Chương 224: The Victory of the "Mastermind" and the "Accomplices"

A moment later, in Su Yuqing's bedroom.

Su Yuqing, Luo Bingli, and Ye Zixuan, three girls with very different styles but all top-tier beauties, were kneeling side by side on the soft carpet in an extremely standard and obedient posture.

They stood ramrod straight, their hands resting obediently on their knees, looking just like three elementary school students who had made a mistake and were sincerely accepting their teacher's scolding.

Standing before them with their hands behind their backs was a petite figure wearing a light blue nightgown, with a black side ponytail, and whose height barely reached their chests—Ji Ying.

With her hands on her hips, her adorably chubby cheeks puffed up slightly in anger, she glared at the three "prisoners" in front of her, who were looking down at her with a look of utter disappointment.

"Don't you all have any self-awareness or dignity as proper magical girls?!" She first turned her judgment on the heinous "mastermind".

"Especially you, Su Yuqing! If you hadn't led the way in doing this sneaky, privacy-violating thing, how could Xiao Li and Zi Xuan have followed suit?!"

Su Yuqing shrank back guiltily and muttered softly, "I didn't—"

"You dare talk back?!" Ji Ying glared at her immediately, and the anger in his eyes made Su Yuqing wilted instantly.

She immediately shut her mouth tightly, lowered her head even further, and dared not say another word, but at the same time her slender shoulders trembled slightly, as if she was trying her best to endure something.

Ji Ying then turned his gaze to Luo Bingli, his tone softening slightly but still somewhat stern: "Xiao Li, you too! I trusted you so much before, thinking you were different from that girl Yuqing, a sensible and good child, but you actually—went along with her!"

Luo Bingli's body trembled almost imperceptibly, her voice filled with guilt: "I'm sorry, Xiaoying."

Finally, Ji Ying looked at Ye Zixuan, who was kneeling on the outermost side, and said in a complicated tone, "And you, Zixuan, you are the inspector of the Magic Kingdom, a role model for the younger generation!"

"Where are your principles? Where is your self-respect? You were so easily bought off by a video like that?!"

Ye Zixuan's cheeks flushed red as she whispered in defense, "I wasn't bribed—I just thought—Xiaoying, you really—are cute—"

"Being cute is no excuse for you to take pictures like that!" Ji Ying interrupted her angrily, delivering the final verdict, "Anyway! Now! Immediately! Delete all those messy videos from your phones!"

A brief silence fell over the room.

Ji Ying crossed his arms and looked down at the three "sinners" before him, waiting for their "repentance".

However, to her surprise, the three girls looked at each other, exchanged a silent glance, and then, as if they had reached some kind of tacit understanding, shook their heads slightly in unison.

Ji Ying suddenly felt a sense of unease.

"That—Xiaoying—" The first to break the silence was still Su Yuqing, the boldest and most lawless one.

She slowly stood up, the "sincere repentance" expression on her face completely gone, replaced by a cunning and malicious smile.

As she stood up, the oppressive feeling emanating from her height and figure immediately enveloped him, causing Ji Ying to subconsciously take a half step back.

Wait a minute! Why did I back away?! Doesn't that make it seem like I'm afraid of her?!

Ji Ying immediately reacted, forcibly steadied herself, puffed out her small chest, and met the other party's malicious gaze with feigned composure.

"Xiaoying, have you misunderstood something?" Su Yuqing approached step by step, her smile becoming increasingly "malicious," and her tone becoming sweet yet dangerous.

"The situation shouldn't be you scolding us; it should be the three of us having something on you that's—so cute it's unfair."

Su Yuqing leaned forward slightly, bringing her face close to Ji Ying's, her warm breath gently brushing against his cheek.

She deliberately dragged out the last syllable, speaking with a slightly threatening tone and a grin: "So, if you want us to delete this unique and precious video—"

"It's you who needs to—please—us properly, isn't it?"

"Pleasure my foot!"

Finally, Ji Ying could no longer bear it. She suddenly stood on tiptoe, stretched out her small hand, and gave Su Yuqing a chop to the forehead.

"Ouch!" Su Yuqing covered her forehead and let out an exaggerated cry of pain, but the smile in her eyes did not diminish at all.

In contrast, Ji Ying was trembling with anger. Looking at the wicked girl in front of her who had gotten the benefit and was now acting innocent, and then at the two "accomplices" beside her who, although they hadn't said anything, had clearly tacitly agreed to this statement, she felt utterly exhausted.

She accused him bitterly, "He secretly filmed me while I was half asleep, not only watching it himself but also corrupting Xiaoli! Now he's using this as leverage to trade with Zixuan—"

"Su Yuqing, I really—I really don't know what to say to you!"

