The bully got his wrist gently grabbed by a good Samaritan and was in so much pain he had to go to the nurse’s office.
If that guy knew the truth, he’d probably question his life.
No, he was already questioning his life.
Rinna remembered the expression on that guy’s face after Hisaki pulled him away—shocked, wronged, confused. His lips moved, like he wanted to explain but didn’t know what to explain. Pitiful.
‘Sorry,’ she said in her heart.
Dude, you’re really a good person, but your “good Samaritan act” was aimed at the wrong target.
Kikyo should be fine. That girl’s acting is so good—the way she knelt on the ground trembling made even Rinna almost think it was real.
Her knees probably hurt a little; she’d just treat her to a nice meal later. Good thing Kikyo likes this kind of “fun stuff.”
If she had found a real accomplice with a bad temper, and that person got pissed off by the “Oh hoh hoh hoh” and slapped her…
Rinna’s whole body shuddered.
With her physique of 3, she was like a cardboard body. One slap could send her straight to the ICU.
Then a prompt popped up on the system panel:
[Physique: 3→2 (Concussion)]
[Warning: Host vital signs declining]
Just thinking about it was scary.
A pair of warm hands gently covered her wrist, which had been painted with iodine.
Rinna came back to her senses and turned her head.
Hisaki had sat down beside her at some point. She hadn’t sat on the chair, but directly on the edge of the hospital bed, sideways, carefully holding Rinna’s wrist with one hand while the thumb of her other hand made small circles on it.
Teacher Kiryu said not to rub it, but Hisaki stubbornly kept rubbing, just moving extremely gently.
Her black hair fell from her shoulders, and sunlight leaking through the curtain crack fell in fragments on her profile, illuminating her slightly furrowed brows.
Her lips were tightly pressed, the corners of her mouth turned down in a small arc.
Hisaki was in a very bad mood.
Rinna could see it.
When this girl was in a bad mood, she wouldn’t get angry, wouldn’t throw things, wouldn’t say harsh words.
She would become very quiet, quiet like a pool of stagnant water, and then in that quietness brew extreme thoughts that sent chills down people’s spines.
“I didn’t protect you, Rinna. You got hurt.”
Hisaki spoke, her voice very light, as if talking to herself.
“Xiao Xiao, don’t…”
“What’s that guy’s name?”
Hisaki’s tone was flat. As she spoke, she continued gently rubbing Rinna’s wrist, her thumb’s motion uninterrupted, the rhythm unchanged, gentle enough to be completely at odds with her words.
“I’ll have my family expel him.”
Rinna knew it. Hisaki Heilai. Her good friend, and also her… how to put it? Best friend? That word didn’t seem enough. In Rinna’s mind, she was a “legendary best friend”… right or wrong, always on her side.
This wasn’t just a best friend; this was a loyal dog. And the kind of loyal dog with maxed-out combat power and a terrifyingly strong background.
Hisaki had been training in martial arts with her family since she was little. She was pretty and well-proportioned, but when she fought, three or five adults weren’t enough to take her down.
Rinna had clearly seen it when she pulled that guy away—she hadn’t even used any strength, just a casual yank.
The guy’s hand had already gone numb from the grip. If she’d actually used force, that guy’s wrist would be in a cast now.
And Hisaki’s family background wasn’t simple either. The Heilai family was one of the major shareholders on the school board.
They had been running businesses in this city for generations, with networks spreading everywhere. Expelling a student was really just a phone call away for Hisaki.
Of course, Rinna couldn’t let that happen. That guy hadn’t done anything wrong. He had just seen someone “bullying” others and stepped up. Someone like that should be praised, not expelled.
“No, no, no, no.”
Rinna said four “no’s” in a row, then sighed. She raised her hand that wasn’t being rubbed, reached forward, and wrapped it around Hisaki’s shoulder. Then she pulled her into a hug.
Hisaki’s body stiffened for a moment.
Then, as if a switch had been pressed, her tense shoulders gradually relaxed. Her black hair brushed against Rinna’s chin, carrying a faint shampoo scent—gardenia.
“…Rinna.”
Hisaki’s voice was muffled against Rinna’s shoulder, sounding dull, like a cat that had finally sheathed its claws after being petted.
Rinna gently patted her back.
The person in her arms completely quieted down.
Rinna let out a long sigh of relief in her heart.
Hisaki was great in every way, but her personality was too extreme.
So extreme that sometimes Rinna felt she wasn’t dealing with a girl her age, but taking care of a high-explosive bomb that could go off at any moment. This bomb had only one fuse: Rinna herself.
As long as Rinna was fine, the bomb stayed quiet and docile like a ragdoll cat.
But the moment Rinna suffered the slightest harm, the bomb would immediately start its countdown to detonation.
Sometimes Rinna wondered why.
Later, she slowly pieced together some reasons.
Hisaki hadn’t had any friends since elementary school. Not because of a bad personality, but because she was… too much. She was too extreme in the way she treated people well, like a fire that burned too brightly, scorching anyone who came close.
If a classmate lent her a pen, she would return a whole box the next day. If someone picked up her dropped eraser, she would treat them to lunch for a whole week.
This kind of “goodness” was too heavy, too heavy for ordinary people to bear, and they didn’t know how to respond. Over time, everyone avoided her.
Only Rinna—or more accurately, the original Rinna in this body—had grown up with her.
***
On the first day they moved in as neighbors, little Rinna knocked on little Hisaki’s door, holding a piece of strawberry cake, saying, “My mom made it, I’ll share half with you.”
From that day on, Hisaki’s world only had Rinna.
For Hisaki, Rinna wasn’t “best friend.”
Rinna was everything she had—the one thing she could never lose.
She wouldn’t allow anyone to make Rinna uncomfortable, wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt Rinna, wouldn’t allow anyone to take Rinna away from her.
Including the world itself.
Rinna sometimes felt this affection was a little scary, but more than that, she felt pity.
Hisaki didn’t become this extreme on purpose.
She just… didn’t know any other way to keep someone by her side besides “giving everything.”
Fortunately, she was easy to calm down.
A hug, a single “I’m okay,” could pull her emotions back from the edge.
Rinna released the hug, and Hisaki lifted her head from her shoulder.
Her black hair was a little messy from the embrace, a few strands sticking to her cheek. Her eyes were slightly red—not obvious, but Rinna noticed.
“Really, I’m okay, Xiao Xiao.” Rinna waved her iodine-painted wrist in front of her. “See, it’s not even red anymore.”
Hisaki didn’t say anything. She reached out, gently grasped the waving wrist, and placed it back on the bed.
“Don’t move, the medicine isn’t dry yet.”
Rinna obediently stayed still.
The nurse’s office was quiet for a while. The cicadas outside were still chirping on the playground. The shadow of the big banyan tree swayed slowly on the curtains.
From somewhere in the distance, a teacher’s voice came from a classroom, muffled by the windows, the content indistinguishable, leaving only the rise and fall of intonation like some kind of background music.
Rinna leaned against the pillow and turned her head to look through the gap in the curtains.
The lawn on the field was yellowed by the June sun. A group of students in gym clothes were doing warm-up exercises by the track, their shadows stretched long.
“Xiao Xiao.”
“Mm.”
“Say, why do people have to go to school?”
Hisaki thought seriously for a moment, then answered seriously, “Because you’re here.”
Rinna was stunned for a second, then couldn’t help laughing.
“That answer is just cheating.”