Poolside Crisis

The two arrived.

Ken Sudō looked at Yi Chen, who had tissues stuffed into both nostrils.

Yamauchi hurried over, leaned close to Yi Chen's ear, and said anxiously:

"Yi Chen! Have you got so dazzled by a woman that you've forgotten about us?"

"You've already got a girlfriend, but don't forget your bros!"

Yi Chen replied quietly:

"Don't worry. Something unexpected happened. This body's still too weak."

"Keep going. I'll hold them off from here."

Ken Sudō gave him an OK sign, then headed into the pool building.

Ichinose looked at Yi Chen in confusion and asked:

"Yi Chen, was that your friend just now? What was he saying to you?"

Yi Chen replied nonchalantly:

"We're friends, I guess. I don't know what he was babbling about, but an OK was all I needed."

Ichinose didn't understand, but couldn't be bothered to ask.

Yi Chen went to the beach. Horikita, Yamauchi, Ayanokoji, Airi, and Kushida were there.

Oda was wearing a daring red swimsuit that showed off her figure.

Airi was wearing a one-piece swimsuit, much like Ichinose's.

Horikita's swimsuit was pretty ordinary too, but compared with the other three, her figure didn't quite measure up.

Yi Chen went over to Ayanokoji and teased him about coming too.

Ayanokoji replied:

"This is part of the process of life."

Yi Chen smiled and said nothing.

The group played beach volleyball.

There were five people on each team.

Class D and Class B played together.

Ichinose and Yi Chen were on opposing teams.

Class B had Ichinose and four of her classmates.

Class D had Yi Chen, Yamauchi, Ayanokoji, Kushida, and Horikita, who'd been dragged into it.

Airi was too shy and bad at sports, so Horikita had been the only option.

The game looked heated, but Yi Chen was really just testing his own physical fitness.

Whenever he got the ball, he lightly passed it over to Ichinose.

What was supposed to be a proper match turned into a flirtatious game between the two.

Before long, the Class B students couldn't take it anymore.

Yamauchi exploded:

"What the hell? You haven't even won yet!"

The purple-haired boy from Class B shouted:

"What's going on? And you two, Ichinose! If you play like that, how are the rest of us supposed to enjoy ourselves?"

Ichinose playfully stuck out her tongue:

"Sorry, Ryuji."

"Hehehe, you'll understand once you get a partner."

Kanzaki Ryuji looked furious:

"Ichinose, what are you doing? You two go play somewhere else."

With that, Yi Chen and Ichinose had no choice but to leave the game.

They joined a four-on-four match instead.

Ayanokoji and Horikita looked at Yi Chen helplessly and sighed.

Meanwhile, Yi Chen and Ichinose laughed and chatted on the sidelines.

The match soon ended, with Class B winning.

Ryuji and the others said goodbye to Ichinose, then went off to play elsewhere.

But then something unexpected happened.

A call for backup came through Yamauchi's earpiece.

Yamauchi tensed up and hurriedly called out to Yi Chen and Ayanokoji, asking them to keep everyone there occupied.

The two had no idea what was going on, but they could only agree.

Yi Chen and Ayanokoji exchanged a glance. Though puzzled, they put on a calm front and stepped in front of the group.

Yi Chen edged closer to Ayanokoji and whispered:

"How long are we supposed to keep them here? And why are we doing this?"

Ayanokoji gave a slight shake of his head and quietly replied:

"No idea. What a pain."

The match ended, and Horikita and the others were getting ready to leave.

At that moment, Yi Chen had a sudden inspiration:

"Wait!"

Horikita and the others turned back and came over to him.

Yi Chen crouched down, and the others huddled around him.

Yi Chen said nonchalantly:

"Actually, I didn't really get to enjoy the excitement of the volleyball game just now."

"Let's play another round."

Ichinose looked at Yi Chen with a grin:

"So you like playing volleyball, Yi Chen?"

Yi Chen replied:

"No, I just haven't played much before. It's something new, that's all."

Ayanokoji chimed in:

"Yeah. Actually, I'd like to play one more round too."

Horikita looked exasperated:

"Huh? What's with you two? You want to play again?"

"This isn't like you two at all."

Ayanokoji stared stiffly at Yi Chen.

Yi Chen forced himself to speak:

"Hahaha, yeah, exactly. Come play for a bit, Horikita."

"And you too, Kushida. Please, please."

Oda laughed at Yi Chen's pleading:

"Fine, fine. Since you've asked us so nicely, Yi Chen, we'll play one more round."

Ichinose looked at Yi Chen, a little taken aback:

"I feel like you're acting kind of strange today, Yi Chen."

Horikita reluctantly agreed too.

Yi Chen also begged Airi to join them.

Yi Chen, Airi, and Ichinose.

Ayanokoji, Horikita, and Kushida.

The group started playing beach volleyball.

Meanwhile, Yamauchi dashed into the gym in a panic.

Osamu was hiding in a corner of the women's changing room, waiting for death to come.

That's right. On that night,

Ken Sudō had invited a few of his close friends.

Yi Chen was among them.

Yi Chen hadn't planned to help, but Ken Sudō had worn him down with sweet talk.

And that was how they'd ended up in this situation.

Teruhiko was keeping watch for them above the gym.

Unfortunately, Osamu wasn't very good at what he was doing, and he was acting far too suspiciously.

As a result, a crowd had gathered outside the changing-room entrance.

From a distance, Teruhiko could see Class C, Class A, and Class B.

With Ken Sudō holding them off, he'd called for Yamauchi to come over.

Yamauchi joined Ken Sudō in trying to deal with the others.

