Chapter 33

On the baseball field to the left, students were already swinging bats and running in the morning light, their sweat glistening brilliantly.

From the right came the melodious sound of orchestral music; it was the girls rehearsing an ensemble under the cherry blossom trees.

These picturesque and resplendent scenes of youth did not cause Natsume Chikage to pause.

He continued to walk through them with a steady pace, his expression indifferent.

Soon.

Natsume Chikage arrived in front of the bulletin board beneath the teaching building.

It was already crowded, with students searching the notices for their classes and seats.

Japanese high schools have a convention: starting from the first year, classes are randomly reassigned every year.

Natsume Chikage did not yet know his class or seat, so he squeezed into the crowd, his gaze searching the dense list.

His eyesight was excellent, and before long, he found his name and position on the list for Class 1-A.

With his goal clear, he did not linger and headed straight for the Class 1-A classroom on the third floor of the teaching building.

And on the way to the classroom.

Kondo Miki noticed Natsume Chikage walking ahead.

She pondered for a moment, but ultimately did not go up to greet him.

Although her mother had said to take care of Natsume Chikage at school,

when it came down to it, Natsume Chikage's family had no money, and he might even have debts; he would likely transfer or even stop attending school after this semester.

If she got too involved and was pestered by him, or if he caused trouble every day, it would be a nuisance for her, and it might even affect her family.

Even with her mother's instructions, Kondo Miki did not want such things to happen, and she certainly didn't want to be Natsume Chikage's nanny.

So she decided to minimize contact with Natsume Chikage at school.

Kondo Miki thought deeply for a moment and felt her idea was very correct; for someone with no future, it was better not to spend too much effort on them!

With that thought, she turned and left.

At this moment, Natsume Chikage finally arrived at Class 1-A.

The moment he pushed open the door and stepped into the classroom, the originally noisy space seemed to have been muted.

Many students' gazes fell upon him in unison.

Some of the boys who considered themselves handsome narrowed their eyes the instant they saw Natsume Chikage, as if facing a formidable enemy.

And most of the girls in the class who had been chatting and laughing now quietly fell silent, each unconsciously adjusting their posture, revealing a certain deliberate or natural composure and grace.

However, Natsume Chikage turned a deaf ear to the surrounding gazes; his eyes swept across the crowd and locked precisely onto the seat by the window in the back row.

Carrying his schoolbag, he walked steadily across the classroom, arrived at his seat, pulled out the chair, and sat down quietly.

After putting away his bag, Natsume Chikage habitually reached for his pocket, preparing to take out his phone and use this bit of time before class to type a few more lines into the document for "The Devotion of Suspect X."

However, just as his phone touched his fingertips—

"Um... hello!"

A clear voice, accompanied by the sensation of a shoulder being lightly poked, came from the neighboring seat.

Natsume Chikage paused his movements and turned his head toward the sound.

Coming into view was a girl with long hair, a small braid tied into her soft hair on the left side, looking very cute.

Her face was exquisitely delicate, and most striking were those large, round eyes that seemed to contain a pool of clear spring water; her long eyelashes fluttered like small fans as she stared straight at him, unblinking, filled with curiosity and a certain pure desire for inquiry.

At this moment, she seemed to realize that her poking gesture had been a bit rash, so she quickly sat up straight, placing her hands properly on her lap, but the light in those large eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

"H-hello!" she began, her voice clearer than before, carrying a natural, unadorned sincerity. "My name is Xiyuanji Qilai, I'm your neighbor, please take care of me from now on!"

Her self-introduction was simple and direct; after finishing, she held her breath slightly, keeping those large, expressive eyes wide open, earnestly and expectantly waiting for Natsume Chikage's response.

Natsume Chikage met those large eyes, which were so pure they seemed to reflect his own image and were currently shimmering with curiosity, and nodded politely:

"Hello, my name is Natsume Chikage, please take care of me too."

"Natsume Chikage?"

Upon hearing this name, Xiyuanji Qilai tilted her small head slightly to one side, her long eyelashes fluttering as her clear eyes stared unblinkingly at Natsume Chikage's face, as if she had fallen into a deep search of her memory.

After a few seconds of silence.

Xiyuanji Qilai seemed to have suddenly retrieved the key data, and she covered her small lips with her slender fingers in surprise.

"Are you... Natsume-kun?"

Natsume Chikage was a bit confused and raised an eyebrow slightly:

"You know me?"

Xiyuanji Qilai's small mouth puffed up slightly:

"We were classmates before!"

Natsume Chikage was even more bewildered.

"Classmates?"

Xiyuanji Qilai's cheeks puffed slightly, revealing a natural, pure, and slightly forgotten sense of grievance:

"In the first year of junior high, we were in the same class for a whole year, you know."

"Could it be that you've already forgotten?"

Upon hearing this, Natsume Chikage vaguely remembered that there did seem to be such a cute girl in the class.

At the time, this Xiyuanji Qilai was quite a popular person in the class.

Unfortunately, his predecessor had been an outcast in the class, addicted to games, and indifferent to class affairs and classmate relationships.

Naturally, his memory of his classmates was very thin.

Plus, Natsume Chikage had transmigrated into this body, and he hadn't finished viewing all of his predecessor's memories.

So he really didn't recognize this Xiyuanji Qilai.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, he adopted the safest excuse, one that girls usually accept:

"Sorry, you've become much prettier than before, so I didn't recognize you for a moment..."