"Alright, we're going in to meet the principal of Sobu High School... By the way, where's Sakayanagi? Why did she disappear?"
When the homeroom teacher in the suit looked back at the Class A students, he suddenly noticed that a certain student who had been at the back was gone.
"That's strange, she was just there a moment ago."
"Teacher, perhaps Sakayanagi-san's legs were bothering her, so she went to sit down and rest somewhere first..."
"Teacher, then let us go ahead."
The tall, bald student among them spoke to the teacher.
"Never mind, I'll call her later to ask where she is. Let's go."
The homeroom teacher seemed very partial to that student and said nothing more. The group walked toward the school building to discuss the exchange activities between the two schools.
On a warm evening, a girl with short silver hair wearing a uniform from another school was dozing on a wooden bench under a tree. She seemed to have difficulty walking, as a cane was placed beside her. However, her beautiful features, smooth and delicate face, soft hair, and the beret on her head made the boys behind the distant wire fence flush red, unsure which school she was from.
"What a boring school..."
After sleeping for a while, she slowly opened her eyes, watched the behavior of the students around the school for a moment, and thought silently.
In her eyes, most of the students at this school, which was already hailed as the best in Chiba Prefecture, were just mediocre.
To be honest, there were only a few students she was interested in coming to see, but now she didn't even feel that bit of interest... Just as she planned to sit there and wait for the teacher and Classmates to finish the negotiations before going home to rest, she suddenly saw the back of a boy on the other side, squatting in the bushes doing something unknown.
Unlike the other boys, he seemed to be holding a drawing board, hiding behind the bushes drawing something. He looked sneaky while drawing, which piqued her curiosity... That person was Chen Yao. He was currently wearing a baseball uniform, working overtime to draw manga while staying alert for the sudden arrival of the devil teacher, Coach Yoshida.
"Oh, you seem to be drawing manga..."
Suddenly, while he was engrossed in his drawing, the playful voice of a Japanese girl came from behind him.
"Yukinoshita..."
Chen Yao was startled and blurted out Yukinoshita Yukino's name, but when he turned his head, he found it wasn't Yukinoshita charging at him, but a completely unfamiliar girl.
She leaned on her cane, an expression of deep interest on her face, and leaned forward to look at his manga. Her silver-white hair swayed slightly in the wind, and a faint scent from her body was clearly caught by Chen Yao... Chapter 10: Leaving a Deep Impression (Requesting all kinds of votes)
Chen Yao turned his head to look at the girl leaning down and was stunned for a moment; he didn't recognize this female student.
"You're a member of the Baseball Club, right? Why are you hiding here drawing manga?"
This unfamiliar silver-haired girl, whose uniform wasn't even from Sobu High School, asked Chen Yao with a hint of cunning and interest in her eyes.
"Shhh!!"
Chen Yao panicked and quickly made a shushing gesture to get the strange girl to be quiet.
He made some space and signaled for the girl to squat down before talking to him.
??"
The girl was taken aback, seemingly confused by this strange boy's actions, but she quickly squatted beside him, very interested in hearing what he had to say.
"Ahem, Classmate, please help me keep a secret..."
Chen Yao glanced at this girl of unknown origin and spoke in a low voice.
"Mm-hmm."
The girl nodded, looking very sincere.
"Actually, I'm a part-time assistant for a manga company. My family is poor, completely destitute, and I need money to survive. Look at that teacher over there who looks like a gorilla, that's Coach Yoshida. He's an old fossil who always says that no matter how excellent a baseball player is, they must train with everyone to improve team spirit. He doesn't take my career... no, my difficulties seriously at all."
Chen Yao turned his head, letting the girl look at the fleshy-faced Coach Yoshida, and spoke with a bitter expression to gain sympathy.
After all, his work drawing manga was confidential. He had promised his editor that he would never let a third person know his identity, so he lied and said he was just an assistant.
"..."
The girl in the red uniform fell silent. She could tell parts of it were lies, but she was still very interested in continuing to listen to this boy's vivid and colorful nonsense.
"And no one in the whole school knows that I draw manga, because I don't want others to know the truth that I'm poor but ambitious. Classmate, you must help me keep this secret."
Chen Yao reminded the strange girl repeatedly, trying to move her with a sincere gaze.
"Hmm... Okay, I promise to keep this secret."
The girl in the beret thought for a moment, pinched her chin with her hand, and agreed with a somewhat charming and alluring smile.
Chen Yao gave a bright smile and said gratefully, "Then thank you, Classmate. There are many mosquitoes squatting here, you should go home early. I have to continue earning a meager wage for my family."
