flailing her limbs, launching into an uninhibited ‘dance of freedom’ purely to vent her joy. As she danced, she started shedding the clothes that had become grimy and faintly smelling of blood from her escape and battles.

“Off with them~ Off with them~ All my troubles, off with them~” she sang haphazardly, tossing her jacket and trousers onto the floor. Clad only in her thin undergarments, she felt the very air around her grow fresher.

Her plan was to first indulge in a long, hot shower, and then perhaps use the money from Niannian to order a super luxurious takeout meal! Yes! And finally buy that game she had always been too reluctant to purchase!

Immersed in her delightful plans, she walked towards the bathroom with light steps, her humming growing unconsciously louder.

However, just as her hand grazed the bathroom doorknob—

Knock, knock, knock!

The clear, rhythmic knocking, like three precise tolls of a death knell, shattered all her beautiful fantasies.

The smile on Jin’s face instantly froze, her humming abruptly ceased, and she stood rigid by the bathroom door, as if struck by an immobilizing spell.

That knocking… that familiar rhythm, as though it were hammering directly on her heart…

No… it couldn’t be…

A thought that made her scalp prickle with dread washed over her like ice water.

From outside the door, the voices she least wanted to hear, like demonic whispers, began.

“Jin~ Open the door! We know you’re in there!” – It was Lin Wan’s vibrant voice, carrying an unmistakable ring of refusal.

“Jin, open the door.” – Xia Yue’s voice was cool and concise, yet possessed an equally undeniable penetrative power.

“Sister! Open up quickly! We’ve come to play with you!” – Yu Niannian’s soft, sweet, and cheerful voice followed immediately.

Jin: “…”

Slowly, despairingly, she lowered her head. She gazed at her own thin undergarments, the dirty clothes scattered across the floor, and then listened to the three voices outside the door, which sounded like death warrants.

The euphoria and sense of freedom that had just filled her heart instantly evaporated without a trace, replaced by a familiar, bone-deep despair and helplessness.

Freedom?

Holiday?

Solitude?

Indeed… all just illusions!

She should have known! With these three ‘nemeses’ around, how could she ever truly find freedom or peace?

On the verge of tears, Jin ruffled her disheveled hair. With resignation, she slowly shuffled to the door and, with a trembling hand, twisted the lock.

The moment the door opened, three figures squeezed inside as naturally as if they were returning to their own home.

Xia Yue’s gaze swept the room instantly, landing on Jin’s disheveled appearance: clad only in her underwear, bare-footed, and sporting a frozen smile. Xia Yue’s brow moved almost imperceptibly.

Lin Wan, meanwhile, let out a whistle and grinned, sidling closer. “Ooh~ Is Jin having a private concert? Quite the unique outfit!”

Yu Niannian blinked her large eyes, looking at Jin with curiosity. “Sister, why aren’t you wearing clothes? Are you going to shower? Can we shower together?”

Jin looked at the three faces before her, distinctly different yet equally ‘dangerous’. Listening to their words, she felt her beautiful holiday life, which had only just ignited, was already utterly bankrupt before it had even begun.

She could already envision her tragic future: twenty-four-hour ‘personal supervision’ by these three ‘guardians,’ utterly devoid of any privacy.

Her song of freedom, not even past its first verse, had already gone completely off-key, transforming into a tragic… Prisoner’s March.

****

Jin was cornered at the doorway by the three, clad only in thin underwear. She was chilled to the bone, both physically and spiritually. Gazing at the smirking, clearly mischievous expressions on the faces of her three ‘guardians,’ a powerful survival instinct—or perhaps, an instinct to avoid utter social humiliation—made her force out a smile uglier than a cry, attempting one last struggle.

“Um… Xia Yue, Lin Wan, Niannian… Look, I have my pass now, I can’t run away… So, you don’t… you don’t need all three of you to ‘supervise’ me, do you? I can take care of myself! Really!” Her voice grew progressively softer, lacking conviction.

