Popularity is everything; I play a super genius

This startled Saki and her group.

"Teacher, what are you doing here?" Huomu asked in surprise.

Qi Ji noticed something immediately, looked around, and suddenly asked, "Teacher Huang Lu, where's your girlfriend?"

Huang Lu's lips twitched at this brat's insistence on bringing up the very thing he shouldn't have, feeling a sharp, stabbing pain in his knee.

He chuckled twice and waved his hand dismissively, "Haha, got dumped."

Then, taking the opportunity, he continued:

"So I'm planning to find a fun place to relax. Going alone is pretty boring. Do you guys want to come? It's on me!"

Upon hearing that someone was treating, Huomu was the first to respond: "Yes, yes! Long live the teacher!"

Qi Ji nodded indifferently: "I have no objection."

The two of them turned their gaze to the other three girls.

Liuli's expression was a little off since breakfast, as if she had something on her mind.

At this moment, the girl's face once again wore that impeccable, top-student-like smile:

"Sorry, I have something to do today and can't join you. Have fun."

After saying that, Liuli turned and left alone.

Immediately afterwards, a look of embarrassment appeared on her face:

"Um... because I have a part-time job, I only took yesterday off, so..."

In the end, only Qi Ji, Huo Mu, and Bai Lili were abducted by Huang Lu.

Huang Lu took them to a scenic hillside on the outskirts of the city.

Here, the view is expansive, far from the hustle and bustle, and the vast expanse of clouds hangs so low it seems you could reach out and touch them.

"This is a fantastic place to stargaze, but I don't easily bring other people here."

Huang Lu lowered his voice, as if sharing some secret.

"I'll let you in on a little secret: there will be a rare meteor shower tonight! Whatever you wish for then, it will come true."

"Really?" Bai Lili's eyes lit up.

Girls are naturally drawn to romantic gestures.

Huo Mu scratched his head and looked around at the empty space: "Teacher, are we going to stay here until nightfall?"

“Yes.” Huang Lu nodded, then smiled.

"But don't worry, you won't be bored during the day—"

We can play cards, have a barbecue (I brought a portable grill), and we can also play the game console that Qi Ji just bought!

Hey!

These were things he was supposed to do with his girlfriend.

……

Next, the group actually sat together and started playing the game console that Qi Ji had just bought.

Saki Saku pressed the controller with some unease, losing seven games in a row.

"Saki-kun, you lost again."

Hōki simply couldn't believe that he had managed to win seven games in a row against a genius like Saki...

"So even Saki-chan has things she's not good at."

"The controller isn't working very well."

Saki replied absentmindedly, and the next round began immediately.

Qi Ji is very competitive. He wants to do his best in everything he does. He hates losing, he hates it very much.

However, even though he hates losing and doesn't want to lose, he just can't concentrate on the game in front of him.

It was all because of Teacher Huang Lu's unusually enthusiastic invitation, and Liu Li's unnatural and hurried departure that morning—

He belatedly realized something.

Over at White Harbor Beach...

Something might happen.

In the synopsis of the first season of Echoes, there was a major event that was only briefly mentioned and left unsaid.

Because the forces and levels of conflict involved were far beyond the capabilities of the main characters at the time, the plot did not delve into it, simply labeling it the "Red Sea Incident."

That was a brutal operation orchestrated by the Purification Society, Deep Blue City, and certain factions within the Echoes of the City of Fire, all for their own purposes.

In the original timeline, this event should have occurred after the "Academy Grand Competition," so Saki had not previously connected the two events.

But at this moment, as his unease grew stronger, he could no longer sit still.

"Excuse me, Huomu, I need to go to the restroom." Qi Ji suddenly put down the game controller and stood up.

"Saki-kun, I'll go with you!"

Huo Mu heard people say that male friendships are cultivated and built up through repeated trips to the bathroom together.

Just as Huo Mu was about to get up, Qi Ji grabbed his shoulder and pressed him back down, saying, "You sit down."

"oh oh."

Saki's words work unconditionally with Hōki.

……

Alone, he walked to a secluded corner and opened the system interface.

He breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw Liuli streaming live.

But when she saw the person standing opposite her in the glass image, Qi Ji's face under the mask suddenly changed.

Damn!

His uneasy premonition came true.

The "Red Sea incident" actually happened ahead of schedule!

Moreover, Ruri...

I got caught up in it!

……

"……aunt."

Liuli looked at the woman in front of her, her expression momentarily unnatural.

But she quickly revealed her well-honed, top-student smile again.

"Don't call me aunt, I can't accept that title."

Chiho Kamishiro looked at Ruri and curled her lip in disdain.

Liuli belongs to the "Qing" generation, but she was not given the name "Qing".

Just because—

Her mother was born into the lowest of slavery.

A bastard of lowly blood has awakened a talent that is astonishing...

In Chiho Kamishiro's view, this was an extreme irony and a complete insult!

In this way—

Isn't Qingxian, who possesses pure blood but has failed to awaken her talent, quite pitiful?

"Is Qingxian's death related to you?"

"My brother... he's dead?!"

Upon hearing this news, Liuli's face instantly turned pale, and she staggered back a step.

The girl's eyes were filled with shock and disbelief, and her sadness was incredibly real.

At least it seems so.

Witnessing Ruri's affected manner, Chiho Kamishiro clenched her fists, feeling nauseous.

"You took my classes when you were a child, right? So you know better than anyone what my genealogical abilities are."

You don't need to put on airs in front of me; it just makes us both look...

It was both embarrassing and ridiculous.

"Auntie, I...I don't know what you're talking about..."

"I told you not to call me aunt!" Chiho Kamishiro's voice suddenly rose, filled with undisguised disgust.

"You damned one didn't die, but Qingxian, who shouldn't have died, died without knowing why!"

How could such a thing happen in the world!

Shindai Seien is a good-for-nothing!

When he came back that day, he even swore to me that he had killed you with his own hands!

But you're living a perfectly good life in the City of Fire... Are you kidding me!

When Liuli heard Qianhui say this, her face turned even paler and her body trembled slightly. She was confused and felt wronged.

"My family wants to kill me? Why...why do they want to kill me? I've completed all the tasks my family assigned me perfectly!"

I have shed blood for my family, and I have rendered service to my family!

Could it be... could it be that this is how the family treats someone who is loyal to...?

Chiho Kamishiro scoffed, interrupting her: "You dare say you're loyal to your family?"

"Of course! And with the curse binding me, I don't think the family has any reason to doubt me!"

Liuli tried her best to defend herself, her voice trembling with emotion and her eyes reddening.

However, deep within her heart, another "self," so calm as to be almost cold, was observing this performance with indifference, even finding it amusing.

When did it start...?

Why have you become so afraid of death?

This desperate attempt to survive is so unfamiliar to me.

"So what if he's bound by a curse? Three hundred years ago, the guy with that curse almost destroyed the entire Kamishiro family. Isn't that the bloodiest example?"

Seeing that Ruri was still being stubborn, Chiho Kamishiro wasn't in a hurry.

Instead, it aroused a cat-and-mouse-like interest, wanting to see just how far this lowly bastard could struggle and perform.

She casually took a short dagger from her waist and tossed it with a clang at Liuli's feet.

"Here's what you'll do: prove to me your loyalty."

Chiho Kamishiro raised her chin and pointed to the bustling street outside the alley.

"Go, kill all the civilians in the City of Fire outside, starting with... the closest ones."

Seeing that Ruri had not made a move, Chiho Kamishiro's eyes gradually lost patience:

"What, can't you do it? Or do you need me to start even something as small as this?"

As she spoke, she casually snapped her fingers.

Outside the alley, a little girl carrying a vegetable basket was skipping and hopping by when she suddenly froze and her eyes lost their light.

Like a puppet controlled by invisible threads, she turned around stiffly and walked step by step into the depths of the dimly lit alley.

"Kill her, hurry up, my patience is running out."

As Liuli watched the little girl approach, her pupils contracted slightly.

She recognized the girl.

One month ago, during the monthly mission, there was the brother and sister that Saki-chan saved...