Chapter 14: Malice

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The person before her was utterly different from He Xue. Su Ninglong knew nothing about psychological assessors, so she could only answer with a question of her own. “Would you prefer my answer to be happy or sad?”

“Answer my question. No arguing. In Werewolf, only a sneaky werewolf asks other people so many questions.” Boketon slammed his hand against the desk. “Answer me.”

Su Ninglong grew irritated. “I felt nothing. It wanted to kill me, so I killed it in return.”

“In other words, you killed it of your own accord, without anyone else’s assistance?”

“You can ask the testing staff about the details.”

“I said, answer my question directly!” Boketon shouted.

The girl remained sitting upright, silent, staring at him.

“If you refuse to cooperate, I’ll write that you have an antisocial personality in your assessment. Then you won’t be able to enroll.” Boketon rose to his feet and threatened her.

Su Ninglong’s gaze slid over his vicious expression and settled on his hand. A blue-black centipede-shaped scar encircled his wrist, and the tip of the scar seemed to twitch.

Boketon noticed where she was looking. He glanced down and hurriedly pulled his sleeve over it.

She had no chance to examine it closely. The interruption restored her composure. “Why? What would you gain from deliberately giving me a bad psychological assessment?”

“I’m not doing it deliberately. You’re far too abnormal. I have to draw out your negative emotions and see your true thoughts. A clever villain learns to hide himself from a young age.”

“Is that so?”

Then she did not need his assessment either. Someone harboring such malice could never be impartial.

Su Ninglong smiled. Then, quite suddenly, she covered her face with both hands and burst into loud sobs, making full use of the advantages of being a child.

Xing Yuan, waiting anxiously outside, heard the piercing cries. The moment they began, he could no longer restrain himself. He pushed open the door and rushed inside.

“Ninglong, what happened?” Xing Yuan asked worriedly.

“Brother Xing, he bullied me. He said I have an antisocial personality and that I’m a bad person.” Su Ninglong’s sobs ended with the plaintive little trill of a kitten.

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After working up a proper flood of tears, she lifted her head. Her small face had crumpled into a tender pink glutinous rice cake, and little pearls of tears rolled down one after another.

“He said that if I didn’t obey, I wouldn’t be allowed to enroll. I only just chose my subjects. Waaaah… Teacher Funi and Teacher Yang will definitely say I’m not a good child too. I can’t study anymore. I can’t attend any of the subjects I chose.”

“What did this child ever do to you?”

Before Xing Yuan could say anything, He Xue appeared in the doorway. Pointing at Boketon, her face flushed with anger, she said, “I’ve put up with you for long enough. Every child who comes to you for psychological counseling remains depressed for ages afterward. I thought you were merely releasing their negative emotions, and that they needed time to recover. But now I see that you’re deliberately leading children into darkness.”

“She’s lying. Not a single word out of this child’s mouth is true. She’s abnormal.” Boketon remained seated, utterly composed. “I was only conducting a normal psychological consultation. When I asked her about killing the mystic spirit inside the simulator, she answered, ‘I felt nothing. I killed it.’ That is not how a child should behave.”

As he spoke, Boketon played the edited recording. Su Ninglong’s voice came through clearly.

“I felt nothing. I killed it.”

The editing was seamless, leaving no trace.

This was Boketon’s ultimate weapon. No child could escape it, and no child could prove his own innocence. He took pride in that.

Children these days were spoiled rotten. It was only reasonable for him to discipline them. Only by doing so could he strengthen their ability to endure hardship.

Old Ancestress Su was furious. Her very first day of school had already gone disastrously. How was she supposed to survive here?

She stopped sniffling and spoke with crisp eloquence. “He asked whether I was happy or sad after killing the monster. When he described the monster, he called it a fat pig. Then he pressured me to describe how I felt about killing it. I said the monster wanted to kill me, so I killed it. He knew what was in my assessment. I remember Brother Xing saying that the assessments differ from planet to planet and are kept confidential to a certain extent. He only needed to evaluate my psychological state, so how did he know which monster I killed inside my simulator?”

Boketon could not explain himself. “I…I heard it from someone else…”

“A psychological assessor making such a basic mistake as ‘hearing it from someone else’?” Anger rose in Xing Yuan’s chest. “A professional who studies psychology cannot casually believe everything others tell him. Even if he does believe it, he cannot use hearsay in an assessment.”

He stood firmly by Su Ninglong. “Don’t be afraid. Your brother is here for you. We’re calling the police.”

“You’re calling the police? All that will accomplish is turning an abnormal psychological assessment into a normal one. Let me tell you, that won’t happen. Even if the Star Police come, they won’t be able to find anything wrong with me.” Boketon sneered at their overconfidence. “You, on the other hand, will make a spectacle of this. Afterward, Su Ninglong won’t be able to integrate into the group. That little bastard will have no choice but to drop out.”

“Boketon, have you lost your mind?” He Xue pointed at him. “You’d better watch your language.”

“All Huaskin people are bastards. I didn’t say anything wrong. Go on, call the police, you idiots.”

Boketon slammed the door shut.

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He Xue stared at the closed door and shouted angrily, “Come out, Boketon! You’re a psychological assessor. You know perfectly well that running away won’t solve anything.”

“Get lost! I’m not changing the assessment results. She was the one who looked down on the Guxiang people first,” Boketon roared.

He Xue pounded on the door. “Boketon, explain yourself!”

“Get lost!”

She continued knocking for some time, but no sound came from inside.

He Xue drew a deep breath and composed herself before turning to Xing Yuan. “Do you still want to call the police? He’s right about one thing: the police can’t resolve the problem between the two of you unless you sue him directly. He used to be a decent person. His professional knowledge was never especially solid, but I don’t know when he became like this. I’ll report the matter to the school and request his dismissal.”

“Are we really supposed to let him get away with this? I can’t swallow this anger.” Xing Yuan was already dialing the emergency number when Su Ninglong stopped him. In a soft voice, she asked He Xue, “Can I request another psychological assessor to reevaluate me?”

“Of course, sweetheart. His report differs so greatly from mine that the school will certainly find someone else to assess you. Don’t be afraid.” He Xue stroked Su Ninglong’s head, then took two packets of soft candy from her pocket. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Please forget those hurtful things he said.”

“You don’t need to apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong. He’s the one who did wrong. I’m very strong.” Su Ninglong opened her own pouch and gestured for He Xue to put the candy inside. “Can I have a few more packets? Fill it up.”

“Pfft.” Xing Yuan, still brimming with anger, could not help laughing at her. “You greedy little imp. I’ll buy you some. Teacher He’s snacks are for the other children.”

“It’s all right.” He Xue went back to her office, brought out a large bag, and stuffed it into Su Ninglong’s pocket.

“Sweetheart, are you really all right?”

“Mm-hmm. I’m perfectly fine.” Su Ninglong patted her pocket, waved goodbye to He Xue, and vigorously swung her little hand.

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