Anime Crossover: My Part-Time Job as a Giant of Light While Studying Abroad in Chiba

The crowd only began to move again after her figure disappeared into the teaching building.

"That's really scary."

Duan Zilian watched Kaguya's retreating figure and sighed, "Every time I see her, I feel like a beggar who has infiltrated the palace. How did she cultivate that aura of 'I am the ruler'?"

"It's probably from washing my face with Fukuzawa Yukichi every morning."

"This kind of situation has happened frequently since the two schools merged and started operating jointly. Sigh, we should just admire these rich young ladies who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths."

Sakuta Azusagawa calmly remarked, then glanced at his watch, "There are five minutes left before the bell rings. If you don't leave now, you'll be dominated by Hiratsuka-sensei's iron fist."

"Ah, I forgot about that!"

……

Location: Classroom of Grade 2, Class F Time: 8:25 AM

Duan Zilian and Zichuan slipped into the classroom a second before the preparatory bell rang.

He carefully pulled out the chair and sat down, trying to keep his back from touching the backrest, sitting upright like a nobleman attending an etiquette class.

Good morning, my primitive neighbor.

That familiar, cool voice rang out right on time.

Yukino Yukinoshita was flipping through her English textbook without looking up. "Your posture is unusually upright today. Has she finally realized that the prerequisite for evolution is to stop hunching over?"

"Good morning, Yukinoshita-kun. I'm finally not a monkey today."

Duan Zilian responded with a wry smile, "Your sharp tongue is still as accurate as ever, but today it's not about evolution, it's simply about survival. My back is as fragile as tofu right now."

He had been thinking about whether to tell her about what happened yesterday, but then decided against it. He and that violent older single woman could handle this terrifying experience on their own.

"Oh?"

Yukino turned her head and glanced at his slightly stiff back, showing neither excessive concern nor complete disregard.

"Since you're so vulnerable, just sit still in your seat," she said calmly.

"Sigh, I know." Duan Zilian buried her face in her arms, her voice muffled. "I just want to be a normal, handsome international student. Why does life always seem to target this little kitten like me?"

"Because you, this 'little kitten,' always like to run around everywhere, and you love to argue and talk nonsense." Yukinoshita added casually, "Also, don't insult cats."

Duan Zilian paused for a moment, then waved her hand awkwardly, indicating that she understood.

Just then, the classroom door opened, and Ms. Hiratsuka walked in carrying her lesson plan. The moment her signature white coat appeared, the noisy classroom instantly fell silent.

Her gaze swept across the classroom like a radar, finally locking onto Duan Zilian.

“Duanzi Lian.” Hiratsuka Shizuka beckoned with her finger, revealing a chillingly kind smile.

"Come to my office now."

"Finally, I'm going to be interrogated. Sigh, life is a long journey with many detours."

He propped himself up on the table, each movement aggravating the injury on his back.

Watching his slow, old-man-like movements, Yukinoshita narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.

Chapter 5 Youth Bearing Pain

The staff office was filled with a mixture of instant coffee, old paper, and a certain oppressive smell of tobacco.

"Close the door."

Hiratsuka Shizuka's voice was a little softer than usual.

Only after Duan Zilian obediently closed the door did she turn around in her swivel chair and scan him over like an X-ray scanner.

"Although I really want to ask you why you only wrote your name on yesterday's classical Chinese homework... I'll have to deal with more important matters first."

Hiratsuka Shizuka sighed, opened a drawer, and took out a bottle of medical cooling spray: "Turn around and lift it up."

"Teacher, this is the sacred teacher's office."

Duan Zilian obediently turned her back, saying, "If other teachers see this, the rumors about me seducing female teachers will be impossible to clear up."

"Stop talking nonsense."

Duan Zilian wisely shut her mouth, turned around, unbuttoned her shirt, and pulled it up to her shoulder blades.

The bruises on his back looked particularly gruesome in the morning light. The purplish-black marks ran across his entire waist, with red and swollen edges, making him look even more shocking than in the photos.

Hiratsuka Shizuka didn't say anything. She unscrewed the cap of the spray bottle and shook it.

--laugh.

A cool mist covered the wound.

This time, she completely deviated from her usual violent persona, and her actions even showed a degree of restraint.

Duan Zilian, on the contrary, felt a little uncomfortable.

After spraying the medicine, Hiratsuka Shizuka tossed him a plaster.

"Put it on yourself. If you can't stick it on correctly, ask your neighbor for help. Anyway, you two seem to get along quite well."

"Then forget it. Yukinoshita-san will definitely look at me like I'm trash."

Duan Zilian took the plaster, straightened her shirt, and prepared to make a sarcastic remark to ease the atmosphere, but Hiratsuka Shizuka spoke first.

"That guy you told me about last night... the one in the suit."

She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, and asked, "Did you see it clearly at the time? Or did you just misjudge it because it was dark?"

Duan Zilian paused for a moment as she stuffed the plaster into her pocket.

"I saw it very clearly." He was actually hesitant, wondering whether he should say more. If he said he was flung away like a rag doll, and that the thing's face was blank, would she believe him?

But in the end, he only said this one sentence.

Hiratsuka Shizuka stared at him for a few seconds.

She didn't press further. It was as if she knew that asking any more questions wouldn't yield a better answer.

