Mei: Yes, I Like Baige

Forget despair—she was smiling even more happily than Mei, looking like a girl whose heart had just awakened to love. There was no way she could become a Herrscher like this.

"Hmph! I'm giving you one last chance. If you can't make this girl completely despair this time, then wait for tomorrow's news about your families going bankrupt."

"Y-Yes, Lady Cocolia!"

Though Cocolia disdained personally dealing with a little girl, she no longer wanted to drag things out. She ordered several subordinates to go along and make sure nothing went wrong.

After the others left in panic, Cocolia turned her gaze back to Mei on the large screen.

Detailed information about the girl was displayed there. Anyone could tell at a glance that she was a kind-hearted, good girl.

But...

So what?

This was not a beautiful world.

"Raiden Mei, although it's unfair to you, for the sake of defeating Honkai and rescuing my daughter, sacrifice yourself for the greater good."

There was no shortage of kind-hearted, good girls in this world. But if sacrificing one of them could capture a Herrscher and save her daughter, who was lost in the Sea of Quantum...

Cocolia would not hesitate in the slightest.

Mei was walking home when a black van suddenly pulled up beside her. Before she could react, a sack was thrown over her head and she was taken away.

When Mei saw the light again, she realized she had been brought into an abandoned building.

"Raiden Mei, we meet again."

"It's you again. You actually resorted to kidnapping this time. Aren't you afraid of going to prison?"

Mei stared at the girl before her in surprise.

She was the "good friend" who had taken the lead in bullying Mei ever since her father had been imprisoned. Mei had expected her not to let things go, but she never imagined that she would go so far as kidnapping.

"Hahaha! Prison? You should worry about yourself instead. No one can save you now. Neither Bai Ge nor Kiana is here, and you're all alone again, Raiden! Mei! Young! Lady!"

Her gaze was like that of a hunter eyeing prey.

It was mixed with abnormal excitement and delight.

The girl stared fanatically at Mei, who was tied to a chair and unable to move. She had completely immersed herself in some twisted pleasure.

Only then did Mei realize that this former "good friend" of hers had been the most extreme among all those who bullied her.

Before the Raiden family fell from grace, she had practically been Mei's most devoted follower, tagging along wherever Mei went with a smile always on her face.

But after the Raiden family's downfall, she immediately became the most vicious bully, joining the entire class in excluding and tormenting Mei.

As for why she did this...

"Why are you so lucky? Why does Heaven favor you alone, Raiden Mei? Why can't you just die?! Why can't I receive as much good fortune as you do?!"

Because of overwhelming jealousy!

The girl's heavily made-up face had twisted in distortion.

Her eyes were filled with envy. Simple jealousy was not enough to describe it—it was a mad envy that wanted to take Mei's place.

Even though Mei had never done anything wrong to her.

But she envied Mei's untouchable family background.

She envied Mei's beauty, which she could never match.

She envied Mei's perfect personality and grades.

Some people were simply like that by nature. They could not stand seeing anyone else do better than them, and she was a typical example.

So when the Raiden family lost its power, the girl had been ecstatic. Even before Cocolia found her, she had already begun bullying Mei at school.

Whenever she saw the once-lofty Queen Raiden trembling under her bullying, tears streaming down her face, the girl felt pleasure from the bottom of her heart.

However...

"Why does someone still help you even after you've fallen so far?! Are Bai Ge and that Kiana blind?! What good is being friends with you?!"

Just when she thought she had trampled this High Mountain Flower beneath her feet.

Reality told her that even after falling, Raiden Mei was still beyond comparison to trash like her.

After everyone else abandoned Mei, Bai Ge and Kiana—two people who stood out wherever they went—came to the girl's side.

And so, her jealousy grew even more frenzied.

She envied Mei for finding true friendship and gaining Bai Ge and Kiana as friends, even after hitting rock bottom, as if she had been reborn.

Although Kiana had poor grades and could be a little airheaded, she was more special than anyone else. Not only did she possess beauty worthy of the name "Kiana, Goddess of the Moon," but she was fundamentally different from ordinary people like her.

As for Bai Ge... that was what she envied Raiden Mei for the most! That perfect young man had the most handsome face, a gentle and dashing personality, and wealth beyond measure—yet he was gentle only with Raiden Mei.

He was even willing to make an enemy of the entire school for her alone!

