The library

"Ozaki's Eight Items! That suicidal extreme sport? How old is he this year? Could it be fake?" Tachibana covered her mouth in surprise.

"Even if that is fake, he's still one of the most outstanding freshmen right now." Horikita remained as serious as ever.

"Are you planning to recruit him to keep Nagumo in check, President?"

"Yes. Nagumo's ideology is far too dangerous. Almost the entire second year is under his control now. All I can do is find capable freshmen to keep him in check."

"Hey, what did the Student Council want with you?" Lezheng had barely returned to his seat before Kamuro eagerly questioned him.

"They wanted to ask me about someone," Lezheng said, casually making up an excuse.

"You? Ask about someone? Are you messing with me?"

"Glad you know."

"Idiot!" Kamuro couldn't help swearing.

The afternoon schedule consisted of only one PE class. Everyone in Class A changed into their sportswear and headed to the designated meeting place. Sakayanagi had taken leave because of her health and was sitting on a stone platform, watching the others work up a sweat.

Lezheng was also enjoying the lovely scenery. Fortunately, he wasn't letting out any sort of "heh heh heh" laugh.

"Pervert. Lecher." Kamuro had appeared beside Lezheng at some point.

"Lecherous? I'm not sure. The flowers are simply in full bloom. If I didn't appreciate them, I'd be rather insensitive to their charms." Lezheng calmly turned to look at Kamuro.

"Tch, sophistry. Hey... want to compete?"

"In what?"

"A race, obviously. You look so frail. You must be no good at that."

"How about the loser buys the winner a drink?"

"Just what I had in mind."

Kamuro was a woman of action. Once they had settled things, she immediately found two classmates to serve as referees.

The other classmates who loved watching a spectacle soon heard about Lezheng and Kamuro's race. They were now watching from the grass inside the track.

"Hey, don't go back on your word when you lose." Kamuro glanced at her opponent.

"I'm just worried you'll cry when you lose." Lezheng smiled.

"Ready! Go!"

At the referee's call, the two sprinted neck and neck toward the finish line. Kamuro really was fast; a boy without some ability might not have been able to outrun her.

Did she develop this from stealing? Lezheng stole a glance at Kamuro as he ran.

Although Kamuro ran very fast, she ultimately lost by a narrow margin.

"I won't accept this. Let's go again. You were only a little faster than me." After reaching the finish line, Kamuro grabbed Lezheng and demanded another race.

"If you lose, that'll make it two drinks."

"Fine!"

At that moment, Kamuro naively believed Lezheng had beaten her through luck. After all, the facts showed that he had only been one body length ahead of her.

They raced twice more after that, and each time, Lezheng won by only a narrow margin.

"Huff, huff, huff... You bastard, are you messing with me on purpose?!" Sensing something was wrong, Kamuro finally caught on.

"Not at all," Lezheng immediately explained, though he couldn't keep the corners of his mouth down.

"Then why are you only a little faster than me every time?!"

"Just luck, I suppose. Want another race? Maybe you'll win the next one."

"Shameless jerk. What kind don't you like drinking?" Although Kamuro had lost, she didn't try to wriggle out of paying.

"I particularly dislike cola. Feeling bloated is really uncomfortable."

"Wait here. I'll go buy it for you." With that, Kamuro headed toward the vending machines.

Lezheng went over and sat down about three body lengths away from Sakayanagi.

"You put Kamuro up to it, didn't you?"

"Oh my, you've seen through this young lady's little scheme." Sakayanagi didn't try to deny it.

"So what was your purpose in doing that?"

"I simply wanted to see what you're capable of, Lezheng. Unfortunately..." Sakayanagi put on a sorrowful expression.

"Hey, here's your cola." Kamuro handed Lezheng a bottle of cola.

"Thanks."

After taking it, Lezheng didn't open it immediately. Instead, he flicked the sides of the bottle a few times before opening it.

"Tch." Seeing her little trick thwarted, Kamuro turned her head away in annoyance.

"Thanks for the treat, Kamuro." After thanking her, Lezheng left.

"Kamuro, it seems he's fooled you again." Sakayanagi smiled at Kamuro, who was gritting her teeth beside her.

"I don't need you to remind me!"

After school, Lezheng didn't return to his dorm room. Rather than sleep out of boredom in his room, he might as well do something else. With that thought in mind, he headed to the library.

As expected, there were very few people there. That made sense, though. Having just arrived at a new school, there were plenty of new things to do. Somewhere like the library would undoubtedly come later, especially since they had also received a gift from the school.

Lezheng went to the horror fiction section and casually took down a novel titled "The Shining."

The novel roughly told the story of Jack, who moved into a remote hotel with his family and gradually descended into madness due to prolonged isolation and the influence of the hotel's supernatural forces...

"Excuse me? Excuse me, are you all right?"

In his daze, Lezheng seemed to hear someone's voice. Were they calling him? He raised his head toward the voice, and his vacant eyes gradually regained their focus.

"I am Jack. Who are you?"

The girl froze for a moment and looked curiously at the person before her, but still replied politely, "I am Shiina Hiyori. How are you?"

"Sorry, sorry. I was too absorbed just now. Did something happen?" Lezheng had now fully come back to his senses.

"Nothing happened. I just saw you trembling all over, so I came over to ask." The girl smiled and waved her hands.

"Maybe this book scared me. Thank you... Shiina Hiyori."

"My name is Shiina Hiyori."

"My name is Lezheng Youyan. Nice to meet you."

The two briefly introduced themselves to each other. Fortunately, school had only just started, and there was almost no one in the library. Otherwise, however quietly they spoke, their voices might still have displeased someone.

"Lezheng, is this 'The Shining' what you're reading?" Shiina took a copy of the same book Lezheng was holding from the shelf.

"Yes, yes. That part where Jack goes mad and chops through the door scared me to death." Lezheng patted his chest. "By the way, Shiina, do you think things like the ones in 'The Shining' really exist in this world?"

"Hmm, well... I don't think they exist," Shiina concluded after a little thought.

"That's a relief." Lezheng let out a sigh of relief.

Afterward, the two sat quietly on a bench, reading the books in their hands. One sat at the far left end, the other at the far right. It seemed as though a century lay between them, yet they were within arm's reach...