Chapter 3, Mei: Why is Bai Ge looking at me (seeking collections)
'Why is Bai Ge always looking at me?'
Raiden Mei wondered with a hint of confusion.
Her dim eyes held bewilderment.
Mei didn't know much about Bai Ge, only that he was her classmate and very popular.
In the past, when the Raiden family hadn't fallen and classmates were still willing to be friends with Mei, girls would occasionally talk about Bai Ge, discussing how to confess to him after school without being rejected.
Of course, Mei wasn't interested in this.
For her, with a very strict upbringing, if she were to date a boy, Mei's daughter-obsessed father, Raiden Ryoma, would probably come with a knife to cut someone down.
In short, the two of them shouldn't have had any interaction.
But now, Bai Ge was casting a 'fiery' gaze at her, his light golden eyes seemingly scrutinizing something rare, shining brightly.
Raiden Mei was puzzled by this, but also found it a bit strange. Since her family lost power, the classmates around her looked at her with mockery, ridicule, and avoidance.
At this moment, Bai Ge's gaze was purely curious.
"Host, you've been staring for too long."
"Eh? Really? Uh, I can't help it. A game character I used to play suddenly appearing in real life, it's really hard not to be curious! I wonder if I can trigger some new voice lines if I poke her now."
Bai Ge spread his hands, still feeling very excited.
"You still think this is a game. Besides, Raiden Mei has looked over, and you two have been staring at each other for thirty seconds without a sound. The atmosphere is a bit awkward."
"Uh, alright, alright."
Noticing the gazes gathering around, Bai Ge also realized the subtle atmosphere. It seemed impossible to just sit back down as if nothing had happened.
So, he simply nodded at Raiden Mei and greeted her with a smile.
"Hi~ Good morning, Mei… Raiden."
"...Eh? Ah, um, good, good morning."
"Phew~ Awkwardness resolved, as expected of me."
Someone was completely unaware of the commotion his greeting caused. Bai Ge sat down in his seat and curiously took out a textbook from his drawer to flip through it.
At the same time, whispers arose around him.
Even Mei, who was greeted by him, was surprised. For her, who was isolated by everyone, it was a rare and unusual thing for someone to simply greet her normally.
...
"Hmm, it really is different. Oh no, I'm afraid I'm going to become a poor student now."
Bai Ge closed the textbook in his hand with a wry smile.
Although it wasn't completely different, many details didn't match up. He felt that he might have to retake everything from elementary school to high school, especially the history portion.
After all, unlike his previous life, in this new Civilization's history, which was filled with Honkai, there was a lot of history he didn't know about from his memory.
For example, the tablets from the Divine Realm, ahem, the Scarlet Finch Immortal, an ancient Divine Realm ancestor named Ji Lin, and so on.
"Well, although Honkai is still kept secret from ordinary civilians, there's not much description of it in history books, oh dear."
Bai Ge sighed, lamenting that he needed to retake courses.
But the next second, he reacted.
"Wait, isn't the Third Honkai Eruption going to break out in Changkong City in a while? Nothing will be left then, so what's the point of me studying?"
The Academy is gone, yay!
Thinking of this, Bai Ge subconsciously looked for Raiden Mei, but he didn't find the girl in the classroom.
"Host, Raiden Mei is currently on the rooftop of the teaching building. By the way, several girls were just discussing bullying her."
"System, although you haven't given me any cheats yet, I've found that you're quite good as a small life assistant. But next time, tell me about such things sooner!"
"Understood, next time for sure."
"..."
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of the teaching building.
Mei, who was about to find a secluded place to eat lunch, was blocked in the hallway by several girls. Her eyes were filled with numbness and helplessness, thinking, "Here we go again."
"Yo, Miss Raiden Mei, why are you making your own lunch again? Where's your luxurious bento from before?"
"Haha, she must be out of money after her father's fraud was exposed."
"The daughter of a fraudster dares to come to Academy? She's really shameless."
"Why don't you say something, Raiden Queen? I've disliked you for a long time."
The friends who were once close to Mei had now become the ones who hurt her the most.
Although no violence was used yet, words were sometimes sharper and crueler than any erosion.
Raiden Mei huddled in the corner like a wounded small animal, her head bowed. She wanted to say that it wasn't like this, that she wasn't a criminal, and her father hadn't committed fraud, that there must have been some misunderstanding.
But she knew that would only make these people say worse things. In this Academy where she had no place, no matter how she argued, shouted, or sought help, no one would respond to a 'criminal's daughter.'
Yes, why was she still coming to Academy?
If coming to Academy only meant being bullied by these people, then it would be better not to come again starting tomorrow.
Seeing Mei's expression grow increasingly dark and desperate, the girls' smiles became even brighter.
People always liked to see beautiful and noble things from the past shatter and fall. This high-mountain flower, which they once looked up to and couldn't reach, had now fallen to the ground.
Everyone couldn't wait to trample her, defile her, and fiercely step on this girl they once admired, envied, and were jealous of.
"Haha! Let me pour some water on you to cool you down and reflect on yourself, criminal." The sadism in one of their eyes was no longer hidden.
She picked up the bucket of dirty water she had prepared earlier.
However, just as she was about to splash the dirty water on Mei.
"Hey! You guys are going too far!"
A young man suddenly appeared, like a righteous ally, standing in front of Raiden Mei.