Ying Wants to Raise His Cool Factor (3)

On the streets of Kouiku, a silver-haired youth with his hands in his pockets walked steadily forward. He had a pair of pale blue eyes and wore a black mask... or rather, an eye patch.

"Hey, hey... that coser, he's cosplaying that guy, right?" a chubby boy said to the classmate beside him.

"Yeah, come to think of it, he really does look like him." Both of them nodded in agreement, acknowledging the coser—none other than our Ying.

"As expected, this is the most comfortable way." After trying to walk with a cane for a few steps, Ying realized it lacked "cool factor" and wasn't comfortable either. After much deliberation, he decided to use the eye patch as a mask; this way, he could maintain his cool factor without obstructing his vision.

Ying recalled what that book had said and decided to first head to a cafe for an iced Americano, then find a scenic spot to spend an hour.

Just then, Ying ran into an acquaintance. He was about to say hello when he suddenly remembered: he was currently trying to be a person with "cool factor," so he couldn't greet people in a way that lacked it. Thus...

"Yo!"

Kanzaki: ?

Just as Ying spotted Kanzaki, Kanzaki also noticed Ying. He looked at this white-haired student and felt he had seen him somewhere before; he looked very familiar. After thinking it over carefully, he decided he must have mistaken him for someone else.

However, just as Ying and Kanzaki brushed past each other, Ying suddenly let out a "Yo."

Kanzaki froze in place, looking back at the white-haired student's retreating figure. The more he looked, the more familiar he seemed. But every time the answer was on the tip of his tongue, it got stuck. In the end, Kanzaki attributed it to his recent busy schedule, spending every day negotiating with Ichinose and other classes, which had caused some mental fatigue, making him feel like everyone he saw was an acquaintance.

Staying out until the sky turned dark, Ying began to head toward the dorms. Passing by a teaching building, a sudden thought occurred to Ying.

Wouldn't going to the rooftop to enjoy the night view also be a "cool" thing to do?

And so, Ying entered the special teaching building. Just as he pushed open the door to the rooftop...

"Damn Horikita! Always acting so high and mighty. Every time I come to find you, you brush me off in such a perfunctory way. Do you really think you're that great? You really are just full of yourself, you jerk!"

Ying: Uh...

"And those guys, Ike and Yamauchi, they look at me with those lewd eyes every single day, and I still have to smile and suck up to them. It makes me so mad just thinking about it!"

Listening to these insults and the occasional sound of feet kicking the railing, Ying only thought: why do I keep running into these troublesome things lately? Better run away before she notices me.

As Ying was closing the door, he glanced over and happened to lock eyes with Kushida, who had just turned around...

"Bang!" Ying shut the door without a second thought. What a disaster!

"Hey! Wait up, student!" Kushida ran over, reopened the door, and chased Ying downstairs.

"I told you to wait!" At the corner of the stairs, Kushida caught up to Ying and grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to face her.

However, once Kushida saw Ying's appearance, she froze in place.

At this moment, Ying was wearing an eye patch and holding a cane in his right hand, tapping it on the floor here and there.

"This student, I can't see anything. What you're doing is very dangerous for me." After saying this, Ying pretentiously tapped the wall twice with his cane and leaned against it.

"I'm sorr... Wait! You're messing with me! You weren't wearing an eye patch just a second ago!" With that, Kushida ripped off Ying's eye patch, revealing his eyes, which were wearing colored contacts.

"Cough, cough..." Having his disguise exposed, Ying coughed twice, then walked to the stairwell and started kicking the railing. "Damn Wang Ergou! That bastard, he borrowed 2,000 from me last time and hasn't paid it back, and then a week later he scammed another 500 out of me before vanishing into thin air. I'm done! Go to hell, go to hell, go to hell! And that system! No, no, no... I was wrong, the system is the best thing in the world to me... System!"

After kicking the railing, Ying turned around and looked at Kushida in surprise: "Oh! Is this student here to vent her emotions too? My, the pressure is so high every day, coming here to shout a bit is good for you; keeping it bottled up is bad for your health. I'm done venting, so I'll be going now. If you still have more to get out, feel free to shout a few more times, Kano!"

"Wait! I'm not done talking yet!" Kushida grabbed Ying's arm and dragged him back in front of her. Kushida glared at Ying coldly and asked, "Who are you..."

Before Kushida could finish, Ying blurted out, "I am Baiye Ying from Class 1-B. Ms. Kushida, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've given up my seat to elderly ladies, helped old men cross the street, and volunteered in disaster areas. Please trust my character; I will definitely not tell anyone about what happened today. If you still don't want to believe me, we can go to a teacher and sign a contract."

Kushida was a bit stunned. Why did this person seem so experienced?

"I don't want the teachers to know my secret. You really won't tell?" Kushida asked suspiciously.

"I swear!" Ying made a swearing gesture.

"No, I still don't believe you. I need some insurance." With that, Kushida placed Ying's hand on her chest.

Ying instinctively squeezed twice, only to be glared at fiercely by Kushida!

Ying: Soft, nice!

"Alright, now your fingerprints are on this piece of clothing. If you dare say a single word to anyone else, I'll report you to the school for trying to molest me. By then, everyone will believe me and not you."

Ying nodded repeatedly. Looking at Ying like this, Kushida couldn't help but feel like she had lost out.

The next day, Ying hurriedly found a fortune teller at school and asked him to tell his fortune, wondering why he had been having such bad luck lately and if he had picked up some bad energy.

According to the master, it was all because of his recent eccentric clothing. So, Ying decisively dyed his hair back and took out his contacts, returning to the red-eyed, black-haired handsome youth he once was.

After school, Ying headed toward the student council as usual, preparing to finish his homework there. On the way, he ran into a tipsy Hoshinomiya-sensei. She greeted Ying with a smile and leaned into his ear, saying, "Ying-kun, do your best with that matter~."

Ying: Which matter? Oh, oh, oh!

Actually, Ying had almost forgotten about that. But in the original story, Class D achieved an unprecedented 0 points in the first month. In fact, he would be carried by the "great immortals" of Class D anyway; he didn't really need to do anything.

"Don't worry, Sensei. If Class D doesn't get 0 points this month, I'll eat my hat!" Ying said confidently.

"Really? Then I'll look forward to your results, Ying-kun. Hic!" After saying that, Hoshinomiya swayed away. Is it really okay for a teacher to drink every day?

Even without me, Class D would still get 0 points. Ying chuckled to himself. Getting a free ride is great.

"Ah! Baiye-kun, are you heading to the student council?" Ichinose greeted Ying with a smile.

"Oh, Ichinose. Are you in such a rush to go to a party again?"

"Hehe, you could say that, I suppose. Actually, I'm heading over to negotiate with Class D. After I leaked a portion of the intel last time, their leaders consulted the entire class. Now that they've reached a consensus, I'm preparing to sell them the rest of the information."

"Oh, well, just make sure the price is reasonable."

"Understood. In that case, Byakuya-kun, I'll be heading off now."

I never expected Ichinose to have already sold off a portion of the intel. I have no idea how much she charged for it... Wait! Doesn't this mean Class D won't be as reckless as they were in the original story! Damn it...!

Ying could only feel that he had brought this upon himself; there was no escaping the consequences of his own actions...