Envy, Jealousy, and Hatred

Shohoku High School · Classroom Building.

Class 1-6 classroom.

The moment Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon entered, the previously noisy classroom suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

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

The boys' eyes naturally settled on Shimizu Kanon.

"Wow... s-so beautiful..."

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

"Oh my god! Have I come to heaven?"

"I've already fallen deeply for her. I wonder if she has a boyfriend."

The girls' eyes, meanwhile, were fixed on Qing Junce.

"Wow... h-he's so handsome..."

"How can there be a boy this handsome and dashing?"

"He's tall and handsome, and makes me feel so safe."

"Oh my god! I'm completely captivated by his good looks."

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

The looks of Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon had completely captivated all the boys and girls in the class.

However, when they saw Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon enter hand in hand, envy, jealousy, and hatred appeared in their eyes.

The boys were naturally targeting Qing Junce.

The girls were naturally targeting Shimizu Kanon.

Qing Junce did not even glance at the others in the class. He simply found an empty seat and sat down.

Shimizu Kanon also took the empty seat beside Qing Junce.

Several boys at the back of the classroom exchanged glances. They wanted to step forward and give Qing Junce a show of force, making an impression in front of Shimizu Kanon.

However, the imposing aura faintly radiating from Qing Junce instinctively filled them with fear, and they hesitated to approach.

The pressure emanating from Qing Junce was simply too strong. It was not only the boys looking for trouble who kept their distance—even the girls who wanted to strike up a conversation backed away, despite their eyes already turning into heart shapes.

For a time, the atmosphere in the classroom settled into a strange harmony.

Shimizu Kanon naturally sensed the gazes around them and their wariness of Qing Junce.

This was not the first time she had encountered something like this.

She did not know whether Qing Junce was doing it deliberately or unintentionally.

Did he not want other people to disturb me?

As she thought this, the corners of her lips quietly curved upward.

Before long, the homeroom teacher entered the classroom.

Since it was the first day of school, the homeroom teacher only had everyone introduce themselves. As for what happened afterward, Qing Junce no longer knew.

At some point, he had already closed his eyes and begun to doze.

After an unknown amount of time, the corridor outside the classroom began to grow noisy.

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

The noise outside the classroom also came through clearly.

"Hey! Hurry, hurry..."

"Come on, come on..."

"What happened?"

"Someone's going one-on-one! One-on-one!"

"There's a great show at the gymnasium right now! Someone's going to play basketball against the captain of the Basketball Club. I heard he's a first-year freshman this year, and he has red hair."

Hmm?

Hearing this, Qing Junce more or less understood what was happening.

Something like this had happened in the original story, too.

"A-Ce, it sounds like someone's playing a basketball match. Let's go take a look!" Kanon suggested.

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

"Come on, come on! Aren't you going to join the Basketball Club? This is the perfect chance to see the level of our school's Basketball Club!" As she spoke, Kanon took Qing Junce by the arm and pulled him outside.

Qing Junce was helpless and could only let Kanon drag him toward the gymnasium.

Shohoku High School · Basketball Gymnasium.

The place was already packed with people.

By the time Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon arrived, the match on the court had already been underway for some time.

"Ah! It's already started. Honestly, it's all your fault, A-Ce." Kanon sounded a little reproachful.

Qing Junce narrowed his eyes halfway and selectively filtered out Kanon's words.

Seeing him like this, Kanon could not bring herself to get angry.

She had experienced this kind of thing countless times.

"Hmph..."

She gave a soft snort, then turned her attention to the match taking place on the court.

At that moment, two figures were engaged in a fierce confrontation on the basketball court.

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

The other had a rugged, resolute face and dark skin. His exposed arms revealed solid, bulging muscles.

Looking at him, Qing Junce muttered inwardly, This must be Akagi Takenori. No wonder Sakuragi Hanamichi calls him Gorilla.

On the court.

Akagi Takenori dribbled past Sakuragi Hanamichi.

Sakuragi Hanamichi chased after him with all his might.

Seeing Sakuragi Hanamichi rapidly closing in on Akagi Takenori, Kanon was also shocked. "Wow! He's so fast! A-Ce, look! Someone's speed is almost catching up to yours!"

Qing Junce curled his lip and said disdainfully, "He's still far behind."

Seeing him like this, Kanon was also helpless.

She did not know when her childhood friend had become so lazy, as if he had lost his former interest in basketball and no longer possessed the drive he had as a child.

Bang...

Just then, a thunderous crash suddenly rang out.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the deafening sound.

Qing Junce and Kanon also turned toward the source of the noise.

Then they saw an utterly unsightly scene.

Ah...

After freezing for a moment, Kanon cried out and hurriedly covered her eyes.

Qing Junce's mouth twitched as well, and he could not bear to look directly at it.

On the court at that moment—

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

The earlier crash had been caused by the sound of the two of them hitting the floor.

But that was not the important part.

Akagi Takenori's pants had fallen down, exposing his pale—no, his dark—bare buttocks without the slightest concealment.

In broad daylight, an unexpected flash of spring scenery.

The entire gymnasium instantly fell into an eerie silence.

Soon, however, the silence was followed by waves of laughter that seemed to pierce the sky.

Everyone burst out laughing.

Once the laughter faded, the confrontation on the court began again.

The events that followed were more or less the same as in the original story.

Sakuragi Hanamichi won against Akagi Takenori with a Self-toss self-dunk, taking advantage of a trick.

Sakuragi Hanamichi's final Human wall defense had some merit.

Under those circumstances, Qing Junce would not have been completely helpless either, but he would still have had to expend some effort.

The current Sakuragi Hanamichi was still far too inexperienced.

Qing Junce was no longer interested in watching, so he turned and left. "Let's go, Kanon."

"A-Ce..." Seeing Qing Junce leave, Kanon glanced at Sakuragi Hanamichi and Akagi Takenori, whose match had already ended, then turned and chased after him.

When she left the gymnasium, Kanon caught up with Qing Junce.

She asked, "What do you think?"

"Think about what?" Qing Junce asked, puzzled.

Kanon analyzed the situation. "The Basketball Club, of course! That captain of the Basketball Club has some ability, but I wonder how strong the others are. I heard Shohoku's basketball team was eliminated in the first round last year. I imagine the other members of the Basketball Club may not be very good."

Qing Junce replied with an utterly unconcerned expression, "None of that matters. I'm not going to rely on them anyway."

"That won't do! Once you join the basketball team, you have to get along with your teammates." Kanon earnestly tried to reason with him.

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

A strange smile appeared at the corners of Kanon's lips. Then she said, "Oh, right, A-Ce. I already submitted your Club application form for you!"

Qing Junce: "..."