"And…" Fu Lin continued, "I'd like some freedom—like being able to come and go from St. Freya Academy."
"Hmm…"
Teresa hesitated, unwilling to agree too quickly. But then she considered Fu Lin's male status—he would need to go out occasionally for men's necessities—so she relented.
"I can grant you some freedom, but you must have a chaperone."
"Alright, I understand."
Fu Lin let out a breath of relief. But when he met Kiana's clear (and intelligent) gaze, he felt a headache coming on. He hesitated before looking toward Teresa again.
"As for Kiana…"
-------------------------------
"I hope to have an assistant to help me supervise and manage Kiana."
Theresa turned her head to look behind her, twitched the corner of her mouth, blinked at Fu Lin, then shifted her gaze to Mei and said, "That's no problem either! I'll have Mei help you."
Fu Lin was delighted. If Mei was there to assist him, Kiana might be more obedient, and teaching her would certainly be much easier.
Theresa sighed lightly and then continued, "Mei, what do you think?"
Mei replied softly, "I have no problem with it."
Although Mei's voice was not loud, it was full of determination. After all, for the sake of Kiana's academic performance, she had to agree.
Theresa nodded, then said to Fu Lin, "Then it's settled!"
"Tomorrow, you two can have a good discussion and come up with a plan for Kiana's studies. Try to get her to pass the next assessment. Haha, just passing is enough, no pressure..."
"I'll do my best..."
Fu Lin wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead. Even with Mei's assistance, he still wasn't confident about making Kiana pass.
"Fu Lin, are you looking down on me...?"
"Shut up, Kiana."
A vein throbbed slightly on Theresa's forehead as she turned to yell at Kiana, cutting her off before she could humiliate herself further, at least saving her some dignity.
She then raised her hand to pat Fu Lin's shoulder but realized she wasn't tall enough. So, she silently lowered her arm and said, "I believe in you, young man. Kiana is in your hands now."
Fu Lin, "..."
Himeko glanced at Fu Lin, then at Theresa, and couldn't help but hold her forehead. They really let him join the academy so carelessly? She then asked, "Fu Lin, welcome to St. Freya Academy. But why exactly are you wanted by Schicksal headquarters?"
Hearing Himeko's words, Fu Lin slowly locked eyes with Fu Shi, feeling puzzled himself. Aside from that one time he beat up Otto, which might have led to a warrant...
But he was wearing an Executor mask back then! How could Otto recognize him? That shouldn't be possible...
Fu Shi, "Hehe, I have no idea either~"
Fu Lin took a deep breath and said,
"In my opinion, this spaghetti should be mixed with No. 42 concrete. Because of the length of this screw, it can easily affect the torque of the excavator. The moment you hammer it in, it will generate a huge..."
Fu Shi, "???"
Fu Hua, "???"
Himeko, "???"
The Three Valkyries, "???"
Theresa, "..." Suddenly regretting making him a history teacher.
Perhaps because her brain wasn't in frequent use, Kiana was the first to snap out of it. She grabbed Fu Lin by the collar and fired off a string of questions,
"You're not Fu Lin! Where did you hide my elegant, well-read, immensely talented, righteous, humble, beautiful, charming, and extraordinary class monitor?!"
"He would never act this idiotic!"
Everyone, "!!!"
Fu Lin was stunned for a moment, then broke free from Kiana's grip, turned the tables, and shook her shoulders violently.
"Who are you?! You can't be Kiana! The Kiana I know is clueless and spends all day eating and sleeping! There's no way she could string together so many idioms in one breath!"
"And besides, 'beautiful' and 'charming' describe me, okay?!"
Everyone nodded in agreement and chimed in, "That's right! Kiana could never say that many idioms at once!"
"So this is how you all see me..."
Kiana shook her head to clear her dizziness, then looked at everyone with a face full of grievance.
Was it wrong for her to secretly try and improve?
Himeko stepped forward, gently stroked Kiana's silky white hair, and comforted her softly,
"Kiana, how could you think that? Even if you're just a little bit... less bright, you still have other great qualities—like getting along well with everyone in the academy, being helpful, cheerful, and... helpful."
"Himeko~ You already said 'helpful' just now." Kiana reminded her.
"Did I? Haha... Hahaha, I guess I might be a little drunk."
Himeko scratched her head and laughed it off, then turned her gaze to Fu Lin and said, "Anyway, you still haven't explained why you're wanted by Schicksal!"
"Aunt Himeko, didn't I just say? I'm wanted by Schicksal because... well, because I'm wanted by Schicksal."
Fu Lin spread his hands, looking helpless. Just then, a gust of wind from a powerful punch brushed past his cheek, making his hair quiver slightly.
...
Fu Lin's pupils trembled as he looked at the delicate, jade-like arm beside him. He swallowed hard and slowly backed away.
But for every step Fu Lin took back, Himeko took a step forward, until she had him cornered and unable to move. Only then did she say, "Call me Major or Sister Himeko."
"Yes, Major Himeko!"
"Good. Now, can you speak properly?"
"I can!"
Fu Lin stood on tiptoe, his back pressed tightly against the wall, not daring to look directly at Himeko's chest. He could only breathe in the faint scent of roses from her and tilt his head up to respond.