Anime Heart

But Aki Tomoya was different; he remained a complete otaku at school and didn't care at all what others thought.

If Eriri Sawamura were to interact with someone like him, wouldn't that be telling everyone that she's also an otaku?

Unsurprisingly, Eriri Sawamura distanced herself from Tomoya Aki, which Tomoya Aki found unacceptable.

He didn't have many friends to begin with, and now even his best friend was distancing herself from him. How could he possibly accept that? So he just exploded.

Aki Tomoya was also quite fierce; he directly confronted Sawamura Eriri after school and questioned her about why.

Eriri Sawamura, of course, couldn't tell him the real reason, because there were people watching!

"So, when did you start to mistakenly believe I was your friend? I'm friendly to everyone! You've misunderstood!"

In her anxiety, Eriri Sawamura uttered those words, and as soon as they left her mouth, she regretted them, looking at Tomoya Aki with pleading eyes, hoping he would understand her true meaning.

But this is the real world, and naturally, the two cannot understand each other's feelings.

Looking into Aki Tomoya's gloomy eyes, Sawamura Eriri almost rushed over to tell him the truth, but the gazes of the surrounding classmates made her stop.

Aki Tomoya gradually left the school, left her side, and left her world.

After returning home, Eriri Sawamura immediately called Tomoya Aki to explain, but Tomoya Aki didn't say a word. After she finished explaining, he said one sentence and then hung up the phone.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm going to watch anime, so I won't bother you any longer, Sawamura-kun."

Eriri was completely bewildered; she hadn't expected her words to have such serious consequences. When she tried to call and explain, she found that Aki Tomoya had hung up immediately.

She wouldn't even answer the phone, which angered Eriri Sawamura. Her tsundere personality wasn't something to be trifled with.

"I've already explained it to you, and you still react like this? Who cares about you as a friend? I, Eriri Sawamura, have plenty of friends!" In a fit of anger, Eriri sent this message.

Aki Tomoya replied to the email instantly this time, "Okay! This otaku will no longer bother Miss Sawamura. You can get along well with your 'friends'!"

That's pretty much what happened. Eriri Sawamura told Arima Kenji, an outsider, everything in order to confide her troubles.

Aki Tomoya doesn't have many friends, but does Sawamura Eriri have many friends? No, she doesn't have many friends either. Aki Tomoya was the only friend she could truly confide in. If you include Arima Kento, who was an outsider, then she only has two.

But now her friends have completely cut ties with her, and Eriri is very sad.

Arima Xiandong didn't know what to say to comfort her. In his opinion, both of them were at fault, but it seemed that neither of their mistakes was easy to undo!

Arima Sento could only tell her some very ordinary methods, such as having a face-to-face conversation with the other party, and letting time heal all wounds.

Actually, these aren't good ideas. If they were to face each other, given their personalities, they might end up arguing again, making their relationship even worse.

If we let time wash everything away, perhaps time will destroy their relationship, and the two will eventually become strangers.

When Ma Xiandong was about to persuade the other party not to listen to his ideas, the other party did not reply to his messages. It was obvious what she had gone to do.

Clearly, Eriri Sawamura took Arima Kenji's words as a lifeline and immediately put them into practice.

"Um, Ms. Sawamura, you're not really going to put my idea into practice, are you? Don't blame me if things get worse. Let's think of another way!"

After sending that message, Arima Sen-dong felt a great sense of guilt and hoped that things would turn out for the better!

Kaori Miyazono hasn't replied to her message yet; she's probably still engrossed in her novel.

"Xian Dong, I've finished washing the dishes. Shall we begin? In the living room or the bedroom?" Just as Arima Xian Dong was about to continue sending emails, Arima Kousei walked over, holding the apron he had just taken off.

After drying his hands with his apron, Kousei Arima came over, picked up another drink, took a sip, and asked...

Now that my brother is here, and it's already eight o'clock, I should help him with his homework. I also need to video chat with Xiaoxun later!

"Let's just stay in the living room! Just bring over the homework you don't understand, and leave the rest to me."

Upon hearing this, Arima Kousei turned and went to his room to get his books. During this time, Arima Kento used an email to tell his friends that he had to get busy and would chat with them when he had time.

After turning off his phone, Arima Kousei came out with his textbooks, and the two began a tutoring session, using a question-and-answer format to solve Arima Kousei's learning problems.

Chapter Ninety-Nine: Yazi's Method

At Ma Zhigui's home in the Akiyama villa area near the suburbs, Ayako had just finished dinner. She told her uncle and mother, and then quickly went back to her room.

The door wasn't locked from the inside because the lock was useless then; Mom had a key to her room.

Sitting on the carpet, Yako took out her phone charger, plugged one end into the socket, and connected the other end to the phone's USB charging port.

Only after doing all this did she click on the mobile game icon.

She came home very early today, but she couldn't play games by herself. This was the result of a 'discussion' between her and her mother.

Playing games is allowed, but only within a specified time. Otherwise, your phone will be confiscated and your internet connection will be cut off, without any room for negotiation.

Faced with such forceful methods, Ako had no choice but to submit.

At school, playing games is only allowed during breaks. If you are caught playing games during class time, the same thing will happen.

Risa Taneda had spoken to the teachers, telling them not to go easy on Ayako. If they couldn't get rid of Ayako playing games in class, they should tell her that she had plenty of ways to deal with her daughter.

When Arima Ayako found out about this, she let out a wail. She felt like she was suffering if she didn't play games in class!

