High Steps Across the Clouds (6)
The sound of the book closing echoed in the classroom, and Shu Ningmiao's action instantly attracted everyone's attention, causing the surroundings to fall silent.
The girl who had started the argument immediately shut her mouth and glanced at Shu Ningmiao out of the corner of her eye, her expression becoming unnatural.
Even though Shu Ningmiao had only made a very ordinary gesture, because of the timing, she was afraid that Shu Ningmiao was trying to stand up for this country bumpkin, and she was a little hesitant.
The girl, standing awkwardly in the classroom, suddenly realized a fact from the heavy atmosphere.
If Shu Ningmiao just speaks, she can be freed from this suffocating environment.
Eric clenched his fists, staring at Shu Ningmiao's slender fingers resting on the book cover, shamefully hoping she would say something.
In this strangely quiet atmosphere, Shu Ningmiao seemed completely unaware of the low pressure around her and did nothing.
She didn't even turn her head; she simply put the book down and slowly took her terminal out of the drawer.
Seeing that Shu Ningmiao didn't intend to interfere, the girl breathed a sigh of relief and gestured to Eric with her eyes: "If you heard that, then go."
Erici felt as if she had been doused with a bucket of cold water; her body was cold, but her face was burning hot. Her brown eyes rolled up and down like water-soaked glass beads.
She thought she had gotten used to it, so why did she start having unrealistic expectations again?
She was the top student in the orphanage, admired by her younger siblings, and the orphanage's mother always said she was promising and tried her best to send her to a better place to study.
That's how the world always is; the better the school, the more wealthy people there are. She spent six years in preparatory school at a public school in Yingjian District, where arrogant young masters and ladies bossed her around, and the teachers were all eager to flatter her and turned a blind eye to the bullying she suffered.
She arrived at the prestigious university, known as the "center of the world," full of expectations, only to find everything still utterly terrible.
On the first day of school, she ran into her former classmates from the preparatory course and was humiliated in front of Shi Yu and Shu Ningmiao.
She and these people were not on the same path at all, not even Linlu.
She never mentioned the cold looks and teasing she encountered in her elective classes to Linlu. People like them probably couldn't possibly understand why someone would be bullied for wearing a scarf made from old yarn.
She wanted to change something, but she didn't know what she could change. Poverty was like a cage branded on her body, from which she could not escape.
In her fantasies, there was always a prince who would fall from the sky and save her from all evil. But in reality, she could only stand awkwardly in the classroom, surrounded by whispers, with no one offering her a helping hand.
She stood expressionless in front of the girl who was ordering her around, her fingers clenching tighter and tighter.
The girl smiled emboldenedly: "Oh, and could you please go to the general affairs office and get me some documents? Please~ You guys exercise a lot, you must be fast runners."
With no other option, Eric nodded slightly and mechanically began to walk.
Just then, Shu Ningmiao's voice rang out from close by, calm and gentle.
“Perfect.” Shu Ningmiao turned her head and glanced at the face of the girl who had made trouble. Shu Ningmiao didn’t recognize the face and didn’t remember the person’s name, but that didn’t affect the matter-of-fact tone when she spoke: “Why don’t you go together? I left my bag in classroom five. Could you please bring it back for me?”
"You've seen it, there's a pair of pearls on the clasp." Her voice was pleasant, her tone so calm, as if she were giving orders as if it were someone else's duty to do things for her.
The girl coughed lightly twice: "She can manage on her own..."
“She’s clumsy, I’m worried about her.” Shu Ningmiao looked at her, her gaze calm and indifferent, unlike her gentle tone, devoid of any smile: “Go.”
The girl's chest heaved a few times. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but finally said awkwardly, "Never mind, I think the next class is about to start. I need to go to another classroom, and I probably won't make it in time, so let's not go."
Shu Ningmiao looked away, gave her a way out, and reopened the terminal screen: "That's right, don't let it interfere with class."
She dismissed the matter with a few words, and the others, who had been keeping their eyes closed and mind at ease, instantly acted as if nothing had happened, chatting in pairs about other things, and in an instant, the noisy break time returned to normal.
Eric stared in disbelief at the scene before him, standing speechless in the middle of the lecture hall, as if he were in a dream.
Shu Ningmiao continued to hold the terminal that looked as shiny as a plastic toy, without glancing at her once from beginning to end.
The terminal screen was still displaying the game interface that Shu Ningmiao had opened a few minutes earlier. Due to the excessive number of pop-ups, it was now displayed in a scrollable format.
The pop-up at the very top was sent right after class ended.
Survival Tip: Players are advised to help the protagonist and distance themselves from the cannon fodder!
She's a "villain," and the person who makes things difficult for the protagonist is just "cannon fodder." She's even a level higher than them. Shouldn't she feel honored?
Shu Ningmiao always kept her distance from such troublesome matters, and when she saw this pop-up window, she didn't even lift her eyelids.
She swiped away the pop-up, and then another one popped up immediately.
Survival Tip: Saving the protagonist is an excellent opportunity to become their friend.
The prompts were indeed updated in real time based on her actions; rather than her using the game, it was more like the game was looking down on her from above.
What exactly is this game, and what are its principles—is it some kind of existence in a higher dimension than this world?
Shu Ningmiao frowned. Seeing that she had no reaction and showed no intention of moving, the game seemed to be getting impatient and popped up another text box.
Players can unlock details of the protagonist's special ability after helping them.
