Tiger of West Middle

One day, during club activities half a month later, Lin Ran looked rather free since he had not joined any club. But precisely because he was unaffiliated, countless people came to recruit him, giving him quite a headache.

The previous few club activity days had been the same. Though he had not joined any club, many people had come to invite him.

And the clubs inviting him were all sorts of strange and bizarre ones.

The Weather Observation Club, the Social Contact Club, the Track and Field Club, the Vocal Music Club, the Computer Engineering Club, the student council.

But Lin Ran did not want to join any club, so today, he once again secretly avoided those people and wandered through the school alone. Before long, he arrived at a quiet campus corridor.

"It's starting."

"Are you ready?"

At that moment, Lin Ran heard voices coming from behind a door not far away. Wasn't that Yuji Itadori's voice?

"Sasaki-senpai, Iguchi-senpai!"

"Alright, it's begun. Dog Fox, Dog Fox, please tell me, what animal is the Student Council President most afraid of?"

"Naked... Sea... Urchin..."

"Hahaha, it's a Naked Sea Urchin? That's so lame!"

Hearing that, Lin Ran suddenly perked up. Wasn't this the beginning of the main storyline? It seemed that something major was supposed to happen today.

"Lin Ran, a first-year like you who isn't participating in club activities—what are you doing here alone?" A calm voice sounded behind Lin Ran.

Lin Ran turned around. When he saw who it was, he smiled. "Oh, it's the Plankton President. I'm just taking a walk."

"Although you're a new student and I shouldn't say too much, club activities are very important for people your age. I hope you'll take part in one. Even if there isn't a club you particularly like, you can just pick one at random. Of course, you're welcome to join our Biology Club as well." Without waiting for Lin Ran's reply, the Plankton President pushed up his glasses and walked toward the far end of the corridor.

Seeing this, Lin Ran knew what would happen next, so he headed straight for the sports field. It looked like he would have to make a move early.

As he passed the track, Lin Ran spotted Fushiguro Megumi in a white shirt. Just as I thought.

At the same moment, Fushiguro Megumi looked toward Lin Ran. He could not see anything unusual about him, only that Lin Ran was relatively tall for his age.

But upon closer inspection, he felt something strange, though he could not say what exactly was strange. After all, Lin Ran did not have even a trace of cursed energy. So what was he paying attention to?

Fushiguro Megumi looked away from Lin Ran and continued forward. He had to find that Special Grade Cursed Object as soon as possible, or something very troublesome would happen.

Judging from the current situation, the cursed object had already come loose. If he did not find it soon, it was impossible to predict what might happen.

Lin Ran had no intention of greeting Fushiguro Megumi. After arriving at the sports field, he found a spot and sat down. Before long, he heard shouts from nearby.

"Come on, come on! Takagi from the Track and Field Club is competing against Itadori, the Tiger of West Middle!"

"Huh? Competing in what?"

"Shot put, shot put."

As the news spread, many people nearby hurried toward the sports field, eager to watch the exciting match.

Takagi had already arrived. He rolled his neck, picked up a shot put from the ground, rubbed it in his palm, and assumed a throwing stance. "Itadori, watch closely."

Whoosh! Takagi quickly drove his strength forward, sending the shot put flying in an arc before it landed on the grass.

The measurer immediately ran over and shouted, "Fourteen meters!"

"Haha!" Takagi cried excitedly. Fourteen meters was already one of his more impressive results these days. It could be called an exceptional performance.

"Let's see how you compete with me now." Takagi looked confidently at Yuji Itadori, who stood beside him with an indifferent expression.

"Takagi is amazing. He's still got it."

"Itadori, can you even do this?"

"Itadori, Itadori, go!"

Yuji Itadori raised an eyebrow. Amid the surrounding students' cheers, he walked to where Takagi had been standing. After taking the shot put, he asked Takagi, "Hey, can I throw it however I want?"

"Yeah, there aren't any rules, so throw it however you like..." Takagi pressed one hand to his forehead and said proudly, "Sorry for choosing an event outside your specialty. I just wanted to convey my sincerity..."

Whoosh!

Bang!

Before Takagi could finish speaking, he froze on the spot. While he had been talking, Yuji Itadori had already thrown the shot put—and the result was beyond anything he could have imagined.

He stood there like a clown, his mind going completely blank.

The measurer jogged over. Seeing that the shot put had become embedded in the soccer goal, he scratched his head and said, "Uh... about thirty meters."

"Thirty meters?"

"Oh my god, what kind of strength is that? Didn't he beat the world record?"

"The world record is only 23.12 meters. This is nearly 30 meters. What do you think—did he beat it or not?"

The surrounding students were too shocked to speak. One by one, they stared at Yuji Itadori as if he were a monster. He truly was the Tiger of West Middle.

Lin Ran, sitting off to the side, was equally stunned. Throwing a shot put nearly thirty meters with sheer physical strength was utterly terrifying.

No matter how confident Lin Ran was, he would not think he could surpass Yuji Itadori through physical strength alone. But judging by his current strength, surpassing Takagi would not be a problem.

"Alright, I won!" Yuji Itadori shouted happily.

Lin Ran stood up and dusted off his pants. After glancing at Sasaki-senpai, he headed straight back to the classroom. School would be over soon, but he was in no hurry to go home today. He had something important to do.

"Lin Ran, want to head home together after school?"

The dismissal bell rang, signaling the end of the day's classes. It was time to go home.

Lin Ran glanced at Yamasano Megumi and gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I have something to take care of today, so I can't go with you."

"Oh, okay. Then I'll head home first..." Yamasano Megumi grabbed her schoolbag and fled the classroom as if escaping. Once outside, her face was slightly flushed, though it was hard to tell whether it was from embarrassment or anger.

In fact, Yamasano Megumi had invited Lin Ran to go home together after school several times. Mainly because she had discovered that her home was not far from where Lin Ran lived, so they were on the same route after school.

They had walked home together after school before as well. Yamasano Megumi simply felt that, since they were desk mates, it was only natural for them to head home together after school. Besides, they were going the same way anyway.

But Lin Ran kept turning her down, which did not make her look very good. Girls cared about their pride, after all.

Lin Ran did not want things to be this way either. He could have gone home with her today, but something important had come up, so there was nothing he could do.

After Yamasano Megumi left, the other students gradually departed as well. Even after the students on cleaning duty had left, Lin Ran still had not gone home. But by then, no one cared why he was still there.