Zhao Youyue thought she had everything figured out. What she didn't realize was that human schemes never beat fate, especially when she had just been wildly tempting destiny and hyping herself up in the quiet safety of the morning.
Lao Qiu had nearly reached the relative sanctuary of the office when his stomach suddenly started acting up, a sharp, twisting gurgle that demanded immediate attention. Unfortunately, the office and the restroom were in opposite directions, with several classrooms standing as obstacles in between. He turned back to head for the bathroom, and along the way, he was practically guaranteed to unleash his homeroom teacher secret technique of covert observation once again.
This sudden counterstrike completely knocked out Zhao Youyue's human radar. There was no helping it. How could she possibly have expected Lao Qiu to turn around and come back so soon?
She was scrolling through Weibo on her phone at that moment, her thumb flicking across the glowing screen. She happened to follow the account of the manga artist Su Li and noticed that the artist's follower count had been rising quickly lately. Every time a new chapter was released, a Weibo post would go up automatically. Readers who had finished the latest pages would swarm the comments, offering opinions or praising the content.
Starting from about the fourth chapter from the latest release, the number of replies under each post had gradually increased. That was exactly when Su Li began giving the character Xu Jing more positive on-screen focus. Among all the replies, the most commented one was about Xu Jing dodging the male lead's "Divine Throw" and the fact that she was actually wearing safety shorts under her short skirt. Plenty of readers commented with enthusiasm:
"Strongly requesting that Dada give Xu Jing more screen time. It's seriously too fun. Wearing safety shorts is just 666. But I really want to see the male lead bury his face in her skirt…"
"Ever since Xu Jing, this ultra cute female character, started showing more of her charm, I feel like this manga, which was getting more and more boring before, has become exciting again."
"I get the feeling that the appearance of Xu Jing signals the birth of a masterpiece. Everything before feels like it was building her up. She even outshines the male lead. The entire manga exists to complete this one character. If the ending is memorable enough, Xu Jing becoming a classic manga character isn't impossible."
"Does no one think that when Teacher Su Li draws Xu Jing's scenes, her already solid art level jumps up a whole tier? It's like she fully brought the character to life, which is why Xu Jing stands out so much."
"I want to know more about the so-called 'three no goddess Xu Jing.' Why does she love studying so much? Can we dig deeper into her background settings…"
"Why is there no fanservice for my goddess Xu Jing? Just thinking about her fanservice makes me feel like I'm ascending. If Teacher Su Li drops a Xu Jing fanservice chapter and really steps on the gas, I will go tip a Silver League Leader on Qidian Manga. Fellow fans, help me push this comment up!"
When Zhao Youyue saw that fanservice comment getting showered with likes and pushed all the way to the top where the account owner could easily see it, her face instantly darkened. So this was the root of the problem.
If Su Li, the creator, was the main culprit behind how miserably Xu Jing suffered while she was possessing her, then these male readers desperately begging for fanservice were the accomplices. Just wait. She would deal with them one by one.
Besides that fanservice comment, the one asking to further explore Xu Jing's background had also received a large number of likes, promising more "misery" for the sake of drama.
At this point, Zhao Youyue finally understood why the Xu Jing she possessed had been treated that way in the story world. It all came down to Su Li being the kind of manga artist who compromised shamelessly with her readers. Whatever readers liked, she would draw, even at the cost of logic. Otherwise, that utterly unscientific baton wielded by the city management officers—the one that could strip Xu Jing's clothes—would never have existed. She could only use such extreme methods to hand out fanservice while also making Xu Jing look even more pitiful and sympathetic, all to bait male readers into tipping her.
After all, a Silver League Leader on Qidian Manga cost ten thousand yuan. Su Li clearly couldn't resist that kind of temptation. On top of that, the artist came from drawing doujinshi in the first place, and the heavy kind at that. She was extremely familiar with abusing female characters in her art. In reality, she was already holding herself back.
In Su Li's view, the Xu Jing plot she had drawn this time was already very mild abuse. Xu Jing was just a female character anyway. Male readers mostly projected themselves onto Yang Ming. As long as the male lead wasn't abused, it was fine. Female characters could be treated however one liked for the sake of the story. She felt she was already being merciful. Over in Japan, there was even a manga artist named Okamoto Lynn, nicknamed the "little sister abuse maniac." He had wanted to draw normal manga too, but it never got popular, and in the end he sank deeper and deeper into abusing little sisters. Compared to him, she felt she still had a long way to go.
Just as Zhao Youyue was scrolling through Weibo, she suddenly heard Lao Qiu's furious shout from directly behind her.
"Stand up!"
Her already dark expression instantly turned pale, and a chill ran down her spine. Hadn't Lao Qiu just gone back to the office? Why was he suddenly behind the classroom? He was supposed to come back seven minutes before class ended. And why had her human radar not gone off at all?
It was over. Completely over.
Was her newly bought Fruit Eight going to be confiscated again?
Would she have to write a five-thousand-character self-reflection this time and make a public apology, losing all her face in front of the school? She really didn't want to gain attention like that.
And in the end, would Lao Qiu call her parents? From any angle, she had seriously messed with him earlier by handing in a fake reflection while holding a new phone. The nature of it was awful.
She wasn't afraid of her father, who spoiled her terribly. But in front of her mother, a university professor, she was like a mouse facing a cat. She had always feared her strict mother's disapproval.
As countless thoughts flashed through her mind and she was about to stand up in despair, she heard the sharp sound of a chair scraping behind her. Someone stood up first. Zhao Youyue seized the moment and, with her astonishing hand speed, stuffed her phone into the depths of her desk.
The one who stood up was Han Leng. It turned out he had been sleeping during morning reading and had been caught red-handed by Lao Qiu's covert observation.
Zhao Youyue let out a huge breath of relief, her heart pounding against her ribs. Seriously, she had almost been scared to death.
She felt incredibly lucky. Someone had coincidentally taken the bullet for her. Otherwise, she was sure Lao Qiu would have chewed her to pieces.
Sleeping during morning reading was obviously less serious than playing with a phone. Han Leng was just yelled at and made to stand while reading. On top of that, his essays were excellent and his Chinese grades were among the best in the class. He was practically one of Lao Qiu's trusted troops. Naturally, it was all thunder and no rain. Lao Qiu didn't pursue it further.
Lao Qiu paced around the classroom twice more, his face still a bit pale from his stomach issues, before hurriedly heading to the bathroom. He didn't even seem afraid he would soil himself. That was how responsible he was.
After Lao Qiu left the room, Han Leng's desk mate and the math class rep, Chen Haoran, could not help whispering to him.
"Lengzi, are you dumb? I warned you when Lao Qiu came in. Couldn't you have held out a bit longer and slept after he left?"
Han Leng yawned, his expression still blank and his eyes heavy with exhaustion. He replied coolly, "Just treat me like I'm dumb."
"Did all that cultivating fry your brain?" Chen Haoran asked with genuine concern. He truly treated Han Leng like a good brother and was very loyal. He never slept during morning reading himself and always kept watch for Han Leng, willingly acting as his eyes.
Han Leng still had his face pulled tight and dark circles under his eyes, looking cool as ever, but his tone softened and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
"Don't worry. I'm fine."