Were they talking about me?
“We were just trying to help her, she’s being so unreasonable.”
“She’s only pretty, what’s with her acting all high and mighty all the time?”
The harsh words of the two girls behind her reached Fujiang’s ears, making her feel uncomfortable. She tried to comfort herself, “It’s alright, it’s alright. They’re just jealous of you, Fujiang. Don’t mind them.”
Fujiang couldn’t stand to stay in the classroom anymore. She turned and walked outside, only to see a few boys pointing at her. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she felt their gazes were not friendly.
A sense of helplessness and fear welled up in her heart again. Just like back then, it felt like everyone was looking at her. The overwhelming sense of unease made her want to escape. And so she did. Fujiang ran to the clubroom alone. She felt incredibly relieved that she had a key. The school bell rang, but Fujiang didn’t return to the classroom. She stared blankly at the building across the street, it… seemed like a monstrous creature that would devour her.
The dismissal bell rang, and Fujiang had been staring at the building for a whole class period. She didn’t know what she was thinking. Her mind was a mess. “Should I distance myself?” she hesitated. She didn’t know if she could go back to the way things were before, but she was afraid of that feeling of being watched.
She saw Lin Ze walking out of the classroom with Hanako and Kayako. Envy… a crazed envy for Kayako. She could feel it. Even though Lin Ze was friends with both of them, he seemed to care for Kayako more, pay more attention to her. She wanted… she wanted someone to care for her like that… She wanted to be like Kayako, who only had one person in her eyes, and didn’t care about anything else.
The boys from earlier also walked out of the classroom. They passed by Lin Ze and his group… Did they… Did they fight? What happened?
“If you have the guts, say it again.” Lin Ze’s face darkened as he grabbed one of the boy’s collars.
“What? Are you going to hit me?” The boy, emboldened by his numbers, glared at Lin Ze.
Hanako nervously went to pull Lin Ze back, while Kayako stared at the boy, trembling with fear. She reached into her bag, her hand clutching a utility knife.
“Hit you? Heh, there’s no need.” Lin Ze suddenly let go of the boy and took two steps back with a smile on his face.
The boy thought Lin Ze was scared and continued to yell, “What? Chicken out? What’s wrong with me insulting you? What’s wrong with insulting her and Fujiang? Did I hit a nerve? You believe me… ”
A hand suddenly slapped onto his shoulder, silencing him. “Who the hell are you… Pr-Principal?”
The Principal, out of breath, placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. He had just witnessed the scene from outside the office and nearly fainted. What if something happened to Lin Ze at school? He had run all the way here.
“Who are you insulting?” He had just arrived and heard the boy continuing to berate Lin Ze. He was about to intervene, but he got insulted as well, his face turned black.
“Pr-Principal… I… I didn’t know it was you.” The terrified boy, like a mouse encountering a cat, could hardly speak.
“Lin Ze, what happened?” The Principal instantly switched to a smiling face as he turned to Lin Ze. The speed of his change in expression left Lin Ze astounded.
“It’s like this, Principal. We were walking along peacefully, and they started insulting me and my friends behind our backs. I couldn’t hold it in and questioned them. But he then threatened to beat me up.” Lin Ze wore a look of great injustice as he reported to the Principal.
“It was you who wanted to hit me… Ouch.”
The boy was just about to retort when he got a kick in the back from the Principal. “Did you insult your classmates behind their backs?”
“… I… I just said a few words.”
“Moral decay! How did the school teach you? How did your parents teach you? Get your parents here! And you!” The Principal’s voice, full of fury, made the few boys tremble with fear.
“Lin Ze, it’s my fault that there are such students in the school. I, as the Principal, and the teachers have not done a good job in educating the students. I will discuss this matter at the meeting later. This kind of behavior is morally corrupt! It would bring shame to the school even if you go out! Go back now, I’ll handle them. Also, give my regards to your sister.”
The Principal’s strange behavior left Kayako and Hanako bewildered. “琴子姐姐? Why is the Principal greeting 琴子姐姐?” Kayako could only recall the kind smile and gentle demeanor of 琴子, but she had never seen 琴子 with such an aura.
“Okay, then I’ll leave it to you, Principal. We’ll be going now.”
The simple commotion made some of the students around realize that Lin Ze was not simple. After all, wasn’t the Principal seemingly flattering him? They subconsciously shut their mouths that had been secretly discussing them. The few boys were even more miserable.
Fujiang didn’t watch the entire scene. She crouched down and leaned against the wall after seeing the first part.
“It’s because they said bad things about Kayako, and Lin Ze heard it… That’s great. Kayako always has someone to protect her, to stand up for her…” Holding her legs, Fujiang gradually replaced Kayako’s face in her mind with her own. Lin Ze stood in front of her, blocking out all negativity.
But when she returned to reality, she was still alone…
A tear rolled down her beautiful face, then cascaded down like a string of broken pearls. But Fujiang, gritting her teeth, refused to let herself cry out loud. She didn’t want anyone to notice her. The shadows concealed her, obscuring her expression and hope.
“Where’s Fujiang? I thought she would come find us.” Lin Ze looked around, a little surprised that Fujiang was not there?
“Fujiang-san might have gone home first?” Kayako also looked around.
“She should have gone home first, but Fujiang-san is a really nice person. She said she’d bring me the newest novel. That one was so hard to get, it sold out as soon as it was released. And hey… she also said she’d do Kayako’s makeup tomorrow. I’m going now. Bye.” Hanako giggled at Kayako’s blushing face and ran off.
“Really? I’ve never seen Kayako with makeup on. I’m so excited. Fujiang-san is really kind.” Lin Ze was genuinely surprised.
Kayako blushed even harder, “I… I don’t want to, but… but Fujiang-san said… said that I’m actually very pretty, so she insisted on trying it out.” Kayako had initially resisted, but she couldn’t resist Fujiang’s allure. She had only agreed because Fujiang had said, “Don’t you want Lin Ze to see how stunning you look after you put on makeup?” So she agreed. She didn’t know how to tell Lin Ze… But Hanako had said it for her, that stinky Hanako!
Kayako apologized to Lin Ze, “So I’m sorry, Lin Ze. I… I won’t go find you tomorrow morning. Fujiang made me come to school early, and you don’t have to wake up so early tomorrow, Lin Ze.” It was as if she had done something wrong.
“Ha? What are you talking about? Kayako made new friends and they made plans to play together. I’m happy for you! Kayako deserves to have her own life. Sometimes, put yourself first. I’ll really be happy about it.” Lin Ze stroked Kayako’s slightly drooping head, as if he were stroking a cat, encouraging her.
Kayako enjoyed Lin Ze’s touch. She thought, “Little Black must like me like I like Lin Ze.”