"Then... I have only one wish—erase Ling's aggro toward me!!"

Simple logic—like debugging code; keep the language tight, like beads on an abacus, and fix the knot.

Ling gave a small smile, angelic face lit like honeyed dawn, a look you could drown in.

"Mm, as you wish~ Let's start making your wish real."

Ling hopped down from Zi's back like a cat from a windowsill, found a stool, and sat with moonlit calm.

Under Zi’s horrified eyes, she lifted Zi and laid her across her lap, like setting silk on lacquer.

"Li—Lady Ling! What are you doing?! Weren't you clearing the aggro?"

Ling’s lips tipped up, a paper mask of a smile, cold as winter water.

"Of course, Classmate Zi; I'm fulfilling your wish, perfectly~"

"What kind of cursed way is that???"

"See, Ling is strong, beautiful, clever, and grand—truly formidable." Her words flowed like incense smoke.

"I’m so small I can’t behold Ling’s precious face; so Miss Ling will administer some physical correction." Her tone rang like bells in a shrine.

"Her hatred toward you will naturally dissolve, and your wish will be granted in the end." The logic stacked like stones.

...

Zi had never seen this: someone praising herself in third person while bullying her, shameless armor thicker than a star‑killer could crack.

"Hee‑hee‑hee~" The laugh skittered like a cat across rice paper.

A Daemon’s whisper brushed her ear, pulling Zi back from swirling thoughts like a hook from deep water.

"Hey hey hey, Sister Zi, I'm starting now~" The words tinkled like chimes.

"Huh? Starting what?"

"Re—venge~" She sang it like a drawn blade.

The word fell like iron; Zi’s inner alarm clanged like temple bells, her heart seized as if a platinum pacer had clamped it.

Smack!!

A loli’s palm met the purple‑haired girl’s backside; the crisp sound rippled like a stone across a lake.

Zi felt the heat of stares bloom around her; girls stifled laughter, yet one or two leaked soft giggles like sparrows.

It was worse than public shaming, a scarlet brand; her cheeks burned, heat climbing to her ears like wildfire.

She couldn’t bear it; shame swarmed like bees; she wriggled to escape like a hooked carp.

Smack!!

"Don’t move!"

She twisted twice in defiance, a fish on wet slate, slick and futile.

Smack!!

She froze, afraid to breathe, a rabbit under hawk‑shadow.

Smack!!

I’m not moving! Why are you still hitting?! The thought burst like a trapped bubble.

Reading her thought, Ling bent close, breath a cool petal at Zi’s ear.

"This is punishment—punishment for Sister Zi tricking a cute loli~"

♬ smack—smack smack smack—smack smack smack—♬

The smacks had rhythm, a drumline on skin; shame climbed by the pound, like tide at new moon.

Zi didn’t react; no—she stopped thinking, surrendering like driftwood to whatever came next.

After five or six songs for the crowd, Ling’s anger ebbed like tide; she set Zi down gently, a leaf to ground.

The moment she was released, Zi collapsed; her colors washed out, turning into black‑and‑white inkscape.

Alicia, back by chance, returned like a breeze and saw Ling drop the colorless Zi onto the floor.

"Hey, Ling, what are you doing?"

To Zi, Alicia’s voice rang like a savior bell; color rushed back into her skin like sunrise.

Her limp body did a sudden kip‑up, like a dead fish springing to life on wet deck.

She darted to Alicia, hugged her leg tight, smearing drool, snot, and tears onto those black stockings like rain streaks.

"Ahhhh!!! Alicia, save me—I’ve been defiled by a loli! I’m ruined; no one will marry me!"

Alicia pushed her away with clear disgust; she knew this lolicon pervert’s words weren’t worth a dime, like paper lanterns in rain.

"What actually happened?"

Trusted by Alicia, Ling took the role of narrator; as a pro, she couldn’t lie, voice steady as a metronome.

So she just added oil and vinegar, seasoning Zi’s hateful antics—polish, not lies, like lacquer deepening grain.

"Sis, listen—so it went like this, like that..." Her summary flowed like a brook.

Alicia spent three minutes untangling the thread; she meant to scold Zi, but a bold idea shot up like bamboo.

She dropped the scolding, thought sharp as flint.

"Ling!"

"Here!"

Ling had expected a fierce debate between Alicia and Zi; instead, Alicia spun and shouted her name, sudden as thunder.

Caught off guard, Ling answered by reflex, like a sparrow startled from bamboo.

"Ling, Zi went too far, but so did you." Her tone cut clean as a blade.

"How can you spank your Sister Zi in public? Picture it: a cool older‑sister type bullied by a loli—where’s her face after that?" The question hung like fog.

Alicia’s words landed like rain; Ling realized she’d rushed into revenge and ignored the aftermath like footprints in snow.

For Zi, it was a heavy loss of face; look—Zi must be heartbr— The thought faltered, a kite losing wind.

Ling glanced over; Zi looked blissfully foggy, no hint of sorrow, eyes drifting like clouds.

Okay, maybe her heart’s big, but I still need to apologize... The resolve settled like stone.

"Zi, I’m sor—"

Alicia clapped a hand over Ling’s mouth, sealing the word like wax on a letter.

"Zi earned this; today it’s lost face, tomorrow it could be lost freedom, even life." Her warning tolled like a bell.

"So we still need to punish her."

"Got it... so that means I’m off the hook?"

"No. You have work, too."

"To compensate Zi’s loss, you’ll take the next role." Her smile curved like a crescent.

"That role is short a person; I believe you can carry it."

"Eh???"

Ling felt it clear as a thorn—she’d been set up.