Audacious! A mere junior of the martial world dares to ambush this senior!

Nighttime.

Uesugi Hara sat at his desk, tapped his screen twice, and opened his frequently visited blog page with a sense of anticipation.

The moment the page loaded, his eyes immediately caught the familiar icon in his following list lighting up.

It was Shizuku-chan, whom he had been following for a long time.

She finally updated.

As a loyal fan of Shizuku-chan, Uesugi Hara naturally wanted to be the first to crowd in and take a look.

His fingertips tapped rapidly on the screen to enter the post, and he didn't forget to refresh the comment section twice; he had to secure a front-row seat before everyone else squeezed in.

Wait.

Uesugi Hara's fingertips paused on the screen, his gaze locked onto a portrait photo within the post.

The girl in the picture had flowing long red hair, her features exquisite and moving.

But compared to this eye-catching figure, the background gave him a sense of familiarity.

This background... have I seen it somewhere before?

Uesugi Hara searched his memory while comparing it to the background in the picture.

Those blue skies and white clouds, along with the faint, hazy cherry blossom trees—it was as if he had locked eyes with them in some careless moment.

He furrowed his brows, his brain racing as he tried to piece together the related scene from the fragments of his memory.

"Thump!" He slammed his right fist into his left palm. "Isn't this the scenery next to that bench on the path behind the Advanced Nurturing University teaching building!"

"In other words... is Shizuku-chan also a student at this school?" Uesugi Hara swiped his fingertips across the screen, pulling up past photos Shizuku-chan had posted to look closely and compare the dates. None of the backgrounds had elements of Advanced Nurturing University, and even the dates were from not long ago.

"And a... freshman?"

As his gaze fell back onto that portrait, he frowned again: "If this red hair isn't a wig... let me think..." His mind involuntarily flipped through images from the entrance ceremony.

"Long red hair... I think there's a girl in Class D with this hair color?" He tapped his desk, feeling uncertain because he had only caught a glimpse of her back at the time.

Should I ask Ayanokoji?

The moment this thought popped into his head, Uesugi Hara suppressed it.

He curled his lip—that guy Ayanokoji, acting indifferent to everything all day long, what would he know about Shizuku-chan? I'm afraid asking him would only result in a "I don't know," which would be a total waste of time.

(Uesugi Hara's memory of Ayanokoji was still stuck in the past; he didn't know that Ayanokoji had already started making friends, and as for who those friends were, everyone knows.)

Should I go to Class D tomorrow to take a look?

Uesugi Hara began to calculate a plan in his mind.

But if he really went, what excuse could he use so it wouldn't seem deliberate? He couldn't just rush over and ask, "Do you have a red-haired Shizuku-chan in your class?" right?

Hmm...

Got it.

I'll just say I'm going to find Ayanokoji; isn't that guy in Class D?

That's decided.

The next day.

Class A classroom.

It was still early before class, but some people had already arrived in Class A.

He didn't plan to run to Class D right now; after all, there were people in every class at this hour, and rushing over rashly would be conspicuous. Besides, there might not be anyone in Class D yet. So, he planned to go take a look after class.

"Morishita-san," Uesugi Hara saw Morishita Ai arrive in the classroom, and once she sat down, he leaned in to ask without even letting her catch her breath, "What exactly happened yesterday? I clearly cheered for you, so why did you swim worse and worse?"

It would have been better if he hadn't said anything; the moment he did, Morishita Ai's face darkened.

A chill spread through her eyes, and her thin lips parted with a hint of mockery: "Uesugi Hara is unexpectedly an idiot. No, rather than an idiot, it's more like ignorance."

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As soon as she finished speaking, she turned her face away, her back straight, completely shutting down the microphone for communication, refusing to spare him another glance.

Uesugi Hara's hand froze in mid-air, his cheeks quietly heating up, revealing a bit of embarrassment.

"Pfft—" Kamuro Masumi next to him couldn't help but let out a low laugh, covering her mouth with her textbook while her shoulders shook uncontrollably.

