NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6: Animosity
Yasushi, with a subtle air of mystery about him, casually extracted his phone from his pocket. "I happened to observe those three shadowing Jingliu from my classroom window as the school day drew to a close. Intrigued, I decided to tail them discreetly. It was only after we crossed a particular street adjacent to the dog park that I deemed it necessary to capture their activities on camera."
His revelation jolted Jishiha and the trio of troublemakers, their countenances instantly drained of color. Yasushi quickly navigated through his phone's contents, retrieving the incriminating footage he had secretly obtained. With an almost theatrical flourish, he initiated the playback.
A heavy silence enveloped the room as they bore witness to the damning sequence of events. In the grainy footage, Jingliu turned a corner, her confrontation with the three antagonists unfolding with palpable tension. The camera angle painted a vivid scene: the delinquents, seemingly instigating the conflict, met Jingliu's quick retaliation. Her prowess in combat was unmistakable, culminating in her undisputed victory.
"Jingliu's self-defense is quite evident," Yasushi remarked as he stowed away his phone. His movements were precise, almost mechanical, as he produced a USB stick from his belongings. "I possess the footage here, along with redundant copies at my home and on Cloud Storage. Should the need arise, I'm ready to provide them to you."
With each utterance from Yasushi, a subtle tension permeated the room. Jingliu, unable to contain her satisfaction, attempted to mask her grin behind her hand, though the glimmer of triumph lingered in her eyes. Meanwhile, Jishiha's disdain for Yasushi seemed to intensify with every passing word, a palpable disdain brewing beneath his stoic facade.
The principal's nostrils flared as he released an audible sigh, a sound that resonated across the room, pregnant with unspoken weight. But before he could proceed, Jingliu interjected with a calm yet assertive tone, "I, too, stumbled upon some... compelling evidence." She retrieved her phone from her pocket, presenting a series of screenshots to the gathered audience.
The images unveiled a secret conversation within a LINE group chat, a digital den where the three delinquents conspired alongside Jishiha. The text revealed a sordid transaction: a proposition to physically harm Jingliu in exchange for a substantial sum of money — each student promised one hundred thousand yen.
What was more damning, however, were Jishiha's words detailing the motive behind his malevolent scheme — a twisted retaliation for Jingliu's public rejection and subsequent humiliation of him. His hubris bled through the screen, as he arrogantly claimed to always attain his desires, accompanied by a selfie flaunting his ill-gotten gains and a smirk plastered across his face.
Jishiha's stunned disbelief echoed through the room in stuttered fragments, his mouth hanging open in incredulity as he struggled to form a coherent response. His gaze locked onto Jingliu, searching for answers in her cold, calculating smile — a smile devoid of warmth, pulsating with a quiet intensity.
"You underestimate the networks and resources I have access to, Jishiha," Jingliu retorted, her voice measured and unwavering. "Let's just say, I have friends in high places that you may not have considered." Her words carried an air of mystery, leaving Jishiha visibly unsettled.
Turning her attention to the principal, Jingliu posed a direct question, her demeanor poised and confident. "Do we need to stay here, or is it sufficient to provide these as evidence so we can return to our classes?"
A subtle smile curved the edges of the principal's lips as he nodded approvingly. "This evidence is more than adequate. Should Jishiha opt for legal recourse, it will be beyond our jurisdiction," he affirmed, his tone carrying a sense of finality tinged with restrained satisfaction.
Jingliu nodded in agreement and withdrew her own USB drive, a harbinger of more revelations hidden within its digital depths. "I possess additional evidence in the form of photographs and text," she stated calmly, handing it over to the principal. Yasushi mirrored her actions, presenting his own cache of proof, and then the two departed from the room in tandem.
Yasushi, still groggy from the morning's events, couldn't help but grumble, "It's too early for all this drama. I feel like I've just woken up."
His companion, however, wore a smirk that hinted at a deeper understanding of the day's unfolding events. "You should have anticipated this, considering the circumstances," Jingliu replied. "Now that it's dealt with, the rest of the day should flow more smoothly."
Yasushi's expression turned serious as he warned, "Jishiha won't go down without a fight. He's likely brewing up another scheme as we speak, perhaps even contemplating physical retaliation."
Jingliu remained unfazed. "Then I'll be prepared for whatever he throws our way," she declared, pulling out her phone with a sense of resolve and dialing a number, setting plans into motion for whatever might come next.
