Chapter 397 Finding the Lost Wang Mei-yu
The weather in late July remained extremely hot.
The outdoor sun was exceptionally intense, and the school kindly provided each person with a mat to prevent their knees from being burned by the ground.
All students participating in the B6 subject assessment sat cross-legged, directly facing the scorching sun.
As the searing sunlight poured onto their skin, waves of burning stinging sensations washed over them, making it unbearable.
In less than ten minutes, half of the people on the field couldn't hold on and left one after another.
For Hikigaya, this kind of test was merely a piece of cake; he sat upright and motionless.
Interestingly, Koenji Rokusuke was also as steady as a mountain, though he was drenched in sweat, showing that he was consuming a lot of energy.
As time passed, the number of candidates on the platform dwindled.
In the end, only Hikigaya and Koenji remained on the entire field.
The whispering voices of the onlookers outside the field rose and fell.
"Those two are truly amazing!"
"They are simply legendary heat-endurance kings!"
"Who do you think will win, Hikigaya or Koenji?"
"Hard to say. Judging by physique, Koenji seems stronger, but I heard Hikigaya has amazing stamina, capable of eight times in one night."
"Isn't that wrong? I heard it was nine times."
"Your information is outdated; that's ten times!"
Which bastard spread this, spouting such blind "truths"?
Hikigaya looked indignant.
"As expected of Dolphin Boy, it seems your ability is even more powerful than I imagined."
Koenji Rokusuke suddenly spoke, his tone carrying a hint of playful emotions.
Hikigaya's expression stiffened, and he ignored the other party.
"Oh well, this boring tug-of-war is meaningless to me."
Koenji Rokusuke said as he took the initiative to stand up and withdrew from the assessment.
This wasn't to say his stamina was exhausted, but he simply didn't want to waste time grinding it out with Hikigaya and intended to head toward his next target as soon as possible.
Just like that, Hikigaya won without a fight and successfully took first place in the B6 subject.
Hikigaya received the next movement instruction from his tablet: B4.
C3... C4...
Hikigaya's movement scores were second, third, and fourth, respectively.
As for the subject scores, apart from taking first place in the history quiz, he simply gave up on the remaining two science-related ones.
Evening arrived.
The fourth instruction was for a random location: G8.
Hikigaya glanced at the map; this crossed nearly eight squares, with a straight-line distance of several kilometers, not to mention the obstacles of mountain roads and rivers along the way. Taking a detour would be even further.
"It seems it will be difficult to get a good ranking for the movement score at the fourth station.
Arriving on time only grants a basic 1 point, yet the cost would be a huge consumption of physical strength."
After weighing the pros and cons in his mind, Hikigaya ultimately chose to give up on the movement for the fourth instruction.
He found a random shady spot and set up his tent.
There was bread and water in his backpack exchanged from the previous station, but Hikigaya thought that since he had plenty of time now, it might be better to collect ingredients; that way, he could save on the expense of a meal, which was equivalent to "earning" points.
Hikigaya walked into the forest, picked fresh wild vegetables and mushrooms, and went to a nearby stream to catch some small fish and shrimp.
Next to the tent, he set up simple cooking utensils and boiled a pot of "hodgepodge," which was fragrant and overflowing. The only regret was the lack of seasoning, but the conditions in the wilderness were rudimentary anyway, so he wasn't picky; making do for a meal was enough.
As the sky grew dark, the sky tonight was overcast with thick clouds, and it started to blow, looking like it was about to rain.
"Patta~"
Just then, a faint sound came from the forest.
Hikigaya's ears twitched, and he keenly heard the movement from not far away.
"Who is it?"
Hikigaya let out a low shout in the direction of the sound: "Who is there!"
"Ah, no~ May I ask... is that Hikigaya-kun in front?"
A slightly familiar female voice came from the direction of the woods.
Hikigaya frowned, failing to recall who the other person was for a moment.
As the person approached, under the reflection of the firelight, Hikigaya finally saw her face clearly.
"Is it Wang...?"
It was Wang Mei-yu, an international student from the same class.
"At this hour, why are you alone?"
Hikigaya looked her up and down carefully.
He saw that Wang Mei-yu was empty-handed, had no backpack behind her, and her clothes were dirty and even slightly torn.
It looked like she had taken a bad fall, and she was quite disheveled.
"Re-really, it's great to meet a classmate!"
After recognizing him, Wang Mei-yu immediately let out a sigh of relief.
