Chapter 27 – Springtime

At the outdoor terrace of the park cafe, one “boy” and three girls were seated around a small white round table. A large umbrella was erected in the center of the table, providing refreshing shade for the summer.

(By the way… weren’t we originally supposed to be on the “scumbag” tracking plan? How did it turn into this?)

The magical unfolding of events left Qing Yue with a head full of black lines. Han Quan, seated to her right, experienced a brain freeze and began to “aba aba,” trying to escape reality.

Seated across from Han Quan was Cherry, wearing a mischievous grin and looking quite pleased with the situation. On the opposite side of the table, facing Qing Yue, was the cross-dressing beauty, observing everyone with keen interest.

“Quan-chan has made new friends; I’m so happy!” Cherry said with a content smile, clasping her hands together in a gesture of satisfaction, then turned to Qing Yue and greeted her warmly.

“Let me introduce myself first! I’m Nangong Chun, and this is my classmate Shen Simin. Nice to meet you.”

“Hello, I’m Shen Simin, childhood friends with Chun. Nice to meet you all.”

However, when she mentioned “childhood friends,” Chun’s face blushed slightly.

“Hello, I’m Xu Qing Yue,” Qing Yue introduced herself calmly.

Chun didn’t mind the cool reception; instead, she pouted and playfully aimed her dissatisfaction at Han Quan.

“Quan-chan~! It’s your turn to introduce yourself~!”

“Huh? What happened?”

Han Quan seemed to still be wandering through the vast expanse of the cosmic universe with her soul.

“Self~intro~duction~!”

Chun emphasized each word.

“Oh, oh! I’m Han Quan from Class B of the first year. Nice to meet you.”

The bewildered Han Quan mechanically introduced herself.

Shen Simin smiled lightly and said to Han Quan, “Nice to meet you, Han Quan from Class B of the first year.”

“Who, who needs your nice to meet you!” Han Quan, finally coming to her senses, immediately became agitated, resembling a small hedgehog stimulated by a natural enemy.

Shen Simin didn’t mind, maintaining her smiling demeanor. Chun, on the other hand, frowned and began to lecture Han Quan.

“This is too impolite, Quan-chan!”

“I, I…”

Han Quan didn’t know how to defend herself.

“If you’ve said something inappropriate, you must apologize properly! Let’s reintroduce ourselves, Quan-chan!” Chun, hands on hips, spoke in a tone reminiscent of educating an ignorant child.

“S-Sorry, I… I’m Han Quan… P-Please, please, uh, uh, uh—nice to meet you!”

Han Quan spoke as if she were uncomfortable, like she had just bitten into a rock.

“Looking forward to working with you in the future,” Shen Simin graciously accepted the apology.

Chun revealed a smile that could charm anyone.

After the introductions, the four of them chatted while sipping their drinks. Chun was the main speaker, vividly describing trivial matters. In her eyes, life seemed to be always colorful, and her sparkling big eyes during conversations were captivating. Even the most boring topics seemed interesting as long as she was discussing them.

Han Quan, sitting across from Chun, enthusiastically engaged in conversation, but at the same time, she kept a guarded attitude towards Shen Simin. Shen Simin, with a playful look, observed Han Quan, occasionally inserting comments to liven up the atmosphere.

Qing Yue, however, calmly watched the three chatting, showing almost no intention of getting involved.

“Um… is Qing Yue-san a classmate of Quan-chan?” Chun, noticing Qing Yue’s marginalization, considerately shifted the topic to her.

“Well… actually, I’m from the next class,” Qing Yue accepted Chun’s redirection of the conversation.

“I see! Quan-chan is amazing, making friends with classmates from the next class!” Chun patted Han Quan’s head with an expression that said, ‘Great job!’.

While Han Quan’s face turned red, her little head unconsciously rubbed against Chun’s palm, like a small pet trying to please its owner.

(There’s really no saving this person.)

Qing Yue silently commented to herself.

Suddenly, Shen Simin stood up.

“You guys continue chatting; I’ll go to the restroom.”

She said openly.

“I’ll go too!”

For some inexplicable reason, Han Quan also jumped up to follow.

Qing Yue guessed she wanted to take this opportunity to warn the so-called “scumbag” she mentioned.

After the two left, only Qing Yue and Chun remained in the outdoor booth.

“Qing Yue, how did you get to know Quan-chan?”

Chun continued the conversation with Qing Yue.

“Oh, about that.”

Qing Yue tilted her head and thought for a moment.

“I guess that person just attached herself to me while I was eating.”

“Ahaha…”

Chun laughed a couple of times.

“I really didn’t expect that… it’s quite surprising.”

“Why?”

“Because, in my impression, Quan-chan is quite shy and rarely takes the initiative to make friends. It’s quite unusual for her to actively approach others.”

Chun spoke like a mother indulging her child.

“But I’m really happy! After hearing that Quan-chan made new friends, I’m genuinely happy! I’ve been worried that she would keep rejecting others… After all, she used to depend a lot on the three of us. When she started high school, her spirits were quite low, so I’ve been concerned. But now that Quan-chan has found her own circle, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Thank you for becoming Quan-chan’s friend, Qing Yue.”

Chun sincerely bowed her head in gratitude towards Qing Yue.

“Well… there’s really nothing to thank me for. I don’t have many friends in general, so having one more acquaintance is a good thing. Although that Han Quan can be quite annoying.”

Qing Yue turned her head slightly, feeling a bit awkward.

“Haha… Qing Yue, you’re an interesting person.”

Chun couldn’t help but chuckle.

While the two were engrossed in their conversation, Han Quan and Shen Simin returned.

Han Quan, leading the way, had an expression as if she wanted to devour Shen Simin, but her face inexplicably turned even redder.

Shen Simin, following behind, still had that smiling appearance.

“What are you guys talking about?”

Han Quan plopped down onto her chair.

“Oh, nothing much. We were just discussing why you guys took so long to come back.”

Chun teased mischievously.

“Long!? It’s probably because I had a bit of stomach trouble today? Haha…”

Han Quan laughed off the situation.

“Yeah, Han Quan had a stomachache, almost fell into a pit, and asked me to give her a hand.”

Shen Simin took over the conversation with a smile.

“Who fell into a pit! Damn it! This person…!”

Han Quan entered extreme blushing mode.

“Hahaha! Just kidding, just kidding.”

Shen Simin nonchalantly chuckled.

At that moment, both Chun and Han Quan’s phones rang simultaneously.

They checked their screens and exchanged a knowing glance.

“Sorry, we have something to attend to and need to leave for a bit.”

Chun looked a bit nervous.

“Yeah, yeah! We’ll be going first. Chun—”

Han Quan looked at Chun.

Chun nodded.

Then the two swiftly left the café’s outdoor booth, disappearing into the crowd in the park.

At the same time, Qing Yue’s phone, set to silent mode, started buzzing in her pocket.