The two of them had never gotten along, yet today, for Griseo's sake, they had both come to demand answers from Elysia.
"Even though I know you meant no harm, don't you think some of your jokes went too far?"
Even her holy nun's habit could not conceal her voluptuous, gorgeous figure. Her low voice held far less gentleness than usual.
"I care about Griseo too. How could I deliberately make her cry?~~"
Being called to account by a girl she liked left Elysia feeling terribly wronged.
Still pinned down, she simply put on a weak and pitiful act, lying on the bed and pretending to wipe away tears.
"I hope that from now on, you will observe a few simple precepts and never take things too far."
Seeing Elysia like this, Aponia's heart softened as well. After leaving her with that admonition, she departed.
"I'm not as indecisive as Aponia. We still haven't settled the matter of you making Griseo call me Grandma last time! This time, we're settling both old and new scores together!"
"Alright, alright, Mobius. Elysia already knows she was wrong. Let her go."
At that moment, a mature and elegant woman walked in, smiling as she dragged Mobius off Elysia's bed.
"Hmph. You just keep protecting her."
Mobius was probably only fierce with her words. Once someone stopped her, she did not make things any harder for Elysia and left with an unhappy look on her face.
"Waaah! Eden! Eden!"
The moment she saw that fiery red hair and soft, voluptuous body, Elysia threw herself into Eden's arms.
"Waaah... You're the only one who's nice to me."
"Yes, yes, I'm the only one who's nice to you, yet you still like everyone."
Though she said that, Eden held no resentment whatsoever. Instead, she gently stroked Elysia's head.
"Oh, my~~ Liking people is one thing, but among all of them, you're the only one who's also my dearest friend, Eden."
Elysia stopped pretending to cry and simply began acting spoiled in Eden's arms.
"So, how exactly did you make Griseo cry?"
"It wasn't me. We were playing a game that day, and the plot of the game made Griseo cry."
"Oh? A game? Can a story in a game really have that much power?"
"Of course! If you don't believe me, Eden, why don't you try it too?"
"Elysia, have you been playing it this whole time?"
"Mm, I've practically forgotten that I'm a beauty blogger."
"Then... I'll play it with you."
At the time, Elysia was only thinking about playing with Eden. She never realized that she had lured another person into the pit.
···················
"I know what you're all thinking."
Elsewhere, in the studio, Ye Ming spoke to the girls with a serious expression.
"That content creator is uploading today, and you all want to watch me make a fool of myself again."
"It's probably unrealistic to stop you from watching, but at the very least, you can't watch during work hours, especially while I'm around."
"A new version is about to launch, and we still have a lot of work to do. So today, I'll be making rounds while everyone works."
"..."
Hearing Ye Ming's demand, the girls guiltily turned their faces away, especially Bronya, who wore an expression that practically read "???"
It seemed that everyone had originally planned to enjoy it together during work hours.
"Can't we watch either?"
Kiana raised her hand.
"Ye Ming, you showed other people our embarrassing moments. In the spirit of reciprocity, we should get to watch yours too!"
"What do you mean, 'we'? Don't lump Himeko in with you."
Ye Ming said against his conscience.
"That content creator turned Himeko and me into lovers. I... I don't really mind, but Himeko would probably feel awkward too, right?"
"Huh?"
Hearing Ye Ming frame it that way, Himeko's entire body trembled.
"I actually... don't mind that much... I can accept it."
The normally straightforward Himeko became bashful and coy, a delicate blush appearing on her face.
"Hm?"
"Himeko, you..."
Himeko's answer, along with her shy appearance, made the girls present look at her with suspicion and wariness.
"The story was so moving that I almost forgot that this content creator is randomly pairing people up."
Keqing was the first to grow jealous, and the other girls, once they came to their senses, voiced their opinions as well.
"We all want Himeko to have a happy ending too, but does it really have to be with a lover?"
Though he did not understand why the girls' reactions were even stronger than Himeko's, Ye Ming saw an opportunity.
He fanned the flames.
"Since everyone is dissatisfied with the plot setup, then don't watch it. Let's get to work."
--Ding dong!
