Volume 3: High School Arc - Mirror Game
This girl really looked very shy and timid.
Well… although everyone had their own personality, I honestly rarely encountered someone with this kind of timid nature.
When she heard what I said, the short-haired girl’s eyes immediately lit up, and her blooming smile even had two dimples.
Her almond-shaped eyes curved into slits from the smile.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Could this thing even be fake?
I truly had no idea what this girl’s train of thought was made of.
"That's great! I…"
"Alright, let’s go. If we don’t leave now, the class bell is going to ring soon."
I turned and walked off.
When the girl saw how brisk I was, she quickly followed behind.
"Um… what’s your name?"
The girl’s soft and sticky-sounding voice rang beside my ear.
"Liu Yunyan. You?"
"Bai Juanjuan."
"Like... a white bird?"
"Mm…"
"Your parents really know how to name someone…"
I looked down at the girl, and when I mentioned the word ‘parents’, her expression suddenly changed.
She looked like she was deliberately trying to change the subject.
"Liu Yunyan… does it mean, blue sky without clouds?"
The girl was clearly anxious to shift the topic.
I couldn’t help but frown a little.
This kind of reaction just confirmed that her parents probably weren’t around her.
Or maybe there was some reason she didn’t want to bring them up.
Was it due to low self-esteem??
Maybe.
But with such emotions so clearly on display, her personality wasn’t really suited for lying.
"Yeah."
I nodded, and the girl followed closely behind me.
Even though my strides were longer and I walked faster than she did, she still stuck close behind.
In the end… seeing the beads of sweat on her forehead and her flushed little face, I could only sigh helplessly and slow down.
"Do you live nearby?"
Bai Juanjuan clearly wanted to chat more.
Probably because she was unfamiliar with the new environment?
"A new house was just bought here. I didn’t live around here before."
I replied.
At this point, the two of us had already entered the school building.
It was obvious that our classroom wasn’t on the first floor.
After stepping into the firstyear school building and glancing around, I instantly understood.
On the right side of the first floor were the staff office, staff lounge, medical room, and washroom.
On the left side were the male changing room, female changing room, storage room, and another storage room.
Four rooms on each side, and three floors total—so twenty-four rooms altogether.
The second floor housed the regular classrooms.
The third floor was probably for biology, chemistry, and similar subjects.
I checked my class number—it was printed on a small bronze tag.
It could be pinned to clothing or slipped into a pocket, and it had my name and class written on it.
As I lowered my head to look at the tag in my hand, Bai Juanjuan couldn’t help casting a curious glance too.
After reading it, a smile suddenly bloomed on her little face.
"You’re in Class Three too? I am as well!"
Seeing how happy she was, I didn’t really know what to say…
Wasn’t this a bit too overly friendly?
"You… you’re not happy?"
Perhaps she noticed something.
The smile on the girl’s face slowly faded, and she asked me with a trace of cautiousness.
Not happy?
I wouldn’t say I was unhappy, either.
Well… whatever.
Let’s just see how it goes.
"No. Let’s go. Since we’re in the same class, I’ll be counting on you from now on."
"Mm!"
Her soft and sticky-sounding voice was pleasant to the ear.
And her voice was so quiet that in the somewhat noisy school building, you really had to focus to hear her.
We went upstairs.
I turned to take a look.
There were seven classes on the second floor, so we were fairly lucky.
Since it was Class Three, the classroom wasn’t far from the stairway, which meant it would be easier to escape in an emergency.
Thinking that, I walked toward the classroom.
Standing in front of the classroom, to be honest, I did feel a little hesitant.
And Bai Juanjuan behind me looked quite nervous too.
"Hss~ Hoo…"
I took a deep breath.
Without much hesitation, I pulled open the classroom door.
‘Clatter~’
As the classroom door was opened, instantly, all the students’ gazes in the class were cast over.
The originally noisy classroom suddenly quieted down quite a bit, and every student was sizing up me and Bai Juanjuan.
I ignored those gazes and turned my head to look at the blackboard.
On the clearly visible blackboard, there were drawn grids, and each grid had a name written in it.
So the seating had already been arranged?
Looks like my idea of buying a seat had fallen through.
Let’s see where my spot is first?
“Um… h-hello everyone, I-I’m Bai Juanjuan… v-very happy to meet you all…”
While I was still looking for my name, behind me suddenly came Bai Juanjuan’s voice, trying her best to speak loudly.
When I turned my head, I saw Bai Juanjuan bowing ninety degrees at the waist, giving a bow to the entire class…
And all the classmates were dumbfounded by this move of hers.
“Pffthahahaha~”
“The teacher’s not even here yet! Don’t be so nervous!”
“Is this natural airhead? Is this a real-life natural airhead girl?”
“Holy crap! Are you from the second dimension?”
With my hand on my forehead, I couldn’t help but shake my head helplessly.
The classmates’ reactions were just as I expected.
Bai Juanjuan, flustered, lifted her head and looked at the laughing students in the class, then glanced at me.
Her little face immediately turned crimson.
“I-I~ this… this…”
Seeing Bai Juanjuan so anxious that she couldn’t even speak properly, I couldn’t help but reach out and tap her forehead.
“Yah! Yunyan? You…”
“Alright, calm down.”
Looking at Bai Juanjuan staring at me with wide eyes after being tapped, I shook my head helplessly, then turned back to the class and shrugged.
“You all saw it, this silly girl’s a bit of an airhead, so I hope everyone will take good care of her.”
“Pff…”
“Hahaha~”
“We’re classmates, of course we will!”
“No problem!”
The male classmates all volunteered eagerly, like they were about to charge into battle.
The female classmates also smiled.
In this kind of setting, showing goodwill was the best approach.
Of course, appearances can be deceiving.
Though these classmates seemed united at this moment, the truth was hard to say.
But that was something for the future.
“Y-Yunyan, why did you… say that about me…”
Bai Juanjuan, having been called ‘a bit of an airhead,’ pouted slightly, looking a little displeased.
“Heh~ this silly girl…”
I shook my head helplessly.
“Alright, stop dwelling on that. Let’s find our seats… Well then, looks like fate really brought us together. Let’s go.”
“???”
Bai Juanjuan looked confused.
I casually pointed to the seating chart on the blackboard.
Guess we were pretty lucky.
I was seated at the back row by the window, and Bai Juanjuan was seated right in front of me.
Seeing the surprise in Bai Juanjuan’s eyes, I couldn’t help but smile again.
Then I led this girl directly to our seats.
I casually hung my backpack on the hook beside the desk.
It was obvious these desks were replaced every year.
The desks and chairs I had now were all brand new.
No wonder the tuition was so high.
I glanced out the window.
The scenery was pleasant.
I nodded…
A window seat really was the protagonist’s spot.
Tsk tsk, getting this one was truly awesome!
Turning back, I glanced at the classmate sitting to my right.
It was a boy.
Did he not sleep well last night or something?
How was he already sleeping on the first day of school?
“Hey… classmate, class is about to start. Shouldn’t you perk up a bit?”
Wanting to build a good relationship with my seatmate, I reached out and gently pushed his arm.
He looked very sleepy.
He turned his head and slowly opened his eyes to look at me.
And at that moment, I saw it in the depths of his black pupils.
A female ghost was staring directly at him…
Smiling eerily.