Bai Lan said nothing. He simply took out his phone and turned the screen toward the other person.
The crew-cut man glanced at the phone screen Bai Lan held out.
The screen displayed an interface resembling a "personal profile card."
It showed Bai Lan's name, class, student ID number, and a QR code that could be scanned to add his contact information.
Is he... trying to exchange contact information with me? The crew-cut man only thought this to himself, but his mouth had already responded before his brain could catch up: "Don't think I'll forgive you just because you did this!"
"Tsk." Bai Lan wore an expression that said he had no idea what the other man was talking about. "What do I need you to forgive me for?! Wait, don't tell me you think I'm trying to curry favor with you and pay for your meal? I'm telling you to transfer the money to my phone and pay me back."
The crew-cut man suddenly wanted to say something extremely vulgar.
"Can you hurry up? Everyone's waiting!" someone in line called out impatiently.
Under the reproachful gazes of the people in line,
the crew-cut man took out his phone and quickly scanned Bai Lan's screen. After completing the transfer, he picked up his lunch—a cup of instant noodles—and hurried away.
Bai Lan felt his phone vibrate and instinctively glanced at the transfer notification on the screen.
300 points received... from Sudo Ken
Once the matter was settled, the line began moving forward again.
Bai Lan returned to his original place.
Horikita looked at him as if she had just seen something strange. "Just like in the classroom this morning... You managed to help someone without making them grateful and instead made them hate you. You're quite a talent."
15, Horikita Suzune: My Big Brother Is Unmatched Under Heaven!
"Help? What help? I was only doing it for myself." Bai Lan shrugged. "I just didn't want to waste time on a pointless entanglement.
"I don't need anyone's gratitude. That way, there won't be any messy ties that drag on and on, which would only waste my energy. So don't casually place any expectations on me. When all is said and done, I'm only doing this for myself."
The two moved forward with the line as they talked, paid, and walked out of the convenience store.
"Then why are you 'entangling' yourself with me here?"
"I just want to win."
"Win? By arguing? What meaning is there in winning at something like this?"
"Because it's fun!"
"Fun? I don't think we're close enough to enjoy ourselves together. We aren't even friends."
"It's fine. I just want to play around and vent my desire to express myself and my competitive spirit. I have no intention of forming or maintaining a relationship with anyone."
"Huh? Just playing around and venting your desires without talking about feelings? That's a classic scumbag line."
"Don't put it that way. Our interactions have remained purely verbal. We haven't had any other kind of contact."
"What else do you want to happen, you scumbag?"
"Exactly, exactly! That's it."
"..."
Horikita didn't want to become a tool for the other person's amusement, but her pride and competitive spirit wouldn't allow her to back down.
She simply couldn't hold herself back.
The moment she was mocked, she couldn't resist the urge to fire back.
Just once.
She thought that as long as she won once, she could use "I'm not interested in fighting a defeated opponent again" as an excuse to stand above him and reject his "challenge."
With that thought in mind, Horikita kept retaliating.
However, she discovered that she seemed unable to win the argument.
If she couldn't win with words...
"Actually, we could also have some 'physical' contact. For example..."
Horikita slowly moved closer, as if she were about to whisper something. While Bai Lan wasn't paying attention...
She launched a sneak attack, punching toward the ribs behind Bai Lan's left side.
Bai Lan instinctively activated Overlord Body's active effect, temporarily gaining an increase to all resistances.
With his defenses maxed out, Bai Lan took the attack head-on.
After feeling the force behind the other person's punch, he realized that without Overlord Body's resistance boost, that hit would probably have left him gasping for a while.
Fortunately, Bai Lan had a cheat.
After taking the hit, Bai Lan acted as if nothing had happened and immediately launched a counterattack.
His empty right hand formed into a snake-headed hooking strike and shot toward Horikita's brow like lightning.
Horikita's eyes widened in horror when she realized she had no way to dodge or resist.
I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die...