“Oh?” Lin Wan crossed her arms, taking a step closer. A playful, ‘go on, I’m listening’ smirk played on her lips. “Is Jin trying to cross the river and demolish the bridge? Getting her ‘death-exemption token’ and then trying to shake us off?”

Xia Yue’s cool gaze swept over Jin’s bare arms and shoulders. Her tone was flat, yet carried an invisible pressure. “Per Supervisor Ouyang’s orders, until the Huo Hualan incident is thoroughly investigated and we’re certain you won’t trigger any further ‘rule-based risks,’ we must maintain ‘comprehensive, all-encompassing’ supervision over you.” She emphasized the last few words.

Yu Niannian nodded vigorously, then linked her arm through Jin’s—the contact with her bare skin made Jin flinch. “And sister,” she added with a tone both innocent and cruel, “have you forgotten you still need to properly explain to us the ‘good deeds’ you performed on Sister Huo Hualan?”

Yu Niannian articulated the words ‘good deeds’ with chilling clarity, instantly reawakening a memory Jin wished she could forget: the clumsy artificial respiration, the fumbling hands, and Huo Hualan’s murderous glare upon waking.

Jin’s face flushed pure white, and a cold sweat broke out.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Lin Wan said, giggling as she leaned closer, almost pressing her lips to Jin’s ear. She whispered, her warm breath caressing her earlobe, “Jin, have you forgotten? Huo Hualan wasn’t the only ‘victim’ present at the time~”

Her gaze swept meaningfully over Jin’s body, from her smooth neck to her delicate collarbone, then down to what was barely concealed by her underwear… before finally returning to Jin’s terrified face.

“The three of us,” Lin Wan said, holding up three fingers and wiggling them in front of Jin’s eyes. Her smile grew even brighter, yet Jin felt as though three predators had fixed their sights on her. “We distinctly heard Huo Hualan’s ‘accusations,’ you see~ All about ‘artificial respiration’~ And ‘pressing where one shouldn’t’~”

Though Xia Yue remained silent, her icy blue eyes narrowed slightly, carrying a scrutinizing air, as if saying, ‘You owe us a reasonable explanation.’

Yu Niannian, meanwhile, widened her innocent eyes, asking with full of innocent curiosity, “Sister, what exactly is ‘where one shouldn’t press’? Where did you press Sister Huo Hualan? Why was she so angry?”

Boom—!

Jin felt as though a thunderclap had exploded in her brain, instantly turning it blank. Her cheeks were so hot she could fry an egg on them. She gaped, looking at the three pairs of eyes before her, brimming with ‘curiosity’ and ‘judgment,’ and felt her head spin.

It was over! Utterly, completely over! Not only had she failed to shake them off, but she had delivered herself into an even more terrifying interrogation chamber! And in such a state of undress, no less!

Her earlier joy of “money and a pass, no worries” had long been annihilated, leaving behind only immense shame and a profound dread of the impending ‘grueling interrogation.’

“I… I didn’t… I wasn’t… That was first aid…” she tried to explain, her voice barely a whisper, unable to even convince herself.

“Hm-hm~” Lin Wan hummed a meaningful note, then reached out and gently pinched Jin’s burning cheek. “First aid, you say~ Then why don’t you demonstrate for us how you perform ‘first aid’? So we can learn a thing or two?”

Though Xia Yue made no move, her gaze clearly conveyed the message: ‘Confess and be treated leniently; resist and be dealt with severely.’

Yu Niannian, meanwhile, wore an expectant expression that screamed, ‘Sister, teach me quickly!’

Jin stared at the encroaching trio, feeling like a little white rabbit who had stumbled into a wolf’s den, about to be devoured completely, leaving not even a crumb.

Her free holiday… before it had even begun, was already hurtling headlong towards an unpredictable future, filled with blushes and humiliation!

Why did it feel so tragic, as if it were ending before it had even truly begun?