Chapter 384: Guan Qiuling’s Little Scheme
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 384: Guan Qiuling’s Little Scheme
Since I had decided to spend some time researching that composite rune, I naturally wasn't going to waste any more time at the Witch Cat Cafe.
I called it "research," but in reality, it was just me fumbling around on my own. If I went back to the old laboratory and Teacher Ji Niang caught me, who knows what she’d have to say.
With a snap of my fingers, I teleported back to the villa entrance, where I suddenly spotted an unfamiliar figure.
A quick glance at the "Delivery Club" logo on her uniform told me everything I needed to know. This was the club responsible for delivering packages within the academy.
"Hmm-hmm-hmm~"
The senior sister was humming a light, cheerful tune as she prepared to stuff a package into the delivery box by the villa gate.
Suddenly, her sharp sixth sense made her shiver. She instinctively turned her head and saw me standing right behind her.
"Whoa—! You... you scared the life out of me... phew, phew..."
My sudden appearance gave her quite a fright. She had just scanned the area and seen no one; to have someone silently materialize behind her nearly made her swear out loud.
Once she regained her composure, however, her professional instincts kicked in. She looked at me tentatively.
"Um, are you a resident of this dormitory?"
"Yes, I am," I nodded.
"Okay. Could you tell me if a Miss Yang Yuehan... also lives here? Please let her know there's a package for her."
"No need. I am Yang Yuehan," I said, a bit surprised.
When I saw the package, I assumed it belonged to one of my roommates. I didn't expect it to be for me. I didn't recall ordering anything online recently.
"Really? That’s great! Why don't you just sign for it now? It’ll save me a lot of trouble!" The delivery senior sister quickly handed over the package. "Please verify the information."
"Yes, the details are correct." I took it and gave it a look. Everything seemed in order, so I signed for it immediately.
After seeing off the lucky delivery girl, I walked over to the trash can and tore open the packaging, tossing the scraps inside.
A beautifully bound book with a high-quality cover appeared in my hands.
"Hmm... Graduation Photo Album · Bai Yu... Oh!" I stared at the note on the cover for a moment before the realization hit me.
This was the album Sister Bai said she’d give me! The one where only two copies existed—one for her and one for me!
But as soon as I remembered the scenes we had filmed together, my face flushed red... This kind of thing!
It absolutely could not be opened in public!
I instinctively glanced around to make sure no one was watching before clutching the album to my chest and scurrying back into the villa.
"Eh? Sister Xiao Han? Why are you back so early?"
The moment I stepped through the door, a voice called out, making me freeze in my tracks.
"Uh... Guan Qiuling? What are you doing in the living room in the middle of the afternoon?" I turned my head awkwardly to see Guan Qiuling lying languidly on the sofa.
I had to admit, Guan Qiuling looked quite disheveled in those loose pajamas. Her long hair was draped behind her, her smooth, pale thighs were exposed, and her dainty feet were propped up on a sofa cushion... She looked exactly like a submissive little thing waiting for someone to take pity on her.
"I'm bored... I almost fell asleep during my nap..."
"You were napping here?"
"Yeah. I was going to watch TV, but I couldn't find any shows I liked."
"I see... I have to say, Guan Qiuling, you're really becoming more and more... how should I put it?" A lewd lolita? Would that be too blunt?
"It's okay, Sister Xiao Han, you can say it. I know what my reputation is like in the dorm..."
"But those senior sisters are really enthusiastic... In the past, I could never have been surrounded by so many beautiful sisters. This is the path I chose..."
"Uh... well, just take care of yourself." For a moment, I was too embarrassed to know what to say. I hadn't expected Guan Qiuling to be so open about it. "Actually, I used to be the same way... Anyway, don't get too addicted, Guan Qiuling. No one will pamper you forever. The moment you lose your value in their eyes, you'll fall very hard."
"I know... I know what the senior sisters want from me, but... at least for now, I can't leave them..."
I silently tucked the photo album into my Storage Clover. I felt like the conversation Guan Qiuling was starting was veering dangerously close to being R-rated.
It reminded me of when I first brought her back from that senior sister. Within a few days, she had actively sought the woman out again.
That incident had been a massive shock to me, dealing a serious blow to my young, innocent heart.
"Fine. So you plan to entrust your entire life to them?" I sighed and thought it over. I eventually decided to chat with her. Opportunities like this were rare, and since she was my roommate... I’d treat it as gathering gossip for my own amusement.
It had been too long since I’d been an amusement seeker.
Of course, the main reason was that I had nothing better to do. As for researching that rune ritual?
There was no rush. I wasn't going to produce anything useful in a single afternoon anyway. My plan to study the rune was merely a choice born of boredom.
But now, I had something to do.
