Chapter 136 – Life Advice, Take Two

Seeing her would-be girlfriend already trying to skip straight to the old-married-couple stage, Lin Xi switched off the projector, crawled under the covers, and promptly went to sleep.

“Good night, Xia Xun.”

Xia Xun fell silent.

She panicked. “I know I’m being a little too eager. It’s just that I want so badly to truly be your girlfriend… I’m sorry, Lin Xi. I was wrong…”

Seeing that Xia Xun was about to cry, Lin Xi had no choice but to console her.

“I’m not actually mad. But seriously, give me some time to think about how I should respond to your feelings.”

Of course, reciprocating was out of the question. Lin Xi knew perfectly well that she was a witch and Xia Xun was a Magical Girl. Those were immutable facts.

All she could do was drag things out until Xia Xun’s feelings cooled and she stopped liking her.

Or maybe she should simply run away. If she couldn’t stay in Z City, she could always start over in another city…

“Okay, I understand.” Xia Xun lay down beside Lin Xi. “Can… can I hold your hand while we sleep?”

“Sure.”

“Can I sleep with my arms around you?”

“Nope.”

“All right. Good night, Lin Xi.”

Xia Xun finally stopped pushing her luck, and Lin Xi could at last close her eyes and sleep in peace.

Except…

She couldn’t fall asleep.

It was rare for her to suffer from insomnia.

Xia Xun soon drifted off, but Lin Xi was still trying to think of a solution.

If she didn’t want to ruin Xia Xun’s bright future, she had no choice but to reject her feelings…

…

The next morning.

“Hello?! Xi, aren’t you home?” As usual, Zhao Xinning had come to walk to school with Lin Xi, but there was no response even after she rang the doorbell for ages.

Lin Xi was already at school. She and Xia Xun had taken a car there together.

They had agreed not to tell anyone about what had happened between them for the time being.

Xia Xun had agreed. She said that once she officially became Lin Xi’s girlfriend, they could announce their relationship to everyone.

Lin Xi knew full well that day would never come…

“Sorry, Xinning. I came to school early today.” Lin Xi made up an excuse. “I’ve fallen behind on a lot of schoolwork because I’ve been busy with the band, so I thought I’d come in early and catch up.”

“Oh, I see. You could’ve told me ahead of time. Then I could’ve gotten up even earlier, and we could still have gone to school together.”

“Wouldn’t that cut into your sleep?”

“I don’t mind. Anyway, if something like this happens again, make sure you tell me first, okay?”

“Mm, okay. Got it.” After hanging up, Lin Xi slumped face-first onto her desk like a dead fish.

She hadn’t slept well last night and was exhausted this morning.

She had barely been lying there for a few minutes when she heard a startled cry.

“Miss Lin Xi?! How did you get here even earlier than me?!”

Yang Shanshan came to school early every day.

To study math.

It wasn’t that she loved math all that much. She simply used asking Lin Xi for help with math problems as an excuse to talk to her more.

“Morning, Miss Shanshan…” Lin Xi greeted her weakly. She didn’t explain-there was no way she could-and simply put her head back down to sleep.

Seeing how exhausted Lin Xi was, Yang Shanshan stopped bothering her.

She even used her ability to block out the surrounding noise so Lin Xi could sleep undisturbed.

And so, with Yang Shanshan’s help, Lin Xi heard none of the commotion around her and slept comfortably until morning classes were over.

When she woke up, she was completely dumbfounded.

“It’s lunchtime already?!”

“Yes, morning classes are over,” Yang Shanshan said. “Miss Lin Xi, let’s go have lunch together.”

“No, no, no. This is way too weird. I must be dreaming. Miss Shanshan, let me pinch you and see if it hurts.”

“Sure.” Yang Shanshan held out her smooth, fair arm.

In the end, Lin Xi pinched her own arm instead. It hurt quite a bit, so she wasn’t dreaming.

“But… how come I didn’t hear anyone talking, the teachers lecturing, or even the bell?”

“Isn’t that strange?”

“There’s nothing strange about it,” explained Yang Shanshan, the “culprit.” “You were exhausted and slept so deeply that you didn’t hear anything around you.”

“Even so… why didn’t anyone wake me up? And why didn’t the teachers mind me sleeping through class?”

“Because you ranked second in the entire grade on the last monthly exam. The students and teachers all figured you’d worn yourself out studying, so everyone agreed to let you catch up on sleep.”

What thoughtful classmates and teachers… Lin Xi smiled wryly. She had certainly slept well, but now both her arms and legs were numb. She needed a moment to recover…

“Miss Lin Xi, did you have insomnia last night?”

“Yeah. I hardly ever do.”

“Why couldn’t you sleep?”

“I got stumped by a difficult problem.”

“Don’t push yourself so hard, Miss Lin Xi. Are you planning to take first place in the grade on the next monthly exam?”

“Uh…”

Figuring out how to answer Xia Xun was much harder than any math problem…

…

Recently, Lin Xi had been going to the activity room with Yang Shanshan and Su Xiangxue to rehearse after school every afternoon.

As the school anniversary drew closer, Lin Xi’s guitar playing steadily improved.

Su Xiangxue coached her in the activity room, while the more professional Qin Ling instructed her at home. On top of that, Lin Xi was slowly growing fond of the guitar. Fueled by genuine interest, she practiced even harder and with greater focus.

Su Xiangxue had no trouble with the keyboard whatsoever.

Teacher Huang Haiyao had been in a band before and had played the drums, so she had no trouble either.

Yang Shanshan’s bass skills were perfectly fine. Her only problem was her severe social anxiety. Whenever she sang, she couldn’t let herself go, making her seem overly cautious and restrained.

Lin Xi encouraged her over and over, telling Yang Shanshan to imagine everyone below the stage as giant radishes when the time came.

With the help of Lin Xi’s “clever little trick,” Yang Shanshan gradually began to loosen up.

The Sun Goddess Band was improving by the day, positively bursting with life and promise…

After rehearsal ended, Lin Xi called out to Huang Haiyao.

“Ms. Huang, could I take up a little of your time? There’s something else I’d like your advice on.”

Huang Haiyao replied gently, “Of course. Come on, we’ll go to the athletic field like last time and talk while we walk.”

“See you tomorrow, Miss Shanshan, Miss Su Xiangxue.”

Huang Haiyao and Lin Xi headed out ahead of the others.

Su Xiangxue stared after them in secret astonishment and murmured under her breath,

“Is Miss Lin Xi finally going to make a move on Ms. Huang…?”

…

“Here.” Huang Haiyao bought two cans of sweet tea and handed one to Lin Xi.

This kind of sweet tea was much too sugary for Lin Xi’s taste, but how could she refuse Ms. Huang’s kindness?

“Thank you, Ms. Huang.”

“Don’t call me that. We’re not in class, so just call me ‘Sister Haiyao.'”

“Sister Haiyao?”

“Mm-hmm! Lin Xi, ask me anything you want.”

Lin Xi’s greatest headache right now was figuring out how to turn Xia Xun down without hurting her.

“Sister Haiyao, someone confessed her feelings to me, but I want to reject her. What’s the best way to say it?”

Huang Haiyao fell silent.

“Ah, to be young. So, who is she?”

“Sister Haiyao! I came to you for advice, not so you could gossip.” Lin Xi certainly didn’t dare reveal Xia Xun’s name.

Speak of Xia Xun, and Xia Xun appeared.

She was standing just outside the athletic field.