Li Wu's eyes were filled with a frenzied, bloodshot hue. Upon hearing the system's narration, he stopped himself just in time, slowly standing up without a word.
"Cough! Cough! Li Wu... Li Wu..."
Even though she had nearly been choked to death just moments ago, the very first thing Raiden Mei did after finally regaining her ability to speak and clearing her head was to call his name. She grabbed his ankles with both hands. Her eyes—which should have been as pure and romantic as lavender—were completely consumed by endless fanaticism and desire.
Li Wu felt nothing but intense disappointment, but he couldn't let it show.
The quest was explicitly clear: Prevent Raiden Mei's death and help her find the meaning of her existence.
Was the meaning of her existence really just being abused to death?
What Li Wu didn't see after letting go, however, was that a look of disappointment—identical to his own—flashed across Raiden Mei's eyes.
She sat frozen on the floor, like a marionette stripped of its soul, a self-deprecating, bitter smile pulling at the corners of her lips.
"I didn't buy clothes. Go to my room and find something of mine to change into. Then come with me to school."
After tossing out those two sentences, Li Wu turned and left the bathroom, slamming the door heavily behind him.
Back in his room, he panted heavily, unable to calm his racing heart.
It was incredibly difficult to imagine that the Raiden Mei right now was the exact same person from the previous loop who had dominated him with words full of disdain and contempt. As arrogant as she was while tormenting him in the last loop, she was equally submissive and lowly when being bullied in this one.
That fleeting moment of lucidity he saw on her face felt like nothing more than a hallucination.
"System, isn't this character setting way too broken? It's completely different from what I wrote."
Li Wu sat on his bed, one hand propping up his forehead, feeling physically and mentally exhausted.
If this was Raiden Mei's actual personality, he didn't even dare imagine what the coming days would be like. He would have no choice but to stimulate her over and over again until Act 1 ended.
[Settings are just settings. In the real world, people who are purely 'true, kind, and beautiful' and only have eyes for their significant other are practically extinct. Did you really expect to run into a whole bunch of them? Real people have their own individualities. Naturally, virtues and flaws emerge in endless streams.]
"But this is way too twisted. Who smiles this happily while they're being choked to death..."
[You cannot imagine how dark a person's heart can be, unless you experience it yourself.]
[You also cannot imagine how far one person can go for another, unless you witness it with your own eyes.]
[Of course, you are free to hate her. 'No one is born just to be liked by others.' After all, you wrote that exact line yourself in Act 3 of the comic, during the story arc where the protagonist and Bronya completely sever ties over the Ruslan incident.]
Act 3?
Li Wu searched his memories and realized he really had written that line.
Driven by his inner sense of justice, the comic's protagonist sent Ruslan to prison, where he was sentenced to death.
Meanwhile, Bronya and the protagonist had been hanging out everywhere, experiencing all sorts of things—the Ferris wheel, the aquarium... They were on the verge of officially dating when she accidentally uncovered the truth. The more she had liked him before, the more she hated him afterward, thoroughly turning into his mortal enemy.
And then, Bronya delivered that classic line to the protagonist: "Why shouldn't I be allowed to hate you?! No one is born just to be liked by others! Liking you was my choice, and hating you is my choice too! You have no right to dictate my choices!"
Neither of them was wrong. The protagonist followed legal procedures, sending the illegal mercenary Ruslan to prison. Even though Ruslan was a victim deceived by the elite, the fact remained that he had caused actual, tangible harm to the protagonist.
And Bronya wasn't wrong either. Ruslan had no subjective intent to harm anyone, yet the true culprits went unpunished, while the man who was like a father to her and had saved her life was sentenced to death by the boy she trusted the most.
It was an irreconcilable conflict. Neither of them wanted to leave the other, but the naked truth forced them further and further apart, eventually leading them to point blades at one another.
His original intention in writing it was just his twisted sense of humor acting up. He felt that romance shouldn't be smooth sailing, thinking they could get back together after going through some ups and downs. But as he kept drawing, he realized there was absolutely no room for reconciliation, and they thoroughly became mortal enemies.
"Are you saying the current Raiden Mei was forced into this by her circumstances? I can't agree with that, and I can't see it right now either. Whatever, I'll just bear with it. For the rest of the crises in Act 1, I just need to make sure she doesn't die."
Li Wu readjusted his expression, looking in the mirror to completely shed his yasashii, nice-guy facade.
I can't act like an honest goody-two-shoes when we're alone together, Li Wu repeatedly emphasized to himself.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Li Wu almost subconsciously tensed his nerves and turned his head.
"Um... Li Wu-kun, it's me, Mei. Can I... come in?"
An incredibly soft and delicate voice came from outside.
Li Wu was about to instinctively agree, but he caught himself. He couldn't afford to be so kind right now, so he gave a cold command: "Stand out there for a bit. Count down for two minutes before coming in."
"O-Okay!"
The soft voice seemed to grow excited.
As the seconds ticked by, the countdown outside the door went from 120, to 100, and then to 60.
Drip...
The sound of water dripping was incredibly clear. It was probably water droplets from her body since she hadn't dried off after her shower.
Drip...
Drip...
As the countdown numbers got smaller, the frequency of the water droplets hitting the floor didn't decrease; instead, it grew faster and faster.
It wasn't until the count reached zero that the bedroom door was gently pushed open. Raiden Mei's lips were pressed tightly together, her face flushed crimson. The gentle midsummer breeze blew over her clean, fair skin. Her posture was extremely awkward, shuffling in sideways like a crab before crouching on the floor.
"Aren't you going to ask me why I did that?" Li Wu squeezed out a genuinely convincing smile.
When it came to acting, he was a true professional.
Although he hadn't become a big star, to make a little extra money, he had recorded some movie scenes as an extra. He'd even been praised by the director and got his contact info, though nothing ever came of it.
"Mei... doesn't think it's necessary. Li Wu-kun definitely has his own reasons, right? Li Wu-kun only needs to know that Mei doesn't hate this side of you. In fact... the current you feels very real, very attractive. Mei is very interested, and also... likes it..."
Her tone, posture, and expression were completely different from the first two loops.
If she had maintained dignified social etiquette earlier, right now she was entirely adopting an extremely submissive "do whatever you want to me" stance.
But falling upon Li Wu's ears, those words felt incredibly ironic.
Real? Attractive? Interested? Likes it?
Li Wu couldn't hide the disgust in his eyes. And upon seeing that contemptuous gaze, the desire within Raiden Mei's heart flared up once again.
"..."
"Pick two pieces of clothing from the closet yourself, put them on, and then come with me to school. Remember: if anything happens at school, if anyone tries to treat you the way I just did—including threats, verbal abuse, or insults—you must report it to me immediately, understand? Also, unlock your phone for me."
"Mhm! Okay!"
Raiden Mei agreed incredibly fast, answering without a second thought.