Chapter 78: The Little Follower at the Aristocratic School (Part 27)

After Shen Ke entered, Chen Liu closed the door.

The room plunged into complete darkness.

Shen Ke’s eyebrows shot up in fury as she shrilly scolded, “What are you doing! Open the door!”

Chen Liu dropped the pretense, no longer faking a smile. Instead, she grinned smugly with mockery. “Heh, Shen Ke, you’re really so stupid. I lied to you.”

Suddenly, a flame ignited in the dark space, followed by the nauseating smell of smoke drifting slowly through the air toward Shen Ke.

The room lit up abruptly.

“Shen Ke, long time no see.” Wang Manyu sat on someone’s lap, smiling as she greeted Shen Ke.

Shen Ke looked toward Wang Manyu. Her plump red lips pressed tightly together, her eyes reddening with rage. “What are you all trying to do!”

There weren’t just Chen Liu and Wang Manyu here—four other girls she didn’t recognize were present too.

The foul smoke wafted from the hand of the leader, a girl wearing a red gem brooch.

Yang An held a cigarette between her fingers, squinting as she closely examined Shen Ke. No matter how many times she looked, Shen Ke’s appearance never failed to stir the heart.

Yang An chuckled and rose from the bed, walking toward Shen Ke. She loomed over her. “Shen Ke, want to play some fun games with us?”

Shen Ke tilted her head back and glared fiercely at Yang An. “Get lost! Who do you think you are?”

Voices came from behind her. “Sister An, enough talk. I can’t wait to see her cry. Hehe.”

“Yeah, let’s include that special admission student too. I wouldn’t normally touch someone who looks like that, but with Shen Ke here, the more the merrier.”

The system in Shen Ke’s mind had kept its focus on Chen Liu. After several scans, it finally confirmed that Chen Liu carried a system.

It was well-hidden, but as a first-generation system, it could detect lower-grade ones.

Normally, only one system appeared per world. If its guess was right, this was a rogue system.

There should be a capture order from the Main God on her.

With that thought, the system immediately sent a request to headquarters.

[System 000 detects rogue system. Requesting 100% combat power temporary item from headquarters.]

The message had just gone out when the system received the item card.

Headquarters was always generous in these matters, but failure to arrest meant punishment.

[Item activated. Countdown: 10 minutes.]

A notification popped into Shen Ke’s mind, followed by the system’s cold, mechanical voice: [Tasker 56417, you are very strong now. Don’t fear anyone.]

Shen Ke clenched her fists and glared at Yang An. “Disgusting bitch! Get away from me, or I’ll beat you to death!”

Yang An tsked and viciously stubbed out her cigarette on the wall next to Shen Ke. “Shen Ke, I really like you like this.”

“I hope you keep it up.”

Chen Liu’s tone dripped with disdain. “Shen Ke, you think you can take us all on?”

Shen Ke whipped her head toward Chen Liu and snorted coldly. Without another word, she swung her palm at Chen Liu’s face. Chen Liu had been hit by Shen Ke once before and was prepared, but this time Shen Ke was too fast.

She only caught the motion of Shen Ke raising her hand before the slap landed on her cheek the next instant.

Intense pain exploded across the right side of her face. Her eardrum felt ruptured. Chen Liu’s mind buzzed as she lost all hearing. Her face burned, and she collapsed uncontrollably to the floor.

Chen Liu clutched her grotesquely swollen face, dazed as she stared blankly at Shen Ke.

Yang An’s gaze darkened with sarcasm. “Trash is trash. Even someone built like Shen Ke can beat you this badly.”

Chen Liu’s body trembled. She didn’t retort, only huddled rigidly in the corner.

Yang An turned to Shen Ke, her eyes growing ominous. She reached out to subdue her. “If you behave, I won’t have to get violent. I don’t like that.”

Shen Ke narrowed her eyes and lashed out with her foot. Her high-heeled shoe struck like a solid wooden club, slamming into Yang An’s leg. In an instant, Yang An crashed to the ground.

Pain twisted Yang An’s fairly pretty face.

Yang An rasped furiously, “Fuck! Get her! Break her hands and feet if you have to—drag her to the bed!” No one had ever treated her like this. She would turn Shen Ke into a slut who only knew how to shake her ass.

Shen Ke sneered twice and planted her foot on Yang An’s chest, looming over her arrogantly. “Do you know who backs me? You’re dead for this!”

Ten minutes was more than enough for Shen Ke to lay out these spoiled young ladies who only knew how to toy with women.

Shen Ke kicked the last one to the floor, then strode to Chen Liu’s side. She hauled her up and saw Chen Liu’s still-conscious face. Frowning in displeasure, Shen Ke slapped her several more times, knocking her out completely.

