Do you dare?
Ichiko sat blankly on the stone stool, one hand on the stone table, her fingertips feeling a hint of coolness.
The sun was clearly warm, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
Yet she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
Try it.
Just these two words made Ichiko imagine several scenarios of Haruko's yandere transformation.
She said worriedly to Shin, "Last time, just because Sento took me to a cruise dinner party, where I had to pretend to be his girlfriend to support him, after Haruko found out about it..."
...she subtly developed a tendency towards self-harm."
Ichiko recalled the scene on the rooftop again.
Haruko hugged her, tears mixed with rain hitting her evening gown.
Crying and blaming herself fearfully, she said—The 14th floor is too high, I don't dare.
The person was fine, but her phone had fallen downstairs and shattered.
Ichiko even imagined Haruko standing on the edge of the rooftop.
Trembling constantly, urging herself to jump, while her survival instinct struggled.
Ichiko didn't know what happened during that process or what kind of psychological struggle Haruko went through.
But the shattered phone seemed to be showing the ending of "Haruko" in another timeline.
Both relieved.
And scared.
That was Ichiko's feeling at the time.
Even now, recalling those scenes occasionally makes her tremble uncontrollably.
Shin sighed from the side, "So, you don't dare?"
Ichiko pursed her lips and nodded, "I'm afraid she'll become extreme again."
"That's why I said you're avoiding it, you're scared." Shin took off his glasses, took a cloth from his pocket, and gently wiped the lenses, "According to your thinking, if Haruko isn't a yandere, then no matter how extreme she gets, she wouldn't threaten her own life."
"If she really died, she wouldn't be able to see you again."
"As for self-harm, I can't say for sure."
Saying that, he snapped his fingers again, "Then let's use the second method. I'll help you test her out."
Ichiko looked up, "Test her?"
"Yes." Shin nodded, "I'll pretend to be your love rival in front of Haruko and say directly that I'm going to take you away and bring you back to Beijing."
"After all, you keep saying she's a yandere or whatever, I've heard it but haven't seen it. With close contact, I can basically come to a conclusion just by observing her expressions, movements, and demeanor."
No matter how good the acting is, you can't fake micro-expression changes, right?
Ichiko pursed her lips, hesitant, "Will there be danger?"
"She's a 1.5-meter little girl, what kind of danger do you think she can bring me?"
He, Shin, is 1.9 meters.
With a 40-centimeter height difference, how could he lose?
Ichiko had no other options, her mind was in a mess, and in the end, she could only agree to Shin's proposal for now.
She took out her phone again, lost in thought.
Maybe, ask Dr. Kaito again?
Tapping into the chat page with Yuna, that question was still stuck there, awaiting her answer—Ritsuko, do you like my sister?
A myriad of emotions filled her heart, but liking was the only one absent.
Ichiko let out a breath, planning to answer truthfully.
But at this moment, Shin, who was beside her, suddenly spoke, "It's snowing."
Ichiko looked up in surprise, finding that the sun had been blocked by dark clouds at some point, and fine silver threads were drifting down from the sky.
"Kyushu City's first snow, it's a bit late."
Ichiko breathed out a puff of warm air that looked like smoke, lowered her head, and sent the few words in the chat box.
"Sorry, Yuna Ge, I've always treated Haruko as a younger sister."
A gust of wind swept over, blowing snowflakes onto Ichiko.
She shivered, her beautiful hair swaying.
"So cold."
...
Inside the cafe, Haruko received a transfer from her brother.
2145 soft sister coins (RMB).
Plus the notification from the System that sounded at this moment.
[Supporting Character Yuna generated happiness emotion because of the Host]
[Emotion Value +12]
The exact non-integer change, feeling happy because of his sister's smile, Haruko was certain that these two thousand-plus yuan might be all the money her brother had on him.
"That's really good," Haruko sighed, feeling the money was a bit hot to handle.
The original host was no longer here, and she didn't have much feeling for this brother. As an orphan in her previous life, she had never experienced such selfless care.
Haruko wasn't a heartless person either.
Only by changing her own cannon fodder bad ending could she save herself, save Ichiko, and ensure the happiness of Yuna and her family!
"System, how much Emotion Value do I have now?"
Haruko's gaze became determined.
[Replying to Host, 1236 points]
"Let's do a ten-pull!"
She was still too weak now, mostly passive.
The soft, pitiful persona only worked on some people; if she encountered a real accident, she would still be very dangerous.
Haruko urgently wanted to improve herself.
With a wave of her small hand, she flipped open all ten cards.
And this time, what made Haruko ecstatic was that among the ten cards, one card was emitting an orange-red light.
This is... an advanced skill!
[Host is drawing cards...]
[Obtained Hacker Tool Kit*1 (Hacking and protection tools commonly used by ordinary hackers)]
[Obtained Nutritious Sauerkraut Beef Noodles*3 (Total 3 boxes, 10 packs per box, contains trace nutrients, no side effects on the body, Note: The sauerkraut was stomped by a white-haired beautiful girl)]
[Soft Bone Powder*4 (Consumable, makes bones soft, renders the body weak and unable to resist, lasts for half an hour)]
[Congratulations Host, you have obtained Active Skill: Voice Mimicry (Beginner)]
[Voice Mimicry (Beginner): The Host can actively learn and change their voice to match others, regardless of gender]
[Congratulations Host, you have obtained Passive Skill: Blackening (Advanced)]
[Blackening (Advanced): As the saying goes, whitewashing weakens by three points, blackening strengthens tenfold. The Host will blacken when in an angry state. Depending on the degree of the Host's anger, combat power increases by 3-10 times. The angrier the Host, the higher the combat power increase.]
Haruko's eyes became strange.
After drawing cards a few times, she understood that the items given by the System were just supplementary, and the real main focus was on the skills.
As for Voice Mimicry, she didn't have much use for it in her current situation.
The advanced Blackening skill increasing her combat power is good, but why is it a passive skill!
"Does that mean I have to get really angry before I can become powerful?"
[That is not the case, Host]
The System provided an explanation.
[If you genuinely dislike someone from the bottom of your heart, or if you're smiling on the outside but suppressing anger inside, you are also in an angry state at that time. The minimum increase is 3 times. If you are consumed by anger, you will reach 10 times combat power.]
Now Haruko understood that her basic physical abilities were the most crucial thing.
The stronger she was to begin with, the stronger she would become after the increase.
"Feels like it's still not very useful."
Haruko sighed inwardly. She felt she was very rational, and it would be difficult for something like being consumed by anger to happen to her.
"Let's think about how to make money instead."
With a "ding-dong" sound, her phone suddenly rang.
It was her alt account as Dr. Kaito.
Haruko's eyes flickered, and she looked at the message sent by Ichiko in surprise.
"Dr. Kaito, do you think a yandere knows they are a yandere?"
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