Jiliang and Xia Ya's Argument

"No... um, sorry. Actually, I didn't announce my name back then specifically to save Miliaria." He paused, glanced at Jiliang beside him, who was watching with great interest, and decided to "tell the truth." "Mainly, I thought that if I hadn't announced myself and made some noise to draw attention, Jiliang might... have caused a huge scene right then and there."

The moment he finished speaking, it was like a depth charge had been dropped into a tranquil lake.

Bang! A loud smack echoed as a palm slammed onto the table.

Jiliang instantly bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She straightened up from where she had been leaning against the table, her face flushed crimson and her eyes wide enough to spit fire. Pointing at Xia Ya, her voice trembled slightly with emotion.

"W-What did you say—!?" Her furious glare looked as though it might burn a hole straight through Xia Ya.

Xia Ya was startled by Jiliang's sudden outburst, but the words were already out. There was no taking them back.

Watching her puffed-up expression, he found it somewhat amusing. At the same time, he felt this was an opportunity to break down the barrier between them and speak honestly. He decided to keep "adding fuel to the fire."

Jiliang took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but her tone remained firm. "I would never do something like that!"

Xia Ya helplessly shook his head, a teasing smile curling across his lips. Looking at Jiliang's desperate denials, he said in a tone that suggested he saw through everything, "No, you really did lose your temper back then. I saw it clearly. Your eyes were red, your fists were clenched, and you looked like you were about to rush over and punch that commander."

"I did not—!!" Jiliang's voice rose an octave. Both hands were clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white, and her body trembled faintly with rage. Everyone else in the cafeteria turned to look at their argument, but no one dared step forward to mediate.

Seeing how eagerly she denied it, almost to the point of furious embarrassment, an idea suddenly flashed through Xia Ya's mind, as if he had discovered some amusing secret.

He deliberately drew out his words and said with sudden realization, "Oh—I get it. Jiliang, you're embarrassed, aren't you?"

"Huh!?" Jiliang stared at Xia Ya as though he had said something utterly absurd.

Xia Ya continued analyzing on his own. "Do you think a girl rushing up to hit someone would look unladylike and improper? Is that why you're denying it so hard? Oh dear, what are we supposed to do with our little Jiliang?" He even deliberately imitated the tone of an elder, shaking his head with an "indulgent" smile.

Those words completely ignited Jiliang's Fury.

What did he mean by "little Jiliang"? What did he mean by "what are we supposed to do"? This guy was clearly making fun of her on purpose!

To keep the situation from completely spiraling out of control—though it seemed it already had—Xia Ya hurriedly raised both hands in surrender. His voice carried a hint of helpless appeasement. "Ah—I get it, I get it. Jiliang didn't lose her temper, and she definitely didn't want to hit that commander. I saw it wrong, okay? Is that good enough?"

However, that obviously perfunctory "concession" only made Jiliang even angrier.

"...Somehow, your attitude is incredibly irritating." Jiliang gritted her teeth and forced the words out through them, her icy stare fixed firmly on Xia Ya.

Xia Ya spread his hands innocently. "No, why? I rarely ever give in—ah." Before he could finish, Jiliang cut him off.

"...Who did you say was giving in?" Jiliang's voice was low and full of danger, like the stillness before a storm.

Looking into Jiliang's eyes, blazing with Fury, alarm bells went off in Xia Ya's mind.

He realized his joke had gone a little too far and tried to salvage things, but in his panic, he ended up saying something even worse.

"...B-Because you really did lose your temper back then! I remember it clearly! Afterward, you even confronted that commander from across the room, and you almost charged out! You even smugly said something like, 'Come stop me already. If we really start fighting, I won't lose to you!'" The faster he spoke, the more it felt as though it had actually happened, as though it were a real scene from some other parallel universe.

"How could I possibly do something like that!!!?" Jiliang let out a deafening roar that rang through the entire cafeteria. The last thread of her rationality snapped completely.

The next second, she charged straight at Xia Ya!

She moved so fast that she no longer resembled a girl who had merely been angry moments ago, but rather an enraged lioness!

Xia Ya was so startled by her sudden burst that he practically sprang from his seat on instinct, turning to run.

However, he was still one step too slow.

Jiliang's hands clamped down on his collar with the precision and force of iron pincers!

A tremendous force hit him. Xia Ya felt like a tiny boat caught in a raging storm as Jiliang shook him wildly in every direction with all her strength!

"W-Wait, wait! I'm sorry! I was wrong! Let go already!!" Xia Ya was shaken dizzy, seeing stars as his stomach churned violently. He hurriedly begged for mercy.

He tried to break free, but Jiliang's grip was far too tight. That strength was nothing like what an ordinary girl should possess.

"No!!" Jiliang shouted as she shook him, her voice thick with tears of rage. "Until you honestly tell me what you really think of me, I absolutely—will not let go!" Her eyes were exceptionally determined, carrying the stubborn resolve of someone who would not rest until she achieved her goal.

