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Andrew felt like a real scumbag.
He actually played the pity card just to get sympathy from the angel girl.
But… it worked, didn't it?
Even though she ignored him all morning, she still came over at lunchtime to ask him a question, right?
And she even cared about whether he'd eaten properly.
She probably hadn't even noticed yet, but she already saw him as someone special.
In front of other classmates, Shiina was always the picture of grace and politeness—a friendly smile, warm and approachable.
She handled every conversation with ease, always keeping up her perfect "angel" image.
But only when she was with him, with Andrew, did she take off that obedient-girl mask and show a more genuine side of herself—complete with little flashes of temper and stubbornness.
That's why Andrew felt more and more convinced that getting close to her right from the start had been the right move.
If he hadn't, how else would he have become the one person who mattered to Shiina on a deeper level?
In the afternoon, it was time for a test.
Megumi Kato handed him the paper and immediately turned around to start writing.
Andrew got to work too, scribbling quickly.
It was a math test. The old him might've struggled, but now that he had his awakened memories, this kind of stuff was laughably easy.
Let's put it this way: even a random college student from Huaguo could breeze through a high school curriculum.
The math questions were genuinely simple, and the progress was slow.
Of course…
That's assuming you actually paid attention in high school math, and didn't have some gym coach pretending to be your math teacher.
Can you believe it?
That morning in English class, the teacher just explained a few grammar points, threw out some vocab, and then told everyone to "freely communicate in English" on their own.
The class was so chill it was practically a vacation.
Still, not everyone had it easy.
If you were just born bad at school, then sometimes all you could do was accept your fate.
After the math test, students started discussing answers and comparing results.
That's when Tobu Sho next to him let out a miserable wail.
"Crap! I picked the wrong answer… again!"
Andrew didn't bother checking answers with anyone. Instead, he pulled a laptop out of his briefcase—a laptop he bought with money from his part-time job.
Time to play some online games.
While browsing around, he found out that some guy named "Kazuto Kirihiko" was developing a VR game.
But the game was still in development and hadn't opened up for public testing.
For now, he was playing an adventure game where you team up with other players to grind monsters and collect loot.
Only… the priest in their party had just healed half the boss's HP back, which got him, Andrew, killed.
His mouth twitched in frustration.
Then he glanced at the female mage's name—"Ako Tamaki"?
Wait… seriously?
Could it be that Ako Tamaki?
The heroine from that anime, And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online?
The cute, hardcore otaku girl who confused the game with real life and couldn't separate the two?
He checked his own character name: "Andrew Tianzhen" (which means "Innocent Andrew").
Why that name? Probably a tribute to his own naive, cringy self back in his middle school days.
Now though, he was long past that phase… and wasn't even human anymore—he was a demon.
Seeing "Ako-wife" still spamming messages begging him to keep raiding dungeons with her, Andrew felt conflicted.
He ignored her pleas and logged out.
Games were supposed to be relaxing.
But Ako, you really crossed the line!
The boss was almost dead, and you went and healed it? Screwed over the whole team!
Andrew instantly lost interest in playing.
Also, what was the game designer thinking?
Why even let players heal the enemy?
It made him want to create an alt account just to go around trolling random strangers.
After the last class ended—
The students said their goodbyes and left school.
Some went to club activities.
Like Hayama Hayato, who was on the soccer team and naturally headed off to practice.
Andrew silently followed behind Shiina Mahiru, who also didn't join any clubs, keeping just enough distance between them.
They boarded the same train together.
After all, they lived next to each other, so the way home was the same.
Unfortunately, it was rush hour.
A crowd of salarymen flooded into the train, making the air feel thick and stuffy.
Andrew frowned, quickly reached out, and pulled Shiina toward him—pressing her into a corner and shielding her from the crowd with his own body.
Shiina blushed, snuck a glance at him, then lowered her head and whispered softly.
"...Thanks."
She wasn't stupid—she knew he was doing this to protect her from getting groped or bumped by strangers.
Andrew gave a small nod in response.
But the train just kept getting more packed.
Even though it was clearly full, the white-gloved train staff kept shoving more people inside.
Andrew was speechless.
With that much "help," he and Shiina ended up pressed tightly together.
