Character Introductions:
Zhong Siji: The sole exception left behind by the world’s upheaval.
Although he was rather glad he hadn’t been changed, he was troubled by how his views clashed with everyone else’s.
Lately, however, he had made some friends, so he felt pretty good about things.
Xu Runhui: At first she had paid attention to Zhong Siji purely because of his looks, but after he helped her a special feeling began to grow.
She harbored a fierce possessiveness toward him that she herself had yet to notice.
Though she looked honest and simple on the surface, she was actually quite the closet pervert and had many fantasies about Zhong Siji.
Yan Yanyan: A girl who hid her true self out of a craving for human relationships.
Although she attracted many admirers, she never felt any joy from it.
Gradually she found herself drawn to Zhong Siji, who stood apart from the crowd and remained true to himself.
After their first meeting on the rooftop, his frankness stirred a favorable feeling in her; she wanted to draw closer to him on a spiritual level and regarded Xu Runhui as nothing more than a shallow, filthy body-obsessed kitchen.
Han Shengdou: She was certain that the reason Zhong Siji had punched her was entirely because of Xu Runhui.
Though she hated to admit it, she knew she was no match for him, so she wanted to find a chance when Zhong Siji wasn’t around and thoroughly beat Xu Runhui up to vent her anger.
Even after staying up all night she was still full of energy as she and her little sister went to scout the place where they had last dragged Xu Runhui.
“So, how’s Classmate Siji’s bento coming along?”
“It’s more or less ready. It’s all in my bag. But Classmate Yan Yan, you’d better not get your hopes up too high.”
“How could I not look forward to it? After all, this is the first time I’ll be eating a bento made by a boy my age.”
“Eh? You’re so popular—hasn’t any boy ever said he made a bento for you to eat?”
Xu Runhui found it a little hard to believe.
“There have been, of course. I just turned them all down. After all, if I ate it and then couldn’t respond to their feelings, it would be awkward. Don’t you think so, Classmate Siji?”
Xu Runhui’s gaze instantly sharpened.
This woman is actually pulling that move?
She refuses other people’s bentos because she’s afraid she can’t return their feelings—doesn’t that mean accepting Classmate Siji’s bento is the same as accepting Classmate Siji’s feelings?
“It’s just eating a bento, isn’t it? You can’t really call it ‘feelings’ or anything. Right, Classmate Siji?”
Xu Runhui, you shallow pervert, you’re an obstacle after all.
How could a female monkey completely controlled by hormones like you possibly understand Classmate Siji’s true charm?
Black-bellied frivolous girl / perverted lecherous girl…… at least have the self-awareness to step back!! The moment their eyes met, fierce sparks flew between them.
At the center of the crossfire, Zhong Siji remained completely unaware of the open and covert struggle between the two.
He merely rubbed his chin and mused, “No, I think what Classmate Yan Yan said makes a lot of sense.”
“Eh?” Xu Runhui turned into a pile of pure white ash on the spot.
Yan Yanyan’s momentum instantly surged.
“Looks like I understand you better after all, Classmate Siji.”
Zhong Siji didn’t pick up on Yan Yanyan’s line. He simply continued on his own.
“Before, I never really understood why people always said a bento contained the feelings of the person who made it.
“But this morning while I was cooking, I finally got it. Will it taste good? Will it suit their appetite? Is the portion enough? Is it too much or too little? Is the nutrition sufficient? What if the person eating it doesn’t like it? How should I improve it next time?”
“So that’s the kind of feeling she’s always had while preparing bentos for me. As her big brother, this is the first time I’ve noticed that emotion.”
Zhong Siji looked down at his palm as it slowly clenched into a fist.
“As a big brother, I still have a lot of shortcomings.”
Although it sounds touching—and it really is touching—that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with what we were talking about! I’ve gained a new understanding of just how much of a sister-con Classmate Siji is.
“So it really is like that.”
“So it really is like that.”
Yan Yanyan and Xu Runhui exchanged a glance and both saw helplessness in the other’s eyes.
“That really does sound just like something Classmate Siji would say.”
“On that point alone, I completely agree.”
“Huh? What do you mean? I don’t get it.”
“It means……”
Yan Yanyan began.
“Classmate Siji is still Classmate Siji after all.” Xu Runhui finished for her.
“Huh? So what does that mean?”
“It means Classmate Siji is Classmate Siji!”
“So what does that even mean in the end?!”
The three of them continued chatting and laughing as they walked toward school under the morning light………. How nice~~ It really feels like youth~~ Don’t you think so?
“Uh…. yeah?”
“Yeah, yeah, it really makes a person envious.”
“Your dad’s head!!”
Bang! Bang! With two fist-to-scalp massages, the two underlings instantly crouched down clutching their heads.
Dad’s, this bird-brain’s temper has gotten worse and worse ever since that man knocked her out with one punch.
We’ve already taken a few beatings in just two days. If it weren’t for the fact that she still spends pretty freely, we wouldn’t even want to stick with her anymore.
Dad’s, we just finished an all-nighter online and now she hits us like this—our heads are ringing nonstop. If you’re so awesome why don’t you go settle the score with that man and wipe away the shame instead of throwing your weight around in front of your own people?
Han Shengdou had no way of knowing the silent complaints of her two underlings.
She was simply reflecting on how lucky she really was.
She hadn’t expected to run into them here during school hours, which meant this was a road they regularly took—at least when going to school.
Sooner or later she would find an opportunity.
But besides the feeling of good fortune, Han Shengdou felt anger—an anger that nearly burned her insides to ash!
Why could those two walk to school chatting and laughing with a boy like that?
Why could they carry infinite hopes for the future and enjoy their three years of high school?
And what about her? Why did she get nothing at all! Han Shengdou touched the face covered in pockmarks and acne scars.
It was this face that had earned her the nickname “Lunar Surface” at Momoi. Once that humiliating name had been stuck on her, she had never been able to shake it off.
Even after she fought and fought and fought at Momoi until she finally became Number Two, the nickname hadn’t disappeared.
Instead, as she grew more and more famous within Momoi, more and more people learned of it.
She hated everything about that school, hated every person there, yet she couldn’t escape.
She had already grown used to everything there; if she left, she wouldn’t know how to survive.
Most of the people at Momoi had nothing worth taking, or rather they were the hard-headed type who would rather take a beating than hand anything over.
That was why she had set her sights on the people of Taogu—those who walked in the sunlight.
Who would have thought the fists she took such pride in would be blocked by a man, and that with just one punch she would suffer a crushing defeat.
Looking at Xu Runhui’s face in the distance, overflowing with happiness and joy, Han Shengdou felt a desire—a feeling—a feeling of wanting to beat her until she looked just like herself!
“There will always be times when they’re not together, right?”