Chapter 19: Lili Zi: I’m A Love Brain
Similarly in the morning, in the classroom during break time, at the back row by the window seat.
Tokugawa Ririko stretched out both hands, lay on the table, lazily basking in the sun.
What is the meaning of swinging my sword?
Lili Zi thought.
—Could it be that the millions of swings she had made day and night without rest were just so that Shangshan Che could humiliate her with his talent a dozen years later?
Beside Lili Zi, her two best friends were munching on shrimp chips, whispering to each other.
The gloomy girl gaped in shock: “Looking so listless, could the rumor from yesterday really be true?”
The sunny girl pretended to cover her face and cry: “Little Tokugawa falling in love or something like that—at least wait until ten years after I’m dead!”
“The rumor is true, but the romance is fake.”
The two best friends’ whispers sounded like loud shouts in Lili Zi’s ears; she could hear everything crystal clear.
Shizuma Manatsu, the sunny girl, covered her mouth in exclamation: “The intel is actually real!”
She hugged Lili Zi and winked: “The guy is called Shangshan Che? I heard he’s a gloomy two-dimensional dead otaku just like Runa! How did you meet him, Little Tokugawa? How did you get together?”
“If you want to insult me, just say it straight! No need to use someone as an analogy!”
Kitano Runa, wearing black-rimmed glasses, clenched her fists over her chest, pretending to be angry: “What did we two-dimensional folks ever do to you!”
Lili Zi pushed her best friend’s face away, snatched the shrimp chips, dumped them all into her mouth, and crunched loudly.
“My shrimp chips!” Shizuma Manatsu exclaimed, but upon seeing the empty bag, her attitude flipped instantly: “Eat! Eat it all! Consider it romance military funds!”
Lili Zi’s cheeks puffed slightly as she chewed and said: “First, Shangshan Jun is not weak; second, I’m not interested in romance.”
Shizuma Manatsu stared at her for a bit, then smiled: “If you’re not interested, can you give me his Line? Lately, gloomy gothic guys are just my type.”
Kitano Runa, who hadn’t spoken, pinched her nose and waved: “Tone it down, that’s gross.”
Lili Zi shook her head: “Not sharing. He doesn’t have time for that; he still needs to practice sword with me.”
“Oh ho, still denying it.” Shizuma Manatsu smiled ambiguously: “Practice sword? From where to where?”
Seeing Lili Zi’s silent expression, the two exchanged a glance and spoke together:
“—Girl, you’re in love!”
“I’m not.”
“You are in love!”
Lili Zi slammed the table and stood up, loudly retorting: “I’m not!”
After saying that, Lili Zi realized everyone in the class was staring at her in unison.
Because to outsiders, she had always been the “aloof goddess of few words,” so this volume was unprecedented.
“See, you’re flustered.”
Shizuma Manatsu pointed at her: “Normally, you wouldn’t bother refuting such topics.”
Lili Zi realized in shock that it was indeed the case.
She scratched her head, sat down, and asked her best friends puzzled: “Could wanting to ruthlessly trample Shangshan Jun underfoot and humiliate him count as romance?”
The two best friends exchanged stunned glances, communicated with their eyes for a moment, and finally Kitano Runa said seriously:
“Of course it does!”
She, who had been deep in the two-dimensional field for years, took out her mobile phone and opened layers of hidden precious collections.
Soon, the gates of a new world opened to Lili Zi.
“Th-this, what is this?!”
Lili Zi’s face instantly flushed red; she quickly looked around and sighed in relief upon finding no classmates paying attention to them.
Taking the mobile phone, flipping through the black-and-white manga inside.
Unknowingly, Lili Zi was deeply immersed in the ups-and-downs story, exquisite artwork, and passionate fight scenes.
She didn’t want to continue, but her curiosity drove her fingers to swipe instinctively.
One after another, story after story.
Until the screen showed “No next page,” Lili Zi looked up to see her two best friends holding back laughter beside the table.
Lili Zi suddenly said: “I get it.”
—So-called romance is the desire to dominate others.
