Chapter 42: Meeting Kakae Again

Starting from the morning of the next day, the telephone in the dorm rang incessantly. Ryu Yu urged me endlessly time and time again, worried that I wouldn’t show up.

Unable to stand his persistent pestering, I headed to the classroom right after finishing lunch. Probably because military training had just ended and everyone got a rare break, almost all the students who had nothing to do went out to play on the streets. Only Ryu Yu and a few other class officers were left in the classroom, seemingly arguing over something at that moment.

Seeing me walk in, everyone stopped arguing and turned their heads to look at me.

"What are you guys talking about? Stopping as soon as you see me—are you talking behind my back? Haha," I joked with them. After all, I hadn’t spent much time with the class yet and didn’t want them to exclude me.

"Big Bro, you’re here!" Ryu Yu jumped off the desk and shouted loudly. "We were just guessing what you’re going to perform!"

"Hmph, with your phone calls coming in one after another, could I afford not to come?" I grumbled crossly.

"Haha, I didn’t want to either! Who told you to be so unreliable? How about you perform a bit right now so we can see if it’s good?"

"No way, I’m saving it for the gala tonight. Right now, I’m actually really curious to see if your performance can win our class president some face!" I refused flatly.

My suggestion gained immediate approval from the others. Ryu Yu slapped his chest generously and said, "Then I’ll do a bit for you guys!"

Saying that, he walked up to the podium, strike a posture, cleared his throat, and began: "Hello everyone, I’m Ryu Yu from the Marketing Department. Today, without preparing anything, I was dragged up onto this stage by someone who said they wouldn’t let me down until I entertained everyone. Oh, the misery!" As he spoke, he dramatically wiped off imaginary sweat!

"So I have no choice but to pull out my absolute best material! Allow me to perform a piece for everyone! Japan’s grown rich nowadays, wallets are bulging, and people are starting to chase high levels of enjoyment. So, I decided to jump on the trend too. What for, you ask? To go traveling, of course! Japan is vast with plenty of great spots, but I was afraid of getting tired if I went too far. So after much deliberation, I decided to go watch monkeys! Watching monkeys is great—every single one of them is our ancestor!"

Just as he said this, a rather quiet-looking girl sitting nearby burst out laughing.

Ryu Yu gave me a triumphant look and continued: "What? You say you can see monkeys at the zoo? Then you’re wrong! What’s so fun about watching ones trapped in cages? I went to Mount Emei to watch monkeys. Ah, fantastic! Those wild monkeys jumping around on the mountain was like welcoming their own brother! And you gotta feed them, otherwise they’ll throw stuff at you..."

The monologue lasted about seven or eight minutes. Ryu Yu bounced up and down mimicking a monkey, and in the end, his story about getting played by a monkey had us all laughing so hard we couldn’t even stand up straight!

"Alright, Ryu Yu, stop, stop! We get how awesome you are, you’re really something!" I wiped away the tears I had laughed out and said.

"Haha, now you know my power! Alright, no more teasing you guys. Big Bro, let’s compete tonight at the gala and see whose performance is more popular, deal?"

Compete with me? Talk about seeking death—I had Athena helping me, after all!

"Fine, but there gotta be a prize. If you lose, you have to treat this whole group of people to hot pot, how about that?" Following the principle of taking advantage whenever possible, I bargained with Ryu Yu.

"Deal! If you lose, you treat us too! Everyone here is a witness—whoever backs out has to run a lap around the track stark naked!" Ryu Yu made the bet with absolute confidence.

The people around us joined in on the clamor: "This is great! No matter who wins, we get a free meal! We will strictly fulfill our duty as supervisors—if anyone goes back on their word, we’ll strip his clothes off ourselves!"

I was utterly speechless.

Setting aside the bet in the classroom, things were already getting busy over at the auditorium. A massive banner was hung on the stage, the lighting and sound systems were set in place, and students down below were arranging chairs. It looked like at least three thousand people would come to watch. One had to admit that the school really had grand style—even a small farewell gala was organized with such elaborate arrangements, looking almost as if it were handled by a professional event planning company.