Shu Ningmiao was taken aback. If she had the details of her superpower, wouldn't she be able to see the specific information about her superpower?
Even with a pass to the research center, she wasn't entirely confident in understanding her own abilities.
As far as she knew, the research center's equipment could only detect real-time information about superpowers; however, the effects of her superpower seemed to vary depending on the different status suffixes.
She cannot freely control her state switching; so far, the only states she exhibits are 'arrogance' and 'anger'.
If she cannot freely switch her state within the research center, even with auxiliary testing, she would have to undergo repeated testing many times to understand the differences between the different states.
This is also why she hasn't gone to the research center yet.
It would be much more convenient if she could see the details of her superpower; she could use that precious pass for other things.
...
With a few minutes left before class, and the drama appreciation teacher being notoriously lenient, Shu Ningmiao opened her terminal again. Sure enough, in her character information, there was a new clickable question mark in the superpowers section.
Her current status is suffixed with "arrogance".
Shu Ningmiao clicked on the question mark, which opened an explanation box.
The description shows a total of seven lines, with only two lines lit up, representing the two states she has already unlocked.
Details of the superpower
【Arrogance】: A persistent passive state. Immune to all additional supernatural abilities such as curses, poison, teleportation, and dizziness.
[Rage]: While in this state, all abilities are increased by 100%. When emotions exceed the threshold, a berserk state is activated. (Berserk state: Not unlocked)
Shu Ningmiao carefully read through the two lines of status description. It was pretty much as she had imagined. When in a state of anger, the superpower was purely a power enhancement type.
Doubling her overall abilities might not seem as flashy as the ability to summon fireballs and ice, but if her physical abilities reach the level of Yelü Qi, then doubling them would be a terrifying concept.
Of course, as Yelü Qi said, this is not something that can be mastered simply by wanting to practice.
The remaining five lines were dark, and she couldn't see the words. They were probably like the unlocked state, controlled by her current emotions.
She tried to manipulate her emotions, but she couldn't change her current state. It seemed that the emotions had to come from the heart, which was not good news—it meant that her superpower was full of uncontrollable factors.
In the lecture hall, the drama appreciation teacher had already leisurely turned on the projector.
Just as Shu Ningmiao was about to put the terminal back, she suddenly glanced at the page after exiting the details.
I don't know when, but a new description appeared in the category of superpowers that hadn't been there before.
Superpower: Absurdity (Current Status: Pride) [In Use]
—In use.
Without needing to review the status details she had just seen, Shu Ningmiao instantly understood what the symbol meant.
Someone is using additional superpowers on her.
Because she is unconsciously in a state of 'arrogance' most of the time, she has already become passively immune to it before she even realizes it.
She hasn't had much contact with or had conflicts with other superhumans recently, and she hasn't met any additional superhumans yet.
Additional superpowers, as the name suggests, are superpowers that inflict a certain state on a person. This state can be a negative state such as poisoning or dizziness, or a positive state such as healing or purification.
Besides these two, there are also continuous damage states such as bleeding and burning, so additional superpowers are not entirely support-type.
She wasn't sure which additional status she was immune to, but it was likely a negative or damaging status. No one would randomly give her a powerful healing spell when she was at full health.
Shu Ningmiao suddenly remembered something; because she didn't care at all, she still didn't know what Su Ni's special ability was.
Without direct evidence, she felt no guilt in suspecting others; Shu Ningmiao had no concept of trust at all.
She could directly interrogate Su Ni, but it was hard to say whether he would lie; she had a better way.
She thought for a moment and then sent a text message on her device.
After finishing her last class, Shu Ningmiao packed up her things and headed out of the school.
Cornunos does not restrict students' entry and exit; they can live on campus or commute. However, Cornunos is located in the most prosperous area of Penelope City, where land prices are incredibly high. Only local students who are both wealthy and have free time will choose to commute.
Outside the school gate, the driver's car was already parked not far away. Upon seeing her, he hurriedly opened the back door.
Shu Ningmiao gazed at the tall buildings rushing past on the roadside. After starting preparatory school, she traveled back and forth between Cornunos and her home every day, and she knew this road all too well.
Where is Su Ni?
The driver was focused on monitoring the road conditions. This was the first time in all these years that he had heard her ask about Su Ni's situation. It took him a while to react and answer, "Miss, it seems that Young Master Su Ni has already gone back."
Shu Ningmiao gave a calm "hmm" and watched the driver drive into the Shu family's small building. The iris information at the door showed that her authentication had failed, and the driver opened the door for her with an embarrassed smile.
The Shu family's home was not luxuriously decorated. Although the interior space was large, it was decorated in a warm and bright manner, and did not feel empty. It was like an ordinary little home that was carefully decorated.
Most of the interior decorations were chosen by Shu Ningmiao's mother when she was still alive, and they have not been replaced to this day.
Shu Ningmiao walked into the living room and clearly felt that the intimate sounds inside stopped for a moment because of her footsteps.
Su Ni sat in the middle of the sofa. Hearing the sound, she looked up at her with an obedient expression. Her red eyes were like jewels, which, combined with her light pink hair, made her look even more like a delicate doll.
Mr. Shu and Mrs. Shu sat on either side of Su Ni, holding his hands.
The old lady acted as if she hadn't seen her at all, her neck stiff and she didn't move an inch.
Mr. Shu first sighed, then broke the silence with a hint of reproach: "At least you know how to come home."
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