Chapter 39: Terminal Illness

Early the next morning, inside the Qingyu Dormitory, Keke looked at her slightly haggard but pretty reflection in the mirror.

With two dark circles under her eyes and her ears drooping, she forcefully patted her face twice with “pa, pa,” then washed her face, finally looking much more spirited.

Last night, after midnight, Keke had put on her nightdress and tiptoed out, planning to secretly run to her master’s room and squeeze in to sleep together.

But just as she excitedly reached the door, she saw faint light leaking through the gap in the door.

Pressing her cheek against it, she occasionally heard Yiluo muttering to herself with sighs.

Feeling guilty like a thief, Keke was so startled that she hurried back to her own room.

Keke had spent half the night thinking about sleeping in the same bed as Miss Yiluo.

There was no way she would give up just like that.

So every thirty minutes, she would go to her master’s door to check again.

This continued until the sun rose in the morning.

She never succeeded in lying on Yiluo’s bed even once.

Having already reached the peak of the Calamity tier, she naturally wouldn’t look this haggard just because she hadn’t slept for a day.

It was simply that her hopes had been dashed, leaving her mentally exhausted.

Keke looked somewhat dejectedly at the two sets of clothes laid out on her bed.

One was a black-and-white maid outfit.

The other was the Caldeia Academy school uniform—a white shirt, a red short jacket, and a dark red plaid pleated skirt.

Strictly speaking, no matter what, Keke preferred and was more used to wearing the maid outfit.

But today was the first day of school.

Her lively, curious master would definitely wear a school uniform befitting her status to take a look around.

Just imagining being able to wear the same clothes as her master made Keke temporarily give up the maid outfit.

She hugged the school uniform from the bed and began changing.

After changing, Keke stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Her full chest was outlined into alluring curves by the white shirt.

If the red jacket on the outside was left unbuttoned, it looked very suggestive.

But if the buttons were fastened, it instead made certain areas stand out even more conspicuously.

The dark red plaid pleated skirt didn’t even reach her knees.

Between the white thigh-high socks and the hem of the skirt, one could see glimpses of her thighs.

As she walked, the swaying skirt made it even more noticeable.

Keke’s face now had less of the babyish chubbiness from before, becoming more delicate and refined.

Bright teeth, soft lips slightly parting and closing.

Her silver hair fell smoothly, with two small cat ears on top twitching gently.

When she was by Yiluo’s side wearing a maid outfit, Keke appeared very composed.

But without the maid outfit, and when not beside Yiluo, her temperament lay somewhere between the refined elegance of a sheltered young lady and the innocence of a girl next door.

It made people want to get close and dote on her, yet her unique aura and beauty also created a subtle sense of distance.

Compared to Yiluo, Keke was actually much harder to approach.

Even though Keke had been like this for over half a month now, the drastic changes to her body still made her a bit unaccustomed to it.

Every time she looked in the mirror or bathed, her face would flush red, carrying the shy embarrassment of an adolescent girl.

Keke lightly nodded to herself, cheering herself on with the thought that Miss Yiluo would definitely like how she looked.

Feeling a bit more confident, she walked to Yiluo’s room, knocked on the door, and then pushed it open.

At this moment, Yiluo’s body was completely buried among piles of books.

She looked somewhat lazy, yet her eyes sparkled with light, full of vitality.

Her fingers played with her long silver hair as she occasionally flipped through the book in her hand.

Only when Keke pushed the door open did she lift her head.

“Ah, Keke really suits this school uniform.

It looks great!”

Yiluo’s praise made Keke lower her head shyly, her heart filled with happiness.

She quickly walked over to Yiluo and half-knelt, half-squatted as she neatly stacked the books that had been pressing down on Yiluo beside her.

“Honestly, Miss Yiluo, how do you even manage to read until you bury yourself like this.

And this posture is really bad for your eyes.”

Keke’s tone carried a hint of bashfulness and mild reproach, making Yiluo smile embarrassedly.

