There were less than ten minutes left before the class started.
Saki was sitting in the front row of the classroom. From time to time, she turned her head to look at a window seat at the back of the classroom.
When she saw that the corner was still empty, she could not hide a bit of disappointment on her face.
Itsuki walked in from the back door of the classroom almost on time.
There was no way. He was relied on his legs for transportation.
It took him at least twenty minutes to walk from home to school.
Putting down his schoolbag, he sat down at his seat in the second-to-last row.
As soon as he sat down on the stool, a girl with pigtails and round-frame glasses walked over quietly.
The girl has regular and delicate features, but she doesn't know how to dress up and has long bangs on her forehead, so she looks a bit rustic.
"Good morning, Fujii-kun." Saki greeted him gently.
"Ah, Ogiwara-san, good morning."
"You didn't lose sleep last night after what happened, did you?"
He stuffed his schoolbag into the hole in the desk and took out a textbook he would use for class later.
"Um, it's... it's okay." Hearing the concern naturally revealed in his tone, she lowered her head shyly.
"Although I was a little scared, I still managed to fall asleep at two o'clock."
Her voice became smaller and smaller, and she seemed embarrassed.
He burst out laughing: "It was just a joke; no need to answer so honestly."
This girl was seriously cute.
Although she is dressed a little rustic, she is gentle and sincere.
She is much easier to get along with than people like Ai and Shinoko.
"Ah, it turned out to be a joke." Saki's cheeks, which were partially covered by her bangs, couldn't help but blush.
*Ding, ding, ding*
Fortunately, the school bell rang in time to save her, so the blush was not discovered by him.
Adjusting her glasses, actually taking Itsuki's profile deeply into her eyes, she turned around and returned to her seat in the first row.
Not long after, a middle-aged man with a book tucked between his armpits walked into the classroom from the front door.
With his appearance, the noise in the class gradually decreased and finally disappeared.
"Okay, let's start the class now."
"Everyone, turn to page 34, social cognition."
The history class was as boring as ever, and Itsuki was distracted after listening for a while.
He was not bragging, but with the skill of "mastery of elementary professional knowledge," his knowledge reserve was probably not much less than that of the teacher.
And he is not only familiar with professional courses but also public subjects such as Chinese, mathematics, and English.
Looking at the blackboard and thinking for a while, his gaze unconsciously drifted from the teacher to Saki sitting in the first row.
This girl was holding her head high, listening to the class attentively.
There was only one class in the morning.
After class, he did not go to participate in club activities like other students but chose to sit in the school library for a while.
It was not until lunchtime that he returned to the Class 1-B classroom.
High schools naturally have cafeterias, but the food is rather bad, so most students prefer to bring their own lunch boxes.
Sitting in his seat, he took out the lunch box given by Ai from his schoolbag, opened the lid, and the aroma of fried pork chops and stewed potatoes wafted into his nose.
This is the love lunch box that Aunt Eiko prepared for her precious daughter.
In a sense, Itsuki also benefited from Ai.
The lunch box is not insulated, and the food has already gone cold.
But he didn't care. He picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of potato, and put it into his mouth.
Japanese people have the habit of eating cold food and drinking cold water.
After traveling through time for so long, he has barely adapted to the local customs.
While they were eating, Saki came to the table carrying a two-layered lunch box.
"Fujii-kun, I'm sorry for getting you into trouble in the bathroom yesterday."
"Well, I got up this morning and made some extra food, thinking of..."
She had an apologetic look on her face, and the rest of the words "inviting you to lunch together" seemed to be stuck in her throat, and she couldn't say them.
He couldn't help but roll his eyes when he heard this: "You're talking about getting in trouble again."
"By the way, you just said you cooked a little more food, then what?"
"Then, let's eat together."
Her face was red as if bleeding, and her voice was choking.
A pair of eyes hidden behind round-framed glasses were looking at him with a hint of expectation.
"Oh, okay, let's eat together."
He said it nonchalantly.
Opening the food box revealed a plate of tempting scallion-braised pork ribs, which is so appetizing just by looking at its appearance.
He didn't mean to be polite and picked up a piece and put it in his mouth.
"Well, that's good. Ogiwara-san's cooking skills are good enough for her to apply for a job as a hotel chef."
"No way, Fujii-kun is joking again."
The embarrassment on Saki's face had just faded away, but it returned again in just a moment.
The corners of her mouth rose slightly, and a good feeling arose in her heart.
The two of them were finishing their bento boxes with their chopsticks one after another, and the topic unconsciously turned to Shinoko.
"Fujii-kun, there is something I must tell you. When I went to the bathroom this morning, I accidentally saw a few classmates who got along well with Senior Chiba gathered together to discuss something."
Her eyes couldn't help but reveal a hint of worry.
"Oh? What are they discussing?"
"Well, I didn't dare get too close, but I vaguely heard that they might have some action in the afternoon."
"Afternoon? So soon?"
He frowned. "Isn't that arrogant Shinoko afraid that we will release the photos?"
"Maybe I heard it wrong; maybe it's not directed at us."
"How can it be such a coincidence?"
"Then...Fujii-kun, why don't we call the police?"
"It's useless. By the time the police arrive, they will have already dispersed. Besides, nothing has happened yet, so the police may not intervene."
"Then we tell the teacher?"
"It's useless." Itsuki glanced at Saki, "Didn't you try to ask the teacher for help when you were bullied before?"
"This..." A hint of sadness flashed across Saki's gentle eyes.
Yes, if the teacher was useful, she would not have been blocked in the bathroom by Shinoko and the other two yesterday.
What to do?
For no apparent reason, a feeling of despair welled up in her heart.
Until she heard Fujii Itsuki's voice.
"If an enemy comes, we will fight him."
He picked up some pork ribs with chopsticks and stuffed them into his mouth, then shoveled two mouthfuls of rice.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."
She was stunned for a moment, and her dull eyes began to glow again.
In the past, she had always been a submissive person who endured everything silently, naively believing that as long as she gritted her teeth and held on, she would be able to usher in a bright future.
However, her step-by-step concessions only resulted in Shinoko and the others becoming even more aggressive.
Saki never expected, nor did she ever think that there would be someone who would stand firmly by her side.
Until Itsuki appeared.