You call this a love game?

He could only smile and nod, "Okay, let's do it together then. It's okay if we're a little slow."

"We are too!" Madoka Kaname and Sayaka said in unison, standing on either side of Homura Akemi like guardian deities.

The PE teacher blew the whistle, and the warm-up exercises started again. Although Homura Akemi's movements were a beat slower than the others, she performed each movement with extra care.

A gentle breeze swept across the playground, carrying the scent of cherry blossoms. Suddenly, Homura Akemi noticed that the harsh whispers had disappeared, replaced by bursts of laughter from the small group.

"Homura, the way you were doing that just now made you look like a clumsy penguin." Sayaka laughed loudly without holding back.

"N-No, I didn't!" Homura Akemi retorted, her face flushed, but she accidentally tripped over her sneakers and almost turned into a waddling penguin.

Bai Yu swiftly caught her, a smile playing on his lips: "Be careful, little penguin."

Chapter Thirty-Five: It Would Be Better If He Were Dead

As soon as I went to school, the weather cooled down along with my heart, but after school, the weather warmed up and my heart became restless.

Even before the teacher officially announced the end of school, the students below the podium could no longer contain their restless desire for freedom.

As soon as the teacher left the classroom, the small space could no longer contain the boiling passion of youth. The students poured out, jumping and running towards the playground, looking forward to the happy playtime to come.

This is their freedom!

After a long day of arduous classes, Homura Akemi finally breathed a sigh of relief, as if her soul had been liberated.

Not only are the current courses too difficult for her to learn, but she also has to be constantly on edge, afraid that the teacher will call on her to answer questions again, which makes it impossible for her to relax.

Although Bai Yu was secretly helping her, she still felt that this was too shameless.

After all, it wasn't an achievement she obtained through her own efforts. Even though she already considered Bai Yu a friend, she would still blush with shyness when she inadvertently noticed the smile on the boy's lips.

"Xiaoyan, are you alone? Do you want to go home together?"

Seeing that Homura Akemi had already packed her schoolbag but hadn't gotten up to leave, Bai Yu casually asked her a question.

As far as he knew, the girl hadn't joined any clubs when she first came to the school, and given her personality, it was unlikely that she would actively join any clubs. So, she was probably like him and became a member of the "Homebound Club".

However, Homura Akemi shook her head, "My home is quite far away, so I don't need to. I can manage on my own."

Her parents had already taken on a significant financial burden to treat her heart condition, and since Takihara Municipal Junior High School happened to be located near the city center, it was impossible for her to rent a place in the city center.

Although her parents couldn't be there to take care of her, that's precisely why she needed to be more independent. She refused the apartment her parents asked relatives to find for her near the city center and instead asked them to help her find a place further away, but at a very affordable price.

Since the prices are affordable, the environment is naturally not very good either.

There was a huge garbage transfer station near her house. The garbage trucks would start rattling around four or five in the morning, and she could smell different kinds of fresh garbage every morning before she even got out of bed.

That's why she was terrified that she would pick up bad smells and bring them to school, where her classmates would smell them and distance themselves from her with disgust.

Even though Shiraha and Madoka were quite nice to her, Homura Akemi didn't want them to see her in a bad way.

The girl's sensitive self-esteem could not tolerate the criticism and strange looks from others, especially from her friends.

Even if it's just for a moment, she'll shatter like fragile glass.

"Okay, then Xiao Yan, be careful on the road, and call me if anything happens."

Bai Yu waved his phone, its screen lit up. He and Akemi Homura had already exchanged contact information during the break.

"Okay, thank you, Shiraha-kun. I'll be careful." Homura Akemi nodded solemnly.

Although today wasn't perfect, it was the happiest day she had at school.

She made new friends, and besides her parents, she had many more people who cared about her. Even when she encountered some minor setbacks, she overcame them with the help of her friends.

Walking home alone, Homura Akemi reflected on her day at school, a sweet smile unconsciously appearing on her lips.

Keep it up, Xiaoyan! Tomorrow will be even better!

While cheering herself up, Homura Akemi couldn't help but jump for joy, dancing and gesturing wildly on the deserted path.

"Ah! It hurts!"

