Green plums cannot become lovers.

An and Asuka couldn't help but retort.

I can't say.

"Anhe, is there something you need?"

Seeing that the boy had called out to her but didn't speak, Shizuka Kuze's confusion deepened.

"No, it's nothing."

An and Asuka snapped out of their reverie and gently shook their heads. "Sorry to bother you."

To save her, you have to slowly approach her and become her friend.

They were childhood sweethearts.

[Shut up! Three times? Private Ling Qi Wa? Four times? Stop? What's going on??]

"..."

Kuze Shizuka bit her lip, glanced at An and Asuka, and finally turned away.

Anhe is very popular in class, how could he possibly call her by her name so intimately? She must have misheard.

Ugh, I'm so hungry, I must be hallucinating from hunger.

The girl clutched her slightly cramping stomach and slowly slumped onto the table.

When she looked up again, it was the teacher who called her name.

"Shizuka Kuze."

"Shizuka Kuze!"

The stern tone made Shizuka Kuze immediately raise her head, and when she looked down at the podium, she saw her homeroom teacher's angry face.

"Where's your homework? Show it to me so I can check it!"

Upon hearing this, the girl instinctively stiffened, and her face turned deathly pale.

She didn't do her homework.

Volume 1: Chapter Six - I Will Take Action

"Kuse Shizuka, I'll say it again, bring me your homework so I can check it."

The homeroom teacher on the stage was a middle-aged woman with a pointed nose and thin lips. Her hair was tied up in a bun on her head, which made her face appear long and narrow and somewhat harsh.

Her voice was also sharp, sounding full of adult authority, and coupled with her status as the homeroom teacher, almost all the children in the class were afraid of her.

As Shizuka Kuze looked at her, her body trembled involuntarily.

Their homeroom teacher is very strict. They will be scolded for even the slightest mistake, and if it is more serious, they will be slapped on the hand.

A plastic ruler can easily leave a bloody welt on your hand, and begging for mercy won't help.

"Kuse Shizuka, stand up!"

The woman suddenly shouted, causing all the students in the class to tremble. Some of the usually mischievous children lowered their heads even further, afraid of being seen by her.

The girl stood up shakily, looking at her homeroom teacher with a frightened expression.

"Kuse Shizuka, tell me if you've done your homework or not."

"Teacher, I..."

"Don't give me excuses. I just want to know whether it was written or not."

"Speak up! If you confess, the punishment will be lighter later."

The stern tone terrified the girl, but under the oppressive gaze, she had no choice but to answer.

"I...I didn't..."

At this moment, she could only pray that if she confessed, the punishment would be lighter. Otherwise, the pain from yesterday's beating hadn't healed yet, and if she were to suffer new injuries, she definitely wouldn't be able to bear it.

The girl lowered her head, her voice filled with fear and despair.

However, just as she was about to admit it, a crisp voice rang out from behind her.

"Teacher, I accidentally brought Kuze's homework home yesterday."

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Shizuka Kuze's eyes widened instantly. She instinctively turned around to look at the boy behind her, only to see him quickly wink at her.

His eyes held a hint of a smile, as if they could speak, as if saying, 'Leave this to me.'

Kuze Shizuka was momentarily stunned.

The homeroom teacher's stern gaze swept towards the source of the sound like a hawk's, but when her eyes fell on An and Asuka, her sharp and harsh expression softened and melted almost visibly.

"Is that Anhe-kun?" Her voice was still louder than usual, but most of the sharpness and anger in it had disappeared, replaced by an almost subconscious softening tone.

The whole class sensed this subtle change, and they raised their heads slightly, secretly observing this unexpected turn of events out of the corner of their eyes.

They weren't surprised by the teacher's attitude; after all, this boy was the top student in the grade. They had seen this kind of favoritism from the homeroom teacher many times before.

"You said you took the wrong notebook from Kuze?" The homeroom teacher repeated, the questioning tone lessened, and it sounded more like she was confirming a fact.

An and Asuka stood calmly, their posture upright, their faces displaying just the right amount of apology and sincerity, without a trace of fear. "Yes, teacher. I'm very sorry, yesterday after class I discussed some problems with Kuze, and when I was packing my bag I accidentally mixed her workbook with mine."

His words were clear and appropriate, and sounded reasonable: "This was my oversight, and I am very sorry for delaying Kuse from handing in her homework. The homework is in my bag right now, and I hope you will not blame Kuse."

An and Asuka's words were impeccable; they not only explained the reason but also took full responsibility and apologized.

He knew his place in the teacher's eyes, which was why he dared to say that. There was nothing he could do; he was a good student, and it was normal for high-achieving students to have special privileges.

The frost on the homeroom teacher's face completely disappeared.

She pushed up her glasses, her tone almost amiable, and said, "So that's how it is. It's good that Anhe-kun studies hard and is willing to help his classmates, but he should be more careful next time and not be so careless."

"Yes, teacher, I will definitely pay attention." Anhe Asuka bowed slightly, her attitude impeccable.

The homeroom teacher nodded in satisfaction, as if a major problem had been solved.