"I want to... but they won't accept it..."
"Huh?"
"They said I'm the most perfect boy they've ever modified... I—I'm working hard, too..."
"..." I was at a loss for words. What was this? An Innate Weak Uke Holy Body? Stockholm Syndrome? Or something else entirely?
"Then... um, I mean, is your hard work for them, or for yourself?" After a long pause, I finally managed to ask the question bugging me.
"I... I don't know."
"It's normal that you don't know."
"Eh?"
"When your first thought isn't about working hard for someone else, then you're working for yourself."
I cleared my throat. It was time for Life Mentor Sister Xiao Han to take the stage!
"Working... for myself? But..."
"Hard to believe?"
"Yes." Guan Qiuling nodded slightly. She didn't even believe it herself.
"Then imagine this: if those senior sisters stopped doting on you in the way you like, would you still like them?"
"I... I would change myself..."
"Uh..." I was choked up by her response. "Fine, you certainly seem determined. Let's look at it from the starting point then. You want to please them, right?"
"Yes... maybe?" Now even Guan Qiuling wasn't sure.
"But isn't that just you looking for emotional comfort?" Based on what she just said, she was never surrounded by beautiful sisters before, but now they were willing to "accompany" her. Was this a form of compensatory psychology?
"It seems... so..."
"You told me just now that you never experienced this feeling before. The beauty you feel now is entirely through a filter you've added yourself. It's a form of compensatory behavior for what you lacked in the past. Does that description... sound accurate?"
I started with a firm tone, stating it as if it were an objective fact. This was a way to forcefully instill a concept. For someone introverted and weak-willed, a strong first impression is a very effective strategy.
It’s like telling someone who’s feeling down that their symptoms match depression; most people will fall into the illusion of thinking, "Oh my god! That’s exactly me!"
As long as Guan Qiuling hadn't been exposed to too much "toxic soul food" on the internet, there was a high probability she would think I was right. Especially since my final question was asked in a soft, contrasting tone, removing the forceful guidance and leaving her in a state of confusion where most people would choose to agree.
"Compensatory... behavior... It does seem that way." Guan Qiuling sat up from her languid position and curled into the corner of the sofa like a... no, she was a submissive lolita lacking any sense of security.
Seeing this, I couldn't help but admire that senior sister's methods.
I remembered... that senior sister had given me a business card? I wondered where I’d put it.
"You work so hard and cooperate so much just to fill your own needs. But... have you thought about the future?"
"The future... I'll worry about that when it comes..." Guan Qiuling said.
"But what if the future is now? Those senior sisters are clearly veterans. they can have plenty of new freshmen, but you have no other choice. People don't cherish what comes too easily. Do you really want to wait until they've lost interest in you to hope they remember how good you were?"
"Then... then what should I do? What about my future..." Guan Qiuling was starting to get anxious.
As expected, showing someone immersed in a gentle dream a miserable future is the best way to make them feel immediate anxiety.
"Have you heard the saying?"
"What saying?"
"Life is like being raped. If you can't resist, you might as well enjoy it. Those with weak hearts can only let life manipulate their posture and endure it; but those with strong hearts can choose the posture life manipulates them into and enjoy it."
"What... what does that mean?"
"It means that as long as you are strong, you can choose the lifestyle you want. Don't be restricted by the word 'strong.' It doesn't stop you from enjoying things as you do now, as long as you stay true to yourself."
"Sister Xiao Han... are you telling me to... get stronger?"
"The concept of 'getting stronger' is too vague. I'm telling you to make your heart strong. Strength might just be physical power, which is meaningless on its own. But the confidence brought by power makes your heart strong. That is what you need to pursue," I said. Before she could respond, I spoke again, my voice carrying a hint of seduction.
"Imagine this scenario. Right now, you possess ten thousand Mana Sources, along with many High-consumption Spellbooks and even Over-consumption Spellbooks. At this moment, those senior sisters invite you to play."
I watched Guan Qiuling's expression. She had clearly entered the fantasy. I struck while the iron was hot. "But when you get there, you find that those senior sisters have actually invited other little freshmen. They tie you up, unable to move, and do to those freshmen exactly what they used to do to you. You can only watch, unable to do anything, while they enjoy your distress. How would you feel?"
"I... I..." Guan Qiuling was caught off guard by the twist. She became visibly frantic.
Even though it was just a hypothetical, she took it as if it were real. It seemed she had considered this possibility before but instinctively rejected it. Now that I had pointed it out, she was forced to face it.
I really wanted to tell her, "Good, keep that feeling," but I held back.
"It would be despair, wouldn't it? At that moment... they say they're bored of you. You're so submissive that there's no sense of conquest left. What would you do then?"
"I—I don't know... Sister Xiao Han, what should I do?"
