They are still close to me today despite their negative feelings

"Eh?"

"If that's the case, he's probably going to find the person involved right now. Don't let Ning Ruoyu's usual easygoing and approachable demeanor fool you; when she takes action, she's the kind of person who ignores all other factors and only considers the conditions that determine victory or defeat."

"In other words—as long as it doesn't affect us, he's a guy who only cares about the outcome."

Chen Di shrugged.

"So now, I'll most likely be looking for junior Qiu Luxi. With other teachers supervising in the club room, the only places I can probably go are..."

He pointed to the ceiling.

"Then I'll go find him. I absolutely can't let him hurt himself!"

Do you think you can persuade that guy?

Chen Di didn't move, but stood quietly in place, and even asked An Yu a question.

"..."

"Ultimately, the solution that guy proposed was indeed the fastest and most effective. With public opinion already running high, grabbing attention is essential." Chen Di sighed. "Putting all that aside, the reason that guy is so insistent on this method is essentially because it's the easiest to implement."

"Could it be..."

"No, An Yu, listen to me first." Chen Di gently shook his hand, calming An Yu down who was about to say something more. "What I mean is, why do you think this method is the easiest to implement for Ning Ruoyu?"

"!"

"Yes."

A faint sadness and resentment lingered on Chen Di's face.

"Because he is certain of one thing. He is the kind of person who can resonate with everyone and be disliked by others."

Seeing An Yu fall completely silent, Chen Di revealed a somewhat self-deprecating smile.

"Isn't it funny? The reason he believed this plan would succeed and chose it immediately is because he understands his own situation best. Ning Ruoyu is the kind of person who will use everything he has to achieve his goals, and this situation is why he keeps choosing this kind of method to solve problems."

"Speaking of which, that guy always gives off a strong sense of self-destruction. Although he usually seems very casual and optimistic, there's always a strange sense of alienation about him."

“He could continue living, but he wouldn’t care if he died tomorrow. He was like an outsider, though he did care about some people, especially Ning Ruoxin, whom he practically doted on.”

"But deep down he doesn't seem to think that losing his future will have any impact on us. Or rather, from the very beginning, he seems to have been prepared to walk away at any time. As far away as possible."

Chen Di gently touched the desk of the boy's seat and whispered, "Perhaps that's why he was able to connect with Qiu Luxi. Because they are essentially in the same situation."

"Huh? Class monitor, what did you just say?"

“No, it’s nothing.” Chen Di shook his head. “Sometimes I even wonder, is the Ning Ruoyu of today really the Ning Ruoyu of the past? Or is it that something changed him, causing him to feel a sense of alienation and want to abandon everything as he changed?”

"What, changed him..."

An Yu's face turned deathly pale. In fact, upon hearing those words, it was as if a medium called the soul had been extracted from her body.

"It was me, it was me back then..."

The girl's murmur made Chen Di pause slightly.

"No, you can't!..."

As if she had discovered some terrible secret, she stumbled and turned around.

She bumped into several tables, seemingly oblivious to the strangeness and pain, and ran out as if possessed.

"An'an?...Huh?"

He was so lost in thought that he didn't even respond to the greetings from the girls passing by.

"Wait a minute, I don't think so!..."

Chen Di's voice didn't reach An Yu's ears at all. He could only watch the girl run away alone, and sighed deeply while holding his forehead.

"Really, one by one!"

Chen Di, who rarely complains, shook his head.

He didn't think Ning Ruoyu's change was because of An Yu's remarks at that time—given Ning Ruoyu's current attitude, he felt that his friend didn't care much about An Yu's words and actions.

"...Don't do anything foolish!"

Thinking this, Chen Di reluctantly followed.

Then, he stared blankly at An Yu and turned into the broadcasting room.

After a while, a short-haired girl wearing glasses came out of the broadcasting room looking a little lost. She looked back at the broadcasting room several times and scratched her head.

"........."

"An Yu just went in, right?"

Chen Di asked the girl in front of him for confirmation.

"Yes, yeah, that's right." The short-haired girl nodded. "An said she needed to use the broadcasting room to help the teacher find someone, but she forgot to bring the notice the teacher gave her, and asked if I could go and get it for her."

"The teacher gave her a draft of a notice and asked you to pick it up for her!"

"Yes."

The girl scratched her head, seemingly finally realizing what was wrong.

"But An seemed very anxious, her eyes were red and she was trying hard to hold back her tears. Because she was kind of cute, so..." The female student smiled shyly.

Chen Di fell silent. Not out of profound contemplation, but because he was utterly speechless.

He more or less understood what the saying "half of An Yu's fans are female" meant. His classmate seemed to be naturally very popular with the girls around him.

Before the short-haired female classmate across from him could finish chuckling, a piercing sonic boom came from the loudspeaker overhead, followed by a sharp high-pitched roar.

This caused the female students in the broadcasting room to instinctively cover their ears, while Chen Di frowned.

Because he vaguely heard some quiet self-talk on the radio.

"Uh, why... is it this button?... Can't it be turned up that high?"

“Actually, you don’t need to touch most of the buttons on the desktop. Just press the button with the yellow sticker on it.” Chen Di said, raising his voice slightly as he spoke to the person inside the door, while pressing the doorknob.

That's true, even An Yu knows to lock the door.

He sighed.

"Oh, I see. Thank you, class monitor."

"……You're welcome."

Chen Di took out his phone outside and sent a message to Ning Ruoyu.

I tried my best.

Hopefully you're mentally prepared. If you're not... well, then you weren't prepared.