She limped to the front of his tent and, after catching her breath, was just about to explain.
"Grumble~~"
The sound from her stomach left her feeling at a loss and incredibly embarrassed.
"Sit down first and have something to eat."
Hikigaya didn't ask for the reason and motioned for her to fill her stomach first.
"Tha-thank you!"
Wang Mei-yu looked grateful, then smiled brightly: "Sure enough, just like Kikyo-chan said, Hikigaya-kun is a gentle man."
"No, that's not the case."
Hikigaya's expression was strange.
This was because in class, Kushida Kikyo and Wang Mei-yu were only surface-level best friends, while in private, Kushida Kikyo hadn't complained about the latter much.
She said she was a "face-con" (obsessed with looks) who only knew how to butter up handsome guys.
She had previously focused only on Hirata Yosuke, and after he "blackened," she immediately "changed her affections."
She also often whispered in her ear that Hikigaya wearing glasses was very handsome.
"I'm full, thanks for the meal~"
Wang Mei-yu put her hands together and bowed politely to thank him.
"Don't mention it, after all, we are classmates."
Hikigaya was indifferent, neither intentionally being intimate nor aloof.
After eating, Wang Mei-yu began to tell her experience.
It turned out she was in a group with Kushida Kikyo and Mori Nene. They also encountered the situation where the fourth station's random location was far away, and after discussion, the three chose to give up on this movement score.
At Kushida Kikyo's suggestion, the three set up camp where they were and then went their separate ways to find ingredients.
This operation had been very reasonable up until now, highly consistent with Hikigaya's actions.
Wang Mei-yu was responsible for going up the mountain to pick up branches, so naturally, she didn't need to carry a heavy backpack.
As a result, Wang Mei-yu was careless, missed a step, and slid down along the slope on the mountain.
However, it is easy to go down the mountain but hard to go up, especially since she had also bruised her foot.
Wang Mei-yu originally planned to go around the mountain path to find a less steep route, but the further she circled, the further she got. When the sky turned dark, she got completely lost.
"It got dark, and I was very scared alone...
I just happened to smell a fragrance here, thinking someone was cooking nearby, so I came over."
Wang Mei-yu said, a look of embarrassment appearing on her face.
"I see, I understand the situation."
Hikigaya then proposed: "Then did you turn on the GPS signal on your watch to rendezvous with your teammates?"
"But... turning on the GPS signal consumes points."
A trace of hesitation flashed across Wang Mei-yu's face: "I often trouble everyone in the group; I-I don't want to hold everyone back."
"Are you an idiot?
You're still thinking about saving points at a time like this?"
Hikigaya looked speechless. If he hadn't considered that they weren't very close, he would have reached out and rubbed her cheeks hard.
"I estimate that after Kikyo and the others realized you haven't returned for a long time, they have already turned on the GPS search function to look for you everywhere."
Hikigaya added.
Although Kushida Kikyo would speak ill of Wang Mei-yu behind her back, Hikigaya knew that this woman's heart wasn't that bad; she was still willing to lend a hand when a companion encountered a crisis.
"Is that so? Then alright."
After being lectured by Hikigaya, Wang Mei-yu finally changed her mind.
She turned on the GPS signal function on her watch; members of the same group could locate each other's signals.
"Kikyo-chan and Nene's signals are both moving; it seems they are looking for me."
Wang Mei-yu's face showed surprise.
"Things might not be that simple."
Hikigaya noticed that, looking at the map, although the two signals were close, the terrain was one on the mountain and one at the foot of the mountain. It wouldn't be easy for both sides to meet up.
As expected, Wang Mei-yu saw that the signal positions belonging to Kushida Kikyo and Mori Nene had stopped.
The hillside here was steep, and combined with poor visibility at night, neither Kushida Kikyo nor Mori Nene dared to rashly go down the mountain.
"What should I do?"
Wang Mei-yu looked worried: "Kikyo-chan and Nene can't find me; they must be very anxious, right?"
"How about this, I'll turn on my GPS signal too."
"As long as Kikyo and the others see my signal right next to Wang-san's signal, they should be able to guess that you aren't alone and have obtained protection from an acquaintance."
Hikigaya clicked on his watch, spent some points, and sent the GPS signal.
Over on the mountain side.
"It looks like Mei-yu-chan accidentally slid down the mountain."
Mori Nene couldn't help but sigh in relief: "But fortunately, there is someone next to her signal; she should have received help from others."
"The question is, whose signal is that?
Is it someone from our class?"