Uesugi Hara turned his head to glare at her, then glanced at Morishita Ai's tightly set profile. Is she angry?

Before Kamuro Masumi could tease him further, he suddenly changed the subject: "Kamuro, do you have a spare hair tie?"

Kamuro Masumi was stunned for a moment, scanned him up and down, and said, "What do you need that thing for? You don't need to tie your hair."

"Don't ask so many questions, just give it to me." Uesugi Hara reached out to ask her for it. "You'll know in a bit." His tone was somewhat mysterious.

"Here." Kamuro Masumi fished a stretchy black hair tie from her pocket and handed it over.

Uesugi Hara took it and squeezed it, his peripheral vision glancing toward the front diagonal.

Morishita Ai was using the act of flipping through her book to sneak a glance backward.

Curious, aren't you?

It's only natural to be curious.

He lowered his head, tore off a piece of scrap paper, cut it into a thin strip, rolled it up, flattened it, and folded it in half, pinching it into a small paper pellet.

His other hand used his thumb and index finger to stretch open a hair tie, secretly holding it under the desk as he wedged the paper pellet inside. Locked and loaded.

"Morishita-san..." he called out, intentionally lowering his voice.

No response.

He raised his volume slightly: "Morishita-san, please turn around and see what this is."

After a few seconds of silence, he heard Morishita Ai let out a cold huff: "Hmph, since you've asked so sincerely, I'll be merciful and take a look." As she spoke, she indeed turned around.

Meeting her eyes, which still held a hint of curiosity, Uesugi Hara curled the corners of his mouth and whispered: "Fire!"

"Whew—"

"Thwack!"

The small paper pellet hit Morishita Ai squarely on the forehead; the force wasn't heavy, but it was enough to leave her stunned.

Uesugi Hara pulled his hand back and said with a straight face: "Alright, it's nothing, turn back around."

"How bold!" Morishita Ai was taken aback by the hit, then immediately raised a hand to rub her forehead. "A mere junior dares to ambush me, a senior expert!"

She paused, then put on a "magnanimous" expression and tilted her chin up: "However, in consideration of the heavens' virtue of cherishing life, junior, hand over your 'hidden weapon' as a stroke of fate, and this seat shall spare your life."

As she spoke, she actually held out her palm in front of him, her fingertips swaying slightly.

"But this belongs to Kamuro." Uesugi Hara pointed toward Kamuro Masumi, who was still trying to process what had just happened.

Morishita Ai immediately turned her head, her gaze landing on Kamuro Masumi.

Kamuro Masumi was still frozen in place, her mind still reeling from the incident and Morishita Ai's outrageous remarks.

Whenever these two clowns got together, they always managed to pull something that caught her off guard.

Now, under Morishita Ai's fiery gaze, she quickly waved her hands, her tone carrying a hint of helpless indulgence: "Give... give it to her."

Having received the go-ahead, Uesugi Hara handed over the hair tie and the remaining paper pellets, looking for all the world like a junior offering tribute to a senior.

Morishita Ai took them and pinched them in her hand, twirling the black hair tie with her fingertips before suddenly looking up at him and shouting: "Prepare to die, junior!" As she spoke, she flicked a paper pellet at him.

"I'm going to the restroom." Uesugi Hara scrambled to dodge it.

"Trying to run? Take this hit first!" Morishita Ai pinched another paper pellet and loaded it.

Uesugi Hara didn't dare to take the hit; he bolted toward the classroom exit, shouting "Spare me, senior!" while throwing in a "Run for your life!"

Morishita Ai chased after him, firing two more paper pellets until she stopped at the classroom door. Watching his retreating figure turn into the hallway, she twirled the hair tie on her fingertip and gave a light huff: "Hmph, you're lucky you're fast."

The classroom had long since lost its pre-class quiet thanks to the antics of these two, and Kamuro Masumi rested her head on her hand, smiling, while several nearby classmates couldn't help but chuckle.

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