Just as Ye Ming thought victory was in the bag, everyone's phones suddenly chimed with a notification.
"A content creator you follow closely has uploaded a video: 'The Truth of The Last Lesson · Part Two.'"
"..."
"..."
The girls who had just been questioning the creator's pairings all suddenly looked as though ants were crawling all over them, unable to resist the urge to watch.
·
Next chapter in one hour
The Brighter Someone Shines, the More Easily They Burn Themselves Out
"I'll be making rounds, you know."
"Got it~! We're starting work now, Ye Ming, so you should go do your own work too."
After that, a war of slacking off and catching slackers unfolded in the office.
Kiana created another group chat, adding everyone except Ye Ming, and began teaching them her experience in slacking off on the spot.
Boss keys, running things in the background, watching videos through preview thumbnails, and so on...
These were all tricks Kiana had often used to slack off in the past. But after watching The Last Lesson, she had not done any of that again and had been working hard ever since.
"Besides these computer tricks, the key is listening for footsteps."
"Let's try not to move around. The moment we hear footsteps, it has to be Ye Ming's."
As Kiana shared her experience, Nahida, acting as the strategist, suggested:
"We can also use our different seats and lines of sight to share intelligence and keep track of Ye Ming's position."
After deciding on their strategy and tactics, the girls formed a united front and pulled out every trick they had just to sneak a look at the video.
Ye Ming, meanwhile, was also curious. Why was it that every time he made his rounds, they were all staring at their computer desktops?
"This won't do. Ye Ming comes by every few minutes, so we can't watch it properly at all!"
"I heard this episode is amazing. Watching it in bits and pieces ruins the experience too much."
"Isn't there some way..."
Just as everyone was complaining, Miyabi suddenly thought of an idea.
"I've got it! I'll lure Ye Ming away. Wait for me to come back, then we'll watch it together."
Immediately afterward, Miyabi called Yae Miko.
"Miko, are you free today? Mm, come meet Ye Ming."
Then Miyabi ran over to Ye Ming and said:
"The editor-in-chief of Yae Publishing House wants to discuss a collaboration with you. Please make the trip."
"The editor-in-chief... is Yae Miko?"
"Huh? How did you know?"
Miyabi had not even handed over her business card yet, but Ye Ming had already called out Miko's name.
"I saw her in the news before."
Ye Ming made up an excuse to brush it off, while his fingers unconsciously twitched.
The wonderful feeling of holding Miko in her true form against his chest and stroking her fluffy little belly was something Ye Ming would never forget for the rest of his life.
"Where are we meeting? What time?"
"At a café six stops away. Meet her in an hour."
"So urgent? Fine, I'll go and come right back."
After watching Ye Ming leave, Miyabi excitedly ran back to her workstation, then led everyone to the meeting room to watch it on the large projector.
"Did everyone get tissues ready?"
"No need. I won't cry this time."
"Should we briefly watch the last episode first as a recap?"
From Ye Ming and Himeko's romance, to piloting a mech to save the damsel in distress, and finally the silent tears when they could no longer resist their fated death.
Especially when they saw that Himeko failed to kiss him both times, the sense of regret in their hearts surged like a tide.
The only difference from their first viewing was the part where Ye Ming carried the drunk Himeko home...
When Ye Ming spoke those sweet words:
"Perhaps you counted the time we met in our dreams too."
The previously sparse barrage of comments became incredibly dense, nearly covering the entire screen.
Tens of thousands of viewers frantically spammed the message, telling everyone to remember those words.
At last... wrapped in complicated emotions such as fear, anticipation, and heartache, the second half of the story began.
·····················
"So, how did Theresa trick you into coming here?"
It was from the story of Ye Ming and Himeko's first encounter, when Himeko had dragged him to a bar to deepen their relationship.
"Trick me here?"
"Of course. Otherwise, who would be willing to take on the troublesome job of looking after me?"
"I volunteered."
"Huh?"
Ye Ming's words made Himeko's heart tremble. This boy, who suited her tastes so perfectly, had actually approached her on his own initiative?
"Can I hear why?"
"Mm~~"
With a hint of drunkenness, Ye Ming softly began to explain:
Before you continue