Honkai Impact, please stop imagining it.

Mei was surprised that Lin Yu could recognize who the white-haired man was. She had only recognized him last night from a classmate's phone.

Lin Yu, who had been out of school for so long and hadn't attended classes for more than a few days since the start of the semester, was able to recognize the prince of Qianyu Academy.

That's true. After all, I only focus on science and don't pay much attention to the love affairs of students at school. Famous people are just rebellious figures during these students' boring times.

But Lin Yu probably longs for campus life, and he pays attention to the basketball court during class. It's perfectly normal that he's learned about Kevin online, who is said to be incredibly good at basketball.

Lin Yu, you still say you don't like basketball! If you didn't like sports like basketball, how could you possibly recognize Kevin!

The basketball game was in full swing, and the warmth of the blazing sun, like a gentle, caring man on a public bus, selflessly warmed everyone, only a little too intensely.

Standing and watching two groups of boys chase after a basketball, slamming it on and showing off, is not as satisfying as watching the simple, slender legs of the cheerleading girls.

Unfortunately, Mei was always watching him closely, only occasionally getting distracted by Kevin's or others' dunks, as if he were more attractive than all of them. This made it impossible for Lin Yu to confidently and boldly glance at the cheerleaders under Mei's gaze.

Lin Yu wanted to leave, but behind him were crazy girls shouting Kevin's name, cheering him on. The crowd was so tight that Lin Yu wondered if he would be reported to the police station as a hooligan if he tried to move even slightly, let alone leave.

The most outrageous thing was that Mei actually pulled him through the girls' group, and the most outrageous thing was that none of the girls even noticed that there was a grown man among them.

Watching the boring basketball game come to an end, Lin Yu finally felt relieved, but he also gained a slight understanding of the rules.

Just as Lin Yu was about to leave, he noticed Kevin walking towards him with a towel, wiping his sweat.

Lin Yu was a little confused, but after looking at Mei next to him, he realized, oh, he came to see Mei.

Lin Yu reached out and removed Mei's hand from his arm, turning to leave, but Kevin called out to him.

"Hey, can you play basketball? How about a one-on-one game?"

Lin Yu: "......?"

Looking for me?

Mei reached out and blocked Lin Yu, "I'm sorry, my friend is physically weak. Although he loves basketball, he can't do strenuous exercise."

Kevin nodded. "Shall we be friends? My name is Kevin."

Kevin looked at Lin Yu.

"Friend, not boyfriend!" Kevin suddenly felt motivated. But seeing how much this girl cared about him, he figured he could use this opportunity to build a good relationship with Lin Yu and then get to know Mei!

Lin Yu: "Lin Yu, male, likes women."

Wait a minute, Kevin isn't mistaking me for a woman while I'm standing in a group of women, is he? No way, I look pretty manly after getting a haircut, just a bit weak.

To avoid any misunderstanding, Lin Yu revealed his gender and sexual orientation.

You asked about Mei? Shouldn't you have liked Mei from the very first second? And then strived to catch up with her? I'm a pure lover of the God of War, I will always love Raiden Mei!

Although Mei is very pretty and looks just like Raiden Mei, if a substitute can replace one's love, then what is the point of pure love? I simply like every pretty girl, except for those who already have a boyfriend in the original story.

"Just call me Mei."

Mei helped Lin Yu leave. Chatting with Kevin was less useful than reading. Watching other people's sweet romances was fine, but when it came to dating herself, Mei felt it was just a waste of time.

Chapter 6 Is it finally my turn to make a move?

Mei helped Lin Yu leave. Kevin ignored the girls around him who wanted to talk to him, and just watched Mei and Lin Yu leave.

Only after their figures disappeared into the teaching building did Kevin shake his head, snapping out of his daze, and chase after Su, who had stolen his phone.

"You bastard, give me back my phone!"

Su: "I need to use your phone to make a call."

After leaving that group of girls, Lin Yu felt refreshed, and he wasn't used to being surrounded by women.

After having a quick lunch with Mei, Lin Yu finally couldn't help but ask, "You don't really need to stay with me all the time, do you? You're pretty busy too."

Mei's gaze, as if she were looking at a fragile object that needed protection, made Lin Yu feel like he was critically ill. "I'm just a little sick, but it shouldn't have a big impact on my health. At most, I'll have a headache or stomachache for a while, and it won't last long. Don't you find it boring?"

Stop following me! I want to go chat with Kevin, the strongest warrior of the future Firemoth, the guy I chat with online.

Lin Yu wanted to get to know him, but as for Mei... she was a research scholar, and Lin Yu had never been involved in scientific research in any of his lives, so they had absolutely nothing in common.

"What if you faint again later?"

"Just how fragile do you think I am? Cough cough—."

As soon as Lin Yu finished speaking, he coughed heavily a few more times, covered his mouth, bent over, and trembled.

Mei quickly helped him up, but Lin Yu dodged her. "I'm a normal man, just a little weak. That doesn't mean I need to be taken care of. I survived on my own before, and I can survive on my own again. Mei, I don't want you to treat me like a fragile thing. We're friends, right?"

If I punched this cafeteria, it might collapse, though I can't say that out loud now.

But I'm already this strong, and I still need you to take care of me. It's so awkward. It feels like I'm pretending to be sick and weak to get you to take care of me.

Mei: ".......I understand."

As expected, you're still angry. Are you angry that I didn't treat you like a normal man? Well, even if Lin Yu is sick and weak, he wouldn't want others to treat him like a fragile object, would he?

Mei thought about it and realized that if she were Lin Yu, being taken care of by her only friend who treated her as a weakling and did everything for her own good, Mei would also feel resentful.

Moreover, Lin Yu is a grown man. Even if he is only sixteen years old, he should have his own self-respect. How would his classmates see him being helped and cared for like this?

