The Chances of Running into the Blue-Haired Principal and the White-Haired Professor at the Mall Aren't Zero

The perspective shifted to Lynae's team.

Rather than immediately going on a shopping spree, they took a different approach.

Since the person in charge had said they got fifty percent off at the mall today, did that rule apply to the entertainment facilities too?

As it turned out, it absolutely did. The girls bought a pile of arcade tokens as though they were stocking up on merchandise, ready to play every game in the arcade.

"Little Ai, let's settle this!" Lynae, brimming with fighting spirit, intended to have a fiery showdown with Aemeath.

The humiliation of losing all twenty-six matches yesterday was still fresh in her mind. The three-year deadline had arrived, and the dumb jock was going to reclaim everything that belonged to her!

"Don't go crying when you lose, okay~?" Little Ai teased Lynae, drawing out the last word, before adding, "But a simple match is boring. How about we raise the stakes?"

"What are we betting?"

"Whoever loses today has to sleep with A-Yu for a night."

(Xiao Ling: Croak! If you're going to bet, leave me out of it! Spare a thought for my mental health!)

The dumb jock had been full of enthusiasm, but the moment she heard the wager, her cheeks suddenly flushed and she turned bashful.

(Bro, why are you acting so girly.jpg)

"What do you say? You still have a chance to back out now~" Little Ai gave Lynae a way out.

"It's just sleeping with him for a night. I'm not scared! Come on, let's do this!"

Seeing how eager Lynae was, Little Ai secretly wore an expression that said everything was going according to plan.

In fact, with this wager added to the match, she would benefit whether she won or lost.

If she won, she could deal Lynae a crushing blow. If she lost, she would have a legitimate reason to share a bed with A-Yu.

Worried that A-Yu and Lynae might not be able to resist and start moaning? That might be possible with Dania, but Lynae still had a long way to go.

(Just kidding. Even without the bet, Little Ai would have crawled into his bed herself.)

Aemeath knew Xiao Ling spoiled her, and that was precisely why she was even more forward and bold. As the saying went, those who were favored could afford to be fearless.

But back to the point: after agreeing on the wager, Aemeath and Lynae immediately began their gaming showdown.

Little Sister Qian said nothing. With a Pocky stick between her lips, she wandered aimlessly around the arcade, watching Lynae and Aemeath dominate the place as she went.

The two girls' peerless beauty had already attracted a large crowd of onlookers, making them the center of attention in the arcade. Even Chisa, watching from the sidelines, felt a few gazes turn toward her, leaving her somewhat uncomfortable.

Most of the spectators had their phones raised, presumably recording this once-in-a-millennium moment: two peerlessly beautiful girls happily battling it out in an arcade, their bell-like laughter ringing out from time to time.

All in all, the match, which had received no advance publicity, had already drawn an uninvited audience.

Chisa had originally planned to record the entirety of Aemeath and Lynae's contest as a battlefield reporter, but halfway through filming, something else caught her attention.

A claw machine filled with capybaras.

Chisa now knew that Bozai was modeled after an animal called a capybara, so seeing one reminded her of Bozai.

She still had plenty of tokens, so Chisa walked over to the machine, ready to take a few capybara plushies home.

Two tokens clattered into the machine. Chisa concentrated, guiding the claw toward a plushie inside.

First try... missed.

Second try... missed.

On the third try, the claw got a firm hold of a plushie, but just as Chisa eagerly waited for it to be delivered to the prize chute, it clipped the edge and bounced away.

Chisa was a little dejected, but she kept putting tokens in, determined to get a plushie out.

Fourth try... missed.

Fifth try... missed again.

The sixth try succeeded, but after she had finally waited for the claw to lift the plushie steadily upward, a collision at the end loosened its grip, and it dropped the plushie right back where it had been.

Hey! She refused to believe she couldn't conquer a claw machine!

A pale purple light suddenly flared in Chisa's wine-red eyes... Girl, seriously? Is that how you're supposed to use your resonance ability?!

Chisa couldn't concern herself with that anymore. She was taking that capybara plushie home today, and not even the Lament could stop her. She said so!

Chisa held five capybara plushies in her arms, a satisfied, gentle smile on her face.

Well, the result was good, at any rate. She had hit the mark on all five attempts afterward, even drawing a crowd of children who begged her to help them get plushies. As a kind big sister, Chisa had of course obliged them one by one.

But before she could share her joy with her companions, cries of alarm came from their direction.

"Oh no...! Look out!"

Chisa immediately looked toward Lynae and the others. A basketball had somehow flown out and was about to hit a little girl crouching on the floor to pick something up.

Forgetting the plushies, Chisa immediately prepared to drop them and protect the little girl.

But someone else was faster.

A charming, elegant figure caught the basketball that was about to hit the little girl with one hand in an effortless motion, then gently tossed it toward the basketball machine.

A precise three-pointer. The ball dropped through the hoop, and another point appeared on the scoreboard.

But Lynae and the other two were no longer paying any attention to the basketball machine.

The figure who had suddenly appeared simply crouched down, rubbed the little girl's head, and gently reminded her, "Next time, look at your surroundings before you pick something up, all right?"

"Uh-huh! I will. Thank you, big sister!"

Only after watching the little girl return to her mother did the woman rise gracefully to her feet.

