They are still close to me today despite their negative feelings

So the hamster instantly turned into a groundhog, and An Yu, who was stunned in place, seemed not to have expected me to reject her request so directly.

Please, this is an obvious problem, there's absolutely no benefit in getting involved, right? Why are you looking so shocked and incredulous?

Then she suddenly sped up her eating, and after quickly devouring the food stored in her cheeks, she launched into a tirade.

"But didn't you promise me that at the family restaurant yesterday?!"

"Huh? It's just a humiliating treaty. There's no recording, no video, no written agreement. Unsigned paper is just toilet paper."

I said it as a matter of course.

"Ning Ruoyu, you!"

An Yu revealed an indignant expression that said, "I never expected you to be this kind of person."

Say whatever you want, I'm not getting involved in something this troublesome. It turns out that helping a campus idol-level beauty like that will either get you killed or leave you filthy.

I'm just a high school student who wants to live a normal life, so it's best if none of you pretty girls get involved with me!

"Excuse me, were you talking about a family restaurant? Did you go to one yesterday?"

A friendly and natural greeting made my vision go black.

Wu Yuehua had somehow appeared in the same spot, smiling and using gentle words to conceal the fact that she had been following and eavesdropping.

That's illegal! Is the disciplinary inspection commission investigating this person? What? She's the one in charge of the disciplinary inspection commission? Never mind then.

"Eh? Um..."

An Yu was clearly caught off guard and looked at me with a hint of confusion.

"Actually, I've always believed that people should help each other. It would be against my moral principles to just stand by and watch a classmate in trouble without offering any help."

I looked at An Yu and nodded. "Let's go to the usual Western restaurant after school today. I will do my best to help you."

"Huh? Did I hear that right?" Wu Yuehua blinked, looking at me and An Yu suspiciously. "So, where exactly is it?"

I winked at An Yu.

An Yu tilted her head first, then mouthed "o", stuffed the leftover snack wrapper into my hand, and then took out her phone from her pocket.

She brazenly turned on the camera in my direction.

"Where exactly is it? I didn't hear you clearly, Ning Ruoyu. Could you say it again?"

"You'll do everything you can to help me, right?"

An Yu smiled brightly.

My second chance at life is like a hunting ground in the West, with boomerangs spinning in the sky.

[Next chapter preview: "What I envy is that other people's partners are tall, handsome, and good to them. I'd rather be single for life than accept Ning Ruoyu."]

"An'an probably thinks the class monitor is pretty good too, right? Among the boys, she gets along better with the class monitor, right? I feel like the other boys are looking at An'an with lewd eyes."

"Being seen as someone who likes Ning Ruoyu, and receiving help and wingmen, isn't just bad enough, it's like the entire high school is shrouded in darkness, right?"

"Let me handle this! I'm an expert at dealing with An Yu!"

Interlude: The Girls' Not-So-Elegant Afternoon Tea Party

"Speaking of which..."

The incident stemmed from a piece of gossip by Hu Dan.

"It's almost halfway through the semester, and I heard that there's already a couple in the next class."

"Wow, really? Which pair? Are they the ones in the track and field team? Or the two from the basketball team who're always hanging around the field?!"

"They're the couple from the track and field team. I heard they were classmates in junior high."

"Ah, that's great. That track and field guy is pretty handsome... He wouldn't admit it when I asked about our relationship before."

"Oh right, I remember you were in the same middle school as them, right, Ge Lanlan? And you even seemed to know that girl?"

"Yeah, we used to be in the next class and even did club activities together." The girl called Ge Lanlan rested her cheeks on her hands. "It's so nice, it makes me both jealous and envious."

"If you're so envious, why don't you find a boyfriend? Isn't Ning Ruoyu from our class always bothering you?" another girl with braids teased.

"Ugh, don't disgust me, okay? That guy is totally useless, isn't he? I heard someone has already submitted his story to the confession wall, and they'll probably expose what he's done later." Ge Lanlan frowned and waved her hand in disgust. "He sent me a message last time saying, 'Little girl, aren't you asleep yet?'"

"Help! Hahaha..."