The moment Jingliu and Yasushi stepped into the classroom, a hush fell over the students, their gazes converging on the duo. Jingliu's expression morphed once more into an icy facade, her sharp gaze piercing through the room, causing several classmates to avert their eyes in discomfort. Among them, Furuya remained seated, his anticipation palpable as he awaited Yasushi's account of the recent events.
However, the chime of the bell shattered the brief moment of quiet, signaling the official start of the school day and prompting everyone to settle into their seats for homeroom. Furuya's eagerness to ask about the happenings in the principal's office was quelled by the onset of academic obligations, yet the air buzzed with anticipation for their forthcoming conversation during the lunch break.
It was a shared understanding among the students that something significant had transpired, and they eagerly awaited the opportunity to unravel the mysteries that lingered in the air.
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Lunchtime arrived, casting a temporary pause on the academic bustle. With the teacher's departure, Furuya wasted no time; he darted across the room toward Yasushi with a fervor bordering on desperation. "Yasushi, man! What's the deal? What went down?" he blurted out, his voice carrying a note of urgency.
Yasushi, adopting a nonchalant posture, leaned back slightly. "Easy there, Furuya," he cautioned, his tone measured. Furuya recoiled, sensing the need for discretion. "It's nothing, just about yesterday's incident," Yasushi responded vaguely.
"I know that, but why were you in the mix?" Furuya persisted, his voice rising and inadvertently attracting more attention from their peers. The usual lunchtime exodus didn't occur; instead, the students remained rooted in their seats, those with homemade meals retrieving them while others lingered, casting curious glances and eavesdropping on the unfolding conversation.
Yasushi attempted to downplay his role, masking the significance of his involvement. "I happened to witness it firsthand, but it was purely coincidental," he explained, a faint air of dismissal in his voice as he tried to divert attention away from the gravity of his experience.
Accompanied by the lunchtime murmur, Yasushi retrieved his meal and began eating, his demeanor projecting a sense of casual indifference. "It's not such a big deal," he remarked casually, casting a fleeting glance toward Jingliu, who also unpacked her lunch. She remained silent, her lips curved in a subtle smirk that spoke volumes.
Their tranquil moment, however, was abruptly shattered by the violent swing of the classroom door. Jishiha burst in with a storm of fury etched across his face, his eyes fixated on Jingliu. Ignoring the gasps of surprise from their classmates, he seized her collar, yanking her upright with a brutal force that reverberated through the room.
"You damned whore!" Jishiha's voice thundered, the intensity of his rage palpable. Jingliu met his gaze with a blank stare, her silence a stark contrast to his explosive outburst. "I'll make sure that you regret being born!" he bellowed, his threats echoing off the walls as he flung her back toward her chair. The violent motion missed its mark, sending Jingliu crashing to the ground.
Jishiha's departure was marked by a seething intensity that lingered in the air, casting a shadow over the once-tranquil classroom. His glowering gaze dared anyone to meet his eyes for more than a fleeting moment, a silent warning of the storm brewing within him.
Just before vanishing through the door, he turned around, fixing Yasushi with a venomous glare that promised repercussions. "Your meddling won't go unpunished. I'll ensure your family suffers as well," his parting words echoed in the tense silence before he exited the scene.
A heavy quiet settled over the room, punctuated only by the soft rustling of Jingliu readjusting her seat and resuming her meal with composed nonchalance. Yasushi, too, resumed his lunch without a trace of agitation, as if the threat had dissipated like mist in the morning sun.
Furuya, bewildered by the seemingly unaffected demeanor of his friends, couldn't contain his curiosity. "Dude, aren't you bothered at all?" he questioned, seeking clarity along with the lingering tension.
Yasushi met Furuya's gaze with a calm reassurance. "Not really. My parents aren't even in the country, so that threat holds no weight. And as for myself, I can handle whatever comes my way," he explained evenly, his tone devoid of apprehension as he continued to eat, unfazed by the recent confrontation.
"I can't decide if you're fearless or just dumb," Furuya quipped, shaking his head in disbelief at Yasushi's nonchalant response.
"Dumb, fearless, and with balls of steel," Yasushi quipped back with a grin, amused by his own joke. Furuya couldn't help but smack him playfully on the head, their laughter mingling briefly in the air.
As their banter tapered off, the other students gradually dispersed to enjoy their lunch elsewhere. Those who remained delved into their meals and private conversations, the earlier tension dissipating into the familiar hum of daily life. Amidst the chatter, however, no one noticed the subtle smirk playing on Jingliu's lips, her amusement at the unfolding drama mingled with a newfound curiosity about Yasushi.