The girl would never forget the scene of Bai Ge putting an arm around Mei's shoulders and declaring to the entire class that she was his girlfriend.

At that moment, she had truly wanted nothing more than to kill Mei and take her place!

She was just the daughter of a criminal. Why did Raiden Mei deserve to be blessed with so many wonderful things?!

Third update. Please send flowers and recommendation votes.

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Mei: Yes, I Like Bai Ge (New Book, Please Bookmark)

(I can't break free...)

Mei struggled a few times, but it was useless. Her expression darkened, but she was no longer the crybaby Raiden Mei from a month ago who would only cry whenever she was bullied.

"Although I don't know what your goal is, this is pointless. Even if you kidnap me, you won't get any ransom."

"...Raiden Mei, what are you feeling around for? This phone?"

The girl smiled and tossed Mei's phone onto the ground.

Though she was not a professional kidnapper, Cocolia's subordinates were mostly no strangers to dirty work, and they handled it skillfully.

Mei's face darkened as she bit her lower lip nervously. She had wanted to secretly use her phone to call for help.

"You aren't still expecting Bai Ge and the others to save you, are you? Hahaha, don't worry, they won't be able to find you. But speaking of which... you two are actually a fake couple, right?"

"!!!"

Because of her twisted jealousy toward Mei, this girl had always observed her more closely than anyone else. As a result, she had noticed that the two of them were only pretending to be a couple.

"That expression tells me I was right. But... it seems there's more to it than that. If I'm not wrong, Bai Ge may not like you, but our Young Lady Raiden Mei has truly fallen for him, hasn't she?"

"Hahaha, how funny! How does it feel? Raiden Mei, who has always been able to get anything she wants, has finally encountered feelings that she can't obtain no matter how much she wants them, right?"

"You don't think you're the only special one, do you? Think carefully. Besides you, isn't there someone else Bai Ge treats very well too?"

"That would be your other companion, Kiana Kaslana. You like Bai Ge, but perhaps the one he likes is your other friend instead?"

The girl spoke with manic laughter. She was not simply making things up. Bai Ge's concern and protection of Mei could be explained as sympathy for her tragic circumstances.

But the way he doted on Kiana was impossible to understand. That inexplicable, seemingly inborn affection made outsiders feel as if Bai Ge liked Kiana.

The moment she said that, Mei clenched her small hands.

The girl looked delighted. She wanted to drive a wedge between the three of them. No one understood better than she did just how fragile friendship was.

A little suspicion and jealousy were enough to destroy it completely. However...

"...Of course I know that," Mei actually agreed.

That reaction made the girl freeze.

"What?"

"Both Bai Ge and Kiana are as dazzling as the sun. I'm merely someone lucky enough to be admired because I was born into a better family. Once that halo was gone, I became like this—ordinary, no different from anyone else."

It was precisely because she was close friends with the two of them that Mei understood this so clearly.

Bai Ge and Kiana were both extraordinary people. Compared to them, the Raiden Mei of "now" seemed so ordinary and unremarkable.

"I... may indeed have fallen for Bai Ge. Maybe it really is as you said—perhaps he has no interest in me and is only kind to me out of sympathy. Maybe the person Bai Ge likes is Kiana."

Mei took a deep breath. There was no wavering or negative emotion in her eyes.

"But I won't give up!"

This was the first time in Mei's life that she had felt this way toward someone of the opposite sex. When the boy's face appeared in her mind, perhaps it would have been impossible not to fall for Bai Ge.

When Mei had been at her darkest, that boy had become a warm light shining into her heart. He was the prince she had met in an encounter that felt like fate itself.

"I may fail. I may be rejected. But I won't give up. I'm no longer the crybaby Raiden Mei who let you bully her. Kiana and Bai Ge have both taught me something very important."

"Even if blaming this world is useless, for the sake of the companions important to me, I'll face everything with strength! I will never betray my friendship with them!"

Mei spoke with a determined expression.

Fortunately, she still had plenty of time. Perhaps Bai Ge did not have those kinds of feelings for her right now, but Mei believed that with time, she would eventually have a chance.

Besides, didn't the books say that to win a man's heart, one must first win his stomach? It seemed she was already close to accomplishing that.

"Y-You! What are you even talking about? Friendship? There's no such thing in this world!"

"..."