Chapter 26: The Generous Donation and the Magical Girl’s Fury

He Yao was a man of remarkable initiative.

For the most part, he appeared to be a recluse, simply because he held no interest in anything else.

This was particularly true when it came to socializing with his classmates. He often found himself internally mocking those who seemed to get along jovially and lead carefree lives.

However, this was not to say he was foolish.

Thus, during the afternoon lesson, Liu Yun made an announcement.

“Alright, everyone… He Yao has generously donated five hundred thousand to our support initiative. I will make sure all expenditures from these funds are fully transparent, counting it as our class’s collective contribution. Let’s all brainstorm together and decide what to purchase for the children at the orphanage.”

The moment these words left her lips, the classroom fell silent.

It wasn’t that there were no affluent students in the class.

Yet, none of them, as mere students, could genuinely produce half a million for a donation.

Even Ye Liuyun stared in utter bewilderment, glancing at the friend who had been his deskmate for just over a week. He was completely dumbfounded.

He had previously told his friends that He Yao’s personality likely wasn’t suited for such activities. He had even planned for them to guide He Yao through it, assuming his deskmate simply struggled with social interactions. Instead, He Yao had turned around and directly donated five hundred thousand, opting out of participation entirely.

It made him feel utterly foolish, like a clown.

After class, He Yao found himself unexpectedly popular.

‘A pack of money-grubbing puppies and sows, how utterly amusing…’ He Yao mused inwardly. Yet, on his face, he wore a shy, almost apologetic smile, acknowledging his genuine discomfort in such social settings. “Well, I… I’m not very good at interacting with others, so I simply wished to contribute in my own way…”

He quickly garnered quite a few new friends.

Of course, this was largely due to his excellent memory; otherwise, he wouldn’t have even remembered their names.

Then, with a grand gesture, he declared that none of his friends should head home after school today. He would treat them all to a buffet, priced at eight hundred per person.

While Ye Liuyun and Liu Xingyue weren’t explicitly invited, their popularity in class was undeniable. With just a subtle hint from He Yao, several eager sycophants immediately pulled them along, and he, naturally, offered no objection.

He even sent a message to Lin Han, inviting him to join. However, Lin Han replied that a teacher’s presence at a student gathering would make everyone uncomfortable, deeming it inappropriate.

He Yao could only express his regrets.

Speaking of which, he recalled a previous buffet outing with Teacher Lin—the man possessed an incredible appetite.

The buffet owner had been so impressed that he’d waived their meal fees, simply to see how much more Lin Han could consume that day.

The notion of eating so much that a restaurant owner cries, a trope common in many anime and novels, was simply nonexistent. In Xia Nation, if one truly possessed such an impressive appetite, the owner would undoubtedly record a video and post it on social media, proclaiming they’d encountered an extraordinary individual—a story to boast about for a lifetime.

Moments later, he received a private message from Liu Xingyue.

[You’re very rich?]

[Somewhat.]

[Do you feel satisfied with that?]

‘A magical girl, brimming with such a strong sense of justice…’ He Yao mused, a faint smile touching his lips. Then, he typed: ‘[I don’t feel satisfied… Will you be my girlfriend?]’

A prompt silence followed from the other side of the screen.

He Yao lifted his gaze towards Liu Xingyue, observing her incredulous expression as she stared back at him.

Their eyes met.

Liu Xingyue immediately dropped her gaze, as if caught red-handed, and furiously began tapping on her phone. ‘[Are you insane?! Do you even know what you’re saying?!]’

[Student Liu, you wouldn’t want your…]

[Ah!!!! Shut up!]

He Yao lifted his head once more, their gazes locking again. This time, however, her eyes were brimming with pure resentment.

He smirked triumphantly.

‘This expression clearly means: ‘I’ll hold this secret over you for a lifetime.’’

[Student Liu, there’s no need to rush,] he messaged back, unhurriedly. ‘[Becoming my girlfriend would benefit you. Everyone would know you’ve snagged a wealthy young master like me, so you could easily leave early from any activities, couldn’t you? After all, I, the rich young master, will be backing you up.]’

[Are you kidding me? What kind of person would everyone think I am then?!]

[It’s certainly better than your secret being exposed, isn’t it? Don’t you think your absence from the last exam was already quite suspicious? Fortunately, I reacted quickly—I suspect some classmates are already speculating we’re involved. You know how much everyone loves gossip.]

He continued, unhurriedly: ‘[Precisely because of that, no one connected Friday’s activity with your absence. Everyone probably just assumes we’re up to something illicit. So, given the circumstances, why not make this relationship official? Dating a wealthy young master like me, wouldn’t it be perfectly normal to live a more lavish lifestyle?]’

‘What on earth are you talking about?’

As Liu Xingyue read the messages, she felt as though her eyes and even her phone had been sullied. ‘What does he mean, ‘living a more lavish lifestyle’ is normal? I have absolutely no desire to understand the lives of you wealthy young masters!’

[My reputation would be ruined then!]

[Oh? Who said protecting… is… the mission!]

These were Liu Xingyue’s exact words to He Yao.

