Volume 3: High School Arc - Mirror Game
“Shao He... you’re always reading these newspapers and magazines. What’s the point? Private ownership isn’t allowed in our country anyway.”
I didn’t respond to Shao He’s words and directly changed the subject.
Shao He was momentarily stunned, then after a brief silence, didn’t ask anything more.
Instead, she followed my lead and reached to her waist to pull out a...
‘Clang’
That was... the sound of a handgun being placed on the solid wood tea table.
“M1911? Holy crap! How can you... carry a gun?”
Startled by the gun, I thought—this Shao He... she’s freaking awesome!
No time to care about Shao He’s surprise.
As a man, I naturally had great interest in weapons.
I jumped straight down from the stairs and rushed to the tea table in a few quick steps, grabbing the M1911.
Shao He didn’t even react in time.
She instinctively reached out to take the gun back, but my hand was faster.
Her hand awkwardly froze in midair.
I quickly took the M1911 and examined it up and down.
It was jet black, coated in matte paint.
With a ‘shua-la’ sound, I ejected the magazine—seven bullets inside.
I placed the magazine on the table.
Before Shao He could recover from her shock, I pulled the slide to check the chamber—no bullet inside.
Then, relying on what I remembered from a few military buddies, I disassembled the gun into parts in the blink of an eye.
‘Clatter~’
I pushed the disassembled parts across the table.
Shao He stared at me in disbelief.
“Shao He, this gun’s really well maintained. The components are all so clean... never fired before? A new gun? Doesn’t seem like it... there are wear marks on the spring...”
“Miss!!!”
Shao He suddenly shouted angrily, scaring the hell out of me.
“Wh-what? No need to get so mad, right?”
“This is such a dangerous thing! How can you handle it? And... where did you learn to strip a gun like that?”
Uh...
Looking at Shao He’s stern, serious gaze, I guiltily looked away and muttered, “In the movies...”
“Western movies, huh? I knew this kind of stuff only spoils people!”
Fuming, Shao He gathered the parts back up.
Watching her made my hands itch with temptation...
But seeing how angry she was, I didn’t dare reach out again.
Shao He swiftly reassembled the gun, reinserted the magazine, and applied the safety.
Only then did she put it away, then looked up with a serious face.
“Miss, a person like you must absolutely not handle guns, understand?”
“I...”
“Do! You! Understand!”
I nodded like a pecking chicken.
I had never seen Shao He this angry before.
“Whew...”
Seeing me nod frantically, Shao He finally let out a long breath and sat back in her seat.
“Miss, someone like you shouldn't be touching weapons. They don’t suit you.”
“I don’t know what kind of trouble you're in, but I still hope you’ll stay away from such things...”
From the way she spoke, it sounded like she had a story to tell...
After a brief pause, I raised my hand to stop Shao He from speaking further.
“Hold on!”
Shao He froze slightly, staring at me blankly.
“What... is it?”
I boiled water, brewed tea, prepared fruits and snacks.
While Shao He remained dumbfounded, I spent five minutes setting the table full.
Then, seriously and formally, I sat down opposite her, poured myself a cup of tea, and another for her.
I placed the cup in front of her respectfully and looked into her eyes.
“Tell me your story.”
Shao He... opened her mouth, stared blankly at me for a long while.
Her face turned from white to red, then from red to black.
Finally... she looked at the table full of fruits and snacks and let out a long sigh.
“Sigh... Miss, how did I never notice you’re such a weirdo before?”
Me? A weirdo?
Impossible!
In the end... Shao He didn’t say anything.
But I saw the helplessness and pain in her eyes.
To press her further in this situation would be inhumane.
I didn’t know what Shao He had done in the past.
She said she went to military school, but... I felt there was something more hidden.
Still, prying into others’ secrets was unethical.
So I didn’t push her anymore.
When I saw she didn’t want to talk, I simply changed the subject.
During the day, we went out to walk around the still-under-construction zoo.
It was huge.
To someone like me, who used to be a poor guy, anything big looked big.
At noon, we had lunch outside.
In the afternoon, we came back and mostly rested.
Today the truck arrived too.
The driver said the area that collapsed yesterday had been cleared.
All the animals had been moved into the pre-prepared rooms, and then the driver left.
No payment needed—the truck belonged to Liu Wanqian’s company.
Actually, at noon I wanted to visit the shooting range.
But Shao He’s resentful look made me give up instantly.
I really didn’t know what was going on in this girl’s head.
Even if you don’t let me use a gun now, once the wildlife park is finished, I’ll still get to play with them.
After all, wildlife parks can apply for hunting rifles and such.
But I didn’t say that out loud.
Didn’t want to get that resentful glare again.
That look... gave me goosebumps.
Fine, then.
