Take a Look at Those Legs

After tidying up his dorm, Uesugi Hara headed straight for the cafeteria.

He spotted the free meal in the corner of the serving counter at a glance. The plastic tray held rice, miso soup, and two small portions of pickles. It looked plain, but somehow tempting—not that he was particularly hungry. He just wanted to see what this "free" food tasted like.

"I'll have this," he said, pointing to it for the server.

But the moment he took his first bite, Uesugi Hara's brows knitted together. The rice was dry and hard, the miso soup as bland as dishwater, and the pickles had an indescribably bitter aftertaste.

"What the hell is this..." he muttered, picking up his tray and heading for the return station.

"Hey, wait a second," a staff member beside him hurriedly stopped him. "You can't waste the free meal. You have to finish it."

Uesugi Hara: "..."

The result was predictable.

Pinching his nose, he chased each bite of rice with three retches, his face scrunched up like a steamed bun. Luckily, he was adaptable. After forcing down a few mouthfuls of soup, he gradually got used to the revolting taste, though every bite still felt like torture.

He probably wouldn't touch another free meal for the rest of his life.

After swallowing the last bite, Uesugi Hara wiped his mouth. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed several students in the corner of the cafeteria quietly eating the same free meal. They looked as calm as if they were enjoying a feast, without a hint of disgust on their faces.

He couldn't help reflecting: as expected, the strong never complained about their circumstances.

Even so, Uesugi Hara couldn't stomach it.

After eating, Uesugi Hara wandered aimlessly around campus.

When he reached the commercial district, he was a little surprised.

The gym floor gleamed, and its equipment looked brand-new. The coffee shop wafted with a rich aroma, and its decor was more refined than that of the chain cafes outside. There was even a professional-looking arcade, with dazzling posters flashing at the entrance...

"Wow, this school really wasn't exaggerating about its facilities," he murmured, rubbing his chin. "I thought the recruitment ads were all hype."

Looking at the rows of shops, he couldn't help grumbling to himself: There were only a few hundred people at the whole school. Did they really need to go to all this trouble?

Then he thought about it and grinned. It wasn't his money they were spending, after all, and the school gave him Points every month that he could spend freely in these shops.

Thinking about it that way, all that "unnecessary" luxury suddenly seemed a lot more appealing.

Uesugi Hara wandered around the commercial district, looking here and there, his eyes full of curiosity.

There were so many things he'd never had a chance to experience before. Now he was like a country bumpkin in the big city, finding everything fascinating.

Like right now: he was sitting in an elegantly decorated cafe, with a cup of black coffee in front of him.

He didn't really want to spend the whole afternoon sitting around here. It was just that this was his first time drinking coffee, and its bitter, burnt taste hit him right in the head. He couldn't quite get used to it.

Everyone else around him sipped their coffee slowly, with calm expressions and an air of leisure. Uesugi Hara mused to himself: If he drank it too fast, he'd look like he had no "class."

So, when no one was looking, he secretly added several sugar cubes to his cup and stirred until the sweetness covered up the bitterness. Only then did he start sipping it slowly.

With his Terminal in hand, he idly scrolled through the class group chat, occasionally looking up to stare out the window, doing nothing in particular.

By the time Uesugi Hara came back to himself, the sky outside had begun to darken. His Terminal showed that it was a few minutes past six. He got up to pay, and when he saw "1,000 Points" on the bill, he couldn't help clicking his tongue.

A whole afternoon with one cup of coffee, and it cost 1,000?

After paying, he headed out, cursing under his breath. What a rip-off.

He wouldn't touch this lousy coffee again unless someone else was paying. Uesugi Hara muttered to himself as he walked, firmly making up his mind.

After leaving the coffee shop, he picked a restaurant that looked decent and ordered a simple meal.

It wasn't anything spectacular, but compared to the school's free meal, it was like heaven and earth. At least it tasted like proper food, and he didn't have to pinch his nose and force it down. That was good enough.

Back in his dorm, Uesugi Hara sat down in his chair and suddenly felt a little lost.

The empty room held nothing but the sound of his own breathing, and he had no idea what to do.

Back in the White Room, his days had been packed with all kinds of training, and his nerves were always on edge. After leaving, he'd had to hustle just to get by, either working odd jobs or figuring out how to "mooch" off people. He'd never had a moment to rest.

Now he'd suddenly been thrown into a place where he didn't have to worry about money all the time and even got an allowance every month. Uesugi Hara found himself at a loss.

Bored out of his mind, he suddenly remembered an app a friend had once mentioned: Blog. Apparently, it was an app for watching videos, perfect for killing time.

Uesugi Hara picked up his Terminal and swiped across the screen a few times, found the download link, and leisurely installed the app. Then he followed the prompts and registered an account.

When the "Registration Successful" message popped up on the screen, he raised his eyebrows. He'd see what was so magical about this thing that made people spend half the day staring at a screen.

As Uesugi Hara scrolled through the videos on his Terminal, his brows suddenly furrowed.

He remembered occasionally glancing at what other people were watching on their phones. It was either sparks flying at a blacksmithing competition or people starting fires by friction in the wilderness. All of it had a hardcore feel.

But the new account he'd just registered was being recommended nothing but beautiful women in all kinds of miniskirts and stockings, swaying in front of the camera with deliberately flirtatious movements.

His finger stopped on the screen, and he stared in confusion. "Does this app tailor what it shows you to your tastes?"

It was the same platform. How could the recommended content be so wildly different?

He clicked his tongue, though his finger slowed as he scrolled.

The girl in the video wore a denim miniskirt that showed just the right amount of leg. She swayed her hips gently to the beat, and when her long hair swung aside, it revealed a stretch of fair skin at her neck. Uesugi Hara's gaze seemed glued to the screen, following her movements without him even realizing it.

He leaned back in his chair, found a more comfortable position, and propped the Terminal on his knees. The confusion had long since disappeared from his eyes, replaced by a flicker of interest as he watched the beautiful women.

He'd thought these recommendations were boring at first, but now... they didn't seem so hard to accept.

"Tsk, this app... doesn't seem to know me all that well after all." He complained, but his finger kept scrolling. He had no intention of stopping.

As he scrolled, one image suddenly made his breath catch. In the video, a red-haired girl lay on pale pink sheets. Her fluffy skirt partly veiled her long, slender legs, and her chest pressed against the folds of her dress. Her hair spilled carelessly across the pillow, and her coy, inviting gaze made it impossible to look away.

"Oh, this one's pretty good." He raised an eyebrow, his finger stopping instantly.

Another recommendation appeared. In the frame, a pink-haired girl in an off-the-shoulder dress tugged at her neckline with one hand as she tilted her head back slightly beside the bed. Her eyes were alluring, and in the warm light of the room, even the curve of her falling hair looked carefully arranged. In the corner of the video, the blogger's name, "Shizuku-chan," stood out. Her bio read, "Focused on photoshoots and snippets of everyday life."

"Shizuku-chan? She takes photoshoots?" he murmured, tapping into her profile.

As he scrolled, he saw her by a sunlit window, her skirt lifted slightly by the breeze, or holding a cushion against her chest, her hair falling over it. Every photo had a delicate atmosphere.

"Heh, finally, something worth looking at." He pursed his lips and quietly followed her.

He switched to the comments, where the screen was full of perverts howling in excitement. Uesugi Hara scoffed. "That's it?"

Then, beneath her latest photo, he typed a comment: "Beautiful. Love it. Post more."

Thinking that wasn't enough, he added, "I don't have any other hobbies. I just like looking at legs."