She knew she had to go out. Because of Lin Ze, today, Kayako, compared to before, had revealed her features. She had forced herself to not bow her head and hunch her back. Although to others, her overall demeanor still seemed somewhat gloomy, facing Lin Ze, her expressions and aura had become quite rich.
The socks Lin Ze gave me, this time after wearing them, I will treasure them for life. It felt like Lin Ze was holding my feet...
The sound of the door opening interrupted her thoughts. After walking out of the door with Lin Ze, Lin Ze sighed in relief, "Good thing there wasn't..."
"Huh? Early, Xiao Ze, who is this?"
"...Hello, Grandma Kobayashi, this is my friend, Kawaguchi Kayako. She's also a classmate of Junsuke and me. Because she couldn't get into her house last night, and it was raining, she stayed at our place for the night."
A little girl staying at a boy's house? Kids these days are so bold, "Oh, I see. Then I'll go call Junsuke to go to school with you."
Looking at Grandma Kobayashi who clearly had misunderstood, Lin Ze had no way to explain. If he told the truth, no one would believe him. But seeing Kayako hiding behind him, timid but with a hint of little joy... Forget it, let the misunderstanding be.
Kobayashi Junsuke walked out of his house with a heavy heart. Just now, Grandma said that Lin Ze was with a beautiful fair-skinned girl? Really? Clearly yesterday, the guy said he didn't have anyone he liked. Last night, he said he was going out to buy something and going alone. What happened? Did you get a girlfriend overnight? We're brothers, you play mind games with me?
As expected, as soon as he went out, he saw a girl standing behind Lin Ze... Wait, seems familiar? It's... the strange and solitary Kawaguchi Kayako from our class?
"Lin Ze, Kawaguchi-san? What's going on with you two?"
"I ran into her at the convenience store last night. Kayako lost her house key, and her parents weren't home, and it was raining. I talked to her parents on the phone and she stayed at my house for the night."
Lin Ze quickly explained, then pulled her aside, whispering, "Kayako has severe social anxiety, so she acts that way at school. You, you little guy, don't say anything strange."
"Kayako? You call her so intimately. But I didn't expect Kawaguchi-san to have social anxiety. Everyone in the class thinks she's strange and aloof, and she gives off a depressing vibe, so they don't want to interact with her. It seems like Kawaguchi-san is pretty pitiful."
Looking at the two whispering to each other, Kayako was nervous and curious. Is Lin Ze afraid of being misunderstood by classmates... Sure enough, I'm not worthy of being by his side.
"Kawaguchi-san, Lin Ze and I are close friends. We'll all be friends from now on."
Is he helping me make friends? I'm really a dark, twisted creature...
"You... hello, Kobayashi-san."
"Alright, alright, let's go. Let's go to school."
Lin Ze walked in the middle, with Kobayashi Junsuke on his left, still talking nonstop. On his right, Kayako, lagging behind half a step, quietly listened to the conversation, her gaze fixed on Lin Ze.
Noticing this, Kobayashi Junsuke nudged Lin Ze with his mouth and mouthed, "You still say you two have nothing going on? Look! I didn't expect you to sneak around!"
"She's very sensitive, don't talk nonsense in front of her!"
"Got it, got it." The two ended their lip-sync. Kobayashi Junsuke suddenly turned to Kayako, "What do you think, Kawaguchi-san? Lin Ze is so handsome, but he doesn't date anyone. It's such a waste."
"Ah? Ah... I think... it's fine to not date." If the object is me, then it's fine. If it's with someone else... Just imagine Lin Ze being kind to her in the future and being cold and distant towards me. Her heart would hurt so much. In that instant, her gloomy aura intensified.
"Don't go around making death wishes, Kobayashi Junsuke!!!" Lin Ze sensed the coldness coming from beside him and internally screamed in agony.
Fortunately, Kobayashi Junsuke's next words broke the strange atmosphere. "I've been friends with this guy for so long, and I've never seen him bring a girl home. Kayako, you're the first."
In an instant, the gloomy aura dissipated. Kayako blushed and stammered, "Lin... Lin Ze-san is just... being kind to me... Lin Ze-san has a kind heart. He's... a good person."
Seeing the shy Kayako, Kobayashi Junsuke took a deep breath. So Kawaguchi-san is so cute? You bastard, Lin Ze!
Lin Ze, while relieved, felt strange. Was this... a friend zone rejection? He glared at Kobayashi Junsuke with annoyance. "Go chase after your Midori-san first before you talk about me."
"Does Kobayashi-san like Midori-san?" Kayako was curious when she heard this. After receiving Lin Ze's affirmative reply, she said to Kobayashi Junsuke, "Go... go for it, Kobayashi-san." Kobayashi-san is a good person. He'll definitely be able to win over his love.
Lin Ze looked at Kobayashi Junsuke, who was speechless after his words, even though he knew he and Midori would be together in the future. But this is a blessing from the great ancestor Kayako, you little guy, be grateful.
The three of them reached the school gate and saw a large group of people, seemingly surrounding someone, heading towards Class 1. "What are they doing?" Lin Ze asked Kobayashi Junsuke.
Kobayashi Junsuke nodded in realization, "It's Kawakami-san that I told you about. This kind of commotion. I heard that she has many friends and admirers. That must be her."
"It's so nice." Kayako suddenly said with longing. She didn't want to be liked by so many people, but she, who stood in the shadows, also wanted to be like her, to stand under the sun and be liked by everyone. She glanced at Lin Ze, someone as perfect as Lin Ze-san... his other half should be someone equally excellent to be a match.
"None of our business, let's go back to the classroom." But Lin Ze seemed indifferent to it. Who wouldn't be indifferent to other things when they had such a terrifying presence beside them? Especially something as mundane as the pursuit of love between boring college students.
As soon as the three of them entered the classroom, countless eyes fell on them.
"Why are they with her?"
"Disgusting, that woman with a strange and antisocial personality. What tricks did she use to hook those two?"
Whispers came from all directions. Kayako was used to it, but Kobayashi Junsuke, who knew about her personality, couldn't help but speak up. He was about to speak, but Lin Ze pulled him back, shaking his head.
Of course, he felt heartache and anger, but he knew that just arguing with them would only make things worse. He walked with Kayako back to her seat, "After school today, call again using my phone to see if you can get into your house tonight."
"Mm-hmm." Kayako didn't care about what others thought, she only cared about what Lin Ze thought. And Lin Ze, not influenced by their words, was still thinking of her. It made her very happy.
Lin Ze returned to his seat, and the students' whispers ceased until the teacher entered the classroom.
Hanako retracted her curious gaze, "Did you hear that, Hanako? Go buy it for me after school today. If you can't, you're finished!" A vicious voice reached her ears. She felt helpless against the demands of the girl next to her and could only remain silent.
"Is there anyone... who can save me..."