"Classmate, you really have it hard."
The silver-haired girl showed a half-smile, stood up, leaned on her cane, and left.
"Scared me to death, I thought it was Yukinoshita coming over. I have to release two chapters of manga this week, it's really hard work..."
Chen Yao continued to sit cross-legged on the grass, concentrating on drawing manga.
However, as he listened to the footsteps, why did it sound like that girl was walking toward the demon Yoshida? He turned his head in confusion and saw the strange girl actually walk up to the baseball coach and say something with a very worried expression, as if she had discovered a certain boy who was unwell hiding in the bushes. As a result, Coach Yoshida's terrifying aura erupted, and he strode toward him. Meanwhile, the silver-haired girl in the beret saw Chen Yao poking his head out of the bushes like a groundhog and suddenly showed a slightly mischievous smile.
"...Aaaaaah!!"
Chen Yao's expression turned to shock. Seeing Coach Yoshida rushing over, he hesitated for a moment before screaming in fright.
"Chen, you brat!!"
"Coach, listen to my explanation, don't be angry!"
...Chen Yao was punished with twenty laps. He walked out of the Second-year Office covered in dust, his face looking gloomy.
That hateful girl, she clearly promised not to tell the coach, but she went back on her word. Her personality is just too wicked.
"Oh, Chen, why are you so dirty?"
At the corner, Teacher Shizuka Hiratsuka in her white lab coat saw Chen Yao and asked in surprise.
"...No, during baseball training, because I felt unwell... I was caught by the coach resting in the bushes and was punished with many laps."
Chen Yao replied helplessly.
"Why are you so disobedient? Sigh, I really can't do anything with you. Stop causing me trouble."
The youthful and beautiful Teacher Shizuka Hiratsuka shook her head with a headache. For various reasons, she didn't know how to teach this overly rebellious top-tier international student.
"You got what you deserved."
Suddenly, Yukinoshita Yukino's voice came from behind Shizuka Hiratsuka. Yukino walked out, staring dissatisfiedly at the school's number one 'most wanted' person.
"I didn't want this either. This problem wouldn't have happened originally, but I don't know what happened today. I met a strange girl in a red uniform. Her personality is too wicked. She clearly promised me not to say anything..."
Chen Yao's face was dark as he muttered quietly, seemingly very resentful toward someone, leaving both Yukinoshita Yukino and Shizuka Hiratsuka unsure of what he was talking about.
However, another girl's voice came from the corner: "I didn't promise not to report you, I only promised to keep the secret. Think about it, isn't that how it was?"
When Chen Yao heard this somewhat familiar voice, he was completely stunned. He turned his head and saw that silver-haired girl in red with a cunning and amused smile.
That petite girl in the red uniform appeared again. Meeting her again, Chen Yao's expression was shocked and furious.
"You again! Why are you here!?"
Chen Yao asked angrily.
"We meet again, Gopher Student."
"You wicked woman, my meaning was very clear, I wanted you not to tell anyone... Wait a minute, what did you call me? Gopher Student!?"
Chen Yao's eyes widened again. How did he get such a ridiculous nickname!
"Nice to meet you, Gopher Student. I am a First-year Class A student from Advanced Nurturing High School. My name is Sakayanagi Arisu. Please take care of me."
Sakayanagi Arisu introduced herself with a leisurely smile.
"Koudo Ikusei? Never heard of it. But you're too cunning, I don't plan on getting along with you."
Chen Yao replied with a stern face.
"Chen, don't be rude. Koudo Ikusei is going to co-host a school stage play with our school. You need to treat our guest school well, understand?"
Shizuka Hiratsuka mediated from the side, signaling him to be polite.
Sakayanagi Arisu, however, wasn't angry at all; her smile only deepened.
However, Chen Yao saw several more high school students in red uniforms following behind Sakayanagi Arisu. Their gazes held a hint of arrogance and contempt as they looked toward Chen Yao, Yukinoshita, and the others.
Chen Yao looked at them in confusion, while also noticing that the expressions of Yukinoshita Yukino, Hachiman Hikigaya, and Yui Yuigahama were all somewhat solemn, as if some conflict existed between the two sides.
"Classmate Chen Yao, have you heard of the concept of interpersonal relationships? If you leave an impression on the opposite sex for the first time, making them dislike you is also a good start. Classmate Chen Yao, Classmate Yukinoshita, and everyone from the Service Club... for the week of drama rehearsals, please take care of me."
