The Second Chapter: You Were Tsundere, but Still Chose to Give Up Your Seat

He carried a backpack that looked nearly empty, but inside were all kinds of candy, a sketchbook, and a laptop.

Soon, the bus to the school arrived.

He picked a window seat by himself, put on his headphones, and watched the scenery fly past.

(I still prefer sitting alone on the bus.)

At that moment, Lin Mu looked out at the streets of Tokyo, which were almost too clean. The pedestrians hurried along, and everything was orderly.

"I'll get the lay of the land first," he planned. "Find somewhere quiet to slack off, avoid any activities that might involve socializing, and quietly make it through three years..."

The bus stopped along the way, and an elderly woman with white hair got on.

She clutched the handrail and scanned the bus, trembling.

Her gaze landed on the two priority seats at the front—one of them was occupied by a boy wearing the same school uniform.

(Koenji's bag was taking up a seat.)

The old woman walked over and stopped beside him. He glanced up at her, then lowered his head again.

Just then, Lin Mu saw a girl who'd been holding the handrail at the front step forward.

(A two-faced person? This could be interesting.)

She had short brown hair, a sweet face, and a gentle air about her.

She walked up to the boy and bowed slightly, speaking in a clear, polite voice. "Um, excuse me, classmate. Sorry to bother you.

"You're sitting in a priority seat for the elderly, disabled, and pregnant. This old woman looks very tired. Could you please give up your seat?"

The boy looked up, let his gaze linger on the girl's face for two seconds, then scoffed.

His tone was casual, with a hint of vanity. "Hey, beautiful, it's only called a 'priority' seat. There's no law saying I have to give it up.

"Why should young people have to stand? Why waste my energy doing something pointless?"

The girl's brows knitted slightly, but her expression remained gentle. "Giving up your seat is a way to contribute to society.

"If it's inconvenient for you, I can help look for another available seat."

"I'm not interested in empty gestures like 'giving back to society.'"

The boy shrugged. "If you want to give up your seat, ask someone else, or wait for someone to get off. Don't guilt-trip me."

The old woman looked a little embarrassed. "It's all right. I can stand for a while..."

Lin Mu watched quietly from the back.

He understood the situation perfectly: from a legal and rights-based perspective, the boy wasn't wrong.

Priority seats weren't reserved seats. Giving up your seat was a moral expectation, not a legal obligation.

The girl meant well, but her approach had been too blunt. It had only made things more awkward—once the boy had clearly refused, continuing to press him would feel like coercion.

Still...

He watched the old woman's hand tremble as she held the rail. Her knees didn't seem to be in good shape, either.

Forget it.

Lin Mu stood, walked down the aisle, and stopped beside her. In a calm voice, he said, "Ma'am, you can have my seat. It's farther back, but it's better than standing."

The old woman was taken aback, then thanked him repeatedly. "Oh, thank you, young man..."

"It's all right." Lin Mu helped her to his seat. Once she was settled, he stood by the handrail near the back door.

The girl immediately came over, gratitude all over her face and her eyes shining.

"Thank you so much! My name is Kikyo Kushida, and I'm a new student going to Advanced Nurturing High School. It's nice to meet you!"

Lin Mu nodded, his tone even. "Linmu Fujimiya.

"Hello, Kushida. It's nice of you to help, but your approach just now was too rash."

"Huh?" Kushida blinked.

"He'd already made it clear he didn't want to give up his seat. If you kept pushing, it would stop being a 'friendly reminder' and start feeling like a guilt trip."

Lin Mu took a Peko lollipop from his pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth. "And with the whole bus watching, he was put on the spot. That made it even less likely he'd give in.

"Sometimes, instead of making the decision for someone else, it's better to offer another solution."

Kikyo Kushida nodded thoughtfully, then flashed a bright smile. "You're right! I was in too much of a hurry.

"You seem a little aloof, Lin Mu, but I didn't expect you to be so considerate."

"I just don't like trouble," Lin Mu said honestly.

The two of them stood by the handrail near the back door, swaying slightly with the moving bus.

Kushida was clearly outgoing. Once she got started, she couldn't seem to stop talking.

"Where are you from, Lin Mu?"

"Tokyo."

"What middle school did you go to?"

"An ordinary public middle school."

"Do you know much about Advanced Nurturing High School? I heard it's a really unusual school, with a fully residential system..."

