Chapter 187: Sister Bai’s Surprise
Returning indoors, I put away my phone and treated the question Tan Han had asked me earlier as if it had never been posed.
Suddenly, I felt the atmosphere was somewhat strange, but I silently prepared to return to my position.
“Tsk, how awkward. It’s just two words that could solve the problem; is it really that hard to tell her your Spirit Vision is Floating World?” A clone of mine appeared beside me, teasing me, and perhaps deep down, I felt the same way.
Even if I said it, what would it change? I was merely responding to someone who had asked me a question.
“Floating World, my Spirit Vision level is Floating World.” It was only when I passed by Tan Han that I spoke up.
“What?”
“I’ve already told you, but I won’t say it a second time.” Ignoring Tan Han’s shocked expression, I walked to my seat and began fiddling with my spellbook.
“Exactly! Now that you’ve said it, your mood is much better. Huh~ Look, even if Tan Han knows, it’s no big deal. Don’t you want to see the surprised look on her face?”
“I guess she’s going to say how is it possible for you to have Floating World level Spirit Vision?”
“Oh? So that’s how it is. No wonder you’re a genius who can enter the Witch Academy.” After realizing this news, Tan Han, after a brief moment of surprise, accepted this reality, which also slapped the clone’s face.
Combining this answer with her own understanding, it seemed many questions were suddenly answered.
Floating World, that was three levels above her; no wonder Xiao Han could see through the internal structure of the spellbook so easily, and no wonder she could handle modified spellbooks with such ease. This was the shortcut to the extraordinary, the window to observing the extraordinary?
Such ability could bridge a huge gap; with such power, gaining something like strength must be easy for Xiao Han, right? It just needed a little time to settle.
As for why Xiao Han’s Spirit Vision was Floating World level, Tan Han didn’t speak up. This level was clearly abnormal; perhaps it was an innate talent or something else.
There was nothing to envy or be jealous of; it was like some people were born into nobility while others were born as beggars. She understood this clearly.
“I’m not a genius; maybe I’m a lunatic. But I still think we don’t need to discuss this topic. By the way, I encountered something earlier, and I’ve always wanted to ask you a question, if that’s alright.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
“Do you know what this is?” I casually pulled a Thread of Fortune and held it in front of Tan Han.
“Hm? Empty?” Tan Han watched my strange action. From her perspective, she saw me pulling at something invisible on myself and asking her this question with empty hands.
But soon, she reacted; the other party was not someone who liked to joke. “No, wait, is it something you see with your Spirit Vision?”
“Can’t see it…,” I lowered my head and thought for a moment. Logically speaking, as the script’s protagonist, shouldn’t she be able to see this?
“Theoretically, it is indeed something I see with Spirit Vision. Since you can’t see it, then I have my answer. Thank you for your trouble.”
“Oh… your view of the Spirit Vision world must be really exciting, right?” Tan Han looked at me with some envy.
“Exciting? If all of that could be understood, then it would indeed be… exciting… I guess.” I said uncertainly, leaving some expectation for her.
As for waiting until she truly reached that world and then coming to her own conclusions, that would be up to her.
“That’s a state of mental illness. If you want to ask if it’s exciting, wouldn’t it be better to just ask in a mental hospital? Oh~ I forgot we seem to have a history of mental illness too.”
“Shut up.” This time, I directly dispelled that clone. Seriously, why did it have to bring that up?
“Hm?” Tan Han was puzzled by my sudden outburst. She instinctively felt that I wasn’t talking to her; otherwise, the change in my attitude was too drastic.
“Sorry, the illusionary clone said some weird things to me; I didn’t mean to direct that at you.” I said with slight regret.
“Illusionary clone? The one from back then…”
“Exactly, that one.” I nodded.
“Illusionary clones can also cause one to fall for their own tricks?”
“Yeah, they can also chat. The one controlling this spell is the caster’s subconscious, so they often say shocking things while chatting. Sorry, this is also my habit; I often use this spell to help me break out of various thinking traps and modes.” I explained, although I hadn’t maintained this habit for long, just… yesterday?
“Spells can be used this way?”
Tan Han was quite amazed at my use of magic. Using the illusionary clone spell for self-communication, with the subconscious helping the conscious mind break free from thinking patterns?
She felt she gained new insight at that moment; it was a feeling she’d never had before. At this moment, she realized she had been pursuing strength while neglecting many other things.
“Um… can I also meet your clone?” Tan Han cautiously spoke. At that moment, she made up her mind to obtain such a spell as well. There were too few people in the academy with whom she could communicate; she had many halos but lost a lot in the process.
Sometimes she was aware that she hadn’t let herself go, so could this spell fill that void?
“You want to see her? She often does things beyond my control; I’m afraid she’ll disturb you.” I said.
