Although Wu Qiao was now much stronger than an ordinary person, he was still human. The punch landed squarely in his stomach, making him double over slightly as he sucked in a sharp breath through gritted teeth.
It took him a good while to straighten up. Rubbing his sore stomach, Wu Qiao looked helplessly at Kushida Kikyo, who seemed a little dazed. "All right, we're even. That was a pretty hard punch. Looks like you've been holding in a lot of resentment."
Seeing Wu Qiao's pained expression actually helped Kushida Kikyo relax. The fear she'd felt under his absolute control had also faded considerably. She bit her lip and said quietly, "You agreed to it."
"Yeah, I did." Wu Qiao smiled. He wasn't angry about what she'd just done. Instead, he reached out and patted Kushida Kikyo on the head, as if soothing a bristling kitten. "Now that our deal's done, we're on the same side. Remember what you promised. Don't disappoint me."
Kushida Kikyo didn't pull away. She looked up at the unfathomable boy before her. The contrast between his violence a moment ago and his gentleness now left her unable to figure him out.
"I understand." Kushida Kikyo took a deep breath and straightened her rumpled clothes and hair, trying to regain her usual sweet demeanor. "I'll cooperate with you."
Wu Qiao nodded, then turned toward the tree where Karuizawa Kei was hiding and beckoned. "Come on out, Kei. The show's over."
Holding her phone, Karuizawa Kei emerged from behind the tree, looking uneasy. She'd watched the whole time as Wu Qiao subdued Kushida Kikyo. His ruthlessness and decisiveness had made her heart pound. Now, as Wu Qiao approached as if nothing had happened, she instinctively tightened her grip on her phone.
"Keep that video safe. It'll be an important bargaining chip for keeping Kushida in check." Wu Qiao winked at Karuizawa Kei, sounding so casual that you'd think nothing had happened. "But don't worry. As long as she behaves, it'll just sit there unused."
When Kushida Kikyo saw Karuizawa Kei emerge, her expression shifted slightly, but she quickly regained her composure. She knew her secret was now completely exposed to the two of them. There was no turning back.
"I'll head back, then," Kushida Kikyo said quietly, turning to leave.
"Wait," Wu Qiao called after her. "See you tomorrow. And... remember to button your clothes."
Kushida Kikyo stopped. Her cheeks reddened slightly, and she hurried away from the lakeside without looking back.
Watching Kushida Kikyo disappear into the distance, Karuizawa Kei couldn't help asking, "Wu-kun, do you really believe she'll behave?"
Wu Qiao gazed at the bright moon in the night sky and smiled faintly. "Whether I believe her doesn't matter. What matters is that she has no choice."
Karuizawa Kei nodded, only half understanding. She had a vague feeling that Wu Qiao's plans were only just beginning—and that, without realizing it, she had already become a pawn in his game.
Late at night, the girls' dormitory at Advanced Nurturing High School was quiet. Only a bedside lamp cast a soft glow. Ichinose Honami sat cross-legged on her bed, staring intently at the translucent interface that only she could see.
She took a deep breath, steadying her somewhat ragged breathing. This time, before pressing the start button, she decided not to blindly go with the flow. Instead, she would first thoroughly review what had happened and prepare.
First, she crossed off Wu Qiao as a potential "imaginary enemy."
After her previous simulation and her real-life interactions with him, she was absolutely certain that there was no need to guard against or target the boy. Wu Qiao showed even the most basic kindness toward many people, sometimes in ways that seemed a little odd. He was definitely not the sort of villain who would go out of his way to hurt others.
Furthermore...
Ichinose Honami's expression grew solemn as she realized that Advanced Nurturing High School itself was the biggest problem. During the first simulation, the school had subtly targeted Wu Qiao, gradually forcing him to use enough violence to sweep away the entire world.
So... did she really need to join the Student Council after all? The tragedy in the first simulation had largely happened because Miyabi Nagumo and Chairman Tsukishiro had pressured Wu Qiao at every turn, driving him completely out of control.
Once she had sorted through her thoughts, Ichinose Honami opened the Life Simulator and began confirming the simulation.
When it came time to draw a talent, she looked at the blue talent, [Trust Framework], that had appeared before her and smiled wryly.
