My older sister is a villainous rich girl

Chris's current action gives off a feeling of saying, "You two are my wings."

“If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t trust them to respect my opinion, and it would be difficult for them to respect the opinions of others even when the members object. But Tasia, you’re different.” Despite the pain from Chris poking his lower back a few times, Wayne spoke the truth.

"Even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance that I will not be officially appointed, I believe that Richard will not make things difficult for you once he becomes the chairman."

"Only you are suitable to do this, and it won't be easy."

Under the repeated persuasion of Wayne, Gavin, and Chris, Tasia's thoughts gradually shifted.

Finally, she made her decision.

"Since everyone says so, I'll go back and give it a try."

Like a soldier taking a vow before battle, Tasia resolutely bowed to the three of them. "I will do my best, please wait for my good news!"

Bearing the expectations of everyone, Tasia immediately set out to gather the student council members who had become like scattered sand.

Watching Tasia's figure disappear around the corner, Gavin sighed, "If only... the student council could hold a joint event with the Lily Club under Tasia's leadership."

Good heavens, it's a miracle they didn't start fighting on the spot.

Putting aside the images that inexplicably flashed through his mind, Wayne turned to look at Chris.

"What? Aren't you still angry with me?" he asked with a smile.

It seems Chris is still quite concerned about her movements; she couldn't remain calm as soon as she discovered that she had been in contact with Tasia.

Chris could tell what he was secretly pleased about just by looking at his slightly smug expression.

"Hmph, I only came here because I had something to say to Tasia, not because of you." She tried to cover up her mistake with a remark, and then turned to leave the scene of the crime as soon as possible.

Wayne wasn't going to let her get away so easily. Before she could fully pull her arms around his waist, he simply pulled her back and hugged her tightly again.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruffle your hair last time."

No matter what, give in first.

"Yes, you didn't do it on purpose, you did it intentionally." Chris gave him a light tap with her hand, but her attitude was clearly not as firm as before.

"I promise I won't do it again next time, please forgive me this time, okay? Darling~" Wayne began her cute offensive.

"Ugh~ Don't talk to me in such a disgusting tone!"

Despite Chris's verbal complaints, she couldn't control the smile on her lips, and the gradually overflowing joy even leaked from her eyes.

Gavin, who hadn't had time to retreat, instantly suffered 10,000 points of real damage.

"—How dare you two show off your affection in front of your lonely classmates! Don't you have any sense of public morality at all?!" he uttered a soul-searching accusation.

……

Public morality.

Such noble and extravagant qualities are probably not something that time travelers would normally possess.

I don’t know what the actual situation is like for the other transmigrators, but Wayne definitely feels that he doesn’t possess this skill, at least not in himself.

Even though he joined the city guard, even though he occasionally showed up with great enthusiasm, even though he was surrounded by all sorts of strange rumors and undeserved fame...

Yes, the rumors about me have only increased these days.

Although both of them participated in the publisher's seed program, the fact that his short article received far less attention than that of Ms. Lina, who was in the same cohort, inevitably left Wayne somewhat disappointed.

It seems that the Mary Sue genre is the true evergreen, always having a market no matter when or where.

But what was most frustrating was that the publisher actually received quite a few letters from readers who said they had been helped by a person wearing a strange mask at night. Barto, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper's columns, found that these readers' letters described the events in great detail and did not seem to be made up. So he immediately selected a few and published them together.

This stroke of genius propelled the popularity of Ms. Lina's "Mr. Mask" to leap by several orders of magnitude.

What could captivate the public's attention more than a conspiracy theory?

Whether such a person as Wang Du truly existed became a topic of great interest and discussion among many citizens during their leisure time.

However, Wayne would be in a difficult situation in this regard.

Finally, after one of her routine lessons, Tasia glanced at her mysterious teacher several times, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

Without thinking, Wayne blurted out his question: "Is there still something I don't understand?"

He had truly become completely immersed in the role of a teacher, without considering that external events would also affect this secluded one-on-one classroom.

“Teacher…” Tasia stammered. “I recently saw a… very interesting story.”

Wayne clearly saw a suspicious blush rise to her face.

Chapter 517 May I see your face?

Interesting story?

Wayne was puzzled. "Hmm, what kind of story is it?"

He thought Tasia had encountered something interesting recently and wanted to share it with him.

She seemed very embarrassed.

For some reason, she didn't dare look directly into Wayne's eyes, so Tasia turned her gaze to the window. After what seemed like a long mental preparation, she finally mustered the courage to ask, "Teacher, have you... heard the story of 'Mr. Mask'?"

Wayne was about to answer, "I've seen it."

But just as he was about to utter those two words, he suddenly realized something and froze on the spot.

Rumors circulated in the capital about the real existence of the Masked Man, but wasn't he, as her teacher, always wearing a mask in front of Tasia?

The masked man in the story falls in love with the female protagonist at first sight and tries every means to get close to her; meanwhile, the masked man himself is also trying every means to get close to Tasia...

Oh, could it be that Tasia has some strange misunderstanding?

Wayne struggled to maintain his composure, his voice calm: "No. I don't care what's happening outside, and those things are none of my business."

