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"Despair?"

The fat boy didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Xia Mu's profanity. A snot bubble even formed under his nose. "I think we're the ones who should be despairing."

Xia Mu's face twitched when he heard that. He couldn't help smacking the fat boy on the head. "You're boosting the other guy's morale and undermining our own!"

"But we really have no way to fight Long Yuan!"

Zhu Xincheng couldn't see any hope. "They have so many people. Just you and me can't possibly take them on!"

At that, Xia Mu stepped in front of him and held out his hand. "Just you and me are enough."

That warm expression stirred Zhu Xincheng, filling him with emotion and confidence.

"Slap!"

He grabbed Xia Mu's hand and sprang to his feet. "Damn it, let's kick his ass!"

He angrily wiped the tears from his face and immediately perked up.

Just like back in middle school, Xia Mu had made the same confident promise: the two of them would be enough.

And later, he really had pulled it off, turning the guy who'd kept Zhu Xincheng under his thumb for three years into a miserable stray dog.

But after saying that, he lost his nerve again and deflated at once. "This time, things are different. This school turns a blind eye to this kind of thing. How are we supposed to win?"

Xia Mu patted him on the shoulder and handed him a tissue. "Trust me. Get some rest tonight. Tomorrow night, I'll teach you what to do."

"Okay."

Zhu Xincheng clenched his teeth, his fighting spirit rekindled by Xia Mu. "Damn it, worst case, I'll fight him to the death!"

"It won't come to that. I'm here, so no one can lay a hand on you." Xia Mu's face twitched. "Don't go talking about fighting to the death all the time. He hasn't pushed me that far."

The fat boy awkwardly scratched his head. "All right, I trust you."

Back in his dorm, Xia Mu soaked in the bathtub, a rough plan for dealing with Ryuenji gradually taking shape in his mind.

Didn't he want to get into Class A? Didn't he treat this like a game?

Then Xia Mu would shatter his fantasies completely and turn him into a pawn in someone else's game.

Xia Mu would take his time destroying him.

"Crack." Before he knew it, Xia Mu had crushed the bathtub's handrail in his grip.

The next morning.

"You're saying you woke up and found the bathtub broken?"

Chabashira-sensei puffed on her cigarette, staring in astonishment at the young man standing obediently before her.

How come everyone else was fine, but you were always having trouble?

But the other boy looked so honest, almost like her grandson, that he didn't seem to be lying.

"Yes, sorry to trouble you again, Sensei." Xia Mu nodded gently.

"Sigh..."

"Honestly."

Chabashira-sensei rubbed her temples and held out her hand to Xia Mu. "Give me your room key. I'll arrange for someone to come repair it."

Xia Mu obediently handed Chabashira the key, looking embarrassed.

As she watched Xia Mu leave, she seemed to remember something and called out to stop him. "Wait."

The veins on Xia Mu's forehead bulged. "Is there something else, Chabashira-sensei?"

Chabashira Sae paused. Why did Xia Mu sound like he was about to hit someone?

She flicked the ash from her cigarette. "I heard you do whatever you want in class and order your classmates around. Don't do that anymore."

Several thoughts flashed through Xia Mu's mind at once.

Who had reported him?

Kushida? Hirata? Or some other student who couldn't stand him?

"Ah, Sensei, I'm just not good at talking to my classmates."

"Kushida and I are friends, so I asked her to help me!"

Xia Mu made an excuse.

"But..."

Chabashira-sensei raised an eyebrow. "You had her feed you and do your laundry. Don't you think that's going too far?"

"Cough, cough..."

Xia Mu stiffened. Hadn't he only wanted Kushida to realize that being the center of attention wasn't a good thing?

That was why he'd ordered her around in every possible way. The results had been great, too: her Correction value had reached forty percent.

It might not seem like much, but that progress came after Kushida had repeatedly repaired herself following the Correction.

So, after deducting the Modified Golden Bell Shield skill he'd learned yesterday, Xia Mu still had a full 130 Skill Points.

"Understood."

But it seemed he couldn't keep doing that from now on. Since someone had already reported him to Chabashira-sensei, continuing would only give people something to use against him.

After speaking, he deliberately waited three seconds to make sure Chabashira-sensei wasn't going to stop him again, then left.

Should he put a sign on his back from now on?

[Please don't be one of those people who keeps saying "wait"]

After leaving the teaching building, Xia Mu headed to the school's artificial hill.

It was the weekend, and he'd promised Sakura he would take photos of her.

"Click!"

As the shutter clicked, Xia Mu successfully took another absolutely perfect photo of Sakura.

Today, she was wearing a beautiful long dress.

When she saw that Xia Mu had photographed her like a fairy from a painting, she was overjoyed.

But Xia Mu still made her share the photos with other people. She wasn't willing to, but under Xia Mu's coercion, she had no choice.

She really loved and hated Xia Mu in equal measure.

Why did he have to force her to do things she hated...?

"Phew..."

After taking photos all afternoon, Sakura was satisfied. She went to the women's restroom to change back into her oversized school uniform, then walked back to the dorms with Xia Mu.

Throughout the entire time, Xia Mu didn't say a word.

Sakura couldn't help wondering: Xia Mu clearly wasn't interested in her at all, so why was he helping her for nothing?

"I had a really nice time today. Thank you, Xia Mu."

As they parted, Sakura thanked him, her cheeks flushed and her voice barely a whisper.

"Mm, I should thank you, too." Xia Mu glanced at his rising Skill Points and replied softly.

He and Sakura were simply helping each other get what they wanted.

He took photos of Sakura, and Sakura gave him Skill Points in return.

"Huh? You're thanking me, too? Why?" Sakura's bright eyes blinked behind her glasses.

"Ah, because you're cute, Sakura. I'm so happy to be friends with a beautiful girl like you. So, thank you."

Xia Mu replied perfunctorily, turned, and opened the door to his dorm room.

Sakura was left standing at the door, blushing and utterly bewildered.

She'd heard things like that plenty of times online, but this was the first time anyone had said something like that to her in real life.

Does Xia Mu need friends that badly?

Hmm...

It seemed like no one in class was friends with him either, just like me...

For no particular reason, Sakura felt a little happy.

Back in his dorm, Xia Mu changed into his sportswear, grabbed the set of workout clothes he'd prepared for the fat boy, and headed out. "This is the biggest size they had. It should be fine."

After what had happened yesterday, Shiina hoped Xia Mu wouldn't contact her for now.

She was afraid Long Yuan would attack Xia Mu. She knew just how violent Long Yuan could be.

They met on the sports field.

Quite a few students were sitting by the soccer field, taking pictures and singing. Others were working out.

When Zhu Xincheng spotted Xia Mu, he waved and called him over.

"Xia, you said you'd help me deal with Long Yuan today. What are we going to do!?" The fat boy was extremely excited.

Just imagining Long Yuan looking desperate filled him with an inexplicable thrill.

Xia Mu looked Zhu Xincheng up and down, taking in his layers of fat. "First, we'll start by changing you."