Chapter 869

His tone was relaxed, as if he had really just handled a trivial daily matter.

However.

Yukimura Lingyin's cold gaze keenly swept over his calm face and the unfamiliar glove, a hint of alertness rising in her heart, and she pressed:

"Verifying situations? What exactly did they ask?"

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui also stopped chewing her potato chips, her cheeks still bulging, blinked her big eyes, and joined the curious ranks vaguely:

"Hmm... that's right, I want to know too. Could it be related to what happened last time?"

Xiyuanji Qilai, the "curious baby," naturally didn't need to be mentioned; her eyes were fixed on Natsume Chikage, waiting for his answer.

Facing three pairs of eyes focused on him, carrying concern and inquiry, Natsume Chikage's expression remained unchanged, and he said in a half-true, half-false, understated tone:

"Yeah, the student council just followed up on the subsequent impact of the incident with Zhongdao-senpai last time, to confirm if there were any remaining issues."

"It's been communicated clearly now, nothing's wrong, you don't need to worry."

Xiyuanji Qilai suddenly understood and nodded:

"Oh, oh, so they were asking if Zhongdao-senpai had caused you any more trouble after that?"

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui swallowed the potato chips in her mouth, her expression becoming more serious:

"I remember Miss Jinwei promised at the time that if Zhongdao-senpai dared to harass you again, the student council would definitely handle it seriously."

"It seems that after that, Zhongdao-senpai really learned his lesson and didn't do anything else, right?"

Natsume Chikage replied affirmatively:

"Yeah, he didn't."

Upon hearing this explanation, the faint unease in Yukimura Lingyin's heart dissipated slightly.

She had thought it was something more troublesome.

If it was just a routine follow-up investigation by the student council, that was indeed a reasonable process.

Now that it was confirmed to be fine, that was naturally the best result.

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui's attention soon returned to the baseball glove that looked ordinary but appeared in the hands of someone who shouldn't have it.

She tilted her head, and an undisguised confusion appeared on her wheat-colored face:

"Speaking of which, Natsume-kun, when did you get a baseball glove? I haven't seen you take it out before."

This question also made Yukimura Lingyin and Xiyuanji Qilai cast their eyes toward the glove again, also carrying questions in their eyes.

Natsume Chikage didn't change his expression and laughed it off in an extremely natural tone:

"This... just now on the way back, I met a 'kind person' who insisted on giving it to me, and I couldn't refuse, so I accepted it."

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui, Yukimura Lingyin, and Xiyuanji Qilai looked at each other, all feeling that the person who gave the glove was strange.

But then they thought, it was just an old glove, maybe it was someone from the baseball team who did it on a whim, or a thank-you gift for Natsume-kun helping the other party with some small favor?

It seemed... there was no need to get to the bottom of it.

At this time.

Xiyuanji Qilai checked the time, changed to a relaxed topic, and asked with a smile:

"By the way, Natsume-kun, and Aoi-chan, are you going to work at the coffee shop after school today?"

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui picked up another potato chip, bit into it with a "crunch," and nodded forcefully:

"I am! But Qilai-chan, why are you asking this suddenly? Is there any special arrangement?"

Xiyuanji Qilai put her hands together, her eyes curved into crescent moons, and she smiled:

"Actually, I was thinking, if everyone isn't busy today, we could go out for a walk after school and relax."

Upon hearing this, Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui immediately got spirited and happily echoed:

"Go out together? Great, great!"

A flash of inspiration crossed her mind, and she suggested:

"How about we just go out for a stroll nearby today in the name of 'Collection Force Field Trip'? See if there are any interesting small items suitable for collection, or take pictures of unique architectural scenery?"

She counted on her fingers:

"In that case, before we go to work, we'll have about two hours of free time!"

Xiyuanji Qilai's eyes became even brighter, and she happily clenched her small fists:

"Yeah, yeah! This idea is great! I think it's wonderful!"

She immediately turned to Yukimura Lingyin, who was listening quietly, and asked:

"Lingyin, what do you think? Let's go together, okay?"

