Let's Skip Class

Yes, take him back. Chen Tian—he should have been hers!

During the first two years of high school, before Chen Tian awakened his memories, he had been a handsome, delicate-looking boy. His parents were away on business year-round, leaving him sensitive and introverted.

He was a mixed-race boy who hid in corners like an invisible person, carrying a hint of gloom and a guarded sensitivity that made him hard to approach.

Kitagawa? Though she was in the same class as Chen Tian, her modeling career and passionate interest in cosplay meant she rarely came to school. She was still an extremely popular beauty there, but she was seldom around.

Until... the school festival in their third year.

Shinomiya Kaguya remembered clearly how the entire crowd fell silent the moment the boy with the flamboyant white hair stepped onto the stage.

It wasn't just a change in hair color. The edge of Enma Sword and the blazing heat of Ryujin Jakka seemed to have remade him, transforming him completely!

His once indistinct features had become sharp and striking, and his whole being radiated an indescribable, almost bewitching allure.

When he opened his mouth and sang "Backlight," a song that tore through the gloom, the soul-piercing power of his voice and his nearly perfect profile set the whole auditorium ablaze!

Standing backstage at the time, Shinomiya Kaguya watched the uninhibited white-haired boy onstage. Her hands, clasping the program schedule, tightened again and again.

That white-haired boy had not only ignited the passion of the entire school; he had also melted the "hard shell" she had maintained as a Young Miss.

After that, Chen Tian became a sensation at school. A talent scout discovered him, and he became a hugely popular idol.

Whenever Chen Tian returned to school for class, girls could often be seen crowding around him in the hallways and classrooms, chattering excitedly with admiration on their faces.

Shinomiya Kaguya made clever use of her position as Student Council president. Whenever Chen Tian was back at school, she would either ask him to help with Student Council business or find ways to interact with him at various school events.

When they discussed things, Chen Tian's gentle words and considerate manners, so different from his usually aloof expression, made Shinomiya Kaguya's feelings grow ever stronger. Their relationship grew visibly closer.

Whenever Shinomiya Kaguya spent time with Chen Tian, she carefully maintained the composure and grace of a Young Miss.

She thought that once the time was right, Chen Tian would surely, surely confess his feelings to her.

But fate played a cruel joke on her.

The sun was shining that day, and beneath the cherry trees on campus, Kitagawa Marin's bell-like voice rang out: "Chen Tian, I like you! Be my boyfriend!"

The sudden confession left Shinomiya Kaguya frozen on the spot.

She watched helplessly as Chen Tian first looked stunned, then smiled gently and nodded.

At that moment, Shinomiya Kaguya felt the whole world collapse. All her hopes turned to nothing in an instant, and she became a loser abandoned by love.

In the car, Shinomiya Kaguya recalled those memories, digging her nails harder into the fabric of her skirt until her knuckles turned white.

"This time, I'm absolutely taking Tian Jun back."

The car pulled smoothly to a stop at the school entrance. Kitagawa hopped out first like a cheerful fawn. She turned and made a face at the car, her golden hair shining in the sunlight.

Chen Tian climbed out at an unhurried pace, his hands in his pockets. His black uniform jacket hung open casually, revealing a neatly pressed white shirt. He looked up at the gate—the gilded sign for Tokyo Musashi University gleamed coldly in the morning light.

This school was like a combination of the University of Tokyo and Musashi University from the world Chen Tian had transmigrated from.

It was also the top-ranked university in Japan.

Fortunately, this was a comprehensive university with a program for training performers. Kitagawa had been able to get in thanks to her modeling career and outstanding looks.

(The school is completely fictional, so there's no need to take it too seriously. Everything serves the plot.)

Otherwise, with her hopeless student record, she never would have gotten into this school.

"Tian Jun." Shinomiya Kaguya's voice came from behind him.

At some point, she had come to stand on Chen Tian's right, maintaining a perfectly appropriate social distance. "The Student Council has a meeting this afternoon..."

"Hey, hey!" Kitagawa suddenly squeezed in from the left and wrapped both arms around Chen Tian's. "My boyfriend has to come look at cars with me after class today, okay?"

She put extra emphasis on the words "my boyfriend."

Students trickled past the school gate, and plenty of them snuck glances in their direction.

After all, the trio drew far too much attention: a popular star, the Student Council president, and a famous beauty on campus. Any one of them could draw a crowd on her own.

Shinomiya Kaguya kept her expression composed. "It's just a routine meeting. It won't take long." She tilted her head slightly to look at Chen Tian, her lashes casting a small shadow beneath her eyes. "It's about the planning for the school festival..."

"Ah! Speaking of the school festival!" Kitagawa cut in, her red eyes shining. "Our club's putting on a cosplay show. Want to come help out, boyfriend?"

