This was simply beyond Raiden Mei's comparison.
After pondering for a moment, she added, "Don't indulge Kiana and let her run around everywhere. She likes climbing over walls to sneak out and fool around. If the principal finds out, she'll get scolded!"
"Wouldn't it be fine as long as we keep it from her? Besides, as long as Kiana keeps her grades up, even if she finds out, she'll only turn a blind eye.
"And Mei, constantly suppressing someone's nature will gradually twist their personality. Surely you don't disagree with the idea that it is better to guide than to block?"
The moment those words were spoken, Raiden Mei was left completely unable to refute them. A sense of crisis and pressure from all sides welled up within her.
No, she couldn't let her win just like that. She had to do something!
A brief clash, and the victor had already been decided.
The winner rose to her feet and walked over to Raiden Mei, revealing a friendly smile.
Raiden Mei frowned, finding that smile dazzlingly irritating.
"Mei, why don't you come out and have fun with us later? If we don't enjoy ourselves now, there won't be much free time once we start fighting Honkai in the future."
"No, thank you."
Raiden Mei looked away, refusing to meet her gaze, as though she were some terrifying beast.
Bai Yan deliberately sighed. "Ah, what a pity."
Raiden Mei secretly clenched her fists.
"Forget it. I'll go ask Teacher Himeko and see what she thinks first."
Only after Bai Yan muttered to herself and left did Raiden Mei let out a breath of relief.
"Bai Yan," she chewed over the name as she recalled that face. "She's really impossible to like."
"Are you jealous?"
"!"
It's me. Don't be nervous.
"..."
Don't worry, I won't fight you for control of the body.
"What... do you want to say?"
Don't you think that person is an eyesore?
"Don't do anything reckless!"
I haven't even said anything yet. Why are you getting worked up?
"Anyway, this has nothing to do with you!"
Fine, fine. Then I won't meddle in those matters. Do whatever you want, crybaby.
The voice in her mind disappeared, but Raiden Mei's expression did not improve much.
She lightly patted her cheeks with both hands and murmured, "She's not a bad person. She's not a bad person—huff..."
She let out a long breath, as though trying to expel all her negative emotions.
She turned to glance at the dormitory kitchen door, and her expression eased somewhat.
Meanwhile, in Himeko's office.
After handling most of the day's business, she finally turned her attention to the homework Kiana had just handed in.
The girl had already been waiting beside her for quite some time.
Her patient waiting struck Himeko as very unusual.
The red-haired teacher looked at her. Kiana actually wore an expectant expression, with even a hint of barely restrained pride?
Himeko suspiciously opened the workbook, and Kiana's gaze immediately followed the movement.
After looking through it for a while, Himeko's expression became subtle.
She deftly set the workbook aside, turned to the overflowing bookshelf behind her, selected a test paper, and placed it before Kiana.
"The material on this test is similar to what you just handed in. Solve the first three questions in front of me now."
Kiana's lips curled up as she grabbed a pen and swiftly got to work.
A moment later.
Himeko looked at the test paper, then at Kiana, and frowned.
"Well? Did I pass this time?"
"Not bad. You passed—but tell me honestly, how did you do it?"
Just as Kiana was about to speak, the sound of footsteps diverted her attention. She looked toward the door and saw Bai Yan walk into the office.
The two exchanged a knowing glance.
Himeko noticed that little gesture.
She did not think Kiana had cheated, but she could not imagine how rotten wood could be carved into flowers. She was very curious about what Bai Yan had done.
"Teacher Himeko, I came to find Kiana."
As she spoke, Bai Yan had already trotted to within a foot of Himeko, pretending to be concerned as she discreetly leaned over to look at the test paper.
"You helped her?"
"I only shared a little experience from the senior students at headquarters," Bai Yan said modestly.
"No wonder Ragna praised you to the skies in her letter." Himeko smiled and shook her head, her tone full of emotion. "I have to say, her eye for people is truly impressive."
"Hehe, Teacher Himeko, my eye for people isn't any worse than Teacher Ragna's."
Without drawing attention to it, Bai Yan looped an arm through Himeko's, making the latter unable to resist lightly pinching her cheek.
"Stop flattering me. I had no idea what to do with this child, yet you solved the problem."
"You were just too concerned."
Himeko truly could not refute that.
Although things were not exactly as Bai Yan had described, Himeko still felt rather pleased hearing it.
"Enough, enough. You're such a little schemer."
Kiana only cared about whether she had passed. Feeling that the atmosphere was about right, she asked, "Then, Teacher Himeko, can I..."
