Dong Yunshan ran both hands through his hair, let out a refreshed breath, and waved to the two women. "That wraps up the job. Bye."
After a brief farewell, Dong Yunshan headed straight for Yukino Yukinoshita's table.
Sitting alone on the other side, Yukino Yukinoshita shot Dong Yunshan a sidelong glare and shifted farther inward.
Dong Yunshan sat beside Yukino Yukinoshita and looked over the books spread across the table. "How far have you gotten?"
Yui Yuigahama and Komachi Hikigaya looked at each other.
That was a long story...
Volume Three: Finals Spring Break — Chapter 56: In Perfect Sync
Yui Yuigahama and Komachi Hikigaya filled in each other's gaps as they briefly explained their speculation. "...Was that it?"
"More or less." Dong Yunshan raised a hand to tap his temple, then noticed food scraps on his sleeve. "Hold on, I'm going to the restroom."
After washing his hands, Dong Yunshan got himself a cup of cola and sat back down.
"After I took Yuka's—she was the one sitting next to me just now—commission, I asked a friend to investigate."
"Once I confirmed that Nakamura, the marriage scammer, really was gay, I adjusted the plan."
"I see..." Komachi Hikigaya recalled the way Yuka had held a spoon while talking to Dong Yunshan and sheepishly stuck out her tongue.
So Yuka hadn't been acting cute then. She had really been listening intently.
"She also talked things over with her friend Saeko. At first, I was worried Nakamura might find out we'd changed the plan." Dong Yunshan took a sip of cola. "Yuka showed me their chat history. Turns out they had their own private code that no one else could understand."
"Bestie slang..." Yui Yuigahama recalled Yuka showing Dong Yunshan her phone and awkwardly avoided looking at Yukino Yukinoshita.
So it hadn't been that move where she showed him photos of scenery, then pretended to accidentally scroll to her private pictures.
"By the way." Partly to change the subject and partly because she was genuinely curious, Yui Yuigahama asked, "You said you confirmed it... How did you confirm it?"
"Was it based on little clues?" Komachi Hikigaya eagerly guessed. "Information Saeko provided, daily habits, the way he dressed, that sort of thing?"
"I don't know much about those things. Even if I noticed something, it couldn't count as solid evidence." Dong Yunshan shook his head.
"I found an older gay man and had him take one look. That settled it. Then I had him ask around in the community, and we got the full story pretty quickly."
"Ah..." Komachi Hikigaya was momentarily at a loss for words.
It was a complicated feeling... like asking a detective how he uncovered the truth, only for the detective to answer that he watched the security footage.
"But once you confirmed it, couldn't you have just told Saeko?" Yui Yuigahama asked in confusion. "Why keep acting it out for so long... Were you challenging yourself?"
Dong Yunshan had already played a chuunibyou. Maybe he wanted to challenge himself with the role of a gay man.
"Don't treat me like some theater fanatic," Dong Yunshan corrected. "It was just what the situation required."
After finishing a column of English vocabulary, Yukino Yukinoshita revealed the answer in an almost perfectly flat tone. "For the pleasure of watching others suffer."
"If I'd told Saeko directly, she would've handled Nakamura herself." Dong Yunshan raised a finger. "Then I would've missed three good shows."
"Three?" Yui Yuigahama murmured. "Does what happened just now count as one?"
"The lie about getting beaten up—I beat him up in public. He didn't dare fight back or retaliate, because he was afraid his secret would be exposed if things escalated." Dong Yunshan looked delighted. "That waiter was an unexpected bonus. One sentence from him did more damage than the two kicks I gave Nakamura."
"The second show..." Komachi Hikigaya followed his reasoning. "Was it Saeko being heartbroken?"
"Helpless tears." Dong Yunshan pressed a finger against the rim of his cup and gave it a light flick, making it spin as the cola inside formed a whirlpool. "I helped her avoid even more tears in the future, and I helped her punish the man who deceived her. In return, she let me see something interesting—we're even."
"And the third..." Yukino Yukinoshita put down her pen. "Shattered expectations."
"Saeko, Nakamura, even Yuka—they all had expectations for the life ahead." Dong Yunshan held down the glass, and the cola gradually settled as tiny bubbles burst one after another.
"And just now, I watched those expectations collapse from up close."
"You look kind of like a demon king right now," Yui Yuigahama couldn't help saying. "No, more like an evil stepmother queen."
Dong Yunshan said, "No male moms."
