This Person... Is Invincible

"How was the free lunch?"

Horikita Suzune looked at You En, whose face was scrunched up like he'd eaten something sour, and felt a flicker of amusement, but since they were in class, she kept up her dignified air as she asked.

You En pressed his cheek against the desk and squeezed out two words through gritted teeth, "It's... okay."

"You don't look okay. More like a poisoned puppy."

Horikita Suzune's words were laced with sarcasm, but to You En, the sting felt more like flirting.

"Well, it's really not that bad. The stuff from the store just has no taste, but it's got nutrition... but the school cafeteria... ahem."

You En seemed to recall something unpleasant and cleared his throat, "The upside is it's packed with nutrients. The downside is it's absolutely disgusting."

"How disgusting?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka appeared from somewhere and leaned in.

You En looked at him with a sly grin. "Why don't you try it yourself and find out?"

"Pass."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's face was expressionless, but his head shook like a rattle. From his rough understanding of You En, the guy was pretty easygoing about most things—how to put it, good-natured? If something was bad enough for him to call it inedible and unbearable, it was probably beyond human tolerance.

You En recalled lunch, his brow gradually furrowing as pain crept onto his face:

"A sticky, slimy, gelatinous mess. You can't chew it, just swallow it whole, but it gets stuck in your throat. Like bitter melon, loofah, and eggplant mashed into a paste. It's a real experience. I seriously recommend you guys give it a shot."

Horikita Suzune's face twisted in disgust. She cut him off firmly, "No thanks! I'm not like you, blowing through all your points. I'll stick to eating sparingly and just make do with the free store food."

"The free cafeteria food is really nutritious. Give it a try—it's free, so why not?"

You En pushed hard with his sales pitch.

Horikita Suzune glared at him. "Don't tell me you're the only one eating that stuff, and now you're bitter about it, trying to drag me down with you?"

"No way, no way. Do I look like that kind of person?"

Horikita Suzune just stared at him in silence.

You En clicked his tongue inwardly. Looked like he couldn't trick Horikita Suzune. He'd kind of wanted to see her cover her mouth, gagging but unable to throw up.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka saw You En's target shift to him and quickly hurried back to his seat, "Class is about to start. I'll go preview the material."

You En flipped him off directly. "Some friend you are."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked a bit helpless, "...Is that what friends are supposed to be?"

"Aren't friends meant to mess with each other? If you've never been screwed over, are you even friends? And honestly, it's not like I'm trying to hurt you—just sharing... a kind of joy."

Ayanokoji hesitated, more conflicted than usual. "Fine... okay."

"Then it's settled. I'll take you tonight. Don't worry, it's my treat, all you can eat! If that's not enough, I'll tear down the school!"

You En waved his hand with grand flair, oozing arrogance.

Horikita Suzune and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka exchanged a glance, reaching a silent consensus.

This guy's skin really was thicker than a city wall.

The bell rang for class.

The subject teacher arrived.

Horikita Suzune focused all her attention, listening intently.

The school's educational design was no joke—it was exceptionally well done. Flipping through the textbooks the school issued and paying attention in a few classes made that clear.

The textbooks were newly compiled by the school, all cutting-edge and practical knowledge, not outdated materials. They were completely different from the standard ones used outside.

And the teachers' teaching skills were top-notch. They didn't just read from the book; they infused their own understanding into the lessons.

Horikita Suzune even suspected that the teacher teaching this course was actually the author who wrote the textbook.

But none of the teachers mentioned their names. Aside from their homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, they still didn't know the names of the other teachers, referring to them only by their subjects as "Mr. or Ms. So-and-So."

Yet, it was only the first day of school, and not even two classes in, the students in the class were already making their moves—chatting on their student terminals, shopping, or huddling in small groups whispering.

Horikita Suzune swept her gaze briefly and took in the whole class. The teacher's explanations were quite accessible; if you just listened, you could grasp at least 70% without any problem.

Only about ten students were actually paying attention. And what surprised Horikita Suzune a little was that

You En and that guy named Ayanokoji Kiyotaka were among them.

"Looking around instead of paying attention, Suzune?"

You En's voice came over, feigning seriousness.

Horikita Suzune pressed her lips together and jabbed him with the cap of her pen.

You En held back, then continued in a strained voice, "And disturbing your classmates during class—do you want to go stand outside as punishment?"

Horikita Suzune prepared to jab him again.

But then, against all odds, the teacher at the podium actually called on someone.

"The girl in the last row, could you please come answer this question?"

Horikita Suzune stood up, frozen in place. It wasn't that she couldn't answer—she simply hadn't heard the question clearly.

She was about to tell the teacher she hadn't caught it when she saw You En slide a blank sheet of paper behind him, with the teacher's question written on it.

After a moment's thought, Horikita Suzune answered.

"Not bad."