Of course, when Keke caught sight of Yiluo’s slender, fair legs under her nightdress and the faintly visible underwear beneath the books, she couldn’t help but glance a couple more times before guiltily averting her gaze.

She then helped pull Yiluo’s nightdress down to a proper position and said,

“Miss Yiluo, I’ll go get your school uniform.

Today is the first day of school, don’t be late.”

“Eh…?

Is it already daylight?”

“Keke, don’t get it.

I’m skipping classes today.

You can go by yourself.”

Keke, who had walked over to the clothes rack, tilted her head upon hearing this.

“Then Keke won’t go either.

I’ll go buy some ingredients and make something you like to eat, Miss Yiluo.

What would you like?”

Hearing this, Yiluo hurriedly climbed up from the comfortable carpet, her small face tensing as she spoke seriously.

“Today the Battle Academy has warrior specialization classes, and it’s the first day.

Keke must go and study properly.

That way, if you run into bad people, you won’t be so easily captured.”

Of course, Keke wanted to stay together with Miss Yiluo.

But seeing Yiluo’s serious expression, she really didn’t know how to refuse.

“But…”

Yiluo walked over to Keke and helped straighten the slightly crooked student badge numbered 5271 pinned to her jacket.

After adjusting it neatly, she nodded in satisfaction.

“Go on now.

I’ll study on my own at home.

If there’s anything I don’t understand later, I’ll need to ask Keke for help.”

“Pay attention in class.”

“Mm-hm, I promise I’ll listen carefully!”

When Keke heard that Miss Yiluo might ask her questions she didn’t understand, she immediately nodded her little head seriously.

At this moment, going to school wasn’t for herself, but for Miss Yiluo.

Her spirits soared, filled with motivation.

“Oh, right.

Take the big sword with you.

If anyone bullies you, just smack them on the head with the flat of the blade.

It’s super effective!”

Seeing Yiluo hopping happily to grab the big sword standing beside the bed—one even taller than Yiluo herself—Keke hurriedly stopped her.

“No, no, no…

That’s not necessary!”

“Let Master keep that to protect herself.”

Yiluo turned her head, frowned slightly, and asked with concern,

“Are you sure you don’t need it?”

Keke hurriedly shook her head like a rattle drum.

“Really don’t need it.

Keke is very strong now too.”

When that glittering, golden greatsword was carried while staying by her master’s side, Keke didn’t feel much about it.

But if she went out carrying such a huge sword by herself, she’d be so embarrassed she’d want to crawl into a crack in the ground.

This, this, this—

It was just way too shameful!

She could already imagine everyone looking at her with strange expressions.

“Oh… okay then…”

“But Keke, you’re a grown girl now.

You must be careful of boys who try to strike up conversations with you.

The more handsome they are, and the nicer they sound, the more careful you need to be.”

“Don’t believe a single word they say.

You have to protect yourself.”

“Oh, and be careful of strange girls too.”

“Mm, girls who are a bit like me.

They might be really scheming.”

Watching Yiluo fuss around her like a little sparrow, chattering nonstop with concern, Keke couldn’t help but smile.

She knew Yiluo’s old habit was acting up again.

She hurriedly nodded as she headed out the door.

“Got it, got it.

A maid doesn’t need friends anyway.”

As Keke stepped out, Yiluo hurriedly added more advice.

“Not having friends isn’t good either.

You still need to make friends when you should.

Later, I’ll help you screen them properly, as your dad.”

Bang—!

Before Yiluo could finish her last sentence, Keke directly shut the door.

She couldn’t help but shake her head with a wry smile.

She clearly wanted to be the master…

So why did her master only want to be her dad?

Mm… so frustrating…

Forget it.

Today she had to listen carefully in class!

So that if her master asked questions later, she’d be able to answer them!

Stepping out the door, Keke was full of ambition.

She resolved to study hard today!