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"Second grade, Class F?" Yukinoshita, or rather, Yukinoshita who was occupying Qiyun's body, was standing at the classroom door, muttering to herself while looking at the sign on the door frame.
"What's wrong, Qiyun, aren't you going in yet?" A girl in school uniform reminded quietly from the side. The girl sat in the row in front of Qiyun, so they saw each other every day. The relationship between the two was not very close, but they would occasionally chat.
"Yeah," Yukinoshita responded softly, with a flat tone and no emotion could be heard.
The girl was a little strange. Although Qiyun was usually quite aloof from others, his conversation was quite interesting, which made him not bad in the eyes of others. In fact, he was much better than ordinary people.
Such apathy wasn't common these days, but the girl didn't take it seriously. Instead, she kindly warned, "Qiyun, don't sleep so openly in class next time. While your grades are certainly good, the teacher always keeps an eye on me, who sits in front of you."
"Okay, thank you." Yukinoshita was hearing someone describe Qiyun's behavior for the first time, and she couldn't help but feel curious and grateful. She had been standing at the doorway, unsure where to go, planning to wait until the class was full before entering. Now, she had finally found her urgent need.
"It's okay, go in quickly. Class is about to start," the girl said nonchalantly, already passing Yukinoshita.
Just like that, Yukinoshita successfully found Qiyun's seat, a throne near the window.
"I hope nothing happens to Mr. Pervert," Yukinoshita sighed and silently prayed. At a time like this, she could only leave it to fate. Unexpectedly approaching would only make the situation worse.
The class quickly passed, and it was time to end. Looking around, Yukinoshita spotted many familiar faces. Hikigaya, alone in a corner, and a small group of young students gathered together, including Miura Yumiko, Hayama Hayato, and others. Yuigahama Yui also quietly accompanied the group.
Hayama Hayato, a typical young student, had a mane of fine but well-groomed blond hair, a handsome face always adorned with a gentle smile, and a gentle and thoughtful personality. His impeccable manner and athletic ability made him, even without any deliberate effort, a figure who had unwittingly become a campus icon, admired and sought after.
Yukinoshita's acquaintance with Hayama Hayato went back quite a long time. Due to their family background, the two had known each other since childhood, but they hadn't interacted much since then. Or rather, Yukinoshita had distanced herself from everyone since then.
Yukinoshita didn't have a very deep impression of Miura Yumiko. She only knew she was often seen with Hayato Hayama. She had long blond hair, the same color as Hayama's, and wore light makeup. Her beauty was a rare sight even at Sobu High School, but her tone and expression were always aggressive, which irked Yukinoshita.
As for the others, Yukinoshita had no impression of them; she didn't have the time to spend on them.
Yuigahama Yui, however, seemed completely uninvolved. She could only chuckle in agreement, never getting a chance to speak, or even give Yuigahama a chance to speak.
Seeing Yuigahama's situation, Yukinoshita sighed inwardly. She understood why, though she didn't quite understand the mentality. A peacemaker who followed the crowd, willingly serving as a subordinate to a small group, sacrificing herself for the sake of public approval, making herself seem less special.
Yukinoshita didn't intend to explain anything to Yuigahama in particular. This was her own choice, and she didn't need anyone else's blind interference. Yukinoshita withdrew her gaze, no longer paying attention.
The sky outside the window began to grow gray, and the treetops beside the playground rustled and swayed in the wind, filling the air with a melancholy air.
"Plop... plop..." The sound of raindrops hitting the window brought Yukinoshita back to reality. The classroom was empty, most of them having gone to lunch.
Yukinoshita glanced back and saw the small group, led by Miura Yumiko and Hayama Hayato, still chatting away. Yuigahama Yui stood off to the side, her hands behind her back, a look of hesitation on her face.
Miura Yumiko was inviting Hayama Hayato to join her, but he declined, citing club activities as a pretext. Then, he started talking about where they were going after school. Bored, Yukinoshita decided to find time to go to the club to see if she could run into Qiyun.
Yukinoshita got up and prepared to leave.
"I won't get fat no matter how much I eat," Miura Yumiko said with casual pride.
Yuigahama Yui, standing nearby, chimed in, "Yeah, Yumiko has a fantastic figure. Her legs are beautiful, for example. Um, I'm a little..."
But her smile seemed forced, and her voice grew weaker. Before she could finish her words, Yumiko interrupted her, causing her signature bun hairstyle to droop, making her look a bit listless.
Yukinoshita glanced at Yui, who had fallen silent again, looking somewhat forlorn. Normally, she would have already mocked Miura Yumiko, but now, with her identity as Qiyun, she felt a bit uncomfortable.
"Really? But that girl named Yukinoshita seems quite good," Miura Yumiko asked, her eyes tinged with disdain.
"Oh, Yuki is quite good indeed," Yuigahama Yui nodded, her smile becoming more natural.
"Xue-chan?" Miura Yumiko spoke suspiciously, her eyes tilted to the side, gazing at Yuigahama Yui as if she were stalking her prey.
Yukinoshita was somewhat taken aback by the fact that she was being discussed in this way. And judging by Miura Yumiko's expression, she likely had no good intentions towards her. Although Yukinoshita didn't care, having endured far more hostility than most people could imagine, she didn't.
"Ah, but, how should I put it, Yumiko is better at dressing up?" Yuigahama Yui explained, as if sensing a threat. While one hand remained tucked behind her back, her free left arm waved constantly , as if to show her submission to Yumiko.
