Chapter 61: After School

For three days in a row, Masashi came to pick up Aiko from school, acting like a babysitter. He regretted what he had said that day. Initially, he only intended to pick her up once, but each time he tried to say he was busy, Aiko would look at him with an abandoned puppy expression. Her classmates, especially Murashima Mami, would add to the drama, giving him looks as if he were a heartless boyfriend.

The display was so melodramatic that Masashi wanted to curse. But considering the fright Aiko had experienced, he decided to bear with it for a few more days.

However, on the fourth day, something happened that would normally have nothing to do with Masashi.

In the afternoon, as Masashi waited at the school gate for Aiko with a newspaper in hand, Murashima Mami came over.

"Gennai, Aiko's club has an event today. She was worried you'd have to wait too long, so she asked me to bring you inside."

"What club did she join? She's never mentioned it before," Masashi said, folding up his newspaper.

"She joined the cooking club just yesterday. You'll be in for a treat soon," Mami said with a meaningful smile.

"I'll reserve my opinion on that. In my experience, a girl's cooking skills and handiwork tend to be inversely proportional to her appearance."

"You ungrateful guy! If Aiko hears you say that, she'll never let you off. She joined this club for you, you know? She's never joined any school club before." Mami pouted, annoyed.

"For me? You're overthinking it. I'm just her temporary babysitter at best. Let's just go; any place to sit is fine."

Mami gave him an odd look, but led him inside anyway.

Thanks to Mami, Masashi entered the school for the first time. The security was strict here since most students came from wealthy families, and outsiders were rarely allowed in. As he walked, Masashi habitually observed his surroundings.

True to its reputation, the inside looked even more impressive than the outside, with high-end facilities like modern classroom buildings, a library, an indoor gym on par with international standards, an oval track, and an underground parking garage.

It was dismissal time, and more students were coming out, some engaged in open displays of affection. The atmosphere was much more relaxed than Masashi's public school.

When they reached a circular hallway, Mami asked him to sit on one of the benches along the sides while she went to check on Aiko.

Masashi agreed and took out his newspaper.

After about 15 minutes, he heard a commotion from the basketball court and looked over to see a crowd gathering. Feeling bored, he walked over to see what was happening.

With a glance, he lost interest. It was a simple case of seven male students ganging up on another student, while the onlookers simply watched, some even laughing.

This was typical school bullying, more common in Japanese and American schools.

Masashi had never considered himself a hero and had no intention of intervening.

"Gennai, there you are! We've been looking all over for you," Aiko grumbled, pouting as she and her friends, Mami, Kogure, and Aikura Ai, spotted him in the crowd.

"Is your club for researching how not to poison people with food over?" Masashi greeted the other three girls and stepped back from the crowd.

"Stop it! It's the cooking club, not some anti-poison research group," Aiko huffed.

"Whatever you call it, let's go. I'm a bit hungry, and I still need to get home for dinner."

"How about you have dinner at my place? I learned a new recipe today," Aiko said hopefully.

Her expression reminded Masashi of the same look Rumi had when she invited him to eat her cooking. "Maybe after a month, if you and your friends haven't landed in the hospital with food poisoning."

"You jerk!" Aiko pinched his arm.

Masashi's thick skin made it feel more like a massage.

"What's going on over there?" Mami asked, looking at the crowd curiously.

"Nothing much. Just some kids burning off excess energy."

Just as they were about to leave the basketball court, Masashi's sharp hearing picked up a sentence that made his eye twitch. Because of those words, he stopped in his tracks.

"Do you know the guy getting beaten up?" Masashi turned and asked the girls.

"Who do you mean?" Kogure asked, puzzled.

He pointed ahead.

Curious, the four girls went back to take a look.

After a moment, they returned. Kogure explained, "You're probably talking about that new transfer student, Zhang Mingxian."

"He's Chinese?"

"Sort of. His father's Chinese-American. He used to study in the U.S. and transferred here about a month ago. He's timid and often gets picked on. The guys beating him up are notorious troublemakers, but their families have strong connections, so even the teachers don't dare confront them," Kogure continued.

"So I wasn't imagining it," Masashi murmured.

As the girls looked on, puzzled, Masashi quietly walked back into the crowd, moving to the front.

When he reached the front, he saw the transfer student, Zhang Mingxian, curled up on the ground with his arms around his head. The group of bullies continued kicking him, and one tall boy stomped on Zhang's head, grinding his shoe against it and occasionally spitting on him.

Masashi recognized this scene all too well. Before reincarnating, the former Masashi Hirota had endured similar abuse almost daily. But this wasn't why Masashi had returned to the scene.

"Mind telling me what you just called him?" Masashi asked the tallest boy.

"Who are you? You're not a student here," the boy replied, eyeing Masashi's uniform.

"Who I am doesn't matter. If I'm not mistaken, you just called him a 'Chink,' didn't you?"

"What do you want? Get lost before I make you," the other boys watched him warily.

"I'll ask one more time. Did you call him a 'Chink'?"

"Yeah, I did. What're you gonna do about it?" The tall boy spat at Masashi.

"That's all I needed to know." Masashi calmly sidestepped the spit, his face showing a strange smile.

"You—" Before the boy could finish, he suddenly flew to the side, landing motionless on the ground two meters away.

Silence fell over the crowd, broken by shrieks from the girls. The basketball court erupted in chaos.

"What do you think you're doing?" one of the remaining boys, wearing glasses, shouted at Masashi.

"Can't you see? You can come up here if you want to find out." Masashi smiled, a chilling expression.