“Hanako, what was wrong with you the other day?”
During lunch, Kayako finally couldn't help but ask Hanako. Originally, she thought Hanako was just sick, but Hanako's mother seemed very familiar with Lin Ze and was very grateful to him. Lin Ze looked up but didn't answer. After all, Hanako was the victim in this whole thing, so it was up to her whether she wanted to talk about it or not.
“If you don't feel comfortable talking about it, it's fine.” Seeing Hanako hesitate for a long time, Kayako didn't want to make things difficult for her. After all, she was only curious because of Lin Ze.
“Actually, it’s okay to tell Kayako. After all, we are good friends. Actually, last Wednesday night…” Hanako told Kayako about what happened to her. She herself didn’t have much of a reaction, but Kayako was teary-eyed and held her hand.
“I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I… I shouldn't have asked, Hanako. Wuwuwu, thank goodness you're okay. I didn't even know anything had happened to you.”
Seeing Kayako crying softly and getting louder, Hanako actually comforted her. “Alright, alright, stop crying, Kayako. I'm fine, you see?” As they spoke, the two of them hugged and cried softly together.
Seeing the strange looks from people in the class, Lin Ze felt like his reputation was going to be ruined. He felt like any minute now he would hear gossip about how Lin Ze bullied the two girls.
“Alright, you two stop crying. It's all over now. If you keep crying, people will start spreading rumors and I'll be the one crying next.”
The two girls finally lifted their heads. Hearing this, Kayako wiped her tears and sobbed, “Yeah, I… I won't cry anymore.”
It took a long time for the two of them to recover. Hanako suddenly remembered what her mother told her this morning about her fainting. She took out the jade pendant from around her neck. Holding it, Hanako gestured to Lin Ze, “Lin Ze, my mom said I was unconscious for two days and two nights. It was you and a sister named Qin Zi who helped me. I asked my mom why I fainted, and she just said I was scared. But this morning at home she was praying to a doll statue and gave me this jade pendant to carry with me. Do you know what’s going on?”
Lin Ze guessed that Mrs. Hiraki didn't tell her because she was afraid of scaring her. He thought for a moment and said, “You were just scared. You know about ‘lost soul syndrome’? It’s when your brain receives a strong stimulus and you fall into a coma or fake death. Doctors usually can't find the reason for this. Qin Zi sister researches this, so she happened to have the right medicine for your condition. As for the statue and jade pendant, it's just for protection. Anyway, it doesn't hurt to wear it. It’s just your mom’s way of showing her concern. She just wants you to be safe and sound.”
Of course, all of this was made up by Lin Ze. But since Mrs. Hiraki didn't say anything, he just continued to help her out.
“Yeah, I didn't say I wasn't going to wear it. I just found it strange because my mom has always disliked these kinds of things. And I don't know why, but I feel very close to the statue and this jade pendant.”
“A mother’s love is boundless. Your mom must have been worried sick because you fainted, and she tried everything. As for feeling close... it’s probably an illusion.” Lin Ze laughed and gave a forced chuckle. He took the jade pendant from Hanako and pretended to look at it for a moment.
“Your laugh is so ugly.”
Gui Hua Zi’s voice suddenly sounded in his mind. Lin Ze couldn’t speak, so he could only try to retort in his head. But it was no use. Gui Hua Zi couldn’t hear him. At this moment, she was still criticizing Lin Ze in her own mind.
Lin Ze was getting a headache listening to her, so he quickly returned the jade pendant to Hanako. The world finally became peaceful.
“Kayako, Hanako, are there any clubs you want to join?” Lin Ze had been thinking about getting Kayako to join a club. That way, she could meet more people and make more friends.
“I don't know. What club do you want to join, Lin Ze?” Kayako decided to follow Lin Ze’s lead.
“I’m still thinking…”
“Lin Ze, I'm interrupting your lunch, but someone from my office wants to see you.” The principal suddenly appeared and interrupted their discussion.
“Who is it? Is everything alright, Lin Ze?” Last time it was Ms. Xiao Chun, the homeroom teacher. Now it was the principal directly. Hanako just said that Lin Ze had spoken to the school about her incident. Would Lin Ze be targeted and get into trouble with the principal?
“It should be fine. I think it might be Qin Zi sister? I don’t know. I’ll go take a look and I’ll know.” Lin Ze wanted to repack his lunch box and eat it when he came back.
“Maybe it is Qin Zi sister? Then you go quickly, Lin Ze. I’ll help you clean up. Don’t let Qin Zi sister wait too long.” Kayako really liked Qin Zi.
When Hanako heard it was the sister who had helped her, she wanted to follow and thank her, but Lin Ze stopped her. “We don’t even know who it is yet. You stay here and keep Kayako company. Anyway, there will be plenty of chances to thank her later. You two finish your meal properly.”
On the way to the principal’s office, Lin Ze curiously looked up at the sun in the sky and then at the principal’s sweat-drenched head, and couldn’t help but wonder, “Principal, it’s not hot today. Why are you sweating so much?”
“Ah haha… this… you know, middle-aged people are like this. I get tired after walking a couple of steps. The person looking for you says she is your sister.” The principal gave a somewhat forced smile. The whole person seemed rather nervous.
He was just drinking tea in his office when a powerful woman suddenly barged in, followed by several men in suits. They came up to him and handed him a badge. Good heavens, it was from a special department and it was the highest level badge. He was so scared his legs went weak.
Was he being investigated for accepting bribes? But it shouldn’t be someone of such a high level who came looking for him. This was like using a bull to kill a chicken. Or maybe it was because of Hanako’s incident? He had seen Hanako’s file. There was nothing special about her.
“I’m Lin Ze’s sister, Biji Qin Zi. I came here to talk about him.” Just as the principal was brainstorming, Qin Zi spoke. “Lin Ze has been hired by our department as a special talent. But he is still a student, so the school needs to give him a break. If we need to find him, he needs to be able to leave at any time.”
Lin Ze’s sister? Special talent? Good, good. She wasn’t here to investigate him. His only interactions with Lin Ze were that one time. He never dreamed that Lin Ze had such an amazing sister. Last time he said he knew the police captain. That was nothing compared to this! “Is that right? For Lin Ze to be hired as a special talent, it must be because he is exceptionally outstanding. Our school is also deeply honored. Don’t worry, don’t worry. We will definitely cooperate. Alright, I will tell Lin Ze’s homeroom teacher about this later, and I’ll give Lin Ze a pass. This way, if he has something to do, he doesn’t have to say anything and can just leave anytime.”
Qin Zi looked at the principal who was so nervous and eager to please that sweat was forming on his forehead, but she gave him no good countenance. She had checked him out when she came. This principal wasn’t clean. He accepted bribes, hooked up with subordinates and parents of students, and even brought Da Tong into the Hanako incident last time. Usually, she didn’t bother to deal with such people, and she couldn’t deal with them anyway.
But now that she had come forward because of Lin Ze, then someone needed to be replaced. There were still the two of them in the school, so there couldn’t be any mistakes.
Back to the present, the principal still didn’t know that he would soon be getting a pair of new bracelets. He was thinking about how to flatter Lin Ze. His gaze even seemed a little resentful, “You should have told me you had this background. I would have treated you like a young master.”