Pity?
Li Wu silently repeated the narration in his head. Does she think my trying to save Raiden Mei is futile?
The plot hadn't changed, but the characters' personalities were leaving Li Wu somewhat baffled—especially Kiana's.
She had gone from a quirky, hot-blooded idiot to an aloof, indifferent bookworm who spoke entirely in metaphors and theories.
"Do you like playing games?" Li Wu suddenly asked.
"I don't know how to play games," Kiana replied straightforwardly.
She wasn't lying.
She said she didn't know how, not that she didn't like to.
"Looks like we won't have much to talk about then. I just wanted to step out for some fresh air. I'll be going now."
Having gotten his answer, Li Wu didn't take Kiana's words to heart. Amidst the strange looks from his classmates, he walked out of the room.
After leaving, Li Wu didn't immediately head to the girls' bathroom, because it was already too late to stop Mei from being insulted, splashed with water, and locked inside.
The comic's protagonist had tried to stop it, but ultimately failed. If someone caught him entering the girls' bathroom, he could be reported and sent to juvenile detention. Moreover, he couldn't exactly stop Mei or the other female students from going to the bathroom in the first place.
The only possible remedy was to get Mei out of the bathroom after class started.
Riiiing—!
Riiiing—!
The class bell rang. Li Wu hid behind the door of an emergency stairwell until there was no more movement in the hallway and the teacher had started lecturing in the classroom. Only then did he emerge, sticking to the security cameras' blind spots as he made his way toward the girls' bathroom.
Li Wu walked to the innermost stall. The door was jammed shut with a mop, trapping the person inside.
The area outside the stall was a mess. Torn scraps of clothing were scattered sparsely across the floor.
There were also many strands of purple hair, and if he looked closely, he could even spot a few faint drops of crimson mixed in with the water puddles.
Clearly, during the break, Mei had been beaten inside the bathroom.
"Raiden-san, I know you're in there. Hold on a second, I'll open the door for you right now."
After saying that, Li Wu yanked out the mop jammed in the door handle and tossed it aside.
The stall door swung open, revealing a pitiful sight even more wretched than the mess outside.
Raiden Mei was curled up in the corner like an injured little beast, her trembling hands crossed protectively over her chest.
Her clothes had been torn to shreds, and her full, fair bosom was practically spilling out, mostly concealed by her arms.
Her hair was a messy rat's nest, with bits of foul-smelling vegetable scraps and slop clinging to the gaps between her strands.
"Ugh... hic..."
Raiden Mei bit her lip, the rims of her eyes swollen and red. Her pupils shimmered with rippling tears, looking like a disturbed lake—shattered and blurry.
"I... I'm fine..."
Raiden Mei pulled her ruined clothes tighter and shakily tried to stand up. But a sharp pain from a torn wound on her leg caused her to fall heavily back down.
Her head drooped even lower, as if she wanted to bury her face deeper than the floor itself, utterly devoid of any dignity.
"Li... Li Wu-kun... Please don't... don't look at me..."
"I beg of you... Please just let me be alone for a while..."
Her hoarse, low pleas echoed clearly in the silent bathroom, striking like a thunderclap against his peaceful inner world.
This incredibly humble, pitiful scene felt like a needle piercing right into Li Wu's heart.
There was a close-up panel of this exact moment in the comic, which had garnered a massive amount of comments. But Li Wu hadn't thought much of it back then, treating it simply as a necessary plot development.
But now that he was seeing it with his own two eyes, he realized he had still underestimated human empathy.
The Raiden Mei before him was lowlier than the dust on the ground.
Li Wu stepped forward. The moment he reached out his hand, Raiden Mei reflexively covered her head.
She was trying to protect herself, a conditioned response to avoid taking more damage during a beating.
"How could you possibly be fine? Stop trying to act tough."
Piece by piece.
With slow, gentle movements, Li Wu picked the vegetable scraps out of Raiden Mei's hair and tossed them into the toilet.
After a basic cleanup, he took off his own jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
"Don't worry, I won't tell the teachers. Even if they knew, they wouldn't be able to help, and it would only make your situation more embarrassing."
"You can't go to class like this. There's a small path behind the school we can use to sneak out. Since everyone is in class right now, I'll take you back to wash up."
Everything was proceeding methodically according to the plot.
Except, his own feelings had become incredibly complicated.
In the comic, the protagonist asked Raiden Mei where she lived and then took her home.
But right now, no matter how Li Wu asked, Raiden Mei remained silent. She stared blankly at the floor with hollow eyes, seemingly having suffered a massive blow.
There was still a difference between reality and a comic. Since Raiden Mei wouldn't speak, he had no way to find her exact address. He could only take her back to his own place first. Anyway, there wasn't any R-18 content in the plot at this point; she just needed to take a shower and change clothes.
Thinking of this, Li Wu hesitated no longer. He sneaked Raiden Mei off campus, hailed a taxi, and headed toward his canonically established home.
The front door had a keypad lock. Before entering the passcode, Li Wu glanced back at Raiden Mei. She still had her head down, looking completely despondent.
After opening the door, Li Wu handed her a pair of brand-new slippers.
"I'll adjust the hot water for you first. Everything you need is in the bathroom. Go ahead and wash up; I'll run downstairs and buy you some clothes you can wear."
Once all the preparations were done, Li Wu headed straight out the door, giving Raiden Mei peace of mind to shower.
So far, other than the location being different, everything else was playing out exactly according to the plot.
However, the moment Li Wu closed the door and left, Raiden Mei's aggrieved, pitiful expression vanished instantly. In its place was a look filled with ice-cold disgust. Like a prosecutor, she scrutinized every item in the suspect's house.
Without a word.
Raiden Mei entered the bathroom. She noticed that absolutely every conceivable thing she might need had been meticulously prepared. Her mood instantly plummeted to rock bottom. Her expression turned frigid, and an indescribable wave of pain surged in her chest.
She covered her mouth with her right hand, desperately fighting down the nausea and discomfort churning in her stomach.
Downstairs, Li Wu, who was currently picking out clothes, suddenly received a narration from the system.
[Raiden Mei feels a physiological disgust toward your actions.]
[Raiden Mei can no longer endure it.]