Xia Ya wailed inwardly. An apology was clearly no longer enough.

Jiliang's anger had maxed out, and she could not hear any explanation. She forced Xia Ya back step by step until his back struck the cold metal wall with a thud, leaving him nowhere to retreat.

Jiliang still gripped his collar tightly, pinning him against the wall as she demanded furiously, "And what was that ridiculous line!? What do you mean, 'I won't lose to you if we fight'? I would never say something that makes me sound like some delinquent girl!" Her breathing was rapid, her chest heaving sharply. She was obviously furious, and excitement had painted her pale cheeks crimson.

Pinned beneath her glare, his back pressed against the cold wall, Xia Ya explained helplessly, "No, that's not it. Actually... th-that might have been something Jiliang from another timeline said..." He had no idea why such an absurd excuse had come out of his mouth. Maybe she had shaken his brain loose.

"What the hell is another timeline!? So you really were just making things up! You're not reflecting on this at all, are you!?" Jiliang's Fury rose again as her hand tightened further around his collar.

"I am! I really am reflecting on it! Very deeply!" Xia Ya hurriedly declared his sincerity, trying to make his eyes look as genuine as possible so Jiliang would believe him.

However, Jiliang was so overwhelmed by rage that she overlooked one extremely important fact.

She and Xia Ya were far too close.

Close enough that... they could practically feel each other's breaths, their warm exhalations intertwining.

Or rather, their bodies were pressed tightly together.

To seize Xia Ya's collar and pin him to the wall, Jiliang had practically pressed the weight of her entire upper body against him.

Xia Ya could clearly feel the softness and startling elasticity of her chest, pressed snugly against his own through the thin fabric of their combat uniforms.

The faint mixture of shampoo and engine oil clinging to the girl, combined with her hurried breaths, became the most potent catalyst, instantly setting off an alarm Xia Ya had never felt before.

Bzzz—!

It was as though ten thousand alarms had gone off at once inside his head.

Every inch of skin and every cell in Xia Ya's body instantly tensed, as though countless ants were frantically biting him!

An unprecedented, indescribable tension and intense unease swept through his entire body like a tsunami!

"B-Bad... This is bad, bad, bad, bad, bad!!" Xia Ya's heart pounded madly, so fast that it felt ready to leap from his chest and shatter his ribs. Blood surged into his brain like magma, and his cheeks began to burn uncontrollably.

He had no idea where this overwhelming sense of danger was coming from, but his instincts screamed at him, I have no idea why! But anyway, I have to—have to get Jiliang away from me! Make her let go!!

Just as the tension reached its peak and Xia Ya felt as though he might "explode" for some unknown reason the very next second—

"Pfft..."

A suppressed chuckle broke the frozen air like a stone tossed into a still lake.

Then came a second, then a third...

"Pfft... hahaha..."

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The laughter spread like something contagious. It began as scattered snickers, but quickly grew from quiet laughter into unabashed howls.

In the end, aside from Xia Ya and Jiliang, still locked in a standoff by the wall, nearly everyone in the cafeteria was swept up in the sudden laughter.

Tolle clutched his stomach, his shoulders shaking; Miliaria blushed and covered her mouth with one hand, though her eyes brimmed with laughter; even Sai, usually rather serious, could not stop the corners of his mouth from rising.

The sudden laughter echoing through the entire cafeteria was like someone had hit pause, leaving the previously combative Xia Ya and Jiliang both stunned.

It was as though they had only just snapped back to their senses after their heated argument and scuffle. Jiliang instinctively released Xia Ya's collar, and the two stared at each other, tilting their heads in unison.

The remnants of anger and panic still lingered on their faces, but now they were more confused than anything else.

Why... was everyone laughing?

There seemed to be no malice in that laughter. Instead, it was filled with... goodwill? Or perhaps they simply found what the two of them had just done amusing?

Then a smiling voice came from the crowd, seemingly from one of the maintenance crew members.

"R-Right, sorry... pfft... But Xia Ya, I always thought you were more... more cool."

"Cool?" Xia Ya blinked and repeated the word blankly. He instinctively straightened the collar Jiliang had wrinkled, his eyes filled with pure confusion. "...Who are you talking about?"

Him? Cool?

Another voice immediately followed. This time, it was Kuzzey, laughing as he spoke. "Pfft... A-And Jiliang too. She's usually so quiet. It's rare to see her get this... this directly angry at someone! Hahaha!"

Xia Ya pondered inwardly, Cool? So that's the impression everyone has of me? Like an ice block? Or... the kind of person who's hard to approach?

He was intensely curious and surprised by that assessment, so he asked outright, "When you said 'cool' just now, were you talking about me?"

He wanted to confirm whether the public impression he gave people was completely different from his own self-image of being "gloomy."

And how had this sudden argument and scuffle changed that impression?