After morning practice, a gentle breeze swept through the early morning air. Ichinose Honami wiped the sweat from her brow, and her gaze instinctively drifted toward Wu Qiao, who stood a short distance away. She keenly noticed that Ayanokoji Kiyoha's gaze, which had always followed Wu Qiao like a shadow, watching him closely at every moment, had shifted away from him today—a rare occurrence.
Ayanokoji Kiyoha had always paid close attention to Wu Qiao. Ichinose Honami knew full well that there was a subtle concern behind that attention.
Yet now that those eyes were no longer fixed on Wu Qiao, Ichinose Honami inexplicably felt a chill run down her back.
Why was the pressure on her now? Was it because her dismal physical fitness scores had drawn the discreet Ayanokoji's disapproval?
A mere month of morning practice hadn't been enough to dramatically improve her athletic performance, but she was certainly doing much better than before. At least after running eight hundred meters today, she was only slightly out of breath. She hadn't collapsed on the ground like she used to.
After resting briefly by the track and hastily making do with some bread for breakfast, they picked up their schoolbags and headed for the first-year building.
On the way, Ayanokoji Kiyoha seemed to be planning to return to her dormitory to grab something. After a brief goodbye to the two of them, she turned and left.
The campus was very quiet in the early morning, and few people were on the path to the school building. Just as the two of them were about to reach the entrance, a furtive figure with fiery red hair caught their eye.
It was Sakura Airi. She looked as if she wished she could sink into the ground. With her head down, she hurried ahead of them and slipped into the area where students changed into their indoor shoes.
It was still early, and there were hardly any other students around. Wu Qiao and Ichinose Honami exchanged a glance, then entered the foyer right behind her and headed to their own shoe lockers.
But just as Wu Qiao bent down to change his shoes, his gaze happened to fall on Sakura Airi nearby. She had her back to the corridor, her shoulders trembling slightly as she frantically rummaged through her schoolbag. Her movements were so rushed that something seemed off.
Wu Qiao furrowed his brows slightly, sensing that something was wrong. The moment his gaze landed on Sakura Airi, she whipped around like a startled fawn. Their eyes met unexpectedly.
Sakura Airi's face was pale, and her eyes were filled with obvious panic and fear. The instant their gazes met, she instinctively clutched her schoolbag behind her back. Stammering, she greeted him. "W-Wu-kun... G-good morning!"
With that, she didn't dare linger. She didn't even bother changing into her indoor shoes. Clutching her schoolbag, she fled in a panic, still wearing her outdoor shoes.
Wu Qiao stood where he was, watching her hurried retreat, his brows drawing together even more tightly.
For a split second, he had clearly glimpsed a corner of a glaring pink sheet of paper through a gap in Sakura Airi's schoolbag, along with the edges of several photographs.
Remembering how Sakura Airi had looked as if she wanted to say something but couldn't, Wu Qiao began to suspect what might be going on.
Sakura Airi didn't enter the classroom until well after Wu Qiao. With her head down, she hurried back to her seat like a frightened rabbit, never daring to look at him once.
Wu Qiao didn't speak to her either. He simply sat quietly at his desk, reading the book in his hands as if nothing had happened that morning.
It wasn't until the morning break that Wu Qiao closed his book and got up to head into the hallway.
Before long, he spotted Karuizawa Kei among the bustling crowd and naturally went over to ask, "Kei, have you heard anything about Sakura lately?"
Karuizawa Kei blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting Wu Qiao to ask about her out of the blue. "Sakura? Why are you suddenly asking about her?"
Though she asked aloud, Karuizawa Kei's mind was already racing. She quickly sifted through her intel—the system messages that only she could see.
Most of the information was mundane daily trivia, such as who had eaten what with whom in the cafeteria or the latest gossip from some class.
But amid all that noise, one report about Sakura Airi had caught her attention.
The confusion in Karuizawa Kei's eyes gradually faded, replaced by a look of understanding. She leaned closer to Wu Qiao and lowered her voice. "Sakura seems to have hurriedly hidden something this morning, and she looked really scared. I don't know what it was, but she was definitely too frightened for it to have been an ordinary prank."
Wu Qiao listened quietly without asking where she'd gotten her information. He knew Karuizawa Kei had her own unique, discreet sources. If she said so, then it was almost certainly true.
He nodded and said calmly, "Got it. Thanks."
Karuizawa Kei looked at Wu Qiao's thoughtful expression and asked curiously, "Wu-kun, did something happen? Do you want me to find out more?"
"Not for now." Wu Qiao shook his head and looked toward the classroom. "Some things are better for me to confirm myself."
With that, Wu Qiao turned and headed back to the classroom. Karuizawa Kei stayed where she was, watching him go, her brows knitting slightly. She could tell he was getting involved in some kind of trouble, and it was probably connected to Sakura Airi, who was always hiding in a corner.
Wu Qiao already had a rough idea of what kind of trouble Sakura Airi was in.
After all, for someone like Sakura Airi, who always tried her hardest to stay unnoticed, there was only one likely reason she'd look so terrified—she was being harassed by an obsessive fan who was stalking her.
But this wasn't the time to confront anyone. Acting rashly might alert the stalker and provoke them into doing something even more extreme.
So he needed to investigate first. He had to figure out what was going on without alerting the other person.
At that thought, Wu Qiao realized he couldn't keep an eye on everything himself. He needed someone to help watch Sakura Airi for a while.
Back in the classroom, Wu Qiao went straight to his seat. He glanced at Wang Meiyu, who was idly twirling a pen beside him, then naturally pulled out his chair and sat down. Lowering his voice, he began a covert conversation in fluent Chinese. "Wang, I need your help with something."
Hearing her native language, Wang Meiyu perked up and turned to look at him curiously. "What's up? Why so serious all of a sudden?"
Wu Qiao spoke softly enough that only the two of them could hear. "Sakura might be in a bit of trouble. I suspect some creep is stalking her. I need you to keep an eye on her and see if anyone suspicious is hanging around."
Wang Meiyu's expression turned serious. She might usually seem like she had nothing to do, but when it came to something important, she never slacked off. She nodded and replied briskly in Chinese, "Understood. Leave it to me. I'll keep an eye out."
Wu Qiao thought it over. Wang Meiyu alone might have trouble managing it, since Sakura Airi liked to wander off into secluded corners. So he added, "If it's too much to handle alone, ask Hasebe to help. She's Sakura's friend, so she'll probably be willing to keep an eye out too."
"Okay, we've got it covered." Wang Meiyu gave him an OK sign.
With everything arranged, Wu Qiao leaned back in his chair and let his gaze sweep casually across the classroom's corners. Sakura Airi was huddled there, apparently still shaken by what had happened that morning.
Wu Qiao sighed silently to himself. Now that he'd stumbled across this, he wasn't going to let something so disgusting continue.