Envy, Jealousy, Hate

Shohoku High School - Academic Building.

Class 1-6.

As soon as Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon entered the classroom, the previously noisy room suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

Everyone's attention was drawn to Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon.

Naturally, the boys' gazes were fixed on Shimizu Kanon.

"Wow... so... so beautiful..."

"How can there be such a pretty and cute girl?"

"Oh my god! Did I arrive in heaven?"

"I'm already deeply attracted to her. I wonder if she has a boyfriend."

The girls' gazes, on the other hand, were focused on Qing Junce.

"Wow... so... so handsome..."

"How can there be such a handsome and dashing guy?"

"Tall and handsome, he gives off such a sense of security."

"Oh my god! I'm already completely captivated by his handsomeness."

"I've decided, I'm going to be his girlfriend."

Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon's appearances completely captivated the boys and girls in the entire class.

However, when they saw Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon holding hands as they entered, envious, jealous, and hateful expressions flashed in their eyes.

The boys were naturally targeting Qing Junce.

The girls were naturally targeting Shimizu Kanon.

Qing Junce didn't even glance at anyone else in the class. He simply found an empty seat and sat down.

Shimizu Kanon also took the empty seat next to Qing Junce.

A few boys in the back of the classroom looked at each other, wanting to step forward and put Qing Junce in his place, to show off in front of Shimizu Kanon.

But the subtle aura of authority emanating from Qing Junce instinctively instilled fear in their hearts, making them hesitate to step forward.

The oppressive aura from Qing Junce was too strong. It wasn't just the boys looking for trouble; even the girls who wanted to strike up a conversation kept their distance, though their eyes had turned into hearts.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the classroom settled into a peculiar harmony.

Shimizu Kanon naturally felt the gazes of those around them and their apprehension towards Qing Junce.

This wasn't the first time she had encountered such a situation.

She wondered if Qing Junce was doing this intentionally or unintentionally.

Was he trying to prevent others from bothering her?

As she thought this, the corners of her mouth curved up slightly, unnoticed.

Before long, the homeroom teacher walked into the classroom.

Since it was the first day of school, the teacher simply had everyone introduce themselves. After that, Qing Junce didn't know what happened.

At some point, he had closed his eyes and begun to pretend to sleep.

After an unknown amount of time, the hallway outside the classroom began to get noisy.

Qing Junce was woken up by the commotion and slowly opened his eyes.

The noise from outside the classroom also carried in clearly.

"Ugh! Hurry, hurry..."

"Come on, come on..."

"What's going on?"

"Someone's challenging someone to a one-on-one match, a one-on-one!"

"There's a good show happening in the gym right now! Someone is going to have a basketball match with the Basketball Club Captain. I heard it's a first-year student this year, and he has red hair."

Hmm?

Upon hearing this, Qing Junce had a general idea of what was happening.

This seemed to be something that happened in the original story.

"A'ce, it looks like someone's going to have a basketball match. Shall we go take a look together?" Shimizu Kanon suggested.

Qing Junce appeared uninterested and lazily replied, "No way! What's so interesting about that kind of match?"

"Come on! Come on! Aren't you planning to join the Basketball Club? This is a good chance to see the skill level of our school's Basketball Club!" Shimizu Kanon said, then grabbed Qing Junce's arm and pulled him outside.

Qing Junce was also quite helpless, so he could only let Shimizu Kanon drag him towards the gymnasium.

Shohoku High School - Gymnasium.

It was already crowded at this time.

When Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon arrived, the match inside had already been underway for a while.

"Ah! It's already started, honestly, it's all your fault! Ace." Shimizu Kanon said with a hint of blame.

Qing Junce narrowed his eyes, selectively filtering out Shimizu Kanon's words.

Seeing him like this, Shimizu Kanon couldn't even get angry.

She didn't know how many times she had experienced things like this.

Hmph...

She snorted lightly, then focused her attention on the ongoing match.

On the basketball court at this moment, two figures were engaged in a fierce confrontation.

One of them was the red-haired youth Qing Junce had seen before, Sakuragi Hanamichi.

The other had a rugged and resolute face, dark skin, and his exposed arms showed strong, bulging muscles.

Qing Junce looked at this person and muttered to himself, "This must be Akagi Takenori! With that appearance, no wonder Sakuragi Hanamichi calls him Gorilla."

On the court.

Akagi Takenori drove past Sakuragi Hanamichi with the ball.

Sakuragi Hanamichi was desperately chasing behind him.

Seeing Sakuragi Hanamichi rapidly approaching Akagi Takenori, Shimizu Kanon was greatly surprised and said, "Wow! He runs so fast, Ace, look quickly, someone's speed is almost catching up to yours!"

Qing Junce curled his lips, looking dismissive. "He's still far from it!"

Seeing Qing Junce like this, Shimizu Kanon also felt very helpless.

She didn't know when her childhood friend had become so lazy, as if he had lost his former interest in basketball, lacking the drive he had as a child.

CRASH...

Just then, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted.

Everyone's attention was drawn by the loud noise.

Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon also turned their gazes in the direction of the sound.

And then they saw an unbearable sight.

Ah...

Shimizu Kanon cried out after being stunned, then quickly covered her eyes.

Qing Junce's mouth twitched, unable to bear watching.

On the court at this moment.

Sakuragi Hanamichi and Akagi Takenori had both fallen to the ground.

The loud noise earlier was precisely caused by their fall.

But that wasn't the main point.

At this moment, Akagi Takenori's pants were down, revealing his pale... oh, no, it should be his dark, bare buttocks.

In broad daylight, a spring scene was revealed.

The gymnasium instantly fell into an eerie silence.

Soon, after the silence, came waves of laughter that pierced the sky.

Everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter.

After the laughter subsided, the duel on the court resumed.

The subsequent events were pretty much the same as in the original story.

Sakuragi Hanamichi cleverly used a self-toss self-dunk to defeat Akagi Takenori.

Sakuragi Hanamichi's human wall defense at the end was also somewhat impressive.

In that situation, it wasn't impossible for Qing Junce, but it would still require some effort.

The current Sakuragi Hanamichi was still too green.

Qing Junce lost interest in watching any further and turned to leave. "Let's go, Kanon."

"Ace..." Seeing Qing Junce leave, Shimizu Kanon glanced at Sakuragi Hanamichi and Akagi Takenori, who had finished their match, and then turned to follow him.

As they walked out of the gymnasium, Shimizu Kanon caught up with Qing Junce.

She asked, "How was it?"

"How was what?" Qing Junce asked, confused.

Shimizu Kanon analyzed, "It's the Basketball Club! The captain of that Basketball Club does have some skill, but I wonder about the strength of the other members. I heard Shohoku's basketball team was eliminated in the first round last year, so I imagine the other members of the Basketball Club might be disappointing."

Qing Junce, with an indifferent expression, said, "None of that matters. I won't be relying on them anyway when the time comes."

"That won't do! If you join the basketball team, you need to get along with your teammates," Shimizu Kanon said earnestly.

Qing Junce dug in his ear and then said impatiently, "I know."

A strange smile appeared on Shimizu Kanon's lips, and she then said, "Oh, right, A'ce, I've already submitted your club application form for you!"

Qing Junce: "..."