VIP Exam (7) Helping Karuizawa, Part 1

After Yi Chen and Ken Sudō switched their SIM cards.

Yi Chen was the first to call Tangben Yishan.

Spa

"Classmate, you have a phone call."

Tangben Yishan replied lazily:

"Could you bring it over for me? Thanks."

Tangben Yishan answered the phone.

Yi Chen:

"Yishan, where are you? I need to talk to you."

Tangben Yishan looked blissfully content and a little...

"I'm getting a massage at the spa."

"Yi Chen, why don't you come over and get one too? We can talk while we're at it."

Yi Chen hung up.

Tangben Yishan looked at the disconnected call, didn't think much of it, and continued enjoying his massage.

Yi Chen went to the spa's service area and asked an attendant where Tangben Yishan was.

The attendant led Yi Chen to Tangben Yishan's massage room.

Since this was the spa area for men,

and there was also a sauna, guests had to shower before entering.

Yi Chen took a quick shower, then went to find Tangben Yishan.

Of course, all the services aboard the Cruise Ship were free. Yi Chen had come to find Tangben Yishan to discuss something.

After showering and wrapping himself in a fresh towel, he went to the door of Tangben Yishan's spa room.

Yi Chen knocked:

"It's me, Tangben Yishan."

Hearing the voice, Tangben Yishan had the attendant open the door.

Yi Chen entered the room.

There was a large bed in the room and a seat beside it.

Yi Chen sat down and leaned against the wall.

Looking at Tangben Yishan, who was getting an oil massage, Yi Chen wore an exasperated expression.

The attendant asked:

"Would you like a massage?"

Yi Chen shook his head to decline.

Tangben Yishan said lazily:

"So, Yi Chen, what's up? Is there something you need?"

"Once I'm done, I can help you."

Yi Chen replied flatly:

"No need. I just want to learn a little about the students in your class."

Tangben Yishan looked curious:

"Oh? What's going on? Has someone in our class caught your interest?"

Yi Chen sighed:

"Yes. Your class... they all seem to have pretty similar hair colors."

"Never mind. Hurry up and finish, then take me to meet the girls in your class."

Tangben Yishan grinned knowingly:

"What do you mean, similar hair colors? What's this, do you like a girl in our class?"

"You've got a girlfriend like Ichinose, and you're still interested in girls from our class?"

Yi Chen said coolly:

"Stop joking. How much longer?"

The attendant replied:

"Almost done, classmate. This is the last part, so it should take about twenty minutes."

Tangben Yishan smiled:

"Don't be in such a hurry. Tell me which girl you're looking for, and I can just invite her over."

Yi Chen said mildly:

"I don't know her name."

Tangben Yishan said:

"Looks like you really are in a hurry. Then tell me what she looks like."

Yi Chen thought about the three girls' appearances and said:

"I'm looking for three girls from your class."

"A blonde with short hair, and one... one horizontal line on top of her hair."

Tangben Yishan burst out laughing:

"Hahaha, I know exactly who you mean. The short-haired blonde."

"There should only be one girl like that in our class. Her name's Zhenguo Zhibao."

Yi Chen asked:

"What's she been doing lately?"

Tangben Yishan replied casually:

"I don't know. I'm not dating her, so how would I know?"

"Yi Chen, if you really want to see her, I can call her right now."

"She should be pretty interested in you too."

Yi Chen rolled his eyes at Tangben Yishan:

"Forget it."

"There's also a long-haired girl with green hair."

Tangben Yishan said:

"Oh, there's only one girl with green hair in our class. She's pretty close with Zhen Guo, too."

"Yabu Nanami."

Yi Chen said:

"And another one with brown hair and two braids."

Tangben Yishan said:

"Oh, the trio. That one's Yamashita Saki."

"I'm surprised you remember them so clearly. Why are you looking for them?"

Yi Chen replied flatly:

"Have they been causing trouble lately?"

Tangben Yishan's eyes widened at that, as if he realized Yi Chen hadn't come looking for them for anything good.

Tangben Yishan perked up:

"They've always been perfectly normal. What's wrong, Yi Chen? Did they offend you?"

"Or did they offend someone you care about?"

Yi Chen said calmly:

"That's none of your business. I just want to see what the three of them are going to do next."

Tangben Yishan asked meekly:

"Want me to call Zhen Guo right now and ask her to come over?"

Yi Chen nodded:

"Sure."

Tangben Yishan hurriedly picked up his phone and called Zhenguo Zhibao.

When the call connected, Tangben Yishan said:

"Hey, Zhen Guo, it's Yishan. Are you free right now? Come over to the spa. I need to talk to you about something."

Zhenguo Zhibao sounded annoyed on the other end:

"Oh, Tangben Yishan. What the hell do you want? Why are you calling me? Get to the point."

Tangben Yishan glanced at Yi Chen and said with a smile:

"You'll find out when you get here. There's a handsome guy here who wants to talk to you."

As soon as Zhenguo Zhibao heard there was a handsome guy, her tone softened considerably:

"Tangben Yishan, you finally did something useful. What class is he in? How handsome is he? And what does he want with me?"

Tangben Yishan said:

"You'll find out when you get here. Please?"

Zhen Guo said:

"If he isn't handsome, Tangben Yishan, just you wait."

After hanging up, over on Zhen Guo's end,

Yamashita Saki and Yabu Nanami asked mildly:

"Who was that, Zhen Guo?"

Zhen Guo looked smugly at the two of them:

"That guy Tangben Yishan. He said there's a handsome guy who wants to talk to me."

"He even asked me to come over. Must be another guy who's fallen for my looks."

Yamashita Saki said enviously:

"Wow, lucky you, Zhen Guo."

Yabu Nanami said enviously:

"Um, Zhen Guo, can we come along and see him?"

Zhen Guo shrugged:

"Sure, come on. I'm going to turn him down anyway."

"What kind of handsome guys could Tangben Yishan possibly know?"

Back with Yi Chen.

Tangben Yishan said to Yi Chen:

"She'll be here soon. Probably just a few minutes."

Yi Chen nodded slightly:

"Then I'll go wait outside."

Tangben Yishan hurried to get up:

"Wait, I'm coming too. Give me a moment."

The attendant asked:

"Classmate, aren't you going to finish your massage?"

Tangben Yishan stood up and adjusted his towel:

"No, thanks, man. I'll come back and finish next time."

The attendant said:

"Of course. We look forward to seeing you again."

The two went to the changing room, got dressed, and dried their hair. Then they went outside to get some fresh air.

Before long, the three girls came walking toward them.

The girls looked at Yi Chen, who was quite handsome.

Yamashita Saki said:

"Hey, isn't he from Class D?"

Zhen Guo remembered that Karuizawa, a classmate of hers who had bumped into her, was from Class D. She looked impatiently at Tangben Yishan:

"Tangben Yishan, is he the handsome guy you told me about?"

Tangben Yishan chuckled:

"Haha, that's right, Zhen Guo. Isn't he handsome?"

Zhen Guo stared at Yi Chen's face:

"Isn't he Ichinose's boyfriend? What do you want with me?"

Yi Chen slowly stepped closer to Zhen Guo.

Her face instantly flushed.

Yi Chen put a hand on Zhen Guo's shoulder and said coldly:

"You were bullying Karuizawa from our class today, weren't you?"