The eye contact lasted for merely half a second—perhaps even less—before Kiana's gaze quickly pulled back and returned to the blackboard.
Because it was only a glance out of the corner of her eye, her body hadn't moved an inch throughout the entire process, making it seem as if their eyes meeting was purely accidental.
[Kiana Kaslana is curious about what you have written down.]
[Kiana Kaslana feels a strong sense of déjà vu toward you.]
[Kiana Kaslana's attention has completely shifted away from you.]
Looks like it wasn't an accident.
I need to hide this notebook well. If she finds it, I won't be able to explain myself.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Li Wu outright tore off the page filled with his plans, crumpled it into a ball, and stuffed it into his bag.
Although Kiana didn't seem like the type to rummage through other people's bags, it was best to avoid misunderstandings whenever possible and keep the plot firmly under his control.
As for the strange "déjà vu," Li Wu didn't take it to heart. It was completely normal to suddenly feel a sense of déjà vu about a certain event or person; he'd experienced it himself before.
There were no crisis events in the morning.
Because of Kiana's intervention, the bullying incidents from the comic's plot did not play out in the classroom.
Raiden Mei seemed to have learned to behave. She stayed quietly in the classroom. The moment class ended, she moved her chair right next to his and started playing some... rather "childish" little games: cat's cradle, Gomoku, Shogi.
Li Wu wasn't interested in these games, but Mei played earnestly. Every time she was thinking, she would purse her lips and pinch her slender fingers together, hesitating for a long time before making a move. Whenever she gained the upper hand, the corners of her lips would curl up slightly; when she lost, she would let out a soft "Ah" and frown a little.
She was so engrossed in it that she completely ignored all the hostile gazes from their surroundings.
Time quickly ticked away to the lunch break.
This was one of the very few moments in the entire plot where the protagonist was allowed to catch his breath.
Right now, Li Wu was incredibly thankful that he had written this rest period for the protagonist.
In reality, it was only a little past 1:00 PM, but his consciousness had been stretched taut across over twenty-four hours of repeated deaths and loading saves.
Li Wu practically shut down the moment he laid his head on his desk.
He fell into a deep, hazy, entirely unguarded sleep, until a faint yet persistent sensation—like a little fish nibbling—started pecking rhythmically at his clouded, cloud-like consciousness.
Poke... poke...
The lunch break ended, and the classroom was buzzing with voices.
Amidst the chaotic background noise, a continuous, wind-chime-like murmuring drifted ethereally into his ears.
"Ugh..."
Dragging his exhausted mind, Li Wu forced his eyes open. He was groggy and nowhere near fully awake.
His brain felt like it was strapped to a rollercoaster, the world spinning around him.
It wasn't until his cheek was flicked that Li Wu suddenly snapped back to reality. The very first thing he saw upon waking up was Raiden Mei's beaming face. She was sitting on his desk, leaning in close, repeatedly poking his cheek with her fair index finger.
"You're awake!"
Raiden Mei's eyes lit up as she pulled her hand back and hid it behind her.
"We have kendo class this afternoon. The other students have already gone down. If we're late, we'll be assigned to spar with the teacher. But both the teacher and the students always hold back against me; it's boring. I want to spar with you."
"...I'm afraid you'll chop me into minced meat."
Li Wu stood up and quickly scanned his surroundings. Most of the students were filing down the stairs in an orderly fashion; there was hardly anyone left in the classroom.
"How could I? I'd never have the heart to do that!"
"At worst... at worst... I'll spar with you using only my fists!"
Your fists?
Li Wu's gaze shifted to those delicate, snow-white hands. On the surface, they showed no signs of training. But Li Wu had absolutely no doubt that an all-out Raiden Mei could catch a blade barehanded, close the distance, and then knock him out cold with a high-damage left hook and an even higher-damage right hook.
She was a trained martial artist, after all—completely different from a weakling like him. Even with a wooden sword, he figured he still wouldn't be able to beat her.
It didn't matter. Li Wu had already figured out how to slip away.
According to the comic's plot, this class involved a two-person sparring test graded by the teacher. The score would directly affect their final exam grades. Going by the roster, he was last in line, while Raiden Mei and Kiana were scheduled for the second match.
Once the highly anticipated match between Raiden Mei and Kiana started, he would find an excuse to slip away, take out the sniper, and hurry back.
"Let's go. We'll talk when we get there."
Li Wu got up and walked quickly toward the back door.
But just as he reached the doorway, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.
Following behind him, Raiden Mei was confused. She peeked around him, only to find the back door blocked by someone, preventing them from leaving. Upon seeing who it was, her brow furrowed deeply.
It was the person she hated the most right now.
"The air conditioner. It hasn't been turned off," Kiana, who was standing in the doorway, reminded them calmly.
Those words instantly made Raiden Mei bristle. After confirming that all their classmates had left and the hallway was empty, Raiden Mei dropped her gentle facade, letting out a cold hmph and mocking her with a sarcastic tone.
"Then why didn't our diligent Class Representative turn it off? Since everyone is going down to the kendo dojo for class anyway, why insist on having someone else turn it off? The remote is right there on the podium, isn't it? Couldn't you have just lifted a finger and turned it off yourself?"
"Because someone was still in the classroom."
Kiana didn't seem surprised by Raiden Mei's shift in attitude.
"Someone? Who? Waiting here with him... what does it matter if you take the unnecessary step of making someone else grab the remote? Do you really need to stand at the door waiting all this time? Or... did you just want to stand here so the teacher would see you and you could show off how 'devoted' you are to your duties? Or maybe you're deliberately trying to be late so you can spar with the teacher and show off your progress to fish for compliments? Heh. Being a 'good student' must be exhausting. Especially a good student like you; you definitely have to watch your every word and action, right? Otherwise, it would be hilarious if the person always preaching rules and logic broke them herself."
"Because someone was still in the classroom."
Kiana stubbornly maintained her point.
"If someone is still in the classroom, the air conditioner shouldn't be turned off, or they'll feel uncomfortable when they wake up. Furthermore, I don't need to 'show off' to anyone, nor do I have any desire to spar with the teacher. If possible, I would actually like to experience the Raiden family's Hokushin Itto-ryu. Please do not hold back during class. I hope you will give it your all, rather than deliberately letting yourself be defeated and then hiding in a corner without a word, like you did before."
Kiana didn't let Raiden Mei drag her off track. She kept a firm grip on the initiative of the conversation from start to finish. Not only that, but she threw the boomerang of interrogation right back at Raiden Mei.
If Mei refused, it would mean all her previous mockery was just a clownish tantrum.
If she accepted, it would be an admission that Kiana was still fair, impartial, and free of selfish motives.
"What, you got an 'A' in kendo class last time and now you think you're all that? You never bothered to talk to me before. Coming here now, neither early nor late... Who are you trying to show off to? Trying to prove how strong and noble you are?"
Not willing to show weakness, Raiden Mei tried to drag Kiana down from her moral high ground. Glaring at her, she took three full steps forward, stopping only when she was a mere pace away from Kiana.
"Listen well, good student. I might lose to anyone else, but I will never lose to you. Understand?"
Unexpectedly, Kiana fell silent.
She suddenly turned her head, avoiding Raiden Mei's direct gaze. Her silvery-white hair slipped down, covering half of her face. The light filtering through the classroom window cast a veil of guilty conscience over her delicate, beautiful face.
[Kiana Kaslana feels a strong sense of déjà vu toward you.]