—Wanting to see a once-stronger powerhouse obey you, making a genius far superior in talent bow his head.
This is romance!
At just eighteen, with over fifteen years of sword practice, Lili Zi understood everything.
Her enlightened expression made the two best friends blankly go “Ah?”
—Dude, you can gain life lessons from reading one of those?
Now, Shangshan Che’s half-hour of sword practice equaling her month’s worth turned into a huge good thing.
—The stronger and more talented they are, the more meaning there is in trampling them underfoot.
As for those smug mediocrities with a bit of talent who refuse to devote everything, she couldn’t even be bothered to glance at them twice.
So yesterday, she shouldn’t have had that despairing thought of “like a mayfly seeing the blue sky,” but should have applauded Shangshan Che’s immense talent!
Thinking of this, Lili Zi recalled a buzzword she had heard: “Is this shift in mindset what they call ‘love brain’?”
Online it said girls with love brain are all abnormal and should go to the hospital for treatment.
Now it seems, not necessarily.
Thus, the girl’s sword heart, which had nearly shattered yesterday, mended anew, becoming clearer and more transparent than ever.
At this moment, Tokugawa Ririko effortlessly surpassed the “unity of man and sword” that had trapped her for over a decade, reaching a sword technique realm rare in modern times and only touchable by great swordsmen in ancient times—
Clear Sword Heart.
Kitano Runa looked at Lili Zi, who seemed faintly glowing all over, and stammered: “Enlightened, achieved Buddhahood?”
Shizuma Manatsu ignored the natural sunlight phenomenon: “So, do you like Shangshan Jun?”
“Like, of course I like him.”
Lili Zi smiled faintly.
In the afternoon, skip class with Shangshan Jun to cultivate.
She gazed at the brilliant, blazing sun outside the window, her eyes full of anticipation.
—Shangshan Jun, get strong quick.
……
But before afternoon, the two ran into each other in the cafeteria.
“Lili Zi?”
Shangshan Che, with an extra-large beef rice, stopped and looked at the two beside the expressionless Lili Zi: “These two are…”
“Shangshan Jun! You’re Shangshan Jun, right!” Shizuma Manatsu, also with an extra-large lunch, blinked familiarly at him: “I’m Shizuma Manatsu, Little Tokugawa’s good friend, nice to meet you!”
Lili Zi has friends?
Shangshan Che nearly blurted that out, coughed, and said: “How about we find a place to sit first.”
Lili Zi nodded silently, utterly aloof.
Shangshan Che didn’t know what was up with this girl; whenever there were more people around, she seemed to turn like this.
Could it be a triggered passive?
Incomprehensible.
Though, the current Lili Zi didn’t seem to have that burdened look anymore; that’s good.
The four sat down; the two best friends naturally assisted, making Shangshan Che and Lili Zi sit face-to-face.
Neither was pretentious; they set down their trays and ate heartily.
This scene left Shizuma Manatsu and Kitano Runa beside them dumbfounded.
How do a little couple meet, yet say nothing while eating?
Is, is this right?
Actually, this is very right.
Shangshan Che believed mealtime was for properly eating.
While Lili Zi only used food to restore san value when in a bad mood; normally, eating was just energy replenishment for her.
But the two best friends didn’t know, thinking they were in a cold war.
Helplessly, Shizuma Manatsu had to proactively find a topic everyone might like to liven things up.
She smiled casually: “Lately, the supernatural events around here are really hot; they’ve trended on Twitter several times.”
Kitano Runa tried to play along: “Wow, that’s amazing, really?”
“Of course!”
Shizuma Manatsu opened her gallery, shook her mobile phone: “Look, these are my selfies from the past couple days; that shadow flashing by in the back—isn’t it creepy?”
She put hands on hips, hehe smiled:
“—I specially searched the topic; this seems to be called White Hannya, said to be a terrifying evil spirit.”
Clack!
Clack.
Shizuma Manatsu noticed Shangshan Che and Lili Zi simultaneously set down their chopsticks and looked at her.
She raised both hands, stammering:
“Wh-what’s wrong?”
