Chapter 163 – Three Perverts, All Under One Roof?

Over breakfast, Lin Xi saw the morning news reporting on Shuguang Technology’s illegal artificial superpower user experiments.

She turned to Shi Yu. “After we left, Xia Xun and her Captain did exactly what justice demanded and kicked over that hornet’s nest.”

Thor set down her chopsticks with an indignant huff. “We were the ones who kicked it over. We concealed our deeds and left the glory behind. True greatness needs no explanation.”

“Even if we hadn’t gone, Xia Xun and her Captain would’ve uncovered everything when they got there last night. Xia Xun-“

“Master! I don’t want to hear that name!” Thor snapped, slamming down her chopsticks. “Xia Xun this, Xia Xun that. Why don’t you just move into her house?”

“Great idea,” Lin Xi said. “I’ll pack my things and move out as soon as I get home from school today.”

Thor: “…”

“Master, you’re awful! You’re picking on me again!”

Lin Xi was only teasing. Of course she wasn’t actually moving out. “Now that Shuguang Technology’s secret laboratory has been exposed, it’s definitely game over for them.”

“He Mingyuan and Wu Fa are both dead, and Qin Ling deleted every scrap of data about Shi Yu’s parents from the laboratory database yesterday.”

“No one will be able to trace anything back to Shi Yu now.”

“Mm.” With the matter finally settled, Shi Yu looked much more relaxed. “Thank you. Without everyone’s help, I never could’ve managed it alone… I’ll treat you all to dinner sometime.”

“Sounds good,” Lin Xi accepted without a trace of politeness. Then a thought struck her. “Wait, Shi Yu. Do you even need to eat this stuff? Shouldn’t you recharge or replenish your energy some other way?”

“My ‘stomach’ is an energy converter. It can ‘digest’ food and turn it into energy.”

“Of course, I need charging too.” Shi Yu smiled. “Lin Xi, if you want to know where my charging port is… c’mon. Let’s go to the bedroom.”

Lin Xi: “…”

“Who said I was interested? I don’t have the slightest interest in your artificial body.”

“Oh? Then why are you blushing? And why do you keep looking away?”

“None of your business, you pervert-” Lin Xi was still several ranks too low to handle someone this shameless. “Having two giant perverts like you and Thor living in my house is putting me under a lot of pressure.”

“Two perverts?” Shi Yu prompted. “Did you forget to count yourself?”

Lin Xi: “…”

Three perverts, all under one roof???

“I’m not a pervert!”

Lin Xi had already submitted a request to Zhou Lin to change her organizational codename from Perverted Witch back to Blazing Blast Witch.

“I am a pure and forthright Blazing Blast Witch.”

Thor and Shi Yu merely smiled and said nothing.

“Think whatever you want. My conscience is clean.” Lin Xi rose from the table. “I’m done. See you later.”

“Wait-” Shi Yu put down her chopsticks too. “Let’s go to school together.”

During breakfast, Lin Xi had received a message from Zhao Xinning saying something had come up at school, so she had gone on ahead instead of meeting Lin Xi.

“Since Zhao Xinning already left,” Shi Yu said, picking up her backpack, “what’s wrong with the two of us walking together?”

“Whatever.” Lin Xi headed out first, and Shi Yu followed.

Once they were outside, Shi Yu reached for Lin Xi’s hand. Lin Xi pulled it away. “What are you doing?”

“Holding hands. Don’t you always walk to school hand in hand with Zhao Xinning?”

“I hold hands with Xinning. I don’t do that with you.”

“So you’re still angry with me. It seems that dramatic apology wasn’t enough. I’ll have to find a new way to make it up to you-“

“Don’t. That whole penitence act was bizarre enough. I’m not angry about what happened before.”

“Really?”

“Really. I always tell the truth.”

“Then let’s hold hands.”

“Nope.”

“I’m your backup girlfriend, at least. I can’t even hold your hand?”

“Shi Yu, you’re the kind of backup I’ll never need.”

That struck Shi Yu right in the heart.

When holding hands failed, she moved on to her next move.

“I’m about to reboot the cuddle comic project. Will you be my assistant? We’ll split the royalties thirty-seventy-you get seventy percent.”

“Uh…”

“Twenty-eighty is fine too. You get eighty.”

Lin Xi still hesitated, so Shi Yu offered her ninety percent.

“I understand how sincere you are now,” Lin Xi said. “Fine, I’ll be your assistant, but you can’t draw anything lewd.”

Shi Yu: “…”

“Don’t worry. I’ve gone legit. I’m going to draw pure love! Our pure love story!”

“What pure love story do we have???”

“Lin Xi, do you really want to be a ‘cuckold’ that badly?” Shi Yu said. “Well, I can draw that too. NTR has a big market. In the world of lewd manga, NTR is the mainstream.”

“Stop spouting that garbage with such a serious face!” Lin Xi retorted mercilessly. “I’m a twenty-four-karat pure-love fan!”

The two bickered all the way to the station as they discussed the comic.

…

“Sigh…”

“Shi Yu is still alive…”

“That anonymous letter was a complete waste.”

Zhao Xinning had not gone to school ahead of Lin Xi at all. She had only sent that message because she wanted to find out whether Shi Yu was staying at Lin Xi’s house.

And sure enough, she saw Lin Xi and Shi Yu leave together.

“Shuguang Technology was utterly useless,” Pluto said. “Perhaps Shi Yu wasn’t too strong. Perhaps Xi was. She is the Blazing Blast Witch, after all.”

“Yes…” Zhao Xinning once again bitterly wondered why she had to be nothing more than an ordinary person.

Every night for the past several days, she had gone to the Black Market in search of information.

She truly meant it when she decided she would stop being human.

Zhao Xinning hoped to find a way to become a Demonized Human at the Black Market. Then she would become a “witch” too-the perfect match for Lin Xi.

Before she finally confessed to Lin Xi, every last “pest” that needed exterminating would have to die.

That was her plan for once she obtained power.

But as of today, she had still found nothing.

All she could do was keep searching the Black Market for clues…

…

“The school anniversary is almost here! Is everyone confident we can win the Best Performance award?!”

After school, Su Xiangxue, captain of the Sun Goddess Band, addressed the group in their clubroom with tremendous vigor.

After all her hard practice, Lin Xi had learned far more than a mere C chord.

Her guitar playing had progressed well past “beginner” without descending into “ready for burial.” She wasn’t an expert yet, but she had reached a solid intermediate level. At the very least, she knew the piece they would perform inside and out.

When Su Xiangxue asked the question, Lin Xi answered confidently, “We can do it!”

“Excellent, Miss Lin Xi. You have distinguished yourself from the ranks of the raw recruits.” Su Xiangxue praised her like a drill instructor.

She had earned the right. Su Xiangxue was the one who gave Lin Xi most of her guidance in the clubroom.

Lin Xi’s other guitar teacher was Qin Ling, and she was grateful to both of her young instructors.

Huang Haiyao was confident too. Joining the band as a teacher had genuinely brought her closer to her students.

She had learned quite a lot from Miss Lin Xi in particular.

And witnessed plenty of juicy drama…

Yang Shanshan’s first answer was rather quiet. With Lin Xi’s encouragement, she called out again, louder this time:

“We can do it!”

The band clubroom immediately filled with cheer.