"Serves him right. Who told him to act so high and mighty? Without Raiden Mei, what is he? I seriously don't get it. He abandons the heiress of ME Corp to stand up for some nobodies he barely knows."
"Bro really thought he was some Hero of Justice... If it were me, I'd be lovey-dovey with Raiden Mei 24/7. Let's be real, Raiden Mei is a catch, right?"
"She's got the looks, the body, the background, and most importantly, she's devoted! If I were her boyfriend, I'd wake up laughing in my sleep."
"Keep dreaming. It's broad daylight, haha."
Forum posts.
Inner circles... "talks".
Li Wu wanted to pull out his phone to check, but when he reached into his pocket, he found nothing.
Right. His phone was already shattered into pieces. He'd have to wait until after school to buy a new one before he could log into the forum and see the posts about himself.
As for the Sato sisters...
Li Wu didn't feel disappointed in them. They were simply forced to pick a side. Under the crushing pressure of their family's survival, it was entirely normal for them to distance themselves from him.
The real problem was the exclusionary circle constructed by the nobles of Nagazora, centered around the influence of ME Corp's heiress.
That was the enemy. The real issue that needed to be resolved.
Kill them?
Li Wu instinctively thought back to his methods on the rooftop. To deal with people like this, making an example out of a few was the most efficient method.
Only when they felt a genuine threat to their lives would they stop acting so brazenly.
No. They haven't committed any crimes worthy of death. I can't kill them.
I was too reckless on the rooftop, ignoring too many realistic factors. Even though I am incredibly strong now, if I default to extreme measures the moment I encounter a problem, sooner or later, I will end up killing someone who doesn't deserve to die. Maybe they just stole something trivial, or insulted someone.
I cannot predict what state of mind my future self will be in, so I must strictly discipline myself starting from now.
Li Wu calmly elaborated his thoughts internally.
After the rooftop incident, and having survived numerous crises since, he realized he was gradually becoming more grounded.
Perhaps there was another reason—
He was constantly chasing the shadow of his past, imitating the thought processes of his former, ordinary self to make the most conservative and reliable judgments for the present.
Finishing his meal, Li Wu stared at the grease stains on his table. After a moment of contemplation, he muttered, "Pre-borrow..."
[You have pre-borrowed a cheap dishcloth. The corresponding price has been deducted from your bank card: 100 Far East Yen. Current Balance: 999,999,700.00]
A clean cloth appeared in his hand. Li Wu wiped his section of the table, methodically removing the grease left behind by his tray.
Once. Twice. His movements were unhurried and precise, like a gentleman. He didn't stop until the table was clean enough to reflect his face.
Some people nearby muttered that he was being "pretentious," but Li Wu didn't think so. He believed he ought to do this much. The old him would have done the exact same thing. He had never been an aggressive person to begin with.
Looking up, he noticed the rain outside was growing heavier.
Once upon a time, when I first decided to help Raiden Mei, it was on a misty day just like this.
It's so quiet.
Li Wu walked forward, making his way back toward the teaching building.
Every few steps he took, the area around him would abruptly clear out. The moment people saw his face, they instinctively stepped aside, giving him an incredibly wide berth.
The rain fell frantically. It sounded like an upbeat rock song, yet simultaneously like a crying child.
Clarity and noise, heaviness and lightness, chaos and order... everything blended together unexpectedly. The sound echoed through the history-laden academy, but it wasn't satisfied. It broke free from its cage, rushing out into the vast world beyond to shout at the top of its lungs.
Everyone in the city was forced to listen.
Li Wu suddenly stopped walking.
He looked back.
There was nothing behind him.
Was it an illusion?
His heightened senses had definitely picked up on something.
Perhaps it was just an illusion. Even S-Rank senses can occasionally hallucinate due to poor mental states. It's perfectly normal.
Li Wu turned back around and continued walking.
A few seconds after he turned back around, a cold, slender silhouette stepped out from the corner of a wall.
Her hair was like snow; her eyes were like glazed glass.
Standing exactly ten paces behind Li Wu, she followed him like a quiet ghost, unhurried and deliberate. She maintained the distance perfectly—not too far, not too close.
Despite this, Kiana remained the person physically closest to Li Wu on the entire campus.
