The Ice Cold Princess

When lunchtime came around, a group of girls gathered around Jingliu's table, firing questions at her. Her answers were short but classy, leaving no room for anyone to ask more. It was obvious to everyone that she wasn't interested in making friends or chatting casually.

As lunch went on, people slowly started to leave, leaving Jingliu all alone. Meanwhile, Yasushi was hanging out by himself with Furuya as his only company.

"She's pretty cold, don't you think?" Furuya said, still looking at Jingliu longingly.

"You could say that," Yasushi replied between bites, sneaking glances at their cold and mysterious new classmate every now and then.

"It wouldn't kill her to be a little nicer, you know? All that excitement and anticipation just gone," Furuya complained with a disappointed sigh.

"That's up to us, not her. None of us knew anything about her personality, and she never acted like she was warm or friendly," Yasushi shot back.

"Yeah, I get it... but still..." Furuya mumbled as he ate his lunch.

Jingliu finally took out her lunchbox and carefully held her chopsticks like everyone else in the room. Even though she'd turned down everyone who tried to talk to her, the others couldn't help but watch her, paying close attention to everything she did.

Feeling that Jingliu was getting more and more annoyed, Yasushi looked away, not wanting to make her angry.

"Why'd you look away?" Furuya teased, grinning. "Could it be that you're blushing?"

"No," Yasushi answered calmly. "Actually, it's the opposite. Can't you feel how angry she is? If we keep staring, she might lose it. I'm trying to avoid that by looking away."

"Hmm... maybe," Furuya replied, tilting his head as he stared at Jingliu. "I think I'll give it a shot."

"Don't," Yasushi warned, but Furuya didn't listen and stood up to go talk to the strange and cold girl.

With a friendly wave, Furuya said hello to her. "Hey, Jingliu! What do you think of the school so far?" he asked, trying to start a conversation.

Jingliu stopped eating, her chopsticks still in the air, and looked at him with her emotionless red eyes that didn't blink. Her stare seemed to go right through him, making Furuya feel uneasy under her close examination.

"It's been okay so far, but all the questions and attention are pretty exhausting," Jingliu answered coolly.

Furuya thought she was being encouraging, so he kept going. "I see. Can you tell me why you turned down that guy earlier?" he asked, leaning in with curiosity.

Jingliu's eyes turned cold, narrowing into slits like a snake's. "My reasons are my own business. I turned him down, and he should respect that without asking any more questions," she snapped back, turning her attention back to her lunch.

Realizing that the conversation was over, Furuya went back to Yasushi's side, plopping down in his chair looking defeated. "Mission failed," he admitted, his shoulders slumping with disappointment.

"I told you," Yasushi replied casually, paying attention to both his lunch and what had just happened. Based on what he'd seen and experienced before, he'd already compared Jingliu's attitude to a character from a game he used to play, as well as what he'd noticed about her earlier in the day.

"Jingliu Yang was a tough person to crack, not someone who would let her guard down easily," Yasushi thought to himself. He knew she had good reasons to be careful, a realization that came from his own experiences in a different world and the fact that he was a bit more emotionally mature than the other kids.

Yasushi knew all too well how immature teenagers could be, having seen it firsthand in his past life and knowing all the mistakes that he still regretted to this day.

"But why?" Furuya asked, sounding a little annoyed.

Yasushi answered with a gentle warning. "Everyone's dealing with their own problems, Furuya. Some people just show it more than others. We shouldn't judge too quickly based on what we see on the surface because they might just be trying to protect themselves. It's not perfect, but sometimes it's just a way to defend themselves. Let's not be too hard on her. She might warm up with time."

Furuya looked at Yasushi, confused and surprised. "Where did that wisdom come from all of a sudden?" he asked.

"Just how I see things," Yasushi explained calmly. "Whether you listen to it or not is up to you; I'm not going to tell you what to do."

With that, Yasushi went back to eating his lunch, leaving the conversation hanging in the air like a passing thought.

Furuya stared at Yasushi for a moment, his mind racing as he turned his attention back to the mysterious Jingliu, thinking about what he should do next.

