As long as he had a sturdy, useful shield, even girls who liked Bai Lan would find it difficult to casually "attack" him.
Next was treating the root of the problem.
Because of the unpredictability of lovestruck girls, Bai Lan couldn't understand what the girls who liked him were thinking.
However, since yesterday's outrageous behavior had lowered their favorability toward him, he simply wouldn't do that anymore.
Besides that, he could try other ways of making them hate him while observing their reactions.
If it worked, he would continue. If it had no effect or produced the opposite result, he would stop immediately.
In short, he had to lower the girls' favorability toward him. Even if he couldn't lower it, he had to keep it under control—at the very least, he couldn't let it explode before he dropped out.
As for the specific methods of implementation...
Treating the root of the problem would require further exploration.
He planned to learn from the boys in the class who had successfully earned the girls' hatred, studying their advanced techniques for drawing aggro.
He would remove the parts he couldn't manage, then try them out, verify the results, separate the good from the bad, and eventually develop the effective methods of provocation to their fullest.
It would take some practical experience before he could get results.
"Treating the symptoms" could produce immediate results, so he would discuss that first.
After thinking it over, Bai Lan felt that he had roughly four requirements for a fake girlfriend:
First, she couldn't like him. It would be even better if she disliked him somewhat. That way, she wouldn't... at least not in the short term, turn the fake relationship into a real one.
Second, she needed a certain ability to protect herself, so she wouldn't be defeated by romantic rivals and end up being persecuted.
Third, she needed to possess a unique quality that was difficult to replicate. After all, his choice of girlfriend would indirectly reveal Bai Lan's views on relationships. The more unique the fake girlfriend's persona, the more irreplaceable she would seem to his romantic rivals.
Fourth, she needed to be controllable and capable of guaranteeing her "loyalty."
The reason for the fourth requirement was...
First, to prevent the fake girlfriend from taking the "(fake) battle to protect their love" seriously, causing the romantic rivals to ignore her completely and bypass her to cause trouble for Bai Lan. In that case, the fake girlfriend would be practically useless.
Second, to prevent the fake girlfriend from casually using the identity of "Bai Lan's girlfriend" to do unnecessary things, creating trouble that interfered with Bai Lan's plans, obstructing his dropout, or using that identity to commit some wrongdoing and burden Bai Lan with guilt for having given it to her.
After thinking it over carefully...
As it turned out, Bai Lan really did find a suitable target!
And it wasn't anyone else—it was the gyaru leader who had dared to meet his gaze with such a fierce look today.
After class, Bai Lan deliberately checked her name on the seating chart.
Kei Karuizawa.
From the way she had glared fiercely at Bai Lan that morning, it was clear that she probably had no romantic feelings for him. She even seemed somewhat hostile.
She met the first requirement.
As a gyaru, and possibly even a delinquent girl, ordinary girls generally wouldn't dare provoke her. That gave her the ability to protect herself.
She met the second requirement.
The trait of being the "gyaru leader" was rare to begin with. She was the only one in the entire class.
Moreover, her personality was fiery and hot-tempered, making her equally difficult to approach.
Horikita was like a block of ice: if you didn't touch it, you wouldn't get frostbite.
Karuizawa, on the other hand, felt like a ball of fire. As long as there was even a little flammable material nearby, she would spread toward it and consume it.
Compared to Horikita, however, she was still within the normal range of being "difficult to get along with," and she could still make friends she got along with.
She was also very beautiful and cute. Her looks were practically a substitute for Horikita's, making her a strong contender for the class beauty title.
She met the third requirement.
Besides, Karuizawa might have admirers.
For admirers of the gyaru leader, the odds of one being a brute who valued violence above all else seemed much higher!
Finally, there was the fourth requirement.
How could he guarantee her "loyalty"?
Shared interests?
Or perhaps threatening her with some kind of leverage?
Bai Lan planned to observe her carefully.
He would see what she wanted.
Alternatively, if he discovered that she had done something bad, he could force her to cooperate with evidence.
If she really was some kind of delinquent girl, she must have done a few bad things, right?
