As Roy fell silent, Fatty suddenly said something.
"By the way, Roy. Our high school batch will hold a reunion party next week. Everyone was invited. We definitely must come."
There was a bright smile on fatty's face all of a sudden. An image of a girl floated above his head. On the contrary, Roy looked unexcited and dispirited.
"Reunion, huh? I have my part-time job to worry about, so I'm not sure."
"Buddy! Haven't you heard that some of our former classmates are very successful now? It's our chance to build connections with them as soon as possible. Building connections with successful people is another form of success?"
Roy wasn't sure about that, or was it really like that?
Fatty suddenly whispered, "Also, did you hear that Otaku-kun was now part of the main squad of one of the dungeon exploration teams? Maybe you can ask him to let you come into their squad when they explore a dungeon."
"The hell, Fatty, is that true?!"
"A hundred percent true!"
Fatty is very reliable in terms of catching authentic information.
Roy touched his chin. "I see… I'll think about it."
Regardless, he did not expect Otaku-Kun to be part of the main squad of one of the dungeon exploration teams. When they were in high school, Otaku-kun was a gloomy dude who barely talked in class. Only Roy and Fatty would engage in a conversation with him. And even that, Otaku-kun only gave a thrifty reply as though his words were limited and scarce.
Sometimes in the past, Otaku-kun disappeared near the end of the school year. No one knows what happened to him. There were some rumors that he isekaid in a different world. Of course, it was a joke made by some classmates, however, this made a huge laugh to the whole class.
The real reason for his disappearance is still unknown even until now. Perhaps it was due to his awakening. No one knows. To think that in just more than a year he already became part of a main squad, that was very shocking. Perhaps he had awakened a very awesome talent.
He, on the other hand, had a really bad bestowed talent. Not only does it require him to enter a dangerous place with no means of protecting himself, but it also has the lowest rank.
At this rate, everyone will be successful except him. Roy thought worriedly.
After his two minor subjects at noon, which were English and Science, Roy was called to the dean's office.
"Mr. Han, you're always late in paying your tuition but we let it pass before because we sympathize with your situation. However, breaking some of the university rules, which is 'no part-time job allowed' for students, and constant absence in your class, is something we can't condone further."
"Please, Dean, give me another chance. The loan sharks are putting pressure on us and I need extra income for our daily needs." Roy had no idea what happened. He had been working in his part-time job for over a year now, why has it suddenly become an issue?
"Ahem! Alright. We'll be giving you one month to fully pay your tuition, but you also need to stop working at your part-time job. If you failed to comply, then I'm sorry to tell you in advance but you'll have to stop coming to the university."
"What?"
The loan sharks gave him a one-month deadline and now the university also gives him a one-month deadline. Roy felt like the whole world was against him.
He left the dean's office with crestfallen. His mind was chaotic. Absentmindedly walking in the hallway, he suddenly bumped into someone.
"Kyaah!"
Roy blinked his eyes. He noticed a fallen person. That person, despite her body falling, tried her best to catch her smartphone. "Watch out!" Roy's body reflexively moved on its own to catch her, trying to support her not to crash on the tiled floor.
Then it was followed by a dull thud on the floor.
A groan could be heard and Roy felt his whole body crumbling due to pain. The pain wasn't only due to the fall but also transmitted from the fall to the injuries he got this morning.
His vision started darkening as his consciousness slipped away. He heard a voice asking him if he was okay. But his mind could not process what he was hearing. The sound seemed like it was moving farther and farther.
The next thing he noticed, he woke up in a room with a white ceiling.
"Huh? Where am I?"
"Oh! You finally woke up! Phew, I'm glad."
Eh?!
Roy was slightly startled. He quickly glanced to his left and noticed someone, beside him. His eyes slightly widened in disbelief as he wondered what kind of situation he was in.
"Uhm, you're asking where you are, err, you're currently in the infirmary. I brought you here after you fainted."
"Infirma…"
Just then, he remembered what happened before he passed out. That's right, he bumped into someone while he was walking in the hallway. It turned out it was her who he bumped into. Roy pulled his body and sat on the bed.
