Chapter Forty-Three: A Mistaken Guess

At night, in the trial arena

Two figures were locked in combat: one was a long-legged beauty with fiery red hair, while the other was an unremarkable-looking male student—Joanna and Luo Chen, of course.

Recently, the more Joanna fought, the more unsettled she became, and for three reasons.
First, Luo Chen's improvement was astonishingly rapid. Every tutoring session, Joanna could clearly feel him growing stronger. This guy, who had always been inconspicuous during his three years at Weston Academy, was now displaying the talent of a genius.
It was said that some late bloomers only became formidable after breaking through to Spiritual Power Level Three, so Joanna accepted it—maybe Luo Chen was one of those lucky ones who skyrocketed after reaching Level Three. But even so, his powers of perception and adaptability in combat were almost unnaturally strong. Joanna had sparred with him many times using her Blazing Flame Palms; though she could employ endless variations of that technique, Luo Chen seemed to be gradually deciphering its patterns, even managing to counterattack on occasion. Just the day before, Joanna had carelessly taken two hits from his Diamond Fist. Though unhurt, she felt deeply humiliated.

And then there was the third point: Luo Chen was—Joanna was increasingly convinced—an absolute pervert, not just any pervert, but a bizarre one at that. No matter how hard she beat him, he kept smiling. Worse yet, he would sometimes stare at her and run his tongue over his lips, as if savoring a delicious meal.

He’s doing it again!

Seeing Luo Chen give that strange smile and lick his lips, Joanna felt as if leeches were crawling all over her; her legs nearly gave out. She leapt back and shouted, “Wait, pause for a moment!”

Luo Chen looked puzzled. “Oh? Joanna, what’s the matter?”

“Don’t ask so many questions. I said pause, so let’s pause. I need to talk to Lily!” She hurried over and dragged Elijie to the side, patting her own chest. “I can’t take it anymore, Lily! He’s so perverted, I’m about to lose my mind—I can’t stand it!”

It was the first time Elijie had seen her friend so hysterical. Frowning, she asked, “What happened now?”

“Didn’t you see? That guy keeps smiling, and he just licked his lips! This isn’t the first time—you must’ve noticed it, too, right? Lily, tell me, do you think he’s imagining licking me?”

Elijie nearly fainted. Her friend was truly one of a kind. “Joanna, stop being so dirty-minded, okay?”

Indignant, Joanna protested, “It’s not me! Just think about it: if I kept beating you up, would you be licking your lips and looking high as a kite?”

“Hm, you do have a point. Luo Chen has been acting a little weird lately,” Elijie admitted. She’d also noticed his strange expressions these past few days—as if an invisible hand was twisting his face into a mismatched smile.

“See!” Joanna said excitedly. “I knew I wasn’t wrong!”

“Alright, I’ll go talk to him. But…” Elijie pursed her lips, smiling, “For the head of the discipline committee who fears neither monsters nor demons to be scared of someone—there’s probably no one else like you in all of Weston Academy.”

“I’m not scared—I’m disgusted! There’s a difference, you know?” Joanna refused to admit it and insisted, “I don’t care, you need to get to the bottom of this, otherwise I’m done with these after-school sessions. Elijie, you should drop them too, or who knows what this pervert might do to you? Today he’s licking his lips at me, tomorrow he might just drop his pants in front of you. I’m not reassured!”

Elijie quickly replied, “Alright, keep your voice down. It’s bad if Luo Chen overhears. And besides, we can’t jump to conclusions yet.”

Joanna bit her lip. “Lily, how can you not jump to conclusions? It’s obvious—I’m ninety-nine point nine nine nine percent sure he’s a bona fide perverted masochist!”

Elijie couldn’t be bothered to argue, so she walked over to Luo Chen and asked tentatively, “Luo Chen, are you doing alright lately?”

“Very well,” Luo Chen replied in confusion. “Joanna, why do you ask?”

Before Elijie could answer, Joanna interjected, “How can you be alright? There’s something wrong with you! When we were sparring, you kept smiling and licking your lips—what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Uh, that…” Luo Chen paused, then smiled. “Sorry, Joanna, I think you misunderstood. I was just thinking about something that makes me happy.”

Something happy? What sort of happy thought makes someone lick their lips?

In Joanna’s mind, that ugly, vile image surfaced once more: she held a whip in one hand and a candle in the other, pressing Luo Chen under her high-heeled boots, lashing him while dripping wax and cursing, “You wretch! You filthy brat!”

And Luo Chen, pinned beneath her, would cry out in delight, “Yes, Your Majesty! Harder! Hit me harder, punish me, oh yeah!”

So it’s true, she thought. “You… you…” Realizing she’d become Luo Chen’s object of fantasy, Joanna felt as if she’d swallowed a giant fly, her stomach churning. “You disgusting pervert! Lewd, filthy, shameless…”

Elijie, however, remained calm. “Luo Chen, what exactly is this ‘happy thought’ you mentioned?”

Without hesitation, Luo Chen replied, “Eating midnight snacks with Shi Feng. His food is delicious. Just thinking about it makes me lick my lips and savor the taste.”

“You’re just making excuses!” Joanna snapped. “Why would you think about snacks when you’re fighting me?”

Luo Chen didn’t bother explaining Nicole’s method of reverse thinking. He just rubbed his nose and said, “Well, actually, getting hit by your Blazing Flame Palms hurts quite a bit. I’ve wanted to give up several times. So, to keep going, I try to distract myself with happy thoughts. Joanna, is there a problem with that?”

“Of course there’s a problem! I thought you were… fantasizing about me!” Joanna shouted, but as soon as she said it, she froze, realizing she’d made a terrible mistake.

Elijie and Luo Chen both stared at her in shock and embarrassment. Joanna’s words had landed a direct hit on both of them—and herself. For a moment, the trial arena fell silent, the atmosphere unbearably awkward.

At last, Luo Chen broke the silence with a cough. “Sorry, Joanna, it was my fault for making you misunderstand. But I promise, I’m perfectly normal—no strange or twisted hobbies! I only lick my lips because I’m remembering delicious food, not because I’m… well, you know!”

[Woke up today to a power outage, so I rushed to the internet café after a quick wash. Sorry for the late update. It’s been ages since I’ve been to a net café—feels alright, but it’s a bit noisy, not ideal for writing. Of course, chapters for this afternoon and evening will still be released, so don’t worry. Lastly, as usual, I’ll ask if I can get what I need—you know what I mean ―_―]