Chapter 166

Chapter 34: Come Sit for a While

　With the encouragement of those words, Bai Ling felt more at ease and was able to speak her mind.

　”I’m really worried. If I lose this time, I’ll lose everything.”

　The word ‘worried’ was a bit of an understatement; in truth, it was fear.

　Yuan Xiaoling still lay there watching her: “Isn’t this just like before? Why weren’t you afraid back then, but now you’re scared?”

　Bai Ling shook her head: “It’s different. What I had back then is completely different from what I have now.”

　Back then, she had nothing but hatred, and losing it would’ve been a form of relief. But now, now she had…

　”Oh, I get it.”

　Yuan Xiaoling smirked with her cherry lips and chuckled mischievously: “Now that you have me, it’s different from before, right?”

　”…From a certain perspective, that’s not entirely wrong.”

　Bai Ling thought to herself, who talks so straightforwardly? It’s utterly embarrassing, making her face burn!

　But soon, she felt an ominous premonition rising in her heart because of the blonde maiden’s actions, posture, tone, and even the opening move…

　”Wow, who would’ve thought, the cold-blooded White Miss has become dependent on me. How surprising.”

　Yuan Xiaoling lay back down, her little hand pretending to cover her mouth shyly, yet her cherry lips and tiny tiger tooth were visible. Her eyes curved like a crescent moon, revealing her sneaky laughter, filled with joy.

　”…”

　Bai Ling endured it, as those words were hers, and they did mean exactly that.

　”But upon careful thought, it’s true; you do need me,” Yuan Xiaoling stopped laughing and said seriously, “Think about your past life. Whenever I wasn’t around, you’d quickly run into trouble. Things only got better after I found you.”

　”…”

　Was there such an incident? In some ways, yes. Bai Ling’s previous life was characterized by ups and downs, a spiral ascent. Suffering followed by gaining strength, repeating endlessly.

　As for Yuan Xiaoling, being a timid yet arrogant girl, her tactics always involved picking on the weak and avoiding the strong. She’d hide when Bai Ling gained power, disappear for a while, then reappear when Bai Ling hit rock bottom, suffering greatly. She’d jump on Bai Ling’s face, and shortly after Bai Ling would rise again, prompting Yuan Xiaoling to hide once more…

　The time intervals were roughly the same, so the reverse logic also holds true if one thinks calmly.

　Bai Ling could’ve realized this, but she was currently in Sage State, her thoughts slower, her brain CPU in a state where the large core observed the small core working.

　So, she endured.

　As the saying goes, enduring brings peace, but retreating leads to further audacity. Seeing that Bai Ling didn’t dare to speak, Yuan Xiaoling’s mouth curved into a cat-like ‘w’.

　”But you did say something right. If you lose, you’ll lose everything, and I’ll run off with someone else.”

　Yuan Xiaoling said this cheerfully, unaware of the severity. The dorm room fell silent for a few seconds. Suddenly, she noticed the upper view darkening.

　Yuan Xiaoling was already lying down, but now Bai Ling’s hands supported the bed, towering over her. With the sunlight behind her, her entire front was shadowed.

　Her expression was unclear, creating an unsettling sense of fear.

　Yuan Xiaoling hesitated for a few seconds and whispered: “Sis, I was just… eek!”

　She got grabbed. Waaah.

　Bai Ling could endure earlier, but this she couldn’t tolerate for a second. Just as she pounced, Little Water Jellyfish hadn’t managed to dodge, giving her a substantial boost in stamina.

　Then she unleashed it all on Yuan Xiaoling.

　”You… ugh, your legs are weak, right?”

　”I don’t use my legs.”

　Yuan Xiaoling’s smart little head tilted slightly, realizing it made sense—she used her hands, not her legs.

　”Why don’t your hands go soft then?” the blonde maiden asked innocently.

　Bai Ling, expressionless: “Because you once said I’m ruthless.”

　”Eh? Eep!”

　Indeed spicy, waaaah.

　Downstairs, the girls returned after lunch and heard sounds coming from the ceiling. They paused carefully.

　Gurgle! Plop~! Gurgle! Plop~!

　”I know what this is—it’s water cannon attacks,” the girl downstairs playing games said, “A new skill from four-star upgrades. I’ve seen it in the game.”

　The others couldn’t help but respect her deeply; truly a Heart’s Sea expert, discussing star upgrades already.

　Meanwhile, at the dormitory door upstairs, two roommates who had just returned from the beach hesitated to enter.

　”We should leave,” Gu Hui said, “Let’s go to the library for a cup of milk tea.”

　They’ve eaten too much seafood these past few days, craving something sweet.

　Qiao Lili thought it was a shame to come all the way back, not even stepping inside before leaving, so she suggested: “Don’t you want to eavesdrop?”

　To listen to their mental states during battle.

　”No, no,” Gu Hui smiled and said, “Think about it. If they’ve been fighting since last night till now, what does it mean?”

　”What?”

　”It means Bai Ling is extremely angry.”

　If she’s extremely angry, what happens if they’re discovered?

　As for why Bai Ling was so angry, the two of them could still laugh because the one suffering was Yuan Xiaoling, not them.

　”Let’s just get milk tea.” Qiao Lili said.

　Then the two walked downstairs together.

　At the same time, inside the dorm, Yuan Xiaoling sniffled for a while before noticing Bai Ling had stopped.

　Then she was tightly embraced.

　”Do you think I’d believe you, little liar?” Bai Ling whispered softly into Yuan Xiaoling’s ear, “When I was at my worst, you never left, no matter how much I tried to drive you away. Now you suddenly talk about running, just trying to fool me, huh?”

　Tears streamed down Yuan Xiaoling’s beautiful eyes, one by one… Ah no, they dropped one by one, meaning—how nice it would’ve been if you realized sooner, sparing her all this pain.

　But upon further thought, it wasn’t quite right. It was only after entering the second stage of Sage State that she became calm enough to realize this. Had she not entered it, she wouldn’t have thought of this layer.

　That’s settled then.

　”Still, thank you. I’ve figured out a few things.”

　Bai Ling enjoyed the softness of Dabeitu for a while before reluctantly letting go.

　Everyone is the same; failure means losing much, even carefree classmates in this building must wager their lives.

　No matter what, fear can’t be avoided, there’s nowhere to run, so we must push forward.

　”Cheered up?” Yuan Xiaoling tilted her little head and looked at her.

　”Kind of. I’m not sure,” Bai Ling pushed herself up with effort and stood up, “I’ll leave first, need to prepare something.”

　Yuan Xiaoling lay there, looking up as the maiden walked away with a determined step and back, as if rediscovering the direction of life…

　Squeak!

　Tripped on a blanket on the floor, almost falling, but fortunately, the white-haired maiden caught the wall just in time.

　”Are you okay?” Yuan Xiaoling sat up worriedly.

　”I’m fine, just didn’t pay attention,” Bai Ling replied coldly.

　But Yuan Xiaoling noticed her slender legs trembling slightly.

　After a moment of silence, the blonde maiden summoned a Little Water Jellyfish.

　”Come back and sit for a while, replenish your energy before leaving.”

　Whether or not she falls aside, if you leave her dorm like this, you’d have to lean on the walls all the way, and other classmates might misunderstand Yuan Xiaoling.