This talent could quickly earn her other people's trust, but in the face of ruthless power plays, it was little more than an optional support. Besides, she was already fairly good at that.
It seemed she would have to rely on her own decisions from here on.
As the Simulator officially launched, a wave of drowsiness washed over her. Ichinose Honami closed her eyes and sank into a deep sleep.
Though it was called sleep, she was actually watching events unfold from an observer's perspective. She could only intervene directly when key situations arose.
Soon, the simulation began.
At the start, Ichinose Honami joined the Student Council without a hitch through Miyabi Nagumo's connections.
She knew Miyabi Nagumo had certain problems. He was capricious and unscrupulous, but if she wanted to help Wu Qiao from the inside, she had to try to get close to him. Besides, this was only a simulation. It didn't matter if she made a mistake.
After she joined the Student Council, school life seemed to proceed as usual. But before long, a fierce conflict broke out between Class A and Class D.
Ichinose found it very strange. The beginning of the school year in neither the first nor the second simulation had seen violence on this scale. It hadn't even been a month since classes started, yet tensions were far too high.
But then... the scene that appeared before her left Ichinose Honami completely stunned.
Wu Qiao was carried into the infirmary, covered in blood and barely recognizable.
Kito Hayato from Class A, who had always seemed like a fairly normal student, had really gone that far?
Ichinose's mind went blank. How was that possible? The boy who, in the first simulation, had single-handedly rendered the world's military forces powerless, an invincible being like a god—he'd been hurt? And so badly?
How was that possible? Could it be... that even the power he'd used to sweep away everything had only been forced out of him?
Just like the vast knowledge he displayed later, had it all been acquired afterward—or awakened out of desperation?
Before all that, had he only been an ordinary boy who could get hurt and bleed?
Looking at Wu Qiao's pale face on the hospital bed, Ichinose Honami suddenly felt she understood the boy better. A tenderness she had never felt before welled up inside her.
So he hadn't been born a monster. He could feel pain, too.
Fortunately, Wu Qiao wasn't in any danger, and the school's senior staff quickly dealt with the incident. But it served as a warning to Ichinose.
For Class B, and to solve the problem with Wu Qiao, Ichinose Honami began building as many connections as she could, trying to weave a vast network of relationships.
Watching her interactions with everyone in this simulation, especially her time with Miyabi Nagumo, Ichinose's attitude shifted in a subtle way. In the previous simulations, she had always faced the Student Council vice president with wariness and fear.
But this time, when she set aside her prejudice and tried to understand his position, she suddenly felt that Miyabi Nagumo wasn't so bad. Perhaps he was targeting Wu Qiao only because they stood on different sides.
It was just like the competition between classes. Miyabi Nagumo wanted to put his ideals into practice and lead everyone toward what he considered "excellence." But that would inevitably prevent others from graduating in Class A, and some would even be sacrificed. It wasn't pure malice. It was a clash of ideals and positions.
Once she understood that, Ichinose Honami decided to "meet sincerity with sincerity" this time. At every crucial point where she could intervene, she made bold choices.
Instead of avoiding conflict, she opened her heart and accepted others for who they were, using the gentleness she was best at to soothe and win over their restless spirits.
Meanwhile, just as in the first simulation, Wu Qiao truly became a complete "bookworm." He spent all day buried in books, immersed in a sea of knowledge. He often shared interesting things he'd read, and whenever his class needed help, he would rush in without hesitation.
Watching the boy read quietly in the sunshine, sometimes smiling gently, Ichinose felt this was when he was most at ease.
What surprised and pleased Ichinose Honami most was that Wu Qiao didn't grow distant from her, even when she didn't go out of her way to cultivate their relationship or orbit around him like a headless fly.
He would greet her first, naturally sit with her when they ran into each other in the library, and bring her a bottle of water when she was tired.
So she had been too anxious and insecure in the previous simulation. It had been her fault.
Before she knew it, the simulation's progress bar had reached winter. Ichinose Honami watched the peaceful school in the scene, where everyone lived in harmony without violence or sacrifice, and a satisfied smile curved her lips. She had finally found the key to breaking the deadlock—not opposition, but understanding and acceptance.