"Even though you make it sound like you were just enjoying their misery..." Komachi Hikigaya blinked her big eyes. "In reality, you used one staged dinner to expose a marriage scam, prevent a post-marriage tragedy, and discourage a single woman from rashly marrying just anyone."
"One performance solved three problems." Yui Yuigahama tilted her head. "That feels like something Little Yukino would do."
Dong Yunshan said, "Huh?"
"Now that you mention it..." Komachi Hikigaya recalled Yukino Yukinoshita's actions just now. "Little Yukino figured out what Dong Yunshan was doing after only watching for a bit."
Yukino Yukinoshita said, "Hmm?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Yui Yuigahama nodded repeatedly. "And you even gave him an assist."
"If she hadn't helped out then," Komachi Hikigaya said as she looked at Dong Yunshan, "it would've taken more effort, right?"
"That 'oh no' from Little Yukino just now..." Yui Yuigahama's thoughts became increasingly clear. "You must've guessed Dong Yunshan was going to hit him in public."
"And then..." Komachi Hikigaya smiled. "Dong Yunshan really did hit him in public."
Should they call it knowing each other inside out... or a meeting of hearts?
Either fit pretty well, but neither seemed quite enough.
"I thought you would handle it in a more 'mature' and 'appropriate' way." Yukino Yukinoshita put obvious emphasis on those words.
"Being appropriately tolerant toward students and giving adults the punishment they deserve." Dong Yunshan swirled his cup. "That kind of differential treatment is the more 'mature' and 'appropriate' approach."
"Hitting someone in public is mature and appropriate?" Yukino Yukinoshita's delicate brows furrowed. "You went too far. You should have let her slap him."
"If that happened, they might have had another dispute and more contact with each other." Dong Yunshan pointed out the crucial detail. "Only me stepping in was the most appropriate option. And it felt satisfying too."
"Not only did that deprive her of the chance to resolve the problem herself, it also dragged you into trouble." Yukino Yukinoshita refused to yield. "I don't think that falls within the category of 'appropriate.'"
"You two were working together so perfectly just a moment ago..." Yui Yuigahama propped her chin on her hand and helplessly watched the familiar scene before her. "Why are you arguing again?"
"Arguing so passionately..." Komachi Hikigaya also rested her chin on her hand, watching with great interest. "Isn't that another kind of being perfectly in sync?"
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Volume Three: Finals Spring Break — Chapter 57: He Had Them in the Palm of His Hand
"Anyway, considering the relationship between those two and the chain of consequences that could follow, it was reasonable for Saeko, as the victim, to strike him." Yukino Yukinoshita's gaze was stern.
"But you are neither a judge nor a police officer. Hitting someone in public lacked both legitimacy and reason, and it could cause unnecessary but dangerous trouble."
"Don't measure my situation by what you consider trouble. Someone on that level isn't trouble to me at all." Dong Yunshan spread his fingers, then clenched his fist. "I can deal with him easily, and he doesn't even have the guts to face me."
"Just because you have done some things in society doesn't mean you can easily handle every problem in society." Yukino Yukinoshita pressed a hand to her forehead. "A conflict between two people can easily develop into a conflict involving many people. What will you do then?"
Dong Yunshan said, "Five more of that trash wouldn't be a problem."
Yukino Yukinoshita said, "You simply don't understand..."
"Ah!" Yui Yuigahama suddenly spoke up. "I get it now."
Everyone's eyes immediately turned toward Yui Yuigahama.
Yukino Yukinoshita and Dong Yunshan said, "Hmm?"
"Anyway," Yui Yuigahama said, shifting her gaze between the two of them, "Little Yukino is worried that Dong Yunshan might act impulsively and get attacked or retaliated against, right?"
"I'm saying he could have resolved this without laying a hand on anyone, or even showing up himself." Yukino Yukinoshita's face remained stiff. "What he did was immature, and he's still smug about it."
So she hadn't denied being worried... Komachi Hikigaya understood.
But as a friend, Komachi Hikigaya had the same concern. "Dong Yunshan, even if he can't beat you... what if he finds people to retaliate against you?"
"That is possible." Dong Yunshan narrowed his eyes. "I hope he finds the right people."
"I... I'll never forgive him!" Nakamura's face was dark. "Find someone to teach him a lesson. In public. I want him trampled underfoot!"
"Taking care of it privately would be easy enough, but in public..." The man with a mohawk sitting across from Nakamura clicked his tongue. "Come on. I'll take you to meet someone."
