Animosity

Yasushi, with a bit of a mysterious look, casually took his phone out of his pocket. "I saw those three following Jingliu from my classroom window as the school day was ending. I was curious, so I decided to follow them secretly. It wasn't until we crossed a certain street next to the dog park that I thought I needed to record what they were doing."

What he said shocked Jishiha and the three troublemakers, and they instantly turned pale. Yasushi quickly looked through his phone, finding the video he had secretly recorded. Almost like he was putting on a show, he started playing it.

A heavy quiet filled the room as they watched the damning video. In the unclear recording, Jingliu turned a corner, and you could clearly see the tension as she faced the three guys. The camera showed a clear picture: the punks, looking like they were starting the fight, were met with Jingliu's quick response. Her skill in fighting was obvious, and she clearly won.

"It's pretty clear that Jingliu was defending herself," Yasushi said as he put his phone away. His movements were careful, almost like a machine, as he pulled a USB stick from his bag. "I have the video here, and I also have copies at my house and saved online. If you need them, I'm ready to give them to you."

With every word Yasushi said, you could feel the stress growing in the room. Jingliu couldn't help but smile, trying to hide it behind her hand, but you could still see the happiness in her eyes. At the same time, Jishiha seemed to hate Yasushi more with every word, a clear dislike growing under his calm expression.

The principal's nose flared as he sighed loudly, a sound that filled the room, full of unsaid importance. But before he could say anything, Jingliu cut in with a calm but firm tone, "I also found some… interesting proof." She took her phone out of her pocket, showing a series of screenshots to everyone there.

The pictures showed a secret talk in a LINE group chat, a digital place where the three punks planned with Jishiha. The text revealed a dirty deal: an offer to physically hurt Jingliu in exchange for a lot of money — each student promised one hundred thousand yen.

What was even worse, however, were Jishiha's words explaining why he wanted to do this evil plan — a messed-up revenge for Jingliu turning him down publicly and embarrassing him. His pride showed through the screen, as he arrogantly said he always gets what he wants, along with a selfie showing off his dirty money and a smile on his face.

Jishiha's shocked disbelief filled the room in broken pieces, his mouth open in shock as he tried to say something that made sense. He looked at Jingliu, searching for answers in her cold, calculating smile — a smile without any warmth, but full of a quiet intensity.

"You don't know about the connections and people I know, Jishiha," Jingliu replied, her voice steady and strong. "Let's just say, I have friends who are more powerful than you might think." Her words had a mysterious tone, making Jishiha clearly uneasy.

Turning to the principal, Jingliu asked a straight question, her attitude calm and sure. "Do we need to stay here, or is it enough to give you this proof so we can go back to class?"

A small smile appeared on the principal's face as he nodded in agreement. "This proof is more than enough. If Jishiha decides to take legal action, it'll be out of our hands," he confirmed, his tone showing a sense of closure mixed with hidden pleasure.

Jingliu nodded, agreeing, and took out her own USB drive, hinting that there were more secrets hidden inside. "I have more proof in the form of photos and text," she said calmly, handing it to the principal. Yasushi did the same, giving his own collection of proof, and then the two of them left the room together.

Yasushi, still tired from what had happened that morning, couldn't help but complain, "It's too early for all this drama. I feel like I just woke up."

But his was smiling in a way that hinted she knew more about what was going on that day. "You should have expected this, after everything that's happened," Jingliu replied. "Now that it's over, the rest of the day should be easier."

Yasushi's expression turned serious as he warned, "Jishiha won't give up without a fight. He's probably planning something else right now, maybe even thinking about hurting us."

Jingliu didn't seem worried. "Then I'll be ready for whatever he does," she said, taking out her phone with a strong feeling of purpose and calling someone, starting to make plans for what might happen.

The moment Jingliu and Yasushi walked into the classroom, the students got quiet, all looking at them. Jingliu's face went back to being icy, her sharp eyes looking through the room, making some classmates look away, feeling uneasy. Among them, Furuya stayed sitting, clearly excited as he waited to hear Yasushi's version of what had just happened.