Su Yuqing covered her forehead, which had been slapped red, and playfully stuck out her tongue. Although she really wanted to continue teasing Ji Ying, who was still incredibly cute even at this moment, she wisely refrained from adding fuel to the fire when she saw his dark red eyes that seemed to be spitting fire.

Seeing this, Ji Ying took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to hit her a few more times. He then turned his gaze to Luo Bingli and Ye Zixuan, who seemed more reasonable, and said in a persuasive tone, "Xiao Li, and Zixuan, you too."

"Put yourself in their shoes. If someone secretly recorded you talking in your sleep and used it as leverage, wouldn't you feel ashamed and angry?"

She felt that as long as she could win over these two seemingly conscientious girls and create a three-against-one "justice" situation, then Su Yuqing, the mastermind, would be exposed.

As for Su Yuqing herself—ha, hopeless.

Luo Bingli and Ye Zixuan exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of wavering in each other's eyes. They carefully considered the hypothesis proposed by Ji Ying, and then nodded very honestly.

Seeing their expressions, Ji Ying thought that his preaching had worked, and a glimmer of hope ignited in his heart.

There is a play!

She pressed her advantage, softening her tone and pleading, "So, please, could you delete the videos from your phones? If you do, I'll—" However, to her surprise— After a brief moment of thought, a charming blush slowly appeared on Luo Bingli's delicate and lovely face.

Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, yet incredibly clear as she said, "Um, if—it were someone else, I absolutely, absolutely could not accept it—" She paused, then quickly glanced at Ji Ying before lowering her head again, her voice even softer: "But—if it's you, Xiao Ying, who's taking the picture, then it's not that I can't—"

"ha?!"

Ji Ying's expectant expression froze instantly, and she even wondered if she was hallucinating.

Before she could recover from Luo Bingli's astonishing statement, Ye Zixuan nodded solemnly beside her, echoing with a suspicious expectation on her face: "Yes, Xiaoli is right. In fact, if Xiaoying were willing to take pictures of me sleeping—or any other way—I would be very happy."

"————" Ji Ying felt like she almost couldn't catch her breath and nearly fainted on the spot.

What the heck is all this?!

—This line, so familiar, isn't it the same shameless excuse that Yuqing, that brat, used to shut me up after doing all those terrible things to me? How come even Xiaoli and Zixuan are saying it now?

—I overheard Xiao Li talking about this before, and it's one thing to be corrupted by her——Zi Xuan, how did you also become so self-taught?! What happened to your aloofness and reserve as an inspector? Did you just eat it all?!

Before she could recover from the shock and chaos, Ye Zixuan seemed to remember something and immediately added, "Moreover, regarding deleting the video, my opinion is that if it's to be deleted, it must be deleted by all three of us together."

"If it's just Xiaoli and me who deleted it, and Yuqing is the only one who still has the video, then I absolutely cannot accept that."

Ji Ying subconsciously turned her gaze to the source of evil—Su Yuqing—and immediately felt a deep sense of powerlessness welling up in her heart.

Upon hearing Ye Zixuan's remarks, Su Yuqing immediately gave her an approving smile and a thumbs-up. Then, when she looked over, she nervously whistled off-key and looked away.

How can we get that brat to delete the video herself?

It would be more realistic to hope that she will give up all snacks starting tomorrow, stop using her phone while eating, and never play pranks on herself again!

After confirming that all attempts to get the three girls to delete the video had ended in utter failure, Jiying finally gave up all resistance. She let out a sigh filled with grief and helplessness, feeling utterly exhausted.

Immediately, Ji Ying turned around angrily, ignoring the three girls behind her who were already huddled together, whispering about terrible topics like "sharing," "taking turns," and "trying to shoot from a different angle next time." In a defiant tone, she loudly announced, "Alright! Time to sleep!"

What could he do? He couldn't get the three girls who had formed a "guilty alliance" to delete the videos, nor could he actually do the same thing to them as revenge.

Since we can't resist, we can only—lie down and give up.

Ji Ying sighed and decided to first retrieve the clones in the room. Then he immediately returned to his own room, wrapped himself in the blanket, and refused to see anyone.

She raised her hand, and with a slight thought, the two shadow clones belonging to Su Yuqing and Luo Bingli immediately transformed back into flat silhouettes, merging into the shadow beneath her feet.

Immediately, Ji Ying turned her gaze to her clone, but before she could reach out, Luo Bingli showed a pitiful expression, shook her head repeatedly, and even spread her arms to block Ji Ying and her clone.

"No, no!"

Looking at her like this, Ji Ying sighed and rubbed his forehead, saying helplessly, "Xiao Li, you've been hugging her for long enough, haven't you? Besides, you'll be sharing a bed with Zi Xuan later. It's not appropriate for my clone to stay here any longer, is it?"

