You call this a love game?

“That’s right, so Nagisa is a bad kid too.” Nagisa actually nodded in agreement. “But Nagisa doesn’t want to continue being bad, so she’ll wait until after class to eat.”

Bai Yu had nothing more to say to this fellow student who was also stopped at the school gate in the same predicament.

They possess the innocence and naivety of a primary school student, and they follow the rules, but at the same time, they have a cleverness and intelligence beyond their age, and they know how to exploit loopholes in the rules.

But being too mature isn't a good thing either. Mature too early can lead to losing something, and the missing piece in one's heart can never be made up for.

"So can you tell me how Nagisa got these scars?"

Bai Yu pointed to the girl's arms covered in bruises and the obvious red mark on her forehead, all of which undoubtedly indicated that the girl was suffering from unknown pain.

Neither domestic violence nor school bullying is a good thing and must be resolved as soon as possible, especially for such a young child. If it is not addressed, the situation will only get worse until it becomes unbearable and leads to destruction.

“Hmm…” Baijiang Zhu touched the bruise on his arm, his eyes drifting to the green ivy on the windowsill of the security room: “Because Xiaozhu always falls down, this is an accidental fall and injury.”

Bai Yu raised an eyebrow and gently tapped his forehead in acknowledgment.

The girl instinctively covered her forehead, her bangs being pulled up to reveal old, yellowed scars underneath.

"I bumped into it by accident."

Although she made this explanation, she knew that Bai Yu wouldn't believe her.

"Flipping can leave finger marks? Did Nagisa roll all the way to school?"

As expected, Bai Yu questioned him without any politeness.

“Because…because Nagisa is an idiot.” She lowered her head, unconsciously tugging at the wrinkled hem of her skirt, “She trips over herself even when she walks.”

“But Xiaozhu wasn’t stupid at all when she asked me for a lollipop.” Bai Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, staring sharply at the girl.

"I'm sorry, Nagisa, I'll give the lollipop back to you now. Nagisa is an idiot, Nagisa doesn't want it."

As she spoke, Bai Jiangzhu took out some candy from her pocket and was about to return it to Bai Yu.

Bai Yu pushed away the girl's outstretched hand and said in an unyielding tone, "There's no reason to return something that's already been given away, so Nagisa should accept it."

Seeing Bai Yu's firm attitude, Bai Jiangzhu was afraid that he would get angry if she refused again, so she had no choice but to put it away.

"Actually, I have a superpower that can heal all of Nagisa's injuries. Do you believe me?"

Seeing that the girl wouldn't listen to either soft or hard tactics, he had no choice but to try a roundabout approach first.

"..."

Bai Jiangzhu was silent for a moment, her eyes filled with doubt, but she still nodded obediently, "Yes, I believe in Brother Bai Yu."

"Can Xiaozhu give me your hand? I can help you heal your wounds."

"Well......"

Although she was a little afraid that Bai Yu had ulterior motives, she thought that this was a school and the security guard was right next to her, so she reached out her hand without any hesitation.

"What does Brother Baiyu want me to do?"

Although she didn't really believe that such a miracle would happen, she still tried her best to cooperate with Bai Yu's movements.

"You don't need to do anything, I will help you recover."

After saying that, a faint green light appeared in his hand again and was placed on Bai Jiangzhu's slender arm. One faint green light after another spread from the arm to all parts of the body, dispelling the yellow and reddish wounds and revealing the original fair and smooth skin.

Bai Jiangzhu watched this amazing scene without screaming in surprise. She just watched silently, a hint of curiosity flashing in her eyes, and then she didn't react anymore.

Once the wounds on her body were completely healed, Bai Jiangzhu felt much lighter and stronger. She could even stand up more easily, and the pain in her arms and forehead, which had been pinched red yesterday, was completely gone.

"I'm sorry, Xiaozhu lied to Brother Baiyu."

Having recovered, Hyakue Nagisa promptly bowed her head and apologized, her tone unconsciously softening.

"What did you lie to me about?"

"Xiaozhu's injuries were not actually caused by falling."

"How did it come about?"

"Yes......"

Bai Jiangzhu hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should tell the truth.

Upon seeing Bai Yu's special ability, she thought of her mother, who was suffering from an illness.

Will Bai Yu's brother's superpowers be able to cure her mother?

If it can heal so many of her injuries, it can surely heal her mother too, right? That way, her mother won't need to take medicine anymore and can return to being the healthy and cheerful mother she used to be.

But if she were to say it out loud, Brother Baiyu might not help Xiaozhu save her mother. After all, almost all of Xiaozhu's injuries were caused by her mother. Even if she knew that her mother had her own reasons, she didn't resent her mother. She could even not resent her father for leaving Xiaozhu alone. But Brother Baiyu definitely wouldn't think that way.

If things weren't made clear, she couldn't possibly let someone she had deceived help the person who hurt her. She believed that even if Brother Baiyu knew, he definitely wouldn't help her.

