Early in the morning, Kiana ran up the stairs of the academic building with a piece of bread in her mouth.
The school was quiet. Kiana didn't see anyone outside; everyone must have already gone to class.
Kiana had woken up today, saw that it was still early, and went back for a nap. When she woke up again, it was already almost eight o'clock. She hurriedly got dressed and ran towards the academic building.
"I'm so screwed. Ryn and Mei didn't wake me up this time. I overslept."
Kiana finished the rest of her bread in one bite, then pushed open the classroom door, only to find it completely empty.
"Huh? Where is everyone?"
*Beep beep—*
A message arrived on her phone. Kiana picked it up and saw a text Mei had just sent.
"Breakfast is ready. I bought some buns. When you wake up, Kiana, remember to get up and eat."
"Huh? Mei is still at home? Is there no class today?"
Kiana wanted to retract the message as soon as she sent it, because she saw on her phone that today was Saturday. It was a day off...
No wonder Cortana's alarm didn't go off... and Mei and Ryn didn't come to wake her up...
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At Himeko's house, everyone was gathered for breakfast when they saw Kiana come back through the door.
Mei pulled out a chair for Kiana, letting her sit down, and then tidied up her messy hair.
Kika nudged Kiana with her elbow and asked, "Why did you get up and go out so early today, Kiana? I thought you would sleep in like usual."
"Oh, don't mention it..." Kiana slumped onto the table and said embarrassedly:
"I actually woke up early on my own today... Then I looked at the time and thought I was going to be late, so I rushed to school. I was even wondering why you guys didn't wake me up..."
"Hahaha, you idiot, Kiana, you're killing me. Mmmph—"
"Shut it, you."
Kika couldn't help but laugh at Kiana after hearing that, and then Kiana grabbed a piece of bread and stuffed it directly into her mouth, choking Kika so she couldn't speak.
"Jerk! Are you trying to murder me!"
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*Ding ding*—the doorbell rang. Ryn had arrived.
Mei had taken on the role of the household cook again at Himeko's place, cooking for everyone. How could the cafeteria food compare to the dishes Mei carefully prepared?
So, naturally, Ryn came over to freeload every day, sometimes even bringing a portion back for Welt. Apart from attending classes and specifically tutoring Ryn, Welt was nowhere to be found the rest of the time.
Before Ryn had to wait long, Mei came to open the door for him.
"Why are you so late, Ryn? Everyone couldn't wait and started eating already."
"It's fine, you guys go ahead and eat, no need to wait for me. I ran into the Principal on the way here. I saw her secretly burying manga, and I got distracted watching for a bit."
After speaking, Ryn quietly approached Mei and handed her a few secretly taken photos of the Principal. Mei silently accepted them with a straight face.
After spending so much time together, Ryn had long figured out Mei's hobbies. Not only was she a closet romantic with eighth-grade syndrome, but she was also a secret lolicon, just very good at hiding it.
If Ryn hadn't once caught Mei freaking out while looking at Kiana's childhood photos, he might never have discovered Mei's hidden attribute.
Ryn and Mei exchanged a look of tacit understanding, and then sat down at the dining table to eat with everyone.
Kika, taking advantage of Kiana's distraction, leaned close to Ryn and said, "Let me tell you, what Kiana did this morning was hilarious..."
"Shut it, you! Ryn, don't listen to her!"
Kiana angrily grabbed a piece of bread, about to stuff Kika's mouth again. Kika stuck her tongue out at Kiana and then turned and ran.
"What did Kiana do this morning?" Ryn asked Bronya curiously.
"Kiana didn't sleep in today. She looked at the time and thought we forgot to wake her up, so she ran to class by herself," Bronya replied.
"..."
Maybe it was funny... but hearing it from Bronya's deadpan, flat delivery, Ryn suddenly didn't find it that funny...
*Thwack~*
Kiana knocked Bronya on the head and said huffily, "There's no need to talk about that!"
Bronya rolled her eyes at Kiana, then held her head and ran to find Mei. "Sister Mei~ Idiot Kiana hit me!"
"Jerk Bronya! Don't go tattling to Mei!"
Mei and Ryn watched the bickering group with smiles, not saying a word.
After the meal, everyone went to Ryn's house. Welt and Himeko were both teachers at the school, so their houses weren't far apart.
Because only Welt and Ryn lived in Ryn's house, there was a lot of empty space, so Ryn had specially set up a room full of computers and game consoles. Bronya, Kika, and Kiana were all addicted to games, and they often dragged Mei over to Ryn's place for a five-person team-up.
Although everyone's room was equipped with a computer, if you were going to play together, it was definitely more fun to all sit together and chat in person.
"What are we playing today? Homu League, Honkai God Realm, or something else?" Ryn asked.
These were all games Ryn had diligently studied and borrowed from to create. However, he only provided the gameplay concepts and general ideas; the rest was done by Cortana, and then Ryn would make modifications on that basis.
But after the games were made, Ryn made them open-source, allowing master players to brainstorm and create their own game dungeons or storylines. Cortana would screen them, then make them part of the game, and a large portion of the profits would be given to the creators.
"Let's do Honkai God Realm! There's a new boss coming out today, it's the perfect time to let Kiana open the boss rewards," Bronya said, pointing at the event page.
"You little brat, the only time you think of me is when it's time to loot!"
Kiana was furious. Ever since Bronya found out she was lucky, every time they looted a boss or rolled for drops, she would ask her for help. That was the only time Bronya was the most polite and nice to Kiana.
However, Kiana herself also loved playing games, and Bronya was a free-to-play pro. Being carried by Bronya was also pretty awesome.
"Okay, my damage output is explosive. You guys just lie back and enjoy the ride."
Kika put on her headset. Her talent for shooting wasn't limited to real life; she was also very talented in games. It's just that she often got clipped by unknown AoE attacks, which was quite fitting for her personality.
"I'm fine with anything..." Mei said quietly.
Mei didn't play games often and wasn't very interested in them, but she enjoyed the happiness of playing together with everyone. Her main role was just to be there.