Lin Mu felt that he was being quite despicable, deliberately playing pitiful to arouse the angel classmate's sympathy.
However, it seemed this move was very effective. Although she had ignored him all morning, didn't she still come over to ask him a question at lunchtime? And she was even concerned about whether he was eating well.
She probably hadn't even realized it herself, but she had already started to see him as someone special.
In front of other classmates, Shiina was always polite, smiling, and approachable. She skillfully handled conversations with the students around her, maintaining her "Angel" persona. It was only when facing him, Lin Mu, that she would drop that "good girl" mask and show her more authentic side, the one with a bit of a temper.
Because of this, Lin Mu felt more and more certain that capturing her right from the start was an extremely correct course of action. If he hadn't done so, how else could he have become a special presence in Shiina-san's heart?
...
In the afternoon, there was a quiz.
Kato Megumi handed him the test paper, then turned back around and began to answer the questions.
Lin Mu also began to write furiously.
It was a math quiz. He couldn't say for his past self, but for him with his awakened memories, these kinds of problems were incredibly simple. To put it this way, any random university student from China could go to a high school in Japan and thrive. After all, the math problems were genuinely simple, and the pace was slow.
Of course, that's assuming you seriously finished high school math and your math teacher wasn't the gym teacher.
Could you imagine? In the morning English class, the teacher only taught a few grammar points and had the students memorize a few words before letting them have free rein to communicate in English. The lessons were incredibly free and easy.
Still, some people found it difficult. For those who were naturally bad at academics, all they could do was accept their fate if they couldn't learn.
After the math quiz ended, the students began to discuss the problems and compare answers. Tobe Sho, next to him, let out a miserable cry.
"I'm doomed, I chose the wrong one, ahhh..."
Lin Mu didn't compare answers with anyone. Instead, he took out the laptop he had bought with money from his part-time jobs and started playing an online game.
He had checked earlier and found that a person named "Kayaba Akihiko" was recently developing a virtual reality game. The game was still in the development phase, and no testers had been invited yet.
The game he was playing now was an adventure-themed game, mainly focused on teaming up with others to fight monsters and farm for equipment.
However, watching the priest who had healed the monster for half its health, directly screwing over him, her teammate, Lin Mu's mouth twitched.
He then looked at the female mage's name, "Tamaki Ako"?
For real? Is it the one I'm thinking of? The female protagonist from the anime "And you thought there is never a girl online?" The super-hardcore otaku beauty, Tamaki Ako, who treats the game as reality, causing her knowledge of the two to become hopelessly muddled?
He then looked at his own character's name.
Lin Tianzhen (Lin Naive).
Well, why this name? Perhaps it was to commemorate the naive version of himself during his chunibyou outbreak. Now, he had graduated from being a chunibyou and had transformed from a human into a demon.
Seeing his in-game wife, Ako, still sending messages and begging him to continue running dungeons, Lin Mu's mood was a bit complicated.
He ignored "Wife Ako's" desperate pleas and logged off directly.
Playing games was supposed to be for relaxation. But Ako, you were going too far! They were about to chip away the boss's health to nothing, but you just had to heal the boss back up and screw over your teammate.
Lin Mu instantly lost the will to continue playing.
And what was the game designer thinking? Why could players even heal monsters? It made him want to create a smurf account and become a "toxic healer" just to sabotage random teammates.
After the last class of the day ended, students greeted each other and left the school. Some went to participate in club activities. For example, Hayama Hayato was on the school's soccer team, so he naturally had to go to practice.
Lin Mu quietly followed behind Shiina Mahiru, who also didn't participate in any club activities, maintaining a distance that was neither too far nor too close. They got on the same tram together. After all, they lived right next to each other, so their way home was the same.
This time of day also seemed to be the evening rush hour. A large crowd of office workers squeezed onto the tram, causing the air to become thick.
Lin Mu frowned, quickly grabbed Shiina Mahiru, and then pressed her into a corner, using his own body to shield her from the others and create a relatively open space for her.
Shiina Mahiru blushed, stole a glance at him, and then lowered her head and whispered, "Thank you."
She wasn't an idiot. She naturally knew he was doing this to prevent her from being taken advantage of by others.
Lin Mu nodded lightly in acknowledgement.
However, it was getting more and more crowded. The tram was clearly full, yet the attendant outside in white gloves kept pushing people inside. Lin Mu was speechless.
With the "assistance" of those people, Lin Mu and Shiina Mahiru were pressed intimately together.
The girl's face was red, her small hands pressed against his chest, her breathing somewhat ragged.
"I'm sorry, Shiina-san. This is unavoidable."
"It's... it's okay... I know." Shiina Mahiru replied in a small voice, but breathing his scent at such a close distance made her body feel a little weak.
The images of that night, and of him cherishing her in the morning, surfaced in her mind, making the girl even more embarrassed. She didn't blame him for being so close. After all, she would rather have him pressed against her than a stranger.
Today is so unlucky. The tram was never this crowded before.
Seeing Shiina Mahiru with her little face flushed, nestling obediently in his arms, Lin Mu's heart couldn't help but tremble.
The girl's palm-sized face, her fair and supple skin, paired with those small, cute, cherry-colored lips, were right before his eyes. All he had to do was lower his head, and he could kiss her, tasting that sweetness and softness.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Mu controlled his wicked thoughts and firmly blocked the people behind him. He would absolutely not give anyone a chance to touch her.
A short while later, they arrived at a station. The crowded tram finally emptied out a bit, and only then did Lin Mu reluctantly release her slender waist, maintaining a relatively safe distance from her. He had no choice; if he kept holding her, his little brother would start to protest.
Shiina Mahiru carried her school bag, her head lowered, somewhat afraid to look him in the eye. She had ignored him all day, only asking him that one question at lunch. He had also acted very calm, and she had thought he was angry with her.
But when faced with the situation just now, his first reaction was to pull her over and protect her. This moved Shiina Mahiru, whose heart was still sad and fragile.
Lin Mu watched her thank him with her head down, a conflicted expression on her face. He glanced around and, seeing no one from their class, couldn't resist raising his hand to pat her little head.
"Don't mention it. It's what I should do, protecting you."
Feeling the warmth on top of her head, Shiina Mahiru's eyes grew slightly moist. She turned her back to him. After a good while, she turned back around solemnly and looked at him with her watery, golden eyes.
"It's not what you 'should' do... I will repay you."
Lin Mu smiled faintly. "Alright. I'll be looking forward to the angel classmate's repayment."
Hearing him use the nickname their classmates had given her, Shiina Mahiru felt exceptionally embarrassed. She pouted her small lips, shot him an annoyed glare, and protested, "Don't call me 'Angel'! I hate it."
"Uh... you're so popular, being praised and admired with such a beautiful title. Isn't that a good thing?" Lin Mu looked at her with feigned confusion, but in reality, he was using the opportunity to quietly open up her heart and close the distance between them.
The "Angel" persona was just the face Shiina Mahiru showed to outsiders. When facing someone she was truly close to, she would show a more individualistic side. The perfect angel beauty in everyone's eyes was, in essence, just a girl who longed to be treated gently.
As an "Angel," Shiina Mahiru provided positive emotional value to those around her, making people feel a refreshing and pleasant atmosphere just by seeing her or talking to her. But Shiina Mahiru, who was always providing this pleasant mood for others, must get tired too, right? Like Hayama Hayato, that guy had a personality that was gentle to everyone. Although it was deliberately cultivated, a mask, he too would occasionally feel exhausted from dealing with everyone around him.
The angel's smile belonged to everyone, but her own little personality was exclusively for Lin Mu. She would only show it in front of him. Lin Mu hoped she would continue to act a little more willful in front of him. Venting some of her own emotions would be more comfortable for her.
"..."
Faced with his question, Shiina Mahiru was silent for a few seconds before turning her head away and saying with dissatisfaction, "Anyway... I just don't want you to call me that... and I'm not some angel."
Lin Mu shrugged and readily complied. "Then I'll just call you Shiina-san."
"Whatever you want, as long as you don't call me Angel." Shiina Mahiru nodded slightly, glanced at him, and then quickly looked away.
She didn't know how she should act around Lin Mu. When facing other classmates, she had endless topics to deal with. If she ran out of things to say, a simple smile would naturally lead the other person to continue the conversation. She was used to smiling at everyone in simple classmate chatter.
But when facing Lin Mu, the man who had taken her body and seen her at her lowest more than once, Shiina Mahiru's heart was still in a complete mess. She had clearly decided to ignore him and forget about those things. But he had unreasonably approached her again. Just now, he had even pressed tightly against her, holding her in his arms to protect her.
Her mood was complicated, and she fell silent.
Lin Mu's voice sounded by her ear. "Shiina-san, this is our stop. Time to get off!"
"Oh."
She snapped back to her senses and quickly followed him off the tram, walking together towards their apartment building.
Glancing at Lin Mu's face out of the corner of her eye, she thought to herself, Tonight... I'll make an extra portion of food.
She remembered he had only eaten a sausage and a piece of bread for lunch, and she just couldn't stand the thought of it.