Lin Yu probably just wanted a peaceful, ordinary campus life, rather than being treated like a fragile object and subjected to the strange looks from his classmates.

Mei understands.

Mei slowly released Lin Yu's hand and stood beside him.

I've never seen the eyes of people with disabilities or serious illnesses. They are eyes that yearn to be treated as normal people, as one of their own, not as objects of strange treatment.

Even if we're going to help, it should be mutual, not one-sided charity. A strong person will only feel that your care for them is charity.

Lin Yu is a strong person too.

That's true, if he weren't strong, how could he have survived until now...?

When a person has no self-reliant life, the difficulties they endure are far more severe than they imagine. What they need to emerge from such a predicament is not charity or pity, but rather to be treated like a friend.

Mei answered Lin Yu's question, "We are friends."

Lin Yu glanced at Mei with a puzzled look. Mei's eyes were filled with determination, and his previous sympathy vanished. He felt that Mei seemed to have thought of a lot of strange things in those few seconds.

"I'm leaving?"

Lin Yu tentatively pointed to the side door, which led towards the stadium.

Mei nodded. "Okay, then see you after school. It's normal for friends to walk home together after school, right, Lin Yu?"

Lin Yu nodded. "It's normal."

Mei turned and left. Lin Yu clenched his fist and made a "yes" gesture. "Let's go find Kevin and have a chat."

Lin Yu turned and left, unaware that... Mei was behind a pillar, adjusting her glasses and revealing a wise expression.

As a friend, it's perfectly normal to worry about and protect your friend!

Well, I'll keep an eye on him for a few days. If Lin Yu is doing well at school, then we don't need to worry too much. After all, he was unconscious for several hours yesterday. What if he faints again if we don't keep an eye on him for the next few days?

Lin Yu's phone only contains his and his mother's numbers. If he were taken away by an ambulance, the doctor would definitely call the "auntie" in Lin Yu's phone, not "Mei's" number.

Lin Yu went to the bathroom to wash his face first. Looking at his still sickly self in the mirror, he tried to show a masculine expression, but unfortunately, masculinity requires muscles and temperament as a foundation.

Having lived as a gloomy and repressed youth for six years, even after regaining his memories of his past life, he completely lacked the foundation of that masculine spirit.

The person in the mirror looks like a pretentious fox, someone who's just pretending to be something they're not. They just look empty, not only physically but also mentally.

Lin Yu gave up, sighed, and his body returned to normal, with a weak expression on his face.

She pinched her cheek and thought, "Oh well, this is how I was born. I'll just accept it."

Only Koreans would forcibly change their faces; they're born with their natural features, so it doesn't matter.

Just as Lin Yu was about to leave, he suddenly noticed that there were several more people at the entrance of the restroom.

With dyed yellow hair and wearing cool leather jackets, every school has a few students who just coast along, and in more serious schools, there might even be a few hooligans.

Upon seeing the blond-haired man's face, Lin Yu immediately remembered that they had robbed him of his money after the start of the semester—his weekly allowance of two thousand Shenzhou coins. He was too scared to tell the teacher, and they only stopped lending him money when he had to take a long leave of absence due to a high fever caused by a burglary at his home.

The blond-haired guy raised an eyebrow, put his hands in his pockets, and a henchman next to him lit a cigarette for him. "You've finally come to school, my friend. I've spent all the money I borrowed from you last time. I wonder if you have any left?"

Lin Yu: "......."

Finally, is it my turn to make a move? After obtaining the system, Lin Yu had never even fought a single battle, let alone fought a Honkai Beast. He thought that when he saw Mei being harassed by thugs, it would be his turn to take action, but those three thugs were too cowardly to even lay a hand on him.

Lin Yu sneered, clenching one fist behind his back while reaching out to the thugs with the other hand. "What a coincidence, I've also run out of money. You should pay back the 12,000 you borrowed from me before."

Chapter 7: Let's start shipping couples today!

Encountering two groups of thugs in two consecutive days made Lin Yu wonder if something was wrong with this broken world.

The thugs glared angrily and were about to rush forward. Lin Yu clenched his fists, a little nervous about his first fight. As Lin Yu was thinking about how to fight without killing the thugs, one of the thugs' heads was smashed against the glass.

Lin Yu: "?"

Kevin kicked another thug hard, sending him flying into the inner toilet stall. He grabbed the other thug and flung him to the ground, where Kevin stomped on him hard, and the thug clutched his stomach and howled in pain.

In three moves, all three thugs were wiped out...

Lin Yu: "......."

Kevin: "I just saw those three following you. Were you being bullied?"

Seeing Lin Yu clench his fists and look nervous, Kevin raised his hand and made a gesture that made him appear harmless.

“I think I can handle it.”

Lin Yu coughed twice, the tension on his pale face disappeared, and he walked past Kevin and left the restroom.

Now I don't have to worry about how much force I need to use to teach these thugs a lesson without killing them. Have I been saved?

Hearing Lin Yu's words and watching his departing figure, Kevin shrugged in the bathroom, feeling a bit stubborn.

He turned and followed them out. As for these thugs, who would care? They weren't going to tell the teacher anyway.

"I guess you could say I saved you, aren't you going to say thank you?"

Lin Yu walked to the vending machine, bought two bottles of soda, and handed one to Kevin, saying, "I can handle this myself, but thanks anyway."

Kevin pursed his lips, opened the soda, took a sip, glanced at the brand, and thought it tasted awful, but it was free, so he didn't care. He finished it in one gulp, and then Kevin walked away with Lin Yu.

She looked nervous with her head down when facing the three of them, but suddenly became nonchalant after being rescued, right? Ah, right, right~, this must be what Su often calls tsundere.