Cold air poured from the air conditioner's vents, filling the slightly stuffy classroom. The lights were bright. Anna and Li Wu sat shoulder to shoulder, their heads buried in copying the homework Li Wu hadn't finished.
As the morning school bell rang out leisurely, the sky gradually turned white. Students walked into the classroom one after another, their gazes drawn to the strange sight of the two.
Someone couldn't help but glance in Kiana's direction, wanting to see what she thought about her "fiancé" becoming so close to someone else.
But without exception, they all failed to glean anything.
Kiana had no expression on her face, like a cold statue sitting rigidly in her seat by the window. Even the bright sunlight couldn't dispel the melancholy beneath her beautiful brows and eyes.
Nothing from the outside world could affect her state of mind.
Her entire being was hollow.
Some say that if a person doesn't like to speak, it doesn't mean their inner world isn't unimaginably rich.
But she looked as if she were merely a lonely empty shell. No matter how much one peeled back the layers, it was impossible to find any land of life inside, other than barrenness.
No one asked why Kiana allowed Anna and Li Wu to copy homework right in front of her. One careless word could offend the Kaslana Young Miss, and with just one sentence, Kiana could easily strip them of their rights and status in their families. So everyone maintained a tacit silence.
That was until Raiden Mei walked in through the front door. The moment she saw Li Wu, a smile bloomed on her face like a cherry blossom. She walked over quickly, took out a beautifully wrapped small box from behind her back, and gently placed it on Li Wu's desk.
"Little Li, I prepared a gift for you. Hurry up and open it to see!"
Raiden Mei was cheerful as always, looking at the boy she liked with a heart full of joy.
She thought Li Wu would gladly accept it, open it, and be speechless with pleasant surprise.
But the words Li Wu said next made Raiden Mei freeze in place, staring at him blankly, at a loss for what to do.
"I might have to leave for a while and won't be coming back to school for the time being."
Leave?
This word had come out of Li Wu's mouth more than once, but every time, Li Wu would return to her side.
Raiden Mei let out an "Mmh" and continued to ask, "How long will you be away? When will you be back?"
"Let's talk outside."
Li Wu glanced around. There were too many eyes here. Anna revealing the mission content was already considered an exception; he couldn't let more people know.
Under the gazes of the surrounding classmates, Li Wu quickly left the classroom, walked through the bustling corridor, and headed straight for the rooftop.
That was the quietest place in the school.
Raiden Mei silently followed behind him like a little tail, following closely for fear of being shaken off.
Every time they walked a certain distance, a classmate would warmly greet her, but Raiden Mei didn't respond. Her face was covered in dark clouds, completely devoid of any mood.
It was only a walk of less than two minutes, but to Raiden Mei, it felt like she had been walking for days.
From the time Li Wu nervously took her to escape from a bus full of strange looks, to the two of them living together, huddling together for warmth like all lovers, to now, when he no longer even called her name.
Did she do something wrong?
Should she have accompanied Little Li home first last night?
Or should she have prepared more, better gifts?
Upon reaching the rooftop, Li Wu walked to the railing and leaned against it, gazing at the distant view of the city.
Honestly, he had never traveled abroad in his entire life. Whether before or after transmigration, he had very honestly stayed at home in his small city, moving only between two points: school and home.
Perhaps even some tourists visiting for sightseeing had a deeper understanding of this city than he did.
"Are you happy with your life right now?" Li Wu asked without turning his head, looking at the bustling high-rises in the distance. His voice was as light as a breeze.
But Raiden Mei didn't think so.
Li Wu's words were like a heavy hammer, ruthlessly striking her heart.
Raiden Mei stared at Li Wu blankly, not daring to step forward. Her lips trembled, and like squeezing a tube of toothpaste, she squeezed out an unclear sentence from her throat: "Everyone treats me very well... Does Little Li not like it? If you don't like it, I..."
"I'll think of a way to compensate you. You can have whatever you want from me. Right, give the black card to Little Li..."
Raiden Mei frantically took out the high-quality black card from her pocket. Because she was too anxious, the black card fell to the ground as she took it out. Raiden Mei quickly squatted down, picked it up, wiped it with the pure white hem of her Senba Academy uniform skirt, and reached out her hand again. She opened her palm, and there lay the wiped-clean black card.
