Raiden Mei's tense nerves finally relaxed. Seeing that her "enemy" and rival was such a total airhead, all her previous vigilance felt completely redundant.
Kiana buried her head even lower, wishing she could crawl inside the pages of her book.
Li Wu, however, was miserable. At this moment, he was racking his brain for a way to respond.
If Anna were simply malicious, there would be nothing to say. But the problem was that Anna wasn't "bad"—she was ignorant. And when it came to the birds and the bees, her ignorance was on a whole different level.
Did Schicksal not teach the most basic common sense when training their Valkyries?
Even if they didn't teach biology, weren't there any manga, novels, or movies in her daily life?
Then, Li Wu suddenly remembered Anna's self-introduction and it all clicked—
She was simply a "battle maniac." She had no other hobbies...
This was problematic. How was he supposed to convince her that her body feeling hot and flushed was because her hormones and various chemicals were secreting in mass amounts due to the kiss?
Explain it directly? Would she even believe him?
[Anna Schariac is feeling incredibly ashamed and indignant.]
[Anna Schariac has developed a great deal of hostility toward you and is calculating how to get revenge.]
[Anna Schariac has decided that for the next exam, she will tamper with your monthly test scores—changing them to a barely passing grade. She believes this revenge is incredibly cruel, and that you will feel utterly humiliated by it.]
A passing grade?
You listed the reward, but where's the punishment?
[...Changing your score to a passing grade IS her revenge and humiliation. Because for her Schicksal evaluations, Anna Schariac usually receives perfect or near-perfect marks.]
Huh?
I've never even passed before! How on earth is that "revenge" or "humiliation"?!
Li Wu gained a new understanding of this young girl who possessed looks on par with Kiana's:
[UNEXPECTED KNOWLEDGE INCREASED.JPG]
"Speak! What did you do to me?!" Anna said huffily. "If you don't tell me... even if you're an ordinary person a Valkyrie is supposed to protect, I will punish you!"
Stop making me laugh, hahahaha.
Punish me?
This airhead beauty sounded like she was flirting with him...
Li Wu took deep breath after deep breath. There was no other reason; he was about to lose it and burst out laughing.
Please, punish me right now! Change my score to a passing grade, okay?!
To quickly get into the right headspace, Li Wu recalled his twelve hours of hell from the previous day. The smile that was about to break across his face vanished instantly, replaced by a look of extreme "coolness" (actually just fear).
"Is it possible that I didn't do anything, and it's just your own body reacting?" Li Wu took out his phone and started searching.
Anna stubbornly insisted that Li Wu had pulled some kind of trick on her lips. "Do you think I'm a three-year-old? You're so easy to catch! Today you must—"
Before she could finish, Li Wu shoved his phone in her face. On the screen was a research paper regarding physiological responses.
Li Wu said with a straight face, "This is a very normal physiological phenomenon. It's like how you want to eat when you're hungry, drink when you're thirsty, or feel nauseous if you keep eating when you're full. You can ask any other student or the teacher here; they can't all be my 'accomplices,' can they? Ask them and you'll know if I'm lying. Seriously, it's just that you're too... silly to know this."
Anna carefully read the article from an authoritative source. Arousal is essentially a complex series of physiological responses. It was exactly as Li Wu said; the article stated that these responses were largely unconscious and reflex-like, much like a knee-jerk reaction.
The body could respond to physical stimuli even if there was no emotional investment. Of course, psychological factors could also trigger it—such as kissing, ****, and ***...
Though it touched on her blind spots of knowledge, these articles had been published years ago—they were older than Li Wu himself. It was impossible for him to have fabricated them on the spot.
To be safe, Anna turned her gaze toward the teacher, though her inquiry was now much more hesitant. "Is it... truly like this? Just because of lip contact, the body secretes chemicals...?"
The teacher's mouth twitched. He didn't know how to answer. His hands clenched and unclenched, finding nowhere to rest, before he finally answered honestly. "Yes. It is a very normal physiological response. Student Anna, you might have just come out of Schicksal HQ and aren't familiar with these things. It's not your fault. Kissing can indeed cause physiological reactions that might make you feel uncomfortable. Li Wu, why haven't you apologized to your new classmate yet?"
Hearing the teacher's confirmation, Anna realized how ridiculous her behavior had been. And to think she had wanted to "punish" Li Wu... it went against her duty as a Valkyrie to protect ordinary people. She had to earn Li Wu's forgiveness.
Anna walked over to Li Wu's desk, stopped exactly three steps in front of him, and gave a deep bow.
The bow was so deep that her beret fell off her head. Li Wu picked it up, dusted it off, and placed it on her desk.
"I'm sorry! I was far too rude just now! I'm so sorry for making things difficult for you! You don't need to apologize to me; it was my own ignorance..."
"Haha, it's fine, it's fine. It was just a misunderstanding. You don't need to bow like that. Besides, I was in the wrong too..."
Li Wu rubbed his nose guiltily and didn't elaborate.
Anna looked up. Her pink eyes were no longer as lifeless as when she had first entered the room; they were now vibrant and curious as she looked at Li Wu. "In the wrong?"
"Nothing! Anyway, I forgive you. You don't need to feel guilty, seriously." Li Wu quickly changed the subject and emphasized that he had forgiven her.
This tactic worked quickly.
Upon hearing she was forgiven, Anna beamed. The golden morning light spilled in; without her beret, her innocent smile looked like pure summer sunshine. It was refreshing and inexplicably healing.
"That's great! Thank you, Li Wu. You're a good person!"
Anna sat down obediently next to Li Wu, a smile lingering in her eyes.
Li Wu let out a forced laugh and awkwardly picked up a book, pretending to read intently.
"Your book is upside down," Anna pointed out kindly.
"I like reading it this way."
"Wow, you're amazing! But, I have one more question..."
Anna's big, doll-like eyes blinked. Li Wu was too guilty to even look her in the eye.
Not just her—Kiana and Raiden Mei were surely looking at him with certain gazes right now. He bet the whole class had already labeled him: The scumbag who seduces pure, beautiful girls!
"Ask away. I'll answer if I can," Li Wu said.
"Thank you. I want to ask... since kissing causes such a physiological reaction, why does Shenzhou use it as a greeting? I heard that Shenzhou people are quite conservative—even hand-kissing in Northern Europe is considered abrupt. Don't Shenzhou people find it... suggestive when they kiss as a greeting?"
"..."
"..."
I'm cooked.
I'm so cooked.
Someone help me! I'm waiting online! It's an emergency!