She wasn't worried that the sensory sharing she had shut down would bother her again, but simply felt that having her clones around them was just too strange.

Luo Bingli immediately shook her head and retorted firmly, "There's nothing inappropriate about it. The three of us squeezed together before, didn't we? I didn't feel uncomfortable at all back then."

"Zixuan—she definitely wouldn't care, right?"

As she spoke, she looked at Ye Zixuan beside her with expectant eyes.

Ye Zixuan immediately nodded in understanding, and echoed with a gentle smile, "Xiao Li is right, I don't care at all."

Deep down, Luo Bingli's unintentional remark had already stirred up a storm within her.

Did the three of them squeeze together before?

In other words, without my knowledge, Xiao Li and Yu Qing had already been sleeping in the same bed with Xiao Ying?!

Although she had a vague premonition before, Ye Zixuan still felt a strong sense of loss and resentment when she confirmed it with Luo Bingli.

But she quickly recovered.

—It's okay. Although I can't sleep with the real Xiaoying tonight, at least I got that precious "exclusive video" and I can stay with Xiaoying's clone.

This was a great deal!

Looking at the two girls who had already reached an agreement, Ji Ying felt a headache coming on. He continued helplessly, "But this is the only clone that can replicate my abilities. I need to use her in battle. I can't just leave her here as a body pillow forever!"

Luo Bingli shook her head slightly, her tone still firm, yet tinged with a hint of pleading: "That's alright, at least—tonight is fine, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, Xiaoying." Su Yuqing immediately chimed in, grinning as she advised, "It's only tonight, so be generous and leave your clone here to keep those two company."

"Oh?"

Ji Ying immediately turned her suspicious gaze to Su Yuqing, her sense of unease growing stronger.

—Something's not right. It's one thing for Xiao Li to be upset, but this girl was just arguing with Zi Xuan, and now she's not jealous at all. She even suggested that I leave my clone in this room to keep them company.

Ji Ying narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at the ingratiating smile on Su Yuqing's face, and snorted, saying irritably, "It seems that the secret deal you and Zixuan made outside" is more than just that video recording, isn't it?"

Su Yuqing's smile froze instantly, and her eyes began to wander uncontrollably.

Because, indeed, Ji Ying had guessed correctly.

Although Ye Zixuan was immediately "captivated" after seeing the video in that room, the other party actually hesitated for quite a while when she actually proposed the terms of the deal.

In the ensuing negotiations, what ultimately convinced Ye Zixuan to make her decision was another additional condition she offered that the other party couldn't refuse—

"—If you don't fight with me tonight, I'll not only share this exclusive video with you, but I'll also find a way to get Xiaoying to leave her clone in your room to keep you company!"

Of course, the person behind the scenes must not know that they are using their own clone as a bargaining chip to sell it!

"Hehehe————hehehehe————" So, Su Yuqing let out a few dry laughs, sounding guilty, trying to brush it off, "It's a secret! It's just a little secret between us girls!"

"Secret my foot! What a liar!!!"

Ji Ying reached out and precisely grabbed Su Yuqing's small, cute ear, lifting her up: "Not only did you betray my recording, but now you've even used my clone as a bargaining chip! You really need to be disciplined!"

"Ouch! Ouch! It hurts so much! Xiaoying, let go!" Su Yuqing, who had been so smug just moments before, finally let out a pitiful cry, "You used to only hit my head, Xiaoying, when did you learn even that trick from your mother?!"

However, knowing she was in the wrong, she only yelled loudly, but her body showed no intention of struggling or resisting. Instead, she cooperated perfectly as Ji Ying dragged her towards the door of the room.

After arriving at the door, Ji Ying first pushed Su Yuqing, who was still wailing and howling, out the door, and then lightly patted her on the back. He then turned his gaze to the two girls inside the room who were watching this scene while trying to suppress their laughter.

After hesitating for a moment, she finally sighed helplessly: "Sigh, although I still want to take back the clone, but—I'll pass on it tonight."

"Remember! This only applies to tonight!"

"Um!"

Luo Bingli and Ye Zixuan nodded vigorously like chickens pecking at rice, their faces beaming with radiant smiles.

Seeing their happy expressions, Ji Ying gave them a helpless yet indulgent smile, and her voice softened: "Alright, it's getting late, go and get some rest."

""

"And also—Xiao Li, Zi Xuan, goodnight."

Upon hearing this gentle farewell, Luo Bingli and Ye Zixuan were both slightly taken aback, then smiled and replied in unison, "Goodnight, Xiaoying."

Then, with a touch of reluctance and longing, they watched the lonely figure disappear through the doorway.

Silence returned to the room.

>