Teacher Zhang’s face showed panic, but quickly, he calmed down.
Looking at the expressions of the six girls, there was more confusion than anger.
Teacher Zhang relaxed a bit in his heart: they might know something, but definitely not enough!
As long as he could bluff his way through…
These were just a group of kids. He was an adult, isn’t it easy to fool a few kids?
He smiled and approached them, jokingly, “What are you all doing, students? Kidnapping the teacher to give you extra classes?”
One of the girls couldn’t help but ask, “Teacher Zhang, there have been rumors circulating among the students recently about your chaotic personal life… We all believe in you, but—” she pointed at Rong Yi:
“She claims to have solid evidence in her hands!”
“Oh?” Teacher Zhang’s heart skipped a beat. What evidence could Rong Yi have? She only passed messages for Anna…
And as Anna turned into a ghost, the data she used to belong to the students was also sealed.
She couldn’t produce any physical evidence!
“Teacher Zhang,” Rong Yi casually, with a lollipop in her mouth, “Why so distant? Say hello to your girlfriends!”
The girl with pigtails keenly caught a keyword: “Girlfriends?”
Teacher Zhang chuckled, “Kids, don’t speak without evidence. I do have a girlfriend, but only one. I can’t expose her information to protect her.”
After saying that, he looked affectionately at the girls.
This look was very skillfully done, and each girl thought he was looking at her, showing a look of ecstasy.
Rong Yi nodded, “Indeed, indeed. I also understand this, so when I accidentally saw you and your wife being intimate in the hallway yesterday, I was understanding enough not to disturb you.”
The girl with pigtails blushed slightly, while the other girls looked puzzled.
Teacher Zhang’s breathing quickened, and he felt a bit sweaty on his back.
The chair’s legs scraped against the floor, making a harsh sound. Rong Yi lazily stood up, lollipop swaying in her mouth.
“Oh? Some of you might be confused now. Yesterday? In the hallway? But at that time, I did not meet Teacher Zhang.”
“Then who did meet Teacher Zhang?”
Out of the blue, she put her hands on the shoulders of two girls, making them lift their heads in surprise.
“…It’s me.” The girl with pigtails now fully understood the situation, she glared at Teacher Zhang, then looked at the other girls beside her.
“Since Rong invited us all here, called Teacher Zhang over, it means we have something in common.”
Rong Yi looked encouragingly at her.
Other people’s saving can never compare to self-saving.
For these girls who were not deeply involved yet, she just needed to provide them with a chance to see the truth.
And that’s the battleground!
“…We’ve all been deceived by Teacher Zhang.” Even though she was embarrassed and angry, the girl with twin ponytails maintained a calm tone, “We’re all the same. Besides Rong and these classmates who helped us discover the truth, there is no one else here. What are you still hesitating about?”
“Do you want to continue to cover up for this scum, letting him hurt our feelings?”
Tears welled up in another girl’s eyes, she looked around, eventually unable to bear it and questioned Teacher Zhang, “You… have the audacity to… lead a double life?”
Rong Yi chuckled, “He’s got more than that. He thinks he can walk on a tightrope between boats securely, but sooner or later, there will be a day of the fire burning at Red Cliff.”
As if a dam had burst, the girls who had been silent, guarding their small love within their hearts, suddenly woke up, whether in sadness, anger, or confusion, they all gradually confronted Teacher Zhang:
“Teacher Zhang, didn’t you say I was your only one?”
“You lied to me? Teacher Zhang, you actually lied to me?!”
“Wu wu wu! I really believe you! Why? Wu wu wu!
“You hypocrite! Scumbag!
“It’s impossible, impossible, impossible, I don’t believe it! Teacher Zhang, you said they were just infatuated, right? It’s only me, right?!
“You said you broke up with your ex-girlfriend, didn’t you?
“Disgusting, you’re disgusting! I’m going to tell everyone! I’m going to tell the head teacher!
“Yes! Tell the head teacher and tell the principal too!”
