The Person Who Only Wants to Drop Out of Real School Section 12

"In any case, we absolutely have to get along well... don't force my hand..."

Thinking this, Hirata clenched his fist—one with such uniquely prominent bones it looked tailor-made for martial arts training.

"A class-wide gathering won't work. How about letting Kushida organize a girls' party first."

"Kushida," full name: Kushida Kikyo.

She was that adorable, angel-like girl who had stepped up alongside him to maintain order back then.

Kushida was so enthusiastic that she didn't even need Hirata to ask; she'd already made plans with nearly every girl in the class.

The reason he said "nearly" was because the girls also had their own thorny character, second only to Bai Lan.

Thanks to Kushida's reliability, Hirata breathed a sigh of relief and smiled warmly. "Then I'll focus all my energy on dealing with Bai Lan's side!"

Without Bai Lan's contact info, Hirata planned to start with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who seemed to have a decent relationship with Bai Lan.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was just about to head to the convenience store to buy lunch and some daily necessities.

However, Hirata, having painstakingly escaped the swarm of girls, hurried over and called out to him.

Ayanokoji: Damn, didn't dodge him.

Hirata gave him a gentle smile. "Let's go together, Ayanokoji. I was just hoping to chat with you."

Ayanokoji glanced at the murderous glares from the lovestruck girls behind Hirata, and his Salted Fish Eyes instantly drooped. "I'm really not close with Bai."

Hirata: "At least you can talk to him. That's more than anyone else can do.

I want to learn from you how to get along with Bai.

I want all the relationships in our class to be good—to enjoy high school together, build unforgettable memories, and graduate together. That's very important to me, so... please!"

Ayanokoji could only nod stiffly. "I, I understand."

"You can talk with Bai. Maybe you share some common ground in your thinking..."

Ayanokoji: ... Not at all!

"Please, using your way of thinking, help me understand why Bai does what he does."

Feeling the killing intent from the fangirls behind Hirata, Ayanokoji didn't want to "delay" him too long, so he said, "Give me some time to think."

Hirata: "Great! Take your time. Later... after lunch, I'll find you again."

"Ah! Sure, sure." Ayanokoji quickly replied.

Ayanokoji just wanted to escape as fast as possible, lest the girls mistake him for a romantic rival.

Hirata: "What's your room number?"

Ayanokoji: "..."

Bai Lan had originally planned to splurge at a restaurant, but suddenly remembered he hadn't bought daily necessities yet.

He changed his mind on the spot and headed to the convenience store closest to the dorm, intending to grab daily supplies and a boxed lunch to make do.

Soon, Bai Lan was carrying a shopping basket, picking and choosing among various items.

During this, Bai Lan noticed there were free, limited-quantity daily necessities available here, which further confirmed his speculation.

The class competition at this school must be brutal; otherwise, there wouldn't be cases where people couldn't even afford daily necessities. There might even be free stuff at the cafeteria.

Just then, Bai Lan sensed someone approaching him.

He instinctively looked up.

First, he saw a pair of long, jade-like legs wrapped in knee-high black stockings.

Then, black hair reaching her waist, with one strand deliberately tied into a distinctive little braid, along with a glimpse of graceful curves.

Finally, a face with an extremely bewitching charm, yet strikingly fresh and stunning.

That face was familiar.

This person was none other than the girl Bai Lan had originally planned to talk down—the one who, based on looks alone, would probably be the class beauty of D-Class.

14, Bai Lan: I'm Going to Bully the Class Beauty!

(Note: Due to edits, the previous chapter's word count was insufficient and needed re-formatting. Parts of chapters 13 and 14 have been moved to the end of the previous chapter.)

Bai Lan looked around.

He thought: It's lunchtime now. A lot of people are grabbing a quick meal at the convenience store, including a few from D-Class.

If I 'bully the class beauty' here, it should catch quite a few eyes.

With a girl this pretty, if she gets bullied, there'll probably be plenty of simps trying to earn her favor by coming after me.

If there are a few here who like solving things with violence... wouldn't that be perfect?

Thinking this, he decided to revive his earlier plan.

