Wen Qian’s unexpected reaction left the few people who came looking for trouble frozen in place.
What was she so happy about?
It was Lin Huai’s first time seeing Wen Qian smile so happily, yet this smile appeared in a situation like this… Was something wrong?
He was about to say something when he saw his deskmate looking eager, standing up and quickly striding toward He Ling at the door.
“I’m Wen Qian. Do you have business with me?”
As if she couldn’t see the arrogance on He Ling’s face, Wen Qian completely ignored the two NPCs beside her and leaned toward this key mission character.
The words He Ling had prepared stuck in her throat. Her mind went blank for a moment as she met Wen Qian’s expectant gaze—she even hallucinated a little dog wagging its tail desperately.
“Stay away from A-Ling.”
The girl beside He Ling gave Wen Qian a look of disgust.
Her friend’s voice snapped He Ling out of it. She gave Wen Qian a light glance and said with contempt, “You’ve got some nerve. No wonder you dared say those things.”
Most people in the classroom kept their heads down doing their “own work”—though none of them actually had anything to do. Still, now was not the time to provoke this young lady’s temper.
Of course, there were always a few who didn’t care. Ignoring He Ling’s icy gaze, they leisurely watched the drama unfold.
He Ling cast Wen Qian a slow, dismissive look before turning around to leave. The two beside her understood: they were going to the lounge to settle this.
If they caused too much of a disturbance in the teaching building, the student council would show up. The regular members were fine, but the student council president was not someone easily dealt with.
When Wen Qian heard the mission target mention “delivering a love letter,” she faintly sensed something was wrong.
After seeing the system prompt that followed, she knew she was right.
[Special Event — The Bullying of an Admirer
Optional Paths: Turn Enemies into Friends (Perfect) / Firm Resistance (Excellent) / Seek Help (Normal)]
What, so it was bullying!
Wen Qian suddenly understood. No wonder those NPCs had been giving her strange looks.
Of course—this was a special event triggered by low reputation. Obviously it wouldn’t be a positive mission.
“So that’s it—bullying.”
He Ling stopped walking. Behind her, the academically-inferior girl muttered her belated realization.
He Ling took a deep breath, unsure how to describe her current mood—she felt as though she had thrown a punch into cotton.
“Bring her in.” She stepped inside the lounge without giving Wen Qian another glance.
The semicircular lounge in warm walnut tones had a brown leather sofa beside the floor-to-ceiling window. Sitting there allowed one to look down at the small garden below—He Ling’s private garden.
But she didn’t like flowers. Fragile, impermanent things.
She pursued only perfection. That was why, upon entering the academy, she’d immediately taken notice of Chu Lingyu.
He Ling sat on the sofa, fingers interlaced, expression proud. She wanted this poor student to know exactly what happened when someone spoke behind her back.
After a while, her coffee had grown warm, yet Wen Qian still hadn’t come in.
Only the two girls from earlier entered.
Actually, they hadn’t fully entered—their bodies were inside, but their hands were still outside, as though pulling something.
He Ling’s expression darkened. What were these idiots doing? She stood up, irritated, and walked toward the door.
Wen Qian hadn’t expected the mission to have problems from the very start.
The problem wasn’t with the NPCs—it was her.
She stared at the gray space before her, with the words [LOCKED] floating above the lounge entrance. The corner of her mouth twitched.
“Can we change locations? I don’t think this is a place I can enter.” She politely asked the two girls.
One girl snorted. “Of course it’s not a place you can enter. A poor student like you is lucky to even be this close.”
Wen Qian: …That’s not what I meant.
“What are you wasting time talking for?” the other girl frowned. “Stop wasting time.”
She grabbed Wen Qian’s arm to pull her inside—only to find that Wen Qian offered no resistance at all.
Of course Wen Qian wouldn’t resist. She wanted to see if being guided by NPCs would unlock a new map.
Unfortunately, that shortcut didn’t work.
The girl stepped inside, but the Wen Qian she was pulling remained rooted at the doorway. She tried applying force, but it was as if Wen Qian was fixed to the ground.
Irritated, she snapped, “What are you doing?!”
“I didn’t do anything,” Wen Qian said innocently. “See? No resistance at all.”
She really wasn’t resisting—completely cooperative.
But entering was impossible.
“Are you two doing a silent play?” the other girl complained. She pressed on Wen Qian’s shoulder to push her in.
Nothing happened.
“I should be glad this is an air wall and not a physical transparent barrier,” Wen Qian sighed after trying for so long. “If it were solid, I’d probably be flattened like a pancake on glass.”
“Stop using your little tricks.”
The girl reluctantly admitted Wen Qian’s strength was genuinely too much—they couldn’t do anything to her.
“Do you think avoiding it will make this all disappear?”
Wen Qian shrugged. “I know you’re in a hurry, but calm down. Understand—I haven’t leveled up enough to unlock new areas.”
“A… rapper?” the girl blurted out.
Noticing something was wrong, He Ling approached. “…What are you all doing?”
The culprit beamed. “You’re finally out! I was just about to call you.”
“I can’t enter your lounge. Can we change to another location for you to intimidate me?”
“I know a perfect place,” she added helpfully. “No one ever goes there!”
※
He Ling stared at the trees around her, confirming she was now in the small grove on the west side of the academy—yet she had no idea how things escalated to this point.
Wen Qian looked around in satisfaction. This area wasn’t considered a building, so it wasn’t locked. Perfect for the mission target.
“Alright! Whatever threats you want to say, go ahead!” Wen Qian encouraged brightly.
He Ling choked on her annoyance.
“Pretending to be crazy won’t work on me,” He Ling warned darkly.
“A-Ling, you’re just too nice. Saying a few words won’t scare people like her,” said the girl who’d embarrassed herself earlier. She looked at Wen Qian with disdain. “Poor student, you’d better think carefully about who you shouldn’t offend.”
“You wouldn’t want your classmates to hate you, right?”
“But it’s not like many people like me now,” Wen Qian replied sincerely.
A reputation of –29 really said enough.
She thought for a bit, then nodded. “But you’re right—there’s still room for it to go lower.”
The girl thought she was being mocked and became furious. How dare a poor student talk to her like that?
“Fine. Hope you won’t regret this.” She sneered, looking down at Wen Qian.
“You hate me that much?” Wen Qian copied her cold smile. “Then I hope you stay this determined in the next second.”
She grabbed the girl’s wrist. The girl panicked a little, remembering Wen Qian’s strange strength.
Was she about to attack her?
“You—!”
Expression blank, radiating pressure, Wen Qian swiftly pulled items from her system inventory and shoved them into the girl’s hands.
[Player gifted ■■■ items: “Beef Noodles,” “Iris Flowers.” ■■■ Favorability +20]
“How about now? Do you still hate me?” Wen Qian asked naturally.
The girl, who had been furious moments before, stared blankly at the bowl of noodles and bouquet in her hands—her mind disconnected.
She looked up at Wen Qian… and suddenly, this person seemed… more pleasing to the eye?
He Ling and the other girl hadn’t recovered from this sudden development either. In the blink of an eye, each of them now held a bouquet.
Iris flowers.
He Ling stared at them—they looked familiar somehow.
She felt complicated. Why was this person giving her flowers?
There were only five irises. After hesitating between the flower cart and the beef noodles, Wen Qian finally added another bowl of noodles.
She looked at the 10-gold beef noodles with heartache and warned them carefully, “Be careful not to spill it.”
Once the mission judged success, she had to take them back!