You call this a love game?

Her long, flowing hair cascaded down her back, and she wore thick red-rimmed glasses as she confidently introduced herself to the students below the stage.

"My name is Homura Akemi, nice to meet you!"

Bai Yu was idly twirling his pen when he heard this name and almost threw it away.

Wait, Homura Akemi!

He looked up and met the girl's violet eyes.

Sayaka, sitting at the next table, couldn't help but peek over and say with a grin, "Hey, Shiraha-kun, that transfer student looks so pretty! Aren't you going to make a move?"

Not only Sayaka, but Madoka Kaname couldn't help but exclaim, "She really is a great beauty!"

"Xiaomei has been hospitalized due to a heart condition—"

Before Saotome Kazuko could finish explaining Homura Akemi's situation, the girl on the podium scanned the class as if she had discovered something extraordinary. Ignoring the teacher who was still talking beside her, she strode down the classroom.

Homura Akemi walked up to Shiraha's seat, grabbed his hands in front of the whole class, stared into the boy's bewildered and shocked eyes, and said loudly.

"Shiraha-kun! I've become a magical girl too! Let's do our best together from now on!"

"what?!"

Chapter Seventy-Six: Having awakened his memories of his past life, he began to retrieve...

No, no, no, he must be hallucinating. How could Homura Akemi possibly know him? He's clearly using a different identity this time.

And isn't it true that simulations don't inherit memories?

Like Mami Tomoe and Madoka Kaname, none of them showed any signs of recognizing the simulated version of themselves they had before.

Why is it different when it comes to Homura Akemi?

Besides...

He looked at the familiar magical girl ring on Homura Akemi's finger; she shouldn't have become a magical girl so soon.

So what is going on?

System! Speak!

However, the system ignored him and continued to treat him as a human-machine interface as always.

Seeing the familiar text reappear before him, Bai Yu quickly closed the chat interface with the system.

As expected, this system is useless. I'd better just turn into a white-haired, red-eyed little loli as soon as possible.

Let's turn our attention back to Homura Akemi.

Bai Yu felt like the entire class was staring at him like spotlights, especially the intense, suspicious, surprised, and nervous gazes of his three close friends beside him.

He forced a smile, intending to brush it off, "Uh... Xiaomei, are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else?"

“You’ve mistaken me for someone else…” Homura Akemi shook her head, her gaze fixed firmly on him. “No, I’ll never forget Shiraha-kun’s face.”

"But this should be our first meeting, how could I possibly know you..."

"Huh? My first time..."

Homura Akemi seemed to have heard something unbelievable, and looked at him in shock. The joy of their reunion was greatly diminished by this.

She muttered to herself and scanned the classroom back and forth, as if confirming something.

Finally, her furrowed brows relaxed, and the girl's playful eyes revealed a smile again, only this time it seemed to carry a hint of... grievance?

"you're lying!"

"Huh? What did I lie about?"

Bai Yu still wanted to play dumb, but Akemi Homura didn't give him that chance. She directly took his hands and pressed them onto her head.

His palm was forced to rest between Homura Akemi's hair. The girl's hair was incredibly soft and had a faint scent of shampoo.

He subconsciously rubbed it, and it felt exactly the same as he remembered.

"See!" Homura Akemi proudly raised her chin. "Shiraha-kun's head-patting gesture always involves first rotating the head three times clockwise, then gently pinching it. You can't deny it!"

Gasps filled the classroom as everyone gasped for breath.

Clearly, judging from the disdainful looks of the many girls, Bai Yu was already seen as a scumbag who abandoned his lovely girlfriend.

Seeing that almost no one in the classroom spoke up for him, Bai Yu felt helpless.

It's all this damn system's fault. Wasn't it supposed to be that each simulation was independent?

Time and time again, Homura Akemi was like a bug, always doing things that were completely unexpected by him.

If this happens a few more times, will he even try to woo other characters?

To seduce other people in front of your 'past life' girlfriend—isn't that like being a cuckold in front of your face?

He'll definitely be locked in the basement, right?

Fortunately, Saotome Kazuko intervened in time to stop this "family reunion" incident.

"Ahem... Xiaomei, it's class time now. If you know any classmates from the past, would it be convenient for you to chat with them after class?"

Hearing Saotome Kazuko's words behind her, Homura Akemi finally snapped out of her excitement at seeing her boyfriend again after her rebirth.

Turning her head, she saw that all her classmates were looking at her. Her feigned confidence and poise crumbled instantly, and she reverted to the timid Homura Akemi of the past, immediately panicking.

"Ah...yes...I'm sorry, teacher, I understand..."

After stammering an apology to Saotome Kazuko, Homura Akemi made her way to her seat with practiced ease, then buried her blushing face in her textbook.

She never expected to be so bold as to take Bai Yu's hand and touch her head in front of the whole class.

Ugh... I can't believe she did something like that, it's so embarrassing!

Homura Akemi, you have absolutely no shame!

The classroom briefly returned to order, and everyone's attention was once again drawn to the teacher on the podium.

Seeing this, Bai Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If things continue like this, he seriously suspects that the other person might kiss him directly, just like last time.

That would be terrifying.

Mami Tomoe will kill her.

Looking at Homura Akemi sitting quietly in the front row, Shiraha secretly observed her every move from behind.

The girl remained as quiet as ever, but the tips of her ears were so red they looked like they could bleed, and even the back of her neck was tinged with a faint pink. She was playing with a strand of hair, twirling it around her fingertips.

She's still the same shy little fire as always.

He sighed inwardly, yet inexplicably found this way of reunion surprisingly interesting.

As expected, after a brief analysis, it was probably Homura Akemi from the last simulation who came to this simulation, or perhaps she was reborn and transmigrated with her memories.