Her flushed face and trembling little hand rested against his chest. She was breathing fast.
"Sorry, Shiina. This was out of my control."
"It's fine… I know."
She replied in a small voice, but being so close to him—breathing in his scent—made her body go a little weak.
She couldn't help remembering that night, and how he'd "cared" for her in the morning too… the memories rushed back, making her even more flustered.
Not that she minded being close to him. Better him than a stranger.
Still, today just sucked. It had never been this crowded before.
Seeing her nestled against him, face red and obedient in his arms, Andrew felt his heart skip a beat.
Her face was tiny and delicate, skin soft and pale, with cute little cherry-pink lips so close…
All he had to do was lean down to kiss her.
To taste that sweetness and softness.
He took a deep breath and held back the urge, keeping his mind in check and shielding her as best he could.
He wasn't going to let anyone else lay a finger on her.
Soon, the train pulled into a station.
The crowd finally thinned out, and Andrew reluctantly let go of her slender waist, stepping back to a safer distance.
He had to—if he kept holding her, a certain part of him was going to rebel.
Shiina held her briefcase, head down, not daring to meet his eyes.
She had ignored him the whole day, only talking to him once at lunch.
He had seemed so calm, she thought maybe he was mad at her.
But when it came down to it, he'd instinctively reached for her, shielding her without hesitation.
That touched a vulnerable spot deep inside Shiina's heart.
Seeing her like that, Andrew glanced around to make sure no classmates were nearby, then reached out and gently patted her head.
"Don't mention it. Of course I'd protect you."
Shiina felt the warmth of his palm on her head and her eyes turned a little misty. She turned away from him.
After a while, she finally turned back around and looked up at him with her big, watery golden eyes.
"It's not something you have to do… I'll repay you."
Andrew smiled, "Alright. I'll be looking forward to Angel's reward then."
Hearing him call her by that nickname made Shiina blush hard.
She puffed her cheeks and shot him an annoyed glare. "Stop calling me 'Angel'! I hate it!"
"Huh? But you're super popular, everyone looks up to you. Isn't it nice to have such a beautiful nickname?"
Andrew feigned innocence, while secretly trying to break down the wall between them.
Trying to pull her closer.
The "angel" persona was just Shiina's public mask. When she was around people she trusted, she showed more of her real self.
Everyone thought of her as the perfect angelic beauty, but at her core, she was just a girl who longed to be treated gently.
As the "angel," Shiina made everyone around her feel at ease—her presence brightened the mood and made conversations flow effortlessly.
But being that source of happiness for everyone else… had to be exhausting too.
Take Hayama, for example. He always acted warm and kind to everyone.
It was a deliberate mask, of course—but even so, that kind of people-pleasing must get tiring.
The angel's smile belonged to everyone.
But her true self, her little quirks and moods, were something only Andrew got to see.
Only he was allowed behind the curtain.
Andrew hoped she'd keep showing that more selfish side around him.
Letting out her feelings would help her relax too.
"…"
Shiina went quiet for a few seconds, then turned her head away and mumbled, "Whatever… I just don't want you calling me that. I'm not some angel."
Andrew shrugged. "Alright, then I'll just call you Shiina."
"Whatever. Just… not 'angel,' okay?"
Shiina nodded slightly, gave him a quick glance, then looked away again.
She didn't know how to act around Andrew anymore.
With other classmates, she always had something to say—and even when she didn't, a smile was enough to keep the conversation going.
She was used to chatting with everyone with that same pleasant expression.
But Andrew was different.
He was the guy who had seen her most vulnerable side—intimately, more than once.
No matter how hard she tried to pretend, her heart was still a mess.
She had made up her mind to ignore him, to forget everything that had happened.
But then he came close again without any warning.
And just now, he had held her so tightly, protecting her like that.
While she was still lost in her thoughts—
Andrew's voice broke the silence.
"Shiina, this is our stop."
"Ah—okay."
She snapped back to reality, quickly stepped off the train, and followed him toward their apartments.
As they walked, she stole a glance at Andrew's face out of the corner of her eye and mumbled to herself:
Maybe I'll cook an extra dish tonight…
She remembered how he'd only had a sausage and a piece of bread for lunch, and that just didn't sit right with her.
"..."
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