Chapter 30 : Chapter 30
Chapter 30. Zhao Mingyue Becomes the Target
Zhao Mingyue rarely used messaging apps to chat with others. She had no friends and no family. Aside from a few classmates, almost no one contacted her through those apps. Even among her classmates, it was rare to talk frequently. If she exchanged messages once a week, that was already considered a lot.
Zhao Mingyue had told Bai Yu all of this before. Considering her situation, it indeed seemed to be the case.
However, while Zhao Mingyue had been working at the convenience store during the day, Bai Yu noticed that she frequently lowered her head to check her phone and chat with someone for quite a long time.
Bai Yu glanced at the profile picture, which showed a bright and handsome young boy taking a selfie. Then she disappeared from the room.
Zhao Mingyue groggily opened her eyes. A pale arm extended from beneath the blanket as she grabbed the phone that was charging beside her. She sat up halfway. As she moved, the thin blanket slid down from her shoulders, revealing her smooth skin. A strand of hair fell along her cheek, and she tucked it behind her ear.
“It is already eleven…”
Leaning against the headboard, she pulled the blanket up again, though her delicate shoulders still remained exposed.
Bai Yu was just about to remind her of something when Zhao Mingyue tapped the screen and switched the video call to a voice call.
“Hello, Li Nan. What is it?”
The person who had called Zhao Mingyue at eleven o’clock at night was Li Nan.
He was Zhao Mingyue’s desk mate, and the only person who frequently chatted with her. He was always the one who initiated the conversations. Even Lu Liangting did not contact her as often as Li Nan did.
As soon as Zhao Mingyue finished speaking, a male voice came through the phone. The tone sounded strangely forced, as though the man was deliberately lowering his voice to sound “magnetic.”
“I am sorry for calling you so late. It is just that I am moving soon—to a villa district in the city center. While organizing the books on my study shelf earlier, I found the book you lent me before. I will bring it back to you tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
“Oh, look at my memory. That book has been with me for two months already. I completely forgot about it. As compensation, I will bring you a small gift when we go to school tomorrow.”
“There is no need. Just return the book.”
“No, no, it is necessary. Please do not refuse. It is just a small apology.”
“You really do not need to.”
“Mingyue, if you keep saying that, I will be upset. We are friends after all. It is perfectly normal.”
Li Nan emphasized the word “friends” heavily.
“I…”
“Alright, it is settled then. See you tomorrow, Mingyue.”
Beep.
The call ended.
Zhao Mingyue looked as though she wanted to say something, but eventually she only sighed. She placed the phone beside the bed and crawled back under the blanket.
She had already gotten used to it.
Li Nan was simply that kind of person—always doing pointless things for no particular reason.
Bai Yu did not appear again. From her perspective, the situation just now was quite normal.
With Zhao Mingyue’s appearance and figure, it would be strange if no one pursued her at school. If her circumstances were not so special—spending all her free time either working or on the way to work—there would probably be even more people chasing after her.
After all, Zhao Mingyue possessed the kind of charm typical of a female protagonist in a campus romance story. Her appeal to young boys was undeniable. If she dressed up a little more, the number of love letters she received would probably overflow.
The downside was that among those pursuing her, there would inevitably be some brainless individuals.
Such simple-minded people were easy to deal with.
But their existence often served as smoke screens for certain people lurking in the shadows.
·
·
“Bai Yu, look! Does my strength seem to have increased? Are my arms much thicker now?”
In the living room early in the morning, Zhao Mingyue was bursting with energy after a good night’s sleep. She had woken up at six-thirty. After washing up, the first thing she did was eagerly pull Bai Yu over and show her arm.
Her arm was slender, without any visible muscle definition.
The reason was simple.
When she woke up that morning, she suddenly felt that her strength had increased significantly.
Then she remembered the reward displayed on the black phone after completing yesterday’s mission: 【Strength +1】.
How could she not feel excited?
“One point of Strength increases your physical power by roughly ten percent of your original strength. With better talent, it could reach twenty percent. However, future increases of the same type will gradually become less effective. Do not be too happy yet.”
Bai Yu spoke expressionlessly as Zhao Mingyue pulled her arm.
Zhao Mingyue paused and nodded thoughtfully.
“Ten percent is still quite a lot… Hmm… but the thickness of the arm probably has nothing to do with that.”
As she spoke, she could not help glancing at Bai Yu’s arm.
She even compared them.
Bai Yu’s arm was visibly slimmer than hers by an entire circle. It looked almost like a delicate doll’s arm.
Yet when it came to strength, Zhao Mingyue was still no match for her.
“It does not matter. As long as my strength can increase, it is fine. Bai Yu, if I keep completing missions like this, do you think one day I might surpass you in strength?”
Zhao Mingyue deliberately moved closer to Bai Yu, leaning in with a cheerful smile. Her expression carried a hint of mischievous intent, making it difficult not to suspect that she might have some strange ideas about surpassing Bai Yu.
Bai Yu was one meter fifty tall.
Zhao Mingyue was one meter seventy.
So compared to Zhao Mingyue, Bai Yu really did seem like a little sister. If Zhao Mingyue wanted to do something strange to her, Bai Yu might only be able to protest helplessly.
Bai Yu said nothing.
She simply stepped into Zhao Mingyue’s shadow.
At exactly seven o’clock in the morning, Zhao Mingyue left the apartment.
By the time she arrived at school, it was already seven-thirty. Sunshine Apartments was not particularly far from Zhao Mingyue’s school, Linyang Private High School.
The only problem was that Zhao Mingyue’s means of transportation was not very good.
Today, Zhao Mingyue’s appearance was especially eye-catching.
Her black school uniform was paired with a pleated skirt that reached below her knees. Her calves were straight and smooth, her skin pale and delicate. Below that she wore white stockings and brown leather shoes.
Her shoulder-length hair was tied loosely into a ponytail with a ribbon, and a black rabbit-shaped hairpin rested in her bangs.
In truth, this was simply a normal school uniform. When worn by others, it looked ordinary—at most giving the impression that youth was beautiful.
But on Zhao Mingyue, the outfit created an entirely different effect.
She seemed to possess a certain charm that attracted the gazes of people passing by.
Even in this world, where innocent appearances were often associated with manipulative “green tea” personalities, no one felt annoyed or suspicious of her.
Even the most ill-mannered person would instinctively think:
What a pure and adorable girl.
Perhaps after that first impression, some people might imagine Zhao Mingyue in various embarrassing fantasies before sighing regretfully, thinking that if they could return to that age again, they would surely do certain things differently.
Zhao Mingyue had long grown accustomed to such attention.
She carried her schoolbag and returned to the classroom.
But the moment she stepped inside, she noticed something strange.
On her desk sat a box of heart-shaped red chocolates.
A book was tied to it with a pink ribbon.
At this time of day, many students were already in the classroom.
Zhao Mingyue did not walk in immediately.
Her delicate brows furrowed slightly.
It was not only because of the chocolates.
It was also because of the whispers throughout the classroom.
Yes—whispers.
Something that had never happened before.
Several boys and girls had gathered together, quietly discussing something related to her. The moment they saw Zhao Mingyue enter the classroom, they immediately fell silent.
They only stared at her while pretending nothing had happened.