Correcting Kikyo Kushida

Normal Kikyo Kushida

Darkened state

Seeing that Xia Mu didn't seem to be joking, Shiina eyed him doubtfully. After hesitating for a moment, she decided to give it a try.

But doing something so embarrassing in front of so many people made her feel rather shy.

Still, it was for the sake of knowledge—and to satisfy her curiosity.

In the end, she imitated Xia Mu and quietly performed the ritual.

Watching Shiina imitate what he'd just done, repeating over and over, "Knowledge, come into my head. Knowledge, come into my head..."

Xia Mu's face flushed red as he struggled to hold back his laughter.

Why was she so adorable?

"Huh?"

After finishing the ritual, Shiina found her mind was still completely blank.

She stared at him, bewildered. "Xia Mu, it didn't work!"

"Pfft—hahahaha!" Xia Mu finally burst out laughing. He clutched his stomach, tears streaming from his eyes. "I was just kidding."

"Actually, I'd already reviewed everything beforehand, so I was able to answer your questions clearly."

Shiina pressed her legs tightly together, so embarrassed she wished she could crawl into a hole. "Aaaah, Xia Mu, you tricked me!"

She raised her pink fist and lightly punched him. "That's your punishment!"

"Okay, okay. Punish me all you want..." Xia Mu laughed without stopping.

"Honestly."

Looking at him, Shiina seemed a little helpless, though a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

"Your mapo tofu is here~"

After a while, the server brought their food.

Xia Mu had laughed himself out, so he grabbed his chopsticks and dug in with gusto.

Shiina, meanwhile, held her spoon and took small, delicate sips.

After they finished eating, the two of them strolled back toward the dorms.

"This is my floor."

In the elevator, Xia Mu reached the floor where his dorm was and stepped out.

Shiina hesitated for a moment, then poked her head out of the elevator. "Xia Mu, could you come to the library after school tomorrow?"

"I'd like to read and study with you."

She thought Xia Mu was interesting. He wasn't as lifeless as a bookworm, nor was he the sort of boy who liked to shout and carry on.

Xia Mu paused and waved a hand behind him. "Sure, if I'm free."

He quite liked the cute and sweet Shiina, too.

"Then, see you tomorrow!"

Hearing Xia Mu agree, Shiina's face lit up with a brilliant smile. She murmured the number on his dorm room door to herself. "405..."

The next day, dawn was breaking in the east.

That morning, Xia Mu ran into Suzune in the elevator.

She still wore the same impassive expression, like a haughty swan.

"I thought you'd just acted on a whim, or were playing one of those boring 'chance encounter' games."

On the way to the track, Suzune spoke up from ahead of him.

But after waiting a long time, she heard no reply from Xia Mu.

She turned around. Xia Mu had already headed off to the school's second track on his own.

"So rude." Her eyebrows lifted sharply.

After his run, Xia Mu went back to his dorm as usual to shower and dry his hair. Then he bought breakfast and headed to class.

His arrival caused no stir in the classroom. He was even less noticeable in the class than Ayanokoji—or, perhaps, he'd isolated himself from the entire class.

The students had formed small groups of two or three, discussing where to go that weekend and which newly released games were any good.

Yamauchi and the other two in his group were just as hostile toward Xia Mu as ever.

Xia Mu sat down, unlocked his phone, and started reading A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality.

As he read, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.

Come to think of it, he still didn't know how to earn Skill Points. The system hadn't explained it, either.

Looks like he'd have to figure it out on his own.

But there was a good chance it had something to do with the people at this school.

As he pondered this, Hirata walked over to him with a warm smile. "Xia Mu, could we talk?"

His tone was gentle. Most people wouldn't have refused.

"No." Xia Mu rejected him outright.

He knew that the kind and gentle-looking person standing before him had been a genuine bully in middle school. He'd claimed he didn't want anyone to be bullied, yet he'd led the bullying himself.

On the one hand, he wanted his classmates to get along peacefully and leave no one out.

On the other, he didn't want to take concrete action to bring them together the way Ichinose did—or perhaps he lacked the ability.

All he did was blame others.

He was just like the two-faced, holier-than-thou Kikyo Kushida.

"Huh?"

Hirata was stunned. He'd expected Xia Mu to be difficult to approach, but he hadn't expected him to refuse so bluntly.

Sigh.

He gave a small sigh, like someone whose friendly overture had been met with cold indifference. "Xia Mu, don't you think shutting yourself away like this, refusing to interact with your classmates and retreating into your own world, will keep you from growing?"

He looked like some great sage. The sight made Xia Mu frown.

"Have I caused the class any direct harm?"

"I passed the exams, haven't broken any rules, and have never picked a fight with anyone."

A bead of sweat appeared at Hirata's temple. "That's true, but..."

"So could you stop bothering me?"

Xia Mu's attitude rivaled Suzune's.

But Suzune's coldness came from the conviction that she and Xia Mu were different kinds of people and couldn't communicate.

Xia Mu, on the other hand, spoke in a perfectly even tone. His deep, dark eyes revealed nothing of what he was feeling.

"Fine..."

As the class's resident good guy, Hirata couldn't say much more. He could only return to his seat, dejected.

After that, he went over to Kushida and said something to her.

Kushida glanced back at Xia Mu, then smiled and made an OK sign to Hirata.

Tsk. Looks like trouble's coming.

Xia Mu's shoulders sagged, and his eyes half closed.

All he wanted now was to rack up some Skill Points, learn a few awesome skills, and enjoy a quiet life here.

Of course, if a cute girl wanted to talk to him, he wouldn't turn her down. A guy, though? No thanks.

He already had Zhu Xincheng. There was no room in his heart for anyone else.

Put simply, he was a practical, ordinary student who had no interest in all this drama.

It wasn't like he was getting paid for it.

Time flew by like sand slipping through his fingers, and the morning passed uneventfully.

At noon, Xia Mu went to the cafeteria to eat. As usual, he ordered the deluxe premium set meal and found an empty corner to sit in.

No sooner had he sat down than Kushida seemed to lock onto her target. Her bright, lovely face lit up with a smile as she came over and sat across from Xia Mu. "Xia Mu, may I sit here?"

To be honest, Kikyo Kushida was quite pretty, with rosy lips, pearly white teeth, and a curvy, rounded figure. She was very cute.

But Xia Mu knew she was no angel behind the scenes, so he immediately...

[Quest Issued]

[Correct Kikyo Kushida's psychological issues. The reward will depend on the degree of correction.]

[No penalty for failure]

"Sure!" Xia Mu's eyes lit up.