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Chapter 79: The Light That Should Not Be Touched
The sound of keyboards and writing in the office was soft and not noisy.
She wanted to stand up, but inexplicably felt her legs had no strength, as if an invisible person was pressing against her forehead, preventing her from getting up from the sofa.
This feeling of restriction was unbearably oppressive, causing Sumu’s previously joyful mood to plummet.
A scolding voice came from somewhere, indistinct in gender, not resembling anyone she knew, yet carried a heavy authority.
“Take a good look at your school uniform. What a disgrace! Do you deserve to wear this outfit? Do you deserve your teachers?”
Indeed, there were many good teachers in the school, like Mr. Tree, who was working hard to prepare lessons and do his job.
She instinctively lowered her head, looking at her blue and white school uniform, which had become dirty from firecrackers, her eyes slightly vacant.
Its overly large size made her chest mostly covered when she wore it, but at this moment, Sumu felt especially constricted.
So tight it was hard to breathe.
“This student, why are you sitting here? It’s time for class; pay attention to the time.”
The passing math teacher noticed Sumu. Although he did not remember her name, he still gave her a slight reminder.
After glancing up and locking eyes with the familiar dark face, Sumu lowered her head, pulled the zipper all the way up, wrapping her uniform tighter.
On that day, what embarrassed her the most was not the scolding that she hardly absorbed, but this seemingly light reminder.
There were indeed people who would notice her; perhaps they would be willing to listen to this invisible teenager’s words.
But when Sumu regained her senses, their figures had already walked far away.
The long shadow they cast fell beside her, just a hair’s distance from her toes, only to part from her in the end.
What am I thinking? This warmth does not belong to me, even the shadows are the same.
Sumu no longer hoped for anyone; after all, she only ever reaped disappointment.
The class teacher was also in class; Sumu’s parents had not come, so she had no choice but to wait here.
Even if they did show up, she would not know how to express Sumu’s situation, since no one could remember anything worth noting about her.
It was almost as if a witch were causing mischief—how else could a person become so transparent?
The youngest physics teacher left in the office saw everyone had walked out, quietly closed the door, and then began to play solitaire on the computer.
Sumu blankly watched him clear the cards one by one, until the “you win!” screen popped up.
「Indulgence Level: 30%」
The class bell rang, and the corridor became noisy once again. The office door was pushed open, but solitaire had already been replaced with the work screen in a moment Sumu did not notice.
“Sumu, have your parents not arrived yet?”
The returning class teacher looked somewhat astonished, but when she saw the dirty, messy pink-haired girl, she didn’t know what to say.
If it weren’t for that detestable old man insisting on talking to her parents, she wouldn’t have had much impression of this child.
It was as if a new face had suddenly appeared in the class. Although she was present in lessons, meals, and submissions, when stared at blankly, it was hard to call her name.
Sumu robotically nodded; she could barely remember why she was sitting there, but her vision was becoming clearer, unlike the previous fog.
Her gradually dulling ice-blue eyes were as clear as a mirror, but the surface seemed coated with a layer of dust that could not be wiped off.
“Uh, well, just sit here for now. Would you like some tea or something?”
She shook her head.
“Okay, then grab a book or something to read; you can call me if something comes up.”
She nodded.
But Sumu made no move, merely leaning on the sofa, occasionally staring at the ceiling and sometimes looking at her toes.
Wherever she looked, it was the same. After all, no one would come.
「Warning! Indulgence Level: 50%」
The four morning classes passed quickly; time was neither long nor short.
For the students in the classroom, it may have been long, but for Sumu, it was merely a blink of an eye.
“Let’s go eat… Sumu, is there something going on at home? If not, we can talk another time.”
She nodded and then shook her head.
Seeing her lack of spirit, the class teacher felt worried but ultimately walked away helplessly.
For some reason, having just sat there, Sumu’s situation slipped her mind again; perhaps it was due to recent late nights? Her memory seemed a bit fuzzy.