For a moment, she didn't know how to explain. She wanted to tell Bai Yu that her mother hadn't done that to her on purpose, but it seemed like no matter what she said, it would be just making excuses. So she simply lowered her head and remained silent, rooted to the spot like a pillar.

"Baijiang?"

Fortunately, the embarrassment didn't last long, as her homeroom teacher's voice could be heard from not far away.

Bai Jiangzhu turned her head with a sense of relief towards her homeroom teacher's figure, "Teacher..."

"Go back to class, it's getting late."

Seemingly noticing the confrontation between the two, a woman dressed as a middle-aged woman jogged over from a distance and pulled Hyakue Nagisa behind her.

"I'm sorry, teacher, I'll go to the classroom right away."

"Well, let's go back together."

As they talked, the homeroom teacher led Bai Jiangzhu directly away from the security room, not caring what Bai Yu was talking about with Bai Jiangzhu, seemingly completely uninterested in it.

Seeing Bai Jiangzhu leave, Bai Yu didn't bother to chase after her and pry. He would find out what he needed to know eventually. The fact that she wasn't saying anything now was probably just because the time wasn't right. He could sense that the girl was special, as if he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.

Even if the other party hadn't told him, he was determined to help Hyakue Nagisa with this favor.

Following his heart, clarifying his beliefs, and strengthening his will—this is his path to becoming stronger.

Seeing a little girl suffering and not helping her is not in his nature. He has the ability and responsibility to help them, even without any reward.

His goal was to save lives from suffering and return beauty and happiness to their rightful owners.

Chapter Sixty-Two: I Can't Let My Family Worry

Shortly after Bai Jiangzhu was led away by his homeroom teacher, his homeroom teacher also arrived late, finally allowing him to return to his seat in the last row by the window in the classroom.

Because of his height, he was only allowed to sit in the last row; otherwise, the other students wouldn't be able to see the blackboard at all.

He barely listened to any of the classes that morning. After all, if he couldn't handle the difficulty of elementary school courses with his experience, he might as well go back to school and start over.

It only gets a little more difficult in junior high school, but given the education in most public schools in Japan, it's still child's play for him. He doesn't need to pay attention in class at all; he can get full marks just by writing something casually.

Although he had excellent grades, children at this stage do not have a strong sense of class distinctions, and they will not have many friends to play with just because of their good grades.

On the contrary, because of his size, most people are distant from or even afraid of him. Only some little girls are willing to stick around him, chattering away as if they have endless things to say.

It was through these people that Bai Yu successfully found out Bai Jiangzhu's grade and class.

She is currently eight years old, in the third grade of elementary school, in Class 5 on the first floor of the same building. Her seat is also in the last row, but it is near the aisle. Her grades do not seem to be very good, ranking in the lower middle of the class. Her family's financial situation is also relatively average. She is rarely seen wearing new clothes, and always wears several different sets of clothes to change repeatedly. According to an unknown source, her mother seems to be a former member of an idol group, but in recent years she seems to have gradually faded from the public eye and has not participated in any activities. There are even rumors that she has been hospitalized for a long time.

They have a lot of information; if you ask around carefully, they can even find out your measurements, what you ate for lunch, and what brand of shampoo and body wash you use.

You really can't underestimate a girl's gossip skills. No matter who said it, they can chat about it for a while, and then pass it on to the next person. Some of them will even add a guilty-looking sentence: "I only told you about this, don't tell anyone else!"

As a result, everyone knew, and even those who didn't know could easily find out by asking around.

Having learned about Hyakue Nagisa's basic information, he began preparing for their next contact.

First, he needs to bridge the gap between them, break down her defenses, and get Baijiang Zhu to accept him. At the very least, he needs to tell her the truth so he can understand her true situation.

As for how to approach her, that incredibly intelligent and extremely wary girl...

Quickly summon the patriarch to come out of seclusion!

Come out, Mami Tomoe Daiso!

As a girl, she naturally has a higher affinity for the same sex. Coupled with her motherly gentleness, she could easily win over a girl who lacks love due to family reasons and would lure her home with red tea in no time.

Of course, successfully launching the first step is just the simplest step. Finding the problems and how to solve them is also a difficult problem. After all, every family has its own problems. Although the situations of each family are similar, the solutions and operations are completely different.

In particular, the person who has the problem is most likely not a normal person, otherwise there wouldn't be any problems.

When faced with someone who doesn't play by the rules and whose thought process is unpredictable, he doesn't have a very good solution other than directly addressing the problem itself.

However, once a major problem is resolved, new problems will inevitably arise, sometimes even more forcefully and rapidly than the old ones. Failure to address these problems promptly can also lead to unexpected incidents.

Before that, he would contact Mami Tomoe and ask her to come to him after school. Before that, he would follow Nagisa Momoe to see which hospital she visited to learn about her mother's life and find a starting point.

