Chapter 27: It Wasn’t a Hallucination

It wasn’t a hallucination!

On the bed, Ye Qing lay back-to-back with Gu Xuanyu, her face flushed and unable to sleep.

She quietly turned her head, glancing back, and indeed saw the faint pink glow on Gu Xuanyu’s body, a symbol of her potential as an evil executive. Though less intense than Tang Nuo’s, it was undeniably there.

It’s all my fault. I’ve been too lenient with her these past few days. Since Gu Xuanyu clung to her, the number of times she felt conflicted increased, causing her to spiral into a cycle of worry.

Ye Qing silently blamed herself, deciding that she must change things starting tomorrow.

Due to her biological clock, Ye Qing eventually drifted off to sleep, but she had a nightmare. In her dream, she became a supervillain, being chased by a group of female superheroes. To escape, she had to keep flying.

When she looked back, she realized the superheroes were all her familiar acquaintances. The leader, with silver hair, was the girl sleeping peacefully beside her.

She flew faster than anyone else, taking the lead and seizing Ye Qing in an instant…

The nightmare then transformed into a dream of being enveloped. Ye Qing felt as if she were swallowed by a slime, tightly wrapped and almost unable to breathe, struggling but unable to escape, lost in the softness surrounding her.

Yet, instead of sinking, she rose higher, carried by the slime’s firm embrace, ascending into the sky…

“Haah, haa…”

Ye Qing woke up with a start, only to find that Gu Xuanyu had somehow turned to face her, wrapping her entire petite form like an octopus, pulling her in tightly.

Ye Qing even saw that she was enveloped in the dreadful pink glow emanating from Gu Xuanyu’s body. You’ve been naughty! You’re bad!

Ye Qing weakly tapped Gu Xuanyu’s soft, bouncy thighs, trying to wake her up, but the silver-haired girl slept profoundly, unaware of everything, leaving Ye Qing flustered and annoyed.

Though her slender arms could still lift a ladle or manipulate a paintbrush, they were no match for these ‘senpais’.

By the way, is my little sister taller than me now?

Thinking this, Ye Qing felt her life was hopeless, her amber eyes losing focus. Now I’m the easiest to bully.

When Gu Xuanyu finally woke up, she noticed Ye Qing had been staring at her with resentment for a long time, making her feel a bit guilty.

“I’m sorry, Qing. I didn’t realize…”

“You’re grounded and staying home today!”

***

Realizing she had done something wrong and upset Ye Qing, Gu Xuanyu was unusually obedient and didn’t follow her.

This gave Ye Qing the chance to do something mischievous.

“Xiao Conan, let’s go out and have fun after school.”

“Huh? Sure!”

After several days without indulging, Xiao Conan’s face was rosy again, and she was less timid when with Ye Qing.

The plan went smoothly, and Ye Qing smiled, her smile looking forced from the lack of practice, amusing Lin Shaoyao beside her.

“Ye Qing, you should keep a poker face. You look silly when you smile…”

Ye Qing discontentedly stepped on Lin Shaoyao’s foot under the table, finally stopping her laughter.

“By the way, where are you going? I want to go too.”

Ye Qing casually glanced at her and beckoned for her to lean in.

Curiosity gnawing at her, Lin Shaoyao hesitantly leaned in, and immediately heard Ye Qing’s cool voice whisper two words:

“Secret.”

Realizing she had been tricked, Lin Shaoyao clenched her teeth, grabbing Ye Qing’s face and playing with it.

“You’re messing with me, right? But I’ve got secrets about you and Shen Congqing too…”

What the secret between Ye Qing and Shen Congqing was, Lin Shaoyao didn’t need to know.

She just needed to mimic Ye Qing, drawing others in with a mysterious ‘secret’, and the rumor would spread, especially since it fitted the art students’ tastes.

A secret affair between the taciturn black-haired girl and the austere, mature teacher? Just imagining it was thrilling.

“No, but I’ll warn you, once you’re in, there’s no turning back.”

Lin Shaoyao was taken aback by Ye Qing’s serious response, eyeing her suspiciously with her starry eyes, deep in thought.

Her instincts told her that following would lead to trouble.

“…Then, during the break, you have to come play at my house.”

Ye Qing hesitated at this, feeling a similar ominous premonition. She vaguely sensed Lin Shaoyao’s ulterior motives, but still nodded.

—After all, she was a member of the evil organization, and who knows who was plotting against whom?

Meanwhile, listening to their enigmatic conversation, the mochi sweet girl was completely bewildered.

What were they talking about?

A short while later, Xiao Conan followed Ye Qing outside the school gate, where a silver-gray sedan was parked by the side of the road.

Though Xiao Conan didn’t recognize the logo, she could tell it was expensive, looking at Ye Qing with a mix of surprise and envy.

So she was a hidden heiress? And she was so nice, talking to me and inviting me out to play…

—If the same situation happened to Ye Qing, she would have already suspected something, but she was one of the evil duo now.

Getting a closer look, the driver was indeed the familiar purple-haired woman. Ye Qing wasn’t surprised, knowing from her ability to arrange Ye Qing’s school enrollment and identity that An Yueying had a significant background.

Ye Qing had some suspicions, but given her personality, she would probably ask An Yueying directly if she were truly curious.

Ye Qing naturally sat in the passenger seat, causing Xiao Conan to be momentarily stunned, her social anxiety acting up again as she quietly asked Ye Qing:

“Ye Qing, who is that purple-haired sister?”

Before Ye Qing could answer, An Yueying replied.

“An Yueying, we’ve met before. Do you remember my voice?”

Her voice was soft yet magnetic, and Xiao Conan’s eyes widened in shock. After stammering for a while, she managed to speak.

“You’re the big sister who delivered my photos?”

An Yueying nodded with a smile, and Xiao Conan sat in the car, still in disbelief.

—If a similar scene happened to Ye Qing, she would have called the police, but now she was just trying not to laugh.

Admittedly, dragging the poor mochi sweet girl into this was a bit harsh, but Ye Qing didn’t think Xiao Conan would refuse.

Infatuated with magical girls yet possessing the potential, she was the perfect evil executive.

Though she hadn’t realized it yet, she would eventually understand that what she truly desired was to see the magical girls’ humiliated defeat.

Yet, Ye Qing still felt guilty. For her own issues with the magical girls, she had to involve others.

—At this moment, Ye Qing hadn’t considered that the defeated magical girl Xiao Conan saw in the photos was herself.