That wasn't good.I must've said something wrong.
Judging by the way Gong CaiCai's expression suddenly shifted, whatever I said earlier must've given her a completely terrible misunderstanding.
I thought I sounded friendly and approachable, but given my infamous reputation, there's no way Gong CaiCai would interpret anything coming out of my mouth as "friendly."
Only now did I realize—aside from occasionally covering for the class reps when collecting homework—this was the first time I had ever spoken to Gong CaiCai directly.
I'd heard plenty of guys whisper about her behind her back, but I'd never really looked at her closely myself.
Today she wasn't wearing the school-issued uniform shirt. Instead, she had on a white chiffon blouse with a little floral ornament tied around the collar.Every petal trembled with every tiny movement she made.
According to Eunuch Cao's "28th Middle School Beauty X-Files", Gong CaiCai was supposedly one-sixteenth ethnic minority, which is why her hair had a naturally soft curl to it.
The hair near her left ear was pinned back with a simple shell hair clip—probably to keep her curls from falling into her eyes while she studied.
Behind those wavy curls, her big contact-lensed eyes stared helplessly at her checkered exercise book, as if the book were some kind of life-saving Bodhisattva who could rescue her from mortal danger.
Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine.A murderous aura stabbed right into me.
I looked up—and, of course—the class leader had woken up.
Still groggy, she shot me an accusatory glare. Her number-one loyal dog—glasses bro—pointed at me with a pen while explaining the situation to her in hushed urgency.
This was bad. The loyal dog bro loved ripping things out of context. He was definitely distorting everything I'd said to Gong CaiCai.
I instinctively wanted to run.
But after only a few muttered words from him, the class leader shot up from her seat, seething with fury.
A loud THUD echoed through the quiet classroom as she slammed her desk.
Taking three steps in two, she charged straight toward the platform like she intended to murder me.
"Haruya! What filthy nonsense are you saying to the study committee member?!"
Her eyes weren't fully open yet because she had just woken up, but the combination of her half-sleepwalking state and her teeth-grinding rage was honestly more terrifying than her normal mode.
I'd heard some girls get irritable right after waking up.
Judging from her appearance, she was clearly venting her anger at being disturbed from her precious sleep.
Shouldn't you be yelling at the loyal dog bro? He was the one who woke you up! Why am I the one you're trying to execute?! Don't stare at me like that — it's stressful!
"CaiCai, don't be scared. What did Haruya say to you?"
Since I didn't answer immediately, the class leader went straight to interrogating her witness first.
With the class leader backing her up, Gong CaiCai mustered a bit of courage.
"C-Class leader… Haruya told me… he wanted to give me money…"
"Give you money? For what?"
"Well… it sounded like… he wanted me to use my hands to help him…"
The moment she said that, she flushed bright red, lowered her head, and quickly continued copying her notes for emotional stability.
Hey! You study committee member—don't stop halfway! I didn't want your hands, I wanted your writing! Aren't you one-sixteenth ethnic minority? Where's that legendary heroic straightforwardness your ancestors passed down?!
I raised a hand to stop the class leader from charging at me.
"Class leader, don't come any closer! Let me explain!"
She must've stood up too fast earlier, because she looked a little lightheaded—one hand pressed on the lectern while she waited for her vision to clear.
Once she'd steadied herself, she gave me a half-sidelong glare, tilting her head back in a way that clearly meant:You get three seconds. No more.
I swallowed.
"There's nothing going on between me and the study committee member!"
Her expression: No kidding.
"Well… I just wanted to ask if she wanted to earn some extra money…"
CaiCai hadn't cried earlier, but hearing us argue about her openly in front of the entire class must've embarrassed her past her limit.
Because suddenly—
"Waaaaaahhhhhhhh—!"
Oh great. Another study committee member who cries at the drop of a hat! And she cries even LOUDER than the first-year one! Even her crying sounds slightly ethnic! Seriously—where did the classroom discipline go?!
Crap—The class leader was glaring at me like she was about to pull out a blade.If any street thug glared at me like that, it would mean a fight to the death.
Supporting herself against the blackboard, she stepped toward me.
What?! You still haven't recovered from low blood pressure and you already want to kill me?! Even when you're not feeling well?!
I instinctively stepped back—and nearly fell off the platform.
Whoosh—
Something white flew past my face.