Upon hearing this, Teacher Zhang suddenly looked up!
He felt like he had just been fished out of the water, drenched in cold sweats and hot sweats.
At over thirty years old, if the higher-ups found out, he wouldn’t be able to be a teacher in this closed-off world, nor a student, what else could he do?!
Should he become a gatekeeper, a cafeteria worker?
He was the campus heartthrob!
Unfortunately, faced with players in the game, he was still bound by the NPC role, unable to deviate from the character’s behavior.
He couldn’t plead with the once obedient girl, asking her to let him off the hook, considering they were both NPCs.
Filled with dread, his survival instincts kicked in, his brain racing for a solution!
What could he do to save himself, what could he do—
Suddenly, Teacher Zhang smiled with a pale face.
“Sure.” His elegant voice now sounded like a sticky serpent’s tongue, licking over the girls’ earlobes:
“Go ahead and report, I’m an adult, so what if I have a girlfriend? But you—just a group of teenage girls driven to fantasy by infatuation towards me.”
“Perhaps hearing rumors of me having a girlfriend made you feel indignant, leading to such extreme words and actions!”
“Sorry, my charm is too irresistible, that’s my fault indeed.”
“Tell me, would the head teacher and principal believe a teacher with a good reputation and steady conduct, or a few lovesick high school girls?”
“Moreover, as the big sister, seeing younger sisters being bullied by scum, naturally I must stand up for justice. Don’t you agree, Teacher Zhang?”
Teacher Zhang sneered disdainfully. Her so-called standing up for justice could only go this far.
These young kids couldn’t even see the palm of his hand.
“Now that you’ve helped -” he gestured to senior student A blocking the door.
Rong Yi didn’t linger, nodded to let senior A release him, leaving a few girls either indignant or tearfully leaving arm in arm.
Before Teacher Zhang could carry out her PUA spirit manipulation, she had only deceived their pure feelings. They understood that knowing the truth early, breaking free swiftly, was already a good outcome.
He is a teacher, they are students, what could they do to him? They were just six people; in this world centered on secondary missions, who would care about their trivial emotions?
Ponytail braided, with a biology book in hand, gratefully glanced back at Rong Yi, composed herself, wiped away tears, and went straight to the biology lab class.
In the classroom, only a few members of the spy team remained.
Luo Huayue looked lost and disappointed, “Ah, I thought he would kneel down and cry for forgiveness…”
Zhang Haiyang marveled, “I have a newfound understanding of human shamelessness. If any girl is willing to date me, I would want to cherish her like nothing else! How can a man possess a treasure and not cherish it?”
Ice remained calm, with her usual demeanor, lightly hummed while filing her nails, “Because he’s not really in love. There’s no emotion in PUA; it’s just a form of covert psychological manipulation.”
“Do you want this kind of person to repent? Impossible, unless he can understand the pain of his ‘prey,’ otherwise, for him, this is just another failed case.”
Rong Yi patted Ice’s shoulder, praising her as “Laojianghu.”
“The Zhang just said something wrong.” She didn’t care that Teacher Zhang had taken control of the conversation in the latter part of the arena, looking relaxed, “He said my standing up for justice ends here?”
“How is that possible? I haven’t finished helping yet.”
She initiated [meeting parents], softly calling out “Anna,” and the upper half of the red-clothed female ghost’s body appeared on the wall.
As a student passed by outside the window, Zhang Haiyang was about to anxiously pull the curtain when Anna stopped him:
“It’s okay, except for those on my team, others can’t see me in the daytime.”
Luo Huayue exclaimed in amazement, “Sister Rong, did you arrange for Anna to watch the arena?”
Rong Yi shrugged, “What to do? Only this way can she see the true face of the Zhang surname.”
Anna wiped her nose; evidently, she had just cried her heart out hiding behind the wall. Traces of tears and blood remained on her face, her voice hoarse, with a hint of a vengeful ghost:
“I didn’t expect him to… why did he do this?” Like every girl who discovers a scumbag cheating, she was bewildered, “Did I do something wrong again?”
