Chapter 12: How Can a Nemesis Be a Desk Mate

Su Yuan could no longer hold it in.

Her internal collapse burst forth as a cry of despair.

Her nemesis, and the person she had kissed just last night, was sitting right beside her.

How was she supposed to get through school life now?!

But running away wasn’t a solution.

She still had to attend classes—she could avoid it for a moment, but not forever.

After taking a long time to steady her breathing behind the teaching building, Su Yuan steeled herself, gripped her backpack straps tightly, and shuffled toward the classroom one step at a time—each footfall like treading on pins and needles.

She slowly pushed open the classroom door, and the noise of chatter immediately washed over her.

Her gaze swept across the center of the room, and her steps froze again.

A group of classmates had gathered there, surrounding a girl in the middle like stars around the moon.

The tea-brown-haired girl with a gentle smile at the corners of her mouth was Bai Shimo.

As dazzling as ever, she was calmly receiving the crowd’s adulation and praise.

“Miss Bai is amazing!

I heard all about it on the news yesterday—you defeated a Lord-class demon!

That’s the first time since the Security Bureau was founded that anyone’s taken down such a powerful demon so quickly!”

“Yeah, yeah!

I heard there were so many people at the concert, and in the end, no one was hurt at all—that’s incredible!”

“Wah, it’s such a shame I couldn’t go yesterday… I missed seeing Miss Bai in action with my own eyes—”

“Miss Bai, could I have your autograph?

Please?

I’d pay anything!”

The compliments came one after another, each more fervent than the last.

Bai Shimo maintained her gentle smile throughout, patiently responding to everyone’s questions with an easy, modest tone.

This girl showed absolutely no sign of yesterday’s loss of control.

Just as Su Yuan was thinking this, she suddenly noticed that although Bai Shimo was laughing and chatting, her eyes seemed a little red.

Su Yuan froze.

She remembered Bai Shimo saying during the fight that after she had left three years ago, Bai Shimo had cried alone for a long, long time.

Could it be that she had cried again after going home yesterday?

Why?

Because she had been tainted by a succubus’s power?

Or because Su Yuan had escaped her pursuit?

But no matter how upset she was, whenever she stood in front of a crowd, Bai Shimo was always that strong, beautiful, gentle Bai Shimo—the flawless magical girl.

Watching her force a smile like that, Su Yuan felt as though she had done something wrong, guilt gnawing at her.

She had planned to slip quietly back to her seat under cover of the crowd.

But Bai Shimo, in the center of the throng, seemed to tilt her head slightly by accident—her gaze drifting past the surrounding classmates and landing on the doorway.

Exactly where Su Yuan was trying to sneak in.

Their eyes met.

“Ahem…”

Su Yuan cleared her throat very deliberately, her heart pounding like a startled deer.

She was agonizing over whether she should take the initiative to greet Bai Shimo—after all, they were going to be desk mates from now on; she couldn’t stay frozen forever.

Just as she was locked in internal conflict, Bai Shimo had already glided through the crowd and walked gracefully toward her.

“Good morning, Su Yuan.”

The gentle voice landed beside her ear.

Su Yuan jerked her head up and met Bai Shimo’s smiling eyes.

Her cheeks instantly flushed crimson, and her voice came out barely audible: “M-morn…”

The sound was as faint as a mosquito’s wing—even she could barely hear it.

“Sorry about last time.

I wanted to properly say hello, but instead I ended up putting you in an awkward position.”

Bai Shimo’s tone was as gentle as a spring breeze, carrying just the right amount of apology.

“Su Yuan, from now on we’ll be desk mates day in and day out.

If you ever need any help with anything, feel free to come to me anytime.”

“Th-thank you…”

Su Yuan lowered her head even further, forcing those two words out of her throat with great effort.

Her head was buzzing.

Her gaze involuntarily drifted past Bai Shimo’s shoulder to look behind her.

Sure enough, several classmates who had been crowding around for autographs were now pointing in her direction.

Those strange looks pricked at her like needles, making her ears burn.

A socially anxious person feared being watched—especially being watched by a crowd!

Before Bai Shimo could say another word, Su Yuan scurried away like a startled hamster, dodging past the crowd and diving back into her seat.

“She ran off again.”

Bai Shimo watched her hurried retreat and shrugged helplessly.

Just then, the crisp bell rang on time, cutting through the remaining chatter in the classroom.

The students filed back to their seats in an orderly fashion.

Su Yuan quickly opened her textbook and buried her small head deep between the pages.

A few light coughs came from the podium.

The homeroom teacher stepped up slowly.

He didn’t turn on the electronic screen as usual.

Instead, he held a piece of white chalk in his hand and tapped it lightly against the blackboard.

“Alright, class—a new semester has begun, so it’s time for our class committee elections.”

The teacher’s voice was steady and firm.

“This period will be for campaigning.

Anyone interested in running for class president, please come up and give your speech.

We’ll vote afterward.”

“Class president?”

Hearing those two words, Su Yuan—who had been peeking at Bai Shimo from behind her book—suddenly lit up.

Class president!

That was the core of the “popular kids” group in manga and novels!

If she got that position, she could naturally build her own social circle in the class!

Wasn’t this the perfect chance to break out of her shadowy corner and become the heroine of a romantic school-life story?

The more she thought about it, the faster her heart pounded.

Her excitement swelled to the brim.

She completely forgot that campaigning involved a speech—her absolute worst nightmare.

Her mind was already flooded with visions of life as class president:

“Miss Su is amazing!

She runs the class so well, even the teachers praise her constantly!”

“Su Yuan, Su Yuan—can I be your friend?

You’ve always been my idol!”

“Su Yuan is so reliable—everyone can’t help but trust her!”

“She’s not only cute and soft, but she’s so kind to every single classmate.

Su Yuan is like a little angel~”

Amidst the waves of praise, Su Yuan smiled shyly, waved her hand, and humbly said:

“Oh, you flatter me.

I could only manage the class so well because of everyone’s joint efforts—there’s really no need to thank me so much—”

“Then, the class president has been decided!”

Su Yuan was still sitting there in a daze, blissfully lost in her fantasy, when a resounding voice suddenly yanked her back to reality.

She looked up blankly, glanced around, and saw the homeroom teacher on the podium.

“Since no one has any objections, this semester’s class president will be Bai Shimo!” the teacher announced.

“Hooray!”

The classroom erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

“No one’s more suited for the position than Miss Bai!”

“After all, even outside of school, Miss Bai is the famous magical girl hero!”

“With President Bai leading us, our class will definitely get better and better!”

Huh?

Wait, no…

Su Yuan stared blankly at the cheering crowd, then quickly turned to look beside her—Bai Shimo was standing up with a gentle smile, nodding gracefully in acknowledgment.

Great.

Since no one had any objections, the class president position had just been decided by default!?

One by one, those beautiful fantasy bubbles shattered against the hard wall of reality, dissolving into nothing.

Su Yuan drooped her head dejectedly and slumped onto her desk, her cheek pressed against the cold textbook.

Her dream of a wonderful youth had once again burst like a bubble.

Yeah.

A wallflower should just stay in the corner.

The center stage had always belonged to those bright, radiant, naturally beautiful girls.

Someone like her, used to hiding in the shadows, was only fit to stay curled up in a dark corner for life…

“Wah…”

Bai Shimo had just sat back down when she turned her head and noticed the pitiful, wronged little creature beside her.

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