"Seriously, can we change the opening line?"
Ye Xing couldn't help but quip.
Senpai, you have no idea how creepy that opening sounds.
Thank goodness Miko Yotsuya isn't here this time—otherwise she'd be traumatised all over again.
"Who are you talking to?"
Confusion coloured Rio Futaba's eyes.
There wasn't anyone there—was there?
Unless...
Had Ye Xing's chuunibyou syndrome progressed to hallucination levels?
"You can't see her?"
At this question, Rio Futaba instinctively took two steps back, scanning their surroundings before whispering timidly:
"Don't... don't scare me like that. There's no one around."
"You're seriously impressive."
Ye Xing's praise was utterly sincere.
Damn, Rio Futaba wasn't ordinary either.
She couldn't see Mai Sakurajima at all, yet could sense her gaze.
What was this?
Spider-sense?
Wait—there was something he needed to confirm.
With this thought, Ye Xing asked Rio Futaba:
"Have you heard of Mai Sakurajima? Our school's second year, the former national idol Mai Sakurajima-senpai?"
"Mai... Sakurajima?"
Rio Futaba muttered those words, her eyes filled with confusion.
"I've never heard of them."
Ye Xing thought, as expected.
Mai Sakurajima's condition couldn't simply be described as "invisible"—that didn't quite fit the reality.
The accurate description should be:
She had vanished from everyone's "awareness."
Not only was her existence unobservable, but even the memories of her in people's minds had been erased.
Of course, this wasn't Ye Xing's analysis. It was Rio Futaba's deduction from the original plot—he was just copying the answer.
So here came the question.
What should they do now?
Gurgle—
The soft growl from Mai Sakurajima's stomach broke the silence.
As a senior who prided herself on being a mature adult, she demonstrated extraordinary composure in this moment.
Faced with such an awkward situation, Mai merely blushed slightly before clearing her throat twice and stating calmly,
"I'm hungry."
Ye Xing thought, 'You really can keep a straight face, huh.'
Codename: The Composure Master.
"Then let's eat first."
Ye Xing turned to Rio Futaba and declared matter-of-factly,
"Decision made. We're eating at your place."
"Huh? My place?"
Rio Futaba froze momentarily before replying hesitantly,
"But... my home situation is a bit special. My parents aren't around—it's just me..."
"Wouldn't go otherwise. Let's go, let's go."
...
Twenty minutes later.
"Your place is huge."
Hearing Ye Xing's exclamation, Rio Futaba sighed faintly and responded noncommittally,
"It's alright."
Her parents were both remarkable individuals.
Their financial situation went without saying—Rio had never worried about money.
But her problems had never been something money could solve.
"Make yourselves at home. Sit wherever."
Mai Sakurajima seemed slightly embarrassed. After removing her shoes, her black-stockinged feet stepped onto the wooden floorboards as she politely said, "Thank you for having me. I apologise for the intrusion."
Ye Xing smirked and plopped onto the sofa without ceremony.
"Even if you talk to her, she can't hear you."
Mai blinked in realisation and murmured, "Ah, right..."
Then she added softly, "Then please relay that for me. Sorry for the trouble."
"Hey, Futaba."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Mai Sakurajima says, 'Thank you for having me. I apologise for the intrusion.'"
Rio Futaba massaged her temples with a sigh, retrieving two instant noodle cups from the cupboard. As she went to boil water, she said helplessly,
"So... who exactly is Mai Sakurajima? Please stop saying strange things."
Though Rio's voice remained steady and her expression calm, her heart was practically leaping into her throat.
'What do I do what do I do what do I do?'
'Why has it come to this?'
'This was the first time someone my age has come to my home.'
'And it's a boy, no less!'
'Calm down. Calm down.'
'Get a grip—you're Rio Futaba!'
'Just interact with Ye Xing normally, like you usually would.'
The dynamics in this apartment were rather complicated.
It appeared to be two people, but actually three.
From Rio's perspective, it was two.
From Ye Xing and Mai's perspective, it was three.
Ye Xing mused that if Hachishaku-sama hadn't gone to work today and was tagging along instead, things would've been even livelier.
"So then..."
While waiting for the water to boil, Ye Xing glanced at Mai Sakurajima, who was sitting gracefully on the sofa with impeccable posture.
"Were you the one following Futaba these past few days?"
Hearing Ye Xing use the word "following" seemed to evoke unpleasant memories for Mai Sakurajima. She frowned slightly, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and replied coolly.
"Calling it 'following' isn't quite accurate. Futaba and I happen to walk home the same way. It's just that she couldn't see me. I wasn't deliberately hiding my presence."
"I see."
Ye Xing nodded slightly.
"So, what exactly do you want?"
Mai Sakurajima fell silent for a moment before suddenly speaking in an eerily calm tone, delivering a shocking statement.
"Ye Xing, if I'm not mistaken, your Supernatural Quantum Mechanics Research Society isn't just some high schooler's passing fancy, but rather..."
"You actually have contact with supernatural phenomena. In fact, one might even say..."
"Some of your members are supernatural beings themselves, aren't they?"
