Mei: This Is a Provocation!

But Su Moqian still hadn't forgotten that this beautiful girl would steal Mei away from him in the future! So he had to be on his guard.

Just as Su Moqian was pondering his plan to pluck Kiana's ahoge, Kiana suddenly asked:

"By the way, Moqian, how's your relationship with Mei?"

"Me and Mei?" Su Moqian came back to his senses. After a moment's thought, he said:

"We're not that close yet. Why are you suddenly asking?"

Su Moqian remembered that Raiden Mei still had her own plans for now, so he had to play along. He simply said that he and Mei weren't very close.

"You and Mei aren't that close..." Kiana's eyes shifted. Then she suddenly said excitedly:

"Moqian, I have an idea. I'm not sure if I should—"

"You shouldn't." Su Moqian rejected it outright.

This little bug had definitely asked because she'd confirmed that he and Mei weren't close. She was planning to make a move on her!

Hmph! With him here keeping an eye on things, Kiana wouldn't get anywhere near Mei!

"Come on, Moqian, hear me out." Kiana grabbed Su Moqian's hand and shook it as she said:

"Think about it. Mei's ostracized by the whole school and doesn't have a single friend. That's just too lonely, isn't it?"

"So I've decided that I, Kiana Kaslana, will be Raiden Mei's friend!"

Hearing Kiana's words, Su Moqian furrowed his brow. He had to admit she had a point.

If Mei stayed alone this whole time, she really would be too lonely. Having a friend would definitely be for the best.

But the male and female leads had to separate for some reason, and then, when the heroine was lonely, someone else would take advantage of the situation and keep her company.

Why did that plot sound more and more wrong the longer he thought about it?

Just as Su Moqian was furrowing his brow and racking his brains, Kiana tugged on his hand again and called out:

"Hey, Moqian, don't just stand there! You're coming too! How about the three of us hang out together?"

"Huh?" Su Moqian was taken aback.

He never expected Kiana to say something like that.

"What's the matter? You don't want to?" Kiana raised an eyebrow and began to persuade him:

"Moqian, you're such a righteous person. Can you really bear to see a beautiful girl all alone without any friends?"

Hearing the accusatory tone in Kiana's voice, Su Moqian gave an awkward smile.

So she just meant that they'd be Mei's friends together. She'd scared him.

Seeing the change in his expression, Kiana asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Is 'the three of us hanging out' a phrase from Shenzhou? Did I use it wrong?"

At that, Su Moqian hurriedly waved his hands.

"No, no. I was just wondering why you wanted to bring me along too."

"Because I think Mei's so lonely that one friend might not be enough, so I want to bring you along too." Kiana lifted her chin, then added:

"Besides, you're my first friend. Of course I don't want to leave you out."

"Is that so? I'm honored." Su Moqian paused, then smiled.

"Fine, I'm in. The two of us will be Mei's friends!"

At first, Su Moqian had some misgivings about this, but when he considered that a dummy stood between him and Mei, it probably wouldn't make much difference.

Thinking of that, Su Moqian breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Kiana with a hint of admiration.

"I didn't know you cared so much about Mei, Kiana."

Dusk fell, and the sun's fading glow spilled across the city.

The high-rises blocked what little sunlight remained, and some places had already fallen into darkness.

Some businesses had switched on their lights, like beautiful fireworks that made Changkong City even more captivating as night approached.

However, Hayaki Mako, who had just escaped from school, had no time to admire the scenery.

On the one hand, she was feeling down after everything that had just happened.

On the other, she sensed that something was off around her.

"It's probably just my imagination..."

The road she usually took home wasn't in one of Changkong City's busy districts, and there were very few people on the street.

Just as Hayaki Mako decided she must have imagined it, she caught sight of a shadow darting past the corner of her eye.

"N-no way..."

An inexplicable fear took hold of her, and Hayaki Mako felt her legs growing weaker and weaker...

Suddenly, footsteps came from the alley to Hayaki Mako's left.

They drew closer and closer.

Before she could react, the footsteps quickened. Whoever it was had clearly started running toward her.

"Ah!"

Hayaki Mako cried out. Her heart raced as fast as the approaching footsteps.

Overcome with fear, she instinctively tried to run, but she was so frantic that she stumbled and fell after just a couple of steps.

At the moment she fell, a voice suddenly rang out behind her:

"So you're the one who tried to make a move on my Moqian..."

"Wait, that voice...?"

Hayaki Mako recognized it as Asakura Miyuki's—the voice of a girl she had once bullied.

She immediately relaxed and turned around, ready to yell at her.

But the instant Hayaki Mako turned, she instinctively sensed that something was wrong with Asakura Miyuki.