“Me too, me too. I’ve received messages like ‘I didn’t sleep well last night because the blanket was too light and couldn’t hold back my longing for you.’”

"Yours is at most considered unfashionable, mine is super greasy. Let me look... 'Okay, go to sleep, sweetie~'."

"Please stop reading, I'm eating!!" Hu Dan made a gagging face. "Is he really not joking? He wouldn't be saying something like that seriously, would he?"

"I have no idea what he's thinking, he's so weird." Ge Lanlan smiled bitterly. "What I envy is that his partner is tall, handsome and treats her well. I'd rather be single for life than accept Ning Ruoyu."

"Yeah, that's true..." This conclusion was quickly agreed upon by the other girls.

"I feel like the boys in our class are generally not very good." "The handsome ones are all from other classes, the average guys are all in our class." "Hmm... except for the class monitor, right?" "Yeah, I agree. The class monitor seems to be the only big shot among the boys in our class."

"...What about An Yu? What do you think?"

Hu Dan noticed the girl who hadn't said a word and was quietly sipping her noodle soup.

My friend is always like this; she easily falls behind when everyone is discussing a topic, and she usually has to ask questions to get her involved in the discussion.

But it is precisely because of this natural and confused personality that he is treated like a mascot by everyone, right?

An Yu, a girl, undoubtedly possesses cuteness and beauty that surpasses most of her peers. However, this appearance, which easily arouses jealousy, combined with her gentle, cheerful, and even somewhat soft-spoken personality, only earns her the favoritism of other girls her age.

"Huh?" An Yu, stunned by the topic thrown at her, lifted her head from the bowl, which was bigger than her face, and blinked. "Oh, I, I also received a message? But Ning Ruoyu's words were a bit strange. I couldn't understand most of them, and my replies were mostly 'Oh, is that so?' and 'Wow, that's amazing.'"

"That's a previous topic, An'an." "Well, that's a very An'an-style answer (laughs)." "If you find it annoying, we can help you get rid of it, okay?"

Although all the comments were good-natured teasing from her friends, An Yu still put down her spoon somewhat uneasy. "Ah, sorry, I didn't quite hear the last one..."

"I'm talking about the boys in our class, An Yu. Do you think any of them are good?" Hu Dan shrugged.

"Huh? Hmm..." An Yu's face showed a slightly conflicted expression.

"An'an must also think the class monitor is pretty good, right? Among the boys, she gets along better with the class monitor, right? I feel like the other boys are looking at An'an with lewd eyes." Before An Yu could answer, Ge Lanlan interrupted.

"Oh right, the class monitor is pretty good."

"Right, right? As expected, Chen Di is the only ray of hope in our class."

"Aren't there girls from other classes who come over during breaks to secretly look at Chen Di? I heard there are even senior girls from the second and third years of high school."

"I've encountered that too. People were crowding around the windows. Was the basketball team's famous new manager also spying on us?"

"I don't really like her. I've heard she's involved with quite a few men, and she seems a bit scheming."

Seeing that everyone had shifted the topic away from her, An Yu secretly picked up a spoon again and started drinking the soup from the tomato and egg noodles.

Hu Dan sighed and gave her all the thin slices of beef from her bowl.

"Hey, hey, hey? Aren't you going to eat? Can I have some?!"

“Yes, yes, really. You seem much more interested in the beef slices than the previous topic.” Hu Dan poked her friend’s cheek.

"No, I'm very interested in that topic!" An Yu said earnestly.

"Then tell me, which class did we just talk about that had a couple?"

"There are already couples in the class?" An Yu's eyes widened.

Hu Dan patted her head with a doting smile, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have tested you."

“I don’t know why you say that, but you should believe me!” An Yu nodded confidently.

"Oh, by the way, everyone, how about playing Truth or Dare?"

Ge Lanlan, who had already put down her chopsticks, clapped her hands, as if she had thought of something interesting.

"Is this the game the boys played this morning?" "It sounds pretty fun." "But in the end, everyone chose truth, which turned it into a lying contest, hahaha."

"So, if we're going to play, we need to set some rules first." Grandlan held up two fingers. "First, the embarrassing situations caused by Truth or Dare can't lead to social death; second, everyone will assume that anything said in Truth or Dare is true."

