64: This shouldn't be the case.

The light, breezy words "Okay" made the smile on Lin Luo's face freeze instantly.

Hey, hey, hey, why aren't you sticking to the script?! He nearly crashed on the spot, not even noticing his phone slipping from his fingers. What about the harsh rejection we agreed on? What about the front-page headline? He had even thought up the trending hashtag in advance!

Mai looked down at the petrified young man below, a hint of mischievous amusement flashing in her eyes. She gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and continued, her voice clear enough for the entire field to hear:

"However... I dislike noisy confessions. If you are truly serious about dating, then prove it with your actions in the future."

The entire campus was silent for a moment, followed by an earth-shattering roar of cheers.

"Who is that guy! My Goddess Mai!" The wails of boys clutching their heads in despair rose one after another.

"How romantic!" The girls all wore expressions of envy. "If only someone confessed to me like that..."

Amidst the roaring crowd, Lin Luo finally snapped back to reality. He bent down to pick up his phone and shook his head with a wry smile. Oh well, although the plan had deviated, the effect seemed even better than expected. Now, the entire campus had certainly remembered the name Sakurajima Mai.

He looked up at the girl on the corridor and found her nodding slightly at him, a playful curve of a successful scheme playing on her lips.

Just as the cheers on the field had yet to die down, an authoritative voice cut through the clamor:

"Hey, you two, come with me to the Academic Affairs Office."

The dean was standing at the entrance of the teaching building, no one knew when he had arrived. His gaze, behind gold-rimmed glasses, swept sternly over Lin Luo before looking up at Mai. The entire field fell silent instantly, and everyone held their breath.

Lin Luo cursed inwardly, but saw Mai calmly straighten up and give him a look that said, "Play it by ear." She turned and headed for the stairs first, her pace still elegant, as if she weren't the one who had just caused such a massive uproar.

"Director," Mai said, bowing slightly as she passed the dean, "I've caused you trouble."

This graceful response actually made the director pause for a moment. Lin Luo took the opportunity to catch up and lowered his voice as he passed by him:

"Director, actually this is..."

"Save it for the office." The director pushed up his glasses, his tone brooking no argument.

Under the curious gaze of the entire school, the trio walking toward the Academic Affairs Office looked like a silent film. Some students quietly raised their phones to take pictures, while many more whispered:

"Will they get in trouble?"

"But it really was so romantic just now..."

"By the way, that guy isn't from our school, right?"

"Doesn't that make it even more romantic?"

Inside the Academic Affairs Office, the atmosphere suddenly became heavy. The director sat down behind his desk, pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, and scanned Lin Luo with a sharp gaze:

"You are not a student of our academy, are you?"

Lin Luo nodded candidly: "Yes, I'm not..."

"An outsider trespassing on campus and causing such a commotion," the director interrupted him, tapping his fingers on the desk, "according to school rules, I could contact the police to handle this."

At this moment, Mai stepped forward: "Director, I am also responsible for this."

The director turned to her, his tone softening slightly: "Sakurajima-san, you have been away for so long; your primary task now is to catch up with your coursework." He glanced meaningfully out the window. "As for other matters... it would be more appropriate to consider them after graduation."

The director seemed stern, but in reality, he had no intention of digging deeper. He pushed up his glasses and advised earnestly: "It's a good thing for young people to have passion, but for now, you should focus your energy on your studies."

Lin Luo nodded readily: "You are right, we understand." This wasn't just lip service—his original plan only went as far as creating a topic of conversation.

Mai also responded seriously: "Yes. Mr. Lin Luo and I have already agreed that studies are the priority for now."

Seeing their sincere attitudes, the director nodded with satisfaction: "Since that's the case, Sakurajima-san, please escort this student out of the school, and then return to class as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Director."

After walking out of the Academic Affairs Office, Mai finally breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't help but glare at Lin Luo: "That exaggerated confession of yours nearly caused a huge problem."