He couldn't help but notice that their classmates were starting to resent her, a mix of her cold personality and the history between Japan and China, even in this different world where those tensions still existed — something that Yasushi knew all too well.

"I'll try again before school ends," Furuya said quietly.

"Some people might see that as bothering her, so it might be a good idea to think twice," Yasushi warned.

"I won't cross any lines, you can trust me on that," Furuya replied, sounding a bit confident.

"I'll hold you to that promise then," Yasushi acknowledged, their conversation carrying a hint of cautious understanding in the tricky world of social interactions.

+-+

The day went on as usual, with students taking every chance they could to sneak peeks at Jingliu from across the room between classes. Even the Chinese students couldn't help but be curious, their eyes lingering on her striking looks. Among them, Jishiha seemed especially interested, hinting that he might try to talk to her after school.

When the last class ended and the school bell rang, everyone started moving around. Some students rushed home, others headed to their club meetings, but a lot of people hung back, drawn in by Jingliu's magnetic personality.

Jishiha, his long, sleek black hair swaying as he walked, entered the classroom with a confident air. His brown eyes had a determined look as he approached Jingliu, standing next to her with his arms crossed and a confident smile.

"Jingliu, right?" he asked, looking down at her.

The classroom went completely quiet, everyone holding their breath and staring at Jingliu, waiting to see what she would say. Calmly finishing packing her books, Jingliu looked up to meet Jishiha's, her face unreadable as she studied him.

"I am Jingliu, and you are?" she replied, her voice cool and collected.

"I'm Jishiha, another Chinese student. It's a pleasure to meet you," Jishiha answered smoothly, his confidence not wavering. "Let's get straight to the point. I know I'm pretty attractive, and so are you. How about we go on a date?" His directness caused a wave of surprised gasps to ripple through the room.

Next to him, Furuya, who was now standing with Yasushi, was completely shocked, shaking Yasushi urgently. "Is this really happening?" he whispered, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Jingliu looked back at Jishiha with her usual blank stare, giving a short answer. "No," she said bluntly, getting ready to walk past him. But, he grabbed her arm, stopping her from moving.

"...may I ask why?" Jishiha managed to keep his anger in check, even though he wasn't used to being rejected in public, which caught him off guard. He had faced a lot of things in his life, but this was the first time he'd been turned down in front of everyone.

"I'm not interested in romantic relationships. They're a waste of time," Jingliu answered calmly before leaving the classroom, with everyone moving out of her way like the Red Sea parting in the Bible.

"I understand," Jishiha mumbled to himself, trying to hide his disappointment with a forced laugh. "Looks like I've been turned down," he said with a wry smile before leaving the room.

But, Yasushi noticed the anger that Jishiha was trying to hide, which was clear even in his charming tone. It was a fake persona that worried Yasushi, knowing that those kinds of bottled-up feelings could become dangerous.

The whole school was talking about Jingliu turning down Jishiha. The fact that she'd rejected one of the most attractive and popular guys in school sent Furuya and everyone else into a state of disbelief next to Yasushi.

"Whoa, dude! Did that just really happen?! She even turned him down?! That means she's going to reject all the other popular guys too! Maybe average guys like us have a chance!" Furuya exclaimed, sounding super excited.

"...let's not go there," Yasushi replied, gently hitting Furuya on the side of the head. "Anyway, let's get out of here, unless you're going to baseball practice."

"You know I am," Furuya answered with a grin. "See you tomorrow; it's Friday, so we usually get a break from practice then. Later!" With that, he grabbed his bag and ran out of the room, joining the crowd of students leaving for the day.

Yasushi sighed quietly as he leaned against the window, watching Jingliu as she left the school grounds. She moved gracefully, but he couldn't shake the feeling that some shady people were secretly following her.

It wasn't just a guess for Yasushi; his gut feeling, which had been sharpened by what he'd gone through in his past life, picked up on the subtle signs of danger. Even though he didn't have to, he felt responsible and knew he needed to keep an eye on her and step in if anything happened.

With his mind made up, Yasushi gathered his things and threw his bag over his shoulder, quietly leaving the classroom. His plan was simple: to follow Jingliu from a distance, being careful and ready to jump in at the first sign of trouble.