I barely dodged it. The object slammed into the window behind me and almost shattered the glass.
A blackboard eraser.
So that "supporting herself" earlier wasn't dizziness—she was grabbing a weapon!Do you have no respect for teaching equipment?! Or the classroom windows you keep so meticulously clean?!
I touched my eye and felt wetness.
Damn. Blood.Even the gang of hoodlums yesterday didn't make me bleed. Yet here I am, bleeding because of YOU?!
ShuSha, you're terrifying right after waking up!
No one had ever seen the class leader this violent. The whole class sat frozen in stunned silence.
I couldn't see Xiao Qin's expression from where I stood, but loyal dog bro shot up from his seat as if he were ready to help her attack me.
Apparently, one thrown eraser wasn't enough for the class leader. She stepped forward to grab the other one.
I couldn't let her reload ammunition.No way.
I darted forward and slapped my hand down on the eraser.
Too late—her hand landed at the same time.
I ended up pinning her hand against the eraser.
I once heard in a movie that snipers treasure their trigger fingers above all else.
I didn't notice anything special about her fingers, but the back of her hand was unbelievably smooth, like it had just been soaked in milk.
"Let go of my hand!"
She was completely enraged.
But if I let go, she'd throw the eraser again! She'd already made me bleed with the first shot—who knew where the second would land?!
Nope. I was holding on.
I wasn't the strongest guy in the school, but I had no problem overpowering a girl like her. She tried a few times to break free but couldn't.
Breathing hard, she finally stopped struggling, her chest rising and falling.
The classroom suddenly felt unbearably quiet.
Even without seeing Xiao Qin, I could feel her murderous aura drifting toward me.
But survival came first.
"Hey, class leader, listen to me for a sec—"
Something black flashed across my vision.
Whenever the class leader moved fast, her long hair always whipped across my line of sight.
Instead of trying to grab the eraser again, she lunged forward—
—and KICKED me in the stomach.
DAMN IT! Any lower and she would've ended my bloodline permanently!
I was already standing on the edge of the platform. With that kick, I lost my balance completely.
I was still holding her hand—if I wanted to drag her down with me, I could've easily done it. We would've rolled off together.
But then she would've fallen right into my arms—in front of the entire class.Especially in front of Xiao Qin.
Absolutely not.
So I let go of her hand like a saint.
And fell off the cliff alone.
My tailbone throbbed with pain.
Holding onto the wooden floor, I pushed myself upright and stared up at the furious class leader.
She opened her mouth several times, wanting to say something, but stopping every time.
Finally, she pointed at my nose and declared:
"Haruya, don't even think about having ideas about Gong CaiCai! She's the daughter of a wealthy family—she doesn't need your dirty money!"
I felt completely wronged.
"Class leader, aren't you guys being ridiculous? I really—I'm seriously going to be angered to death by you! Also, it wasn't a small amount— I meant a thousand dollars each time!"
The moment I said it, I knew I was screwed.
The contempt and hatred in her eyes hit maximum capacity.She grabbed the big triangular ruler on the desk like she meant to stab me with it.
Loud Mouth and the loyal dog bro immediately restrained her.
"Class leader, calm down! Everyone's watching!"
"Yeah, class leader—save it for somewhere private!"
But she didn't calm down—she fought even harder.
"Don't stop me! Let me kill him! For the honor of our class!"
Whoosh—
The triangular ruler spun toward me like a shuriken.
Thankfully, I was ready for it and clapped my hands together midair, catching the projectile between them.
It stopped only six centimeters from my eyes.
Six.Centimeters.
Do you REALLY want me dead that badly?!
Loud Mouth and loyal dog bro dragged her toward the hallway as she continued screaming:
"Haruya! You bastard! I didn't expect you to already be this shameless!"
"Go die! You might as well get beaten to death on the street!"
"Just wait! When I become a detective, the FIRST person I arrest will be YOU!"
"—And I'll personally execute you!!"
Seeing that she absolutely wasn't calming down, the two dragged her out of the room while she kept cursing me to death.
Finally… I could breathe again.
What the hell—her dream is to become a detective?! Don't tell me things like that! It's already bad enough knowing she has a shotgun at home!
I'm exhausted… and this was only the first period of the day.
Xiao Qin looked like she wanted to say something to me.
Nope. I'm out.I'm running away and I'm not coming back until second period.