Chapter 3: Trash Fish
Bai Qiqi turned her head and saw a blonde girl standing beside her glaring at her.
The newcomer was none other than the S-rank magical girl, Su Yanshi.
“Happy? What’s there to be happy about?”
Bai Qiqi let out a bitter laugh.
Her original plan had been completely destroyed.
One careless mistake now could lead to eternal damnation.
Even putting all that aside, becoming the vice principal’s disciple had increased the pressure on her exponentially.
Her originally easy undercover life had become impossible to maintain.
She truly couldn’t understand what kind of person could still feel happy under these circumstances.
But to Su Yanshi, those words sounded like naked mockery.
Happy?
What was there to be happy about?
Of course there was!
Becoming the vice principal’s disciple.
Receiving the envy of countless classmates.
Surpassing that woman…
No longer living under her shadow.
What part of that wasn’t worth celebrating?
The result she had dreamed about for so long had been effortlessly snatched away by this weak-looking white-haired loli standing before her.
Especially that calm tone at the end.
As if everything had belonged to her from the start.
So relaxed.
So dismissive.
Contempt.
This was blatant contempt.
“Really?”
“Then you sure are confident.”
“I just hope that when the midterm ranking tournament arrives, Student Bai Qiqi won’t embarrass herself too badly.”
“And who knows how that SSS evaluation was even decided.”
“Dark attribute magic is extremely rare among magical girls.”
“That’s usually an attribute possessed by witches or creatures from the Other Shore…”
Her voice was pleasant to listen to, but the words themselves were extremely unpleasant.
The surrounding students instantly became excited.
Anyone with eyes could tell that Su Yanshi was openly challenging Bai Qiqi.
On the very first day, second place was already challenging first place.
The coming events were bound to become extremely interesting.
The smell of gunpowder immediately filled the air…
Those words directly targeted both Bai Qiqi’s identity and talent.
If she backed down now, endless harassment would await her.
And under these circumstances, any panic or explanation would only be interpreted as guilty cowardice…
Guilt meant Su Yanshi had guessed correctly.
Backing down meant her talent was fake.
No matter which interpretation people chose, it would deal a massive blow to her.
It might even draw even more attention from Ye Lange.
That would greatly increase the risk of exposure…
No matter what, she had to fire back.
Besides, even clay figures had some anger in them.
Not to mention her.
As a vampire, she was willing to restrain her wings and fangs.
But that didn’t mean she didn’t possess them.
This magical girl had repeatedly come looking for trouble.
Did she really think Bai Qiqi was some harmless vegetarian?
She drank blood, alright?!
“Trash fish.”
A silver bell-like voice flowed from Bai Qiqi’s lips and effortlessly reached every student present.
Everyone froze in shock.
“Y-You… what did you just say?”
Su Yanshi’s voice carried a trace of disbelief.
Just moments ago, this was still a child who had nearly gotten scared to death by holy flames.
And now she dared call her—
Trash fish?
“Your hearing bad? Didn’t catch that?”
“Then I’ll say it again.”
“Trash—fish—”
The clear voice entered Su Yanshi’s ears once more, sounding even harsher than before.
The surrounding students collectively sucked in cold breaths as excitement flashed through their eyes.
These two had truly clashed now.
Bai Qiqi’s words struck like a whip against Su Yanshi’s pride.
Combined with Bai Qiqi’s bright crimson eyes filled with contempt, it felt as though she were looking at garbage while trampling her into the dirt.
Ever since childhood, Su Yanshi had always been the center of attention among her peers.
Other than in front of her older sister, no one had ever looked down on her so thoroughly.
The feeling made her furious.
Yet at the same time, a strange numbness spread through her body.
She…
Was being looked down upon?
“Trash fish.”
“If all you can obsess over are problems this low-level, then I suggest you withdraw from school as soon as possible.”
“You don’t seriously think you’re invincible, do you?”
“I can clearly tell you this right now.”
“In the ranking tournament, I’m worried about everyone here except you.”
“Just a trash fish trapped inside her own little world.”
Bai Qiqi’s voice gradually lowered.
The final sentence was spoken softly enough that only the two of them could hear it.
“I hope you can entertain me during the midterm ranking tournament.”
After speaking, Bai Qiqi disdainfully brushed her hair aside and casually found a place to sit under the gaze of the surrounding students.
Su Yanshi remained standing in place, clutching her skirt tightly while her breathing became chaotic.
Except her?
This feeling of being humiliated…
Being trampled…
Being crushed into the dirt…
Actually made her…
“You… are humiliating me?”
Su Yanshi lowered her head and spoke quietly, trying her best not to pay attention to the surrounding gazes…
“Humiliating you? Nope~”
Bai Qiqi blinked innocently before smiling.
“I’m just stating facts.”
“I don’t think telling the truth counts as humiliation.”
Instantly, the entire hall fell silent.
Almost everyone simultaneously sucked in a sharp breath.
She was completely going for the kill!
This Bai Qiqi really didn’t place Su Yanshi in her eyes at all.
After saying that, Bai Qiqi ignored the surrounding students enjoying the drama and turned toward the exit of the hall.
A tall woman was already standing at the doorway, smiling as she watched everything unfold.
Clearly, she was the welcoming professor Ye Lange had mentioned earlier.
As for the conflict between Bai Qiqi and Su Yanshi, she had absolutely no intention of stopping it.
On one hand, this was a personal conflict between students.
As long as things remained under control, teachers shouldn’t interfere directly.
On the other hand, she had just heard that the two intended to settle things in the midterm ranking tournament.
That could motivate both of them nicely.
“Heh, little one, your name is Bai Qiqi, right?”
“You sure have personality.”
“But let me remind you of something.”
“Even if your talent is slightly higher than hers, you still need to train properly.”
“You absolutely cannot slack off.”
“Strength comes from accumulation.”
“No matter how gifted a genius is, without enough accumulation, it still won’t be enough.”
Facing the welcoming professor’s kind reminder, Bai Qiqi nodded.
She understood the logic perfectly.
But she genuinely wanted to slack off…
Who told Su Yanshi to keep provoking her…
Now even slacking off peacefully had become impossible…
To maintain the cold academic prodigy persona she had just established, Bai Qiqi still gave the kind of answer any teacher would love.
“My talent is higher than hers.”
“And the amount of time I spend training definitely won’t be less than hers either.”
“As for her…”
“I’m determined to win.”
“Then I’m really looking forward to this year’s ranking tournament.”
“Maybe I should ask Vice Principal Ye to let me host the competition personally.”
After saying that, the professor playfully winked.
“Alright now.”
“Hurry to the plaza and collect your freshman supplies.”
“Senior students will guide you there.”
Bai Qiqi nodded and walked toward the plaza.
As a qualified spy, she had to maintain her persona at all times.
She absolutely couldn’t reveal any flaws.
Since she had already acted like a cold top student…
Then she’d have to keep pretending with all her might…
“Why do I suddenly feel like Student Qiqi’s back looks super cool~”
A magical girl in the crowd quietly muttered.
Meanwhile, the companion hugging her arm looked at her with utter disdain.
“Seriously?”
“That little bit of charm was enough to captivate you?”
“You look like someone who’s never seen the world.”
“Aren’t you embarrassed saying stuff like that?”
“Then tell me.”
“Have you ever seen such a cool loli before?”
“T-That… I actually haven’t…”
“Well there you go.”
“And you still dared mock me…”