The black-haired girl's face was pale, yet tinged with a strange flush. She wore a sickly smile.

As Hayaki Mako stared at her in utter terror, the girl reached out.

"You dared to make a move on my Moqian... I'll make you pay..."

Mei: "This Is a Provocation!"

The next morning, in the classroom.

"Su, hontōni sumimasen!" ×2

The two girls who had vandalized the classroom the day before bowed deeply to Su Moqian.

They didn't know why Su Moqian was so protective of Mei, or why he'd even taken the blame for her.

But when in doubt, apologize. All they needed to do now was say they were sorry.

"Fine. What's done is done. But I don't want you making the same mistake again. Understood?"

Su Moqian narrowed his eyes at the two girls before him from his seat in the front row.

Just then, the homeroom teacher spoke up too:

"If Student Su hadn't been so generous, you'd both have received at least a school-wide disciplinary notice! Hurry up and thank Brother Moqian!"

Hearing that, Su Moqian couldn't help but chuckle.

This homeroom teacher had a sense of humor.

At the same time, the two girls obediently bowed again. "Thank you, Brother Moqian!"

"All right, go back to your seats."

The homeroom teacher waved them away, then stood at the lectern and spoke loudly:

"I'll say this again: Senba Academy will not tolerate bullying! Anyone who does it again will receive a major demerit and be publicly reprimanded, no matter who they are!"

"Anyone who commits a serious offense will be expelled! Is that clear?" The homeroom teacher thumped the lectern.

"Yes!" the students answered in unison.

Some of them exchanged glances. Now that they realized the school was cracking down on bullying, no one dared to lead others in picking on Mei anymore.

The homeroom teacher looked over the students and nodded in satisfaction. "That should keep them quiet for a while."

Thinking of this, she glanced toward Su Moqian, her eyes full of gratitude.

At first, she'd only hoped that Su Moqian might help Mei.

But she hadn't expected him to solve the problem in just one day.

The homeroom teacher smiled with satisfaction. Just then, the bell rang, and she waved them off.

"All right, class dismissed."

As the bell rang, the students left their seats. Some chatted with friends, while others went to the restroom.

But unlike before, no one dared to openly insult Raiden Mei anymore.

Raiden Mei, sitting at her desk, naturally realized what Su Moqian had done for her.

She couldn't help glancing sideways at him.

Mei knew perfectly well that those girls had been targeting her.

But what she hadn't expected was that, even though she and Su Moqian had broken up, he was still willing to take the blame for her and had even put an end to the bullying.

I really should thank him...

Mei wanted to thank Su Moqian, but she also had to be careful not to overstep. The thought left her troubled.

In the future, Su Moqian would be badly injured by a Honkai Beast while protecting her, triggering her rampage. The aftershocks of the battle against Honkai would then take his life.

Mei knew very well that her rampage hadn't been caused by Miss Herrscher influencing her.

Instead, she'd been plunged into extreme grief and then stimulated by a massive amount of Honkai Energy, which had affected her consciousness.

As if sensing Mei's feelings, the Herrscher of Thunder spoke up:

"Mei, actually, I think you have another option."

"Oh? What is it?" Mei asked curiously.

The Herrscher of Thunder smiled faintly. "All you have to do is tie him up in a basement and keep a close watch on him before Honkai arrives~"

"T-that wouldn't be right, would it?" Raiden Mei's expression changed. She hesitated.

"I'm not some obsessive girl. How could I do something like that? Besides, Moqian would definitely be angry with me..."

Just as Raiden Mei was fretting, a voice suddenly drew her attention:

"Excuse me, is Su Moqian here? I need to talk to him about something."

"Yes, I'm here. What do you need, Kiana?" Su Moqian asked curiously as he walked to the door.

Raiden Mei instinctively looked up toward the doorway. The person there was the white-haired girl she'd seen chatting happily with Su Moqian before!

"Kiana Kaslana..."

Raiden Mei narrowed her eyes as she looked at the white-haired girl's name tag.

"Should I get rid of her for you?" the Herrscher of Thunder asked.

Hearing that, Raiden Mei looked conflicted, but she quickly shook her head.

"N-no, let's not. She's just here to talk to Moqian about something ordinary. It's fine."

Raiden Mei felt that she was acting strangely. Whenever Su Moqian was involved, she had a hard time controlling her emotions.

She's probably just an ordinary friend of Moqian's. There's no need to rush. Stay calm...

Raiden Mei took a deep breath. Meanwhile, Kiana, standing at the door, said:

"Um, I have something I want to talk to you about. It's not convenient here..."

As she spoke, Kiana also glanced toward Raiden Mei.