She Appeared at Just the Right Time

"Shi Cheng! Ice Vine!"

A piercing voice rang out behind him.

Cold air, no slower than the speed of sound, swiftly followed.

It cooled the sweat covering Shi Cheng's back.

Shi Cheng had no intention of looking back.

He just kept running outside.

After reaching a safe place, Shi Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, but he did not hurry back to the dormitory.

If he went back now,

he might get blocked at the door.

He was not that stupid.

But if he did not go back and just wandered around outside alone, it felt rather foolish too.

After all, this was a lively, youthful school.

Unfortunately, given the circumstances, Shi Cheng could only bite the bullet and head somewhere with fewer people.

Because his concern had come true.

Nearly everyone he saw along the way was in groups of three or five.

A lone traveler like him was truly rare.

Fortunately, Shi Cheng had already made plans.

He avoided crowded places.

Before long,

perhaps drawn together by fate,

two lonely people met in a secluded place.

Shi Cheng blinked and stared blankly.

Not far away,

a vibrant young girl was striking alluring poses.

No matter how he looked at it, those were not movements a student ought to make.

Yet the lively, energetic aura on her face told Shi Cheng

that she was a student.

Having reached that conclusion,

Shi Cheng's rapidly beating heart seemed to skip a beat.

After steadying himself,

Shi Cheng approached with a smile.

He waved and said, "Do you need help?"

Once he got closer, Shi Cheng realized

that this girl did not have any peculiar fetish. She was taking pictures in this scenic spot.

Shi Cheng understood perfectly.

Who could refuse to preserve beautiful memories?

"Eh?!" To Shi Cheng's surprise, the girl who had seemed so outgoing a second ago immediately broke down.

The joyful smile on her face instantly vanished, leaving behind only deep panic.

Her fair, tender cheeks turned crimson, as though steaming vapor would rise from them the next second.

Hm?

Watching this remarkable change, Shi Cheng tilted his head in confusion.

He had considered that she might have deliberately chosen this place because she did not want others to see her.

But he had not expected the reaction to be this severe.

The contrast was a little too extreme, was it not?

As he marveled, Shi Cheng's interest grew stronger.

There was no particular reason for it. He simply liked contrasts.

But before he could continue flirting,

the girl, too embarrassed to face anyone, suddenly covered her face and fled, not giving him any chance to speak.

Watching her slender figure disappear into the distance, Shi Cheng did not chase after her. Instead, he looked at the camera she had left beside him.

Was she abandoning this?

Just as he was lamenting the journey of finding its owner that was about to begin,

the girl suddenly raced back, apparently having remembered what she had lost.

Watching her move with lightning-like speed,

Shi Cheng could not help clicking his tongue inwardly.

How unwelcome was he?

Did she have to be this afraid of him?

But precisely because of that,

kind-hearted Shi Cheng's lips curled up slightly as he tested, "You're Sakura, right?"

He had no other intentions.

He was merely afraid the camera might fall into the hands of bad people.

"Wah!" Sakura Airi whimpered after having her name exposed. Her voluptuous body trembled slightly, like a frightened little animal.

Even though she was startled,

Sakura Airi still endured the tremendous pressure.

It seemed that compared with baseless accusations, she preferred catching him in the act.

But Shi Cheng did not make things too difficult for her.

He simply watched quietly as she left once more.

After all, Sakura Airi was in an extremely poor state right now.

Shi Cheng did not want to pressure her too much.

He was not some villain.

He merely liked beauty.

Besides, there was plenty of time. There was no rush.

Smelling the lingering scent she had left behind, Shi Cheng chuckled, shook his head, and returned to the dormitory building.

After leaving the elevator, Shi Cheng glanced at the doorway.

Things looked good.

Horikita Suzune was not waiting there to block his door.

That was only normal.

After all, this was the boys' territory.

Even if Horikita Suzune was very stubborn, she could not possibly stay here forever.

Just as Shi Cheng had thought before,

there was plenty of time.

Shi Cheng was right here.

Where could he possibly run to?

Another day passed simply enough.

The moment Shi Cheng stepped out of the elevator, he happened to run into Kato Megumi in the first-floor lobby.

"Shi Cheng, what a coincidence. Let's go together."

Kato Megumi put away the phone she had been fiddling with and walked over naturally.

Of course, Shi Cheng would not refuse such a sincere invitation.

Besides, was there really such a coincidence? He did not believe it.

Glancing at Kato Megumi beside him, whose expression was as calm as usual, Shi Cheng did not ask why she had been waiting in the lobby.

Instead, he eagerly shared, "Kato, let me tell you something. Don't be too surprised."

Kato Megumi's gentle expression shifted slightly, but quickly settled again.

Kato Megumi raised her delicate chin and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Shi Cheng. Since you've said that, I'll do my best."

Shi Cheng nodded and pointed at a surveillance camera operating not far away.

"Kato, this school really is abnormal. There are way more surveillance cameras than usual."

Kato Megumi, who had already prepared herself mentally, froze slightly at his words.

Fortunately, her long-standing easygoing nature quickly calmed her down.

Kato Megumi, who inexplicably felt relieved, had a faint flush on her face.

Rather than asking about the surveillance cameras first, she asked about something else.

"Is this what you went to do with Horikita yesterday?"

"Yeah." Shi Cheng lifted his head, looking quite pleased with himself.

Kato Megumi pursed her lips, seeming somewhat unhappy.

"There was no need to trouble Horikita with something like that, was there?"

If she remembered correctly,

this had clearly been something between the two of them.

She truly felt a little sorry about it.

Shi Cheng scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Considering it was quite physically demanding, and Kato had just made me a bento, I really did not want to keep troubling you."

"So..." Shi Cheng looked at her with an apologetic expression.

He had already apologized so sincerely. What else could Kato Megumi do to him?

Although his answer barely passed, Kato Megumi was still not very happy.

She clearly could have done it.

Why had Shi Cheng not asked her first?

Hmph.

Kato Megumi lightly pouted her moist lips.

In his eyes,

was she really that useless?

"All right, we're here." As they spoke, the two arrived at the classroom entrance.

Looking at the classmates inside, Kato Megumi, who knew it would be difficult for them to notice her expression, still adjusted her mindset.

After all, she was not a petty person.

After returning to her seat,

Kato Megumi made up her mind.

Until school was over, she would not take the initiative to speak to Shi Cheng.

Because she needed to study properly.

There were many people in the class who did not study, but Kato Megumi did not choose to follow along.

Instead, she became even more serious.

For someone who had always gone with the flow, a modest but meaningful thought arose in her this time.

In the past, she had not had the opportunity.

But things were different now.

She was confident that with hard work, she could earn a decent ranking.

This was an opportunity she had never had during middle school.

That was why Kato Megumi was so interested.

She wanted to see

what it felt like to rank among the best.

She suddenly seemed a little strange.

Shi Cheng muttered inwardly.

But he did not take it to heart, because he had already handled things well.