“Hurry! She’s already spoken; let this guy witness my ability! Aren’t you not good at dealing with others? Let me handle her, I’ll teach her how to be a woman~”
“Hurry up! Sister Bai is coming soon, right? I’ll take care of Tan Han for you; how great is that division of labor?”
“What do you mean by ‘private meeting’? You scoundrel.” I cursed inwardly.
“Is there a problem?”
“No, I’m just worried you won’t be able to handle her; even I find her a bit overwhelming. But since you want to see her, then I’ll show her to you. However, when you see her, she might appear to you as the way you perceive me.”
In the end, I compromised. Facing Tan Han, I waved my hand slightly. Confirming that the other party had the technique at that moment, I returned to my position.
“Hello, junior; I’m glad you requested to see me. You finally got your wish. Do you have any questions? I’m more understanding than that somewhat taciturn me.” My clone directly approached Tan Han.
“Hello, you’re Xiao Han’s clone, right?”
“Oh no, if possible, I would prefer you to call me ‘senpai’. Referring to me as a clone is too disrespectful.”
“Okay, Xiao Han-senpai.”
“Ah~ That ‘senpai’ really resonates with me. You might not know, but that shy one is actually quite pleased deep down, yet she just refuses to show it. She wears a mask every moment…”
“Cough, cough.” At that moment, I suddenly coughed, interrupting the clone’s speech.
“Sorry, Xiao Han, I think I understand why you’re worried.”
“Okay, I’ll end the illusion effect now.”
“Wait, actually, I think having such a clone is quite nice.”
“That’s senpai, call me Xiao Han-senpai.” The clone corrected from the side.
“With Xiao Han-senpai around, I think I shouldn’t trouble you with many issues, right?” Tan Han said while pointing at the spellbook model beside her.
“I still know nothing about this, but Teacher Ji expects me to grasp this spellbook today.”
“That’s not very likely; you can ignore what Teacher Ji said.” I said. Even I, back then, wanted to grasp a spellbook thoroughly in a single day.
“But I’ll do my best.” Tan Han didn’t directly dismiss my previous suggestion but said she would try hard.
“By the way, have you seen today’s notification from the academy?”
“I did; which one do you mean?” I asked.
“I mean the one about the academy opening the Dream World equipment cabin, preparing for the upcoming academy exchange competition, and letting us students adapt to the dream world in advance. I’ve heard the first time entering the dream world might cause physiological discomfort.”
“I’ve looked into it.” I nodded.
“Do you want to try it out? The dream world has many combat training contents, which are quite suitable for practicing combat skills.”
“The dream world? I’m going to pass today.” I shook my head.
“Yeah, today is my first attempt to understand the spellbook. Why would I give up halfway? Plus, today there will probably be a lot of people going to experience it, right? How about we try it tomorrow?”
“Mm, sure.” I nodded.
Actually, the reason I agreed was that I recognized my lack of practical experience. Although I believe in crushing with strength, skills can also crush, just like the wand fighting technique I learned using Earth Vein Memory, paired with spells to repel, even a hard-hitting transformation spell would be no problem.
I remembered that the top ten rankings back then had some alchemical items for customization. Should I seize this opportunity to customize a wand suitable for this wand fighting technique?
But those rewards had already slipped away from me; thinking back, it made me a little sad.
“Xiao Han, are you alright?” Tan Han noticed I had fallen into my thoughts and came over to ask.
“I’m fine; she’s just struggling with the pain of the new student competition top ten reward delays.”
“Shut up; if you say things that shouldn’t be said, I’ll k*ll you and silence you.” I glared at the clone.
“Okay… alright, let’s focus on the task at hand.”
Tan Han hurriedly stepped in to mediate. She had witness how one could stand in opposition to oneself. But could a clone also expose secrets?
Soon, Classroom 8401 was steeped in a busy atmosphere. I was busy familiarizing myself with knowledge related to illusions, while Tan Han struggled to grasp the inaccessible realms by leveraging my permissions.
Until the door to the classroom was knocked on, I finally put my hands down.
It was clear that Sister Bai had arrived.
So before Tan Han had any chance to move, I made my way to the door.
Upon opening it, the familiar smiling face of Sister Bai appeared before me.
“Sister Bai~” I quickly closed the door behind me and stepped outside, calling out.
“Xiao Han, that person inside just now…”
“Um… is Tan Han.” I felt a bit embarrassed at Sister Bai’s inquiry. The previous agreement hadn’t been nullified for long; in Sister Bai’s eyes, it must have seemed like I was getting involved with Tan Han again, right?
“That was Tan Han voluntarily asking to join my research group; I only found out this morning.”
“It’s alright, Xiao Han, you don’t need to explain like that. I understand, but just be mindful of your boundaries.” Sister Bai patted my head and smiled.
