Xina's Lifeline!

After two laps, the first stage of morning training—the run—was over. To Fu Hua, those two laps did not even count as a warm-up.

But to Xina, whose physical condition was already absurdly poor, it was no different from torture.

The moment her first foot crossed the line that marked the finish, Xina did not want to move another step.

Her knees gave out, and she collapsed to the ground with a thud, dry-heaving.

"Xina, are you okay?!" Fu Hua bent down and gently patted Xina's back.

Okay? Did she look like someone who was okay right now?

Though she wanted to throw that question back at Fu Hua, Xina had no time to answer. She was still struggling to catch her breath.

"Whew... whew... whew... cough, cough, cough..."

Only after lying on the ground and gasping for seven or eight minutes did Xina's breathing finally slow a little. She had barely made it through the hardest part.

The thought that there might be more training later filled Xina with a despair she had never felt so deeply before. She flopped onto the ground, looking utterly done with life, like a shameless brat declaring that she would lie here all day.

No matter how much Fu Hua tried to persuade her, she refused to even roll over.

Looking at Xina lying on the ground and refusing to budge no matter what, Fu Hua sighed softly. But soon, after temporarily changing the schedule in the system, she stood and said, "Forget it. Rest for now. Today is PE anyway. After breakfast, I'll take you to the Gymnasium for the next stage of training."

"What? PE? Wasn't this morning supposed to be weapons practical class?" Xina laboriously twisted her limp body and turned her head to stare at Fu Hua in disbelief. "I remember clearly—it was weapons operation class this morning. How could it be PE? How could it possibly be?!"

"The weapons practical class teacher... got sick... right, sick, so it was changed to PE!"

Fu Hua, who was not good at lying, practically had the word "awkward" written across her forehead. She adjusted her glasses and answered Xina's question haltingly.

"Huh? You're saying the teacher who pinned down a Heavy Machine Gun with one hand and used it like a pistol the morning before yesterday got sick today?"

Seeing Fu Hua's flustered expression, Xina seemed to understand everything. She glared at Fu Hua viciously and snapped, "Class Monitor, do you have some kind of grudge against me? How could you do this to me?! You, you, you... you're just... you're just inhuman!"

"Cough, cough, cough..."

With her lie exposed, Fu Hua coughed awkwardly a few times, blushed, and looked away as though admiring the scenery.

Seeing Fu Hua's expression that clearly said, I know I was wrong, but I absolutely refuse to change, made Xina grit her teeth in fury. If she could beat Fu Hua, she would definitely show her what cruelty meant!

Struggling to her feet, Xina went back inside with a sour expression to wash up. At breakfast, she had just picked up her chopsticks and grabbed a piece of fried egg when Kiana cheered excitedly beside her, "Oh, weapons operation class got changed to PE! I can play tennis with Mei again! Yay!"

"!!!"

The moment she heard the words "PE," Xina frowned and instantly lost her appetite. She wanted to put down her chopsticks and leave immediately, but then she remembered that Mei had worked hard to make breakfast early in the morning. Even if she was in a bad mood, she had to finish what was already between her chopsticks.

Forcing herself to swallow a fried egg despite the irritation in her heart, Xina put down her chopsticks and left the table with a cold face.

Looking at the conspicuous PE class on the schedule, Xina decided she had to save herself!

"Principal~" Xina found Theresa sitting on the sofa in the living room reading comics, her face piled with smiles. Attentively, she refilled Theresa's teacup with... green... juice that seemed to have been squeezed from some kind of plant.

"Xina, what's wrong with your voice?" Theresa stared at Xina strangely and placed a hand on her forehead. "Are you sick?"

"..." I'm not sick—I'm about to die!

After silently grumbling to herself, Xina continued speaking to Theresa in a deliberately sweet voice. "Um... Principal, do we have any missions today? Could you arrange one for me? I really can't go even one day..."

"Mm, one day without keeping busy. Only doing missions can make me happy!"

Whew, that was close. She had nearly let it slip...

Xina patted her chest and quietly praised herself for her quick thinking.

"(⊙o⊙) Huh? You actually want to do a mission?" Theresa lifted the bitter gourd juice and looked suspiciously at Xina, whose face was full of smiles. She felt that something was off, but... she could not put her finger on it.

"Yes, yes, missions." Xina nodded wildly like a pecking chick.

"Oh, I see."

Under Xina's admiring, reverent, awestruck, respectful gaze, Theresa's vanity as the Principal was greatly satisfied.

She flipped through the mission list, then ultimately delivered a crushing blow to the expectant Xina. "I just checked. There aren't any missions suitable for you."

"Ah..."

Upon hearing that unfortunate news, Xina froze on the spot. But then she immediately thought of another lifeline!

"Thank you, Principal. I have something to do, so I'll be going..."

As she spoke, Xina turned and headed toward her last lifeline—Himeko's room.

Watching Xina's retreating figure, Theresa sank comfortably into the sofa and took huge gulps of bitter gourd juice. "What's with that child today? She's acting so mysterious."

"Teacher Himeko~ Teacher Himeko~ Teacher Himeko!" Xina impatiently knocked on Himeko's door.

Right now, this was her only lifeline. Only this woman could save her from PE class.

"Come in."

A few seconds later, Himeko's voice came from inside the room.

Just as Xina pushed open the door, intending to throw herself into Himeko's arms and ask to go to her office today for extra culture class lessons, the door was opened from the inside.

But... the person opening it was not Himeko.

The one who opened the door...

Was Fu Hua.

"No, Class Monitor, why are you here too?!" Xina stared wide-eyed at Fu Hua, instinctively taking a step back to the doorway to see whether she had gone to the wrong room.

"Xina, I'm the class monitor. What is wrong with reporting my work to the homeroom teacher?"

What you said made so much sense that she had no answer!

"Sorry to disturb you..." Xina turned and walked away with a miserable face.

Wonderful. Now even her last straw was gone.

"Fu Hua, why did Xina leave? Did she need something?" Himeko sat before her vanity, applying eyeliner as she asked Fu Hua.

"Um..." Fu Hua thought carefully for a moment, then shook her head. "She didn't say."

Xina walked downstairs in a daze. Even she did not know when she had left the villa.

Just as she was at her wits' end, an idea flashed through her mind!

"That's right! How did I forget about her!"