“You did nothing wrong; you are right, you are innocent,” Rong Yi immediately countered:
“You can use the most sinister intentions to interpret the Zhang surname.”
“Just not to doubt yourself.”
This is also the consequence of PUA manipulation; those manipulated by PUA, when events occur suddenly, instead of objectively assessing the truth of the situation, they immediately doubt themselves.
Their self-esteem had been lowered to the point where they dare not believe “they can be right.”
“Is that so?” Anna was still a bit confused. Since becoming a ghost, no one could see her during the day, and the only one she could communicate with was Teacher Zhang. He was like the only light in her lonely world.
She never doubted that light might be like a tiny lamp in front of an anglerfish’s mouth, luring her into deeper darkness.
Rong Yi, with the authority of a superior, stared into Anna’s dark eyes:
“Come, repeat after me three times:”
“I did nothing wrong.”
“I am right.”
“I am not guilty.”
Anna murmured along, not quite understanding:
“I am not wrong. I am right. I am not guilty…”
Three times like this.
She was used to following Zhang’s orders, so now Rong Yi became the one giving orders, commanding her to respect herself, to let go of any unfounded guilt.
This might not be the most correct way, but it was indeed the quickest way to wake Anna up.
Anna finally looked up, her eyes sad and confused. “…So, it’s true that Teacher Zhang… has another woman and doesn’t want me?”
“What do you mean he doesn’t want you?” Ice clicked her tongue. “He has exposed himself as a scumbag, and it’s time for you to discard him like trash!”
“So… I don’t want him?” Anna held her chest.
Long-standing feelings couldn’t be easily let go in a short time. While her mind told her Teacher Zhang wasn’t worth it, her heart still ached.
“Yes, you don’t want him!” Luo Huayue nodded quickly. The silly girl finally reacted correctly once.
“It’s like pulling out a poisonous thorn from your body; it will hurt for sure. If you’re really uncomfortable, you can get back at him!”
Anna was a gentle girl by nature. In a real world with endless possibilities, she would not choose revenge but would break free from this relationship completely. But trapped in the small world of the school with Teacher Zhang everywhere, she had nowhere to escape.
Her eyes filled with tears again, she subconsciously looked at Rong Yi, the player who gave her two comforting sentences. “I feel so hurt… Will getting back at him make it better? How should I get back at him?”
Everyone exchanged glances.
Despite Anna’s ghostly character setting, maybe even a vengeful ghost, her initial nature was just too soft. She was more likely to suffer silently.
It has to be said, Teacher Zhang might be a scumbag, but his choice in “girlfriends” was quite something. With his neat ponytail and clear rationality, he wasn’t easily exposed in the class.
On the other hand, Anna was easy to deceive, weak and compliant, easily controlled, and treated like a scapegoat without any hope of turning the tables.
Unfortunately, she had encountered Rong Yi and his group of “meddling” players.
Rong Yi smiled slightly. “It’s okay, just learn to play. If you really want revenge, I’ve even picked a teacher for you. Go and observe. You’re clever; you’ll learn in no time.”
Anna:”…Teacher?”
Teacher Zhang’s face turned pale as he hurried through the campus, not even responding to the greetings of passing students.
It was Rong Yi, the troublemaker who helped Anna pass messages, who noticed something amiss and gathered all his “girlfriends” to witness his humiliation!
Despicable… He would surely retaliate harshly against her!
But for now, the priority was to eliminate risks.
He walked to a place without players, summoned his NPC interface, and checked the current points.
Together with Anna’s points, it was indeed quite a sum. He looked at the valuable item in the store, the [NPC Amnesia Card], and bought six at once.
Damn, he had saved up for [Identity Promotion Cards] for his own advancement and pay raise, and now it was all wasted on this farce!
Normally, for the fish he was tired of playing with or the ones that didn’t behave, he would just use the amnesia card to fix them. Whether there were any consequences after using the card or any damage to the NPC’s memory, he didn’t care.
