Yun Lan walked along a path on campus, thinking as he went. Ayanokoji's emotional expression differed across the anime, manga, and novels, as did the way her character was portrayed. But her core traits remained the same: she believed in keeping to herself, absolute rationality, and overwhelming ability.
Still, he wondered what would change about a female Ayanokoji.
"Forget it, forget it. No more thinking. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Yun Lan's attitude toward Ayanokoji was simple: I won't get in your way, so don't get in mine.
Just as Yun Lan reached the dormitory, a girl stepped out of the elevator.
It was Ayanokoji Kiyona, the girl who'd been on his mind.
Out of politeness, Yun Lan walked over to greet her.
"Ayanokoji, are you heading to the cafeteria to eat?"
"Yes, Yun Lan. But we're friends, so I'd rather you call me Kiyona."
Ayanokoji Kiyona's reply was clear and gentle, her lips curved in a precisely calculated, comforting smile. She deliberately left out her surname, letting "Kiyona" linger in the air for a moment, like a warm token of social currency.
Yun Lan's smile was flawless, even a little brighter than before. "Sure, Kiyona. Go on and eat, then. See you later."
"See you later."
Watching Ayanokoji Kiyona turn toward the cafeteria, her slender figure poised and composed, Yun Lan kept smiling as he made his way lightly up the stairs. Only after he'd rounded the landing and knew he was completely out of her sight did the sunny, friendly mask slip from his face.
(〃＞皿＜)
He could barely suppress a silent scream as his pace quickened in the empty stairwell. Their brief exchange had left him reeling from the sheer amount of information packed into it.
"Friends"? "Call me Kiyona"?
Every word had been a carefully calibrated bullet. She'd struck the perfect balance between "friendly enough to close the distance" and "not so intimate as to raise suspicion." This kind of deliberately offered, perfectly measured closeness wasn't the casual friendliness of an ordinary high schooler. It felt more like... an efficient social investment.
"Has little Ayanokoji started making her move?" Yun Lan hurried back to his room, shut the door, and leaned lightly against it as he let out a long breath. The usual carelessness was gone from his eyes, replaced by a sharp, analytical gleam. "Defining the level of the relationship first, using a form of address to forge a particular bond, building psychological leverage for future requests or information exchanges... Isn't that the standard process for marking a potential tool?"
He remembered the look in her eyes as she spoke. They seemed gentle and attentive, but lacked genuine warmth. It was more like she was evaluating an object's usability. She wasn't looking at Yun Lan as a person. She was scanning a unit called "Yun Lan" that might have some value to her.
"Damn, every little thing is a move in the game." Yun Lan scratched his head and went to the window, which offered a perfect view of the tree-lined path to the cafeteria. The familiar figure was walking at an unhurried pace, her steps even and her posture relaxed. She blended perfectly into the students drifting past in the evening light, giving no hint that she'd just conducted a precise social probe.
He began rapidly replaying his response. He'd cheerfully agreed, then immediately excused himself and gone upstairs—that should have been acceptable. He hadn't looked so flattered by her acceptance that he'd revealed a weakness and made himself seem easy to control. Nor had he seemed wary or distant, which might have made her reassess how convincing his disguise was and prompted a subtler test. He'd played an ordinary classmate who was a little pleased by this unexpected friendliness but hadn't thought much of it.
"I'll have to treat her like a walking strategy map..." Yun Lan murmured, tapping his fingers against the windowsill without realizing it. The cafeteria lights had come on, their warm glow spreading through the glass. He knew Ayanokoji Kiyona wasn't going in just to eat. She'd pick an advantageous seat, observe the flow of people, the social groups, even their dining habits. Every ordinary dinner was an opportunity to update her vast database.
And she'd already quietly stuck an invisible label on him: "Relationship: friendly, observe, approachable."
The feeling sent a chill down his spine, and yet... it was strangely exciting. Like a beautiful, dangerous predator had finally appeared beneath the surface of a still lake—one worth giving his full attention.
"All right, 'Kiyona.'" Yun Lan looked out at the darkening sky and forced a smile that held little warmth. "Since you've made the first move... I'll play this game of friendship with you."
He turned away from the window and began considering what to have for dinner, and how to wear his "ordinary classmate" mask more convincingly the next time they "ran into each other"—perhaps even slipping in a few insignificant pieces of his own, without making her suspicious.
A game of strategy was never one-sided.
In this game, whoever fell in love first lost. He had to admit, it was pretty interesting.
Just then, Yun Lan's phone received a friend request from an unknown account.
It read: "Guess who I am?"
Yun Lan glanced at the message, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile. He slowly typed, putting on an act: "Are you Mei?"
The other person replied instantly: "Nope!"
There it was again—that dazzling musical note.
The amusement in Yun Lan's eyes deepened. He could almost picture the person on the other end staring at the screen, eager to correct him. That reaction ruled out a few possibilities and revealed something about their personality: direct, a little impatient, and apparently very invested in this guessing game.
His fingers hovered over the screen for a moment before he typed another name, this time with a more obvious teasing lilt:
"Then you're Mobius."
"Wrong again!"
At that very moment, a pink-haired girl sitting on a train puffed out her cheeks cutely as she looked at Yun Lan's message.
"What?!" she muttered under her breath, sounding both soft and indignant. "Mobius? Why would she talk to you like that? Yun Lan, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you? You know I hate beating around the bush!"
Her slender fingers flew across the screen:
"Wrong again!"
After sending it, she continued glaring at the screen, as if she could send her annoyance across the miles by staring hard enough. She muttered to herself in a quick, quiet voice, as if rehearsing a monologue:
"Yun-Lan-you-idiot!"
"We've only been apart for a little while, and you've already forgotten all my habits?"
"Do I really have to send you a selfie? That'd be so boring..."
"Come on, think! Think of the name 'Elysia'!"
Before you continue