Please, I'm Trying to Study, Your Highness! - chapter 21

Outside

The sound of Xia Shiyu’s victorious, light footsteps gradually faded away down the corridor.

Until, at last, she was completely swallowed by the noise outside the school building.

I maintained my rigid posture for more than half a minute, my back pressed against the rough wall, inch by inch pulling away from that cold touch.

The look of humiliation and despair from being cornered was swept away like a sand painting blown by the wind, vanishing from my face without a trace.

Top-tier acting, a complete success ✌

What she wanted to see was only what I wanted her to see.

The blush at the roots of my ears, which in Xia Shiyu’s eyes signified the “innocence switch,” also faded back to the same color as my cheeks.

This was nothing more than a localized congestion-a physiological phenomenon achieved by tensing all my muscles, holding my breath, and controlling the blood pressure in my carotid artery.

Unyielding is still just too useful.

It’s precisely this passive skill that became my most crucial bluff in the psychological game against Xia Shiyu.

I pressed my throbbing temple hard with my thumb.

A wave of exhaustion from mental strain swept over my body.

Xia Shiyu is no fool.

I’ve never underestimated this “Saintess Your Highness” who stands at the top of the campus food chain.

Ever since Zhu Peng’s boring farce ended yesterday afternoon, I’ve known that I’ve once again caught her attention.

There’s no point in continuing to maintain the persona of a “pathetic little loser” who can’t even speak clearly.

The same trick can’t be used twice on a Saintess.

This principle applies to Xia Shiyu as well.

In a more serious scenario, she might even resort to more direct and destructive means of retaliation.

That’s not the outcome I want.

So I decided to do the opposite.

Since she suspects there’s another face beneath my mask, I’ll “reluctantly” tear open a corner of it and let her see.

This entire scene in the classroom today had been part of my script from the moment Xia Shiyu started observing me this morning.

Her relentless pressure, her probing words-all within my expectations.

All I had to do was control the degree and timing of my “disguise” being torn apart.

First, resist desperately, then transition to being defeated by “irrefutable evidence.”

Finally, surrender, revealing a “true self” who just wants to study quietly and avoid trouble, who has some ability but is, at heart, still a coward.

This “true self” must fit the logical deductions she’s made from my previous behavior, while also carrying a brand new trait she wouldn’t expect.

It satisfies her desire for control in “uncovering the truth,” and also provides a new, more challenging “game target.”

Every step was fraught with danger.

This woman is truly hard to deal with.

I closed my eyes and began to replay the details in slow motion.

Her timing, her probing words, the eyes of a hunter…

Every step was a trap. If I made a single misstep, if my expression slipped and revealed an emotion that didn’t belong to a “humiliated lamb,”

I could basically declare failure on the spot.

Fortunately, my mind and reflexes were fast enough.

My fingers, still pressing my temple, finally stopped.

I opened my eyes again, my mind gathering an absolute, undisturbed focus.

Calm. Think.

Xia Shiyu’s interest in me stems from two sources.

First:

From “contrast.”

A gloomy bookworm who seems to have no presence, yet displays a calmness completely at odds with his appearance, able to counter violence.

This contrast breaks her conventional understanding of “prey” and piques her curiosity.

Second:

From her twisted “desire to conquer.”

What Xia Shiyu enjoys is not the result, but the process.

A prey that’s too easy to catch is worthless to her.

Only something full of challenge, something that requires her to spend effort to “tame,” can bring her true pleasure and satisfaction.

Just like a cat, after getting bored with a ball of yarn, needs a new toy to keep stimulating its hunting instincts.

Because her inner self is driven by the boredom that comes from a privileged background.
She needs constant new excitement to fill that emptiness.

And I, happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and happened to be noticed by her.

Ever since the day Fatty called out to “Brother Hui” for help, the gears of fate have begun to turn.

Xia Shiyu’s goal is now clear.

She no longer cares if I am “smart.”

She only cares about when this man who appears calm but is actually “innocent” will finally fall completely at her feet.

During the confrontation just now, she already found what she believes is my “switch” and “weakness.”

The next script has also been written for me by her.

Saintess Your Highness will keep trying all kinds of ways to attack my “weakness.”

She wants to appreciate the “true embarrassment” under my façade of “pretended composure.”

She thinks she’s caught my tail, but in fact, it’s just a rope smeared with honey that I’ve handed to her myself.

And the other end of the rope is held tightly in my hand.

This round, I am on the fifth level.

What I need to do is simply follow the script Xia Shiyu wrote and act accordingly.

No…

Not just act accordingly.

I need to actively cooperate, to rationally speed up this process.

My fingers trace patterns on the desk, silently working out the complex equations of the human heart.

A complete “hunted” experience for the prey must go through several key stages.

[Resistance] → [Wavering] → [Falling] → [Complete Submission].

At present, I am at the end of the [Resistance] stage.

She has already pierced my “disguise” and discovered my “weakness.”

So, the next step is [Wavering].

I can’t completely avoid or ignore her anymore.

I need to start showing ongoing “flaws.”

For example, in class, my gaze might uncontrollably drift toward her, and the moment she notices, I’ll deliberately avert my eyes as if startled.

When passing her in the corridor, I’ll pretend to avoid her, but my body will betray me, showing a struggle between wanting to get closer and not daring to.

Then comes [Falling].

In this stage, she needs to see that her “attacks” have truly affected me.

I’ll show barely noticeable disappointment when she jokes with other boys.

When she “casually” asks, I’ll reveal some trivial preferences about myself.

During a group assignment or class activity, I’ll “inexplicably” choose to stand by her side.

Finally, there’s [Complete Submission].

I will convincingly display that I’ve been utterly conquered by her, making her believe it was her own charm and means that won over this “difficult” prey.

On some special day, I’ll give her a gift that doesn’t look expensive but is clearly something I spent much thought on, and do so in an awkwardly unnatural way.

When she receives this “trophy” and sees me, like all the other men who have fallen for her, showing an infatuated, utterly obedient expression reserved for her alone-

Her twisted desire for conquest will be satisfied, and she’ll think I’ve become ordinary.

When the toy offers no more fun, there’s only one outcome.

To be discarded.

Xia Shiyu will lose all interest in me and turn to seek her next target.

As for me, I can return to the safe shadows where no one notices me, and continue my lonely journey on the road “home.”

This plan is perfect and logically sound.

The process only costs some energy and acting.

For someone like me, long used to surviving in lies and disguises, it’s not difficult.

I rehearse the plan over and over from start to finish, finding no obvious flaws.

I brush the dust from my back, push open the back door of the classroom, and crack it open.

After confirming the corridor is deserted, I shoulder my heavy shell and walk into the long hallway stained dark red by the afterglow of sunset.

The game has begun.

But this time, I am my own director.