Although Bai Yu has the ability to stop time, he doesn't want to use it for tracking. First, it consumes precious points, and second, stopping time isn't very useful for tracking. At most, it can be used to avoid the other party's sight when they are about to discover you.

He might be a little intimidated if he were to face Mami's mother, but he wouldn't feel embarrassed at all if he were discovered by a little girl who wasn't even as tall as his chest. At most, he would just give an awkward smile and then casually move closer to chat.

For example, Bai Yu's height makes Bai Jiangzhu have a particularly deep impression of him. When she discovers someone hanging far behind her, especially on this road that she has walked countless times to the hospital, she is so familiar with it that she can spot any changes at a glance.

"Brother Baiyu, do you need to talk to Xiaozhu?"

Despite being followed, Hyakue Nagisa showed no signs of panic. Instead, she turned around to face Shiraha, who was following her, and asked him the reason.

"Well, I'm really curious about the scars on your body, so I wanted to know more about you." Bai Yu didn't mince words and directly stated his purpose.

"..."

When the topic of her scars came up, Hyakue Nagisa immediately fell silent.

Because she was still mentally sound, she knew that being abused by her mother was wrong, but she didn't blame her mother. She only felt that she hadn't done enough. Even her father, who abandoned them, didn't hate her because hatred is not a good thing.

However, others might not understand her thoughts. When such a thing is brought up, they would naturally blame her parents. But that's not what she wants. What she wants is to heal her mother and let her return to her original self.

It is precisely because of this simplicity and naivety that she has been able to survive in this family environment and still hold onto a glimmer of hope for the future.

For example, the father might suddenly change his mind and no longer abandon the mother and daughter to live alone, or the mother might recover from her illness and return to her former cheerful, sunny, and lively self, like when she was an idol. She would still have a happy and fulfilling family, just like in the fairy tales she read a long time ago, where the prince marries the princess, the hero defeats the villain, justice is served, and everyone dances happily together, celebrating the perfect ending of the story.

But is that really the case? Bai Jiangzhu is also very clear that the possibility is almost zero.

But compared to something that could be considered a miracle, another possibility is more likely to occur.

For example, a capricious princess falls from a tower, dies, and that's the end.

She liked reading stories of misfortune. Whenever she read a story of misfortune, she felt a little more at ease. Whether it was a princess, a servant, a villager, an honest person, or a liar, everyone was equal and no one had a good fate. But no matter how cruel things happened, in the end, the story always ended with the word "the end".

Seeing the girl standing there blankly and silent, Bai Yu stopped pressuring her and changed the subject.

"If it's really inconvenient to talk about it, that's okay. How about we talk about something else, like... what kind of food does Nagisa like to eat?"

Cheesecake.

This thought popped into Bai Jiangzhu's mind instantly. It was something her mother liked, and by extension, it became something she liked too. But it didn't seem to be something Xiaozhu herself truly liked, so Xiaozhu didn't know what food she liked to eat.

But then she immediately remembered the candy Bai Yu had given her that morning, which was still in her skirt pocket and she had forgotten to eat.

So she reached into her skirt pocket and found the candy deep inside.

Unwrapping the candy, looking at the bluish-green surface, Bai Jiangzhu gently put it in her mouth and savored it on her tongue.

In an instant, a sour and astringent sensation exploded in her mouth. Completely unprepared, she had never eaten this kind of candy before, and the sourness made her unable to open her eyes. Her cute face scrunched up, and her brows furrowed together.

"It tastes so sour..."

After a while, she finally recovered somewhat, and the aftertaste began to taste sweet, and she also got used to the tartness of the green apple flavor.

Seeing the girl's reaction, Bai Yu laughed heartily without any restraint, "Hahaha, there's something even more sour, do you like this taste?"

"Hmm..." Bai Jiangzhu frowned, continuing to savor the sweet and sour candy on her tongue. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I don't really like it, but it gives me a relaxing feeling when I eat it. It's so strange, I should hate it."

The sudden stimulation seemed to liberate her brain, freeing her mind and body from its control, granting her a long-lost freedom. Her body felt light and inexplicably relaxed.

"A feeling of relaxation? Nagisa is really something else."

"Why? Xiaozhu doesn't think there's anything special about it."

"Because the first time I ate it, I almost cried from the sourness. For a long time after that, I didn't touch anything sour until I accidentally discovered that it tasted surprisingly good."

He doesn't like pure sweetness, as it makes him feel a bit cloying, but pure sourness is too stimulating, like being tortured from beginning to end. This perfect balance of sweet and sour is like being able to savor a delicacy from time to time in an ordinary or even somewhat bitter life, giving him more hope for the future.

"Hmm... So Brother Baiyu can cry too?"

Bai Jiangzhu licked the candy ball, and the tip of her tongue was stained pale blue.

"That's not crying! It's a normal physiological phenomenon!"

"I don't quite understand..."