She tripped over a broken branch lying on the roadside and lost her balance, falling towards the ground. She instinctively braced herself with her knees and hands, but the impact instantly stained her delicate skin with a glaring bright red.

"Woo..."

Homura Akemi knelt on the ground, her eyes instantly reddening.

She looked down at her scraped knee, tiny beads of blood slowly seeping out, the burning pain making her gasp.

As expected, she's still so clumsy; she can't do anything right, and she can't accomplish anything...

Negative emotions surged up along with her tears. Homura Akemi silently wiped away her tears, but she couldn't erase the raw, visible wounds on her knees.

She only embarrasses people and causes trouble...

Why...? Will she continue like this in the future...?

"In that case, it would be better to just die."

"It's better to die..."

"Yes, it would be better if he were dead."

"It would be better if he were dead..."

Homura Akemi's vision suddenly blurred, and the roar of the city's machines seemed to be coming through a thick layer of frosted glass. She felt her consciousness sinking deeper and deeper, like falling into a swamp, and the more she struggled, the harder it was to escape.

"It would be better if he were dead..."

The thought rose like bubbles in water, echoing in her confused mind.

At the same time, the surrounding scenery began to distort and deform, and the deserted path gradually melted away, turning into a flowing, colorful vortex.

When she regained consciousness, she found herself standing in a bizarre space. The ground around her seemed to be made up of countless crumpled images pieced together, and in the distorted images, twisted figures were staring at her with empty eyes.

"here it is……"

Homura Akemi endured the pain and stood up, taking a blank step forward. A crisp 'crack' sound came from under her feet, as if she had stepped on something fragile and solid, which turned into dust with one step.

Immediately afterwards, a door that looked remarkably like the Arc de Triomphe appeared out of thin air in front of her. From inside the door emerged three bizarre creatures made of cardboard with a few random doodles on their fronts, which were now reaching out their hands to pounce on Homura Akemi.

"What...what is this...?"

As the strange creature drew closer, Homura Akemi tried to run away, but found her legs as heavy as lead, and even the wound on her knee began to ache, piercing her nerves, as if telling her that it was all about to end.

"Are you going to...die...?"

Homura Akemi closed her eyes in despair, awaiting death.

However, just as the strange creatures were about to touch Homura Akemi, the air suddenly froze, as if time had stopped flowing, and the three strange creatures also stopped in place.

"Can you still walk?" Bai Yu's voice rang in her ears, calm and steady.

Homura Akemi looked up blankly and saw Shiraha looking down at her. The boy's face was devoid of its usual playful smile, and his bangs were slightly damp with sweat, yet he still maintained a reassuring calmness.

"me……"

Before she could answer, Bai Yu had already picked her up in his arms. "Hold on tight."

Time began to flow again, and he dashed off like an arrow. The strange creature behind him was still clumsily rushing towards him, only it seemed to be moving faster, and in the blink of an eye it was right behind him.

Chapter Thirty-Six: I Once Thought Love Suicides Were Just Ancient Legends

"Don't look behind you."

Bai Yu's voice remained steady, as if he were simply participating in a regular morning run.

However, he didn't show it on his face, but in reality, he was already cursing under his breath.

How can that thing run so fast!

It looked like it couldn't even walk properly, and would even trip over its own cardboard heels, but it could still keep up with him, even though he had used time stop several times. This thing was still sticking to his back.

Damn it, if he had the ability to attack, he would have already blown them up.

Do you really think he's easy to bully?

Bai Yu counted the time in his mind, and immediately activated the next time stop when 15 seconds were up. He finally managed to stop when he was completely out of distance from those strange creatures.

"call--"

The moment he stopped, Bai Yu put Akemi Homura down from his arms.

Although the girl's weight is not heavy, and could even be described as light, that's normal. He had been carrying Homura Akemi for almost two minutes, and even with his strength, his arms were already sore. He had to rely entirely on willpower to keep going.

"Bai Yu, are you alright?"

Homura Akemi, who had finally recovered, squatted down beside him, looking at Shiraha with concern as he lay on the ground, panting heavily.

"I... Phew... I'm alright, just a little tired." Bai Yu waved his hand, indicating that he was fine for the time being. "We're safe, but only temporarily."

He leaned against the slope and looked in the direction the runner had come from. He didn't see anything coming, and his anxiety subsided for the time being.