Therefore, cultivating a cool and aloof persona has these advantages: it's difficult for others to detect any changes in you from just a few words.

Hearing this completely emotionless reply, Tasia glanced at him with some suspicion.

"Then...may I...see your face?"

Oh no—you have no sportsmanship!

Taken aback by her sudden and unreasonable request, Wayne was unable to give an answer for a moment.

Even she herself probably felt that the request was too presumptuous, and Tasia looked slightly embarrassed.

"I don't want to... treat someone so important to me like a stranger, even if we happen to meet them."

She solemnly raised her hand and swore, "I, Tasia Louis, ask God as my witness with all my life's integrity! No matter what kind of person you are, teacher, I will never disrespect you because of your appearance or status."

But her resolute tone lasted only a moment before she became cautious again. "C-Is it okay?"

Tasia seemed to have reached her limit and insisted on getting to a conclusion.

Those eyes, full of probing and curiosity, were like those of an innocent fawn encountered by chance in the forest.

Wayne's feelings for Tasia have always been complicated.

It cannot be denied that when he watched the anime, he did have feelings for Tasia.

But now that he's in this world, and he has two girlfriends, Chris and Geli, who are not only attracted to him but also have responsibilities towards him... Tasia is more like a microcosm of the simple beauty and happiness he once felt.

I didn't intend to develop a romantic entanglement with her in order to help her.

She is more like a code name, symbolizing that the story is still running smoothly and orderly.

So even if she doesn't know how much effort he put in behind the scenes, and even if he is unlikely to have anything happen between them in the future, as a friend, Wayne hopes that she can at least live a happy and carefree life in the future.

This emotion is difficult to describe with a single, simple word.

If I had to describe it, perhaps it would be like raising a daughter?

Wayne, who wasn't married yet but had already unconsciously entered the mindset of a father, looked at her with gentle eyes.

"--Can't."

Tasia's eyes revealed a very obvious look of disappointment.

“I wear a mask not for any other special reason, but simply to avoid trouble.” Wayne hardened his heart and refused Tasia’s request.

"There is no difference between being in front of you and being in front of others."

His intention was to remind Tasia that she didn't treat him specially and that she shouldn't have any inappropriate thoughts because of it.

“…I see.” Tasia murmured softly.

"Alright, that's enough for today." Wayne walked to the window. "The only thing we must never forget is diligence."

"Because—you and the people around you don't all start from the same point."

After leaving those words, Wayne jumped out of the window and ran away decisively.

Tasia simply watched him leave in silence.

After a long while, Tasia's questioning voice echoed in the room. "If I'm no different from others... then why do you teach me so diligently, teacher?"

……

"Phew, life is just too hard."

After Wien finished dealing with his whereabouts, he returned home under the cover of night.

He never expected that a small, casual thing he had done would turn around and betray him, even after going through such a long and complicated process.

Although most of those currently curious about "Mr. Mask's" identity are not malicious, and many even hold him in high esteem, the more they try to uncover the truth about "Mr. Mask," the greater the chance that Wayne's true identity will be revealed.

He felt he couldn't handle the attention.

"Should we try to cool things down?" Wayne was very distressed.

These days, reducing trending topics isn't as simple as deleting comments or paying money to the platform as it is in modern times. Moreover, the related topics are being fueled by their own "Leaf Publishing House," which greatly limits the solutions available.

Are we going to continue using Echo's identity as a cover?

Otherwise, they could secretly spread the word that some people, despite clearly receiving help from Aikos, mistakenly believe that she is a man.

Won't this make people wonder if there's some hidden connection between Aikos and the masked man...? The risks are multiplying.

After thinking it over and over but not finding a suitable solution, he decided to let nature take its course.

"Well, never mind. Let's leave it at that."

As long as you stay calm and don't switch between two identities to do reckless things, there shouldn't be a big problem.

"go to bed!"

Wrapped himself in the warm blanket, Wayne collapsed onto the bed and slept soundly for days.

As it turned out, the next day, it was Ge Li who first became suspicious of him.

"The recent rumors...have nothing to do with you, right?"

Using the crisscrossing bookshelves of the library as cover, Ge Li asked seemingly casually.

Meanwhile, Wayne was searching for the reference materials he needed and didn't turn around to look at her.

"What rumor?" I wanted to play dumb, but then I felt that saying it would be too obvious.

“Oh…you mean the story of that masked man?” Wayne sighed. “That’s a made-up novel, just the author’s idle fantasy.”

Although what he said seemed to make a lot of sense, Ge Li didn't really believe it.

“But now it has been confirmed from many aspects that that person may indeed exist,” she said.

"And you, don't you just happen to like wandering around outside in the middle of the night?"

Wayne stopped turning the pages and turned to observe Ge Li's expression.

Chapter 518 It's a Promise

Maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far, she gazed at his eyes with a similarly probing look.

It's like trying to discern whether the person in front of you is telling the truth.

Wayne could only sigh deeply: "Don't immediately suspect me for everything, okay? I'm not that free."

Having received a very confident reply from Wayne, Goth nodded.

"...I think so too."