They are still close to me today despite their negative feelings

The other person seemed unconvinced, but understood that there was no benefit in starting a conflict under these circumstances. As if trying to get back at the other person, they muttered something and then slunk away to the other side of the sofa.

"Thank you." An Yu sat down on the edge of the sofa with me and whispered a word.

"...But Ning Ruoyu, are you one of those delinquent teenagers who are quite knowledgeable about cigarettes and alcohol?!"

"Good sir, I remember we were teammates, weren't we? Why are you trying to turn the tables on me now?"

"Ah, no, no, no, don't worry, I absolutely won't tell anyone!"

"No, it's okay if you tell me. I just looked up the information."

That statement is somewhat true and false. I certainly didn't touch cigarettes there, but many of my colleagues were addicted to them. I was subtly taught about related matters and some basic knowledge about it.

The other party's purpose was simple—to an ignorant young girl, adults smoking seemed like a cool thing, at least this self-satisfied passerby thought it was cool.

Exploiting college students' inexplicable longing for and curiosity about adulthood is often the first tactic these scoundrels use to deceive them.

"What's Ge Lanlan saying?"

Perhaps because his own safety was assured, An Yu began to worry about his friend's situation.

"We agreed on three rules, you know, I won't interfere."

I reminded him, and took a slice of watermelon from the fruit plate in front of me.

To be honest, Ge Lanlan is really carefree. Even though one of them is her childhood sweetheart, it still feels like a high school girl attending this kind of party alone has a bad vibe.

But none of this concerns me.

As I was thinking this, I saw An Yu walk past me and then enter the other person's chat circle.

...?

"what are you guys saying?"

"It's about starting a business, are you interested, classmate?"

Stop, stop.

I pulled An Yu back from there.

"what are you doing?"

"To gather intelligence."

An Yu blinked.

"Isn't this something that's forbidden in the three-point agreement?"

I saw a sly, fox-like glint in the depths of this girl's eyes.

"Even though you won't help, you'll definitely protect me, right?"

"...After hunting eagles my whole life, I've actually been blinded by an eagle."

I glared at her, and An Yu gave me a mischievous look that said, "I don't understand, I don't know," before moving closer to her again.

"Huh? Starting a business? That sounds like a lot of fun. Could you tell me more about it?"

Unlike his previous timidity, An Yu now appeared very confident and even took the initiative to ask about things he cared about.

Very good, it's time to popularize the Labor Law.

I took the watermelon and left the room. I waited for a while at the corner of the KTV. The guy who had been so confident just moments before hurriedly ran out of the room, looking around anxiously.

My position wasn't very well hidden, and I soon made eye contact with her.

"Why aren't you taking care of me?! It's scary to turn around and not find you in the room!"

With tears welling in her eyes, An Yu quickly closed the distance and almost pounced on me.

"I think you're quite brave." I threw the watermelon into the trash can and clapped my hands.

"Wow, you!"

"Shhh."

Interrupting An Yu's about-to-be-started complaint, I poked my left side.

"..." Although she didn't know what had happened, An Yu obediently stopped talking immediately and looked in the direction I was pointing.

In the rest area near the men's restroom, a man wearing a gold chain and gold teeth was playing on his phone.

"What's wrong?"

"He probably knows those 'college students'."

"Eh? Why?"

"Why do you think those people came to book the private rooms first?"

"There are only five of us. Friday afternoon might be a holiday for students, but it's not a free time for working professionals. We deliberately set up a large private room in this corner despite the large and empty space."

"Then, why doesn't he come in?"

"Perhaps his goal wasn't to get in, but quite the opposite?"

"The one who doesn't go into the room is... Ah, could it be!"

"It's hard to say. I think the random person from those three should come out soon, let's observe them a bit more."

"Huh? How do you know that?! ...And who is that random passerby?!"

I didn't answer. I just saw that person make a gesture to their companion, roughly meaning that they should go out for a bit and let others stabilize the situation.

...I'm all too familiar with this code; it's a hand signal we use all the time in our shady dealings. It's usually used to keep the sucker in line while the accomplice goes to the boss or manager to discuss something like a "special menu."

jingle.

The door opened, and just as I had guessed, Passerby A walked out, instantly meeting the gaze of the gold-toothed man.

Three fingers are held down.

Three fat sheep (people who came).

Thumb, then a finger.

An unexpected person (not the target, but I should be referring to myself).