But Miura Yumiko didn't seem to appreciate the gesture. Her expression remained unchanged, only growing colder, causing Yuigahama Yui to slowly lower her head. However, Hayato Hayama quickly resolved the impasse.
"I'll go with you after the club activities," Hayato Hayama agreed to Miura Yumiko's earlier invitation, instantly brightening her face and removing her earlier aggressive demeanor.
At the same time, Yukinoshita next to her gave up the idea of speaking. At the same time, she also saw Hikigaya and Yuigahama Yui secretly exchanged glances. Although they separated at once, Hikigaya was very dissatisfied with Miura Yumiko's attitude at this time, thinking, is this a feudal society? He needs to cater to others like this.
Just when Yukinoshita thought that the matter was over, Yuigahama Yui continued to speak.
"Well... I have to go somewhere during my lunch break."
As soon as these words came out, it was as if the turbulent water surface suddenly calmed down. Everyone in the small group turned their eyes to Yuigahama Yui, as if interrogating her.
"Oh, then bring me some lemon tea when you come back. I forgot to bring any drinks today." Miura Yumiko's tone sounded nonchalant, but rather commanding.
"But I won't be back until the fifth period, and I won't be here for the entire lunch break, so this is a bit..." Yuigahama Yui hooked her chin with her finger a little embarrassedly.
Yuigahama Yui rejected Miura Yumiko's request. Although her words were very tactful and she acted like a subordinate, she still refused. It seemed that it was precisely because of this inferior attitude that Miura Yumiko became more domineering.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Miura Yumiko tutted, resting her elbows on the back of the seat, and then spoke like an elder lecturing a younger person.
"Yui, haven't you been a little bit unruly lately?"
Her tone was full of dissatisfaction with Yuigahama Yui, as well as the contempt of a superior for a subordinate.
Such words caught Yuigahama Yui off guard, and she quickly explained, trying to ease the atmosphere between the two sides.
But Miura Yumiko didn't care about any of this. Instead, she stretched out her finger and drew circles on the table, saying in a harsh tone, "I don't understand what you're saying. Explain it to me clearly, aren't we friends? Don't you have anything else to say?"
Yuigahama Yui apologized and lowered her head. The pink ball also quietly lowered its head, looking like it was about to cry.
"I don't think you two are friends, or rather, do you think your attitude can be called the word friends?"
The untimely words slowly rang in everyone's ears. The voice was not loud, but it revealed an unquestionable taste.
Everyone looked at the source of the voice, only to see Qiyun, or Yukinoshita, with her arms folded, looking in Miura Yumiko's direction, her eyes fixed on her, and the tone of her words was full of contempt.
Yukinoshita finally couldn't help but speak. She couldn't stand Miura Yumiko's aggressiveness and Yuigahama Yui's silence. They put forth all sorts of false efforts and flattery to maintain spurious, fragile, and meaningless relationships. Yukinoshita despised these desperately needed group relationships. She believed that friends needed to understand each other and build a truly reliable friendship.
Therefore, Miura Yumiko's willfulness and Yuigahama Yui's tolerance infuriated her.
"Huh, what did you say?" Miura Yumiko glared at Yukinoshita, who was speaking. (I originally wanted to use "Qiyun," but decided to stick with Yukinoshita to avoid distracting from the image.)
"I thought you were just mentally challenged, but now it seems your ears are down too?" Yukinoshita sighed.
"What are you talking about?" Miura Yumiko rose from her seat, resting her hands on the table, leaning forward, her eyes fixed on Yukinoshita.
"I don't have a hobby of repeating things," Yukinoshita said calmly, and no one reacted to her gesture, as if they were watching a farce.
"What does our conversation have to do with you, an outsider, Qiyun?" Miura Yumiko couldn't help but grit her teeth when she said the word Qiyun. Usually, she didn't have any impression of marginal people like Qiyun. If she had to describe him, he was just a handsome boy who occasionally spoke in an interesting way, and he didn't seem to have any interactions with others.
So at this moment, Qiyun's sudden sharp remarks made her feel a little embarrassed, and even made her feel like she was facing that Yukinoshita Yukino.
"Oh, a conversation? You think this is a conversation? It's just you unilaterally instilling your opinions into her," Yukinoshita sneered, and suddenly spoke with a teasing look in her eyes.
"But I'm really sorry. It's my fault for not understanding what you meant. So this was your ape-like intimidation. While it's said that when there's no tiger in the mountain, the monkey becomes king, and you're certainly free to be self-righteous, don't do that outside your territory. I just hope your tiger skin doesn't come off as easily as your makeup."
"Huh? What are you talking about? It's incomprehensible." Miura Yumiko was a little overwhelmed by Yukinoshita's barrage of attacks. Her face now looked a little uneasy, her earlier aggressive demeanor gone.
"It seems you can't even understand what others are saying. No wonder you impose your opinions on others," Yukinoshita said, nodding as if suddenly realizing something.
"Alright, alright, Qiyun-san," Hayama Hayato quickly stepped between the two of them, gesturing for them to stop, his signature gentle smile on his face. Seeing someone come out to stop them, Yukinoshita naturally said nothing.
"Yumiko too," Hayama Hayato turned back to ask Miura Yumiko.
"No, what right does he have to say that to me?" Her hands tightened on the tabletop, and Miura Yumiko's eyes grew fierce. She looked up at Yukinoshita, who stared back without hesitation.