“I understand the first point, but what does the second point mean?” Hu Dan asked.

"For example, just for example, okay?" Ge Lanlan pushed up her glasses, "If we ask who your crush is, and that person answers 'Ning Ruoyu,' then from now on we'll really assume you like Ning Ruoyu, and we might even help you by acting as a wingman and assisting you!"

"..."

The weight of this honest statement put pressure on most of the girls present, or rather, on the vivid and concrete example it presented.

"So, if you talk nonsense, you'll be in big trouble, right?" Someone swallowed hard.

"Being seen as someone who likes Ning Ruoyu, and receiving help and wingmen, isn't just bad enough, it's like the entire high school is shrouded in darkness, right?"

"This feels hundreds of times more adventurous than a dare..."

"That's right. If you don't tell the truth during the truth-or-dare segment, be prepared to pay the price with a dare!" Grandma chuckled. "And you can't give evasive answers like 'no' or 'I don't know.' You can only change the question once at most."

"It seems quite interesting, I'll participate." Hu Dan seemed to have thought of something and slightly raised her hand.

"Hmm... okay?"

"I'd like to try it too."

"Where's An'an? Does An'an want to play?"

"Hmm?" An Yu, who was chewing beef, looked up, glanced around, and nodded under the expectant gazes of everyone.

"Shall I play too?"

Then, while the others were excitedly adding to the rules, she gently leaned closer to Hu Dan and asked, "What game are we playing?"

“You can think of it as rock-paper-scissors where you have to answer a question,” Hu Dan replied softly.

"Oh! This is easy." An Yu nodded reassuredly, taking out a small bag of snacks from her pocket. "Hu Dan, do you want some?"

"...I just finished eating." Hu Dan glanced helplessly at her foodie friend.

“But this isn’t a meal.” An Yu replied matter-of-factly, tearing open the snack packaging.

"I feel like it's about time. There shouldn't be any major loopholes. So let's try it out according to the rules we just discussed?"

"Okay, shall we begin?"

"Scissors, rock."

"cloth--!"

……

"Wow, you had a crush on the older boy next door?"

"Isn't this dare enough to be considered a death sentence? Those two boys almost thought I was crazy!"

"Huh? No, no, no, Granlan, slow down!!"

After four or five rounds, the girls had suffered injuries and formed grudges with each other. But without straying from the realm of probability, around the seventh or eighth round, An Yu, who had been snacking the whole time, became the loser.

"Yay! We finally caught An Yu!" Ge Lanlan couldn't help but reveal her true feelings.

Even mascots can't escape embarrassment when it comes to embarrassing moments.

“I lost… Go ahead and ask!” An Yu herself wasn’t too worried or uneasy. When she put away the “scissors”, she opened a bag of snacks.

"Hehe, that's pretty bold! After so many painful lessons, you still dare to choose truth!"

"Still dare to choose?" An Yu tilted his head in confusion, while Hu Dan coughed beside him.

"Let me handle this! I'm an expert at dealing with An Yu!"

Hu Dan's words prompted the other girls to voluntarily relinquish their opportunities to discuss the organization. As An Yu's close friend and deskmate, Hu Dan was indeed the girl who spent the most and longest time with An Yu among them.

"What do you mean 'deal with me'? Am I some kind of monster?!" An Yu puffed out his cheeks in dissatisfaction, seemingly unaware of the amusement of his friends.

"Hmph, that's about right. Let Hutman take you down." Hu Dan chuckled and poked An Yu's waist, causing the girl to let out a few soft moans.

"Now for the Q&A session! Question: Who does An Yu have romantic feelings for?"

Hu Dan immediately added after she finished speaking, "It's the kind of affection that comes with being in love, not just liking someone, so you can't give cheating answers like 'my parents'!"

“Oh, no, then no.” An Yu blinked.

"Beep beep!" Grandma immediately jumped out, "No 'no' or 'I don't know,' that was just stipulated, okay?"

"But, is it really impossible not to have it? Aren't you telling the truth?" An Yu asked, puzzled.