No shooting range today.
So tonight I stayed home, listened to music, played with the birds and the dog.
Just like that, the afternoon passed.
At night, I prepared everything I’d need for tomorrow.
In reality, the first day of school wouldn’t have any classes.
Gong Lianyu had told me that the first day was for students to get to know each other.
To help their mindset and worldview develop smoothly.
Tailoring teaching to each individual and integrating fun into learning—not rote memorization.
That’s why this school was so well-known.
After getting everything ready, I even tried on the school uniform.
I had to say, at my current height of 1.7 meters, I really stood out.
Long legs for days.
Dang... what a waste now.
Hmm... and there was another thing that was a bit hard to say out loud.
Actually... ever since I became Liu Yunyan, I haven’t tried even once... hmm, not once.
Mainly because the feeling was just too weird.
It was like getting electrocuted, instantly making me unable to continue.
Emmm...
Alright, let’s move on to the next topic.
I closed the automatic curtains, changed into a long nightgown, leaned against the headboard, and picked up the new phone I had bought earlier this afternoon.
Apple phones are good and easy to use, but for gaming, they’re not as convenient as Android.
That’s why I bought an Android phone.
And the System really had its hands in everything.
I hadn’t planned to use the phone at all, but the moment I bought it and the transaction went through, the Honkai APP auto-installed itself on the device, not giving me a single chance to refuse.
To that, I could only shake my head helplessly.
If it wanted to install, then let it.
I casually opened the APP and glanced at the HD video inside.
There was one “untriggered” mission, and the video clearly started from the moment the old lady appeared, which sent a chill down my spine.
There were eight camera angles in total, all from different directions, capturing even the fine details of my eyelashes.
Every video was 60 fps Blu-ray 4K quality.
There was no way to know how the System managed this, but watching it like a movie wasn’t bad.
However, the scene was too short, only a few minutes in total.
After checking all eight angles, I felt... that old lady didn’t even seem to notice the cameras.
The camera even gave her a close-up, yet she showed no reaction.
Forget it, no need to dwell on this in the middle of the night.
What if I have nightmares?
I played around for a bit more, then hugged Sha Ha and slowly closed my eyes.
In my dreams, I seemed to see that old lady again, smiling creepily at me, while the Evil Spirit Form charged at her and brutally tore her apart—then feasted.
—
September 1st.
Half-asleep, the sky was already bright.
The alarm rang with an irritating ‘ding-ling-ling’.
Annoying as it was, I still had to get up.
I forced myself out of bed and sat groggily at the edge.
Just then, a knock came from the door.
‘Knock knock knock~’
“Miss, it’s time. Please wake up.”
“Oh...”
Hearing Shao He’s voice outside, I stretched and yawned, struggling to climb out from the warm blankets.
I took off my pajamas, washed up, and showered.
After half a year of living like this, I had already gotten used to a female body.
I grabbed a towel to dry my hair, changed into underwear, and put on the school uniform.
Everything else was fine.
As for the skirt... thanks to Liu Yunyan’s memories, I could more or less accept it.
But the thigh-high socks made me a bit uncomfortable.
Still, I wore them in the end—two black over-the-knee socks.
Then came the black leather shoes.
I usually didn’t like tying my hair up, so I left it loose, slightly damp, and walked out the door.
Of course, I still wore the white jade pendant, but kept it hidden against my skin.
Wearing it over the uniform would look awkward.
Workers were already starting construction in the yard, but they were careful not to make noise—probably on Shao He’s orders.
“Morning, Shao He~”
Yawning, I greeted Shao He, who looked at me calmly.
“Miss, how can you face your classmates like this on your first day?”
“Ah~ it’s fine. I’ll wake up by the time we get there.”
I waved my hand dismissively and got into the car.
As I mentioned earlier, Don’t Touch Me (BMW) was sent for repairs.
This Maybach 680 mod had now officially become my second ride, and all the paperwork had been delivered last night.
I got into the driver’s seat and looked at Sha Ha.
Sha Ha was watching me from the second-floor window.
On its head... stood Jiaoza.
The two of them really were in sync.
“Mm... Shao He, let’s hire someone today. We’ll bill it to my dad later. Find someone young, to clean, make breakfast, and take care of these two.”
Now it was just the two of us in the villa.
When I wasn’t in school, I could take care of the pets.
But once I started classes, who would look after them?
Rely on Shao He?
Better not—this girl wasn’t fond of animals, and she also had to be my driver.
A house like this should really have someone watching it.
“Don’t worry, Miss. Madam already found someone. They’ll arrive this afternoon.”
“Mm... alright, then let’s go.”
Sitting in the car, I gave a grand wave of my hand.
With a mix of anticipation and nervousness in my heart, I looked in the direction of the academy.