Probabilistic Cloudification

Teacher Himeko loved saying nonsense and causing trouble whenever she got drunk.

"And you always like mixing beer and vodka. You pass out after just a few drinks—what if you run into some bad guys?"

"Bad guys?"

Himeko scoffed and waved a dismissive hand. "That sort of thing? However many come, I'll beat them all. Even drunk, they wouldn't be enough for a warm-up."

"Besides, you said it yourself—today's Sunday. What's wrong with having a little drink at home? I have to work overtime every day looking after you little brats, and it's even delayed my lifelong happiness. And now I'm not even allowed to drink? What's wrong with this world? Boo hoo hoo..."

After saying that, she even started fake crying, like a little girl who had never grown up.

Ren Yu stared at her in astonishment, then looked toward Mei, whose expression remained calm, as if she had long since gotten used to it.

Kiana, meanwhile, gleefully stirred up trouble.

"Assistant Teacher, why don't you consider Teacher Himeko? Try developing something with her. She's already twenty-six—if she doesn't get married soon, it'll be too late."

"We'll see." Ren Yu shook his head. Himeko's words were half true and half false; she was probably more interested in teasing him.

If she meant it, though, he really wouldn't mind something happening between them.

After all, in Bouncy Bouncy, he had even seen what she looked like in a wedding dress.

As for her age...

It didn't matter. She was only seven years older.

No big deal. No big deal.

By the time Ren Yu walked out of Himeko's dormitory, the sky was already covered in dark clouds, and a light rain had begun to fall.

The scent of rain and earth rushed toward him. Standing by the dormitory entrance, Ren Yu sighed helplessly.

What rotten luck. Why did it have to start raining now?

Just as he hesitated over whether to go back and borrow an umbrella, Mei walked over carrying a white umbrella.

"Assistant Teacher, if you don't mind, you can use mine."

She smiled and handed it to him. It was a beautiful white embroidered umbrella, exquisitely elegant—less like something meant to keep out rain and more like a collector's item.

Ren Yu could see how valuable it was and hesitated over whether to refuse it. "Wouldn't that be inappropriate? It would be awful if it got dirty."

But Mei gently shook her head. "Things are meant to be used. Even if they're stored away, after thousands or tens of thousands of years, they'll still become a handful of dust."

"Alright, then I'll accept it."

Ren Yu took the umbrella and gradually disappeared around the corner beneath her gaze.

Mei did not immediately return indoors. She stood where she was, gazing at the threadlike curtain of rain, lost in thought.

Teacher Dormitory, District C.

When Sie woke up, she discovered that Ren Yu was already gone.

She ran out of the dormitory in panic and headed downstairs.

At that moment, gloomy clouds obscured the bright sun, and the dim darkness instinctively drew her attention.

It looks like it's about to rain.

Just as Sie murmured to herself, several female students walked straight toward her, chatting and laughing.

Only when they were about to collide did Sie suddenly come back to her senses and try to turn aside.

But something strange happened. That unfamiliar female student seemed not to notice her at all and showed no intention of avoiding her. She simply walked straight through Sie.

Sie was completely ignored, like air that did not exist.

Only after the girls had walked far away did Sie come back to herself. Confused and with difficulty, she glanced at the girls behind her, who remained utterly unaware.

The confusion on her face intensified, and her complexion gradually turned pale.

A terrible premonition flashed through her heart.

"Ha... am I dreaming?"

"Could it be... no, it can't be!"

Some words she had heard from "Snake" surfaced once more in Sie's heart.

Sie desperately suppressed the panic rising within her. She refused to believe such an absurd reality—that no one could perceive her.

To verify her suspicion, she hurried over to another passerby, forced a stiff smile, and greeted her. "H-Hello?"

Yet the other girl still did not notice her, instead chatting and laughing with her companion.

It was as though Sie had never existed in the first place.

Sie froze where she stood as if struck by lightning, her arms hanging limply at her sides.

"Why..."

Her eyes dimmed as her gaze fell upon the girl whose body her arm had passed through.

"I can't even... touch anyone?"

Probability Cloudification

Unwilling to accept it, Sie swallowed and greeted the girl beside her again and again.

As the attempts piled up, her voice grew louder and hoarser.

At last, her persistence paid off.

Sie noticed one girl looking in her direction and waving toward where she stood, apparently saying something as well.

In that moment, she felt like someone who had lived in darkness for years and finally seen the long-lost sun.

Sie's heart jolted.

Finally, someone had noticed her.