Yukimura Lingyin put down the literary novel in her hand, her cold face had no expression, and she refused in a flat tone:

"I'm afraid not today."

"Didn't the physics teacher return to school? According to his style, it's very likely that he will bring the supplementary materials about the 'Seven Wonders' that he promised to help organize today."

"No matter how you look at it, prioritizing the processing and analysis of these new materials is what our Collection Force should be doing right now, right?"

Upon hearing this, Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui immediately leaned toward Yukimura Lingyin, hugged her arm, shook it gently, and dragged out her voice to act like a spoiled child:

"Hey—Lingyin-chan, don't be so strict! It doesn't matter if we relax for one day and process one day less of materials!"

Xiyuanji Qilai also blinked her lively big eyes, learned from Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui, leaned her face close to Yukimura Lingyin, and begged in a soft, glutinous voice:

"That's right, Lingyin—"

"Let's—go together! Okay?"

Attacked from left and right by her two good friends, a faint blush that couldn't be suppressed appeared on Yukimura Lingyin's cold, fair cheeks.

She coughed twice uncomfortably, looked away, and although her tone remained flat, it had loosened up a lot:

"... If, after getting the materials from the physics teacher, we find that we really need to go out to purchase certain specific items, or need to go to certain locations for field inspection and information collection..."

She paused, as if she had made a compromise.

"... then going out later, it's not completely impossible."

Hearing this answer, Xiyuanji Qilai and Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui looked at each other, and happy smiles bloomed on their faces at the same time.

"Great!"

Xiyuanji Qilai immediately turned her head and looked at Natsume Chikage, who was stuffing the glove into his schoolbag, and asked:

"Natsume-kun, you shouldn't be busy today either, right? Let's go together later?"

After the manuscript of "Snow Country" was completed, Natsume Chikage had indeed been much more leisurely recently, and his original schedule could indeed support him in doing some leisure activities before work.

But.

The wager with Shinohara Shingo that had just been set for a month later was weighing on his schedule.

He didn't even know the most basic pitching posture and force-exertion technique now, time was tight, and he had to start learning and practicing as soon as possible.

Natsume Chikage shook his head, his tone apologetic but firm:

"Sorry, I won't go today."

"Before work, I have some things that need to be handled."

Yukimura Lingyin, Xiyuanji Qilai, and Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui were all stunned, and expressions of surprise appeared on their faces at the same time.

In their impression, Natsume Chikage was usually relatively free during this period after school and before work, and rarely had fixed arrangements.

And his personality was easygoing; for such small invitations between friends, he would usually agree readily.

But now...

Xiyuanji Qilai slightly pursed her pink, tender lips, and a clear curiosity and a hint of imperceptible worry flowed in her clear eyes:

"Natsume-kun... do you have any other things? I haven't heard you mention it before."

Natsume Chikage knew clearly that these three girls, especially Yukimura Lingyin and Xiyuanji Qilai, were quite smart and sharp.

If he revealed too much about the wager and practice, they would likely guess the truth from the clues, and then generate unnecessary worry, or even potentially intervene forcefully.

By then, he would probably have to spend a lot of time explaining again.

Therefore, he just shook his head again and used a vague but unanswerable statement:

"Just some personal private matters that need some time to handle. Nothing special, you don't need to care."

Hearing him say this, although the tone was gentle, the attitude was clear, and Xiyuanji Qilai and the others understood that it was not convenient to continue asking.

Although Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui was a little depressed, she soon regained her spirits and revealed a vibrant, full-of-energy smile:

"I see... since Natsume-kun has things to do today, then forget it!"

"Anyway, there will be opportunities in the future!"

She turned to her two good friends and suggested:

"Then... how about we stay in the club room today and see if the physics teacher will send the materials over? If there are new materials, we can study them together; if not, we can study or chat in the club room, how about that?"

Although Xiyuanji Qilai felt a little lost that Natsume Chikage couldn't go together, she still nodded obediently and smiled: