Of course, after picking out a birthday present for Rita, Leo didn't just leave the store like that.
After taking the item Fu Hua handed him, Leo immediately looked at the other things on the accessory rack.
Then, he picked up a feather hair clip, took both gifts to the counter, and asked the clerk to help wrap them before paying.
"Um, besides your sister, do you have gifts for anyone else?"
After glancing at the wrapped feather hair clip, Fu Hua already had a guess in her heart.
"Yes, there's one more person I owe a gift to."
After softly thanking the shop assistant, Leo calmly handed the wrapped gift directly to the woman in front of him.
"I was the one who asked you out today, I can't let you come all this way for nothing."
"Although this isn't a valuable gift, as a saying from Shenzhou goes... hmm, a small gift means a lot."
At this moment, Fu Hua took the gift from Leo and said with some helplessness.
"Leo, while I appreciate your gift, but... boasting about oneself is not a good habit."
"Okay, I understand."
Watching him nod so obediently, Fu Hua felt that this feeling was truly strange.
Honestly, from an observer's point of view, Leo's face was handsome, and his temperament, while not outstanding, was above average.
If it were an ordinary girl, she would probably be very happy to receive a gift from Leo.
But in Fu Hua's eyes, the more normally Leo behaved now, the more flustered she felt.
If someone else did this to Fu Hua, she would probably suspect that the other person had some other ideas.
But since it was Leo who did this...
*Sigh, the little avenger is trying his best to disguise himself as a normal person.*
*Pretending to value family like a normal person, to value etiquette like a normal person, but all of this is just to cover up his heart that has been torn to shreds by sorrow.*
*Perhaps I really underestimated him.*
*Even with the Stigmata and the HSN serum, the fact that Leo could not only escape from the terrifying Nagazora City but also exceed his mission objectives already shows that his intelligence is definitely higher than that of an ordinary person.*
*How could such a Leo not have noticed the trace of pity I felt for him when he was talking about his past and his aspirations for the future?*
*It is precisely because he has experienced sorrow that his heart is so delicate.*
*And it is because his heart is so delicate that he is extremely sensitive when others show emotion towards him.*
"Alright, alright, I know I was wrong."
Seeing Fu Hua lost in thought, Leo smiled helplessly at her.
"A hair clip is indeed too perfunctory."
*No, no, that's not what I meant.*
"For lunch today, I'll treat you to something good—anyway, Lord Bishop Otto gave me a lot of bonus money, enough for me to splurge a little."
As Leo said this, he suddenly smiled at Fu Hua.
"Don't be a spoilsport and lecture or refuse at a time like this, Class Rep Fu Hua. After all..."
"—Eating and drinking well is the best way to face the unknown future with more joy, isn't it?"
...He's too smart.
*Were my thoughts too obvious in my eyes, so he took the opportunity to use my words to change the subject?*
*But, Leo, precisely because you don't want me to think deeper about this issue, I understand even more clearly what you're thinking about.*
Watching Leo walk towards the shop's exit, Fu Hua reined in her emotions and could only follow him out of the shop helplessly.
And Leo, walking in front, also dropped the deceptive smile.
[As you put away that smile, you feel that some of your skills have become more and more polished. However, you also sense that—Fu Hua has seen through your fake smile.]
[But the innocent Immortal Red Kite doesn't know that this fake smile is also part of your calculation.]
[Just as she guessed, your fake smile indeed did not come from a place of genuine happiness. Unfortunately, due to a lack of information, she could only deduce the correct result while getting the process and the core of it wrong.]
*You're being unusually serious today.*
[Hey, this System is serious plenty of times. Besides—even without any pranks today, you've already shown me a good show, my dear Host.]
[Your heart is indeed filled with anger and frustration, but this anger and frustration stem from the fact that you are being controlled by others.]
[However, you have not allowed negative emotions to affect you. Instead, you have used these negative emotions as a new mask to construct a sufficiently convincing lie.]
[Because of your frustration, you showed a fake smile, but in the eyes of the Immortal Red Kite, this fake smile has become the avenger's mask to hide his sorrow.]
[To even be able to use your own negative emotions... ha, it's been less than a month.]
[Even this System has to exclaim that your progress in this area is indeed too fast.]
Ha, then thank you for the compliment.
But knowing how to deceive others is not a good thing.
I'm getting more and more skilled at lying, and when I lie, I've gradually gotten used to the lies, and my guilt towards others is getting lower and lower.
Morality erodes bit by bit. In the future, I...
*I really hope that the future me can still stand on the moral high ground and point fingers at those villains, instead of sliding down to become scum even worse than them.*
In Himeko's house. Kiana's room.
Inside Kiana's room, Yuno and Mei, who had already prepared part of the meal, looked at the incredibly serious Kiana in front of them and could only think...
—The world must be about to change.
During this time, Mei and Yuno had seen Kiana fall asleep in class many times.
And even when she was awake, she was mostly daydreaming.
It could even be said that, apart from practical combat classes, she was hardly serious in any of her other academic courses.
So, seeing Kiana writing so diligently, the two of them felt that this scene was just too strange.
Moreover, both Mei and Yuno had good grades, so as they looked at the answers Kiana was writing on the test paper, they found the scene even more bizarre.
