Ryuuen Is Watching

Outside the special teaching building, the wind was a little hot.

But Hirata's hand holding his phone still paused for two seconds.

"You're sure it came from Ryuuen's side?"

he asked.

"Eighty percent."

Gu Heng said.

"But there's no name on this."

"That's why it feels like him."

Gu Heng looked at the screenshot. "Throw out a line first, then see who panics first, who explains first, and who exposes themselves to him first."

Horikita frowned.

"So what is this? A provocation?"

"A name being put on the list."

Gu Heng withdrew his gaze. "Ever since I started dismantling their story yesterday, they haven't just been watching Sudo anymore."

"They're watching to see whether Class D has someone who can take control of the situation."

The moment he said that, everyone fell silent.

Sudo was the first to curse.

"Fuck, every single one of those Class C bastards is more underhanded than the last."

"You only realized that now?"

Horikita shot him a cold glance.

Sudo's face darkened.

"Cut it out. If it hadn't been for Gu Heng just now..."

He stopped halfway through.

Even the tips of his ears were starting to burn.

Gu Heng did not call him out on it.

"Let's go back first."

he said. "Today's situation has only been turned around for the first round. That doesn't mean nothing else will happen afterward."

"They'll keep making moves?"

Hirata asked.

"Of course."

Gu Heng looked at him. "If all they wanted was to get Sudo punished, there was no need to spread the rumor so widely today."

"What they really wanted to test was whether Class D would fall apart on its own first."

"And who would step up to take charge."

Horikita looked at him and suddenly spoke.

"Then why did you still step forward in front of them?"

Gu Heng glanced at her.

"What else was I supposed to do?"

he asked in return. "Let Sudo get crushed, then let Class D keep being trash that anyone could step on?"

"That's not what I meant."

"I know."

Gu Heng's tone cooled slightly. "You wanted to ask whether it was worth it."

Horikita did not deny it.

That was indeed what she had been thinking.

Sudo had been protected for now.

They had also secured the first round of influence within the class.

But the price was that Gu Heng's name had already been remembered by Class C.

And the person who remembered him was no ordinary person.

It was Ryuuen.

"It was worth it."

Gu Heng said. "Because sooner or later, we were going to be noticed."

"The only difference is whether we wait for others to turn Class D over and inspect us first, or whether we set up our own banner first."

After hearing that, Hirata slowly nodded.

Gu Heng said nothing more.

But he had already made another note of this matter in his mind.

From now on, he could not just be the class's repairman.

People from outside would probe Class D too.

Who would probe them first.

Which angle they would use.

Who they would probe.

He had to calculate all of that in advance.

When the group returned to the teaching building, the looks in the hallway were indeed more obvious than they had been the past two days.

Not everyone was watching.

But whenever they passed by, someone would always pause in the middle of a conversation.

Or cast Gu Heng an extra glance.

Hirata noticed it first.

"The news spread faster than I expected."

he said quietly.

"Because this wasn't some small squabble within the class."

Gu Heng said. "This was the first time Class D wasn't crushed on the spot in front of everyone else."

"Things like that naturally spread fast."

As he spoke, his pace slowed slightly.

A few people were coming toward them from around the corner ahead.

The one in the middle had loose shoulders.

He did not walk quickly.

Yet everyone around him moved to his rhythm.

Ryuuen Kakeru.

Hirata's expression shifted slightly.

Horikita tensed up at once as well.

Sudo frowned.

"That's Ryuuen?"

"Yeah."

Gu Heng answered.

"He doesn't look like he has three heads and six arms."

"As long as he's troublesome enough."

The instant those words fell, Ryuuen's group had arrived before them.

He had seemed like he had no intention of stopping.

But when he reached Gu Heng's side, he slowly turned his head.

"You're Gu Heng?"

His tone was not heavy.

It even sounded a little lazy.

But the feeling of being watched was anything but light.

Gu Heng looked at him.

"You found out pretty fast."

Ryuuen grinned.

But his eyes did not relax.