She followed him past the flag-raising platform. The stainless steel flagpole had been polished to a mirror shine, reflecting Li Wu's face perfectly.
It was a face completely devoid of worldly desires. Serene, peaceful. There was absolutely no trace of the arrogance a powerhouse ought to have. Instead, it was filled with the melancholic sorrow of a poetic youth.
Isn't this exactly what teenage boys like? Immersing themselves in their own sorrow, isolating the entire world, acting as if they are the most solitary, tragic existence in the universe.
If only he was actually like that. How wonderful that would be.
If he were, at least Li Wu's future would be easier. And she wouldn't have to dream of those agonizingly tragic timelines every single night.
"Huh? Where did he go?"
Kiana had only spaced out for a few seconds, but Li Wu had suddenly vanished from her line of sight. She hastily stepped out from her cover and looked around.
"Why have you been following me?"
The voice came from directly behind her.
Kiana spun around in a panic. Li Wu was standing right there, his eyes filled with genuine curiosity as he studied her.
"We just happen to be going the same way," Kiana bluffed.
"Oh. I see. Then it seems I misunderstood."
"Exactly. You misunderstood."
"Then, for someone just 'going the same way', why did you secretly take a picture of me?"
Li Wu raised a smartphone and pressed the power button. The system boot-up was sluggish. It was a model he had never seen before—definitely not a flagship brand, more like some cheap, off-brand knockoff.
He had just used [Future Loan] to snatch it from her pockets without her noticing. With his abilities, doing something like that seamlessly was effortless.
"Give it back." Kiana frowned, reaching her hand out, gesturing for him to return it.
The next second—
Ding.
The phone finished booting up.
Li Wu flawlessly unlocked it. The first thing that popped up on the screen was the camera app, and in the bottom left corner preview was the photo she had just taken: his back profile, walking under the umbrella in the rain.
Suddenly, something flashed in front of Li Wu's eyes, faster than he could react.
Kiana snatched the phone back and clutched it tightly against her chest. A fierce blush rapidly crawled up her face, spreading all the way to her ears and neck.
Her flawless, snow-white skin looked as if it had been kissed by the warm morning sun—vibrant, lively, and impossibly beautiful.
"Did you see?"
"Yes."
"How... how did you know my password?"
"I guessed. Most people use their birthdays as their passcode. I just got lucky."
Li Wu answered her every question honestly and without hesitation.
Immediately after, Kiana couldn't help but ask the question she cared about most: "How did you know my birthday?"
Li Wu froze.
He couldn't answer this question.
It was his biggest secret. To tell the truth, Kiana would definitely just think he was insane. A transmigrator? Honkai Impact 3rd is a game?
Li Wu put himself in her shoes. If, before he crossed over, some random guy walked up to him, correctly guessed his phone password on the first try, and then excitedly announced, "I'm a transmigrator! You and the world you live in are actually just a video game!"...
He would 100% think the guy had lost his mind. You figured out my password, so what? Spouting nonsense about being a transmigrator just to act mysterious?
"Do you want the truth, or a lie?" Li Wu asked.
Kiana's expression shifted slightly. "If the truth is too hard to say, a lie is fine."
She's incredibly understanding.
Li Wu nodded, genuinely appreciating her empathy. He spoke softly. "Because I care about you. I have always cared about you. Whether in the past, or right now. And I believe I will continue to care about you in the future, until the day I truly die and finally forget."
The rain lessened slightly.
Droplets accumulated on the leaves overhead plummeted into puddles below with faint plip-plop sounds, sending ripples outward before quickly returning to stillness.
There were many people on the sports field, hurrying back and forth under their umbrellas.
But the space around Li Wu and Kiana was completely empty. They just looked at each other, wrapped in silence.
The teaching building was obscured by the hazy mist. It felt as if the entire world had been put on mute, leaving only the frantic, erratic pounding of a racing heartbeat.
Is this a confession?
It feels like it.
But it also doesn't.
Li Wu's words were like lukewarm water. Upon first contact, there was no burning or stinging sensation. It was as gentle as a dandelion floating past her eyes. But gradually, more and more dandelions filled the air until they blanketed the sky, yet the water remained warm to the touch.
Always cared about me?
From the past, to the present, and only forgetting when he truly dies?
