You Had Your Chance, But You Blew It (Seeking Recommendations)

Fang Cheng found that his life had once again become monotonous.

Every day began with physical training and practicing Steel Blood, followed by playing games and reading the news in the evening before hitting the sack, only to repeat the process the next morning.

The only change was perhaps trying out a new recipe for himself each day.

But this couldn't go on; he was spending his own money on three meals a day, and his savings would eventually run dry. Was he going to have to sell a kidney again?

The rich woman had also reduced the number of times she came to Fang Cheng's place for pig blood. She had been secretly investigating the anonymous whistleblower lately, but had come up empty-handed; the other party was clearly well-versed in anti-tracking techniques.

Beyond that, the Countermeasure Department's operation to root out the mole was not going well either; instead, they had ended up unearthing a bunch of petty parasites, leaving one unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Fang Cheng was quite worried about Kanzaki Rin being an internal parasite, fearing she might get caught, but seeing that she remained unscathed, he would mock the people at the Countermeasure Department for being blind, failing to notice such a massive parasite right under their noses.

He coveted her money while simultaneously enjoying seeing her get frustrated, a rather conflicted state of mind.

After a few days of this, Kanzaki Rin suddenly sent a message: "Go to school, or you won't be able to get your diploma."

"Damn it, didn't you say you'd handle it?"

"I lied."

Fang Cheng was a bit annoyed; this woman was actually learning to be devious.

But upon closer reflection, it probably wasn't that simple. It was highly likely that Kanzaki Rin couldn't identify the anonymous whistleblower and was intentionally putting Fang Cheng out there as bait.

This rich woman was an old hand at fishing; she only ever had this one trick up her sleeve.

Fang Cheng happened to be getting tired of this dull and boring life anyway, so he grabbed his schoolbag and headed out.

The moment he stepped outside, a drone arrived right on cue, buzzing like an annoying fly.

Fang Cheng immediately called Kanzaki Rin: "I'm telling you, can you get rid of this piece-of-junk drone? Or do you really like me so much that you feel miserable if you don't stare at me twice a day? If that's the case, just say so; I'll be sure to satisfy you with my glib tongue..."

Kanzaki Rin ignored Fang Cheng's crude remarks and explained: "Don't worry, this drone isn't here to monitor you, but to monitor your surroundings to see if anyone is secretly tailing you."

"So you're saying the previous drones were monitoring me?"

"Beep—"

Did she think hanging up would be the end of it?

Fang Cheng sneered, his fingers flying as he sent an email to Kanzaki Rin: "Oops, I accidentally uploaded your photos to the internet."

Kanzaki Rin replied just as quickly: "One barbecue dinner, delete the photos."

"Add a hotpot dinner and I'll take them down. Decide quickly, or someone else is going to see them."

"Fine, but there won't be a next time, or our cooperation ends here."

"Deal."

Fang Cheng felt delighted, humming a cheerful little tune as he headed to school.

Kashima Academy hadn't changed at all due to Fang Cheng's absence, and even his classmates didn't care about this boy who frequently skipped class.

However, there were still those who cared; Asaka Akie habitually came over to greet Fang Cheng.

"Fang-kun, good morning."

She didn't ask why Fang Cheng had been skipping class.

But Fang Cheng noticed that Asaka Akie's smile seemed a bit forced, as if she were burdened by something.

Fang Cheng wasn't one to beat around the bush, so he asked directly: "Asaka, is something bothering you?"

Asaka Akie shook her head blankly: "No, not at all."

Fang Cheng felt relieved: "That's good. You looked so unhappy, I thought you were on your period."

Asaka Akie's face flushed red instantly, and she performed an act of great courage—she gave Fang Cheng a sharp kick under the desk.

"Fang-kun, you... you're hateful."

After dropping that line, Asaka Akie fled back to her seat as if escaping.

Sato Hayato, who had been eavesdropping nearby, immediately jumped to Asaka Akie's defense with indignation: "Classmate Fang, how could you say such a thing to Classmate Asaka?"