“Mm.”
“Alright, alright, meeting like this, I brought a surprise to find you! Don’t you want to know what it is?”
“Eh? What is it?” I asked curiously.
“It’s a spellbook.”
“A spellbook?” Upon hearing this answer, I tilted my head, feeling unsure about what kind of surprise this was. Did I lack spellbooks?
Or was that spellbook—
“Exactly! It’s the one you were thinking of! Memory Shelf! A kind of spell that can help you remember!”
“Really… really!? Sister Bai, why did you deliberately give me this?” I took the material that carried the spellbook that Sister Bai handed over, finding it hard to believe.
“Yesterday, seeing you like that and hearing you say that, I went looking for it. It’s actually a coincidence; I stumbled upon the relevant spellbook and spent a little cost to help you retrieve it.”
“Eh? So what you meant by having something yesterday was this?”
“Yep~”
“Then… I…” As I recalled pushing Sister Bai away yesterday, urgently saying that I had something to do, but now finding out that she was looking for something for me, I suddenly felt very ashamed! Really… so… indebted!
Moreover, even someone as affluent as Sister Bai described it as a “cost”. That must mean the price wasn’t low, right?
I recalled the store manager’s pained expression back then; wasn’t this spellbook even more precious?
“Okay, Xiao Han, don’t think too much. Just use it well; consider it a little token of Sister Bai’s sentiment.”
“Um… yeah! Sister Bai, you’re too good to me!”
“Then, Xiao Han, do you want to show your appreciation?”
“Eh?” I looked at Sister Bai in confusion, taken aback by her suggestion.
This put me in a dilemma!
How should I show my appreciation? Offer money? Does Sister Bai need money? Give… give resources? Or something else?
“Xiao Han, what’s wrong? Haven’t you thought of how? Then just give me a kiss~”
“What! A kiss!” I was immediately made to blush by Sister Bai’s words…
“Just consider it a friendly interaction between best friends, okay? On my cheek here.” Sister Bai, seeing my expression, was quite satisfied and ultimately took a step back, pointing to her cheek.
At that moment, crisp footsteps echoed in the stairwell, holding a phone and looking at the address of Classroom 8401.
“Um, well… fine, I’ll do it. Is it that close between best friends?” Although I still wanted to complain, at that moment, it felt like an arrow on the bowstring that had to be released, and besides… this request didn’t seem excessive, did it?
I felt as if Sister Bai had some ulterior motives towards me…
But regardless, I still leaned in. At this angle, I could even smell the faint, pleasant scent on Sister Bai. It was the first time I realized she had such a fragrant charm.
Eventually, I closed my eyes and gently pecked her cheek, softly, without making a sound.
“Eh? Xiao Han, did you kiss? I didn’t feel it~”
“I already did!”
“Can you do it again? Just now, I clearly didn’t feel it~” Sister Bai said with a smile.
“Really… fine, just once more!” I quietly emphasized, pecking her again, even producing a small crisp sound.
Bang—
With a louder crashing sound nearby, it seemed like a phone dropped to the ground, causing both Sister Bai and me to instinctively look in that direction.
“You! You! I knew your relationship was not ordinary!”
At the end of this floor, at the corner of the staircase, a figure trembled and pointed in accusation, then hurriedly picked up the possibly broken phone from the ground and turned to flee.
“Oh? Isn’t that… Yao Beijuan? I remembered her name correctly, right?”
“Y-yeah, that’s right.” I realized and instinctively pulled away from Sister Bai.
“What’s wrong? Xiao Han, your ex-girlfriend already misunderstood, and people are gone, so why are you pushing me away?”
“Um, sorry, I didn’t expect it to turn out like this…”
“Now that the misunderstanding has arisen, what do you want to do? Do you want to explain?” Sister Bai continued to question.
“Explain what? I have no obligation to explain to her, right?” I turned my head away.
“True, then I’ll leave first.” Sister Bai smiled at me, her face bearing a satisfied smile as she prepared to leave.
“Eh? You’re leaving just like that?”
“Mm, why, can’t bear to part?”
“N-no way.”
At that moment, Sister Bai didn’t say anything more and turned away toward the staircase.
But as she turned away, the smile at the corner of her mouth couldn’t be hidden. At least progress was smooth, killing two birds with one stone, right?
The script is quite interesting… I really have to thank that Teacher Xi Lan for this one.
Sister Bai quietly deleted the chat records and then put her phone away, deeming it unnecessary to reply. The other party must have seen everything, right?
Another favor owed, it truly is a life of a worker…
Now that I understood the concept of scripts, I realized the cost that needed to be paid. As long as the outcome was good, fulfilling the other party’s request was all that mattered. Moreover… I could also gain a little advantage.