Tap the air three times with your index finger.

High quality.

I really hope that their evaluation of me was included in their assessment of my qualities.

Leaving An Yu still nervously watching the two of them, I took the initiative to walk over there.

Next, let's make some preparations...

However, a shout shattered our tacit understanding and caused me to stumble and fall next to the gold-toothed man.

"Junior Ning Ruoyu, what are you doing here?"

[Next episode preview: I looked somewhat frightened and quickly left his side with a forced smile.]

"Our school does not restrict interactions between men and women, so as long as they are pure and within limits, there is no problem."

"Ning Ruoyu! Ignore them, they're a scam!"

"As for your female classmates, we asked a friend who happened to be hanging out nearby to look for them, so don't worry."

I'm seriously considering whether I can distance myself from them if I go out now.

Chapter 11: A righteous and awe-inspiring beautiful girl, do you like her? (laughs)

"You brat, can't you see?"

"I'm so sorry, are you alright?"

The gold-toothed man in front of me glared at me fiercely, his veins bulging.

"Damn it, you're still a kid, get out of my way!"

I looked somewhat flustered and quickly left him with a forced smile.

"Um, are you alright? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called you out of the blue."

At the same time, the person who ran to my side was the one who started it all—the senior with long black hair, Wu Yuehua.

After she apologized to the gold-toothed man, we switched places with An Yu, who was still standing some distance away.

"Does it hurt?" An Yu patted my back and asked with some concern.

"Well, it's probably for the best. But I didn't expect you to come to a place like this, senior."

"Our debate club recently won the regional competition, and we arranged to celebrate here a week ago. But you two... are you... in a relationship?"

"no no."

"How could that be, hahaha."

"...Even though it's impossible, why are you so happy to deny it?"

Despite both denying it, An Yu quickly showed an unhappy expression for some reason.

Senior Wu Yuehua glanced at us thoughtfully.

"Our school does not restrict interactions between men and women, so as long as they are pure and within limits, there is no problem."

"If they really start dating, will the school be able to tell if they're truly platonic?" I found this superfluous school rule amusing. But I quickly shut up at the sight of the senior's narrowed eyes.

"In short, I wouldn't be so tactless as to disturb your extracurricular activities. I was just saying hello—junior, you seem a bit timid, don't you think?"

"Hearing your own name suddenly in a dark corridor can actually be quite scary," An Yu said, trying to smooth things over for me.

"Yes, that's right, it was my fault. I'll greet you in a more tactful way next time."

I hope you won't greet me next time. It's better for both of us if we don't see each other.

As I was thinking this to myself, and was about to nod perfunctorily and say goodbye as soon as possible, I saw Ge Lanlan rushing out alone from the direction of the private room, her head down.

This scene was witnessed by the senior student and An Yu who were standing nearby.

"Is that one of your classmates?"

"You actually know the next batch of students you have absolutely no connection with?"

"I've made sure I can roughly recognize all the students in the school."

Does the position of student council president offer any advantages based on job title? Can someone without professional training really achieve that level of success?

While I was worrying about my own unemployment crisis, An Yu had already subconsciously taken steps to follow me.

"President, could you accompany An Yu? We came together, but Ge Lanlan seems to be acting strangely. An Yu might not be able to handle it alone."

"Is it alright for me to get involved in this kind of thing?"

"I think this is something that no one should interfere with; we can just keep an eye on them to make sure they don't get into any trouble."

"Understood, I'll head over now. Please come over as soon as you've found out what's going on in the private room."

I nodded, and then I parted ways with my senior.

……

Box.

The moment I opened the door, a faint, sweet smell of rust wafted into my nose.

On the sofa, Anan slumped at one end, haphazardly wiping the bright red blood from his forehead with a tissue. Two male college students were pinning down a familiar-looking boy, their gazes fierce and cruel.

"I've pressed the service bell. Could you all please calm down?"

At this point, persuasion is useless. The moment blood is drawn, a person's rationality quickly fades.

But what will allow intelligence to regain its dominance is the involvement of an unrelated third party.

"..."

Realizing they couldn't explain the situation, the two male college students angrily pushed the boy who was being pinned down to the ground and straddled the sofa.

That random passerby ignored my previous request and started smoking an e-cigarette as if it were perfectly normal.

It seems they're not going to pretend anymore.

"What happened? Why are you all so upset?"