They are still close to me today despite their negative feelings

"Then, so these sentences are also like that!?"

The look Hu Dan gives me now is no longer one of disgust, but rather one of wariness and fear towards a reproductively isolated creature.

"I've always wanted to be an outstanding boy like the class monitor."

I said that, and then handed the pen back to the class monitor.

"Hey, this is the pen I used this morning. I remember carrying it with me... How did it end up with you?"

Just now. I really admire your habit of carrying a pen with you everywhere you go!

Of course, I wouldn't say that directly. "Sorry, I saw it under your desk during the day and picked it up without permission. I was planning to return it to you this afternoon..."

They probably all thought of what was written in the notebook from my explanation. Many girls, and even some boys, took a step back, looking at me with no trust whatsoever.

"Oh, thank you." The class monitor, on the other hand, accepted it as if it were a matter of course. I was a little touched.

"Then, so is Senior Sister Chu Guyin also..."

"Ah, that makes more sense."

It's as if, after taking fake medicine, everyone automatically filled in the gaps in the logic and setting for me. "Rather than saying that Senior Chu Guyin disliked the class monitor because she liked him, it would be more reasonable to say that she was disgusted by the owner of this notebook from the very beginning, right?"

“Indeed, if it were Ning Ruoyu, there would be no problem.”

This is a huge problem. What's going on with this class and this school? Isn't their hostility towards me a bit too much?

Although my heart was twisting and screaming in agony, I ultimately held back my tears of blood.

"Is everything alright now? If not, I'm taking it now!"

I said with a smile.

But apart from Chen Di, who was kind-hearted and unaware of the whole story, no one around me smiled. Their eyes held a variety of complex emotions, and they looked at me as if I were garbage or filth.

But high school students' eyes are so innocent. Compared to those fat women who throw money in people's faces and force them to finish the rest of their champagne, these people's expressions are really good—full of righteous indignation for their classmate (Chen Di) and senior (Chu Guyin).

"You are truly disgusting."

Hu Dan's words seemed to finally announce the end of this incident.

"Is it?"

However, I had some anger that I couldn't vent.

"Using the name of others to trample on their privacy at will, satisfying your own gossip and curiosity, and then using this as a topic and fun to harass others, I find you disgusting too."

"Forget it, I'm too lazy to reason with you bunch of idiots."

I said that, and took the notebook back to my seat.

[Next Chapter Preview: Oh no!!! We tore off the mask too early!]

"How clever! Even though you didn't believe me at all, you still went along with it."

Chu Guyin looked up at me, her calm eyes devoid of any emotion, but I could sense that she seemed somewhat sad.

Beside her, a long-haired girl in a black sailor uniform clearly from a middle school was glaring at me with hostility.

Chapter Four: Interpersonal Relationships Are Nothing More Than a Matter of Mutual Benefit

"Next, everyone will train in pairs."

My heart skipped a beat when I heard that.

Oh no!!! I forgot I had PE class this afternoon, I'd already forgotten about it.

It was as if a vacuum had formed around me, separating me from everyone else by vast distances.

Even though An Yu seemed to glance at me several times, she was quickly surrounded by her friends, and even a few boys joined in—beautiful girls with such excellent interpersonal skills and looks are always in high demand when it comes to group assignments.

Perhaps noticing my somewhat troubled look, the PE teacher looked at me across the crowd and gave me a bright, cheerful smile.

Great! Finally, some mature adults have realized how big the social loopholes are in this kind of group training.

Although you're usually nowhere to be found, you're definitely reliable at times like this. Well done, PE teacher! From today onwards, you're no longer that frail and sickly young man in my life, but a steady and strong adult.

"You're free to form groups and find your own playing area. If you need anything, come find me in the sports equipment room!"

...This bastard can't wait to skip work, drink tea, and slack off; he must be a man with kidney deficiency.

I watched the man with kidney deficiency leave, gritting my teeth as I watched the people around me already forming teams, laughing and joking. Although they were supposed to be in pairs, many were actually small groups sticking together.

Ah, let's go to the cafeteria convenience store and enjoy the air conditioning.

I saw An Yu seem to be walking towards me, so I quickly turned my back and prepared to leave. In this situation, even being casually struck up a conversation would be a troublesome thing for me.

After all, in this atmosphere of passive-aggressive behavior where the whole class is unwilling to interact with me, anyone who breaks the ice will likely be seen as an oddball who can't read the room.

"Want to team up with me?"

Holy crap, a wild, alien creature has jumped out! Who is it?!

I turned around and saw a character standing behind me that I never expected.

Chen Di.

Perhaps fearing I wouldn't understand what he meant, he took the initiative to explain.

"Want to play badminton together?"

"Not teaming up with other people?... Ah, I'm not being self-deprecating or sarcastic, I just think you probably have a lot of people you can team up with, is it okay to ignore them?"

"That's an interesting way of putting it. But this is just a course activity, and it's supposed to be a free team-up. There's no rule about who you have to team up with, right?"

"I don't care if you don't mind. Where are we going?"

"The back of the indoor basketball court? It's more shady there."

I nodded in agreement and took the racket from his hand.

Behind him, including the rather outgoing buzz-cut boy from noon, were looking at this side with some surprise, but like me, Chen Di seemed completely oblivious to these gazes and walked out unhurriedly.

