After leaving the classroom, Li Wu asked a student from Class 7 and learned that Sato Haruko had gone to the convenience store.
The information was highly accurate.
The snacks sold at the convenience store were cheap and good, offering extremely high value for money. Most commoner students who got in through exams would settle their lunch here if they found other options troublesome.
Li Wu arrived at the sports field.
A dry wave of heat instantly swept over his entire body. The sunlight was dazzling, illuminating the entire field with molten gold light.
Except for the boys playing basketball, most students were walking under the shade of the trees; few walked directly in the sunlight.
However, to find Sato Haruko quickly, Li Wu dove straight into the center of the field, braving the scorching sun.
His field of vision instantly widened. Soon, Li Wu found Sato Haruko by a small path not far away. There was another female student beside her.
"Um, Student Sato, I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I hope you won't take it to heart," Li Wu walked over and struck up a conversation.
Instantly, both Sato Haruko and Sato Yuno looked up at Li Wu.
"It's okay. My sister already told me everything. It's not your fault, Student Li Wu." Sato Yuno spoke first. After finishing, she felt her wording was too frivolous and hurriedly added, "Um, I didn't mean that. I meant, you're a very good person. Haruko was just scared of Raiden... No, no, ahhh... I'm so stupid! Anyway, thank you, Student Li Wu!"
Th-thank you?
Is her brain circuit that fast?
Li Wu was confused.
"Don't be nervous, take your time. I don't have any big background, just like you guys, so we can speak casually. You don't need to overthink it."
Standing in front of the Sato sisters, Li Wu revealed a smile as gentle as warm water. His tone was amiable, without the slightest hint of aggression.
He smoothly took out his phone and pulled up his high school entrance exam scores.
That's right. Although he was a slacker, the setting dictated that his entrance exam scores were excellent.
Seeing Li Wu's entrance exam scores, the Sato sisters exchanged skeptical glances, then looked at Li Wu with disbelief.
"So that's how it is. So Student Li Wu's middle school grades were this good... Just like us, a student who got in on merit. That's great."
"Exactly. So there's no need for our interaction to be so constrained. Just be casual. I came this time to find Sato Haruko. Mei's attitude towards you this morning was a bit problematic. I hope you don't take it to heart. If you feel it's unfair, I can apologize to you on Mei's behalf."
Many students came to the convenience store at noon, and the rockery was not far from it.
Additionally, Li Wu didn't hide his voice, so many students heard his words. Quite a few even took out their phones to record videos, intending to send them to Raiden Mei to curry favor.
"It-it's okay," Sato Haruko muttered softly, keeping her head down, afraid to look directly at Li Wu.
After taking several deep breaths, Sato Haruko dared to lift her head, her voice becoming a bit louder.
"Student Li Wu... you... are the first person to actively apologize for this matter. You're different from those people. I-I believe you!"
After speaking, she scurried back into the gap in the rocks like a little fish, afraid to meet Li Wu's gaze.
Sato Yuno was a bit more generous than Sato Haruko and naturally took over the conversation: "Don't worry. After my sister told me about this, I told her Student Li Wu is different from the others. Although I don't know when the rumor about Student Li Wu being a great noble started spreading, and... among the commoner students who also tested into Chiba Academy, the evaluation of you isn't very good... But I believe Student Li Wu. In kendo class, I crossed swords with you. My intuition tells me you definitely aren't the kind of bad person or scumbag everyone discusses in private."
"So there must be some misunderstanding about this matter. Just as I was about to clarify your character to Haruko, Student Li Wu came to us. You're really a good person. This is my sincere opinion, and Haruko definitely thinks so too."
"Mmh, mm-hm!"
Sato Haruko hid behind Sato Yuno and nodded vigorously.
A good person?
Li Wu smiled mutely and didn't accept the title. He was just doing what he could; he didn't count as some good person.
But as long as the misunderstanding was resolved, that was enough.
Sato Yuno, in the manga plot, was the pseudo-Herrscher born from the Third Great Eruption. She possessed the ability to manipulate deadly poison and vines, and was even more violent and bloody than the Herrscher of Thunder, killing anyone she saw.
The moment she awakened, she immediately accepted the identity of a world-destroying Herrscher. Making no distinction between friend or foe, she killed her own faction's zombies and Honkai beasts along with the citizens.
When the blood of the dead splattered onto Sato Yuno's face, instead of being afraid, she revealed an excited smile. The reason was unknown—could it be because of Sato Haruko?
Li Wu thought seriously.
In the official game lore, Sato Yuno even ambushed the S-rank Valkyrie Theresa. If Yae Sakura hadn't appeared in time, Sato Yuno might have become the first pseudo-Herrscher to solo kill an S-rank Valkyrie.
Li Wu felt this was very unreasonable, so he changed this plot point in the manga. Of course, Sato Yuno still died under the protagonist's blade.
