“Is this really Kayako?” Lin Ze exclaimed in amazement.
“I was surprised too,” Hua Zi said, eyes wide with admiration, looking at Kayako.
Kayako usually wore her hair loose, and although she no longer frequently bent over and lowered her head due to Lin Ze’s influence, she always habitually let her hair fall slightly forward. Her pale skin made her look somewhat sickly.
But after being made up by Fu Jiang, her pale pink cheeks made her look healthy and cute. Two strands of hair from either side were braided by Fu Jiang into pigtails, tied together at the back, with the straight hair inside wrapped around them, revealing Kayako's signature beautiful face. The pink lipstick matched her cool white skin... Wow, Fu Jiang really has a knack for this.
Lin Ze gave Kayako a thumbs up, “Super pretty, Kayako. Show those guys in class what true beauty is today!”
“N-no... maybe not,” Kayako replied.
Lin Ze’s praise made her a little excited. Though she felt a little awkward, getting praised by Lin Ze made it all worthwhile. She really had to thank Fu Jiang.
But she still wasn't comfortable letting others see her like this. She felt it was too shameful. Lin Ze seeing her was enough.
“No what no? I spent so long putting makeup on you, at least let it stay on your face for a while!” Fu Jiang tapped Kayako’s head, her eyes unconsciously looking at Lin Ze. Praise me, praise me. The meaning in her eyes was practically jumping out to smack Lin Ze in the face.
“Fu Jiang is right, at least keep it up for today. Let me admire it a bit longer,” Lin Ze said.
“I agree!” Hua Zi chimed in.
Three against one, Kayako’s idea was crushed.
Lin Ze didn’t mind praising Fu Jiang. He winked at her and said, “Fu Jiang, you’ve got a knack for this. You truly deserve to be the school flower.”
“Hmph, you should know who I am.” Fu Jiang's words were smug. Her smile couldn't help but rise.
“You’re getting cocky. You guys arrived so early, you didn’t eat breakfast, did you? I brought breakfast for you. Eat up,” Lin Ze rolled his eyes at Fu Jiang, opened the bag in his hand, and set out breakfast for the three girls.
“Thank you,” X2. Hua Zi and Kayako thanked Lin Ze before starting to eat.
“What about mine?” Fu Jiang asked, surprised.
“? Aren’t you a spirit? You don’t need to eat!” Lin Ze handed her chopsticks with a tone of annoyance.
“Can’t you talk properly! Fine, I won’t hold it against you since you brought me breakfast.” Fu Jiang rolled her eyes at Lin Ze and happily ate her breakfast.
Hua Zi giggled, watching the two bicker.
Kayako gently poked Lin Ze. This surprised him, “Is she reminding me not to talk like that?”
Lin Ze looked back and forth between Kayako and Fu Jiang, confused about what had happened in just a short time. But Lin Ze was happy to see this scene. He winked at Kayako, who then lowered her head to continue eating.
As they walked towards the classroom together, Fu Jiang slowed down and her expression gradually darkened. Thinking about being alone in that classroom later, Fu Jiang felt a little scared. She was afraid of hearing whispers again, afraid of seeing scrutinizing gazes.
“Fu Jiang, what’s wrong?” Hua Zi walked backwards at the front of the group, chatting with the others. She noticed Fu Jiang's unusual behavior.
Facing the group's concerned gaze, Fu Jiang forced a smile, “Nothing.”
“You encountered some jerks yesterday, they must be from your class, right? Did you hear something?” Lin Ze knew what she was afraid of, but Fu Jiang only considered the incident from yesterday as a dream. That’s why Lin Ze intentionally asked this way. It was better if they didn’t know.
Fu Jiang's silence was the best answer.
Hua Zi and Kayako turned to Lin Ze. When they didn’t have a better way to handle the situation, they instinctively wanted to rely on Lin Ze.
“Okay, it’s not a big deal. I’ll walk you back to the classroom. It’ll be fine,” Lin Ze took Fu Jiang's backpack and handed his own to Kayako, “You two go to the classroom first. Don’t worry, I’m here.”
Fu Jiang stared痴痴地 at Lin Ze’s back, until Lin Ze turned and shouted at her, “What are you doing? Come on!”
“Coming,” Fu Jiang’s steps quickened. She caught up with Lin Ze in a few strides. It was nice to have someone protect you without needing you to be capable, she thought.
“Where do you sit?” From entering the classroom, Fu Jiang had been following behind Lin Ze, not daring to look up. She pointed to her seat. Lin Ze led her over.
After Fu Jiang sat down, Lin Ze placed his backpack on her desk and turned to look around. There was one empty seat in the class, which should be the guy who bullied him yesterday. The others saw Lin Ze and wished they could bury their heads in their desks. As for the rest of the class, they looked away, not daring to make eye contact with Lin Ze.
“It’s okay, don’t be afraid of anything. Cheer up, maybe something good will happen today? I’ll go now, see you later.”
“What good things could happen… see you later… we still have fifty minutes before class is over.” Hearing Lin Ze’s footsteps leave, Fu Jiang felt a little empty inside.
She braced herself for being gossiped about, but the classroom was eerily quiet. Mustering her courage, Fu Jiang raised her head, trying to maintain her usual arrogant appearance.
“Huh?” She didn’t receive the expected stares. In fact, when Fu Jiang actively looked at others, they would avoid her gaze. What was going on? They were… afraid? Afraid of what? Lin Ze?
Fu Jiang didn’t know, but everyone in the class had heard from the others yesterday. The classmate who had bullied Lin Ze and them had been expelled. Also, the principal’s attitude towards Lin Ze yesterday had been surprisingly good. It seemed to be because of Lin Ze’s sister, so his background must be very impressive. It was best not to provoke him easily, otherwise, would the next one to be expelled be themselves?
Sakura is like that, they fear the strong and lick the boots of the strong, whether in the workplace or in school.
The homeroom teacher entered the classroom and looked at Fu Jiang with a complicated expression. At the same time, the same situation happened in Lin Ze’s class. Teacher Chun Xiao also looked at Lin Ze with a complicated expression.
“We are going to have a class meeting today. There have been some negative incidents happening in the school recently. As students, you should be united and friendly, not cursing your classmates behind their backs. The school will take a zero-tolerance policy towards bullying classmates and students with unhealthy worldviews!”
Teacher Chun Xiao really wanted to talk to Lin Ze and find out what was going on. This morning, the principal held an emergency meeting for all teachers, telling them what happened yesterday after school. To her surprise, the principal was very furious about the incident. He hadn’t reacted this way when similar incidents had occurred in the past. And the incident with the club last time, both key factors in these incidents were Lin Ze!
The student from yesterday was used as an example to be publicly expelled, and those who heard about it at school all developed deep suspicions towards Lin Ze. But no matter how they guessed, no one dared to speak up.
“Alright, start studying.” Teacher Xiao Chun walked to Lin Ze’s side, patted him on the shoulder, and motioned for him to go out with her, leaving everyone in the classroom silent.
Kobayashi Junsuke looked at Lin Ze’s back in a daze, “Brother, how come I didn’t know you were this awesome?”