For all she knew, she had figured out everyone in the class's room numbers first thing in the morning.
Otherwise, if you didn't even know where someone lived, could you really call yourself their "friend"?
"Please let me in!"
After Bai Lan opened the door, Kushida immediately slipped through the gap into his room.
Going into a boy's room late at night was ultimately a challenge to Kushida's little-angel image, so she had to avoid lingering in the hallway of the boys' floor for too long.
After Kushida entered.
Bai Lan closed the door, then turned to face Kushida behind him.
"Gomen nasai!"
At that moment, Kushida suddenly blurted that out.
As soon as she finished speaking, her body immediately began pitching forward in a motion resembling a ceremonial prostration.
The move looked somewhat familiar.
During the half-year since he had come to Japan to study, he had often seen it on television.
It was the opening movement of something called a "dogeza."
Bai Lan was somewhat resistant to that gesture. In his experience, whenever he saw someone perform it in Japan, something bad was sure to happen.
That move was unlucky!
Acting on instinct, Bai Lan reached out, grabbed her by the collar, hauled the half-collapsed girl back up, and pushed her upright.
He felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
Thinking of that, he subconsciously checked what his hand was doing.
As a result, he didn't touch her this time.
Kushida had exposed the truth! Bai Lan: Was the whole class acting around me?
Kushida had actually been planning to perform a dogeza?
Bai Lan knew she would lower her stance to soften his attitude, but wasn't this lowering it a little too far?
Wasn't she trying a bit too hard?
With such a low posture, was she planning to add moral blackmail to the threats?
She couldn't really have come to apologize, could she?
No way. No way, right?
Had she really decided to give up forcing him to drop out?
At that moment, Kushida spoke. "Please let go of me. I did something so terrible to you. According to the etiquette of apologizing, you should at least let me perform a dogeza first!"
Bai Lan said, "Forget it. You people perform dogeza on television every other day. Everyone does it, and I've gotten sick of seeing it after half a year.
It was as if it had become some kind of formalized ritual, something cheap and worthless.
Besides, every time it appeared, it meant something bad was about to happen.
Nowadays, just seeing that gesture makes me annoyed.
Did you come here to apologize or to get on my nerves?
Stand up properly already. My arm's getting sore from holding you up."
"I don't think I'm that heavy, am I?" Kushida instinctively protested after hearing Bai Lan use words that seemed to allude to her weight.
Bai Lan pursed his lips. "Even if you're light, you're still around a hundred pounds, aren't you? Someone other than me wouldn't be able to lift you at all. Hurry up. If you have something to say, say it."
Kushida obediently stood straight, but soon bent slightly at the waist in a bow. With a guilty look, she said, "What happened during lunch was my fault! I know I was wrong. I won't—and I don't dare to—slander you again. I hope you'll forgive me!"
At that, Bai Lan's resolute expression, which he had put on to show his "unyielding spirit," instantly collapsed.
Oh no!
From what Kushida was saying, she really had come to apologize!
Kushida really wasn't planning to force Bai Lan to drop out anymore!
At that thought, Bai Lan couldn't help giving Kushida a look that was thirty percent disdain, thirty percent frustration at her lack of ambition, and forty percent boredom. He shook his head and sighed.
Kushida interpreted Bai Lan's look as meaning, You only realized it now? What were you doing before?
With a deeply ashamed expression, Kushida said, "I'm very grateful that you were willing to give me a chance to repent.
"Under your guidance, I turned back before reaching the edge of the cliff and realized my mistake. I've already abandoned those wicked thoughts.
"Now, all I can do is beg for your forgiveness."
Listening to Kushida's words, Bai Lan wore a puzzled expression.
Wait!
When had he given her a chance to repent?
When had he ever "guided" her?
What did she mean, she had turned back before reaching the edge of the cliff?
If you had already reached the cliff, why were you pulling the horse back? Just charge straight off!
What was all this?
He couldn't understand a word!
Before Bai Lan could voice his confusion,
Kushida continued, "I know my apology is hollow and meaningless to you.
"But as long as you're willing to forgive me, I'll do anything!
"It's just that afterward, I hope you'll grant a delusion I have the audacity to make!"
After saying that, Kushida bowed deeply to Bai Lan.
Hmm?!
At that, Bai Lan perked up.
Good grief!
So this was what she had been leading up to?
She was using retreat as an advance, wasn't she?
Sure enough!
There was a conspiracy!
Although the details had been somewhat unexpected, it was largely the same as what he had anticipated!
Lower her stance, give him an out, give him face, and then persuade him to surrender!
Only the content had changed slightly.
Same medicine, different packaging.
Although Bai Lan felt that he had already seen through the truth, he still wanted to draw out what came next so he could show off his "unyielding spirit." Thus, he asked with a curious expression, "What delusion?"
Here it comes. Here it comes.
Go ahead!
I won't yield!
Bai Lan was already prepared to reject her the moment she finished stating her request, utterly destroying her "delusion"!
However, considering the awkward situation at lunchtime, Bai Lan decided to wait until she finished speaking before responding.
Soon, Kushida spoke.
"Please teach me how to make friends!"
"Huh?"
Fortunately, this time Bai Lan had deliberately waited until she had finished speaking before replying. Otherwise, he would have put his foot in it again.
Bai Lan said, "Make friends?"
"Yes!" Kushida suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with feverish greed. "I want to be like you. I want to simply be my true self without having to cater to others or suppress my darkness. I want to curse out anyone I please, and still win everyone's goodwill—even their respect—afterward!
"I want to have an ability like yours!"
After Kushida finished saying that,
"Cursing people can earn you others' goodwill and respect?"
Bai Lan blinked, then pointed at himself with both index fingers.
"Are you sure you're talking about me?"
Kushida said, "Yes."
"I have other people's goodwill and respect?"
"Yes!"
Bai Lan recalled the angry glares the class had given him when he left that day and felt confused. In the end, he couldn't help asking, "Did you get the wrong idea? I've offended everyone in the class these past two days. How could they possibly still like or even respect me? You want someone like me, who only knows how to make enemies, to teach you how to make friends? Did you misunderstand something?"
"Bai, I've already experienced your extraordinary ability to predict things, so you don't need to pretend anymore!"
Kushida said helplessly, "Although Hirata told us not to tell you, now that I've experienced your abilities, I absolutely refuse to believe that your discerning eye could be deceived by that group of people in our class who can't hide anything on their faces!
"Could it be that even the things Hirata did were actually carried out under your guidance?
"Just like what happened at lunch—if you hadn't reminded me first, I wouldn't have realized that I had already been completely manipulated by you.
"Otherwise, how could there have been such a coincidence?
"His telling us to keep it from you was probably also part of your plan."
Before you continue