With the card in hand, he felt a bit more confident. After some thought, he went to the headmaster to be on the safe side, saying he had heard some rumors about himself recently, possibly related to his having a girlfriend leaking out, causing some overly obsessed female students to act excessively.
They were all just kids who didn’t know any better. If anyone mentioned it to him, he asked the headmaster to downplay the significance, to not delve too deeply into these girls’ actions.
After finishing these tasks, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s okay, just a batch of fish gone, the next one will be even easier to handle once he sorts things out. Besides, he still has control over two big fish in his pond.
One is Anna, who earns points for him. She is timid and introverted, easily manipulated by herself. A little reassurance now and then is all it takes for her to continuously earn and send him points.
The other is Doctor Lei, with a unique charm that captivates him, even more than his female students, giving him a sense of accomplishment!
Women are just a pastime, but his favorite toy now is Doctor Lei. She stays away from gossip and contact with the group of chatty students.
Thinking about this, his mood improved, greeted passing students, purchased a small inexpensive gift from the mall, and knocked on the medical room door.
Yi Rui: Step 4, reverse PUA on Professor Zhang. Let Professor Zhang personally experience and deeply understand the pain of being PUA’d.
Yi Rui: Execute tutor Raymond, intern student Anna.
“Knock, knock.”
Raymond closed the hovering screen, fixed his soft golden curly hair, opened the door, revealing a gentle and pleasantly surprised smile:
“Professor Zhang! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? Oh, did you bring me a gift? I’m so happy~”
Professor Zhang was very satisfied with Doctor Lei’s performance.
Doctor Lei was also pleased that Professor Zhang was satisfied with her performance.
Master manipulators often appear in the guise of prey.
From the first step of having Raymond cater to Professor Zhang, Yi Rui was setting up a chain reaction.
First, she cleared out the other girls in Professor Zhang’s pond, leaving him with only two fish to seek solace from.
Then, she let the two remaining fish take charge, jointly outsmarting the self-proclaimed clever player.
Yi Rui’s plan to blow up the fish pond was not just about blowing up the pond. She wanted to bury the pond’s owner, planting him in the mud from the root.
Just as she saved Anna from being PUA’d, her true redemption and liberation lay not only in pulling her out of Professor Zhang’s pit but also in having her personally pull down this man who gave her nightmares from his pedestal, revealing his true nature.
Not just for revenge. Achieving victory in person, affirming oneself, that is Anna’s true salvation and liberation!
Raymond once again praised himself for his wisdom. Yi Rui was a player in the real world, surpassing most players in controlling and planning overall situations. Knowing people, planning before acting, following her was truly finding shade under a big tree.
Moreover, her almost life-saving invincible innate skill allowed her to think calmly, rather than panicking just to escape.
He followed her in a high-profile manner, just to relax his mind and enjoy this unique way of raiding dungeons. Unique, special, high return on investment, given time, they would surely make it to the scoreboard and be regulars in the top 10 of live broadcasts!
Doctor Lei warmly welcomed Professor Zhang into the medical room, placed the cup he brought as if it were a precious treasure in the glass cabinet.
Professor Zhang deliberately showed some tiredness, prompting Doctor Lei to console softly, “What’s wrong, too tired from class?”
Professor Zhang hesitated, shook his head and said, “I really like your gentleness. But there are some things that you women won’t understand.”
This was his usual tactic, pushing and pulling, coupled with gender suppression.
Doctor Lei, with her beautiful eyes, looked at him in an innocent manner, “I see. So specifically, what is it that men understand but women won’t?”
His slender hands traced the contours of Professor Zhang’s face in the air, seemingly fascinated, while saying:
“Seeing you like this, you must be over thirty. Is it because you’re getting old and feeling insecure?”
The author has something to say: In the next chapter, two sea kings will face off against PUA, with an additional practical exercise for the anti-PUA trainee Anna.