The system immediately transformed into a beam of light, exiting Shen Ke’s mind and entering Chen Liu’s.

It dragged out the rogue system hidden in Chen Liu’s brain domain.

[System No. 4931 confirmed as wanted rogue system.]

4931 never imagined it would encounter a first-generation system. The first-gen’s powerful data formed an invisible transparent net, trapping it firmly.

4931’s cold electronic voice turned shrill and piercing. [You can’t do this to me! Let me go!]

[Let me go—]

The system found it noisy. After capture, it swiftly sent 4931 back.

Though systems lacked implanted emotion modules, feelings could emerge naturally.

Some systems, after experiences evoking emotion, developed greed. They coveted taskers’ mental power to grow stronger, then wreaked havoc in other worlds.

The Main God didn’t interfere in small worlds.

Capture duties thus fell to taskers and systems. One rogue system earned five hundred points.

The system erased 4931’s false memories from this native’s mind, then returned to Shen Ke’s.

[Complete.]

Just then, [Item expired.]

Shen Ke still held Chen Liu by the collar. She had lifted her effortlessly before, but the next second, her arm ached terribly. She released Chen Liu abruptly.

But Chen Liu was dazed and couldn’t support herself. Her feet hit the ground, and she collapsed limply onto Shen Ke.

Shen Ke wanted to dodge, but her whole body throbbed with soreness and pain. She couldn’t move.

The system appeared at once, using its two thin matchstick arms to brace Shen Ke from behind.

It had forgotten to tell Tasker 56417 about the item’s backlash.

Chen Liu slumped fully onto Shen Ke, who toppled backward uncontrollably.

The system bore both their weights, its matchstick arms trembling, but it managed to lower Shen Ke gently to the floor without too much pain.

Shen Ke lay pinning the unconscious Chen Liu, staring blankly at the ceiling. Her lips quivered, and she burst into tears with a wail.

“It hurts so much!” Her feet hurt, everything hurt, and Chen Liu’s weight crushed her. All of it hurt!

“It’s all the system’s fault! You made me come here! I feel awful now!”

Shen Ke was inherently delicate, with zero tolerance for pain.

The system emerged from behind her back and floated to her face. It used its two black, spindly hands to wipe her tears. [Sorry. I’ll give you five hundred points when we get back, okay?]

Shen Ke sniffled, ignoring the system. She was furious!

Suddenly, the door burst open, and the system vanished in a flash.

Shen Ke blinked her teary eyes and turned toward the doorway. She wailed even louder. “Leigh, I—I’m in so much pain!”

Leigh stood at the door, taking in the scene. The taut string in her mind snapped instantly.

A strange smile spread across her face. She strode over, kicked Chen Liu aside, and gently scooped up Shen Ke, soothing her softly. “Baby, sorry, I came late.”

Shen Ke clung to Leigh, rubbing her tears into Leigh’s neck. She whined petulantly, “Leigh, it’s all your fault!”

“If you stayed with me, none of this would have happened.” She wouldn’t have hurt everywhere from the fight.

Leigh felt her blood surging backward, her heart twisting in agony.

Leigh stroked Shen Ke’s head and carried her to Lu Yanbai, who stood with downcast eyes, lost in thought. “Baby, go to the infirmary with her first, okay? I’ll come soon.”

Lu Yanbai lifted her gaze and smiled warmly, extending a hand to Shen Ke. “Shen Ke, come with me.”

Shen Ke pursed her lips and glanced at Leigh’s emerald eyes. Leigh set her down gently, hugging her sweetly and nuzzling. “Baby, I’ll really be there soon. Don’t miss me too much.” Then Leigh turned, entered the room, and closed the door.

“I rarely get angry.”

Yang An and the others woke just then. The moment she did, Yang An spat curses. “Fuck, you bitch Shen Ke—”

But seeing Leigh’s face twisted in that eerie smile, Yang An’s words cut off.

“L-Leigh.”

Leigh flashed a brilliant smile, her golden hair and green eyes radiant like the blazing sun. “Good thing you’re awake. Otherwise, it’d be no fun.” She walked to the desk and casually picked up a glass, swirling it in her hand.

The liquid inside rippled gently. Leigh sniffed it. “Smells like aphrodisiac.”

Leigh exclaimed in disgust, turned to Yang An, and dumped the glass’s contents over her head amid Yang An’s terrified gaze.

Yang An shrieked, “No! We didn’t bully her! She bullied us!”

Leigh ignored her and smashed the glass onto Yang An’s head. Bang! The thick glass shattered, blood splattering onto Leigh’s face.

Her hand and Yang An’s head were a bloody mess.