Calling it "bullying," Bai Lan actually intended to continue the "verbal sparring" that had been interrupted earlier.

Since it was a back-and-forth exchange, and she had started it first, Bai Lan didn't see it as bullying at all and felt no psychological barrier.

However, he knew that those bootlickers wouldn't see it that way.

And that was exactly what he wanted.

If the class beauty, unable to argue with him, went and reported him for harassment, that would be even better~

Soon, Bai Lan began.

"Oh~ it's you, class beauty." Bai Lan waved the toothbrush in his hand like a cheering stick, greeting his "target of operation."

"You?" The ice flower turned her head, flicking a few strands of hair, then furrowed her brow and said, "Don't call me class beauty. I hate it when people judge others based on their physical traits according to personal preferences. I'd rather be noticed for my abilities than my appearance."

Bai Lan, unbothered, continued picking through the merchandise as he said, "If you really didn't care, you wouldn't say so much. The more you explain, the more it shows you care. Someone who truly doesn't care wouldn't even bother to respond."

"I just find it annoying. I don't like my ears being filled with useless, irritating noise."

"If you really found it annoying, you wouldn't argue back—you'd just deal with the person talking. Find a way to make them stop bothering you, instead of trying to debate them.

Arguing means you want to prove something, and what you want to prove is what you doubt. So, are you doubting whether you really don't care about others' opinions of your appearance?"

"You..." The ice flower paused, then said, "Then you, arguing with me so much right now—what are you trying to prove? What are you doubting?"

"Simple. Proving... that I can still talk! My verbal skills haven't declined! My retreat this morning was all a fluke! It's not that I couldn't outtalk those Class B guys—I just didn't want to. Proof complete! Ah, ha, ha, ha~"

Bai Lan planted his hands on his hips and let out a laugh like Manager Jin's.

"This is the first time I've met a mouth sharper than mine. Sharp, with a mix of sour, spicy, and mean. You must have no friends, right?"

"Ho~ Using a self-sacrificing move just to attack me? Looks like I'm seeing boomerangs flying everywhere."

"..."

"My name is Horikita Suzune."

The ice flower suddenly, and rather abruptly, introduced herself.

Bai Lan stopped laughing. "Why the sudden self-introduction?"

The girl calling herself Horikita Suzune spoke with some indignation. "Because of this morning's incident. I thought you were a worthy opponent, only to find that the opponent I had in mind didn't even care enough to know my name. It makes me feel looked down on."

Bai Lan: "Huh? Didn't you never ask for my name either?"

Horikita: "Because I know your name is Bai Lan. No need to ask."

"Then maybe I know your name too?"

"Knowing my name, yet calling me 'class beauty' like some superficial label—that's even more infuriating!"

Bai Lan: ...

"Then I'll go?" Bai Lan pointed at the exit.

Horikita tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and lifted her chin. "Is this you running away? Does that mean I win?"

This Horikita girl was this competitive?

Too bad, so was I!

"Tut tut tut..." Bai Lan smacked his lips, then said, "Fine. Today, I'll let you experience true verbal skill! It's too cramped in here. Let's go outside."

Horikita: "I still have things to buy."

Bai Lan: "What do you need to buy?"

"Face wash."

"Oh, I think it's over there." Bai Lan pointed in a direction.

Soon, the items were bought.

The two lined up at the checkout counter.

When it was almost their turn, a commotion broke out at the register.

A tall, crew-cut guy was at the counter, in full view of everyone, roughly patting himself down with both hands—first his waist and stomach, then his thighs...

As he searched, he argued with someone.

"I said wait! I'm looking for it!"

"Hurry it up!"

"Damn! I'm not used to this. I forgot which card I need to bring to pay."

From their conversation, it was clear the crew-cut guy had forgotten his student ID.

Bai Lan once again silently urged the school to hurry up and implement mobile payments.

Then, Bai Lan realized the guy looked familiar—he was from Class D.

A bit impatient, Bai Lan left his shopping basket in place to hold the spot and walked up front. "Use my card."

The crew-cut guy followed the hand holding out the student ID to the newcomer and said, somewhat surprised, "You?"