Ryuen was thoroughly annoyed with the two of them, and Sakayanagi was annoyed with Ryuen.

Class B was just watching the show.

Seeing that things were about to turn into a riot, Osamu immediately called for help.

He summoned Yi Chen and Ayanokoji, who were playing volleyball.

Yi Chen hurriedly came up with an excuse and headed over with Ichinose.

Ayanokoji backed him up, then stayed behind to deal with the others.

When Yi Chen arrived, Ryuen's attention was drawn to him.

A hearty voice called out:

"Yi Chen, over here!"

Yi Chen looked closely and saw Tangben Yishan from Class C.

Ryuen looked at Yi Chen and Tangben Yishan with disdain.

Yi Chen and Ichinose walked over without a word.

Ichinose returned to Class B to ask what had happened.

Yi Chen looked at Ken Sudō and Yamauchi.

The moment he thought about what he'd have to do next, he couldn't hold back a laugh.

Embarrassed, Yi Chen walked into the middle of the crowd.

Almost everyone's eyes focused on him.

Seeing this, Ken Sudō seemed to spot a glimmer of hope. His eyes lit up as he looked at Yi Chen.

The glint in Ken Sudō's eyes left Yi Chen feeling helpless.

Yi Chen stepped forward to greet Tangben Yishan.

Tangben Yishan asked in a plaintive voice:

"Yi Chen, these two are from your class, right?"

"Why are they blocking the changing-room entrance? Today's the last day the school's pool is open!"

"We're going on break tomorrow."

Yi Chen knew perfectly well why. All he could do was scratch his head awkwardly.

He forced himself to reply to Tangben Yishan:

"There's been a bit of a misunderstanding. Everyone, please stay calm."

But inwardly, he was groaning and grumbling:

What a pain! I should've stood firm and refused them from the start!

What kind of circus is this now?

Ken Sudō and Yamauchi stared at him with pleading eyes, as though he were their only lifeline.

Ryuen snorted:

"A misunderstanding? Looks to me like you're deliberately causing trouble. Don't think you can just talk your way out of it."

Sakayanagi watched coldly from the side, the faintest smile playing on her lips.

The Class B students didn't seem particularly bothered. It had nothing to do with them.

Yi Chen's mind raced. He glanced at Ichinose and saw her quietly talking with her Class B classmates.

She was trying to find out what was going on.

Yi Chen took a deep breath and said:

"Everyone, there's information about the next class exam out on the beach."

"Would you be interested?"

Many of the people there began murmuring among themselves. Some nodded, while others were doubtful.

Yi Chen pressed on while the moment was right, signaling to Ken Sudō and Yamauchi.

The two quickly chimed in:

"That's right! You can go into the changing room after you've heard about it."

The crowd began talking even more loudly, but the leaders of the other classes still weren't convinced.

Ryuen furrowed his brow and gave a scornful smile.

He mocked him:

"Angela Yi Chen."

"Since you know about it, why don't you tell us yourself?"

"The content of the next exam, I guess."

Yi Chen remained completely unruffled, his face showing a nonchalant ╮(╯_╰)╭.

"After we come back from this break, the destination of the cruise ship trip will be where our next exam takes place."

Everyone present looked shocked.

Ryuen and the others began to waver.

Ryuen said irritably, "Then tell us what the exam is already."

Sakayanagi, on the other hand, gazed at Yi Chen with eager anticipation.

Yi Chen said calmly, "Why don't you go listen for yourselves?"

As if they'd planned it, everyone present left the gym and headed toward the beach.

Sakayanagi turned back with a smile and glanced at Yi Chen, apparently having become very interested in him.

Tangben Yishan and Ichinose stayed behind, watching Yi Chen with great curiosity.

Ken Sudō and the other student gave Yi Chen a thumbs-up through their tears.

The two of them thought:

"Brother Yi Chen, you really are a god sent by heaven to save us."

Yi Chen led Ichinose and the other student away, speaking as they walked.

"I was just looking at how chaotic things were and making stuff up."

Tangben Yishan laughed and patted Yi Chen on the back.

"What was that, you little rascal?"

But Ichinose was acting completely out of character.

"Yi Chen, I feel like what you said was actually true."

Yi Chen looked a little surprised.

He said calmly, "I just like thinking things through. To be honest, I came up with that explanation after considering it carefully."

Ichinose gazed at him admiringly.

"I knew it. You're so clever, Yi Chen."

Ichinose asked curiously, "Then why did you do that?"

Yi Chen hurriedly changed the subject.

"Haha, we're on break tomorrow. Ichinose, want to come over to my place?"

Ichinose's cheeks flushed slightly.

Tangben Yishan exclaimed, "What? Brother Yi Chen, I want to come over too!"

After they had gone some distance, Ken Sudō and the others hurried to get Osamu out.

Once they had cleaned up the place, they went out to look for Yi Chen.

Meanwhile, Ayanokoji was dealing with the students from the few classes Yi Chen had sent away.

After hearing why they had come, Ayanokoji understood what Yi Chen had meant.

He also gave them a few offhand answers.

He seemed to know something when asked, but when they pressed him for details, it turned out he didn't know anything.

The students from the three classes could only return to the changing rooms.

By then, everything was over.

Although no one knew exactly what Ayanokoji had done, everyone was back to their usual routines.

Some packed their things to go home the next day.

Others set off for home right away.

Yi Chen and Ichinose planned to go home together the next morning.

That evening, Ken Sudō and the others wanted to thank Yi Chen and Ayanokoji, so they invited them both to a small party.

At the party, Ayanokoji quietly ate while occasionally glancing over at Yi Chen, who was laughing and joking with everyone.