“Su Ze~” Liang Sheng drawled in that nauseating tone as she sidled up to Su Ze.
Su Ze frowned in disgust and took half a step back.
“You see~” Liang Sheng inched even closer to Su Ze. “Let me make it up to you today. I guarantee you’ll have the time of your life, and we can wipe the slate clean on all our past beef. Sound good?”
Su Ze was utterly baffled. Why was this woman acting so bizarre today?
“Liang Sheng, you…”
Liang Sheng didn’t wait to hear what he had to say. She thrust out her hand.
“Urgh!”
With a thud, he collapsed to the ground.
Liang Sheng kicked the man lying there like a dead pig, then smugly shook the anti-wolf electric baton in her right hand.
“In this brainless Mary Sue novel, is there anything money can’t buy?” Liang Sheng stomped viciously on the man sprawled on the ground like a sack of meat.
“Hahaha!!” Her maniacal laughter echoed through the desolate grove, sounding utterly eerie.
Liang Sheng eyed Su Ze’s face, his eyes rolled back in his head, and a wicked gleam bubbled up inside her. She stepped forward and plopped down on his back, pulling the selfie stick from her small crossbody bag with a grin.
“Click~” Out popped a fresh selfie.
“Ehehe~” Liang Sheng stood up, still not satisfied. Her gaze drifted to Su Ze’s head, and a devious idea sparked in her mind.
First, she wrenched Su Ze’s head to the side, facing right. Then she lifted her little foot and planted it squarely on his forehead.
“Click~”
“Oops! Forgot to turn on the beauty filter!” How could any girl step out without that essential app for pics?
“Click~” She snapped another one.
Liang Sheng admired her handiwork and couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. “Damn, I’m one hot babe.”
No, no, she needed more shots!
After some thought, Liang Sheng hit on the perfect pose.
She unhooked the chain from her bag and looped it around Su Ze’s neck like a dog leash.
“Yay~” She struck a pose for the camera—peace sign, puckered lips, the full cute package.
“Click~”
She added some text to the photo: See, there’s a dead dog.
A little red arrow pointed right at the big scumbag Su Ze’s head.
“Hahahahaha!” That familiar cackle rang out again through the trees, laced with pure malice.
“You’re just like that evil stepmother—the one who just offed Snow White,” Akino Kazuko remarked, a shiver running down her spine.
Outside the grove, an elderly couple out for a stroll glanced toward the trees but saw nothing.
“Dear, you think it’s haunted…?” The old man’s toothless gums quivered as his cane trembled toward the grove.
“Huh?” The old lady, hard of hearing and without her glasses, squinted at him. “What’d you say? I didn’t bring my specs today—can’t hear a thing.” (???)
“I said it’s haunted!” the old man bellowed into her ear.
“What?!” The old lady’s eyes bulged, her face twitching. “The pot’s burning? But I didn’t cook anything! Come on, let’s head home.”
With that, she dragged the old man away.
By sheer bad luck, the old man hadn’t been heard by his wife—but Liang Sheng caught every word.
“Haunted?!” Liang Sheng whipped her head around, suddenly feeling the silent grove brim with sinister vibes everywhere.
A chill prickled her skin. “W-We should get outta here quick. This place is way too creepy.”
Akino Kazuko took one look at her spooked expression and snickered. “Look at you, such a scaredy-cat. As if there are ghosts in this world… G-GHOST!!”
“Aaah!!” Liang Sheng and Akino Kazuko screamed in unison as Liang Sheng bolted like her life depended on it.
“Stop right there!”
“The ghost can talk! Aaah!!” Tears and snot streaming down her face, Liang Sheng fled in blind panic, crashing around like a headless chicken.
“Why are you running?!” The “ghost” yelled from behind in frustration. “I’m Akino Wakako, you idiots! You’re the ghosts!”
At the familiar name, Liang Sheng and Akino Kazuko skidded to a halt and turned. There, in a wine-red gown, sat the Heartthrob Value System—perched huffily on her host Su Ze’s back.
“You two have gone too far,” Akino Wakako said through gritted teeth. “Were you trying to kill him or what? Look what you’ve done to poor Su Ze.”
The words “dog’s state” set Liang Sheng off giggling, her earlier fear evaporating.
“You’ve got the nerve to laugh?” Akino Wakako shot to her feet, jabbing a finger at Liang Sheng. “Why’d you go so hard on him?”
“Am I as ruthless as Su Ze?” Liang Sheng shot back. “He nearly choked me to death! Why aren’t you chewing him out?”
“You…!” The Heartthrob Value System gaped in disbelief. “How do you even remember that?”
Liang Sheng pulled a face at her. “You didn’t think my memory got wiped too, did you? Hilarious—look at that ridiculous mug of yours.”
“You!”
Liang Sheng was a master at verbal takedowns.
“You what?” Liang Sheng kept going, eyeing the now-shorter Akino Wakako with disdain. “Who you yelling at, huh? Oh, look at you puffing out your chest! What are you so cocky about? Got any assets to back it up? You’re just flaunting your flaws for everyone to laugh at, aren’t you?!”
“You, you? You!”
In the half-minute Liang Sheng spent ripping into her, Akino Wakako tried chiming in several times—only to get steamrolled by that lightning-fast tongue.
The barrage hit the Favorability System right in her fragile heart.
Akino Wakako hung her head and stared at her feet—feet she used to not even see. Her view should’ve been blocked.
Then she glanced at Liang Sheng’s—proud, perky, enviable.
Tears slid from her eyes.
“Just drop dead, both of you!” With that vicious curse, the Favorability System vanished on the spot.
“Hahaha.” Akino Kazuko clapped her host on the shoulder with a thumbs-up. “Nicely done!”
“So, what do we do with this pig?” Liang Sheng pointed at Su Ze, his eyes practically rolled back to his hometown.
Akino Kazuko rubbed her chin, pondering. “Ah, how about…!” She balled one fist and smacked her palm with the other. “We just leave him here like this! Easiest thing ever!”
Liang Sheng gave an awkward yet polite chuckle. “Haha, wise words indeed. A conversation with you is truly enlightening.”
“But if someone sees him…” Liang Sheng planted her hands on her hips and frowned at the motionless Su Ze sprawled on the ground.
Just then.
“Liang Sheng? You in there?”