Kushida Kikyo suddenly felt restless, having a faint premonition of something bad. (PS: Cannot confirm the identity of the signal source if not in the same group)
"?"
"It shouldn't be..."
Mori Nene said softly: "Even if it's a stranger, they wouldn't stand idly by while a girl is in trouble, right?"
"And the other party's signal is one person, which means the other party is very likely participating in the exam alone; presumably, he is also a very capable person.
Besides, even if the other party had bad intentions, Mei-chan could press the emergency button on her watch, and the teachers would intervene then."
Mori Nene's analysis was well-founded.
"No, I'm still a bit uneasy..."
Kushida Kikyo gritted her teeth and said in a low voice: "We will take a detour and go down the mountain!"
A flash of white light appeared in the sky, and a few seconds later, a low rumble of thunder came.
"Boom!"
"Oh no, with this weather, it's about to rain!"
Mori Nene's expression changed: "The clothes drying by the tent need to be collected immediately!"
Kushida Kikyo's eyes were fixed on the two red dots flashing the GPS signals on her wrist, her expression shifting between light and dark.
At the foot of the mountain.
"It's raining.
Will, will Kikyo-chan and the others go back to their tent to avoid the rain?"
Wang Mei-yu looked at the moving GPS signal red dot on her watch.
"It seems so."
Hikigaya turned off the GPS signal transmission; after all, this thing consumed points continuously over time.
Packing up the cooking utensils, Hikigaya hid inside the tent.
"..."
Wang Mei-yu then belatedly realized that her tent was on the mountain!
"Come in."
Hikigaya gestured to her with a calm expression.
"H-huh, but..."
Wang Mei-yu hesitated.
This single-person tent would be very crowded for two people; I'm afraid physical contact would be unavoidable.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures."
Hikigaya tried to persuade her with a stern face: "Or does Wang-san plan on testing me while in a 'see-through' outfit after being soaked by the rain?"
"Uwoo~"
Wang Mei-yu surrendered instantly and trotted all the way to his tent: "S-sorry for the intrusion..."
Her petite body, after entering the tent, subconsciously shrank into a corner.
Wang Mei-yu hugged her knees with both arms, burying her face, not daring to look at him.
With a lone man and woman in one tent, the atmosphere was inevitably a bit ambiguous.
If it were the past, Hikigaya would probably be on pins and needles, so embarrassed he'd be curling his toes.
But Hikigaya at this moment had already experienced too many intense things; this level was simply not enough to shake his heart.
"Whoosh, whoosh~"
Outside, it began to rain and blow.
To prevent the rain from blowing in, Hikigaya quickly pulled the zipper of the tent.
The light darkened instantly. In this narrow space where he couldn't see his fingers, they could hear each other's breathing.
Hikigaya took a flashlight out of his backpack and turned on the light.
He discovered that Wang Mei-yu didn't know when she had looked up; a pair of large light-purple eyes were secretly watching him.
"Eek~"
Their gazes met, and Wang Mei-yu was so scared that she buried her head back into her knees again.
"..."
Hikigaya's mouth twitched: "Is my face that scary?"
"N-no, it's not..."
Wang Mei-yu said in a voice like a mosquito, carefully explaining: "I, I'm just not good at communicating with boys."
Liar!
Aren't you and Kikyo always chatting about handsome guys?
Thinking of this, Hikigaya, feeling bored, took his glasses out of his backpack and put them on.
"This way, you won't be scared anymore, right?"
Hikigaya reached out to adjust his glasses and pretended to be serious.
"Yes! Hikigaya-kun!!"
Wang Mei-yu lowered her guard instantly, her eyes looking at him with a glimmer, her cheeks covered in a red hue.
So she's not afraid of eye contact now...
This girl is too realistic!!
Hikigaya laughed helplessly.
"Ne, ne~ Hikigaya-kun, what are your hobbies?"
Wang Mei-yu took the initiative to lean in and crawled over; the distance between the two was left with only the width of a fist.
This time it was Hikigaya's turn to make a tactical retreat, leaning his back against the edge of the tent.
"Nothing much, reading books and such."
"No wonder, Hikigaya-kun looks very smart."
Can she even praise him for that?
A normal person would call him a bookworm, right?
"By the way, Hikigaya-kun's Chinese is so good, especially Classical Chinese and poetry. I wonder if you are interested in coming to study abroad in China in the future?"
Wang Mei-yu looked at him with expectation: "China has preferential policies for international students, you know~"