Lu Ren looked at Meteor, who was full of anticipation, and fell silent for several seconds without answering immediately.
Given Meteor’s appearance and figure, even if she didn’t greet anyone, other students should have naturally reached out to befriend her.
Yet, based on what she said, it seemed not a single classmate had dared to approach her in three years of high school.
That was far too strange.
There had to be some sort of misunderstanding; otherwise, it made no sense at all.
Lu Ren frowned slightly and looked at Lin Yiyi again, deciding to start with her daily habits to see if he could find a clue to break the deadlock.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you. But before I provide a solution, I want to ask about your daily routine. Do you mind?”
“No at all! Ask away!” Lin Yiyi nodded quickly.
“First, I want to know if you’ve ever initiated small talk at school, or if you’ve ever nodded and smiled at others?”
“Um… no, not once.”
Lin Yiyi replied after thinking for a moment. Seeing her clueless expression, Lu Ren’s heart sank as he vaguely understood what was happening.
To confirm his theory, however, Lu Ren continued to ask.
“Meteor, I remember you’ve been a Magic Girl for a long time.”
“Yeah, why?”
“If a Monster appears during class, do you stay for the lesson or go fight it?”
“I go straight to fight the Shadow Beast. Is that strange? After all, I’m the only student in the whole school allowed to carry a Mobile Phone!”
“Don’t the teachers get suspicious?”
“No, the Monster Response Department told the teachers that I’m a management talent for the Department and that I need to be on-site to command whenever a Shadow Beast appears.”
“I see… I’ve got it now.”
“Huh?”
Based on Lin Yiyi’s matter-of-fact answers, Lu Ren had already formed a general image of her school persona in his mind.
To add the finishing touch to this image, he had one last small question.
“Last question: how are your grades? Good or bad?”
“Oh, that… they’re okay, I guess?”
“What does ‘okay’ mean? Just barely passing the cutoff? Or a bit above it?” Lu Ren asked curiously.
“Not that low. If everything goes well, with the bonus points, I should be able to get into A City Third University,” Lin Yiyi explained bashfully.
Lu Ren was stunned.
A City Third University? For real?
If she really got in, wouldn’t she be his junior?
No, the focus wasn’t that; it was her academic performance. Considering the current state of educational resources in City A, with those grades, she was undoubtedly a top-tier honor student.
In that case, it made sense why no one dared to talk to her.
Based on the image Lin Yiyi projected at school, even Lu Ren wouldn’t have dared to initiate a conversation with her.
Just imagine: if a beautiful girl with an outstanding appearance, the special privilege to carry a phone in defiance of school rules, and excellent grades appeared in school, would anyone think she was just a socially anxious girl looking for friends?
No matter how one looked at it, that was the behavior of a cold, high-class young lady.
Thinking of this, Lu Ren looked at Lin Yiyi with complete sincerity and asked her seriously, “Meteor, have you ever thought about how you appear to other students?”
“Huh? Um… probably like someone very introverted and clumsy?”
Lin Yiyi paused, her voice full of self-doubt. Lu Ren shook his head, dismissing her guess.
“Think again. Is that really how they see you?”
“Probably?”
“Ahem, is it possible that in the eyes of your classmates, you’re actually a cold, elite young lady?”
“…What?”
Lin Yiyi’s brain stalled instantly.
She really couldn’t understand why Lu Ren would offer such a strange perspective.
She was a nobody at school, and her classmates didn’t even dare to make eye contact with her.
How could she be some elite young lady?
It had to be a joke.
Seeing her expression shift back and forth, Lu Ren realized she hadn’t accepted this shocking reality yet.
He took a deep breath and began to explain it to her in detail.
At first, Lin Yiyi stuck to her own ideas and tried to argue with him. However, once Lu Ren listed her daily behaviors one by one, she was left speechless.
The facts were right in front of her. No matter how much she didn’t want to admit it, everything Lu Ren said was correct. She couldn’t exactly rewrite reality, after all.
Convicted by Lu Ren’s logic, Lin Yiyi stole a glance at Sapphire and Xu Wenxing, then looked down at her own figure and said sadly, “Ugh… I’m an idiot! I thought of so many possibilities, but I never realized my behavior was so off that no one dared to come near me.”
“It’s not your fault. You’re a Magic Girl, after all; it’s normal to do strange things,” Lu Ren consoled her.
“Waaa… what should I do now? I still want to meet people and make friends before the College Entrance Examination.”
“I don’t necessarily recommend it, but if you really want to make friends, you could try talking to the students with the best grades in your class.”
“Talk to them?” Lin Yiyi asked, puzzled.
“Yeah. Take a math notebook with some mistakes, or an English reading passage, and go ask the top students a question,” Lu Ren said with a smile. “If they’re willing to help, just say thank you. After a few interactions like that, you’ll be friends.”
“Oh… Ohhh! You’re a genius, Lu Ren!”
Lin Yiyi nodded and suddenly understood his meaning. Her eyes sparkled as she praised him without restraint. Lu Ren turned his head away bashfully.
“It’s nothing special. This method only works in a school environment; it won’t work in the real world.”
“It’s fine! Being able to use it at school is enough! Thank you! Oh, right, are you thirsty? I’ll treat you to some milk tea!”
Lin Yiyi kept nodding, expressing her gratitude as much as she could.
Lu Ren hesitated for a moment, then looked at Jiang Yuening and Xu Wenxing, who were taking a break nearby.
“Sure, then thank you. While you’re at it, order two more cups for Xu Wenxing and the others.”
“Oh, I can handle that small amount—you’ve done me a huge favor!”
Lin Yiyi spoke nonchalantly, taking out her phone to quickly place the delivery order.
She then waved the phone at Lu Ren, waiting for the four cups of milk tea to be delivered downstairs.
Lu Ren nodded, relaxing his body and falling silent as he waited to go down and collect the drinks.