You can tell from their personality that they haven't completely shaken off that timid and cowardly mentality. They still feel shy when too many people are watching them, and they still regret their bold behavior afterward.

Unlike the first time she met Homura Akemi, when the other party kissed her directly in front of everyone without any expression on her face or any sense of burden or shyness.

That kind of Homura Akemi is the most terrifying. Right now, she's still under control. At least when he speaks, the other party will most likely listen to him.

However, if he were to reveal that he and she also retained their memories, it would be difficult to explain to Mami Tomoe.

"Hey, you heartless bastard!" Sayaka poked his back hard with her pen. "Don't even think about running away after class. Tell me honestly what happened!"

Hitomi Shizuki rarely showed a serious expression, "Shiraha-kun, it's wrong to bully girls."

Just as Bai Yu was about to defend himself, a muffled thud suddenly came from the front row.

Homura Akemi looked like a frightened fawn, burying her face deep behind her upright textbook, with only her two bright red ears showing.

Did she faint from embarrassment?

He craned his neck to look around and met Homura Akemi's gaze as she secretly peeked over from the edge of her textbook. Their violet eyes met briefly before looking away, and in his haste, his glasses were knocked askew to one side.

"Hey, still exchanging glances?"

Sayaka persisted, poking him with her pen cap, "Tell me the truth, when did you—"

"Sayaka-san." Saotome Kazuko suddenly appeared in the corridor, a cold glint flashing in her glasses, her sharp eyes shooting towards Sayaka. "Would you like me to help you find a seat closer to Shiraha-san? Like, sitting in his lap?"

"No, no need, teacher." Sayaka sat up straight instantly, pretending to take notes seriously, but the pen tip almost pierced the paper.

Taking advantage of the break, Bai Yu quietly tore off a piece of paper and wrote in a flamboyant style: "Meet me in the main corridor of the teaching building after class. Come alone and don't tell anyone."

He pretended to stretch and flicked the crumpled paper accurately onto Homura Akemi's desk.

Startled by the sudden appearance of the crumpled paper, Akemi Homura frantically tried to stop it from rolling away.

Feeling guilty, she looked around nervously, and only after making sure no one was watching did she carefully unfold the note.

The next second, her cheeks turned red at a visible speed, and her neck also turned pink.

Homura Akemi held the note to her chest as if it were a precious treasure, her head practically steaming with excitement. She secretly glanced back at him, then quickly turned back and nodded gently.

Bai Yu couldn't help but chuckle to himself; it was indeed the same familiar recipe and the same familiar taste.

Even if she awakens her memories of her past life, she still has no resistance to him.

"Shiraha-kun." Saotome Kazuko, standing on the podium, seemed to be watching them all the time. "It seems you really want to sit next to Akemi-kun?"

"No, teacher!"

"Then please answer this question." Saotome Kazuko tapped the blackboard. "What is the answer to this question?"

Bai Yu then noticed that the blackboard was covered with complex mathematical formulas.

He hasn't listened to lectures seriously for almost two years, and his grades have dropped drastically, but he can still get decent scores by relying on some past memories.

But what was this lesson about? He recognized every single letter of the alphabet, so why couldn't he understand any of them when they were put together?

He looked to Madoka Kaname for help, but the other person mischievously mouthed "good luck."

Oh no, I was so focused on watching Xiaoyan!

Just as he was stammering and unable to give an answer, and was about to admit that he didn't know,

Suddenly, a slender hand shot up from the front row. Homura Akemi stood up and stammered, "Teacher, this question... the answer is C!"

The whole class erupted in commotion. This question was clearly a proof!

Saotome Kazuko sighed, "It seems you two both need extra tutoring after school."

.......

As soon as the bell rang, Bai Yu was cornered in his seat by three girls.

Sayaka stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, looking like a cat with its fur standing on end. "Confess and you'll be treated leniently!"

"I really just..." Bai Yu was about to explain when he suddenly realized that Shizuki Hitomi had set up a camera at some point, with the lens pointing directly at his face for a close-up.

Kaname Madoka pulled a bag of sunflower seeds from her bag, her eyes sparkling. "Hurry up and tell us, Shiraha-kun! We can't wait to hear your love story!"

So these guys just wanted to be here to watch the drama unfold, right?

Bai Yu sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation: "Actually, Xiaomei is my distant cousin..."

"You're lying!" Sayaka grabbed his shoulder. "What kind of cousin would let someone pat her head like that!"

"Could it be a forbidden love?!" Hitomi Shizuki's mouth dropped open as she began to imagine the possibilities.

"Forbidden... that kind of thing is not allowed!" Kaname Madoka tugged at his sleeve, looking at him with a serious expression. "Shiraha-kun, you must not do that! I heard that children born that way will be very ugly!"

Listening to the increasingly outrageous analysis, Bai Yu couldn't hold back any longer and quickly pointed to the empty space outside the window, saying, "Look, a UFO!"

"what?"

Before the three could react to what he had said, they instinctively looked in the direction he was pointing, only to find nothing there. By the time they turned back, Bai Yu had already run far away.

At the corner of the corridor, Homura Akemi was pacing back and forth nervously, occasionally adjusting her hair and skirt.

Seeing Bai Yu running towards her, she immediately became excited and happily went to greet her.

"B-Baiyu-kun!"

"Come with me." Bai Yu grabbed her hand and led her to the glass corridor connecting the two teaching buildings.

Homura Akemi's face flushed slightly as she felt the familiar warmth of the boy's palm, and the unease she felt from the rewind of time seemed to vanish completely.

"Do you remember what happened in the last cycle?" Bai Yu asked directly.