Realizing what An Yu was about to do, Chen Di chose to cross his arms and lean against the wall, finding the best spot in the audience, ready to properly enjoy his friend's misdeeds.

"Um, sorry to bother everyone. I'm An Yu from Class F of the second year of high school..."

"I... ah, I have to say this first. I'm sorry, this broadcast announcement was made on my own initiative, and the broadcaster is currently locked out by me, so please take full responsibility for any trouble caused to everyone."

"None, whatever the punishment may be..."

puff.

Chen Di almost couldn't hold back his laughter. Looking at his short-haired female classmate, who also looked completely bewildered, he couldn't help but smile wryly.

What the heck is this disclaimer?

"I no longer want to hurt others because of my willfulness."

“In May of last semester, I did something really outrageous and really bad.”

An Yu probably hadn't calmed down yet, and her speech was hesitant and stammering.

"Um, I guess a lot of people still remember, right? Back then, I was so arrogant, and in front of so many people, I said some really harsh things to a classmate..."

"Classmate? Oh, is it Ning Ruoyu?" the short-haired female classmate asked Chen Di for confirmation.

Are all the members of the broadcasting department this outgoing? Chen Di nodded in agreement.

"That guy deserved it, didn't he? I'd heard about what he did to girls before... An Yu, what about her?"

Ignoring the short-haired girl's question, Chen Di continued to listen quietly.

"me……"

There was a moment of silence on the microphone, followed by a clear inhalation.

Since she wasn't a professional broadcasting student, An Yu's breathing was recorded without her even realizing it, yet it perfectly conveyed to the listener her unease and anxiety.

She took a deep breath.

“I want to apologize to him here—and I hope everyone can hate me.”

???

Chen Di glanced at the female classmate who was also giving him a questioning look, and shook his head.

Ning Ruoyu sometimes couldn't understand An Yu's thought process. You expect me to explain reading comprehension to you?

"Yes, when I'm in trouble, he'll stand up for me; when I ask him for help, even someone like me, in this state, he's willing to protect me; even when I, an idiot, do the stupidest and most awful thing, he'll patiently listen to my own ridiculous explanations, and then sigh and forgive me..."

"And all of these things happened after I, in front of everyone, rejected, insulted, and even slandered him!"

Heavy sobbing and sniffling could be heard over the loudspeaker.

"Even now, he's still trying to solve problems for those around him. Even if it causes more people to misunderstand him and dislike him, he's still quietly helping others. But, but I don't want him to do that... I don't want him to be all alone..."

"I, I know! I'm like this, like this, how can I, how can I face him, no, Ning Ruoyu... I, I don't, I don't have that kind of face, I know, I know."

"I just... I just feel... I don't want him to be like this anymore... How sad must a person be to use those words as... as a useful tool..."

"Those words were my fault, I caused all of this. So, what can I do? What should I do? You, you idiot, wouldn't you at least have a little bit of self-respect?!"

Chen Di gently raised her head. For some reason, the campus was eerily silent, even though it was lunch break. The entire area seemed to be filled only with a somewhat desolate, chilly autumn wind and the girl's incoherent pleas and monologue over the loudspeaker.

"...Please, please, hate me."

An Yu seemed to be trying to calm herself down, but after finally managing to say the sentence in one breath, all that was left was a sob that she was trying hard to suppress.

“I don’t know how to explain it, and I don’t know why it’s still like this… What can I do? I don’t want you to be alone, but I’m a useless idiot, so I can’t do anything or help with anything.”

"If, if you say that slowly salvaging one's reputation is useless, then at least, if I can be hated by everyone, wouldn't that be..."

"—Does that mean I still deserve to stay by your side?"

In the broadcasting room, An Yu lay face down on the table, sobbing uncontrollably.

She clung tightly to the microphone pole, like a child who had reached a dead end, as if grasping at her last hope.

There seemed to be some noise outside; it was probably teachers and school staff who realized the problem and came to deal with it. She quickly wiped her face haphazardly with her hand and continued speaking into the microphone.

"I... I know I'm the least qualified person to say this! But! I still want to beg everyone. It's all my fault, so! If you feel disgusted or hateful, then the object of your hatred should be me! Just, just please stop bullying him!—"

The words had barely left his mouth when the door to the broadcasting room was flung open with a whoosh. An Yu leaned against the broadcasting console, somewhat frightened, and stared at the person who had entered against the light, momentarily stunned.

"Okay, thank you to An Yu from Class F for bringing us a wonderful midday special, the radio drama 'The Confession of a Girl Under the Moon.' That concludes today's broadcast. Let's look forward to seeing you next time!"

The announcer's voice was pure and dignified, with no trace of the unnatural tone of a young man. But the person who snatched the microphone, finished speaking, and handed it to him was indeed the person An Yu had been thinking about.

"See you next time..."

Seeing the boy give her a meaningful look, An Yu, though at a loss, followed his lead and spoke softly, her voice slightly choked with emotion.

"Snapped."

The boy pressed the button to mute the microphone and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"You really are stupid..."

Before he could finish speaking, the girl in front of him collapsed to the ground like a puppet that had lost all its strength.

Just before she collapsed, she cautiously, as if testing the waters, grabbed his sleeve, hesitant to get close yet unwilling to let go.

[Next chapter preview: "Huh? With your destructive power, I'm not luncheon meat."]

"I'm not like you who can pick locks."

"If you use more force, she probably won't say those things again."

...I knew I shouldn't have had too many expectations of them.