Just as it was about to make contact, the hooking strike suddenly became soft and powerless, and in the end, he merely flicked Horikita lightly on the forehead with his middle finger.
"This is the last time... Sasuke."
Without waiting for Horikita to react, he picked up his things and took off running while the enhancement from Overlord Body was still active.
After getting some distance, he turned around and added, "You made the first move. You couldn't beat me with words, so you resorted to violence. That counts as a loss. And you didn't win even by attacking."
After announcing the result of the match, he continued running away.
Bai Lan thought, I wonder how many people will come looking to fight me tomorrow? I can't wait!
However, Bai Lan had arrived late and left early today, so he didn't know that although Horikita had a beautiful face, her popularity in class was only slightly better than his.
Everyone who took the initiative to approach her—and even those who didn't—had been driven away with their hearts wounded by her sharp tongue. She had earned the resentment of more than half the class. For now, Bai Lan was the only one who "liked this sort" (in both senses)...
So there was no such thing as a lovesick follower.
Watching Bai Lan disappear into the distance, Horikita Suzune remained frozen in a dazed state after her shock.
"Why was my attack ineffective? Those were clearly weak points, yet I couldn't even break through his defense?"
"What was that impossible-to-react-to attack speed of his?"
"And what did 'This is the last time' and 'zuo, zhu' mean? Was it a threat? It feels vaguely familiar."
Horikita felt that the thing she was most likely to figure out was probably that last line.
She took out her phone and searched online.
A few minutes later,
"I'm such an idiot. I really thought he was trying to convey something?"
"Could he have just been adding a sound effect to that flick?"
"He's a high school student, right? He's not actually an elementary school student, is he?"
"Or does that line have some other hidden meaning?"
Because she was sensitive to certain things, Horikita thought of the character background information about that line she had seen online.
It was something an older brother said to his younger brother.
So...
Does he want to be my big brother?
Impossible!
Don't even think about it!
I only have one big brother.
My big brother, Horikita Manabu, is unmatched under heaven!
Horikita, a devoted big-brother lover, gnashed her teeth and let out an idol-fan's furious scream in her heart.
However, she had misunderstood.
The important part of that line was "Sasuke"!
Sasuke was the younger brother.
What Bai Lan had actually meant was: You're just a "kid"!
However, referring to the other person as a "younger brother" in that line wasn't about wanting to become his big brother. It meant that he was "too green," "too weak," or something like "the weakest of the weak."
It was pure mockery. He had no intention whatsoever of becoming sworn brothers.
However, Horikita Suzune was a devoted big-brother lover. Compared with "younger brother," she was far more sensitive to the words "big brother."
After lunch, at around two in the afternoon,
Ayanokoji was subjected to a visit from Hirata.
As an "ordinary person," Ayanokoji couldn't ignore Hirata, the central figure of the class, and could only honestly accompany him in their discussion.
During the discussion, Hirata was working hard to analyze Bai Lan, while Ayanokoji was working hard to analyze how much longer Hirata intended to stay.
Ayanokoji reached his conclusion first:
It was because he didn't have Bai Lan's contact information.
Ayanokoji was the only person who had any "connection with Bai Lan." Until the conflict between Bai Lan and the class was resolved, Hirata absolutely wouldn't easily let go of this "lifeline"—the only one he could reach.
Ayanokoji discovered that Hirata was completely unwilling to accept the possibility of a bad ending. He could only accept a happy ending.
During the discussion, Ayanokoji merely probed a little, hoping to prepare Hirata mentally for the worst-case scenario.
As a result, Hirata immediately clenched the cup beside him. The water glass let out a painful squeak in his grip, veins bulging at his temples as if he were about to punch him!
Ayanokoji understood: rather than saying Hirata wanted to understand Bai Lan and become friends with him, it would be more accurate to say that he wanted to resolve the conflict between Bai Lan and the class and allow the class to coexist harmoniously.
To be honest, Ayanokoji himself hadn't even figured out what Bai Lan was, so how could he possibly explain to Hirata what kind of person Bai Lan was through words?
Before you continue