Lin Luo smiled meaningfully and turned his phone screen toward her—it was displaying the page for the hottest discussion on the school forum.

"But look, the whole school is currently discussing the 'Romantic Confession Between a Mysterious Transfer Student and the School Idol'." He pointed to a few students nearby who were secretly taking photos of them. "The plan is very successful; your sense of presence is recovering."

Only then did Mai notice that the gazes cast around them seemed to have a bit more substantive attention than usual.

"But I don't know what you were thinking," Lin Luo suddenly leaned in, his voice playful, "Why didn't you stick to the script? Could it be... you've taken a liking to me?" He shook his head, feigning distress, "Let's get this straight, I sell my talents, not my body."

Upon hearing this, Mai stopped and turned to face him. Sunlight filtered through the corridor windows, casting tiny, fragmented spots of light on her slightly flushed cheeks.

"There should be a limit to narcissism." She crossed her arms, her chin tilted slightly upward. "I just thought that compared to a rejection, this kind of response would be more memorable—it keeps the topic trending without making you too embarrassed."

She suddenly curled the corners of her lips, revealing a somewhat mischievous smile: "After all, if you were actually rejected in public, wouldn't a certain 'talents-only, no-body' gentleman be too pitiful?"

Lin Luo coughed, choked by her remark, and quickly changed the subject: "Later, I'll prepare some debut materials for you. For now, you'll have to settle for being an internet celebrity to accumulate popularity..."

"That won't be necessary." Mai smiled slightly and elegantly took her phone out of her bag. "I have an acquaintance who is a reporter; I've already contacted her just now." She turned the screen to Lin Luo, showing the chat history. "She was quite excited to hear that I'm making a second debut."

In the chat interface, the other party sent several exclamation marks in a row:

"The exclusive interview for Young Miss Mai's comeback! Please, you must give it to me!"

"Add the details of that romantic confession from just now, and it'll definitely be a front-page headline!"

"See," Mai put away her phone, her eyes and brows carrying just the right amount of confidence, "The two topics, 'Sakurajima Mai's Mysterious Comeback' and 'The School Confession Scene', should be enough to make a splash, right?"

Lin Luo looked at her composed demeanor and couldn't help but laugh: "So you had it planned all along."

"I can't rely on your arrangements forever." She gently tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "After all, I am someone who has stood in the spotlight before."

"I have to go back to class now, Mr. Lin Luo." Mai stopped at the school gate and turned to face Lin Luo. A gentle breeze brushed against her skirt, and sunlight danced on the tips of her hair.

She shook her phone, the screen still showing the chat interface with Uka: "Remember to tell Lady Uka about today's progress."

The two smiled at each other and parted ways in front of the school gate on that spring day. One turned to walk toward the teaching building filled with the sounds of studying, while the other strolled back to the apartment where he lived alone.

The moment Mai pushed open the classroom door, the noisy classroom suddenly fell silent for a moment. Amidst countless gazes filled with curiosity and inquiry, she walked slowly to her seat.

This time, she clearly felt those gazes truly landing on her.

Meanwhile, Lin Luo, who was walking home, was looking down at his phone, sending a message to Uka in the three-person group chat:

"Phase one of the plan is a success."

"Has your Divine Power started to loosen?"

He received a reply almost immediately:

(Game console emoji)

"I was suddenly able to maintain the invisibility effect for an extra half hour just now!"

"Mai-chan is the best!"

Lin Luo looked at the screen and chuckled. It seemed this shut-in goddess was cheering for their progress back at the shrine.

Moonlight poured into the apartment like liquid silver, illuminating the originally quiet living room with a cold, clear light.

Lin Luo was startled out of his meditation by an irresistible force, and before he could react, he was pinned to the carpet in front of the sofa.

