Popularity is everything; I play a super genius.

Chapter 10 The Safest Place

Saki lowered his head slightly and silently looked at the "accessory" between his legs.

The two of them remained frozen in the stairwell in this rather awkward and easily misunderstood pose.

Liuli's personal channel exploded with comments after a half-second of silence:

"Screenshot taken!!! Hahahaha!"

"If I put this scene with a mosaic over it and asked you what they were doing, I wouldn't even want to think about it!"

"Bad woman, kneel down!"

"I'm dying of laughter, everyone! This composition is absolutely amazing!"

Qi Ji was stunned when he saw this scene.

After realizing what was happening, he immediately opened his live stream.

Start broadcasting!

screenshot!

Save it as your live stream cover!

"Guys, Qiji has started streaming!"

"Hilarious! Go check out Qi Ji's livestream cover!"

"Bad woman: My reputation has been ruined!"

After doing all this, Qi Ji looked at Liu Li and spoke leisurely:

"Ruri-kun, even if you want to thank me... you don't need to go to such lengths, do you?"

Liuli coughed lightly twice, stood up, casually tidied her slightly messy hair, and forced a change of topic:

"Saki-kun, cough... why weren't you on the rooftop just now?"

"To avoid you."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Literal meaning."

Qi Ji couldn't very well say that he had just gone to the library to study secretly, could he?

If it doesn't fit the persona, I can't say it.

That's the downside of being a genius.

Liuli bit her lip lightly. The more Qiji acted this way, the more curious she became about the true appearance of Qiji behind the mask.

"There's something on your mask."

Her eyes flickered, and she suddenly spoke, extending her hand at the same time.

However, before her wrist was even fully extended, Qi Ji reached out and tapped her forehead with his finger.

The height difference between the two meant that even if Liuli stood on tiptoe, she couldn't cross that arm's length.

Useless hand, stretch it out a little longer!

hateful!

Seeing that she couldn't succeed, Liuli had no choice but to give up reluctantly.

"You...! I just want to know what kind of face lies beneath your handsome mask!"

"Oh."

Qi Ji smiled, exerted a little force with his fingertips, and pushed Liu Li backward slightly. Then, he said matter-of-factly:

"Beneath the handsome mask lies an even more handsome face."

After saying that, he flicked his finger lightly on Liuli's forehead.

"Ouch!"

Liuli winced in pain and covered her forehead.

Saki put his hands in his pockets, ignored her, and walked towards the classroom.

Ruri was taken aback: "Saki-kun, aren't you going to sleep on the rooftop?"

"I've had enough sleep." Saki waved his hand without turning his head. "Besides, the Kamishiro family will be coming for you in the upcoming practical assessment, right?"

Upon hearing the words "Age of Gods," Ruri's previously lighthearted expression instantly darkened.

As he reached the corner of the stairs, Saki turned around.

"Don't worry. I always keep my word—"

I will help you kill all the members of the Kamishiro family.

The boy's promise-like words froze Liuli in place.

"Alright, stop standing there. If you encounter any danger, just remember, the safest place is right next to me."

"...?!"

Liuli lowered her head, her shoulders trembling almost imperceptibly.

"Tch! What big talk..."

When he looked up again, his face was once again adorned with that standard, top-student smile.

At the same time, in Liuli's live stream, the girl's childhood memories flashed back at that moment—

That was on my fifth birthday.

Liuli was chained to a stone pillar.

Her father's hand rested on her forehead:

"Ruri, you are the 'heart' of the Kamishiro family."

But the heart will ache, will break, and will want to escape.

This is a defect of the heart.

So you remember this—

First: Do not destroy yourself.

Second: You must not betray others.

Third: We must not forget our mission.

A powerful binding force, accompanied by excruciating pain, surged through!

Liuli's consciousness was struck as if by a heavy blow.

The little girl cried loudly, kicking her feet wildly in pain:

"Father! Mother! It hurts—it hurts so much!!!"

The mother turned her face away.

The father then reprimanded him even more severely:

"Pain is also a flaw! Only by overcoming flaws can you become perfect!"

The sound of chains dragging on the ground echoed in my mind.

Finally, the sound of a "click" indicating that the door was locked was heard.

The final scene shows Xiao Liuli's tear-streaked, empty, and vacant face, along with her completely lifeless, numb, misty purple eyes.

From that day on, Ruri Kamishiro's heart was sealed inside an iron box.

With her exceptional spiritual talent, she became a tool meticulously crafted by the Kamishiro family.

Flashback ends.

In Liuli's live stream, the chat reached its highest peak since the start of the broadcast:

"Holy crap, so this is how bad women are made..."

"Bad woman...no, Ruri, she..."

"Seriously, do all these main characters have to have such tragic childhoods?!"

"Exactly, exactly, it's Hōki, it's Ryūri, and could it be that Sakizuki also...?"

"When will the memories of Saki flash back?!"

"Could Sakizuki also be from the Kamishiro family? Or perhaps he has some kind of entanglement with them?"

"Holy crap, after seeing Ruri's childhood, and then hearing Saki's lines like 'I'll help you kill all the Kamishiro family members' and 'The safest place is by my side'..."

"You damned Asahi!"

"Brother Ji, I'm begging you, please save this bad woman!"

……

On the stairs, Liuli took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind.

She suddenly jogged past Qiji.

Then, a few steps ahead of Qi Ji, she turned around, put her hands behind her back, faced him, and walked backwards.

Her long, misty purple hair traced a graceful arc as she turned, and a sly smile graced her face, making her seem completely different from the desperate little girl in the flashback.

"Saki-kun".

Liuli tilted her head slightly, once again revealing her impeccable smile.

"You'd better watch out, it won't be long before I personally remove your mask."

At the same time, the girl's inner voice rang out clearly in her own live stream, carrying a gentle yet firm resolve:

"Ruri Kamishiro, you'll remember this—"

If danger arises...

Looking at the masked boy before her, whom she couldn't see through yet inexplicably felt a connection with, she silently admonished herself, word by word:

"You absolutely must stay away from him!"

"Please don't..."

"To implicate him in misfortune."

Qi Ji, who wasn't in Liu Li's live stream, was unaware of these things.

He simply nodded indifferently and said, "Okay, I'll be careful."

Anyway, it won't be long before he takes off the mask on his own.

When his "stunningly handsome face," honed over nine years, is finally unveiled, it's anyone's guess how much popularity he'll garner!

Just thinking about it makes me a little excited!

"No."

Liuli suddenly stopped walking backwards and stood in the bright afternoon sunlight.

"Saki-kun!"

Please—

We must be careful.

……

……