She took out a cigarette case from her pocket, pulled one out, put it in her mouth, but didn't light it.

"...I was going to say a few words to you."

She spoke, her tone devoid of its usual teasing: "For example, avoiding detours and running away if you encounter danger. But you know these things yourself, right?"

Duan Zilian nodded.

"That's fine."

She took the cigarette out of her mouth and crushed it in the ashtray.

“Recently, things have been really unsettled in Chiba, or rather, the whole of Japan has been a bit unsettled. The police have suppressed a lot of information, but as someone in charge of student guidance, I’ve heard some rumors.”

Hiratsuka Shizuka interlaced her fingers, her eyes sharp. "In the past week, there have been several cases of 'running away from home' in Chiba Prefecture, as well as reports of... inexplicable building damage. Although the official explanation is gas explosions or foundation subsidence, the frequency is too high."

"You're an international student, and you live alone."

"Don't loiter outside after school. Service Club activities can be suspended for the next few days if they're not necessary. If you encounter danger, don't be reckless; call the police immediately. I don't know if it will help, but it's better than your half-baked martial arts skills."

"To be half-baked is really going too far..."

After a pause, Hiratsuka Shizuka added:

"Also, if you really encounter something you can't handle, don't try to deal with it alone."

Duan Zilian paused for a moment, then scratched her head, unusually refraining from saying anything more.

"...I understand, teacher. I value my life very much."

"Alright, go back to class."

"As ordered."

He opened the door and had just stepped out when he heard Hiratsuka Shizuka's voice behind him:

"By the way, spray that medicine twice a day."

Duan Zilian didn't turn around, but simply raised one hand and waved to indicate that she had heard him.

After the door closed, Hiratsuka Shizuka stared at the door panel for a long time.

She tapped her fingers twice on the table.

"...Suit Freak"

She repeated the sentence to herself, then opened the drawer, glanced at the document on top, and closed it again.

Reeking of strong medicinal liquor, Duan Zilian laboriously shuffled back to her seat.

As soon as I sat down, I heard a soft inhale from my left, followed by the sound of pages turning.

"Are you carrying half the infirmary on your body?"

Yukino Yukinoshita raised the book in her hand slightly higher, as if trying to block out the pungent smell.

"I thought you were just mentally deteriorating to the level of Alzheimer's, but I didn't expect your body to have prematurely entered a seventy-year-old state where you need plasters to prolong your life. As your seatmate, should I prepare some end-of-life care insurance for you?"

"That was a gift of love from Hiratsuka-sensei."

Duan Zilian lay sprawled on the table, only her dead fish eyes visible: "Yukinoshita-kun, has anyone ever said that if your mouth were a weapon, it would absolutely violate the 'International Biological and Chemical Weapons Convention'?"

"No, people usually call it 'honest advice is hard to hear'."

Yukinoshita responded calmly, "Also, please move your body five centimeters to the right. Your old-fashioned smell is interfering with my thinking."

"Yes Yes Yes……"

Duan Zilian moved her chair listlessly.

Having a deskmate like that is truly... hellish "happiness".

In the small group of girls in the front row, Yui Yuigahama was excitedly waving her phone, sharing information with the haughty blonde girl next to her, Yumiko Miura.

"Hey, Yumiko, have you heard? There's a new coffee shop that opened near Chiba Station!"

Yuihama's voice entered Danzi Rei's ears.

"I heard the staff there are super handsome! They're the kind of... how should I put it, they're the kind of people who have an incredibly healing presence! Their smiles make the whole world light up!"

"Huh? Another rumor like this?" Miura Yumiko curled her hair and snorted casually. "Those so-called internet celebrity shop assistants are mostly photoshopped."

"It's true! I think his name is something like Future-kun... I heard a lot of girls from the neighboring school went there specifically to see him!"

Future King.

Duan Zilian's ears twitched, but his heavy eyelids made him too lazy to think about it.

It's probably some pretty-boy actor who makes a living off his looks; he's from a completely different world from me, who's suffering terribly from back pain right now.

—Click.

The chair in front of me wobbled.

Hachiman Hikigaya turned around, his signature dead fish eyes scanning Duan Zilian up and down in her half-dead state.

"Hey, transfer student."

Hachiman lowered his voice, "That Hiratsuka Shizuka guy didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"Ah, Hiratsuka Shizuka-sensei is surprisingly gentle. It's making me wonder if it's really her. If this continues, I'm afraid I'll become Hiratsuka-sensei's only fan."

He smiled with relief, which sent a chill down Hachiman's spine. It was as if he was saying that as a transfer student, Hachiman was finally beyond saving.

"Speaking of which, this class..."

Before Hachiman could finish speaking, the preparation bell rang.

His expression suddenly became somewhat subtle, even carrying a hint of awe.

"Yukinoshita, is this class taught by Professor Tono? I heard he recently returned from an archaeological expedition in Egypt."

Yukinoshita raised her head, said nothing, and simply nodded slightly.

"Alright, transfer student... you'd better wake up for this class." After receiving confirmation, Hachiman Hikigaya issued this decree to Rei Duanzi.

He left behind this piece of advice: "If you sleep in this guy's class, you might experience a 'world' even more terrifying than Hiratsuka Shizuka's."

"what?"

Duan Zilian blinked blankly.