He looked up and instantly understood his predicament. Kirisu Mafuyu sat upright in the main seat, her gaze behind gold-rimmed glasses as cold as frost, her slender fingers crossed on her lap, and her whole body exuding an aura colder than the moonlight. Beside her, Yukino Mifuyu lowered her eyelids, her usually gentle eyes veiled in mist, her slender fingertips unconsciously twisting the sleeves of her kimono, revealing a rare sense of resentment.

And Tohru, who had executed all of this, stood to the side with her arms crossed. The pressure unique to the Dragon Clan flowed faintly around her, her golden slit pupils flashing with a dangerous light in the shadows, as if ready to carry out even harsher sanctions at any moment.

"Explain." Kirisu Mafuyu pushed the phone to the center of the coffee table; the screen prominently displayed today's trending headline—【Mysterious Man Confesses in Public: To the Vanished Idol Sakurajima Mai】. "Is this what you called an 'important mission'?"

Yukino Mifuyu added softly, her voice trembling with suppressed emotion: "At a girls' high school... putting on a passionate performance..."

Tohru bared her teeth: "Do you need me to tie him up and interrogate him?"

Facing the questioning gazes of the three, Lin Luo suddenly relaxed his tense shoulders. Instead of making excuses, he calmly sat cross-legged and revealed a helpless smile: "It's not what you imagine."

"Do you remember me saying I had to complete a mission for the Special Affairs Department?" He pointed to the trending news. "This matter is indeed related to the mission."

Under their skeptical gazes, Lin Luo recounted Sakurajima Mai's ordeal: from her wish being granted by Inari Okami Uka leading to her being "forgotten," to that shut-in goddess at the shrine addicted to games, and finally to today's confession on the field, which was actually to gather "Power Of Faith" to break through the Divine Power.

"So," Kirisu Mafuyu pushed up her glasses, "you confessed in public to save a girl affected by a deity's power?"

"Exactly." Lin Luo nodded. "Uka's power requires an equal amount of attention to counteract."

Tohru suddenly leaned close to Lin Luo and sniffed, wrinkling her nose in disgust: "Master really does have the dirty stench of a deity on him! Go take a bath, I don't want to smell this."

Tohru reached out to grab Lin Luo's collar. As a Dragon from the Chaos faction, her instinctive hatred for the aura of deities made her particularly agitated.

"Wait," Kirisu Mafuyu calmly stopped Tohru. "Let's get the facts straight first." She turned to Lin Luo, her gaze as precise as a scalpel. "Even if you needed to increase attention, there are other methods, right? Choosing to confess in public, the most suggestive way..."

Yukino Mifuyu spoke up softly, her fingertips gently twirling a lock of hair: "That Young Miss Mai... she looks quite pretty in the news photos, doesn't she?"

Lin Luo immediately felt three gazes pressing down on him like a physical weight. He coughed and decided to be honest: "Actually... this is the fastest way. The Divine Power of Inari Okami requires an equivalent 'cognitive impact' to counteract. Compared to conventional comeback promotions, a romantic and sensational event can instantly gather a massive amount of attention."

He took out his phone to show the data: "Look, in just three hours, the related topic has already surpassed five million views. If we had used conventional methods, it would have taken at least a week to achieve this effect."

Tohru pouted: "But Master really did say 'like', right? I heard it!"

"That was part of the plan..." Before Lin Luo could finish, his phone suddenly chimed with a special notification. Uka sent a new message: 【Luo-kun! Mai-chan was just recognized at the convenience store! The progress is so fast~ (≧▽≦)】 Attached was a candid photo of Mai being asked for an autograph by fans at the convenience store.

Yukino Mifuyu looked at the photo and said softly: "It seems... the effect is indeed very good."

Kirisu Mafuyu snatched the phone: "And who is this Uka? Don't tell me she is Inari Okami!"

Lin Luo shrugged helplessly: "It is her." He looked at the expressions full of suspicion on the three of them and smiled bitterly inside. How was he supposed to explain that a deity plays with a mobile phone? That's just how it is.