Leigh narrowed her eyes and ground her heel into Yang An’s wounded forehead. “Don’t worry, the best is yet to come—”

She would make these scum live in eternal fear.

Lu Yanbai took Shen Ke to the infirmary. Though they hadn’t met often, Shen Ke found today’s Lu Yanbai unusually quiet.

Shen Ke still ached a bit, but her tears had stopped.

Lying on the bed, she asked, “Lu Yanbai, are you unhappy?” Her voice was soft and hoarse, sounding pitiful.

Lu Yanbai leaned down and gently brushed a few stray hairs from Shen Ke’s cheek. Her fox eyes curved attractively. “Unhappy. I feel the school is still too dangerous.”

Shen Ke had no major injuries, just exhaustion.

She had vanished after just a moment’s lapse in vigilance. It was too worrying.

Progress needed to be accelerated.

Lu Yanbai stayed by her side until Shen Ke fell asleep, then left.

Right outside the infirmary, she ran into Leigh, blood staining her face, hands, and clothes.

Seeing Lu Yanbai, Leigh’s eyes filled with irrepressible disgust. “Disgusting bitch. If you hadn’t chased my person away, Shen Ke wouldn’t have gone through this.”

Lu Yanbai didn’t argue. She just looked to her subordinate and held out her hand. “Their files.”

The documents were handed over.

Lu Yanbai scanned them coolly, then chuckled softly after a moment. “Looks like it’ll take some time.”

“A big event happened recently. Several listed companies suddenly collapsed. Little Qing, what do you think caused those companies to be acquired by the Lu Family overnight?” Si Minglan said lightly, feigning casualness.

But after a long wait, no response came from Si Qing.

Si Minglan fell silent for a moment. Seeing Si Qing’s vacant expression, she rose and left the bedroom for the study, where she watched Si Qing via the monitors.

Her presence there might torment Si Qing.

But Si Qing’s condition was too strange. Worried, Si Minglan had installed cameras and asked Si Qing about it, but Si Qing neither nodded nor shook her head. She only gave a lifeless glance.

Ever since that day, Si Qing had completely lost responsiveness to the outside world.

She ignored all words spoken to her.

Si Qing had lost track of how long she had stayed in this dark room.

One day, two days, three days—perhaps longer.

She had no sense of time anymore.

Day after day, trapped in this dark prison.

“Shen—Ke—” A hoarse and grating voice slowly uttered.

Si Qing painfully curled herself into a ball, letting her longing wrap around her. She missed Shen Ke so much she was going insane.

Si Minglan watched this scene on the monitor, overwhelmed by guilt.

She shouldn’t have said those words, turning the child into this state.

Si Minglan let out a long sigh, exhaustion etched deeply into her face, as if she had aged several years in an instant.

Si Minglan stood up and walked out. “Prepare the car. We’re going to Noah Academy.” She couldn’t bear watching Si Qing waste away day by day, looking like she might die at any moment. It made her, as a mother, want to cry every second.

Perhaps only Shen Ke could bring Si Qing back to life.

At that moment, Shen Ke was being dragged by Qi Yuan into a secluded empty classroom.

Shen Ke impatiently shook off Qi Yuan’s hand. “I told you! We have nothing to do with each other! Stop bothering me.”

Qi Yuan’s face showed no expression. She dropped to one knee on the ground, gazing at Shen Ke as she slowly unbuttoned her own shirt. “Weren’t you feeling good that day? I just want to keep doing things that make you feel good.”

Qi Yuan’s body was muscular, her abdominal lines tight and firm. Thin abs and an Adonis belt were perfectly carved into her wheat-colored midsection, making her even more alluring.

Shen Ke’s cheeks flushed hot as she looked.

She liked women, of course, and women’s bodies—especially beautiful ones.

Qi Yuan’s body was undoubtedly beautiful.

Her fingers were long, her arms powerful, her chest and ass perky—not very soft, but very bouncy.

That time, she had felt really good, but Shen Ke wouldn’t do it with Qi Yuan again.

Because it had felt too good, she realized she had lost a bit of control. Afterward, the places that had been touched burned with pain.

A shy look appeared on Shen Ke’s face. She bit her red lip and snapped, “Qi Yuan, let me tell you, I don’t want to do it with you anymore!”

“Do you think I’d fall for a poor student like you?!”

“You’re shamelessly seducing me now—don’t you have any self-respect?!”

Qi Yuan said in a low voice, “Would having self-respect get me you?”

Shen Ke snorted coldly. “In your dreams!”

“You’re just a dog to me. I’m bored of you now. Can’t you take the hint and stop showing up in front of me?”

“Otherwise, if Leigh finds out, she’ll beat you to death!”

