"Xia Mu!" Sakura saw what was happening and tried to stop him.
But after thinking it over, she figured that with Xia Mu's strength, those people probably couldn't do anything to him, and she relaxed.
Gritting her teeth, she followed him.
When the members of Class C saw Xia Mu suddenly appear, they were lying on the ground, wailing. They had been acting incredibly smug just moments earlier.
The moment they saw Xia Mu and Sakura, they burst into tears. "You saw what happened, right? This guy used violence against us!"
"Yeah! He lured us out and beat us up. This is outrageous!"
With their bruised faces, their story seemed somewhat believable.
"You bastards, what are you talking about?"
Sudo grabbed one of them by the collar and raised his fist to hit him again.
But when he met Xia Mu's gaze, he immediately lost his nerve.
Unease flickered in his heart. Given his relationship with Xia Mu, there was no way Xia Mu would testify on his behalf.
Once he had calmed down, he remembered that the lightest punishment for using violence against a classmate was a month's suspension.
"Quit pretending."
What Sudo hadn't expected was that Xia Mu would choose to help him. "I recorded the whole thing."
"Sudo did hit you, but you were the ones who started it."
"Either way, the worst that could happen is that Sudo and all of you get expelled together. Three students from Class C expelled versus one from Class D—Long Yuan should be able to weigh the options for himself."
As Xia Mu spoke, he played the video on his phone.
He had clearly recorded the entire incident.
Seeing this, the students from Class C stopped pretending. With a sinking feeling, they scrambled to their feet.
They exchanged glances, intending to force Xia Mu to hand over his phone.
If they failed the mission, they would be in serious trouble!
"Shit, what do you think you're doing!?"
But Sudo swore and stepped in front of Xia Mu. He didn't know why, but Xia Mu had definitely helped him.
Despite all the misunderstandings between them, he wasn't about to let those guys hurt Xia Mu.
"Even if you take my phone, it won't matter. I backed it up to the cloud."
Xia Mu put his phone away and looked calmly at the other three.
He wasn't afraid of them getting back at him at all.
"Damn it, let's go!"
Now that they'd been exposed, there was no point in sticking around and making a scene. The members of Class C had no choice but to leave dejectedly.
Xia Mu glanced at Sakura. "That means Sakura won't have to go through those things."
He could consider it repayment for all the Skill Points she'd brought him.
"Mm..." Sakura felt embarrassed under Xia Mu's gaze. She lowered her head and clutched her skirt tightly with both hands.
"Why did you help me?"
Sudo clenched both fists, but the anger he'd felt toward Xia Mu was gone from his voice.
"Because I'm your big bro." Xia Mu reached out and patted Sudo on the head. "Also, when I need you, I hope you'll help me out with a few things."
He couldn't do everything himself, after all.
Xia Mu's words seemed to have a magical pull. Sudo couldn't find a reason to argue with him.
"I understand."
Sudo wiped the blood from his nose, slung his schoolbag over his shoulder, and walked past Xia Mu toward the stairs. "As long as you're not asking me to risk my life, I'll do whatever I can to help."
When someone showed you kindness, you should return it.
Sudo had a fiery temper, but he was very loyal.
"Sakura!?" When he saw the familiar figure behind Xia Mu, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "S-she's beautiful..."
Her aura was every bit as impressive as Horikita's or Kushida's, wasn't it?
"Mm, mm..." Sakura replied softly, her delicate hands already twisting her skirt into wrinkles.
Now she felt that perhaps she wasn't so impossible to look at after all.
Sudo glanced at the two of them, puzzled. Then he seemed to understand, and slowly went downstairs.
After Sudo left, Xia Mu and Sakura headed out too.
The setting sun cast its glow across the sea, rippling in layer upon layer of golden light.
Xia Mu and Sakura walked side by side. She had taken off her glasses. She was still shy and timid, but she was gradually emerging from her isolated world and facing the world around her.
"B-by the way, Xia Mu."
Sakura gazed at Xia Mu's face, then took an album from her rabbit-shaped shoulder bag and handed it to him. "Th-these are the photos I had developed. I-I want to give them to you..."
She stumbled over her words.
This was the first time she'd ever offered someone her photos, and the person was a boy.
Xia Mu took the album. It contained photos taken from when they'd first met up through yesterday, including quite a few pictures of Sakura and Xia Mu together.
Of course, most of them had been taken secretly.
Looking at them, he wondered if he didn't smile too little.
It was true. Xia Mu kept most of his emotions hidden, rarely showing them on the surface.
"Whoa, there are even sexy pictures of you in the bathroom." When he got to the middle of the album, Xia Mu was startled.
If he gave this album to the chubby guy, he'd start swinging immediately.
Closing the album and tucking it under his arm, Xia Mu said softly to Sakura, "Thanks. I really like it."
"R-really..."
"You like it?"
Sakura was overjoyed, a rush of happiness welling up inside her. "Th-then I'm glad..."
She didn't dare meet Xia Mu's eyes. She gently tucked back a strand of hair, trying to hide how much she liked him.
It didn't take much to make a girl happy.
After saying goodbye to Sakura, Xia Mu took the album back to his dorm. He put it in a drawer, changed into his workout clothes, and went to the track to train the chubby guy.
He was getting stronger and stronger, and his weight was dropping rapidly. The fat on his face was visibly disappearing.
He'd only been chubby from lack of exercise, so losing weight came easily to him.
In fact, after sticking with it for days, he'd even earned smiles and compliments from some of the girls who often came to the track. They called him cute.
Xia Mu saw this and rested his index finger against his chin, thinking.
Am I not cute?
That evening, after taking a shower, he studied with Shiina as usual.
They were growing closer and closer. They could even feel each other's body heat when they sat together.
Tonight, Xia Mu cooked dinner himself.
His cooking was pretty good. Shiina praised him again and again, and she found herself getting more and more attached.
Before she knew it, she'd grown used to having Xia Mu around.
Teasing each other, studying together, reading together, and improving together every day.
It was a wonderful life, wasn't it?
Shiina pursed her thin, rosy lips and took a bite of an onion ring as she looked at Xia Mu.
An image suddenly appeared in her mind.
Xia Mu, usually so calm and composed, dressed in a maid outfit and calling her "Master."
The contrast was so striking that Shiina couldn't help smiling. Dimples appeared in her cheeks.
"Mm, good boy."
She could already imagine the memorable scene of being Xia Mu's master.
"?" Xia Mu.
Looking at Shiina's sudden blissful, dreamy smile, Xia Mu was utterly baffled.
What happened?
He had a feeling Shiina was having some improper thoughts about him.
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