For example, forcing classmates to "lend" her money or bullying weaker students?
If he got hold of evidence of her crimes, he could use her without the slightest psychological burden.
He could treat it as "rehabilitation," perhaps?
Time flew by.
Before long, it was noon.
Japan's lunch break was very short, only an hour. After eating, washing up, and chatting a little, it was basically time for class to start again.
Although Bai Lan had already been in Japan for half a year, attending school had mostly been a formality for him, and he had rarely gone. As a result, he wasn't very familiar with how Japanese students actually spent their lunch breaks.
Bai Lan had a habit of scouting the environment around him, so he subconsciously began observing how his classmates dealt with lunch.
Most students took out bento boxes they had prepared beforehand. He didn't know whether they had bought them from a convenience store on the way that morning or made them themselves. They would move a desk over with a few close friends, gather around, and chat while eating.
He noticed that all the bentos were cold food and contained very little sauce.
There were two reasons for this.
First, food spoiled less easily when it contained little moisture and was kept at a lower temperature.
Second, food odors evaporated along with moisture. The faster the moisture evaporated, the stronger the smell became, and strong odors could disturb the people nearby. Cold food with little moisture could suppress the smells released by the food as much as possible.
In Bai Lan's view, such meals were fine once in a while, but eating them regularly would be torture.
During a proper meal, if he didn't have something hot in his stomach, he would feel that no matter how much he ate—even if he ate until he was stuffed—his body would still feel empty, as if something were missing...
Then, Bai Lan suddenly had an idea.
If he ate strong-smelling food in the classroom, could he lower the girls' favorability toward him?
After thinking about it, Bai Lan decided to put the idea aside for the time being.
What if he was once again misunderstood as being in a plot where Man, you've successfully caught my attention again?
He should imitate others properly first before thinking about surpassing them.
Besides bringing a bento, students could also go downstairs to eat in the cafeteria or visit a convenience store.
Bai Lan chose to go to the cafeteria for something hot.
On the way out of the classroom...
Several girls blocked his path while moving desks.
He took the opportunity to conduct a special experiment.
"You're blocking my way," Bai Lan said.
Faced with such an impolite tone, the girls showed no signs of anger at all. Instead, they each said, "Sorry," then happily laughed as they made way for him.
(The girls: Bai's not good with words, is he? How interesting!)
This instead left Bai Lan feeling somewhat guilty and uncomfortable.
They were treated rudely, yet they didn't get angry. They were even happy.
How strange!
It was settled!
The diagnosis was confirmed.
They were definitely lovestruck, no doubt about it.
23. The Little Angel Squatting in the Corner (Please follow and vote!)
Bai Lan arrived at the cafeteria and ordered a beef ramen that could be served quickly.
Special request: less broth, extra toppings.
Three-one-two-eight-clothes-four-clothes-three-nine
After collecting his order...
Bai Lan also took some free purified water.
Then, under the astonished gazes of the ramen chef and the other students who liked ramen, he poured the purified water into the bowl, which contained only half a bowl of broth. He kept pouring until the steaming, richly seasoned soup was only slightly warmer than Bai Lan's lips and had reached a moderate level of saltiness.
Just like that, the ramen became pleasantly seasoned and not hot at all, allowing him to eat it freely.
Japanese people valued "simple meals."
Its defining characteristic was—less!
That was why the amount of noodles in a bowl of ramen was actually quite small.
Bai Lan first ate a few pieces of beef to whet his appetite, then swallowed the entire bowl of ramen in two or three bursts. He barely chewed at all, giving the impression that he was forcing it straight down his throat.
Did they understand what "tornado-style noodle slurping" meant?
Japanese people deliberately made a "slurp~ slurp~" sound when eating ramen to show their respect for the chef.
Bai Lan's respect was even greater. His sound was more like "gulp~ gulp~."
After just a few gulps, the ramen had been swallowed into Bai Lan's stomach.
After finishing, Bai Lan went back for an extra serving of noodles.
Japanese people believed that the broth was the essence of ramen, while the noodles were merely a garnish.
That was why many Japanese ramen shops offered free extra noodles, while extra broth cost more.
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