"Where did Victor go?"
At night, Wednesday pushed open the dormitory door and found only Enid and Thing inside.
Enid was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the large joint bed, holding an open magazine with a gaudy cover, but her eyes were clearly wandering.
Hearing the question, Enid looked up, her azure eyes carrying an indescribable emotion, her tone a bit sour:
"I don't know. Because of that... um, 'unparalleled' kiss of yours this morning, Victor has been in a daze all day. He's walking like he's treading on clouds and grinning at everyone he sees, looking just like a fool who found a treasure and is overjoyed."
"After dinner, he said he wanted to go check out the bonfire party venue first. He's probably gone to digest the impact of your 'esoteric chapter'."
She paused and added in a low voice, with a hint of envy and frustration she didn't even notice herself:
"I've never seen Victor like that... it's like his soul has been hooked away."
Wednesday casually placed her schoolbag on the carved coat rack by the door, her pitch-black eyes calmly sweeping over the slight discomfort on Enid's face.
"Jealous?" Her voice was cool, calling it out directly.
Enid reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Her cheeks turned slightly red, and she instinctively turned her head away, stubbornly saying:
"Who... who's jealous! I just... I just think it's a bit unfair!"
"Why is it that he gets like that just because you kiss him once? I... I usually speak kindly to him and occasionally let him take some small liberties, but he never seems this lost!"
Wednesday walked to the bedside. She didn't sit down, but simply looked down at Enid, her pale face appearing exceptionally calm under the dim wall lamp.
"Do you want a lesson?"
She suddenly spoke, her tone as flat as if she were asking 'do you want a glass of water', "One-on-one tutoring."
Enid snapped her head back, her eyes lighting up instantly like stars suddenly ignited in the night sky.
"Really?"
She blurted it out, then pursed her lips a bit bashfully, but the light of expectation didn't diminish in the slightest.
"I... I also want Victor to show me that... soul-absent look!"
She clenched her small fists, an excited flush rising on her face, the previous sourness instantly replaced by massive curiosity and competitiveness.
Wednesday nodded slightly, not surprised by Enid's reaction.
She knew that to maintain the balance of this small group, it was sometimes necessary to share 'resources' and 'techniques'.
After all, Victor's learning and adaptability were astonishing. Relying solely on her to'suppress' him was not the optimal long-term solution. Raising the level of an ally was a necessary strategic investment.
"Please do teach me, Teacher Wednesday!"
Enid leaped off the bed and stood before Wednesday, looking up with azure eyes full of devotion and longing, like an apprentice about to receive secret teachings.
Wednesday looked at Enid's eager expression, the corner of her mouth curving almost imperceptibly.
"The basic theory, you've already learned from the 'Guide'."
Wednesday began her 'teaching', her voice steady, as if stating experimental steps.
"But Victor is gradually developing resistance to straightforward theoretical indoctrination. The key lies in 'timing', 'posture', and 'psychological guidance' during application."
She paced to the window, looking at the silhouettes of Nevermore Academy's spires sinking into the night.
"Take the kiss this morning, for example. Choose to strike at the moment when his expectations have reached their peak after a night of restraint, depriving him of his initiative and intervening with a posture of complete control."
"The focus is not on the kiss itself, but on breaking his inherent'spoiled-benefit' pattern and rebuilding a new 'obedience-reward' cycle."
Enid listened without blinking, nodding instinctively as if absorbing the core principles of a peerless martial art.
"Then... what specifically should I do?"
She couldn't help but ask further.
Wednesday turned around and looked directly at Enid:
"First, you need to overcome your'soft-heartedness'. Victor is skilled at using your sympathy to dismantle your defenses. Next time he tries to use the 'wet puppy eyes' tactic, you need to..."
Wednesday stopped speaking.
"What's wrong? Keep going."
Enid was holding a notebook, her pen moving rapidly. Just as she reached the crucial point, she saw Wednesday suddenly fall silent and couldn't help but urge her.
Wednesday ignored Enid, her gaze sharp as a hawk's, passing right over her to lock onto Thing curled up in the corner—
More accurately, it was locked onto the old-fashioned typewriter next to Thing.
The typewriter's cover was open, a roll of paper was placed on the platen, and on the top page, there was a line of freshly typed words with ink not yet dry.
Wednesday walked closer silently, her cold gaze falling on Thing's slender fingers.
"Did you use my typewriter without permission?"
Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chill.
Thing trembled at this sudden questioning and immediately began to sway frantically, using its entire body to signal a strong denial:
It wasn't him!
Wednesday's slender, pale fingers reached for the typewriter and took the paper.
There was only a nonsensical greeting on the paper, or rather... a provocation:
Read any good books lately?
Wednesday pinched the edge of the paper, pondering for only a second before her pitch-black pupils suddenly constricted.
An ominous premonition, like a cold snake, wrapped around her spine.
"My novel!"
She turned abruptly, took a few steps to the desk, and pulled open the drawer where the manuscript was kept.
The drawer was empty.
The thick manuscript of her novel, which had condensed two years of her hard work, was gone.
Only a solitary slip of paper remained at the bottom of the empty drawer, with an even more arrogant sentence left in the same typewriter font:
Higher, higher, higher. I am the Fire Demon. Every burning rooftop is my bonfire.
The air pressure around Wednesday instantly dropped to a suffocating level.
She understood the meaning of this sentence almost immediately—
Her stalker intended to burn her novel manuscript to ashes at tonight's bonfire party!
"That wasn't your only copy, right?"
Enid also realized the seriousness of the situation, put down her notebook, and asked nervously.
Wednesday didn't speak, but the cold expression on her face, almost freezing into frost, already gave the worst answer.
"Are you serious?"
Enid's azure eyes widened, her voice filled with disbelief.
"The photocopier isn't even a 21st-century invention! You've been writing for two years and didn't even make a backup?"
"I will not allow two years of my hard work to turn into ashes."
Wednesday's voice was low and resolute.
She tightly gripped the provocative note, her knuckles turning white from the force.
Without any hesitation, she pulled open the dormitory door, her black figure like an arrow leaving a bow, instantly blending into the dim corridor outside as she hurried toward the bonfire party.
Enid looked at Wednesday's disappearing back, then at the empty drawer and the note with the crazed declaration, and stamped her foot: "Thing, watch the house!"
She grabbed a coat and immediately chased after her.
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