"Go on, go on. Stop lingering here and disrupting my work."
"Then... what about Auntie?"
"Just don't try any more clever tricks in the future!"
"Yay! Xiao Yan, let's go."
"Oh, okay—Teacher Himeko, we're heading down."
"Be careful on the way. Kiana, don't rush around so impatiently. Be careful not to drag someone down with you!"
Himeko's voice gradually faded as Kiana pulled Bai Yan away at high speed.
The two headed straight for the bustling shopping district, needing no warm-up before throwing themselves into the fun the moment they arrived.
Everyone knew Kiana loved eating and playing. It was simply in her nature.
Bai Yan loved having fun too, but that was not her nature. It was pent-up stress.
Her female boss only slept four hours a day, which normally had little to do with her. But if they were going on a "business trip" together, would a subordinate like her dare sleep even four hours and one minute?
So cross-dressing it was. At least she could eat and sleep on the same schedule as Kiana. How was this any different from a vacation?
Pretending she had not scoped the place out beforehand, Bai Yan asked Kiana to be their guide, allowing the latter to experience the joy of being the leader once again.
The snack street, the arcade, the amusement park... With Bai Yan deliberately indulging her, the sky grew darker and darker.
By the time the two were ready to return to St. Freya, curfew had already passed.
Before the main gate, two leaders, one big and one small, stood with their arms crossed, watching the travel-worn pair.
Kiana carried a large bag of ingredients on her shoulder. Bai Yan had suggested buying them to stock up for tomorrow.
Bai Yan was empty-handed except for a small crocodile-leather purse slung across her shoulder.
This purse was far from ordinary. It contained a miniature camera and was an intelligence-gathering tool produced by headquarters.
"You two actually dared to stay out this late on your very first day of meeting. You've really opened my eyes."
Himeko stared at Bai Yan as though the latter had done something that deeply disappointed her.
"Kiana, you actually dragged another student down with you this time. Just wait and see how I deal with you!"
Theresa looked thoroughly imposing. She had already decided that tonight, she would properly "dote on" her niece.
When Himeko had told her about Kiana's changes, she had worried that she would lack an excuse to discipline her niece afterward and would have to hold herself back.
But now, it seemed that one's nature was hard to change.
Kiana shrank her neck and immediately began thinking of a solution.
Bai Yan, however, spoke without the slightest delay, her lines remarkably practiced.
"I'm sorry. It was my first time here, so I wasn't familiar with the area. I also asked Kiana to help me carry things, which is why we went over time. It's all my fault!"
Kiana hurriedly stepped in front of Bai Yan.
"It's not Xiao Yan's fault. I was the one who wanted to play a little longer!"
Theresa lightly tapped her small finger as she looked back and forth at the two mischievous children.
"Stop making excuses. Come to my office."
The two exchanged a glance, lowered their heads, and silently followed her.
Only Bai Yan, when no one was looking, allowed a faint smile to appear at the corner of her lips.
Minor punishment as a warning was not Theresa's way. It was the tenderness of Kiana's last remaining elder.
After scolding them for a while, she began lecturing Kiana about not leading classmates astray and learning more from others...
Kiana nearly fell asleep standing up, only snapping awake when Bai Yan secretly pinched her.
A little thin, but soft overall.
The white-haired girl gratefully glanced at Bai Yan, then immediately pulled herself together and gave the proper response to Auntie's lecture.
Seeing that her second niece's attitude was acceptable and that she had said enough herself, Theresa waved them away.
"Phew—who would've thought Auntie would let me off so easily!"
"I understand this. As long as you keep behaving well next time, they might even turn a blind eye."
"Really?"
"I used to do this all the time. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about."
"Then I'm relieved... haha!"
The two chatted and laughed as they entered the dormitory, only to run into their other two roommates.
Bai Yan immediately felt two thorny gazes directed at her.
Raiden Mei's expression was somewhat off. She gave Bai Yan a slight nod, then immediately moved closer to Kiana.
"I saved your dinner in the refrigerator. Just heat it up."
"Uh..." Kiana scratched her head. "I already ate my fill outside—then I'll have it as a late-night snack."
The instant Raiden Mei's expression changed, Kiana had already shifted the topic and quickly slipped into the kitchen to prepare a late-night snack.
However, the purple-haired woman's expression did not improve much. The thought of Kiana having already had her stomach filled by someone else outside...
Maybe tomorrow, she should go out and have fun with Kiana too?
Before you continue