Popularity is everything; I play a super genius

Page 36

Bai Lili looked at Qi Ji, who had flown over to save her, with teary eyes, and couldn't help but think—

As expected of Saki, she's really reliable...

He always comes to the rescue whenever danger arises.

However, even with her mediocre level of echo ability, she could still sense it.

The terrifying power contained in the blood arrow before him was far beyond what a freshman who had been enrolled for less than a month could withstand.

Although that person is the seemingly omnipotent Saki, as Saki just said, no matter how powerful a person is, there will always be moments when they are powerless.

That's probably how she died now.

Bai Lili thought desperately, as fragments of her life flashed uncontrollably through her mind.

—The doting smiles of parents, the warm and bright living room at home, the cold profile of the person I met for the first time when I was about to die…

And on the day of enrollment, I saw a boy on the rooftop, wearing a mask just like that person...

Finally, she even found it somewhat amusing—

Unexpectedly, as the fiancée of Su Shi's classmate, she died in the last moments of her life at the hands of another...

He was in the arms of a boy who was also wearing a mask.

I wonder what Su Shi will think of her if she finds out?

Just as these chaotic, almost self-destructive thoughts flashed through Bai Lili's mind, she suddenly saw that Qi Ji, who was tightly hugging her, did something completely unexpected—

Saki-kun actually took off his mask...

"?!"

Bai Lili's eyes widened suddenly, her trembling eyelashes still glistening with the girl's undried tears.

She didn't understand...

What is Saki-kun trying to do by taking off his mask at this moment?

Was he trying to satisfy her curiosity before he died?

She was indeed very curious about it...

Rather, every single girl in the class was eager to see the real face behind Saki's mask.

I never imagined I'd be the first...

Although it came at the cost of death.

Just as Bai Lili was experiencing her "chaotic fantasies before death," thinking about all sorts of random things, she suddenly realized that she seemed to have misunderstood something.

Saki did not remove the mask.

No, to be more precise, Saki took off half of the mask—

There was a crisp "click" sound.

The seemingly inseparable pure white mask on Saki's face was actually split in two from the midline of her nose!

Extremely fine cracks appeared in both the top and bottom parts!

Because they were so close, Bai Lili could see them exceptionally clearly.

Saki took off the lower half of her mask, the part that covered her mouth, nose, and chin.

And so, at the instant the mask separated—

A fleeting glimpse!

She saw it.

I got a clear look at Saki's face.

Although, it's only half a sheet.

Once the mask was removed, what was exposed to the cool moonlight was a jawline with clean, sharp lines and a beautiful curve.

It has light-colored, thin lips with a clearly defined shape.

It's worth mentioning that Saki's lips seem to naturally have a slight upturn at the corners.

Even in such a perilous moment, he seemed to possess a faint, nonchalant indifference.

Without the mask, the lower half of this face is so handsome it's almost unbelievable!

Just one glance is enough to make your heart skip a beat!

In her mind, Bai Lili had even begun to involuntarily imagine—

Imagine the rest of the other person's face, covered by half a mask.

How ethereal and otherworldly, how exceptionally handsome he must be.

……

Chapter 41 Sharing the Mask with You

Qi Ji had taken off his heavy black trench coat, and now he was only wearing a thin, college-style white shirt.

A white shirt, a white mask, a white moon.

In Bai Lili's eyes, this scene was like something out of the most fantastical fairy tale, a miracle that had descended to save everyone in a moment of crisis.

[Prince Charming]

In fact, Bai Lili has rarely read stories like "Prince Charming" since she was a child.

Because from the time she could remember, her family had clearly told her—

When she grows up, she will marry into the Thousand Faces family.

Therefore, she cannot have her own "likes".

Bai Lili's marriage is part of her family's interests; it's a pre-written "script."

So, while other girls were just beginning to experience romantic feelings and dreaming of love, Bai Lili had already given up on such thoughts. She had someone she had to like and someone she had to please.

Bai Lili had no complaints about this, and even felt it was perfectly reasonable.

Because in the Bai family, she was a child who was cherished and pampered by everyone since she was a child.

She grew up surrounded by everyone's love and affection.

Compared to her peers who were either struggling to make ends meet or whose parents had died in war, she already had so much more.

She lived in a glass dome woven from honey and flowers.

Whatever she wanted, her parents would do their best to fulfill it.

Bai Lili even often felt slightly uneasy because she was too happy.

She often thought—

Does she really deserve this unreasonable happiness?

Compared to her peers who were unfortunate but hardworking or exceptionally talented, she was too ordinary.

Echo's aptitude is only average, he is not particularly intelligent, and his personality is weak and lacks assertiveness and courage.

Despite being such an ordinary person, I possess everything that 99% of children in the world do not have.

It was amidst this vague doubt and unease about her own worth that she learned of the marriage arranged for her by her parents.

At that moment, instead of resisting, she seemed to have finally found the answer, the value of her existence, and a way to repay her family—

For the sake of my family, and to live up to all the love and happiness I've received since childhood...

She strives to become a qualified "woman of a thousand faces" who can bring benefits to the family!

So let's start by liking classmate Shang Shi!

Bai Lili told herself this, and she earnestly did it.

She took the initiative to approach Su Shi, her classmate.

Show concern, get to know, and cultivate "feelings" little by little, from nothing to something.

but.

She felt that she really was...

I still can't do anything right.

Because Su Shi seemed to dislike her at all.

Su Shi was always indifferent, rarely responding to her enthusiasm, and his gaze was always resistant...

She had clearly tried her best, carefully trying to please and ingratiate herself.

She didn't even know what else she could do or how she could make Su Shi feel even the slightest bit of affection for her.

So she went to ask her mother.

Her mother gently stroked her head and told her:

"Lili, when you're with Sushi someday and you find that feeling of your heart pounding like a deer, then you'll know what to do."

"Love is something that doesn't need to be taught by others; it's an innate instinct that everyone is born with."

but……

What exactly is that feeling of "heart pounding"?

She never found it when she was with Su Shi.

To be honest, when she was with Su Shi, she felt more cautiousness, even...

Are you scared?

She was afraid of not doing well, afraid of accidentally upsetting Su Shi again, and afraid that Su Shi would dislike her even more than before.

She was like a puppet held by strings by the words "arranged marriage," performing cautiously on a stage called "fiancée," but she could never gain the approval of the audience.

however……

Just now.

When Saki-kun descended from the sky and hugged her tightly...

When Saki took off her mask, revealing part of her true face...

When she saw that breathtakingly handsome half-face, hidden behind a mask, at such close range...

Her heart suddenly started beating very fast!

"Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump—!!!"

The sound was so loud it seemed to shatter her chest.

Blood rushed to my cheeks as if boiling.

My breathing became rapid, and my fingertips felt slightly numb, like I was being electrocuted!

That is……

That was a feeling she had never had before when facing her classmate, Su Shi.