Chapter 4: The Duty of a Witch is to Protect
She opened the book and found that only the first page had writing on it; the rest were all blank.
And that line read—
【The duty of a witch is to protect.】
“Protect? Protect humans?” Su Mu murmured to herself.
The system seemed to completely ignore her words and instead spoke in a cold, mechanical voice:
“Now initiating the first-level task: Win first place in next week’s school herbalism exam. Rewards: Pentagram Altar ×1, Ritual Bell ×1, one lottery draw, and unlock the next page of ‘The Witch’s Code.'”
Su Mu’s fingertips traced the pages of the book in her hand. It seemed the system wouldn’t answer any of her questions.
But without needing an answer, Su Mu knew that it was undoubtedly the system that had brought her here.
She closed the heavy book, the black words on the cover quietly glowing.
The Witch’s Code.
This was her only chance to survive—becoming a real witch.
…
The next morning, Su Mu didn’t return to school immediately.
She planned to rent a place first; living in the dormitory had no benefits for her, only a bunch of trouble.
She wasn’t afraid of trouble, but time should be spent on the most useful things.
Su Mu rented a place near the school. Thanks to the original owner’s pretense of being a witch, she was quite wealthy now. If buying a house outright wouldn’t raise questions about the source of her money, she could have done that instead.
Su Mu chose an apartment on the fifth floor of a complex and, after finalizing it, she returned to school.
—First, she went to the school’s office.
Yesterday, the advisor had called her several times, but she had been too busy to answer.
As soon as Su Mu entered the office, the long-haired female teacher’s face darkened: “Su Mu! Not only did you skip class yesterday, but you also assa*lted a classmate. Are you planning to drop out?”
Su Mu lowered her eyes: “Teacher, it was wrong of me to skip class, and I apologize for that. As for assa*lting a classmate… I didn’t do that.”
“Didn’t do it? Fine, don’t say another word. You get a major demerit,” the advisor said coldly.
Su Mu paused: “Teacher, don’t you think the matter of assa*lting a classmate needs further investigation?”
“Investigate? Is it necessary? The other three girls in your dormitory all came to me to complain. What more do I need to investigate?”
Su Mu remained unaffected by the teacher’s anger, her voice calm: “Teacher, I think you need to investigate further. Do they have any evidence proving that I hit anyone? Everyone in the class knows that usually, I’m the one being b*llied by them.”
“Hmph!” The advisor sneered, “Do you even look like a student right now? With your attitude, who would believe you’re being bullied?”
“Su Mu, if you dare make another mistake, I’ll have the school expel you!”
Su Mu narrowed her eyes.
This advisor had already made up her mind, believing Zhang Qi and the others without considering the context or listening to both sides.
Originally, Zhang Qi couldn’t possibly have evidence that Su Mu had hit her.
Because in the past, the original Su Mu was too timid. No one would believe she could hit anyone.
Moreover, that hit didn’t even hurt Zhang Qi much, certainly not enough to be considered “assa*lt.”
Thinking about the upcoming herbalism exam, Su Mu’s eyes glinted. She didn’t argue further and agreed to write a self-reflection essay.
Confronting the advisor now wouldn’t help her in the upcoming exam.
Su Mu returned to her dormitory.
The room was empty; her roommates had gone out.
Su Mu saw that her bed was soaked, and her remaining belongings were scattered messily across the desk.
Her expression didn’t change. She took her suitcase and packed her books. The rest of her things she didn’t even glance at.
Su Mu took her books back to the apartment she had rented, then went to the supermarket downstairs to buy necessary daily items.
By the time she finished all this, it was already noon.
She had a simple lunch and then took her books to school.
In the afternoon, she had a full schedule of classes.
Herbalism was known as the worst major at C University. It couldn’t be compared to other schools, and those who enrolled in herbalism at C University were usually those who barely met the admission requirements and had no other choices.
Su Mu was in Herbalism Class 2. She arrived early and found the classroom nearly empty, so she took a seat in the front row, planning to pay close attention in class.
The original Su Mu was a poor student, but she couldn’t afford to be one. She needed to prepare for the competition mentioned by the system.
The cold elegant girl sitting in the front row, head down and reading a book, was very conspicuous.
When other students entered, they doubted they were in the right classroom. Since when did their class have such a standout student?
They even went outside to check the classroom number. No, it was the right room.
“Hey, did you go to the wrong classroom? Or is this a joint class with another group?” One of the more sociable students approached and asked.
Su Mu looked up and replied calmly, “No, I didn’t go to the wrong room.”
As she looked up, the boy in front of her couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, “Su Mu?!”
This exclamation drew everyone’s attention.
Su Mu?
Was this girl really Su Mu??
The girl who always kept her head down, spoke so softly she was barely audible?
Really?
It had only been a few days. Could someone change their appearance so quickly without plastic surgery?
“Yes,” Su Mu responded, seemingly unaware of the stares around her. She looked at the boy indifferently, “Do you need something?”
“No…” the boy struggled to say, still visibly shocked.
Yesterday, he had heard rumors that Su Mu had confessed to the school’s heartthrob and got rejected. He thought she was quite bold. Seeing this transformed Su Mu today, he suddenly felt it was good that the heartthrob had rejected her.
If she hadn’t been knocked down a peg, would their class have gained such a beauty?
It was true that Su Mu had always been quite beautiful, but her previous demeanor had been so poor that her looks were diminished by half. Now, just sitting there, she appeared unattainable, cold, and captivating.
She was like the “white moonlight” described in books.
Yang Ye, still stunned, returned to his seat, while the others were similarly shocked.
Su Mu simply lowered her head again and continued reading her textbook.
By the time all 40 students had arrived, around 30 pairs of eyes were fixed on Su Mu.
Some wanted to talk to her, but her unapproachable aura made them hesitate.
This is Su Mu? It’s unbelievable!
Others who had intended to mock her about yesterday’s incident found themselves at a loss for words.
If this was how Su Mu looked… perhaps the school’s heartthrob was the one who missed out by rejecting her.
Of course, these thoughts were only held by a few.
Those in the class who also liked the heartthrob had already started to speak sarcastically: “Some people, even after being rejected by Senior Qi, still put on a show. Who are they trying to impress?”
“Exactly, sitting in the front row, such a show-off.”