"Ouch!" He grimaced. His body felt painful and his head was attacked by a slight prickly pain.
"Oh, be careful. A-a-are you okay?"
"Ye…yeah, I am fine. Just a slight headache."
No matter what, he needed to apologize to her. It was his fault after all. However, before Roy could say his sorry, the lady beside her suddenly lowered her head.
"Sorry, it's my fault! It's because I was engrossed in playing God Of Mining on my smartphone that I didn't notice where I was heading."
"Eh?"
He didn't expect it. It turned out she also didn't notice his presence at that time.
"Uh, there's no need to apologize. I was partly at fault as well."
"What do you mean?" She looked at him.
Roy was taken aback. Now that he had a chance to look at her eyes, this girl was stunningly beautiful. She has long blonde hair and soft pink lips. He wondered if the star in her right eye was a contact lense. However, the way she looked at him in that posture looked very dangerous to his eyes. Two soft-looking mounds were peeking under her unbuttoned blue shirt.
Wait, she looked familiar though. Isn't she the infamous goddess with so many bad rumors surrounding her?
Under her gaze, Roy slightly averted his eyes and then explained to her what happened. He told her that he was walking absent-mindedly in the hallway, thus he also didn't notice her presence when he was walking. Otherwise, he could avoid bumping into her even if she didn't notice him.
"Oh, you're right. Haha, I thought it was only my fault," she smiled brightly. It was the kind of smile that could bring down a country. A soft sigh of relief came out of her mouth. "But I did not expect your body to be so frail though," she added.
"What do you mean?" He looked at her with dead eyes.
"One bump it took and you suffered so many injuries," she said bluntly. And then she suddenly pointed at him. "You need to work out!"
Roy wondered if she was a dense person. There was no way a bump and fall of that magnitude could have injured a person to this degree. Even an ordinary person would not.
A depressed laugh came out of Roy's mouth. "Ahaha. It isn't like that though. Actually…" Roy then explained to her what happened. About how he got his injury.
"Eh? So that's what happened, sorry for assuming the bump is the reason for your injuries."
'This woman apologized so quickly. Is she really the infamous gyaru surrounded by many bad rumors?' Roy couldn't help but question internally.
"You have nothing to apologize for. Instead, I should be thanking you for bringing me here."
"Uhm, I just did what I think is the right thing to do in that situation. By the way, my name is Mao Jiang," she suddenly introduced herself with a bright smile, bringing her slender jade-like hand in front of him.
Roy was slightly surprised. She looked more friendly than the rumors. He hesitantly took her hand and introduced himself as well. "My name is Han Roy."
"I know though, hehe…" she smiled sheepishly.
"Eh? How?!"
"I've got to peek at your ID a while ago. It was because Nurse Lyn Jie asked me for your personal information so…"
"I see. Sorry for overreacting."
"No, it's actually cute," she smiled.
"C-cute?!" Roy was taken aback once again. He would suffer a heart attack if this continued.
Suddenly, the door opened and was followed by a thunderous voice.
"Roy!!!"
The two reflexively looked towards the door but the bed was surrounded by curtains, therefore, they couldn't immediately see who entered the room. But based on the voice alone, Roy immediately knew who it was.
"Someone you know?" Mao Jiang looked at Roy.
He nodded and said, "A close friend of mine."
"Ah, I see. Then see you around, Roy," she stood up.
"Yeah, see you, Miss Mao Jiang."
"Mao or Jiang is enough, you know," she looked back and winked at him. She paused for a moment and thank him, with a bright smile, for trying to protect her when she fell.
Roy couldn't help but compliment her cuteness deep inside.
Once she was outside the curtain, "Roy is here," Roy heard Mao Jiang say. He also heard a gawking response from Fatty.
"Eek?! EHH!!"
A while later,
"Roy! Isn't that Miss Mao Jiang just now?!" Fatty's bewildered voice rang out inside the infirmary. He quickly told Roy about how popular Mao Jiang was in the university despite all the bad rumors around her. All of these were already known by Roy though.
'But her friendly demeanour seems genuine,' Roy thought.