"System, do you know?"
[What?]
"I've been in this world for over two days now and have seen Ichiko several times. I always thought the so-called 'White Moonlight' type female lead was just the author adding various halos to her, which is why she's attractive. I even saw her as a tool for my survival."
"I looked down on that Huang Li Mei and knew the 'hero saves the beauty' trope was old-fashioned, but I have to admit, this female lead, she's a bit... fragrant."
Naturally, there was no thought of liking her.
It was more appreciation, limited only to Ichiko's beauty.
Occasionally, there was even a bit of disdain, because she was just a puppet protagonist with halos forcibly added by a certain author, lacking any distinct characteristics.
But that over-the-shoulder throw just now, that knee strike, and that slap.
They really impressed Haruko.
And those gentle, concerned little eyes poked at her heart again.
Half-covering her face, Haruko sat on the ground, lowered her head, and apologized to Ichiko, saying, "I'm sorry."
"What nonsense are you talking?" Ichiko reached out, helped Haruko up, and gently touched her cheek, carefully wiping the right side of her face that had been slapped.
"Does it hurt?"
If she didn't have the skill, she might have already shed tears.
Right now, it feels okay.
But feeling the gentle touch and the warm sensation of fingertips on her cheek, Haruko showed a silly smile, "I'm used to it."
Those three words made Ichiko's heart clench again.
She gently exhaled, "Let's go back to the dorm first, I'll put some medicine on it for you."
Haruko was supported by her, not daring to look into her eyes, "Ichiko, don't you dislike me?"
"Hmm?"
"I did such an excessive thing to you in the basement, and you haven't spoken to me for the past two days. You really must dislike me, right?"
"This..."
Haruko's words hit Ichiko's heart. What she was most unwilling to face right now was Haruko's strange state in the basement.
She looks quite normal now.
Without makeup, she's very cute and a little fragile.
Just like the Haruko she remembered from childhood.
Could the last time... have been an accident?
Ichiko glanced at the lowered head of Haruko and tentatively asked, "Then, Haruko, do you still like me?"
"Yes, I do."
Haruko answered without hesitation, almost immediately after the question was finished.
Just her head was lowered, so her expression couldn't be seen.
Ichiko was momentarily speechless. After her slightly dry lips trembled, she replied, "How could I dislike Haruko? Just now, Haruko was bringing water to Sento and Inari; you saw me stand up and wanted to bring it to them, right?"
Haruko didn't answer, her silence indicating affirmation.
Ichiko smiled, "Haruko is paying attention to me, so how could I truly dislike Haruko?"
If she disliked her at all, she wouldn't have bothered with the original host long ago.
"After all, we are good sisters."
She avoided the topic of liking and shifted to friendship.
The two arrived at Dorm 801. Ichiko told Haruko to sit down first and quickly took out a tube of ointment from her drawer.
"Close your eyes. I'll be gentle, I promise not to hurt Haruko."
Her index finger touched her cheek, feeling a bit cool.
Haruko couldn't see Ichiko's expression at the moment, but it wasn't hard to guess that she must be very focused and gentle.
Actions convey a person's inner state. Accompanied by the faint, unique fragrance of a girl, Haruko greatly enjoyed this moment of applying the medicine.
It seems that after the yandere personality was revealed in the basement, Ichiko's self-strategy over the past two days has been quite effective.
But now that she's so gentle, the next step in the plan is rather difficult to execute.
Amidst her thoughts, Ichiko's relaxed voice came, "Okay, Haruko, just rest a bit and you'll be fine. Luckily, it didn't swell up or get scratched, so your face isn't ruined."
"Mhm, thank you, Ichiko." Haruko showed a happy smile.
Remembering something else, she took out the bottle of mineral water from the sports field from her shoulder bag.
Holding it in her hands once again, she handed it to Ichiko, "Ichiko, have some water and rest?"
Ichiko shook her head and put the other medicines into a bag, "I won't drink it. Just now during the match, Sento and Inari collided and got injured. I still need to take some medicine to them, so I'll be going now."
No wonder she came back before the match ended.
So that's why.
A dangerous smile curved at the corner of Haruko's lips, her eyes deep.
Her next plan was set.
The water in her hand still wasn't put down. She stood up and tried to persuade her to stay, "Ichiko, are you really not going to drink any water, or do you just not like mineral water?"
Ichiko walked to the door, giving Haruko a strange look.
That question was very strange.
She looked Haruko up and down, saw that she still looked normal, waved her hand, and then hurried out the door.
Last time must have been an accident. Haruko still seems quite normal.