She desperately wanted to corner Risa Taneda against the wall and then ask her fiercely, "Am I really your daughter?! Why are you 'abusing' me like this?!"

Unfortunately, she couldn't do it.

After returning home, you shouldn't play games immediately. You should communicate with your family more and then start playing after having dinner.

And you have to take a break along the way to protect your eyes. Risa Taneda doesn't want her daughter to wear glasses at such a young age.

It was almost 11 o'clock when she had to go to sleep. If Risa Taneda hadn't turned off her phone when she opened her bedroom door, it would be confiscated for the day.

This is the 'harsh' rule, which Arima Aya hates but has to abide by, otherwise her phone will be gone.

It was almost eight o'clock, which was considered permitted gaming time, so Yako finally dared to take out her phone.

However, there are some things she needs to be careful about, namely, she can't say anything unpleasant, because her mother might be eavesdropping!

Sometimes you'll encounter bad players in the game. If you push them too far, they'll say things they don't mean, which leads to some negative opinions about the game.

Ayako comes from a good family, but she can't resist the all sorts of people she encounters in the game, so she also knows how to swear and use vulgar language, though she doesn't say it out loud easily.

Then, as soon as she entered the game interface, she saw the message "99+ messages from friends". She didn't pay much attention to it, assuming that someone had invited her to play the game with them.

Because of her continuous improvement in gaming skills, Yako has transformed from a player who needed to rely on others to carry her to a qualified player who can carry others.

In every game where I carry the mid lane, friend requests come in like snowflakes. Of course, there are also many messages from friends, most of which praise me and ask me to carry them in ranked games.

I suppose today's news is all like this!

However, Ayako actually has mild obsessive-compulsive disorder. Because of this, she has to click off all the little red dots, otherwise she can't play the game properly.

When she opened her friend list, she suddenly saw a message from 'Lucian'.

Yako opened her eyes wide in disbelief, rubbed them hard, and after confirming that it wasn't her imagination, she tapped the message with slightly trembling fingers.

"Well, didn't I tell you before that you didn't need to wait for me? I was a little embarrassed that you were still waiting like this."

"Well, there's something I need to tell you. Could we change the time we play games together tonight? I'm only available around 6 or 7 pm right now; other times are not possible."

"If this time isn't convenient for you, then forget it. Let's hang out sometime when we meet up!"

"Lucian!!" Arima Ayako said in a trembling voice, tears streaming down her face without her realizing it, as if she were seeing someone she had longed for for a long time.

"I knew you wouldn't abandon me!"

Immediately afterwards, she sent a message: "I have time, from six to seven o'clock, I definitely have time! So be sure to wait for me at this time tomorrow, I have something important to tell you!"

Since it was Lucian's request, everything else had to step aside; no one could stop me from being with Lucian at this time!

Even the Great Demon King Mom won't do it!

At worst, I'll just stay at school until after 7 PM tomorrow and go home! That should be fine, right?

But I need to think of a reason to stay at school. If I don't have a legitimate reason, my mom, the big devil, will definitely not agree.

With that in mind, Arima Yako turned off the mobile game and began to think carefully about how to have a legitimate reason to stay at school.

She just noticed that 'Lucian' was offline, so playing games isn't the priority right now!

I've heard that posing as The Thinker can inspire you. With that in mind, Arima Ayako found a picture of a Thinker sculpture online and struck that pose.

Ten minutes later, Arima Aya collapsed onto the bed, muttering to herself, "Completely useless! My arms are so sore..."

"Why can't I think of any solutions? Am I really that stupid?"

"If you can realize that you are stupid, then there is still hope for you." These words echoed in Arima Ayako's mind.

For some reason, Arima Ayako suddenly remembered something someone had said to her when she was a complete novice at gaming.

"Oh, right, if I can't think of an idea, surely others can! They can't all be as stupid as me!"

In a flash of inspiration, Arima Ayako immediately took action, turned on her computer, and posted her question on a Q&A website.

Briefly describe your situation, then ask your question and offer a reward of 100 RMB. This is the purpose of the website; it operates by taking a cut of the bounty.

Simply by offering suggestions and answering questions, one can earn a reward of several tens of dollars, and naturally, countless people participate in answering them.

Dozens of answers appeared in an instant, and Yako read them one by one, trying to find a reliable one.

Most of the replies were just for fun and casual, which annoyed Aya. However, there were a few good ones.

Ultimately, Ako selected one person's answer, marked it as the best reply, and the reward was naturally deposited into that person's account.

That person's answer was: "Start or join a gaming club! That's a legitimate club activity, so you can stay in school openly!"

Chapter 100: Founding a Club

The next morning, before seven o'clock, Aya got up early to brush her teeth and wash her face. She got dressed, put on an apron, and went into the kitchen.

Now that we've decided to create a club specifically for 'playing' games, it's essential to get the approval and support of my mom and uncle.

Because their school has relatively strict management, students need their families' knowledge and signature to establish club activities.

She could never have done this without her mother's consent.

Although I could bypass my mother and have my uncle sign the document, and I figured he wouldn't refuse, doing so would hurt my mother's feelings too much.

Despite always saying things like "Mom is a big devil," Ako actually cares a lot about her mother.

How to get her mother to agree? Ayako's mind was a bit blank, and she couldn't think of a good way.

However, while browsing the web that evening, she suddenly came across a sentence: "Some people respond better to gentleness than force, while others are the opposite."

These words immediately woke Yako up. Her mother was clearly the kind of person who would respond better to gentleness than force. If you tried to argue with her, she would be even more stubborn than you.