Liu Bai's Dilemma

"But speaking of which, Kiana seems to have a thing for the new Mei..."

Knock knock knock

"Um... Liu... cough, is Professor Himeko here?"

Mei and Bronya cautiously peeked out.

"... Looking for you, Liu Bai."

Himeko felt a headache coming on just looking at the two little girls.

It's more of a headache than seeing Fu Hua.

"?"

Fu Hua was slightly surprised by Himeko's words.

Does Teacher Liu know these two new students?

"Hey? Squad Leader Fu Hua, you're here too?"

Mei greeted Fu Hua when she saw her.

"...Um."

Fu Hua nodded. "You two are here to see Teacher Liu?"

"Teacher Liu?"

Mei took a moment to realize that this referred to Liu Bai.

"Squad leader, you know Brother Liu Bai too?"

"We're all family."

Liu Bai leaned over the tablet.

"Is there something you need, Mei?"

Chapter 208 Liu Bai's Dilemma

Are they all family?

Mei looked at Fu Hua with a strange expression.

She would definitely believe anyone who said "we're all family," but when her own brother said it...

Why does the phrase "family" seem to have taken on a slightly different meaning?

Although she was a little conflicted, Mei didn't forget the important matter at hand.

"Brother Liu Bai, if you don't mind, you can possess this doll in the future."

Mei and Bronya took out a rather crudely made doll from their backpacks.

You can't really tell Liu Bai 'Liu Bai appearance if you look closely, but you can see it more clearly from a distance or by squinting.

Who did it?

This workmanship is obviously not Mei's doing.

Although Mei's skill points are currently a bit off track, they are still mostly on the Yamato Nadeshiko skill tree.

Mei is quite reliable Mei and similar skills.

"Everyone at the orphanage sewed it together. Mei- neechan fixed it up last night."

Bronya spoke up.

Bronya never expected things to turn out this way, as it was originally just something to remember her by.

But now that we have real people, why bother playing with dolls?

"... This is... Teacher Liu?"

Fu Hua looked the doll in Bronya's hand up and down.

Hmm... Although it's a bit rude, I can't see any resemblance to Liu Bai at all.

Fu Hua even took off her glasses—as if she were actually nearsighted.

"Well... it still looks quite similar, doesn't it? Look at the clothes, look at the face... uh, skip the face, look at the limbs, look at the head."

Mei tried her best to describe it.

"... Do you think I have three heads and six arms?"

The doll started moving and revealed a strange expression... Well, the doll's face was strange enough, so the strange expression didn't really matter.

"But I appreciate your kind gesture."

Liu Bai didn't blame the children for their thoughts, after all, it was the children's intention, and Liu Bai wasn't a strict person.

Taking it a step further, Liu Bai also knew what skills his little ones had. Among the Arlene sisters, Xing, Bronya, and the other group of people, who was good at tailoring?

Even Reanna, as a teacher, wouldn't be good at that, right?

It would be strange if it could be sewn up properly, wouldn't it?

Bronya and Mei breathed a sigh of relief.

Although they knew Liu Bai wouldn't care about such a small matter, this child was just...

If this doll wasn't sewn together by the children in the orphanage, Mei felt it would be better to spend a week sewing another one herself.

"Speaking of which, Mei, did Kiana cause you any trouble?"

Just as Mei breathed a sigh of relief, Fu Hua suddenly asked.

"Huh? Causing trouble?" Mei was a little confused. "No, not at all... Why are you suddenly asking this, class monitor?"

Although the fact that the other person was constantly watching her was a bit bothersome, it wasn't to the point of causing any real trouble.

"... Perhaps Kiana will soon cause you trouble Mei."

Fu Hua gave Mei a deep look.

Given how Kiana was bouncing around after class, Fu Hua wouldn't believe she hadn't come up with some terrible ideas.

Since they happened to be face-to-face after class, and given their connection with Liu Bai, Fu Hua simply gave him a reminder.

"...?"

Fu Hua's half-hidden words made Mei a little uncomfortable.

But upon closer examination, it's not entirely unreasonable to say that Fu Hua's words were without merit.

After all, who would stare at someone for no reason?

"If that's the case... I feel like Kiana's gaze towards me is strangely familiar?"

Mei rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought.

"Familiar?"

Bronya tilted her head. She was sitting with Mei and didn't feel that there was anything familiar about that look in her eyes... Wait, really not?

Bronya also inexplicably fell into deep thought.

Now that you mention it, it does feel strangely familiar, like...

" —Seele!"

Bronya and Mei said in unison.

"That's the kind of look Seele gives her brother."

"I have a feeling that you two are talking bad about Seele while she's not around..."

While it may seem reasonable to say this from a certain perspective, aren't you all birds of a feather?

"..."

Fu Hua, standing next to her, sighed.

Although Fu Hua didn't know who Seele was, she could roughly guess what she was like from their tone of voice.

Hmm... Teacher Liu is really popular.

Fu Hua's feelings were somewhat complicated.

"But speaking of which, Kiana's gaze..."

"This is not good, is that what you mean?"

Mei's expression was strange.

"It's nice to be popular, but this is a bit too much... After all, my orientation is perfectly normal."

"Yes, I understand."

Fu Hua, who had been called "Big Sister" for quite some time because of her heroic demeanor, nodded.

"But Kiana usually only has a short attention span, so Mei doesn't need to worry too much... Hmm, if that's the case, does that mean Kiana went to Mei dorm to wait for you?"

Fu Hua, recalling Kiana's expression after class, made a somewhat uncertain guess.

"Ugh... that's really troublesome. If I could, I'd rather have a normal student life... how about I just hide out at Brother Liu Bai's house for a while?"

Mei suggested.

"I don't really want to go back to the days when I received love letters every day in high school. Ah, but if it is... cough, it's nothing."

My current persona is still that of a younger sister, so I can't be too radical, I can't be too radical.

Mei tried hard to remind herself.

Let's get living together sorted out first.

"That's my home." Himeko was writing lesson plans, was quite exasperated.

You little brat, aren't you pushing your luck a bit too far?

"Bronya felt that Kiana also had inappropriate thoughts about Bronya and wanted to stay at her brother's house for a while."

Seeing this, Bronya also seized the opportunity.

Then, Mei and Bronya exchanged a glance.

Bronya, isn't that a really weak excuse?

Don't run away, Mei.

"..."

Mei silently looked away.

Forget it, now is not the time for infighting.

If I had known I would run into Brother Liu Bai, I would have hung Bronya up with me.

Mei felt a pang of regret in her heart.

Indeed, when you're eating alone, you can't hesitate, or you'll lose.

"When you two say things like that, can you at least consider how I, as the homeowner, feel?"

Himeko searched high and low but couldn't find any chalk. Finally, she couldn't help but say, "I have to say, the longer you're a teacher, the more you realize that chalk is a good thing."

"Hmm... If Brother Liu Bai agrees, would you disagree, Teacher Himeko?" Mei asked.

"Ha... then why bother..."

Um, wait a minute, it seems that generally speaking, if Liu Bai agrees, I probably won't refuse.

After all, Himeko had to admit that Liu Bai was smarter than her and wouldn't trick her.

But is this considered "generally speaking"?

"Of course I disagree!"

This is definitely not something that can be described as "ordinary"!

"If Kiana really harasses you to the point that you can't stand it, then I'll let Kiana live with me."

Mei: "???"