Chairman Aleister naturally wouldn't miss Lin Wuming's entire day of "dating," and he observed it all through the "Stagnant Air Circuit"—otherwise, he wouldn't have noticed Kazakiri Hyouka's appearance immediately.
His final conclusion was that there was no need to arrange any more honey traps for Lin Wuming; he would be lucky just to handle the current situation around him.
Aleister even felt an impulse to package his other works as textbooks and send them to Lin Wuming for his study and reference.
—It seems you are truly fond of that child.
Without warning, "someone" responded.
It was not "words," but a purer, more direct "will," reverberating in this space.
Aleister chuckled a few times: "That statement applies to you too, doesn't it? This should be the first student you've acknowledged, right?"
—Not acknowledgment.
"Yes, not acknowledgment, just curiosity," Aleister said with a smile. "To be able to make you feel human emotions—I'm even more curious now."
The other party remained silent for a long time before finally throwing out one last sentence.
—Manage Kazakiri Hyouka; her birth has deviated from your plan.
"But overall, Our plan has not been affected; in fact, the progress has accelerated by three to fifteen steps because of it."
This time, there was no response.
Aleister didn't mind; he immediately turned off all screens, letting the room return to its original tranquility.
...
As for Kazakiri Hyouka, after Lin Wuming got into the car to see Chairman Aleister, she was stopped by Shokuhou Misaki and Hu Feng Toumi.
Facing the two girls' aggressive questioning, Kazakiri Hyouka responded calmly, even remaining silent in most cases... No, it should be said she "ignored" the two girls in front of her.
After Lin Wuming was no longer by her side, Kazakiri Hyouka seemed to transform, becoming more in line with people's stereotype of the "Imaginary Number District Ghost"—expressionless, slow to react, as if she was always lost in thought, indifferent to anything in front of her.
Coupled with her almost "immortal" characteristic, even if attacked, she could probably endure it expressionlessly if she wanted to.
Shokuhou Misaki certainly wouldn't resort to violence against her, but because Mental Out wasn't very effective on this "ghost," Shokuhou Misaki had no good way to deal with this unyielding individual.
Looking at Hu Feng Toumi, Shokuhou Misaki found that Hu Feng Toumi was surprisingly calm at this moment and did not get angry because of the other party's "ignorance."
She also seemed to ignore Kazakiri Hyouka in front of her! For Hu Feng Toumi, it was enough to separate Kazakiri Hyouka from Lin Wuming and prevent them from getting close.
Rubbing the ribbon in her hand, Hu Feng Toumi simply closed her eyes to rest, acting completely different from when she decisively moved to assassinate him!
—In some sense, Hu Feng Tong Xue's strangeness is no less than that of Kazakiri Hyouka.
Shokuhou Misaki grumbled inwardly.
"Don't waste your efforts anymore," Kazakiri Hyouka finally seemed to come to her senses, turning her head and slowly saying, "I have nothing to do with you, and I don't care about your affairs. The only one I care about is Wuming."
"What an absurd statement!" Shokuhou Misaki immediately retorted, yet she inexplicably felt a sense of déjà vu about her statement—before this, someone else seemed to have said something similar...
"Huh?" Shokuhou Misaki looked at the girl beside her, Hu Feng Toumi, with a speechless expression.
Kazakiri Hyouka's attitude at this moment was almost identical to Hu Feng Toumi's previous stance.
"Wuming is Our only companion; we are—kindred spirits," Kazakiri Hyouka emphasized, repeating the same line.
Whoosh!
A black ribbon shot past her cheek, cutting off a few strands of hair.
Without warning, Hu Feng Toumi launched another warning attack.
"Alright, I've said everything I wanted to say." Kazakiri Hyouka was unmoved, as if she hadn't noticed the recent attack. She offered a standard smile, bowed politely, and said, "Then, good night, I'll be leaving now."
One step back, two steps.
Snap!
Kazakiri Hyouka's figure vanished into thin air.
Shokuhou Misaki and Hu Feng Toumi did not stop her—or rather, they were unable to stop a Spatial Ability User from forcibly leaving.
"Hu Feng Tong Xue~"
"I'm fine." Hu Feng Toumi calmly retrieved her ribbon, as if she wasn't the one who had just launched the attack.
—Wow, these two are really alike!
Shokuhou Misaki sighed inwardly, but she didn't voice her thoughts.
Because she had already figured out Hu Feng Toumi's sore spot, or "red line."
"You guessed right." Hu Feng Toumi stood tall, rubbing the ribbon in her hand as she said, "There's only one reason I can't stand that guy—she shouldn't presume to call Wuming her kindred spirit."
"Ah, I know, I know it all," Shokuhou Misaki said, raising her hand to stroke Hu Feng's head. "I know—Wuming's 'kindred spirit' can only be you, Hu Feng."
Indeed, the reason Hu Feng Toumi erupted with such intense hostility and aggression towards Kazakiri Hyouka upon their first meeting was because she felt threatened, so she chose to strike first, a "defensive offense."
—Because their attribute positioning overlapped.
Hu Feng Toumi knew she had a bad start and had already made an irreparable huge mistake at the very beginning, so in her relationship with Lin Wuming, she consciously and decisively retreated to the absolute bottom line from the start.
It wasn't even a "partner fighting alongside" relationship, but a more fundamental and darker one—a "accomplice" who slaughters together, bathed in blood and death.
In other words, the so-called "kindred spirit."
To this day, Hu Feng Toumi still firmly believes that beneath Lin Wuming's "hero" facade, there hides the true nature of an Asura, one who dares to kill and is skilled at killing.
That was the "real Lin Wuming" that only Hu Feng Toumi had witnessed.
It was precisely because she had seen another side of Lin Wuming that Hu Feng Toumi had the confidence to remain by his side.
And she found the reason of "kindred spirit" for herself.
Hu Feng Toumi dared not ask for more, but the identity of "Lin Wuming's kindred spirit" was the one thing she could not give up—because she had already retreated to the bottom line, she could not retreat any further.
Tonight, a strange girl suddenly appeared and immediately claimed to be Lin Wuming's "kindred spirit," which was undoubtedly dancing on Hu Feng Toumi's red line.
"Even if Wuming says she's not Our competitor," Hu Feng Toumi still held a grudge, "I won't allow her to continue spouting nonsense there!"
