Chapter 15

Chapter 15: The Wicked Little Brat

"So you're telling me that this afternoon, you not only ran into a mysterious Propagation Swarm Lord, but also met a bad woman — and this bad woman taught you a skill?"

Little Wangshu, do you think Lady Jingliu is an idiot? No wait, little Wangshu shouldn't be this clever.

"It was a man..." Wangshu corrected, sounding drained.

Though Hoolay was typically referred to with "They," Jingliu had actually used "he" in the game's storyline.

In other words, the gender-ambiguous figure very well might actually be male.

Jingliu shook her head earnestly, her small face radiating the confidence of experience: "Good-looking ones are always bad women."

Wangshu: ...

Looking at Jingliu's playing-the-grown-up demeanor, he wisely nodded. "You're right."

The two returned to the stall. The batter was down to the bottom — he could close up early today. Jingliu rubbed her little belly, feeling a twinge of regret — she hadn't gotten to see little Wangshu at his busiest.

Then something made her glance back. At the academy entrance, her good friends were standing there, staring at her blankly. They hadn't even gone to eat at the cafeteria!

Jingliu's face flushed slightly. But before turning back to face Wangshu, she quickly schooled her expression into seriousness, cleared her throat, and spoke with gravitas:

"Little Wangshu, you need to remember — when you're out and about, you have to learn to guard your countenance."

"Guard my countenance?"

Wangshu repeated it. Sounded like some kind of ancient Xianzhou maxim or etiquette. Very dignified.

"It means don't smile at everyone you meet. That's how you get conned."

Jingliu explained.

Wangshu was quiet for a moment, then gave a soft "oh." He'd thought it would be something profound. Turned out it just meant stop grinning so much.

The academy area was a bit crowded around noon. By the time they got home, it was nearly twelve o'clock. Little Jingliu hopped off the cart the moment they arrived. Her blue-and-white hair traced an arc through the sunlight.

"Do you have anything planned for this afternoon?"

She asked while pushing open the courtyard gate.

Wangshu thought for two seconds, answering practically: "Mix new batter, restock the ingredients I used up, and also... I want to check out a bookshop. See if they have anything on swarm creatures, or Homeworld curiosities."

He needed to understand what Swarm Lords actually meant in this world. His previous game knowledge was ultimately too vague.

What a simple and grounded plan. He looked so honest — no wonder the future-her had tricked him.

At this thought, little Jingliu felt her inner sense of responsibility swelling again. She rose on her tiptoes and ruffled little Wangshu's hair.

"I've decided — I'm going to register for this year's coming-of-age exam!"

She needed to get her official status as soon as possible, so she could better protect this clearly-easy-to-deceive little Wangshu.

Jingliu was fundamentally the type who couldn't sit still. She did love lounging in bed when she was home alone, but there were two people in the house now...

Time to find something more constructive to do.

Wangshu looked at Jingliu — who didn't even reach his shoulder, her face still carrying traces of girlish youth — and hesitantly measured her height with his hand. In the end, he swallowed the words "you look completely underage" before they left his mouth.

Lunch was Wangshu's doing again. Although Jingliu could cook, and although she always talked a big game, the moment it came to actually doing things, she deflated instantly.

"Did you do the cooking at home too?"

Jingliu stirred her soup, suddenly curious about how her future self and Wangshu had gotten along.

Wangshu nodded gently. "Most of the time we just ordered delivery though. It's more convenient that way. Cooking for one is really a pain — for two people it's better. At least there's motivation to cook."

"I didn't often keep you company—"

Oh, right. She'd already asked. Her future self really didn't spend much time with little Wangshu. He probably waited at home every day, all by himself.

And eventually, little Wangshu, alone at home, lost even the motivation to cook... Honest people just get bullied so easily, she imagined.

"Then from now on, I'll come home every day at noon to be with you."

Little Jingliu made the declaration with swift decisiveness, her small face full of righteous loyalty. Her future self might be terrible, but that was the future. The present Jingliu was no such villain.

Wangshu looked at her earnest expression, felt a softness in his heart, and answered with a smile: "Sure. I'll really look forward to it."

He meant it. Being alone really did get boring. Even if two people were just quietly doing their own things, the air seemed to fill with a warmer sense of life.

After lunch, while Wangshu was still washing dishes with water splashing noisily, Jingliu unearthed a bicycle from some forgotten corner.

Despite sitting neglected for so long, the bicycle showed not a trace of rust or decay. Jingliu gave it a casual wipe-down.

"Little Wangshu, can you ride a bicycle?"

She pointed at it, crimson eyes gleaming.

"Are there really people who can't?"

Wangshu blurted the retort instinctively.

And did the Xianzhou actually have anywhere to use bicycles?

Jingliu tilted her small face up, completely justified: "Sure there are — me!"

You can't ride it, so why'd you drag it out... oh!

The realization hit Wangshu in a flash. He realized that although little Jingliu looked like a kid on the outside, she really was eighteen already.

Not a naive little child, at any rate. Even if she was somewhat childish about certain things.

"Then I won't have to worry about traffic when I ride Jingliu to school this afternoon."

Though Cangcheng rarely had traffic jams, it did have tens of billions of people. At certain busy intersections or specific locations — like the academy entrance — there was always some congestion.

Yes, exactly right. Jingliu planted her fists on her hips, looking immensely pleased with herself.

Admittedly, there was a whiff of inheriting someone else's established account. But it was her future self's, after all — and her future self was a heartless player anyway. Lady Jingliu was not the type who couldn't handle something this trivial.

......

Meanwhile, on the other side — Xuleng

Achoo!

Jingliu sighed, but didn't ask Wangshu why he was using her power again.

That little brat would surely answer with perfect nonchalance: Because little Jingliu thinks it looks cool!

Well, with Hoolay's technique imparted, there was genuinely no need to worry about Propagation offspring for now. Hoolay really had gone to great lengths to destroy Cangcheng.

And then there was Wangshu...

Exploiting the naive past version of herself to do whatever he pleased! The wicked little brat!

【Bright Future Chat Group】

Asta: "I have a question. Is talent truly an inescapable topic in this universe?"

Jingliu: "...Why would you ask that?"

Asta: "Because when I borrow your power, Senior, I never feel the Propagation's call."

Wangshu: "Actually, the reason might be simple — by your era, Senior Jingliu's already dug up the Propagation remnants."

Having gotten her answer, Asta instantly revealed her true motive: "So, if we make good use of this chat group's cross-temporal properties, doesn't that mean we effectively have access to resources from two different eras?"

Jingliu: ...

Wangshu: ...

Wangshu: "What are you planning?"

Asta: "I'm thinking — if we send Herta Sequence knowledge back to the past version of her, could Ms. Herta save decades or even centuries of research?"

Wangshu: "Setting aside whether it'd work — are you sure Herta agreed to this?"

Asta: "This was Ms. Herta's idea to ask."

Jingliu: "Damn"

Wangshu: "+1"

So you trust Herta that much — telling her about the chat group and everything!