Standing among the students in red, Sakayanagi Arisu looked more like a noble princess from Europe as she greeted them with a smile.
Chapter 11: Stage Play Team Selection
The script requirement given by the Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School was [No Script Required].
As the name suggests, there is only a story theme and a general outline of characters for each scene, but the lines rely entirely on improvisation on the spot. In Europe and America, this kind of stage play is very popular to showcase students' improvisation and eloquence, and the performance results are usually high-energy and frequent.
"That sounds really difficult."
In the club room, after hearing the proposal from Koudo Ikusei High School, Yui Yuigahama showed a very troubled expression.
"If it weren't difficult, how could they propose it? This feudalistic school is best at organizing these meaningless activities."
Yukinoshita Yukino bluntly evaluated Koudo Ikusei High School's proposal in this way.
Shizuka Hiratsuka smiled and said, "But I'm actually quite interested. Regardless of whether it's performed well or not, the audience will be very expectant knowing it's this kind of stage performance, since everything is an unknown."
Hachiman Hikigaya knew immediately that this would be particularly troublesome and said with disdain, "Don't look for me for this kind of thing. I definitely won't participate."
"You can't. Hachiman-kun, you must participate. Not only that, if we are to complete this request from the student council, we need students who are thick-skinned and eloquent. Isn't their goal obvious? They just want to use us as stepping stones to showcase their communication skills."
Yukino quickly rejected Hachiman Hikigaya's request to escape and began to think of candidates who fit these criteria.
"Were you just insulting me?" Hachiman Hikigaya asked, sensing something was wrong.
Yukinoshita Yukino gave a somewhat brilliant smile and said, "What are you saying, Hachiman-kun? I was praising your eloquence."
Hachiman Hikigaya actually agreed with a certain person's evaluation of Yukinoshita Yukino: she was a wicked-natured snow woman.
Shizuka Hiratsuka saw that Yukino already seemed to have some ideas. Although she had already guessed who Yukino would likely look for, she didn't plan to interfere with any of their actions. She waved her hand and said, "Then I'll leave the request to you. Just give me the list to look at when the time comes."
After careful consideration, Yukino eventually circled a few names and began to take action.
At dusk, Chen Yao was about to drive his white NSX out of the school parking lot when he saw Yukinoshita Yukino standing on the sidewalk outside the gate.
"...Do you need something from me?"
Chen Yao had a bad premonition. According to his memory, the number of times Yukinoshita Yukino would actively seek him out after school was zero. Nothing good ever happened.
"Classmate Chen Yao, do you have a moment to talk?"
Yukinoshita Yukino stood under the setting sun, her cheeks looking so beautiful and moving in the sunlight. She gave a slight bow and asked with a serious expression.
Chen Yao thought for a moment, then pulled the car over to the side of the road, opened the door to get out, and asked, "Classmate Yukinoshita, what do you want?"
"Next Saturday, our school will perform with Koudo Ikusei High School in the international student stage play group. Our school needs an excellent student who is thick-skinned, eloquent, and can weave stories..."
As a result, before Yukinoshita Yukino could even finish half of her sentence, Chen Yao, who hadn't even gotten his other foot out of the car, pulled back in and prepared to flee in his NSX.
Just as he had driven a meter away, Yukinoshita Yukino stated the reward: "If you participate, I will release you from your one-week supervision period."
Four seconds later, when the car had already driven six meters, a stern-faced Yukinoshita Yukino offered an even greater condition: "Three weeks, plus Teacher Hiratsuka will coordinate with Coach Yoshida for your leave of absence from the Baseball Club. What do you think?"
The car immediately backed up. Chen Yao asked concernedly, "Are you a woman of your word?"
Three weeks of absolute free time could squeeze out a large amount of manga and rest time without being held accountable by the school. For Chen Yao, this was already a heaven-level treatment.
"Of course I am. And if you, Mr. Chen Yao, can help me persuade another student to participate, I can give you another week of free time."
Yukinoshita Yukino showed a warm smile, which made the pale-faced Chen Yao feel a chill all over his body.
Among the candidates Yukino had drafted, it not only included honor students Hayato Hayama, Tobe Sho, Hachiman Hikigaya, and Chen Yao, but also Kagaribi no Kiriue, who had a good English accent. Besides them, no one in the school could handle Koudo Ikusei's Class A.
Chen Yao was stunned. The drama group had actually selected Kagaribi no Kiriue, who had now transferred into Class A. She seemed to despise humans as much as ever. Although he had some physical acquaintance with her, could he really invite this tsundere Vampire?