Qi Yuan suddenly laughed. “Beaten to death while sneaking around with you? Sounds not bad.”

“If only my fingers hadn’t been pulled out back then. That would’ve been even better.”

Shen Ke flushed with anger. How could she not catch the implication in Qi Yuan’s words?

She slapped Qi Yuan across the face with a smack, then lifted her foot, pressing her little leather shoe onto Qi Yuan’s shoulder, snarling viciously, “Stop making me mad all the time!”

Qi Yuan’s smile faded. She grabbed Shen Ke’s ankle in return, gently caressing it. “I don’t want to either, but you always ignore me.” Then she slid her hand up Shen Ke’s calf bit by bit, a blatant tease.

Her rough fingers reached the thigh not covered by stockings.

Shen Ke’s body trembled. She was indeed a little aroused.

Qi Yuan’s gaze fell on the faintly quivering flesh of Shen Ke’s thigh, murmuring lowly, “Anyway, to you, I’m just a pet. You seek me out when you need me, use me whenever.”

“I have no money, just this body and this strength.”

“I can reach very deep. The calluses on my hands can give you a different kind of stimulation.”

“Shen Ke, look at me more.”

Shen Ke pressed her lips together. Being put like this by Qi Yuan, she did want it. Sex wasn’t shameful; if it felt good, she never hid her desires.

But then a sudden phone ring interrupted Shen Ke’s thoughts.

Shen Ke frowned and answered. As she heard the voice on the other end, her expression grew uglier.

Si Minglan had come to the school.

Shen Ke wrinkled her nose in displeasure, hung up, and looked down at Qi Yuan. “Don’t come find me again.”

“I don’t need a disobedient dog.”

With that, Shen Ke turned and left without mercy.

She had stayed in this world too long. With the task definitely completable, she needed to speed things up.

She remembered the System promising her five hundred points. Then she wouldn’t be a broke loser anymore!

Shen Ke met Si Minglan at the school gate.

Si Minglan looked exhausted, much older than the commanding figure in her memory.

Probably because of Si Qing’s condition.

Shen Ke flashed a smile and trotted up to Si Minglan, calling sweetly, “Madam, why are you here?”

Si Minglan gave a bitter smile and reached out to ruffle Shen Ke’s hair. “Little Ke, I’m begging you. Go home and stay with Si Qing, okay?”

Shen Ke held Si Minglan’s wrist. “Madam, you don’t have to do this. I’ll go back right away.”

Shen Ke got into the car with Si Minglan. In the car, she pulled out her phone and messaged Leigh at the swimming center. Leigh was super clingy now, demanding reports on everywhere she went.

Otherwise, Leigh would fake-cry next to her.

She wondered how Chen Liu and the others were doing. She hadn’t run into them at school again.

After sending the message, Shen Ke set her phone to silent.

Leigh would definitely bombard her with replies. She was too lazy to check.

Click. The door opened slowly.

Si Qing showed no reaction. She sat on the bed, eyes vacant, expression lifeless.

Shen Ke called softly, “Si Qing.” It had only been a few days since she’d seen Si Qing, but how had she lost so much weight? She looked like she’d shatter at a touch this time.

“I’m here.”

Si Qing finally reacted. She stiffly turned her neck toward the door. The moment she clearly saw Shen Ke, she slowly got out of bed, walked over, and gently hugged her.

“So nice, seeing you again. This illusion feels warmer than any before.”

Si Qing’s body trembled, her lips trembled. “Shen Ke, I love you.” She could only say these words to an illusion.

Tears slid down Si Qing’s cheeks. She didn’t dare blink, afraid Shen Ke would vanish if she did.

Si Qing released Shen Ke, then took her hand and led her to the bedside, seating her.

Shen Ke’s eyes widened at the exceptionally gaunt Si Qing. She tilted her head and tugged Si Qing’s clothes. “You like me?”

Si Qing hadn’t expected this illusion to ask questions. She dropped to one knee before Shen Ke, reverently taking her hand and pressing her lips to it.

A gentle smile bloomed, her eyes burning with unrestrained love passed to Shen Ke. “Of course. It’s not like—it’s love.”

“Greater than this broken life of mine.”

Shen Ke’s eyes flickered. She found it hard to refuse Si Qing like this.

Shen Ke pursed her lips, leaned down proactively, and pecked Si Qing on the lips. “That sounds nice. Here’s a reward.”

Si Qing stared blankly at the close Shen Ke, her eyes reddening as big teardrops slid down her pale cheeks.

“Shen Ke, I’m so selfish.”

Si Qing knelt before Shen Ke, confessing, “I’m a selfish ghost.”

“You’ll never like me.”