Ding ding ding ding...
After the first period ended, Ayakoji Chiyoko's figure appeared on the second-year's floor.
According to what that Discipline Committee member had said earlier, a second-year student named 'Ai Cheng Hua Lian' had witnessed the Student Council President bullying Kagura Hikaru. In other words, she could verify the authenticity of the bullying incident.
This would be a powerful strike that the Disciplinary Committee could wield against Kiryu Hina!
Even if Kagura Hikaru, as the party involved, wouldn't admit to it, as long as they say she was threatened by Kiryu Hina, others would agree.
Hmph, you've made a miscalculation, Kiryu Hina.
Although I don't know how you managed to control Kagura Hikaru and ensure his silence, now that there's a second witness, don't blame me for not showing any mercy!
Soon, Ayakoji Chiyoko arrived at Class 2-C's classroom.
She casually stopped a girl who had just walked out: "I'm looking for Ai Cheng Hua Lian, where is she?"
"Who are you... you, you, President Ayakoji?!"
The girl initially didn't think much of it, but her expression changed immediately after seeing the visitor's face clearly.
Ayakoji Chiyoko, within just half a year and relying on the reputation she had built up through the Disciplinary Committee, had become notorious across the school, and those who had personally experienced her dealings with them held her in awe.
After all, the person before them was known for beating the Kendo Club captain with a bamboo sword as punishment for leading others to smoke, subduing five people in the Judo Club with her bare hands, including the captain, and sending them all to the Disciplinary Committee for rectification on the grounds of distributing pirated discs—an ultimate tough one.
Not only was her physical strength off the charts, but it was said her academic and political capabilities could rival those of the Student Council President Kiryu Hina, and she had even come close to surpassing the latter to become the Student Council President at one point.
No matter how one considered it, she was not someone a mere ordinary second-year student could afford to provoke.
"Ye-yes, I'm sorry, President Ayakoji! I didn't realize it was you just now..." The second-year girl whom Ayakoji Chiyoko had stopped quickly cowered and apologized in a low voice.
Ayakoji Chiyoko emotionless: "I'm looking for Ai Cheng Hua Lian; are you from Class C? Call her out for me."
"Ai, Ai Cheng? She seems to have left, I haven't seen her now..."
"Hmm?"
Ayakoji Chiyoko's gaze sharpened, and the girl's legs immediately grew weak from fear.
"Tha-that's right, Ruzaki! Ruzaki is friends with Ai Cheng, she must know where she went!"
"Call her out. And be quick about it," Ayakoji Chiyoko said with folded arms.
I thought she would be right there, and she wouldn't run away, but she actually did, tch.
Sensing her displeasure, the girl said nothing and immediately turned around to go back, and after a while, she pushed out a small-framed girl who appeared as jittery as a rabbit.
"Um..." The rabbit-like girl bowed deeply to Ayakoji Chiyoko: "Hello, my name is Ruzaki Mami."
"Spare me the pleasantries," Ayakoji Chiyoko spoke briskly, "tell me, where did Ai Cheng Hua Lian go."
"I'm sorry, I don't know..."
Ayakoji Chiyoko's gaze darkened, and the dense atmosphere around her exploded, releasing a captain-level spiritual pressure on the spot.
The two young girls, terrified, let out a "Yikes!" and huddled together, trembling as they looked at her.
"I see... then I'll just wait for her here. That shouldn't disturb you all, should it?" said Ayakoji Chiyoko softly.
The subdued tone was akin to a lullaby from hell, of course, the kind that lulls one to eternal rest.
"Yes, of course you can!"
"It won't be a disturbance, how could it be a disturbance!"
"When Student Ai Cheng comes back, we will immediately inform you!!"
The two girls nodded with a vigor that made one suspect their heads might snap off, even conjuring afterimages with their movements.
Meanwhile, they were internally sobbing with tearful eyes and praying, "Hua Lian-chan/Ai Cheng Student, please come back soon!!"