The two of them roughly estimated her score and found that Kiana's score on this test paper was a world apart from her usual performance.
How to put it, this was not at all the level Kiana should have.
"Alright, done!"
With a loud shout, Kiana handed the test paper in her hand to Yuno and said impatiently.
"Yuno, grade it!"
"...No need."
Looking at the answers on it, Yuno said softly.
"I've already estimated your score. Even without considering the difficult questions at the end, you've already passed."
"Excellent—then contact Bronya!"
"Mm, okay."
After picking up her phone and sending a message to Bronya, Yuno instantly received a reply.
*Hmm, it seems Bronya was already prepared, she even set up an auto-reply?*
"What did she say—let me see!"
Leaning her head close to Yuno's side, Kiana read the content of the text message aloud.
"Big Brother Leo and Class Rep Fu Hua have entered an accessory shop."
After this sentence, Bronya even attached a short video.
After clicking on it, Yuno and the two who had leaned their heads over, Kiana and Mei, saw Leo and Fu Hua calmly entering and leaving the shop.
"Hmm, Senior and the bookworm class rep..."
Looking at the two in the video, Kiana frowned slightly.
"Why do I feel like their expressions haven't changed at all since they left?"
"Sigh, it's a rare day out, they should at least smile a little."
That's true.
Looking at the two in the video, Mei and Yuno indeed had a similar feeling.
Even on a relaxing day off, Leo still maintained that calm expression.
If the two of them hadn't seen Leo's emotional fluctuations at other times, they would probably really think that Leo was a super deadpan person with no change in expression.
"Eh, why is there only this one message?"
Finding that there was only this one text message, Kiana said with dissatisfaction.
"Senior and the class rep have been out for a long time, right?"
"That's right, but did you forget what Bronya agreed on with you?"
Taking out a new test paper, Yuno smiled at Kiana and said.
"The physics test just ended. If you want to know what happens next, you have to pass the biology pop quiz as well."
"Eh... forget it, this young lady won't complain anymore."
At this moment, Kiana snatched the test paper and continued to write at top speed in front of the two.
"Sigh, Kiana."
Looking at her friend's current state, Mei shook her head helplessly.
"If you were usually one-third as hardworking as you are now, Teacher Himeko and Headmaster Theresa wouldn't have to worry about your grades."
"Hmph, that's just Auntie Himeko and Great-Aunt Theresa underestimating me!"
At this moment, Kiana, without raising her head, said in a defiant tone.
"This young lady has said it long ago, this young lady is a genius, there's no need to worry about this kind of thing at all!"
*You can say that, but if your attitude is bad, it would be wrong for the principal and teacher to just let you be.*
But now, Yuno, looking at Kiana's extremely hardworking state, still felt that it was better not to say this to dampen Kiana's enthusiasm.
As time passed, Kiana completed two more test papers in succession.
And during this time, Mei had also prepared lunch and stayed in this room for good.
"So, you're saying that Leo and Class Rep Fu Hua went to some shops and then found a restaurant outside to eat?"
Listening to Yuno's narration, Mei suddenly asked Yuno in a low voice.
"They didn't maintain that same expression the whole time, did they?"
"Actually, that's exactly how it was. They... their expressions really barely changed."
Recalling the expressions the two had shown earlier, Yuno said with some distress.
"I feel like something is wrong somewhere, but since we're the ones peeking, we can't really say anything about it, can we?"
"That's true..."
At Yuno's reminder, Mei suddenly realized that what they were doing now was indeed quite inappropriate.
Although their original intention was out of concern for Leo, no matter what, peeking was just wrong.
"Okay, no problem."
Putting down the test paper in her hand, Yuno said to Kiana.
"Congratulations, Kiana, you passed."
"Yay!"
"If you keep this up, your grades..."
"—Alright Yuno, hurry up and send a message to Bronya!"
Directly interrupting Yuno's words, Kiana said to Yuno.
"Senior and the class rep are done shopping and eating, they should be coming back soon, right?"
"That's assuming they don't plan to participate in any entertainment activities."
*But honestly, I'd rather they go to an amusement park or somewhere like that to have fun.*
*Thinking back now, both Senior and Class Rep Fu Hua, wearing casual clothes yet maintaining poker faces, is kind of scary in a way.*
*If they could relax a little, no matter what method they use...*
*...*
*Huh????*
After sending the message, Yuno was completely stunned when she saw the message Bronya sent back.
And seeing the shock on Yuno's face, Kiana and Mei instantly turned their gazes to the phone in Yuno's hand.
And then, the two of them instantly understood why Yuno had that expression.
"Big Brother Leo and the class rep..."
"—Went into a hotel??!!"
Without needing the two of them to urge her, Yuno had already pressed the play button for the short video.
And then, under the disbelieving gazes of the three of them, Leo and Fu Hua—really did walk into a hotel together with great composure.
Although the two of them still maintained their incredibly calm demeanor when they walked into the hotel, at this moment, no matter how calm their expressions were, it was not enough for the three people present to continue watching like this.
"Let me see—isn't this video from almost an hour ago?"
Glancing at the time in the corner of the video, Kiana became even more anxious.
"So that means they've been in the hotel for an hour already???"
"This, this, this..."
How on earth did things turn out this way?! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
......