"Eh?!"
Even without opening her eyes, Bai Ming could tell that the startled voice belonged to the girl called March 7th.
"What kind of illness is that supposed to be?!"
Her once lively tone was now filled with disbelief and confusion. It was clear that she really didn't want to do something like this. Time to raise the stakes.
Bai Ming clutched her chest, furrowing her brows, pretending to be in great pain.
"It hurts… I think I'm dying…" she groaned weakly. "But since you don't want to do it… I won't force you. Just go. Go do what you have to do. Leave me here to quietly… wait for the end."
As she spoke, she let her body fall backward dramatically, as if the last bit of life was leaving her body.
"Wait—don't die!" Marches panicked voice rang out.
"I get it! Fine! If it's like that… I'll do the artificial respiration!"
Hook, line, and sinker.
Bai Ming's heart leapt in victory, though she kept her face calm and weak, forcing out a faint, "Th-thank you…"
Meanwhile, right in front of Bai Ming—young woman with messy, shoulder-length light pink hair with two strands that reach just past her collarbones, and pink and blue eyes. On her right ear she wears an accessory resembling a ribbon with different length tails, the shorter one colored blue while the longer one fades into a light pink.
She wore a white long-sleeved shirt, from which black straps peeked out and crossed neatly beneath her neck in a small ribboned knot.
Her blue jacket hung loosely, its ends gathered just below her chest in tidy folds.
Below that was a short skirt with blue lines and white trim, and at her waist hung a small pale-blue device—something that looked like a camera.
This was March 7th.
Despite her determination, she didn't really want to give artificial respiration to the gray-haired girl lying before her. After all, they were both girls…Doing something that looked so much like a kiss felt incredibly awkward to her.
But alas—
"Th-thank you…"
Hearing the weak gratitude from the girl before her, March 7th couldn't help but feel a slight pang of sympathy.
She turned her head to glance at the person beside her.
Standing nearby was a black-haired, teal-eyed young man, dressed in a dark coat with a dragon insignia draped over his shoulder.
That was Dan Heng.
She hadn't paid him much attention earlier, but now that things had quieted down—
It suddenly hit her.
He's definitely not the right person to do this either.
"...Ahem."
March 7th cleared her throat and looked at him with determination.
"Dan Heng, turn around! Hurry up! She's dying!"
"...Got it."
The young man named Dan Heng slowly turned his back, taking a few steps away. Crossing his arms, he closed his eyes in silence.
March 7th watched him for a moment to make sure he really wasn't peeking, then shifted her gaze back to the girl lying before her—the one who claimed she'd die if March didn't give her CPR.
'Wait… how do you even do CPR again?'
March 7th realized, somewhat belatedly, that she didn't actually know the correct method.
'I guess I'll just… do it like a kiss?'
That was the only idea that came to mind.
"Alright then… I'm going to start, okay?" she said nervously.
"T-thank you so much…" came the faint reply.
March 7th took a breath, half-kneeling down. She placed her hands lightly against her chest to calm her racing heart, her cheeks flushed pink as she leaned closer—slowly, cautiously—toward the other girl.
It was, in her memory, the first time she had ever done something like this. Well… to be fair, she didn't actually have any prior memories.
As for Bai Ming, she was certain she was born a natural actress.
Take now, for example—Even though she wasn't hurt in the slightest, she managed to perfectly play the part of someone on the brink of death.
She even acted out the scene as if her soul were leaving her body, performing it with incredible precision. If Oscar were to award a Best Actress, Bai Ming felt she'd definitely have a chance at winning—after all, participating in a dream's contest counts as participating, right?
Anyway, moving on.
For an experienced captain like her, the [Supplies] system was undeniably tempting. Although she felt a little guilty toward the girl willing to save her with CPR, being unlucky enough to be transported to this position in another world meant she had to be prepared in advance and make decisions in order to survive.
Still…
Bai Ming couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. Would something like CPR even count as a "heart-throbbing event" for the girl? Whatever. Never mind! At least the situation was much better than before.
Reassuring herself, Bai Ming slowly adjusted her breathing, making herself appear calm and composed, trying to stay in character for the scene she had set up.
Yet, even with all her mental preparation, something felt off. Although she had never performed CPR before, she knew it should involve some kind of rescue technique.
But the girl in front of her clearly wasn't doing anything like that.
Her lips pressed directly against Bai Ming's, with no hesitation or disguise. It wasn't artificial respiration—she wasn't trying to exchange breaths at all!
The overwhelming closeness forced Bai Ming to momentarily break character and open her eyes.
There, she saw March 7th's face.
It was a girl's face tinged with pink, her fair face dotted with a light blush. Eyes closed, hands pressed to her chest, she seemed fully immersed in the moment—and she truly believed this was the proper way to perform artificial respiration.
Bai Ming's heart started racing.
What a cute girl! She really should have opened her eyes to see her sooner!
Even though Bai Ming was also a girl, at this moment she didn't hold back in showing her admiration for the girl in front of her!
The hand that had been resting on the ground slowly lifted, passing over March 7th's shoulders, and gently wrapped around the pink hair at the back of her head, drawing her closer.
If the previous action could still be considered "artificial respiration" with a bit of reluctance, this move carried an added sense of investment and intimacy. Subtly, it also contained Bai Ming's initial attraction toward March 7th.
The scene between them now carried just a hint of crossing the line. Feeling the warmth, Bai Ming closed her eyes once again.
Almost simultaneously, she heard a sound in her ear and saw a visual overlay in her mind.
It resembled, but was not entirely the same as, the Honkai Impact 3 settlement screen:
[Heart-Throbbing Event Completed]
[Score: 20/100]
[Reward: 200 Crystals]
[First Impressions: Additional Reward 100 Crystals]
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A/n: While I am a new translator, I have a Patreon! While it may be a bit empty right now both this and the other book on my page has advanced chapters posted on patreon. Set up for my web novel will be 2 chapters for every book a day and if you go to my patreon you'll see the set up there.
patreon.com/deadlygoober