She rose onto her tiptoes and leaned close to Chen Tian's ear. "If you come help, I can give you a re~ward~"

Chen Tian's mouth twitched. Was this Little Sun not even trying to hide it anymore?

Shinomiya Kaguya's gaze darkened. She suddenly stepped forward and pulled a gold-embossed invitation from her briefcase. "Tian Jun, my father would like you to attend next week's..."

"Wow! What a pretty invitation!" Kitagawa snatched it away in a flash and turned it over in her hands.

"Is this the Shinomiya Family Banquet? I heard you have to dress formally~" She suddenly smiled slyly. "But, the Shinomiya Family is so wealthy. Are you sure you want to invite ordinary people like us? I'm worried we wouldn't be good enough~"

The students watching nearby sucked in a breath. This was practically an open declaration of war!

Shinomiya Kaguya finally lost her composure. A flush rose on her snow-white cheeks—out of anger. "Kitagawa, our family isn't as exalted as you make it sound! Especially since Tian Jun is—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know~" Kitagawa waved a hand, then suddenly grabbed Chen Tian and ran through the school gate. "We're going to be late! Our first class is with that demon professor!"

Chen Tian stumbled as she pulled him along, glancing back at the Young Miss still standing there.

Shinomiya Kaguya's fingers were white around her little purse, but she had already put her perfect smile back in place.

Somehow, though, the smile looked terrifying.

"Tian Jun," she said in a voice only the three of them could hear. "I'll... see you this afternoon."

Kitagawa looked back, stuck out her tongue, and dragged Chen Tian along even faster.

They jogged on until they rounded the corner of the teaching building, completely out of sight of the school gate and the figure in the dark skirt. Only then did Kitagawa come to an abrupt stop.

She let go of Chen Tian's hand and turned around, looking up at him with a bright little face tinged with nervousness.

The fierce, clawing attitude she'd shown at the gate deflated like a punctured balloon. Anxious light flickered in her ruby-red eyes.

"Tian Jun," she said more quietly, sounding tentative and hesitant. "Did you... think I was..." She seemed unable to find the right word for what she'd just done, and her delicate brows drew together. "A little... over the top? Or... too aggressive?"

Chen Tian stopped and looked down at her.

Her golden hair had become a little messy from running, and her cheeks were flushed with healthy color. Yet worry now showed in those eyes that were usually so full of energy.

Her anxious, careful search for his approval was an astonishing contrast to the little lioness who had just declared her territory at the school gate.

Watching her look so uneasy and so eager for his opinion, Chen Tian's lips curved almost imperceptibly.

He didn't answer right away. Instead, he reached out. His broad palm, warm and familiar, settled gently on Kitagawa's soft, fluffy golden hair. As if soothing a kitten that had puffed up and was still rattled, he gave it a casual, natural ruffle.

"Think what?" Chen Tian's voice carried a hint of lazy amusement, as warm as the early morning sun without being too bright. "That you were putting on an act? Bluffing?"

He paused, twirling a mischievous strand of her golden hair around his finger. "No, Xiao Meng."

Kitagawa instinctively ducked as he ruffled her hair, but then looked up, carefully watching every subtle change in his expression.

"You were just protecting what's yours," Chen Tian said, his gaze steady in her clear red eyes, his tone calm and certain.

There was no reproach in his eyes, only understanding and an almost indulgent tenderness.

"Protecting what's mine?" Kitagawa blinked. The words were like a pebble tossed into her heart, sending ripples spreading through it.

She murmured them softly to herself. Her unease quickly faded like a thin mist driven away by sunlight.

The words were blunt, almost childish, yet they had hit on exactly what she truly felt—

That was right: she was protecting the most important thing in her life! She couldn't let anyone steal her Tian Jun away! A trace of understanding and relief appeared in her expression.

The next moment, as if amused by the words—or completely reassured by Chen Tian's response—she deliberately showed him her two little pointed canines and made a fierce, cute "rawr" face, as if to say, "That's right! He's mine!"

Then a bright, radiant smile, full of energy and capable of melting away any gloom, bloomed across her face again like a sunflower in summer. Her little burst of nervousness vanished without a trace.

Her energy returned in full, along with a hint of pride at having been accepted.

"Hehe!" She gave a satisfied little hum, seeming about to say something else when her nostrils suddenly twitched. She looked as alert as a little dog.

She leaned toward Chen Tian and sniffed hard near his sleeve. Her small nose wrinkled, and her tone immediately turned disgusted. "Ew—! You've got that soy milk smell on you, Tian Jun! It's so sweet and cloying! Gross!"

As she spoke, she deliberately fanned the air in front of her nose with one hand, as though the invisible sweet scent were some terrifying beast.

Chen Tian lowered his head and sniffed his sleeve, looking a little helpless. "Do I? I can't smell anything."