Faced with Mai Sakurajima's confident assertion, Ye Xing unexpectedly shook his head, delivering a triple denial that caught her off guard.
"I'm not. I don't. Don't spread rumours."
"Er..."
In Mai Sakurajima's expectations, the subsequent conversation would proceed under the premise that Ye Xing would admit to her claims.
These three sudden denials completely disrupted her rhythm, leaving her momentarily speechless.
Had Shizuka Hiratsuka and Haruno Yukinoshita been present, they would have recognised the signs.
Here it comes.
Ye Xing's signature technique - turning plaintiffs into defendants and defendants into plaintiffs.
The tables have turned.
After collecting herself, Mai Sakurajima continued speaking.
"There's no need to deny it. I've personally witnessed your club member Miko Yotsuya battling against certain... 'entities'."
Ye Xing's response was disarmingly simple.
"She's just a chuunibyou."
Had Miko been present, she would have projected a giant question mark above her head.
?
She's a chuunibyou now?
Mai believed her statement was flawless.
Yet from this brief exchange, Ye Xing had already gleaned two crucial pieces of information.
First.
As Mai's Adolescence Syndrome worsened, even Miko, who could previously perceive her, could no longer see her.
Though Miko might appear airheaded in daily life, she'd never make the amateur mistake of displaying her exorcism abilities before ordinary people during spiritual battles.
The only explanation was that Miko couldn't see Mai at all - and neither could Hyakume, her Soul Materialisation, nor Hachishaku-sama, the Society's model employee accompanying her.
Second.
Mai couldn't see evil spirits, spectres or Soul Materialisations either. Both parties were effectively blind to each other's realities.
Otherwise, given Hachishaku-sama and Hyakume's grotesque appearances, Mai wouldn't have approached him today with such composure.
"The noodles are ready."
At that moment, Rio Futaba arrived carrying two cups of instant noodles, placing them on the coffee table.
Ye Xing smiled at Mai.
"You have yours first."
After a brief hesitation, Mai nodded sheepishly.
"Well... if you insist."
She leaned forward, tucking stray hair behind her left ear with one hand while cradling the noodle cup with the other, lips parting slightly to blow on the steaming broth.
The gesture was unintentionally alluring.
Though that wasn't Ye Xing's primary focus.
"Eh? Did I only make one cup...?"
Rio murmured in confusion as she stood up.
"You eat first, I'll make another one."
Walking back to the kitchen, she kept muttering to herself.
"How did this happen... my memory's been off lately..."
Observing the noodle cup Mai was holding, Ye Xing confirmed his theory.
Anything she touched vanished from others' perception.
This prevented bizarre scenarios where objects would appear to float mid-air when handled by Mai.
This ability...
Is seriously overpowered.
I, Ye Xing, hereby declare you the ultimate psychiatric case.
Noticing his intense stare, Mai instinctively recoiled, crossing her arms defensively.
"Are you... planning something improper?"
"Mai Sakurajima."
"Wh-what?"
"Join the Supernatural Quantum Mechanics Research Society!"
"Ha?"
Mai Sakurajima clearly couldn't follow Ye Xing's train of thought, frowning slightly as she said.
"What do you mean?"
Ye Xing spoke with righteous conviction.
"Saving the world requires your power!"
"I have no interest in saving the world."
"I'll provide three meals a day."
"Hiss... Well, in that case..."
Clearly, Mai Sakurajima was tempted.
After developing symptoms of periodically disappearing, her greatest difficulty was that others couldn't see her, making it impossible to buy things. With no remaining ingredients at home, she couldn't cook.
Simply put.
She had nothing to eat.
The solution to Mai Sakurajima's predicament was actually quite simple.
Just steal.
If this ability to disappear from perception while still being able to interact with objects fell into Ye Xing's hands...
Zzzz, he didn't even dare imagine.
The possibilities would be endless.
Unfortunately.
Mai Sakurajima's moral standards were much higher than his - after all, Ye Xing had no standards at all.
Something like stealing food, even if she wouldn't be caught, was something Mai Sakurajima couldn't bring herself to do.
Because of this, how to survive had become her greatest current challenge.
Beyond that.
It would be impossible to say Mai Sakurajima wasn't at all curious about the Supernatural Quantum Mechanics Research Society's internal affairs.
After all, she'd personally witnessed Miko Yotsuya wielding a longsword in an alleyway, seemingly fighting against something.
Mai knew what chuunibyou was.
But would a chuunibyou patient really use such an ancient, clearly valuable longsword just for their performance?
Moreover.
Mai Sakurajima wanted to know one more thing.
Why could Ye Xing perceive her existence when no one else could see her?
What was the reason?
After careful consideration, Mai Sakurajima finally nodded.
"I can join the club temporarily, but let me be clear - if there are any strange activities, I won't participate."
"Don't worry, our club activities are perfectly normal. Just touring Kyoto and gathering stories along the way."
"That's good then."
Though Mai privately thought these sounded like activities for a tourism club, she didn't press further.
Seeing her agreement, Ye Xing felt satisfied.
Mai Sakurajima was special.
She was the first confirmed patient with Adolescent Syndrome that Ye Xing had encountered.
