I Don't Want An Ordinary Life

Chapter 8: Even Dung Will Eventually Meet a Dung Beetle

Knock knock knock!

"Ronan, it's time to go to school already. Are you ready?"

Early in the morning, Kaname arrived at Ronan's door and knocked.

Since the two lived relatively close and because she needed to keep an eye on Ronan, Kaname had decided to take on the task of dropping him off and picking him up from school.

After knocking and receiving no response, a suspicious Kaname pushed the door open and stepped into the entrance.

"Honestly, today's your first day of school. Don't be late right after enrolling... *cough*, what's with this strong smell of smoke?"

As she walked in, she quickly noticed Ronan sitting in the living room, looking deeply troubled as he smoked a cigarette, with heavy bags under his eyes.

"You... what's wrong with you?"

"Aunt Kaname, you're here..."

Ronan turned his head sluggishly to look at her, then stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray.

"I've realized... that my life is probably just going to be like this."

"Huh?"

"After a whole night of research and study, I've come to the conclusion that someone like me... will definitely never find a girlfriend in school."

"While I think your statement is quite objective, I'm curious why you came to this conclusion today... What exactly were you studying?"

Ronan silently pointed to the mountain of books piled up in the living room. Kaname walked over and picked up one at random to take a look.

"...Manga?"

"That's right. Through comparative experiments, I've summarized a crucial piece of information: if you want to be popular and get a girlfriend, you absolutely must possess the trait of being 'yasashii'. Thinking back on my past experiences with failed relationships, I'm pretty sure the reason was my lack of this particular trait."

"...You actually treat manga as study material? That stuff is just for entertainment."

"Art comes from life, after all."

"What am I supposed to say to you..."

"Over the past few years, I've been numbing myself with battles and shipping goods, but I forgot to reflect on myself. What a miscalculation."

"...It's not too late to reflect now. After school starts, just try to be a kinder person, won't that work?"

"As the saying goes, 'It's easier to change the landscape than to change one's nature.' It's probably going to be a bit difficult for me to change my personality." Ronan sighed heavily at this point.

Seeing Ronan looking somewhat dejected, Kaname decided to encourage him a little.

She walked up to Ronan, placed a hand on his shoulder, and said:

"Nothing is absolute. Even if your personality is terrible, as long as you keep trying, you'll definitely find someone who suits you."

"Aunt Kaname..."

"Believe in yourself. Even a piece of dung will eventually meet a dung beetle."

"...Are you trying to comfort me?"

"Of course."

...

Most of the students at Shuchiin Academy come from the elite class of Japanese society. Beyond the distinction between "mixed" and "pure" students that Miyuki mentioned yesterday, the students are also stratified based on their family backgrounds, forming a sort of social pyramid.

Unsurprisingly, Ronan himself knew that as a "mixed" student with no notable family background, he was likely at the very bottom of this pyramid.

The class assignments had been announced the day before, and Ronan was placed in Class 1-B of Shuchiin Academy's high school division.

As a new student, it was almost certain that he was a "mixed" student. Standing at the podium, Ronan could feel the mixed gazes of disdain and contempt from the students below.

"Now, Mr. Yao, please introduce yourself."

"Sure."

Ronan stood at the podium, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote the two characters "Yao Ronan" on the blackboard.

"Hello everyone, my name is Yao Ronan. I'm Chinese and Irish and have been studying in the United States until now. I'm fortunate to transfer to Shuchiin Academy, and I look forward to your guidance."

He had practiced this self-introduction quite a few times, so it came out smoothly.

Seeing that the students below remained silent, the teacher cleared his throat and said, "Well... Mr. Yao, please take the empty seat in the fourth row."

"Got it."

As Ronan glanced at the students from the podium, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

What did he see? The student who had stopped him yesterday, Iino Miko, was also sitting here.

Moreover, she seemed to have recognized him as the student who had jumped out of the window to escape the disciplinary committee's room yesterday, and she glared at him fiercely.

'...My luck is terrible. Of all the classes, I had to get stuck with the "campus cop."'

Pretending not to notice, Ronan stepped down from the podium and walked to the seat the teacher had pointed out earlier. After sitting down, he hung his bag on the side.

Meanwhile, Miko was still looking back at him, her eyes practically saying, "Wait for me after class."

"...This is going to be the death of me. She's like a vengeful spirit."

"Hello, Yao-san."

"Oh, hello."

Hearing someone greet him, Ronan turned toward the voice and responded.

The person greeting him was a male student with neatly trimmed, short hair. It was hard to imagine that someone would actually greet a "mixed" student like him.

"May I ask who you are...?"

"My name is Ishigami Yu. We'll be classmates from now on."

"Nice to meet you, Ishigami-san."

...

The curriculum at Shuchiin Academy is slightly more challenging compared to regular Japanese schools, but fortunately, the first class of the day was math, so Ronan had no trouble keeping up.

While his overall grades are unclear, Ronan's performance in science subjects is fairly decent.

His position in the research department isn't due to any special treatment—he genuinely earned it.

After class, no one approached Ronan's desk to strike up a conversation, which was quite different from the scenes he'd seen in manga where classmates crowd around the mysterious transfer student.

Ronan didn't mind the solitude; he was content to take it easy and just get by without attracting unnecessary attention.

Bam!

Miko suddenly appeared in front of him, slamming her hand on his desk.

"You actually jumped out the window to escape yesterday!"

Ronan: "…."

His hopes for a peaceful school life seemed to be in vain.

"Cop…"

"It's Discipline Committee!"

"Sorry, Discipline Committee. I'm glad we're in the same class. Can I leave now?"

"No!"

Miko snapped angrily.

"Did you read through the school rules yesterday?"

"…Of course I did. Can I go now?"

"Article 15."

"Uh… Oh, right. No inappropriate relationships between students of different genders."

"Okay, how about Article 27?"

"No bringing or using items unrelated to studying on campus."

Miko looked surprised. "…You actually memorized them?"

"Absolutely."

This was a lie.

In fact, just as Miko began asking her questions, Ishigami had been standing in her blind spot, flipping through the "Shuchiin Student Code of Conduct Handbook" to show Ronan the relevant rules.

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