Our group quickly arrived at the venue as well. At a single glance, I spotted Hikaru—whom I thoroughly detested—standing on the stage, ordering others around to move equipment. However, it seemed many people weren’t really buying his authority, working on their own tasks at an unhurried pace. Hikaru’s face turned ash-gray with anger, yet he was helpless—after all, this event was organized jointly by the freshmen and sophomores.

Seeing our group walk over, Hikaru quickly came up to greet us: "Fuitsu, you’re here! You’re performing today too, right? Originally, our Student Council wouldn’t allow unlisted performances to join, but as soon as I saw it was you, I specifically told them to let it slide. How’s your preparation going?"

Is there any need to be so blatant about trying to win me over? Making it sound like you’re giving me huge face, I thought. "Then I must thank you. I’m already prepared, so no need for you to worry!" I said neutrally.

"Haha, when I came back last time, your grandmother told me to take good care of you! How could I not care about your affairs?" As he spoke, he even reached out to pat my shoulder.

If he hadn’t mentioned that old hag, I wouldn’t have been angry. Dodging his hand, I said expressionlessly, "I don’t have a grandmother. Also, I can take care of myself without anyone else’s help. I have other matters to attend to, excuse me!" With that, I walked past the front stage toward the backstage without looking back.

Hikaru awkwardly waved his hand that was left hanging in the air. Looking at me with a dark, sullen expression, he let out a cold snort, then turned around and started barking at the people nearby: "Hurry up! If you ruin the gala, see how I deal with you!"

Ryu Yu caught up to me from behind and asked in confusion, "You know Hikaru?"

"I do, but we’re not close. I really detest him."

"You... you’d better be careful around him. Try not to offend him if you can, otherwise it’ll be a lot of trouble!" Ryu Yu said to me, hesitating over his words.

I turned my head and looked at him in confusion: "Why can’t I offend him? Can he actually retaliate against me?"

"I’m telling you for your own good. In short, just be careful around him!"

I smiled and patted his shoulder: "Don’t worry. As long as he doesn’t mess with me, I won’t mess with him. I just won’t provoke him."

Seeing me agree, Ryu Yu seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Fuitsu..." A crisp, clear voice called out from behind us.

Turning around, I saw a girl with shoulder-length short hair standing gracefully behind me, looking at me with a smile. The moment she realized I was looking at her, a blush immediately swept across her face, and her hands nervously pinched the hem of her clothes. She was truly so cute—even more shy than I was!

"Kakae-senpai, long time no see!" I greeted her happily.

Kakae walked up in front of me, lowered her head bashfully, and said, "Yeah, long time no see. How have you been lately?"

"Haha, very good. What brings you here, Senpai?"

"I’m the host for tonight’s gala! I saw your performance on the program schedule—you’re scheduled last!" Hearing me ask, Kakae quickly raised her head, her cute little face filled with pride as she spoke.

"I really didn’t expect Senpai to be so incredible! Please take good care of me from now on," I joked.

Kakae’s face blushed even redder. Biting her lip lightly, she wrinkled her nose at me with a touch of shyness and said, "Don’t call me Senpai anymore. My family all call me Kakae—you can call me that too!"

What does she mean ’family calls her Kakae’? If I call her that, doesn’t that make me her family too?

The moment the words left her mouth, Kakae realized how ambiguous her statement sounded as well. Her head dropped instantly, almost touching her chest, making the atmosphere turn slightly awkward all at once!

"Big Bro, I never expected you to know such a beautiful Senpai! You’re really not honest! Senpai, my name is Ryu Yu, classmate of Fuitsu, 18 years old and single!" Ryu Yu leaned over dramatically, instantly breaking the awkward silence.

Kakae smiled at Ryu Yu without saying anything.

"Senpai, since you’re so close with Big Bro, why don’t we go grab a bite together after the gala finishes?" Ryu Yu looked at Kakae expectantly.

Such an abrupt invitation left Kakae not knowing what to do, standing there looking at me.

I shrugged and said, "It just so happens I said I’d treat you to a meal last time but never found the time. Let’s all go together today!"

My words brought a gentle smile to Kakae’s face. After a moment of silence, she nodded and said, "Alright then, I’ll thank you guys in advance! Call me when it’s time. I still have work to do, so I’ll be going first!"

Saying that, she lowered her head and hurried away.