"Not really," Lin Mu answered briefly, but alarm bells went off in his mind. A fully residential system? The phrase stirred some vague memories.

(My dead memories are attacking me.)

Kushida seemed to notice his short answers, but she didn't mind. She kept smiling as she spoke.

"That's just what I've heard. Still, I'm really looking forward to spending three years studying with so many talented classmates!

"I hope to make lots of friends in high school—"

Lin Mu interrupted her by reaching into his pocket.

He took out another lollipop and offered it to her. "Want one?"

Kikyo Kushida froze for a moment. She looked at the candy, then at Lin Mu's almost expressionless but extraordinarily handsome face.

His short white hair and sharp features were at odds with the lollipop between his lips, giving him a strangely charming contrast.

(Not one ten-thousandth as handsome as the readers who aren't here.)

"Thanks." She took it, peeled off the wrapper, and put it in her mouth. The sweetness spread across her tongue, and, as expected, she talked a little less. Every so often, though, she glanced at the boy beside her from the corner of her eye.

Lin Mu stood quietly, watching the scenery pass outside.

Advanced Nurturing High School was built on an artificial island in Tokyo's outer suburbs. The bus was crossing the long bridge connecting the island to the mainland.

The deep blue sea glittered in the sunlight, and the outline of the school buildings was visible in the distance.

The sense of familiarity grew stronger.

But he still couldn't recall any specific details. He only had a vague feeling that the school wasn't as simple as it seemed.

"By the way, Lin Mu," Kushida suddenly said, her voice softer than before.

"When you gave up your seat just now... was it because you thought that boy was in the wrong, or because you simply wanted to help the old woman?"

Lin Mu turned to meet her curious gaze.

"The latter," he said. "The boy who refused to give up his seat wasn't wrong. He just made a different choice.

"I gave up my seat because I wanted to, not because I had to."

Kikyo Kushida's eyes widened slightly, then she smiled even more warmly. "You're interesting." (This is getting interesting...)

Lin Mu didn't respond. He just took out another lollipop. That made three today.

Getting a little energy was one reason. Mostly, he liked the sweet taste in his mouth.

It helped him stay calm, which in a way kept his ever-present telepathy in check.

(This explains why Lin Mu hadn't casually read other people's minds or picked up their thoughts.)

If he didn't keep it under control, the thoughts of everyone on the bus would flood into his mind.

It was too noisy.

Twenty minutes later, the bus entered the grounds of Advanced Nurturing High School.

Lin Mu was the first to get off, his feet touching the neat stone path.

The cherry blossoms had begun to fall in April. The campus was full of the trees, their pale pink and white petals drifting on the breeze.

He took a deep breath—then a cheerful voice behind him interrupted him.

"Lin Mu, wait for me!"

Kikyo Kushida jogged up to him, the front of her clothes bouncing as she ran.

She stopped beside him and looked up at the main school building, her eyes sparkling.

"Let's go register together! I'm not very familiar with the registration process yet. I think it'll be harder to make a mistake if we go together."

Lin Mu looked at the girl he'd met less than an hour ago. The lollipop in his mouth seemed a little sweeter, but he sighed inwardly.

This was bad.

It looked like his plan to slack off was already being disrupted on the first day of school.

"Whatever," he said, turning toward the main building.

Kikyo Kushida hurried after him, keeping just the right distance—not so close that it seemed overly familiar, but not so far that she might lose him.

She had a smile on her lips, and every so often her gaze drifted toward Lin Mu's profile.

And Linmu Fujimiya, a reincarnated person with the full set of Saiki Kusuo's abilities, had only one thought at that moment:

The dorm had better have air conditioning. (My middle school dorm didn't have air conditioning.)

And he hoped the convenience store at this school had a good variety of candy.

As for life over the next three years?

He'd slack off whenever he could and keep out of trouble whenever possible. As for his psychic powers? He wouldn't use them unless absolutely necessary.

All he wanted was to quietly draw some illustrations, make some desserts to enjoy, and eventually graduate.

It was an ideal life.

But when he stepped into the magnificent school building and saw the words "Welcome, New Students" scrolling across the electronic display in the lobby, an inexplicable premonition crept into his heart.

These three years probably wouldn't be quite so easygoing after all.

But at least for now, he didn't care. He still had a lollipop in his mouth.

A sweet taste could solve a lot of problems. If it didn't, he could always have another.