"Yes! I'm sure of it!" Kitagawa declared, a sly glint in her red eyes. "It must be because that Shinomiya Young Miss was standing too close to you! Come on, let's hurry to class and get away from that cloying smell!"

Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed Chen Tian's wrist again. This time she wasn't dragging him; she was pulling him along with a cheerful urgency, as if eager to reclaim her territory, and headed toward the classroom.

As Chen Tian let himself be led along, his gaze happened to pass over the teaching building's enormous glass windows.

Outside, in the distance beneath the great cherry tree near the school gate, the hem of a dark skirt flickered through the shadows, then disappeared at the edge of his vision.

Skip Class!

Kitagawa pulled Chen Tian at a jog all the way to a teaching building marked "Visual Arts Department." Just as she was about to drag him inside—

The force on her wrist suddenly stopped.

"Hm?" Kitagawa turned back in confusion. Chen Tian stood at the foot of the steps, firmly planted in place, looking at her helplessly.

"Xiao Meng." Chen Tian looked at her red eyes, which clearly asked, "Why did you stop?" He sighed softly and raised a hand. Bending his index finger, he flicked her smooth forehead—not hard, but enough to make a light pop. "Did you forget something?"

"Huh?" Kitagawa covered the spot he'd flicked, her brows knitting in confusion as her lips instinctively puckered like those of a bewildered little animal. "Forget what? My bag? My phone? I brought everything!"

Watching her completely puzzled expression, Chen Tian couldn't keep his lips from curving upward. He reminded her, "We're in different departments now."

They were university students, no longer high school classmates who could spend the whole day together in the same classroom.

"Ah!" Kitagawa's eyes flew wide as she suddenly realized, and two red clouds appeared on her cheeks.

"Right! You have to go to the Economics and Management Department, Tian Jun!" She stuck out her tongue in embarrassment at her own absentmindedness.

The next second, her usual energy swept away the awkwardness.

Her eyes curved into crescents as she quickly wrapped her arms around Chen Tian's neck. Rising onto her tiptoes, she leaned in and planted a loud kiss on his lips.

As soon as she was done, she let go and turned, darting toward the teaching building like a nimble fawn.

At the glass doors, she stopped abruptly, turned around, and flashed a smile brighter than the sun. She waved enthusiastically at Chen Tian, still standing where he was. "Then it's a promise! Remember to come find me after class!"

She paused, then added mischievously, "Or I can come find you! Wait for me, boyfriend~!"

Before she had even finished speaking, she burst into a string of clear laughter, pushed open the door, and bounced out of sight down the hallway.

Chen Tian stood where he was, the lingering warmth on his lips vivid.

He watched the glass door still swaying. A few rays of sunlight fell through the gap at his feet, seeming to carry the girl's lively presence with them.

He lifted a hand and unconsciously touched the corner of his mouth. In the end, he only shook his head slightly, a boundless warmth passing through his eyes.

Then he turned and headed alone toward the Economics and Management Department building.

Chen Tian had just turned off the ginkgo-lined avenue of the Economics and Management Department when he saw Shinomiya Kaguya standing on the steps in front of the teaching building.

The November wind swept dead leaves past her feet, and the hem of her dark blue uniform skirt swayed gently.

She stood straight as a cedar, her hands folded in front of her, like a woman waiting at home to welcome her husband back.

"Tian Jun." Shinomiya Kaguya dipped her head slightly, the corners of her lips lifted at a perfect fifteen-degree angle. Sunlight fell on her lashes, casting tiny shadows on her cheeks.

Chen Tian stared at her for two seconds, then reached out and pinched both her cheeks.

"Hm?" Shinomiya Kaguya's pupils contracted sharply.

Before she could react, her cheeks were already being squeezed together.

Her carefully maintained smile warped at once, her lips forced into a pout, making her look just like a goldfish with its cheeks pinched.

"Stop smiling." Chen Tian kneaded her cheeks twice more. "It looks bad."

Shinomiya Kaguya froze. The warmth spreading across her cheeks made the tips of her ears burn, and her mind went blank.

They were much too close—close enough for her to see the curve of his lashes. She instinctively tried to step back, but Chen Tian's other hand pressed down on the top of her head.

Chen Tian's fingers still rested on top of Shinomiya Kaguya's head. The warmth of his palm passed through her hair.

Suddenly, he smiled—the tender smile Shinomiya Kaguya had carried in her heart for so long.

"Kaguya, do you remember what I told you in high school?"

Shinomiya Kaguya's pupils widened slightly. That smile was like a key, clicking open the floodgates of memory—

The rooftop that afternoon had been windy.

Chen Tian stood by the railing, his white shirt snapping in the wind. The sunlight was so bright it was hard to keep one's eyes open, yet his backlit silhouette was remarkably clear.

"I'll be your support." The boy's voice mingled with the wind. "Do whatever you want, Kaguya."