"..."
Li Wu didn't take it, leaving Raiden Mei's hand suspended in the air.
The morning wasn't too hot. The cicadas on the school trees nearby chirped incessantly, creating an annoying racket.
"Compensate? Do you remember the girl named Haruko Sato yesterday?" Li Wu slowly turned around, his gaze calmly fixed on Raiden Mei. "After you realized you hurt her self-esteem, you also thought of giving a gift as an apology. But I think an apology is actually enough. Even if you dared to give a gift like that, someone like Haruko Sato wouldn't dare to accept it."
"That's not how classmates should interact. If I hadn't stopped you and you prepared the gift, how could she dare to refuse?"
"Little Li... I don't quite understand what you mean."
"It means we are not the same kind of people."
Li Wu directly revealed the answer.
The air seemed to freeze, turning into a long sigh that echoed above the rooftop and drifted between their hearts.
"I like being a homebody, playing games by myself."
"I can learn!"
Raiden Mei's voice was loud, eagerly clarifying her stance.
For some reason, she felt extremely uneasy. If she didn't say it now, she would never have the chance again.
"I like doing simple things. Like standing on the rooftop enjoying the breeze, going for a run in the park in the dead of night, putting on earphones and listening to music on a hill when the sun sets..."
"I can accompany you! Whether it's enjoying the breeze or running, I'm willing! I sing very well, and I can play the guitar. I didn't know before, but I know now. If Little Li likes it, I can play music just for you!"
"I hate hypocritical interactions. I hate false friends. I hate chatting with a group of people. I hate hurting innocent people just to cater to others... So, can you say goodbye to your current friends?"
"I..."
"You can't do it. And even if you could, I wouldn't want you to. Because I don't need you to make sacrifices for me. If you really acted according to my wishes, it would only make me feel incredibly indebted, accumulating more and more pressure in my heart."
Raiden Mei only felt an extremely violent gale blow up from downstairs, throwing her mind into chaos.
She wanted to say she could do it.
But when those words reached her mouth, they felt as harsh and raw as a piece of iron stuck in her throat, making it hard to speak.
As the Young Miss of ME Corp, Raiden Mei had seen many things while following her father. Whether it was luxury goods, celebrity anecdotes, or money-burning hobbies—high-end cosmetics and beautiful dresses exclusively tailored by world-class masters—she was very interested in those things.
To abandon all of that, and then follow Li Wu every day, staying home playing games and watching TV?
"But... our lifestyles are just different. Wasn't it perfectly fine when we were together before? Why are you suddenly saying this, Little Li? Is it... did Haruko Sato say something to you, or was it Anna?"
Raiden Mei's face darkened, her expression clouded with gloom. It seemed her mind was conjuring up terrible thoughts.
"It has nothing to do with them. The past is the past. Before, you had no one to rely on, so even though I'm a boring person, I could still take good care of you. But it's different now. You are a wealthy Young Miss, and I have absolutely no way to insert myself into the topics you love." Li Wu shook his head. "I'm not saying this to bid you farewell. No matter what, I saved you, so I'm considered half your guardian. Before you 'grow up', I have the responsibility to accompany you."
Hearing the latter half of his sentence, Raiden Mei's expression relaxed slightly, but the warning bells in her heart still rang loudly.
Seeing Raiden Mei's emotions gradually calm down, Li Wu continued, "There's another reason for this separation; I have no choice. I'm being targeted, and I must cooperate with an isolation observation. If I resist... I'll probably be treated as an anomaly and killed immediately. So I must leave for a month."
"Will you come back after a month, Little Li?"
"Of course."
"You aren't lying?"
"There's no need to."
"You must come back!"
"Mmh."
"When you come back, will we still be like before?"
"I don't know. Maybe we will, maybe we won't. Actually, being friends is pretty good. When two incompatible people force themselves to be together, they only end up hurting each other, and they'll separate in the end anyway. You don't need to care about this at all. After all, there are so many people in this world who love you; you aren't lacking me."
Li Wu had already considered his wording carefully, choosing a way that wouldn't make Raiden Mei feel too much pressure.
Raiden Mei lowered her head. A crimson light flashed across her neck for an instant.