The cafeteria was packed, with many familiar faces among them.
This one sits to my right, this one is the class monitor…
They carried their bowls, laughing as they swept past Sumu, like two gusts of wind that could not be caught, causing her to instinctively wrap her uniform tighter.
“I want this, this, and this.”
Before she could finish her sentence, the food had already been handed over at the counter, but it was not the dishes Sumu had requested.
Fortunately, none were too unpalatable; the taste wasn’t too bad.
Sumu took her meal card from her uniform pocket, swiped it to deduct 10 yuan, and found an empty spot to sit.
It tasted fine, but why was this scrambled egg with tomato sweet?
「Warning! Indulgence Level: 60%」
Something buzzed by her ear.
Sumu shook her head, brushing aside the unknown noise.
What indulgence score, am I dreaming?
She had no idea what today’s homework was; she’d ask someone about it later. Who would she ask?
Anyway, she was just sitting in the office, so it’d be fine to ask the teacher.
The afternoon nap on the sofa was much more comfortable than in the classroom, though the light was a bit bright, Sumu still couldn’t sleep.
A faint voice told her that falling asleep would bring very bad things to happen.
Indeed, sleeping in front of teachers was not good at all.
In the afternoon, the class teacher seemed to have a meeting to attend, but she forgot about it in a hurry, clutching her notebook and rushing out, her heels clicking loudly on the stone floor, her figure quickly passing by Sumu.
Sumu was just about to call out to her but ultimately dismissed the thought.
Forget it.
With no arrangements made, Sumu could only sit quietly in the office, waiting for that impossible person to appear.
Students who committed infractions cannot return to the classroom for class; this is a well-established rule in the school, and the duration of the suspension depends on the severity of the matter.
Sumu’s situation was somewhat like life imprisonment—until her mother arrived, she couldn’t return to class.
However, in the current situation, it no longer mattered whether she attended class or not; even if Sumu were made to go back, she had no desire to listen.
After all, whether she attended or not, the teacher wouldn’t know.
Unbeknownst to her, the cold winter sun had climbed past its highest point, gradually descending to the point where it could just barely cast light to Sumu’s feet from the window.
Sumu instinctively stretched out her foot, rolling up her pants so the sunlight could hit her fair skin.
Warm.
「Indulgence Level: 70%」
Remaining silent and observing everything, Irina sensed that Sumu was getting closer to her.
Through their connection, Irina could now feel the warmth touching Sumu’s ankle, and she could not help but bite her teeth tightly.
Before sinking, a dream could not produce real rich sensations, and Sumu had tasted the flavor of her meal in the cafeteria; now she could also feel the temperature—these were signs that she was gradually sinking into the dream.
Tangled without resolution, Irina took off her witch hat, lowered her gaze, and absentmindedly tugged at her hair.
Could she not escape this trauma? In the end, would she still have to rely on that woman…
What if little Sumu softened and forgave her?
Irina could no longer remind Sumu because if she got even half a step closer, the attraction between them would result in an irreversible fusion at the boundary between Layer Two and Layer Three of the Dream Realm.
Irina could resist the attraction, but Sumu couldn’t; she would be forced into Layer Three of the Dream Realm.
After that, the girl named Sumu would disappear, replaced by Genius Girl Irina.
This could be seen as a kind of growth—abandoning the past self and accepting a new self—but this was not the outcome Irina hoped to see.
She wanted her first response when asked for her name to be “I am Sumu,” rather than “I am Irina.”
Another person held the same thought, but Irina did not want her to step in.
It was too late to worry about this issue now.
The sunlight gradually swallowed Sumu’s calf, yet her ice-blue eyes became dimmer after reflecting this scene.
Until another person opened the door.
The pink hair cascading down to Sumu’s feet gently brushed past her nose; she initially thought it was her own and impatiently swept it aside, but upon realizing something was amiss, she looked up in surprise.
She saw a figure that should not be here.
“Sorry, I’m late.”