When her gaze returned to Shizuka Kuze, who was still frozen in place with an incredulous expression, her usual impatience returned, but the previous hostility was gone.

"Kuze, sit down. Next time, make sure you take good care of your things, okay?"

"Yes...yes! Thank you, teacher!"

Kuze Shizuka felt as if she had been granted a pardon and hurriedly sat down. Her heart was still pounding, but now it was no longer filled with fear, but with doubt and gratitude.

She glanced back quickly and furtively at An and Asuka.

He had already sat down, looking down at his textbook, his profile calm, as if he had just done something insignificant.

Sunlight streamed through the window, dancing on his soft hair. He noticed her peeking and winked at her.

Kuze Shizuka quickly turned around, not daring to look at him again.

The marks left by her fingernails from nervously digging into her palms throbbed slightly, and she was still recovering from the shock she had just experienced. However, an indescribable, warm sense of security quietly enveloped her.

Why should he help me?

This question lingered in her mind, but she couldn't find the answer for the time being.

She and the boy didn't have a good relationship. He was the center of the upper echelons in the class, while she was just an insignificant girl. They didn't even really know each other well, and they weren't even friends.

So why should we help her? Is it because we pity her?

Everyone was on edge throughout the entire class today, but thankfully, except for a few individuals, the rest of the students breathed a sigh of relief after class.

Kuze Shizuka hesitated for a long time in her seat before finally deciding to turn around and thank the boy behind her.

Even if their relationship wasn't great, they had still helped her, so she had to thank them properly no matter what.

To her surprise, she turned around and saw the boy's smiling eyes.

Kuze Shizuka was at a loss for words. Come to think of it, the boy in front of her always had such a smiling face and seemed very easy to get along with.

He was also the only boy in the class who never made fun of him... although their relationship wasn't very good.

"Um, Anhe, thank you for what you did earlier."

Finally, Shizuka Kuze mustered up her courage and thanked him, saying that if it weren't for him, she would definitely have been punished today.

"It's ok."

An and Asuka shook their heads and smiled, "Because I don't want to see Kuze get hurt either."

"Huh?"

It was a very simple sentence, but when Shizuka Kuze heard it, her heart skipped a beat.

Volume One: Chapter Seven - Positive and Negative Angles

After saying thank you, Shizuka Kuze remained silent for a moment, as if she had something else to say.

But in the end, he only opened his mouth, said a simple "sorry to bother you," and then turned his back to An and Asuka again.

Looking at the girl in front of him, An and Asuka vaguely sensed her inner thoughts.

She seemed eager to talk more, but something was holding her back.

An and Asuka carefully recalled what the girl had experienced in class, and all they could think of was the image of the girl sitting alone in her seat.

Whether it's after class or after school, she's almost always alone, not to mention in sports or cooking classes that require teamwork, she can only silently watch from the sidelines most of the time.

For so long, none of her classmates were willing to take the initiative to talk to her or have any communication with her, including herself.

Because Marina occupied most of his time at school, he spent the rest of his time studying on his own.

[Host, Shizuka Kuze is currently very vulnerable; this is the perfect time for you to make your move.]

The system was patiently guiding him, but An and Feibiao ignored it, quietly watching the girl slump onto the table again, one hand seemingly clutching her stomach.

"Flying bird!"

Mari ran over excitedly, chattering away, thankful that she had escaped unscathed, while whispering bad things about the homeroom teacher.

An and Asuka listened attentively to her nagging, but their gazes involuntarily fell on the hunched back in front of them.

"Marina, you go ahead, I'll be right there."

The lunch break had just begun when Marina couldn't wait to come over and take An and Asuka to their secret hideout.

Koan and Asuka broke free from her hand and let her go first. Marina didn't understand why, but she still obediently left first.

An and Asuka finally had a moment to spare and looked at the girl who was already slumped over the table.

After hesitating for a moment, he got up and walked to the girl's side, then reached out and touched her shoulder.

"Kusei-san."

He clearly felt the girl's body tremble, and it took her a while before she slowly raised her head to look at him.

"Anhe, classmate..."

Kuze Shizuka felt her vision was blurry. She hadn't eaten since yesterday, and the hunger was almost overwhelming her.

"Well, it's me."

"..."

She blinked, and her vision gradually cleared. The boy was looking at her with a smile.

After a moment of surprise, Shizuka Kuze clutched her slightly aching stomach and asked, "Is...is something the matter?"

She remembered that this boy would usually be taken away by Kirisaka during lunch break. He had never paid attention to her before, so why was he appearing beside her today?

With her mind in a daze, unable to come up with an answer, Shizuka Kuze just stared blankly at the boy.

Aren't you going to eat?

She heard the boy's question, and there seemed to be some concern in his tone.

"I...I'm not hungry..."

"really?"

"Ah."

Kuze Shizuka lowered her head and nodded slightly, but in reality, she was extremely hungry and longed for hot rice, even just a little bit.

"That's a lie."

Iι棋翏九依拌捌溜“Eh?”