Fang Cheng turned to look at him and laughed: "Didn't you have a wank last night, Sato? You're so hot-headed. Do you want me to recommend some erotic books about busty glasses-wearing girls? Like Sasamori Tomoe or Takasaki Takemaru... and so on."

Sato Hayato was startled and hurriedly looked around, terrified of being overheard.

Having forced the weakling Sato Hayato to back down with a single sentence, Fang Cheng picked up his textbook and began to review.

He hadn't been idle while skipping school during this period; he had been reviewing high school material at night, and with the help of Asaka Akie's online lessons and notes, he had already reviewed up to the second year.

As the class was about to end, Sato Hayato suddenly fidgeted and whispered to Fang Cheng: "Classmate Fang, what was it you said you wanted to recommend earlier... a friend of mine wants to know."

Fang Cheng: ...

Then he gave him the names of a few gay manga.

The morning classes passed quickly, and during the lunch break, Fang Cheng saw Asaka Akie being called out by three aggressive-looking girls.

Is this... bullying?

Fang Cheng remembered that Asaka Akie had good interpersonal relationships at school; he hadn't seen her offend anyone.

Sato Hayato, standing nearby, had already bolted out of the classroom like a gust of wind, presumably intending to play the hero saving the damsel.

Fang Cheng thought for a moment and followed them.

The three girls led Asaka Akie into the women's restroom.

Just as Fang Cheng was hesitating whether to brave the women's restroom, the three girls brought Asaka Akie back out; it turned out the stalls were already occupied, and there was no space.

Asaka Akie did not resist, simply letting the trio lead her away.

They quickly found a secluded spot on campus; coincidentally, it was the exact same place where Fang Cheng and Asaka Akie had spoken in private last time.

The three girls began to shove Asaka Akie, hurling nasty insults at her.

Asaka Akie kept her head down, silently enduring their increasingly excessive behavior.

"Stop it!"

A voice filled with righteous indignation rang out suddenly.

Sato Hayato rushed out from his hiding spot like a brave knight.

This actually made Fang Cheng look at him in a new light; he hadn't expected this frail boy to have the courage to play the hero.

"You are not allowed to hurt Asaka-san!"

Sato Hayato spread his arms, blocking the path in front of Asaka Akie.

Asaka Akie was startled: "Sa, Sato-kun?"

The three girls were also taken aback: "Who are you?"

"Who I am doesn't matter, but I won't let you hurt Asaka-san."

"Huh?"

The short-haired girl leading them shoved Sato Hayato hard: "Get lost, what does this have to do with you?"

Sato Hayato actually stumbled from the push, nearly falling over.

The other two girls bypassed him, intent on continuing to scratch and grab at Asaka Akie.

Sato Hayato struggled to keep his balance; he tried to turn around to stop them, but the girl in front of him grabbed his hair.

The four of them ended up tangled in a scuffle.

"Enough!"

Sato Hayato suddenly let out a roar, stunning the three girls.

In his mind, Sato Hayato recalled Fang Cheng telling him that Asaka Akie liked brave people.

At this moment, his heart was filled with courage.

He slapped the short-haired girl's hand away, then dropped into a dogeza, kneeling before the three girls, and shouted: "Please, don't bully Asaka-san! If you have a grudge, take it out on me instead."

Fang Cheng, who had been expecting a good show, nearly had his eyes pop out of his head.

What surprised him even more was that the three girls seemed genuinely intimidated by Sato Hayato's momentum.

Asaka Akie hurriedly crouched down to pull Sato Hayato up: "Sato-kun, please get up."

"Don't worry, Asaka-san, I will definitely protect you."

Sato Hayato buried his head even lower, firmly believing that he would be able to move these three wicked girls and save Asaka-san.

Then, Sato Hayato was kicked to the ground by the short-haired girl, who had finally snapped out of it.

"Sigh!"

Watching Sato Hayato lying on the ground, being kicked and beaten by the three girls, Fang Cheng felt utterly speechless: "I gave you a chance, but you're just useless."

He casually snapped off a branch two fingers wide from a nearby tree and strolled over.