The teacher nodded.

No sooner had Horikita Suzune sat down than the teacher called on someone else.

"The boy in the front row, do you have a solution?"

You En had no choice but to stand up properly. Horikita Suzune couldn't help but smile—serves you right for messing around...

You En looked seriously at the blackboard, then after a moment spoke, "Draw an auxiliary line between A and C..."

"Not bad. It seems this student prepared ahead of time. This is exactly what I was about to teach—auxiliary lines. You should have encountered them in middle school..."

You En turned back and winked at Horikita Suzune in a provocative way.

Trying to make me look bad? Dream on!

At least in my past life I was a graduate from a top university. Sure, I've forgotten 99% of it, but picking it back up still gives me an edge. Don't underestimate a college grad!

Horikita Suzune raised an eyebrow. To be honest, she hadn't felt such strong emotions in a long time—not even back in elementary or middle school when the cliques in her class targeted her.

It was a strange feeling.

Still, she didn't do anything more. If she kept it up, she'd only end up losing. She'd have to wait for an opportunity.

After class, You En sensed trouble and tried to slip away, but someone grabbed him by the back of his collar.

He turned around and saw Horikita Suzune pulling a compass from her bag. He knew she wasn't joking.

No way out now. At this point, You En took a deep breath, as if announcing something of life-or-death importance, "Gotta pee. If you don't let go, I'll be done for right here. Hnnngh—!"

"Huh?"

Horikita Suzune's cold, slightly malicious face froze, reverting to something more like a normal girl's expression. Her grip on his collar loosened.

You En easily broke free and slipped away.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, seated by the window on the right, had watched the entire scene unfold. His dead-fish eyes stared in this direction.

His assessment of You En was:

This guy is truly unbeatable.

"I don't want to go back yet."

You En came out of the restroom and decided to take a walk outside. He had no intention of returning just to get stabbed by a pretty girl's compass.

A pretty girl's compass was just as hard as anyone else's, and it would draw blood if it stabbed him. So, no thanks.

"You guys are really annoying."

A vaguely familiar male voice came from next door.

You En stopped and peered over. He didn't like crowds—because crowds weren't always interesting—but this situation clearly had some potential.

Sudo Ken was cornered against a wall by several people, looking thoroughly annoyed.

"What exactly do you want?"

"Nothing much. Just want to be friends."

"How about exchanging contact info?"

Sudo Ken's eyes narrowed. "Who wants to be friends with you?"

With that, he shoved one person aside and walked out of the encirclement.

"Hey, that's pretty rude, you know."

Pulling his companion back up, the group gathered and followed behind him.

Sudo Ken was furious, but he didn't want to hurt anyone. The problem was he was bad with words and couldn't outtalk them either.

"Hey, Sudo, right? The teacher's looking for you."

You En walked over, waving his hand in a very friendly manner, putting on the airs of a class cadre.

"Huh?"

Sudo Ken hadn't reacted yet, his eyes wide, before he finally let out an:

"Oh!"

The Class C guys followed up, "Who are you?"

"I'm a disciplinary committee member from the student council, specifically here to oversee the freshmen's discipline and conduct issues. He's the one who caused a problem, so I came to find him."

"Ishizaki Daichi, do you and your classmates want to come along with me too?"

You En said calmly, his demeanor commanding respect.

Even Sudo Ken almost believed it—if he hadn't seen this guy many times in class, he really would have thought he was a disciplinary committee member.

"Sorry, sorry, our bad." Ishizaki Daichi lowered his head, pulling the guys behind him and slinking away.

Sudo Ken scratched the back of his head, "Hey... um, did I actually do something wrong?"

"My name is You En."

"Alright, You En, did I actually do something wrong? Let me be clear, I really didn't throw a punch, it's just... they kept picking on me."

"I know."

You En patted him on the shoulder, "You did well. But don't take it too seriously or get angry. Why not just treat it like playing around with them?"

As soon as Sudo Ken brought this up, he got a bit irritated, but he thanked him anyway, "Thanks. I'm heading to the basketball club."

You En waved his hand. That was just his personality, and he didn't mind.

To be honest, growing up in an environment where both parents were a mess, Sudo Ken having this kind of character was already pretty good.

But speaking of which, was Class C already making moves this early?

Ryuen Kakeru probably hadn't established his position in the class that quickly, but Ishizaki was his little fanboy, so getting roped in early was normal.

Of course, this had nothing to do with him.

You En only stepped in because he happened to have free time, found it interesting, and felt like dealing with it.

None of them could probably imagine that what was coming next wasn't some schoolyard game.

You En guessed that the school was likely going to arrange real practical exercises for them, not the kind of absolutely safe, government-funded trips they'd had before.

The cruelty might be a lot higher than the original.

But it didn't matter.

He only worried it wouldn't be interesting enough.