In Rio Futaba's theory, Adolescence Syndrome was caused by quantum entanglement effects.
But to Ye Xing.
This was clearly a supernatural phenomenon.
And judging by Mai Sakurajima's symptoms, her Adolescence Syndrome had developed quite recently.
So then...
Could there be some connection between this Adolescence Syndrome phenomenon and the appearance of Gates in Kyoto?
Ye Xing was deeply curious about the truth behind this.
"Phew, hot hot hot."
Rio Futaba had just prepared another cup of instant noodles, placing it on the table before blowing on her hands like a cat that got burned stealing food.
Then she removed her glasses, fogged up by the steam, and swept back the long, grey hair that was draped over her shoulders.
"About today."
Rio pursed her lips slightly, speaking quietly.
"Thank you."
Ye Xing naturally knew what she was referring to and saw no need to play dumb. He simply waved his hand dismissively.
"It was nothing worth mentioning. Besides, I genuinely enjoyed it."
"This... Have you considered getting checked for violent tendencies?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I don't have violent tendencies."
Rio Futaba frowned slightly. If he didn't have violent tendencies, why had he used such excessive force in a student altercation?
As if sensing her doubt, Ye Xing shrugged nonchalantly.
"My principles are actually quite simple."
"If someone does something deserving of punishment, then they should receive the punishment they've earned. The suffering they endure doesn't come from me—it comes from their own mistakes. Pain is the best way to correct errors."
Rio pressed her lips together, unsure how to respond to such words.
Something about it felt off.
But she couldn't quite pinpoint what.
Punishment?
Suffering?
Correcting mistakes.
How juvenile.
And yet...
Coming from a student who enjoyed special privileges in the eyes of the school—someone who could avoid punishment as long as he didn't cross certain lines—it didn't sound juvenile at all.
Moreover, Rio had a vague sense that Ye Xing wasn't just referring to today's hallway brawl.
There were things she didn't know about.
"So, by your logic..."
Rio furrowed her brow slightly and asked quietly,
"You believe what you're doing is right?"
"I never said that."
Ye Xing still wore that indifferent smile on his face, spreading his hands in a shrug.
"I don't care whether what I do is right or wrong. Like I said, I want to, and I can, so I do it."
Then, Ye Xing blew lightly on his instant noodles before speaking slowly.
"What I pursue is complete, absolute freedom - unbound by anyone or anything."
...
After finishing the noodles, Ye Xing left.
Rio Futaba felt relieved yet inexplicably disappointed at the same time.
So...
He really just came for free food?
How poor must he be to mooch instant noodles?
Judging by Ye Xing's attire, that couldn't be the case...
"Wait, that's not right..."
Rio had only glanced casually at the table when she froze upon seeing the empty noodle bowls placed there.
Why... were there three empty bowls?
She was certain she'd only prepared two...
Wait.
When she'd taken them out, she'd initially grabbed two bowls.
So why had she later thought there was only one?
"Mai Sakurajima?"
Rio murmured the name, her eyes revealing thoughtful contemplation.
Of course, she didn't remember this senior.
But she did remember that Ye Xing had mentioned Mai Sakurajima.
Rio took out a notebook from her pocket and flipped it open. Inside were records of what she considered Ye Xing's chuunibyou ramblings - the bizarre things he'd said during their usual exchanges.
"A world that only exists when perceived..."
"The ability to change oneself through perception."
"Schrödinger's cat - its state remains undetermined until observed, existing in paradoxical duality..."
Muttering to herself, Rio took out a ballpoint pen and began writing seemingly random sentences and words in her notebook—connections only she could make to aid her thinking.
"Ye Xing doesn't fit the profile of a chuunibyou patient from any angle."
"The world he envisions is fundamentally different from chuunibyou fantasies."
Based on her recent observations, Rio had discovered that the world Ye Xing described differed from most chuunibyou fantasies in one essential, almost contradictory way.
In typical chuunibyou delusions:
That so-called "real" world contains no uncertainty. Every illusion points directly to the patient's deepest desires.
Whether it's recognition, self-satisfaction, or escape from hardship.
All fantasies in that world stem from this singular foundation.
Yet the world Ye Xing constructs lacks any clear "goal" or, more importantly...
As the world's architect, he shouldn't encounter any unknowns during its construction.
After all, virtual worlds are built upon the "known."
Rio wrote continuously for nearly half an hour before finally setting down her pen.
Her thoughts remained tangled like a ball of yarn. She felt tantalizingly close to uncovering the truth, yet powerless to grasp it.
Unconsciously, her gaze drifted back to the three empty bowls on the table.
The name Mai Sakurajima kept echoing in her mind.
Rio Futaba's pupils dilated slightly as a conjecture surfaced in her thoughts, murmuring to herself.
"Cognition... so that's why it can be observed. Could it be... this is how it works?"
Rio Futaba was a genius in the truest sense.
The name Mai Sakurajima, the suddenly appearing third instant noodle cup, her own cognition that didn't match reality - these three pieces of information were leading her close to deducing the truth about Mai Sakurajima, and indeed this entire world.