Seeing them so frightened, Ayakoji Chiyoko's anger somewhat subsided. She turned her head to rest her hand on the windowsill, gazing out at the scenery.
No matter what, Ai Cheng Hua Lian was bound to return before class started, and there would naturally be a chance to speak to her, unless she planned to skip class.
In just ten short minutes between classes, she didn't believe any mishap could happen!
.........
Meanwhile, in class 1-A.
A girl named Ai Cheng Hua Lian tread hesitantly in the lower-grade corridor.
Should she really go? Would she be a bother to someone?
What if she upset Mr. Kagura...
She was the kind of girl whose heart couldn't hide a thing, her thoughts clearly reflected on her face.
Her hesitant look made you want to step forward and help her.
Just as the freshman boys in the hallway could no longer resist the temptation of a cute and pretty girl in need of help, Ai Cheng Hua Lian suddenly stopped in her tracks, her eyes brightened, and she then accelerated and quickly walked away.
Her smooth, shoulder-length hair bobbed up and down, and her tight, fair thighs swung under the skirt, exuding youthful vitality.
The male high school students looked toward the end of the direction she was heading and saw the back of a handsome boy.
The eager expressions on their faces suddenly drooped.
What, so she was going to find their grade's 'Rock-Solid Prince'. Girls who are after that kind of guy, they don't stand a chance at all.
The subject of their grumbling, Kagura Hikaru, was currently planning to step outside to avoid the buzzing atmosphere in the classroom, completely unaware that someone was looking for him.
"Mr., Mr. Kagura!"
Feeling a slight tugging at his clothes from behind, Kagura Hikaru turned around sharply, finding an unfamiliar girl.
"You are?"
"Ah, I'm sorry..." Ai Cheng Hua Lian shrank her neck, becoming even more timid.
Kagura Hikaru turned around, looking at her with curiosity.
She seemed somewhat familiar.
"Have we met before?"
"Yes!" Ai Cheng Hua Lian lifted her head, looking at him happily, "I'm the lead singer of the Red Pepper Band, Ai Cheng Hua Lian! Do you remember me, Mr. Kagura?"
"Red Pepper Band..."
Kagura Hikaru flashed through memories of a live performance from the day before yesterday with a rookie band whose members all wore heavy tanned-girl makeup, comparing them to the fair-skinned beauty before him.
He had a faint impression, she was the skinniest one in the band, right?
"Ah!" Ai Cheng Hua Lian scratched her head embarrassedly, "It's true, our makeup was too thick before. Mr. Kagura, you couldn't recognize me, hehe."
"I didn't expect you to be a student at Yuqiu High School too."
"Yes, class 2-C, Ai Cheng Hua Lian, reporting to you!" Ai Cheng Hua Lian said with a cheerful smile, giving a somewhat awkward military salute.
She was certainly cute enough.
"Hello, Senior Ai Cheng," Kagura Hikaru nodded in response.
"Eh? Eh, no! You don't have to call me senior, Mr. Kagura!"
"I'm a freshman, of course I should refer to a sophomore as senior."
"That's not right, Mr. Kagura is someone I respect... If it's okay with you, please call me Ai Cheng! And, and of course, calling me Hua Lian is not out of the question..."
Ai Cheng Hua Lian was a step too slow to realize what she had said, her face turned red as she looked down and fidgeted with her fingers, the little person in her heart covering its face and rolling around frantically, screaming bold.
When boys and girls of the same age call each other by their first names, what it implies goes without saying.
If Ai Cheng Hua Lian's friend got called by his first name by a boy, she would definitely think the two of them had a close relationship!
As expected, Kagura Hikaru did not take the bait, calmly changing the subject, "So, Senior Ai Cheng, did you come to see me today for a live performance opportunity?"
"No, although we did indeed think about hiring Mr. Kagura again, today is not about that..."
Ai Cheng Hua Lian looked around, then tugging on Kagura Hikaru's sleeve, she pulled him to the window and whispered, "I'm sorry, Mr. Kagura, but I saw it."
"Saw what?"
"Yesterday at noon, you and President Kiriyu..."