Recalling his earlier humiliation, Nakamura followed the mohawked man deeper into the bar.
The chaotic music gradually faded as Nakamura arrived at a place packed with gym equipment.
"Boss!" The mohawked man bowed respectfully.
Nakamura hurriedly copied him and secretly looked toward the bald man working out.
The bald man set his dumbbell aside. "What is it?"
"He got beaten up and wants us to help him out." The mohawked man got straight to the point. "He's paying well."
"Y-Yes!" Nakamura added. "As long as you trample Dong Yunshan underfoot in public, I'm willing to..."
The bald man said, "Hmm?"
"Dong Yunshan?" The mohawked man suddenly turned his head. "You mean... the one with those exceptionally good-looking biceps?"
"They are pretty good-looking..." Nakamura vaguely sensed the atmosphere changing. "W-What's wrong?"
"Boss," the mohawked man started to explain, "I didn't know..."
The bald man raised a hand, and the mohawked man immediately shut up.
"Dong Yunshan..." The bald man repeated the name, curling his lips into a savage grin. "Looks like you found the right people!"
"Y-Yeah..." Nakamura relaxed slightly. "You know him?"
The bald man nodded. "Do you know why I built a gym in here?"
"N-No..." Nakamura did not know the bald man personally. He had only heard of his reputation.
"I like the atmosphere of gyms, so I used to train at one." The bald man stood up and walked over to a barbell rack. "Do you know what kind of idiot you sometimes find in a gym?"
"What... kind?"
"Someone who unloads plates from only one side." The bald man lifted a hand and removed several weight plates from one end of the barbell.
Weighed down by the plates on the other side, the barbell shot upward and slammed viciously into the floor.
Nakamura could even feel the terrifying gust of wind from it. Joy appeared on his face. "Could it be...?"
"After I ran into Dong Yunshan at the gym that day and went through something like that, I never went back to a gym." The bald man waved a hand, and two underlings immediately stepped forward to reload the plates and return the barbell to its original position. "So I built one in my own establishment instead."
"A wise decision!" Nakamura's smile widened. "This time, I really found the right people. Please... W-What are you doing?"
Before Nakamura could finish, the mohawked man suddenly grabbed him, dragged him beside the rack, and pinned him onto a workout bench.
"In this part of Chiba, most people who have been wronged come to us. We offer revenge services, and our prices are quite reasonable." The bald man put a hand on the barbell while an underling on the other side began removing plates. "But first, we need to know exactly what happened."
As the plates came off, cold sweat gathered more densely on Nakamura's forehead. "B-Boss..."
He could not help panicking. The instant the bald man let go, the solid barbell would make a full swing and come crashing down.
But this time, it would not hit the floor. It would hit him.
He wanted to run, but he did not dare.
Thinking about it now... Dong Yunshan had been quite merciful.
Why had he insisted on taking revenge? Why had he gotten involved with these people?
"Tell me. Why did he hit you?" The bald man's arm muscles bulged. "There had to be a reason."
"He... he had designs on my fiancée, s-so..."
"Oh?" The bald man's eyes, with far more white than iris, seemed to bore straight through Nakamura's skull. "You don't seem to know the consequences of lying to me."
"Tell the truth!" The mohawked man pressed Nakamura down, panic visible in his eyes as well.
If that bar came down, he would be in danger too.
But the mohawked man knew he had made a mistake. Even knowing Nakamura would not dare run, he could only keep holding him down.
"I-I..." Nakamura did not dare hide anything and laid out the whole truth. "...That's what happened. Everything I said is true!"
"Then he went too easy on you." The bald man suddenly released the barbell, and the weight on the other end sent it swinging in a huge arc straight toward Nakamura.
Whoosh!
Nakamura squeezed his eyes shut in terror, only opening them again after a long while.
He saw the bald man's hand gripping the barbell tightly.
"That day was just as dangerous. Without Dong Yunshan, I'd already be dead." The bald man tossed the barbell aside, his smile savage. "You really did find the right people!"
The sound of the barbell hitting the floor was as heavy as Nakamura's heart.
Volume Three: Finals Spring Break — Chapter 58: A New Commission
"It's been handled. Do you want to meet the person?"
"There's no need." Dong Yunshan looked up at the sky. "I've been busy lately."
"Need help?"
"There are some points in Japanese literature that I keep mixing up."
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