After all, having killed innocent people, she had to bear the corresponding sin. Her death was necessary to quell the readers' anger.
But as long as the Third Great Eruption didn't happen, the current Sato Yuno showed no signs of losing control, nor had she killed anyone. naturally, there was no sin to speak of.
Only...
Sato Haruko didn't appear in the manga. Could she be the root cause of Sato Yuno's transformation into a pseudo-Herrscher?
"Since the misunderstanding has been resolved, I'll go back first."
"W-Wait a moment! The m-mixer... is Student Li Wu really not going?"
Just as Li Wu turned to leave, he was stopped by Sato Haruko.
Something was wrong.
Although their interaction had been brief, Li Wu could tell that Sato Haruko was the introverted type. For her to continue asking after being explicitly rejected twice, there must be some special reason.
"The mixer? If Mei wasn't in the picture, there's a high probability I'd go. After all, school life is boring, and making more friends is quite nice. If I could find some like-minded bros, that would be a bonus. But as you know, my relationship with Raiden Mei is close. If I went, she'd most likely be angry."
"Although we aren't boyfriend and girlfriend yet, I don't want to disappoint someone who cares about me. So I'm very sorry, I really can't go to the mixer with you guys."
Li Wu spread his hands to show his helplessness and turned to walk away.
"Okay..." Sato Haruko lowered her head, her tone soft. "Then I'll just have to explain to Student Kiana that you aren't going."
Hearing Kiana's name, Li Wu's radar suddenly pinged. He immediately turned around and rushed in front of Sato Haruko.
"You said Kiana? What does this have to do with her?"
"Eh? Didn't Kiana tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
Seeing the confused Li Wu, Sato Haruko hesitated for a moment and exchanged a look with Sato Yuno.
"Haruko, Student Li Wu is a good person. It's okay to say it."
"Mmh."
Only after receiving an affirmative look from her sister did she explain the whole story of the mixer:
"This proposal was made by Honda Hayato from our class. Initially, it didn't distinguish between nobles and commoners. It was for students from our school and the neighboring public high school to have a mixer, splitting the bill AA style."
"Because Student Honda is enthusiastic, generous, and a very good person, even commoners have gained the respect of many noble students. Since he's also on the Chiba Academy 'Male God' list, many people planned to participate."
"Yesterday, he specially went to my sister's class—which is your class, Student Li Wu—intending to invite Student Kiana to this mixer. But he was rejected."
"Student Kiana said: 'Nobles' banquets won't admit commoners. A commoners' mixer is best limited to commoners. If a noble really wants to be friends with a commoner, they can do so anytime; it doesn't need to be at a mixer.'"
"You know, everyone couldn't ignore Kiana's suggestion, so this mixer was changed to be exclusively for commoner students."
"Later, she specially found my sister, who planned to attend the mixer, and recommended you. That's the whole process."
Sato Haruko stared blankly at Li Wu's bright and intense eyes. Surprisingly, she forgot her stuttering habit and generously finished telling the whole story.
After hearing the whole event, Li Wu couldn't help but want to slap himself.
Because he was caught up in his emotions, he had subconsciously ignored the possibility of plot changes, thinking it was just an ordinary commoner mixer, not the "crisis" from the manga.
Although mixers were frequently held between schools, not all mixers were normal.
In the manga, during the mid-stage plot of Act One, before the Ryoma was released from prison, there was a "special" mixer—
The mixer didn't distinguish between commoners and nobles, and the result nearly turned into an orgy.
Yes, literally.
Some ill-intentioned nobles had colluded and prepared special aphrodisiacs. They were very discreet, making it hard to detect even if the victims consumed them. The subsequent developments went without saying.
Relying on his ability to return by death, the manga protagonist experienced death hundreds of times before finally defeating the bodyguards hired by all the nobles, stopping the tragedy before it happened, and completing the cliché "hero saves the beauty" plotline.
Li Wu knew very well.
Reality was not a manga.
Without Kiana's suggestion, that "normal" mixer would probably have turned into an orgy, whether it was commoner girls wanting to climb the social ladder or nobles deliberately seducing them.
The nobles of Chiba Academy were shrewd. If they truly liked someone, they could pursue them anytime. If they didn't truly like them and just wanted to play around, the abandonment and series of manipulations that followed would be a devastating blow to an ordinary person's worldview.
The Kiana of this world was too smart; she saw through the consequences of the mixer instantly.
However, since Kiana had already changed this plot point, there was no need for him to go, right?
"..."
Just in case, he should still keep an eye on it.
"Let's exchange contact info. Send me the time and place. I'll consider it."
"O-Okay."
The one who added his contact was Sato Haruko.
But it didn't matter who the contact was. Li Wu only wanted to avoid the tragedy from the manga as much as possible.