The wide academic cap, the waist-length blue hair, and that Deep Sky Collective uniform-there was no mistaking her!

Roccia turned around and calmly looked at Lynae and Aemeath standing in front of her, instantly making the two who had been fiercely competing a moment ago turn meek and restrained.

"Girls, this is an arcade, not a fighting arena. Being competitive is a good thing, but this is a public place. You ought to pay more attention to other people's safety." Roccia pressed a hand to her forehead, suddenly looking somewhat helpless, her expression like that of someone faced with problem children who refused to mend their ways.

Of course she felt helpless. As the principal of Star Torch Academy, seeing her own students nearly hurt someone was truly embarrassing for her...

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

"This one... is too expensive. Even at fifty percent off, it's still so expensive. Next, next."

"This one... is way too cheap, isn't it?! It won't turn into a ticking time bomb halfway through using it, will it? Forget it, forget it..."

"This one... is a good price, but the capacity is too small, and it doesn't have enough features. Sigh, let's check the next store."

Xiao Ling was still circling the home appliance section. He had been searching for an hour and a half, yet he hadn't found a single dishwasher that satisfied him.

Before that, he had prepared a little surprise for the Wooly at home. All that remained was to wait for it to arrive, then personally take over for some super assembly.

Back to the matter at hand, after visiting another store and failing to find a machine, Xiao Ling headed to the last store here.

If he still couldn't find a suitable one, he would have to take an indirect approach.

(Uncle, help!.jpg)

After asking the receptionist where the dishwashers were, Xiao Ling went to pick one out himself. Once he had seen Xiao Ling off, the receptionist was about to slack off and take a nap when another figure suddenly entered the store and practically drew his eyes right out of his head.

She too had waist-length hair, except hers was silver-white, and her eyes were a deep crimson. Instead of normal human legs, she had a pair of futuristic-looking prosthetics. At least, the receptionist couldn't recall ever seeing another pair like them.

Unlike Xiao Ling, the white-haired girl paid the receptionist no attention at all and headed straight for the dishwasher section. What a shame. He had wanted to get her contact on V, but looking the way he did, he probably didn't stand a chance.

Meanwhile, Xiao Ling was examining the dishwashers one by one when he suddenly heard the unhurried click of high heels against the floor. The sound stopped beside him.

He paid the newcomer no attention. They could each shop for their own things and leave each other in peace.

But the girl in high heels beside him didn't think so.

"I don't think you'll be able to find the dishwasher you want here, Senior. Most of the dishwashers here are defective products. Some perform reasonably well, but they're severely overpriced, while the reasonably priced ones have minor flaws that prevent them from being backward compatible."

"So, if you're not in a hurry, Senior, I can personally build you a dishwasher."

Ah, that voice, that way of addressing him-there was no mistaking it!

"Long time no see, Senior." Morning gave Xiao Ling a tranquil smile as he finally turned to look at her.

"Do your prosthetics still work here? How do you charge them?"

(Hajiling, what are you doing, Hajiling? Professor Good Morning tells you "long time no see" so tenderly, and you turn around and ask how she charges her starry-sky legs? Where's your emotional intelligence?! Look in my eyes!)

Xiao Ling's emotional intelligence: -100.

"I've already solved that. Although I don't know why my charging station didn't come to this world with me, I did manage to find another alternative energy source." Morning smiled, putting Xiao Ling's concerns to rest. "Now this pair of prosthetics can run day to day on solar energy alone."

"Speaking of which, I never imagined before that sunlight could be converted into the energy needed to run machinery. The person who discovered solar energy must have been a pioneer of great wisdom too!"

"I'm glad the problem's solved." Xiao Ling nodded. "Speaking of which, why are you here?"

"Because I noticed that you're quite troubled right now, Senior," Morning said with a rather serious expression. "In the course of your search, you passed eighteen appliance stores, visited fifteen of them, examined twenty-three dishwashers of different brands, styles, and prices, and gave five different assessments."

"Then why are you so sure I won't be able to find a dishwasher I'm happy with here?"

"You haven't forgotten that my resonance ability is analyzing mechanical structures, have you, Senior?" Morning smiled, looking a little pleased with herself.

"Take the two dishwashers in front of you, for example. The one on the left has no major issues with performance or safety, but it doesn't excel in any area either, and it's severely overpriced, so it certainly wouldn't be your first choice, Senior. The one on the right is reasonably priced, but its performance is a little worse, and it has structural problems that aren't visible to the naked eye. Simply put, it breaks easily."

Oh my god, Professor Morning.jpg.

"So, if you really need one, Senior, I can build one for you myself!" Morning volunteered, placing a hand against her chest.

Xiao Ling thought for a while and decided to accept the offer. After all, his household had an urgent need for a dishwasher right now.

"To be honest, I don't really want you to make it yourself. Building a dishwasher from scratch isn't a major undertaking, but it's no small matter either." Xiao Ling felt somewhat helpless, but he still pressed his palms together and made a sincere request. "But please, I really need a dishwasher. It'll improve my quality of life!"

"It's all right. I'm happy to be able to help you too, Senior." Morning told him there was no need to be so polite. "This will also be the first gift I've given you since coming to this world."

So she would do her very best to build a dishwasher that satisfied her senior, for his sake and for her own.