But she didn't notice that the moment she left, Haruko's small hand holding the mineral water bottle dropped.
Her red pupils emitted a red light, and the smile at the corner of her lips gradually became eerie.
[Host, what bad thoughts do you have now?]
"Kai, it seems the positions of the male leads are much more important than mine in her heart."
[Isn't that obvious? She's straight to begin with, it's not easy to bend her, and the male leads also have halos on them.]
"But this is a tragedy in the end!"
In the ending of this book, besides those few male leads, all the female characters who appeared were clowns.
And none of them met a good end.
Including Ichiko, the fated female lead.
This is also why Haruko said that in the early to mid-stages, the female lead Ichiko would reach the peak of her life, but didn't mention the later stages at all.
In her previous life, this book became popular not just because it was well-written, but the key to it going viral was the author's audacious moves in the later stages.
As it entered the later stages, a rich woman Mister appeared in the book and rewarded the novel with 1 million soft sister coins, requesting that a supporting character cameo be written based on her image and persona.
To seize this immense wealth, the author even wanted to cling to the rich woman's leg, so they listened to the Mister's words, added a supporting character, and continued to write the subsequent content according to the rich woman's wishes.
Ultimately, the suddenly appearing female supporting character turned the tables, taking all the male leads who originally liked Ichiko into her harem, and the entire book began to pave the way for this suddenly appearing female supporting character.
As for the true female lead, Ichiko, she was written as a clown, insulted by this female supporting character, and broke ties with the male leads due to various plot points.
She was disliked, cursed, and beaten.
The author gave her hope countless times, followed by despair time after time.
Finally, after suffering from severe depression, she committed suicide in a small rented room and died.
It was precisely because of this major shift that the entire book was heavily criticized by readers. However good the early to mid-stages were written, the later stages were just as bad.
Ultimately, it broke out of its niche and was popular in the male fantasy genre for a while.
Haruko sat on Ichiko's bed, holding a cat plushie she liked in her arms, and gently fiddled with her ponytail.
"Even setting aside the original novel's plot, this moonlight-like gentleness, I really want to possess it all to myself~"
Haruko searched within the System store and quickly found an item she liked.
[Energy Pill: Price 200 Emotion Points]
[Introduction: A magical pill that can replenish human energy]
"It's a bit expensive, and I don't know how effective it is, but my current body is too weak. If I want to complete this plan I just thought of, I can't do without this thing."
Haruko looked at the bottle of mineral water placed on the table.
"I was rejected twice."
"It seems Ichiko doesn't like drinking water."
Haruko chuckled lightly, unscrewed the cap of the mineral water, and poured all the water inside into the wash basin.
After placing the empty bottle in a conspicuous spot on Ichiko's desk, she slowly walked out of the dorm.
Her two ponytails swayed gently with her movements.
The basketball game quickly ended. Sento's blue team narrowly defeated Inari's red team by a margin of 3 points.
This game seemed like a competition for Ichiko. The defeated Inari looked displeased.
As the victor, Sento naturally happily showed off in front of Ichiko.
And taking the opportunity, he issued a winner's invitation, "Ichiko, thank you for cheering me on. If it weren't for you, I definitely wouldn't have been able to beat this guy, Inari. How about I treat you to dinner tonight?"
"This..."
Ichiko hesitated a bit, glancing at Inari.
Logically, the three of them should go together.
Without waiting for Sento to speak, Inari waved his hand and refused, "I have something tonight, you guys go ahead."
After speaking, he draped his jacket over his shoulder, waved his hand, and walked away.
Sento showed a smug smile and said again, "Ichiko, you can't refuse me this time. Last time, you said you would treat me to a meal to properly repay me."
Ichiko also sighed helplessly, "Okay, but I have to state first, I don't drink alcohol, okay, and also..."
Before she finished speaking, her phone chimed 'ding-dong'. Ichiko picked up her phone and looked at it in confusion, discovering it was a message from Haruko.
Haruko: 'Ichiko, I have something I want to tell you. I'll be waiting for you on the dorm rooftop at 9 PM.'
Sento wiped his sweat, not looking at Ichiko, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Ichiko came back to her senses, closed the chat window, and put away her phone, "Nothing. What are we eating tonight?"
Sento snapped his fingers: 'The weather forecast says there will be heavy rain tonight, so no shopping. I'll take you somewhere fun instead. It starts at 9 PM, I guarantee you'll like it!'
Just then, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.
Bringing with it bursts of thunder.
Rumble—
The twilight of the setting sun was gradually obscured by dark clouds, blooming with a blood-like crimson.