‘So, a ‘mission’ is utterly worthless compared to one’s reputation!’ He Yao’s face was practically contorted with laughter. ‘It seems it only amounts to this much!’

Having sent the message, he promptly slipped his phone into his pocket, completely disregarding any replies that might follow.

“Student He, what has you looking so pleased?”

“Ah… I just won something I wanted from a mobile game gacha.”

“Oh~ Student He plays mobile games? Doesn’t that imply quite a bit of spending?”

“Just a few tens of thousands, merely micro-transactions, micro-transactions.”

He said this with genuine sincerity. After all, he hadn’t even made it onto the ‘whale’ leaderboard, and his previous allowance had only been six thousand a month!

He certainly possessed his own private stash of funds, though he hadn’t intended to dip into it previously. Now, however, using some of it seemed inconsequential, especially with the additional income from his magical girl activities.

He had no need to save for a car or a house.

After treating the entire class to a splendid meal, he genuinely seemed to have gained a few friends.

While teenagers of this age could be sensitive, they were often quite simple-minded. Sharing a meal with someone could indeed forge a decent friendship.

He Yao, however, wasn’t particularly concerned with this.

“Speaking of which, Ye Liuyun,” He Yao casually inquired during dinner, “you messaged me on Sunday about participating in an activity. What was it, exactly?”

Ye Liuyun visibly froze for a moment.

A look of confusion crossed his face.

“Me? Sunday?”

At that moment, a girl interjected, “Did you invite Student He on Sunday? How come none of us knew about it?”

He Yao glanced at the girl, who was a classmate named Hu Qian.

He promptly dropped the topic.

Upon returning home, he was met by a beautiful girl at his doorstep.

It was Liu Xingyue, of course.

She appeared to be limbering up her joints.

“What?! Is a magical girl about to violently assault a regular citizen?!” He Yao felt a pang of fear. If Liu Xingyue truly intended to pummel him, he wasn’t sure if he, as Ink Crystal, could defeat Emerald. After all, Emerald had been active as a magical girl for over a year, and while her role leaned towards support, still…

“Such audacity, Student He Yao! Didn’t you want me to be your girlfriend? Very well, if you can withstand ten of my iron fists, I’ll agree to be your girlfriend.”

He Yao hastily shook his head. “I was just making a joke! You didn’t actually take me seriously, did you?!”

Liu Xingyue’s expression shifted to one of feigned regret. “Oh, so Student He Yao was only joking! I truly thought you were serious! Aren’t you going to try? This is a magical girl, you know~ Emerald, no less~ I’m quite popular online, you see~”

‘So what if you’re Emerald? While your figure might be good, my Ink Crystal figure is certainly not lacking either!’

‘If it came down to a true confrontation, I wouldn’t necessarily be inferior to you!’

He Yao shook his head. “In any case, please come in and sit down first! I do observe proper etiquette, you know.”

Liu Xingyue then stepped into his villa, glancing left and right. “Are your parents not home?”

“They both went overseas, having just left this Saturday. I’m the only one at home.”

“I always imagined a wealthy young master’s home would be filled with maids and butlers, all lined up to proclaim, ‘Welcome home, Master,’ and such.”

“Have you been watching too much anime? How could you harbor such fantasies? This has nothing to do with being rich; only someone completely mad would arrange such a thing in Xia Nation.”

He Yao felt that Liu Xingyue’s perception of wealthy young masters was severely flawed.

Upon learning his parents weren’t home, Liu Xingyue’s entire demeanor shifted. With a bold, almost heroic air, she sprawled across He Yao’s living room sofa. “A wealthy family’s sofa truly is different! It feels wonderful to sit on! More comfortable than my own bed.”

“You could buy one, you know. This sofa isn’t expensive, only about 800,000. My parents were still in their early entrepreneurial days when they bought it, so they weren’t particularly wealthy then.”

“…You think I can afford that?”

“Aren’t you a magical girl? Don’t magical girls earn high salaries?”

‘I’ve only been a magical girl for less than a month and have already earned over two hundred thousand. For a magical girl like Emerald, earning a few million a year shouldn’t be a problem, right?’

[I’d be insane to use that money to buy a sofa!]

Liu Xingyue patted the sofa. “So, suddenly you’re donating money and provoking me. What exactly do you want to say? You don’t actually want me to be your girlfriend, do you?”

He Yao shook his head. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“What?”

“Have you ever encountered… a Kamen Rider?”

Liu Xingyue froze. “Kamen Rider? Have you been watching too many tokusatsu shows?”

“You magical girls held an event on Friday, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I actually snuck over to take a look. And I happened to see Ink Crystal.”

Liu Xingyue’s expression turned serious. “What are you talking about?”

“Ink Crystal was battling a strange individual wearing a snake mask. Then, a being known as Kamen Rider ‘Great Aum’ appeared and helped her defeat that monster. I’m very interested in this, so I wanted to ask if you’ve ever seen him.”

But Liu Xingyue moved closer to him.

“Didn’t you learn as a child not to go near dangerous places? You actually dared to sneak a peek? Do you think just because you didn’t die last time, you can play the hero?”

“We’re talking about Kamen Rider.”

“I’m talking about *you*!”