Is that something you should say to a girl? How can he just say something like that? Has he completely forgotten how he took back his promise to me before?!
Kiana stared at him, dazed.
Li Wu stood in the rain, his face completely expressionless, his gaze tranquil. There wasn't a hint of a joke or casualness in his demeanor.
A cold breeze blew several raindrops onto Kiana's beautiful eyelashes, rising and falling with every blink of her eyes.
She suddenly remembered the "Great Misfortune" fortune slip she had drawn at the shrine, and the wish she had written on the sticky note beneath the cherry blossom tree.
[Li Wu, don't die.]
She had written that wish based on what she saw in her dreams. At the time, she felt that this idiot—who only ever considered the well-being of others and completely ignored his own feelings—would sooner or later drag himself into a living hell.
But now, Li Wu was standing right in front of her, telling her he would always remember her until the day he died.
What does this mean?
Hah. Is it like my wish came true?
I wished for Li Wu to always care about me?
Kiana was usually very good at controlling herself—controlling her emotions, her expressions, and hiding anything she didn't want others to see. But now, her control seemed to have completely failed. She didn't even dare look Li Wu in the eye, terrified he would see the smug yet incredibly awkward expression on her face.
"Do you even know what you're saying? Even if it's a lie, that's just too... hard to respond to."
The moment the words left her mouth, Kiana realized how flawed the question was.
She didn't mean to ask if he 'knew what he was saying'.
Do you know what those words mean to me?
Do you know I might not be able to give you an answer?
Do you know I'm going to leave soon?
Do you know you've already broken a promise to me once?
Do you know how steep the price is to fulfill a promise like that?
Do you know I can't just leave you alone?
She couldn't bring herself to say any of it out loud.
Kiana simply stood in the rain, clutching her phone. Not too far, not too close. She looked at him, waiting for the answer she actually already knew better than anyone.
"It's not a lie," Li Wu replied.
Kiana's heart skipped a beat.
It's not a lie?
"Of course, it's also not what you're thinking. I wasn't confessing to you, nor do I have the right to."
"There are some things I cannot answer directly. But I guarantee you, everything I just said is the truth. Whether you know how to respond to it is your problem. Whether I speak the truth is my choice."
"I won't choose to lie just because you don't know how to respond, and you shouldn't feel troubled by my honesty. I do not harbor any romantic desires right now."
His tone remained completely detached, as if he weren't speaking to the stunning Kiana Kaslana, but to an inanimate rock.
"I noticed," Kiana sighed in defeat, shoving her phone back into her pocket. She looked up at him again. "You're incredibly boring right now. But you're doing a lot better than last time. At least you haven't done anything extreme. This kind of change doesn't happen for no reason. I suppose... my 'fiancée' left you with something that caused this?"
"What did she leave you?"
"A tear."
"A tear?"
It was a baffling answer. She turned it over in her mind repeatedly, but couldn't come to a logical conclusion.
Kiana carefully examined Li Wu's eyes. They were dark brown, typical Asian irises. Completely ordinary.
Countless raindrops reflected in his eyes as his gaze drifted past her, staring off into the distance.
"I failed to repay her for her help, and instead dragged her into a lethal crisis. If not for me, she could have lived a bright, glamorous life as an S-Rank Valkyrie admired by everyone."
"Because of me, her official record is stained, and she's made enemies out of some very powerful people. For the rest of her life, she'll have to carry that shadow. I wronged her."
"...I see. That's more or less what I figured," Kiana said softly. "Still, I'm amazed you can say 'I wronged her' with such a straight face."
"Then what should I do?"
"Hmm... let me think." Kiana bit her finger, pretending to think very hard. "For instance, make your expressions more animated! Be humorous! Add some inflection to your voice! Isn't that how they do it in anime?"
She grabbed her own cheeks and forced her face into a rigid, exaggerated expression of shock, forming an 'O' with her mouth.
"That's a bit too demanding," Li Wu shook his head, admitting he couldn't do it.
"That's fine. I'll stay with you until you can."
"..."
"I mean, you're under a lot of mental pressure right now. If you need it, I can be your life coach! Don't expect too much, though. I'm just a student, and I haven't finished reading my psychology textbooks yet. If you can wait two days, I can pull an all-nighter to finish them, and then I'll come back and give you some counseling..."