The Misunderstanding Battle in the Cafeteria

The cafeteria was bustling at noon, the clatter of trays and the chatter of students blending together into a noise as chaotic as a wet market.

Shangguan Che poked at the free vegetable set meal in his bowl, his eyes darting toward Sakura across from him every now and then.

She was more reserved than usual today; her hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, and she was cautious with every bite, clearly still unable to shake off the shadow cast by that letter.

I have to pull myself together; I can't let her see how worried I am. Shangguan Che cheered himself on internally, just about to find a lighthearted topic to cheer Sakura up, when a rough voice suddenly exploded in his ear.

"Hey, kid, do you know this is the seat I claimed? Get lost already!!"

Shangguan Che still had a mouthful of greens, but he jerked his head up at the sound to see a boy with a buzz cut and a bandage on his arm glaring at him, radiating a "don't mess with me" delinquent aura.

Shangguan Che instinctively pointed a finger at himself, his eyes wide, his face practically screaming, "Are you talking to me?"

The table was clearly empty; he hadn't seen a single school bag claiming the spot when he sat down, so where did this "your seat" come from?

"It's you, kid! Are you going to move or not? Do you want a beating?!" the boy roared, neck straining. His voice was so loud that surrounding students looked over, and even Sakura stopped her chopsticks, her eyes filled with nervousness.

Shangguan Che quickly scanned the table and the surrounding area, confirming there were no signs of a claimed seat, and figured it out: this guy was looking for trouble.

Just as Shangguan Che was about to explain, he caught a glimpse of the corner of the wall behind the boy. His eyes shifted, and he pointed a finger behind the boy.

Ishizaki Daichi felt a jolt of tension, thinking someone was launching a sneak attack like his boss, Ryuen Kakeru, and whipped his head around, only to find nothing there.

When he turned back, his face was flushed with anger: "Are you messing with me, kid?! There's no one behind me!"

Shangguan Che looked at his shocked and furious expression and sighed helplessly. This guy's comprehension skills were truly abysmal!

"I was pointing at the security camera. There's a camera behind you, classmate." He pointed at the blinking red light in the corner of the wall. "If you fight here and get caught on tape, you'll lose personal points."

Ishizaki didn't hear a word of it, his mind still preoccupied with the task Ryuen had assigned him.

Provoke someone from Class D, preferably forcing them to throw the first punch, so he could take the opportunity to extort some points.

He had seen Shangguan Che and Sakura sitting together earlier and assumed they were a couple, thinking the boy would surely want to save face in front of the girl, making him an easy target for extortion.

But before he could speak, he saw Shangguan Che point to the deluxe meal on his own table.

It had pork cutlets and tamagoyaki, clearly costing a fair amount of points, then pointed to the plain, meatless vegetables in Shangguan Che's bowl.

Ishizaki had an instant epiphany: Good grief, this guy is a pauper! Extorting him wouldn't yield any profit, and he might even lose his own points for fighting—it wasn't worth it!

He curled his lip, muttered "pauper," and turned to leave, afraid that staying another second would lower his own status.

Shangguan Che watched his retreating back, completely bewildered. Did this guy misunderstand again?

What he had intended to convey was, "My meal is free, your meal costs money; if we fight and get caught, not only do you gain nothing, but you'll also lose your deluxe lunch—is it worth it?"

Instead, he ended up being branded a "pauper."

Forget it, forget it, human diversity, I suppose. Shangguan Che consoled himself and turned to look at Sakura, only to find she had already put down her chopsticks, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her skirt, her body still trembling slightly—she had clearly been frightened by the earlier confrontation.

"Sakura, are you still eating?" Shangguan Che softened his voice, trying to make his tone sound as gentle as possible.

"No, I'm done." Sakura shook her head, her voice as thin as a mosquito's. "Are you done, Shangguan?"

"I'm done too. Let's go, back to the classroom." Shangguan Che dumped the remaining food into the bin, tidied up his tray, and accompanied Sakura out of the cafeteria.

On the way, Sakura kept her head down and didn't say much. Shangguan Che saw it and felt anxious, but didn't know how to comfort her.

He couldn't just ask, "Are you scared because of that letter?" He could only walk silently by her side, occasionally saying things like, "That guy was just looking for trouble, don't mind him," or "The classroom is quiet, you can get some good rest when we get back."

Back in the classroom, Sakura sat at her desk, still looking somewhat distracted. Shangguan Che watched her and secretly made a resolution: he had to find the person who sent that letter as soon as possible; he couldn't let Sakura suffer this kind of grievance again!

The moment the final bell rang, the noise in the classroom gradually dissipated, and Ike and the others were kept behind by Hirata.

Shangguan Che leaned against a desk, watching Hirata methodically arrange the after-school tutoring, and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "This guy really has a knack for reading people, or is that girl Kushida just too good at stirring people up? Otherwise, how could she get these 'problem students' to stay behind so obediently?"

At this moment, Hirata walked over and patted Shangguan Che on the shoulder: "Shangguan, I'm going to trouble you to be in charge of two people this time: Sotomura Hideo and Karuizawa Kei."

Shangguan Che's eyes widened upon hearing this. He pointed toward Karuizawa Kei and asked in disbelief, "No way, Hirata, you're actually handing your girlfriend over to me to teach? Don't you have time yourself?"

His mind was full of confusion, and he couldn't help but be curious about who Hirata was going to teach that he couldn't even spare time for his girlfriend.

Following Hirata's gaze, Shangguan Che saw Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudo Ken sitting together, looking rather uncomfortable.

He understood instantly. These three were not easy to deal with; not only were they stubborn, but their academic foundations were weak. Only Hirata had the patience and ability to make them willing to stay for tutoring.

Shangguan Che patted Hirata on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Alright, Hirata, good luck. I'll take care of your worries and make sure Karuizawa Kei and Sotomura Hideo are taught well."

He sighed internally, As expected of Hirata. He used to think Kushida had a lot of charisma, but now it seemed that when it came to class management and motivating students, Hirata was the true core figure.

Next, the classroom was divided into several "tutoring groups."

On Hirata's side, he first patiently asked the three of them about their difficulties in their studies. Ike scratched his head in embarrassment, saying he could never figure out the logic behind geometry proofs in math; Yamauchi frowned, complaining that he would forget English vocabulary as soon as he memorized it; Sudo Ken was even more direct, admitting he couldn't understand the mechanics portion of physics at all.

Hirata didn't show a hint of impatience. Instead, he took out a notebook and explained things in detail while drawing diagrams. Whenever they encountered something they didn't understand, he would repeatedly provide examples until all three nodded to show they understood. (The above is the scene Shangguan Che expected to happen.)