But, the bell ringing broke the short moment of quiet, showing that the school day had officially started and telling everyone to sit down for homeroom. Furuya was eager to ask about what had happened in the principal's office, but he couldn't because they had to start class, but you could feel that everyone was excited to talk about it during lunch.

The students all knew that something important had happened, and they were excited to get a chance to figure out the secrets that were still floating around.

+-+

Lunchtime came, temporarily stopping the school day. As soon as the teacher left, Furuya quickly ran across the room to Yasushi with a lot of eagerness. "Yasushi, dude! What's going on? What happened?" he blurted out, his voice showing he was urgent.

Yasushi, acting like he didn't care, leaned back a little. "Take it easy, Furuya," he warned, his tone steady. Furuya stepped back, realizing he needed to be careful. "It's nothing, just about what happened yesterday," Yasushi said vaguely.

"I know that, but why were you involved?" Furuya kept asking, his voice getting louder and accidentally getting more people's attention. The usual rush to leave for lunch didn't happen; instead, the students stayed where they were, those with packed lunches getting them out while others waited, looking curiously and listening to the talk.

Yasushi tried to make his part seem less important, hiding how significant it was. "I just happened to see it, but it was purely by chance," he explained, trying to make it seem like his experience wasn't a big deal and trying to get people to stop paying attention to it.

With the quiet sounds of lunchtime in the background, Yasushi got his lunch and started eating, acting like he didn't care. "It's not that big of a deal," he said casually, quickly looking at Jingliu, who was also getting her lunch out. She didn't say anything, her lips curved in a small smile that said a lot.

But, their peaceful moment was suddenly broken by the violent swing of the classroom door. Jishiha burst in with a furious look on his face, his eyes fixed on Jingliu. Ignoring the surprised gasps from their classmates, he grabbed her collar, yanking her up with such force that the sound echoed through the room.

"You damned whore!" Jishiha shouted, his rage obvious. Jingliu looked back at him without expression, her quietness a big difference from his angry outburst. "I'll make sure you wish you were never born!" he yelled, his threats echoing off the walls as he threw her back toward her chair. He missed, sending Jingliu crashing to the ground.

Jishiha left with a seething anger that stayed in the air, casting a shadow over the once-peaceful classroom. His fierce look dared anyone to meet his eyes for more than a second, a quiet warning of the anger building up inside him.

Right before disappearing through the door, he turned around, looking at Yasushi with a hateful glare that promised there would be consequences. "You won't get away with sticking your nose in this. I'll make sure your family suffers too," his last words echoed in the tense quiet before he left.

A heavy quiet filled the room, broken only by the soft sound of Jingliu fixing her seat and going back to her lunch like nothing had happened. Yasushi also went back to his lunch without showing any worry, as if the threat had disappeared like mist in the morning sun.

Furuya, confused by how calm his friends seemed, couldn't help but ask, "Dude, aren't you bothered at all?" He was trying to understand, along with the stress that was still there.

Yasushi looked at Furuya with a calm reassurance. "Not really. My parents aren't even in the country, so that threat doesn't mean anything. And for myself, I can handle whatever happens," he explained calmly, his tone not showing any fear as he kept eating, not worried by what had just happened.

"I can't tell if you're brave or just stupid," Furuya joked, shaking his head in disbelief at Yasushi's casual reaction.

"Stupid, brave, and with balls of steel," Yasushi replied, grinning, amused by his own joke. Furuya couldn't help but playfully hit him on the head, their laughter mixing for a moment.

As their joking stopped, the other students slowly left to enjoy their lunch somewhere else. Those who stayed got into their meals and private talks, the stress from earlier fading into the everyday sound of daily life.

But, among the talking, no one noticed the small smile on Jingliu's lips, her amusement at the drama mixed with a new wanting to know more about Yasushi.