Beside her, Mihoyo bit her lip tightly, watching Shiraha's face, which was wet with sweat, and her messy hair that was casually pulled on her forehead, condensing into clumps with sweat, completely unlike her elegant and composed self during the day.

"It's all my fault... I'm sorry, Bai Yu, for dragging you into this..."

Although she still didn't understand why she was here or what kind of place it was, she knew that if it weren't for her as a burden, the boy would definitely not be in such a sorry state now, and it wouldn't be impossible for him to escape from this godforsaken place on his own.

It was all her fault for dragging the boy down. It was just a minor injury, yet he still had to carry her.

At this point, she no longer cared about being carried for so long; her intuition told her that being caught by that monster would definitely mean death.

Faced with a life-or-death situation, she regretted even more that she hadn't died sooner. That way, Bai Yu wouldn't have put herself in danger while trying to save her. After all, she was useless to begin with, unable to do anything or know anything. If she died, she would just die. Someone like Bai Yu deserved to live a better life.

Bai Yu sighed, forcefully took the girl's soft hand, and comforted her, "Don't blame yourself, I did all of this willingly."

"But--"

"No buts." Bai Yu interrupted the girl directly, revealing, "Little Flame, don't you want to know why I'm here too? You should remember that you inexplicably entered this space on your way home, right?"

"Eh?"

Homura Akemi pondered for a moment, and the memories in her mind were indeed as Shiraha had described. As for how Shiraha had gotten involved...

"Could it be that Shiraha-kun is going home in the same direction as me?" Homura Akemi guessed.

"Idiot!" Bai Yu lightly chopped the girl's forehead with a chop, showing no shame. "My home is in the completely opposite direction from yours, so I followed you here."

"Ah!" Homura Akemi opened her mouth slightly, her face full of disbelief.

She couldn't imagine that the word "stalking" would be associated with Bai Yu, especially with her gentle and kind friend Bai Yu.

In the morning, he was very helpful in answering her questions, and in the afternoon PE class, he also helped her fight back against those who were gossiping behind her back. She could never imagine that under such a gentle and refined appearance, there was actually a stalker!

The moment the thought that Bai Yu was a stalker popped into her mind, she rejected it immediately. She shook her head vigorously, trying to shake that bad idea out of her head.

“Following me… After all, I have a heart condition. Bai Yu, you're probably worried about my safety, right?”

Thinking this, Homura Akemi's gratitude grew even stronger. It seemed that the truth was really as she thought. Even though they were going in completely opposite directions, he still followed behind her to protect her. She no longer knew how to repay Shiraha.

"what?"

Now it was Bai Yu's turn to be shocked.

His purpose in following Homura Akemi was simply to see if she could still use magical girl abilities, such as time stop.

The girl's peculiar thought process momentarily stunned him, but he quickly recovered.

Bai Yu coughed lightly and scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly. "Just take it as true, but let's think about how to escape this awful place now."

He glanced back at the path he had come from, only to find that, without him noticing, those strange creatures were almost right in front of his face.

Holy crap! Someone's using teleportation cheats!

"Run!"

There was no time to think about why the monster was moving so fast. Bai Yu activated time stop and pulled the still dazed and self-satisfied Akemi Homura on a wild run. Only when Akemi Homura was completely exhausted and could not take another step did Bai Yu pull the girl to hide behind the shadow of a slope to rest for a while.

He no longer had the strength to carry the girl and run; his arms were still a little sore.

Watching the monsters that occasionally flashed across the distant horizon, seemingly about to teleport to his side and seize them, Bai Yu resigned himself to his fate and lay down, his body spread out on the ground.

Let's just consider it an inauspicious start. I've already given up this life, and using time stop again will most likely only waste favor points.

Furthermore, Homura Akemi currently does not possess any characteristics of a magical girl and cannot use her abilities; otherwise, she would definitely be able to move even when he stopped time.

Unfortunately, Homura Akemi was frozen in place like a sculpture, unable to move.

He only has time-stopping and healing abilities, but no offensive means, so he is completely helpless against those familiars.

Homura Akemi seemed to sense that Shiraha had resigned himself to his fate. She forced a smile and lay down beside him, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, but then receded under the influence of gravity.