"Remember the premise of our hypothesis?" I placed a hand on Guan Qiuling's shoulder, smiling to soothe her emotions. "You have ten thousand Mana Sources. You might not know this, but ten thousand is the limit one can hold before promoting to a Transcendent Witch. At that moment, you have the power to crush almost every student in the Witch Academy. And with all those spellbooks, you have the means to overwhelm them. Would you attack them? You could easily break the ropes they used to tie you. At that moment... what would you do to them?"
"I... I couldn't bring myself to do it..."
"Exactly! You wouldn't!" I affirmed her firmly, though I was subtly shifting the concept. "Because with that power, your mindset would be different. Power can do many things, but it doesn't mean you have to do them. Because from that moment on, you would be the junior sister they can't have. What is unattainable is always in turmoil. Only then would you be the 'White Moonlight' they can never leave."
Of course, if Guan Qiuling really had that kind of strength, would she still care about those senior sisters?
There were plenty of senior sisters in the Witch Academy better than them. But clearly, Guan Qiuling only had eyes for them right now. It was like a peasant imagining the Emperor tills the fields with a golden hoe.
Without strength, even Guan Qiuling's fantasies were limited.
"But... but I don't have that kind of strength. They're senior sisters... how could I ever catch up to them..."
"Am I not your senior sister? Do you think they can beat me?"
"..." Guan Qiuling stared at me blankly, as if she had only just realized who she was talking to.
"A horse doesn't get fat without grazing at night. Simply following the curriculum at the Witch Academy is useless. You'll just become an ordinary student with no special traits. What will you have to offer then? If you keep this up, you'll eventually be discarded!"
"I... I don't want to be discarded!"
"That's the spirit!"
"But... but I don't know what to do..."
"It's okay. Don't you have me? After all... I am your roommate."
"Sister Xiao Han, you're willing to back me up?" Guan Qiuling looked at me with a glimmer of hope.
"I will only give you a hand when you're at a low point in your life. I won't back you up in the most direct way. I won't save someone who is content to wallow in self-destruction. As long as you have the desire to get stronger, I'll help you change, bit by bit."
"But... I don't know how... The things they teach in class don't show us how to get stronger..."
"Getting stronger is a broad concept. Your goal is to strengthen your heart. There are many ways to do that; it just depends on whether you're willing."
"I... I'm willing... I think..."
"Alright..." Hearing her hesitant answer, I knew a single conversation wasn't going to change her nature overnight.
I stood up from the sofa and looked down at Guan Qiuling, who was still curled up. "In the Witch Academy, following the rules gets you nowhere. Since the start of the term, I've encountered many paths: spells, runes, alchemy, potions, planting, body arts..."
"There are too many ways to get stronger in the Witch Academy, but they won't appear in your classrooms. The academy's goal is to have you promote to Transcendent Witches. The first three years are meant for you to learn common knowledge about the transcendent and to recognize the path you want to take. It won't teach you how to get strong; you have to rely on yourself for that. Remember, as long as something isn't forbidden, it's allowed. The classroom doesn't teach you to be strong, but it doesn't forbid it either. The weak can only linger on the brink of death in the transcendent world, eventually losing their value and ending up in the trash heap. You understand, right?"
"..." A look of struggle appeared on Guan Qiuling's face as she pondered my words.
"Believe in yourself. You were able to enter the Witch Academy, which means you have recognized talent."
"But... I was kidnapped... Originally... I was planning to go to Afuhemi Academy..."
"Afuhemi is a top academy. That proves your talent even more, doesn't it? There's nothing more tragic than wasting your own talent."
"Then... what should I do?"
Seeing her lack of initiative, I sighed inwardly. Was it easy being a good roommate?
"We can't rush this. Let's analyze it slowly. Perhaps what you need right now isn't necessarily to get stronger, but to give yourself added value."
The fact that Guan Qiuling was willing to step out and wanted to become strong meant she was still salvageable. If there was anyone to blame... it was those senior sisters who were far too good at playing with young boys. They had her wrapped around their fingers.
I wondered what kind of sparks would fly when those PUA masters met an amusement seeker like me.
Well... thinking coldly, even if I failed, Guan Qiuling would be the only one to suffer.
But I believed that having power combined with a strong heart could solve most problems, even if it couldn't solve everything.
I had indeed pointed out a bright path for Guan Qiuling. It was up to her to seize the opportunity.
Besides... once you're strong enough, whether you want to be the "top" or the "bottom" is just a matter of thought, isn't it?
As the saying goes, the weak can only be manipulated into various postures by their senior sisters, but the strong can choose which posture they want to be manipulated into. Wasn't that exactly what Guan Qiuling’s little scheme was about?
She just hadn't seen through it yet.