Chapter Sixty-Seven: There Are Insects

"Aoki Shi is over here!" Suddenly, a loud shout rang out. The reporters gathered at the school gate twisted their heads sharply, and sure enough, a man wearing a cap was pointing excitedly at a bald-headed figure not far away.

"Hurry! Quick, get over there!"

Bald-headed? The reporters' eyes lit up, and instinctively, they surged toward the bald figure.

Aoki Shi pulled his cap lower, keeping his head down as he jogged against the flow of people and slipped into the school.

Meanwhile, Maeda Tora touched the bandage and the smooth skin on his scalp. The cap he had originally worn to cover his unhealed wounds was now gone, and a swarm of reporters—whose purpose he could not fathom—had him surrounded.

"Are you Aoki Shi?"

"How do you respond to the rumors online that call you a delinquent and a thug?"

"Why did you assault that short-haired girl...?"

The reporters’ bizarre questions buzzed around Maeda Tora like flies. His not-yet-healed head began to ache, and irritated, he waved his hands: "No, I’m not Aoki Shi!"

"My boss has already gone inside! Look!" Maeda Tora pointed toward the school gate, but when the reporters turned, they saw nothing.

Some had already pulled out the viral video from the internet, comparing the faces of the two.

"He really doesn’t look like Aoki Shi. Not as handsome as in the video, and not nearly as fierce," a female reporter frowned.

Surrounded by reporters, Maeda Tora saw their microphones nearly shoved into his mouth and nervously asked, "Can I go inside now? I’m not Aoki Shi—my name is Maeda Tora."

He glanced at Aoki Shi, who had poked his head out from the gate, his eyes pleading for rescue.

"Wait, you just called Aoki Shi your boss—why? Is he a member of a yakuza group? Or perhaps a school gang?" A bespectacled reporter blocked his way, visibly agitated.

The other reporters, like sharks scenting blood, pressed closer: "Please tell us..."

Aoki Shi watched cautiously from the school gate as Maeda Tora was mobbed by reporters, as if beset by a horde of zombies. He shook his head, clicking his tongue in sympathy, and muttered guiltily to himself, "Sorry, little brother. Big brother won’t forget your sacrifice."

With that, he took off his cap, hummed a tune, and headed toward his classroom.

Maeda Tora, still surrounded, watched as Aoki Shi really seemed to have slipped away. For a moment, he was at a complete loss.

But when Maeda Tora spotted a high-definition camera bearing the Yachiyo City News insignia, his eyes suddenly brightened.

Am I... Am I going to be on TV? Am I about to become famous?

Maeda Tora’s panic gradually gave way to excitement.

"Ahem, my boss, Aoki Shi! Of course I know him well! The story begins from the very first day we met..." Maeda Tora, though clueless about what was happening, launched into an enthusiastic monologue for the camera.

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Oblivious to the commotion outside, Aoki Shi felt that the way people looked at him today seemed somewhat different.

If in the past, ninety-nine percent of people eyed him with fear, now perhaps twenty percent of those gazes carried something else.

Was it because he’d been on the news? Aoki Shi forced a bitter smile, changed into his indoor shoes, and carried his bag into the classroom.

On the way, people would occasionally point at him and whisper, though he had no idea what they were saying.

He entered the classroom and dropped heavily into his seat, feeling weary, and rested his head on the desk for a nap.

Shoko Teruhashi suddenly approached, her smile carrying a faintly unsettling undertone. "Good morning, Aoki."

"Ah..." Aoki Shi murmured, half asleep.

"There are so many reporters outside today." Shoko Teruhashi spoke softly, as if oblivious to Aoki Shi’s tired and listless appearance. "You must have known what happened yesterday, right?"

Aoki Shi weakly responded again.

"So... Why didn’t you reply to my Line message?" Shoko Teruhashi’s eyes narrowed, her smile taking on a dangerous edge.

Aoki Shi sensed something was off in the atmosphere and looked up. Shoko Teruhashi’s eyes were narrowed, but nothing seemed amiss.

"Uh..." Only then did Aoki Shi remember that after a brief chat with Shoko Teruhashi yesterday, he had gone off to play games with Sora, forgetting entirely to reply to her message.

Feeling a little guilty, he scratched his head and looked at her. "Sorry, I was playing games with Sora yesterday and just forgot. Really, I’m sorry."

"I see..." Shoko Teruhashi nodded understandingly. "Well, nothing can be done about that."

She returned to her seat.

Eh? Was it just my imagination? Aoki Shi felt something strange was afoot.

Shoko Teruhashi sat back down, gripping her textbook tightly, her expression calm, but her hands clenched the pages so hard they creaked: He actually forgot to reply to my message!

He forgot! He forgot!

Shoko Teruhashi bit her lip: Did he realize how much courage it took for me to ask for his contact yesterday? How could he treat a beautiful girl like this! I was so worried about him, sent him so many messages yesterday, and he didn’t read a single one! Not even marked as read—he simply didn’t look!

And it was because of a game... I’ve actually lost out to a game!

Shoko Teruhashi took a deep breath and glanced at Aoki Shi, who was sprawled on his desk, apparently asleep. His usually fierce face looked peaceful as he slept, and her heart couldn’t help but flutter, as though her anger had melted away. Her gaze turned uncertain: He actually looks pretty good when he’s asleep...

No!

"Smack!" The entire class looked up suddenly to see Shoko Teruhashi’s hand still pressed to her cheek, a faint red mark clearly visible on her delicate face.

Shoko Teruhashi, now fully alert, saw the astonished stares of her classmates and hurriedly explained, "Oh, there was a bug flying past my face just now! How scary!"

Her pitiful, frightened demeanor evoked sympathetic sighs from those around her.