"I will become better in this month. When Little Li comes back... we will definitely be able to live the school life you like. I will make you fall in love with me."
"You can't force this kind of thing. Maybe by then, you won't like me anymore, and I'd just be making a fool of myself by staying by your side... Forget it, let's not talk about this. Since everything is explained clearly, let's go back to the classroom first. I'm leaving tomorrow."
Li Wu didn't take Raiden Mei's promise to heart. Phrases like "becoming better" were too vague and illusory, let alone turning the entire campus into his ideal appearance.
He could guarantee that if she really did that, not only would he not like it, but he would find it annoying everywhere. After all, what he hated most were hypocritical things.
Raiden Mei followed behind Li Wu without saying a word. The colors in her eyes shifted erratically.
Deep purple, eerie green, and crimson red—the three colors intertwined in her pupils and quickly faded.
Unreleased emotions don't disappear; they only lie dormant deeper in the heart, waiting to be released in a more ugly posture someday in the future.
Li Wu thought he had explained things clearly enough, maintaining their relationship at a "just right" distance.
But Raiden Mei didn't think so.
She felt like she was standing in a river flowing against her. If she didn't wade forward, she would only be washed to a lower place, never to climb up again.
Back in the classroom.
The sun had risen and hung high in the sky. The light shone straight through the glass, brightly illuminating the classroom.
The two walked in one after the other. No one spoke.
The classroom wasn't quiet.
Not everyone read their books seriously during morning self-study. The homeroom teacher couldn't control them and could only turn a blind eye, standing at the podium with her head down, pretending to check the lesson plans needed for today's classes.
The students below placed their morning reading books on their desks and chatted with those around them.
Ball games, idols, new cosmetics...
Li Wu and Raiden Mei sat in the classroom, as quiet as the empty shells of cicadas that had died at the end of summer, remaining utterly silent.
Occasionally, classmates walking by would cast curious or probing glances at them, but would quickly look away.
Some classmates took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Raiden Mei, but were scared away by her terrifying gaze and left on their own.
The silence between the two was too obvious—so obvious that even the most dense person could sense the oppressive atmosphere. They stayed far away, for fear of angering either of them.
Li Wu's gaze would occasionally drift unconsciously out the window, watching the clouds move slowly, watching the sky change from the pale white of a fish's belly to the magnificent gold of dusk.
He remembered every little bit since his transmigration.
Perhaps he shouldn't have rescued her without reservation. Once Raiden Mei returned to her original heights, even if they cared about each other, they would only drift apart due to their different lifestyles.
He could have taken it step by step. He could have waited until he was completely separated from Raiden Mei before considering making a move to get her out of prison.
But this idea itself is wrong. Li Wu firmly believed this.
If his happiness was built on her suffering, then it wasn't the happiness he pursued.
Whether it was racking his brains every day to deal with crises, or dying in pain time and time again, he did it voluntarily and never asked Raiden Mei for any return.
Li Wu liked pure things. Even now, after clearly seeing Raiden Mei's posture as she became a Young Miss again, if he returned to the past, he would still save her.
No reason, he just simply didn't like the situation.
If she were guilty, had killed people, showed no repentance, and wasn't worth saving, then the moment the system allowed Raiden Mei to die, Li Wu would have abandoned her.
But unfortunately, she wasn't. She was innocent. Even when she killed him in a certain starting timeline, she had atoned for it by dying together with him in a double suicide.
Yes, there might be countless reasons to approach Raiden Mei.
But the main reason was always only one—she hadn't committed any sins, unlike in the original work.
Raiden Mei sat with standard posture, smiling sweetly, looking exactly like a model student.
Most of the time she looked earnestly at her textbook or the blackboard, but her pupils were unfocused, so scattered that one could tell at a glance she was spacing out.
Her smile was extremely stiff. Only the muscles at the corners of her mouth were moving; her brows and eyes didn't change at all. But the teachers and classmates all pretended not to see, not daring to shush her.
The fingers holding her pen would occasionally close unconsciously, release, and close again.
That carefully prepared gift that couldn't be given was put back deep into her school bag by Raiden Mei. The sound of the zipper closing was so light it was almost inaudible, hiding away along with the gift beneath her oppressively heavy gaze.