"There aren't many people who can piss off trash like Ishizaki that badly."

he said. "Of course I had to recognize your face."

The people beside him all laughed along.

Not loudly.

But their malice was unmistakable.

"Finished recognizing me?"

Gu Heng asked.

"More or less."

Ryuuen's gaze rested on Gu Heng's face for two seconds before dropping to Sudo. "While I'm at it, I'll take a look at the dog you protected."

Sudo's face immediately darkened.

"Who the fuck are you calling a dog?"

Gu Heng did not turn around.

He merely raised a hand slightly.

Sudo's anger was actually suppressed for a moment.

When Ryuuen saw that, the interest in his eyes visibly deepened.

"Interesting."

he said. "It's no surprise for a dog to bite. What's surprising is that you can keep it restrained."

"You came here just to see that?"

Gu Heng asked.

"What else?"

Ryuuen tilted his head. "Did you expect me to go out of my way to congratulate you on not getting crushed to death for the first time?"

"No need for that."

Gu Heng's tone was flat. "Today wasn't really a win. We just didn't let you watch as smoothly as you wanted."

The instant the words "you people" landed, one person behind Ryuuen's expression changed on the spot.

Ryuuen himself only smiled.

"Gu Heng."

He slowly repeated the name. "You're pretty good at talking."

"I've heard."

"But people who are good at talking usually can't take much of a beating."

Ryuuen took half a step forward, his voice still low. "Do you know why?"

The people by the hallway who had been pretending to pass by all fell silent.

Even Hirata unconsciously tensed his shoulders.

"Because a lot of people think, at first, that reason can control the situation."

Ryuuen looked at him. "Then they find out that the thing a situation listens to most is still a fist."

Gu Heng did not retreat.

His gaze did not even flicker.

"Fists are useful, of course."

Gu Heng looked at him. "Otherwise, you wouldn't like making sure everyone sees them first so much."

Ryuuen's expression shifted slightly.

"Then what do you think is more useful?"

he asked.

"That depends on the situation."

Gu Heng said. "In the place you like best, fists are certainly fast."

"But at school, the person who can make sure that after a punch is thrown, someone else ends up paying for it is more valuable."

The hallway fell silent for an instant.

Horikita turned to glance at Gu Heng.

She did not speak.

Ryuuen stared at him for several seconds.

Then he suddenly laughed.

"Fine."

he said. "I'll remember that."

"Gu Heng, Class D's new brain."

"I hope I don't crush you too quickly."

With that, he raised a hand and patted Gu Heng on the shoulder.

The gesture was not heavy.

But it was enough for everyone nearby to see clearly.

Ryuuen did not linger.

He led his people onward.

Only after they had completely disappeared into the distance did Hirata slowly let out a breath.

"This guy..."

For a moment, he could not find a more fitting word.

"He's annoying."

Gu Heng said it for him.

Horikita added coldly:

"And dangerous."

"Yes."

Gu Heng nodded. "And far more troublesome than someone like Sudo. Sudo wears his temper right on his face, but Ryuuen will first feel out everyone and everything around you."

"So what do we do now?"

Hirata asked.

"Pretend we didn't see him."

Gu Heng said.

"Didn't see him?"

"That's right."

Gu Heng's tone was steady. "He didn't come today to make a move right away. He came to see whether I was worth the trouble."

"And what was your answer?"

Horikita asked.

Gu Heng glanced in the direction Ryuuen had left.

"Probably enough not to disappoint him."

Sudo clicked his tongue beside them.

"Just hearing that is annoying."

"It should be."

Gu Heng said. "If you still think someone like him is nothing, that's when you'll really suffer later."

With that, he turned and went back to the classroom.

When Gu Heng reached his desk, there was already a neatly folded note on it.

It was unsigned.

But one look was enough to tell who had left it.

There was only one sentence on it.

"Seven tonight. The small flower bed behind the dormitory. For the second price, I want to trade for something else."

After reading it, Gu Heng's fingertips paused lightly.

Ryuuen's attention was a blade pressing in from the outside.

But the real trouble was often the person who sat down at the card table with a smile.