The Person in the Real Sect Only Wants to Drop Out Section 19

As long as he had a sturdy and useful shield, even if the girls had a good impression of Bai Lan, they wouldn't casually "attack" him.

Next came the root cure.

Because of the unpredictability of love-struck minds, Bai Lan couldn't understand what the girls who liked him were thinking.

However, since behaving as outrageously as he did yesterday would lower those love-struck girls' affection, then he just wouldn't do it anymore from now on.

Besides that, he could try other ways to draw hatred, while simultaneously observing the girls' reactions.

If it worked, he'd continue; if it was useless or backfired, he'd stop immediately.

In short, he had to lower the girls' affection, or at least suppress it, so it wouldn't erupt before he dropped out.

As for the specific implementation.

The "root cure" still needed exploration.

He planned to learn from the boys in the class who had successfully earned the girls' dislike, studying their advanced techniques for attracting hatred.

He'd remove the parts he absolutely couldn't do, then try, verify, refine, and ultimately amplify the effective taunting methods.

It would take some practice to get results.

The "symptom cure" could take effect immediately, so he'd start with that.

Bai Lan thought it over and figured the conditions for finding a fake girlfriend were probably four:

First, she had no feelings for him—some dislike would be even better, so she wouldn't... at least not in the short term, turn the fake into real.

Second, she had some ability to protect herself, so the fake girlfriend wouldn't lose to rivals and suffer harm.

Third, she had a unique, hard-to-replicate quality. After all, the choice of girlfriend would indirectly show Bai Lan's taste in partners; the more unique the fake girlfriend's persona, the more irreplaceable she'd seem to rivals.

Fourth, she could guarantee "loyalty" and be controllable.

The reason for the fourth condition.

One was to prevent the fake girlfriend from not taking the "(fake) love defense battle" seriously, causing rivals to ignore her and bypass her to trouble Bai Lan directly—in that case, the fake girlfriend would be almost useless.

Two was to prevent the fake girlfriend from casually using the "Bai Lan's girlfriend" identity to do unnecessary things, causing trouble that affected his plans, hindering his dropout, or using the identity to do bad things, burdening Bai Lan, who gave her that identity, with guilt.

After some thought.

And sure enough, Bai Lan actually found a suitable target!

He wasn't talking about anyone else, but the gyaru leader who had dared to glare at him with fierce eyes today.

After class, Bai Lan specifically went to the seating chart to check her name.

Kei Karuizawa.

From the way she glared at Bai Lan fiercely this morning, it was clear she had no romantic feelings for him—maybe even some hostility.

That fit the first condition.

As a gyaru, maybe even a delinquent girl, ordinary girls wouldn't dare provoke her, so she had self-protection ability.

The second condition was met.

The "gyaru leader" attribute was rare in itself; she was the only one in the class.

And her fiery, irritable personality was also hard to approach.

However, Horikita was like a block of ice—you wouldn't get frostbite if you didn't touch it.

But Karuizawa felt like a fire; as long as there was something flammable nearby, she'd burn into it.

Still, compared to Horikita, she was within the normal range of "hard to get along with" and could still make friends.

She was also very pretty and cute, almost a substitute for Horikita in looks, a strong contender for class beauty.

The third condition was met.

Additionally, Karuizawa might have suitors.

The suitors of a gyaru leader seemed much more likely to include people who prioritized force!

Finally, the fourth condition.

How to guarantee "loyalty"?

Shared interests?

Or threatening with some leverage?

Bai Lan planned to observe her carefully.

To see what interests she had.

Or if he found her doing something bad, he could use evidence to coerce her cooperation.

If she really was some kind of delinquent girl, she'd probably do some bad things, right?

Like: forcing classmates to "borrow" money, bullying weaker students, or something?

If he caught evidence of her wrongdoing, then he could use her without any psychological burden.

Think of it as "reform through labor"?

Time flew by.

It was now noon.

Japan's lunch break was very short—only an hour. Basically, by the time you ate, washed up, and chatted a bit, it was already time for class.

Although Bai Lan had been in Japan for half a year, since he was only nominally enrolled and rarely attended school, he wasn't all that familiar with the real lunchtime habits of Japanese students.

Bai Lan had a habit of scouting his surroundings, so he subconsciously observed how his classmates handled their midday meals.

Most students pulled out pre-prepared lunches—either bought from a convenience store on the way to school or homemade—and then, with a few close friends, each dragged a desk over, gathered in a circle, and ate while chatting.

He noticed that everyone's bento boxes were cold food, with not much sauce.

The reason for this was twofold.

First, in conditions with less moisture and lower temperatures, food was less likely to spoil.

Second, food odors evaporated along with moisture; the faster the moisture evaporated, the stronger the smell. A strong smell might disturb others, while cold food with less moisture could suppress the scent as much as possible.

To Bai Lan, eating like that was fine once in a while, but doing it regularly was torture.

If he didn't have something warm in his stomach during a proper meal, no matter how much he ate—even until he was stuffed—he'd still feel a hollow emptiness inside, like something was missing...

Just then, Bai Lan had a sudden inspiration.

If he ate something with a strong smell in the classroom, could he lower the girls' favorability toward him?

After thinking it over, Bai Lan decided to shelve that idea for now.

What if he was once again misunderstood as "Man, you've successfully caught my attention again"?

Better to master imitation first, then think about surpassing it.

Aside from bringing a bento, he could also go downstairs to the cafeteria or head to a convenience store.

Bai Lan chose the cafeteria for a hot meal.

On his way out of the classroom.

A few girls were moving desks and blocked his path completely.

He took the chance to run a little experiment.

"You're in my way," Bai Lan said.

Faced with such a blunt tone, the girls didn't get angry at all. Instead, they all said "Sorry," then cheerfully laughed and made way for him.

(Girls: Bai-kun's way with words is so awkward, it's hilarious!)

This actually made Bai Lan feel a bit guilty and uncomfortable.

Being treated rudely, yet not only not getting mad, but being happy about it.

Too weird!

Confirmed!

Diagnosis.

Must be love-brain, no doubt.

23, Little Angel Crouching by the Wall (Please follow! Please vote!)

Bai Lan arrived at the cafeteria and ordered a bowl of beef ramen that was quick to serve.

Special instructions: Less broth, extra toppings.

After picking up his order.

Bai Lan also grabbed some free purified water.

Then, under the astonished gazes of the ramen chef and the other students who loved ramen, he poured the water into the bowl, which only had half a bowl of broth, until the steaming, heavily seasoned soup was just slightly warmer than Bai Lan's lips and had a balanced saltiness.

Just like that, the ramen became perfectly warm, not hot, and easy to eat.

Japanese people advocate for "simple eating."

Its hallmark is—small portions!

So a bowl of ramen there didn't have much noodles to begin with.

Then, Bai Lan first ate a few slices of beef to whet his appetite, and in two or three mouthfuls, he downed the entire bowl of ramen, barely chewing at all, as if he were just shoving it down his throat.

Do you even know what "tornado-inhale noodle-slurping" means?

When Japanese people eat ramen, they deliberately make a "slurp~ slurp~" sound to show respect to the chef.

Bai Lan's respect went even further—his sound was "gulp~ gulp~."

With just a few "gulps," the entire bowl of ramen was swallowed into his stomach.

After finishing, Bai Lan went back for a "noodle refill."

Japanese people believe that the broth is the essence of ramen, while the noodles are just a side ingredient.

That's why many Japanese ramen shops offer free noodle refills, but charge extra for more broth.