……

Snapped!

A beautiful serve.

"Actually, I wanted to find an opportunity to thank you. I also felt that what happened at noon today was not good, but their emotions were too high at the time, and I didn't find a chance to object."

Snapped!

I lobbed the ball back.

"I understand. The atmosphere is there; not participating would be seen as being a loner."

Snapped!

The ball landed steadily in front of me.

"That's about it. Although you might think I'm making excuses, I didn't really understand the whole story at the time. I was just trying to brush it off and go back to my seat."

I returned the ball to him, and he raised it slightly higher.

"I later found out it was a private notebook. Thank you for getting me out of that predicament."

"How clever! You clearly didn't believe me at all, but you still went along with it," I said bluntly.

"Although it's just polite talk, my gratitude is genuine, and I'm not lying about that," Chen Di said with a wry smile.

"It seems you're really troubled. Is this diary such a big problem for you? Maybe its owner is a cute, lively, gentle, and kind-hearted girl?"

"It has nothing to do with whether she's a beautiful girl or not; I just have no interest in that aspect."

"That's such a polite and cliché thing to say... Just don't let me see you make an official announcement tomorrow or something like that."

I deliberately hit a low ball that landed in the corner, which he returned with a good backhand.

Damn it, he caught it all. I looked at the shuttlecock flying back, utterly disappointed.

"Hey, hey, hey, even though 99% of the problem isn't your fault, are you completely blameless?" I complained righteously.

"That's a bit shameless of you to say."

Chen Di smiled and shook his head, then returned my somewhat tricky net shot.

"Let's talk about it when Ning Ruoyu is willing to play a serious match with me."

"Then hopefully you can use your dominant hand next time." I clicked my tongue and smashed the ball to his left, ending this long game.

"I've been dragged into this and still have to deal with issues related to you, and my already fragile reputation. You can afford to lose a goal in a slightly embarrassing way, right, left-handed guy?"

"...You're the first person to realize I'm left-handed." The ball landed on the ground, but Chen Di didn't seem to be in a hurry to pick it up. Instead, he looked in my direction with a complicated expression on his face.

"Luckily, it wasn't a mystery or detective case, otherwise you'd be facing indefinite imprisonment just for that. Do left-handed people really need to hide it like this?"

"After all, it's something that seems rare to others, right? I don't like the feeling of being different from others and being treated as an oddball, so I learned to live with my right hand from a young age—so in a sense, both of my hands are my dominant hands."

"Amazing, truly." I scratched my head. Although I had always avoided getting too involved with those beautiful girls to prevent them from interfering with my rebirth, if a handsome young man were here pouring his heart out to me—wow, an unexpected path had opened up.

"If you hate being treated like an oddball, I suggest you keep your distance from me," I said, acknowledging Chen Di's friendly response.

"Although I'm not the kind of self-righteous person who says, 'Oh no, I have an incurable disease, so I have to drive away all the people who love me so they won't be sad,' I'd still like to remind you of this point."

Perhaps due to my past profession, I value mutually beneficial relationships in interpersonal interactions. Perhaps it's because I don't dislike Chen Di that I'm speaking up beforehand.

"Then I'll take making you my friend as the first step in overcoming this weakness of mine."

Chen Di said with a smile.

Damn, isn't this guy a little too dazzling? His business card is here; are you really not considering joining our industry? You'll become a legend!

……

After school, I went to the club activity room as agreed.

Since I had absolutely no musical background, after asking me, senior student Chu Guyin recommended some classic pieces and live concerts, and then let me choose an instrument that interested me.

It feels a bit like choosing your starting hero.

The etude my senior was playing was incredibly difficult, even for a complete novice like me. But her performance was in no way inferior to the live concerts I'd been shown, which filled me with awe as I sat idly by.

"Do you...have any musical instruments...that interest you...?"

Finally stepping out of her own world, Chu Guyin sat down at the piano and asked me a question.

"Well, if it's easy for beginners to pick up, they'd probably choose between the ukulele and the guitar."

"If... it's a guitar... it's easier to... form a band..."

Senior Sister Chu Guyin rarely showed a hint of eagerness.

"Guitar and piano? That seems a bit odd..."

"Electric guitars...and keyboards...are very common..."

Oh no, are there such detailed classifications for guitars? To be honest, I always thought that acoustic guitars and electric guitars were just different in terms of materials.

To cover up my ignorance, I quickly changed the subject.

"By the way, senior, are you quite popular at our school?"

"What...is...popular?"

"...Sorry, I asked the wrong question. Should I have said, do you have many friends?"

After my determined dancing in the minefield, Senior Sister Chu Guyin's eyes successfully dimmed.

"I don't have... many... friends... They... don't talk to... me much."

"And...we'll...lose the conversation...I...I'm bad at talking..."

Since it was true, I couldn't comfort her, so I decided to pretend I didn't notice her disappointment.

"Let me ask you another question—Senior, do you usually feel that your studies and life are going smoothly? And that people are very friendly and enthusiastic when they talk to you?"

"It went very smoothly...what...does that mean?"

"The question that follows... is because... our... classmates at school... are... very friendly."

When it comes to classmates being friendly, let's first seek common ground while respecting differences.

"Smooth sailing means that most of the time you will find that many people are willing to help you."

"Oh...yes...everyone is...doing well..."