Chapter 2 – Where the Flame Tree Perches

“Sit? I’ve already wiped it down.”

Chongzong pointed at the chair for Uesugi Yui, then sat down on the wooden bed himself.

“So… as expected, you’ve got a lot to explain to me, right?”

Uesugi Yui sat, facing him head‑on. Her gaze didn’t dodge at all; it was like the blinding white light during a police interrogation.

Chongzong didn’t have the kind of open conscience it took to meet that stare right now...

“Yeah… it’s a long story.”

So he could only make a decision.

He’d been ducking and weaving for so long, lying over and over. If he kept spinning stories, it’d only get more exhausting—plus he’d lose Uesugi Yui’s trust.

If Yui had been a guy classmate like Eiji Hayamizu, he might’ve had ways to play it off. But she was the “sister” he had to live with day in, day out. That left him with almost nothing but surrendering and confessing everything.

“It’s fine, take your time. We’ve got all day.”

“Mm…”

—It’s not like I ever thought I could run from this anyway.

Chongzong swallowed and started his long confession.

“You might not believe what I’m about to say, but every word is true.”

“The cruise we took here had a bomb planted on it. But the bomb wasn’t targeting the ship—it was targeting me.”

“The one who came up with that plan, as far as I know, is this middle‑aged guy who uses a gigantic longbow…”

When it came to Ito Shinran, Chongzong unconsciously left out his name. He had this feeling that saying it out loud would jinx everything—not just drag Ito Tomono into it, but maybe even ruin the whole overseas training camp.

“And there was another guy with him, this built‑like-a-monster dude. I’m pretty sure they’re working together. He called himself something like ‘Atlas Brown Bear’. I fought him once. I was completely outclassed and only barely got away.”

“How did you even end up running into people like that? And when?”

Originally, Chongzong only meant to talk about the parts connected to the ship incident. But Uesugi Yui immediately sensed that wasn’t the whole story. With her timely questions, he had nowhere to hide and had to lay everything out.

Fifteen minutes later.

“Never thought something like this would happen to someone right next to me… You don’t think this plot is a bit ridiculous yourself, Chongzong?”

She didn’t shoot his story down right away. She actually tried to believe him, even though what he’d said was so far beyond normal.

“Do you have to ask the victim that? It’s not like I went looking for trouble.”

“I was just complaining a bit. Why so eager to deny it… Anyway, if all this is true, don’t you think it’s weird?”

Talking about accepting it as fact, she still used an ‘if’. Chongzong understood. Stuff like this wasn’t something you could swallow easily.

Especially when it was just two middle schoolers talking.

“What’s weird about it?”

He actually knew what felt off. But he wanted to hear her take, so he played dumb for a moment.

“If they’re after your life, instead of going through all that effort setting up some elaborate trap, wouldn’t it be way more efficient to just pick a time when you’re alone and ambush you? You’re just a middle schooler. There’s probably a thousand ways they could get rid of you.”

“Yui‑nee, hearing you say that in such a matter‑of‑fact tone is kinda hurtful…”

“It’s just the truth. Don’t take it personally.”

Facing that casually cruel remark, Chongzong honestly felt pretty bad.

Being weak is one thing—you can know it yourself. But having someone else spell it out hurt a lot more.

Still, that wasn’t a reason to beg for sympathy. He forced out two awkward laughs, covering that flash of weakness just now.

“…Hahaha, Yui‑nee’s right. I really do need to train more.”

“Don’t make that tragic face. A man’s gotta face his shortcomings head‑on!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…”

“So, all that trouble they went to—what do you think it was for? Ever thought about that?”

—Of course I have.

But he didn’t say that. He just stayed quiet and gave a wry smile.

Just like she said, Ito Shinran’s method was way too roundabout.

She had a point: nothing in this world happens without a reason. If something looks like coincidence, it’s usually just because you’re not seeing the whole picture.

He’d actually managed to grab Ito Shinran once, but he hadn’t gotten anything useful out of him. Even so, Chongzong felt like he’d at least picked up a hint.

If Ito Shinran and the others weren’t trying to kill him, but had some other objective, all that elaborate circling around would start to make sense.

So in what situation would someone push a person to the brink of death without wanting to actually kill them?

That was the key he was stuck on.

And he wasn’t stuck because there were no answers—but because there were too many possible answers.

“I’ve thought about it. But I’ve got nothing.”

“Yeah… figures. Stuff this far outside normal life… it’s no wonder.”

Uesugi Yui let out a long sigh, like she were the victim instead of him. That sincere concern warmed him inside. They’d only known each other a few months, but she already felt like a real big sister he’d grown up with.

On the other hand, they’d both silently abandoned one option: calling the police, or going to teachers or parents. It’s not that it never crossed their minds. They’d thought about it—and then deliberately chose to avoid it.

Like kids who discover aliens. Before they tell any adults, they usually give up first, convinced no one will believe them.

“So, one last time: you’re really not joking?”

Her voice dropped as she made a final confirmation.

“I’m not joking. Everything I said already happened.”

Since he’d started, he might as well trust her. As a little brother, he could lean on his sister a bit.

“Is that so… Hah. Stuff like this really does happen, huh. Just like in movies or novels, completely unbelievable.”

She tilted her head and muttered at the empty air, then let out a long breath.

“…But since we’re already abroad, we can relax a little now, right?”

She tested the waters. Her face didn’t look relaxed at all.

“Yeah. I think so too.”

He shoved his doubts aside for the moment and agreed lightly.

The only reason he’d kept quiet before was because he didn’t want to drag anyone in. Now that he’d chosen to tell her, he had to act on that decision too. And like he’d hoped, Uesugi Yui eased her tense expression and actually showed a bit of a smile.

“Honestly, I don’t really care whether you tell me the whole story or not. But just saying some of it out loud like this—even if it doesn’t help in any real way—it makes you feel a lot better, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. Thank you.”

Having a reliable big sister like this really was a blessing.

“So, we can say this matter’s more or less wrapped up for now?”

“Yeah. More or less.”

“Then get a good night’s sleep and be ready for training camp tomorrow!”

And with that, since the day they met, their first real conversation as “siblings” came to an end.

*

Well, that’s what they said.

But teenagers always have all sorts of problems.

Like right now.

Uesugi Yui had just opened Chongzong’s door to leave when she ran straight into Ito Tomono.

Which is exactly why the words “Chongzong’s room” needed to be emphasized in that last sentence.

“Ah, Yui‑senpai…?”

Ito Tomono had been about to knock. But before her hand reached the door, it opened from inside—and the one who came out wasn’t Chongzong, but Uesugi Yui. For a moment she panicked and froze, confusion all over her face, the hand that was about to knock still hanging in midair.

Compared to her, Uesugi Yui was way more natural.

Here’s where you see the difference between someone with a guilty conscience and someone who’s completely at ease.

“Mm? What’s up, Ito?”

“N‑nothing, I just… wasn’t expecting Yui‑senpai to come out of Uesugi‑senpai’s room, you scared me a bit.”

“Oh? I’m doing rounds, checking everyone’s cleaning. Is your room done yet, Ito?”

She didn’t even pause to think, just tossed out a perfectly reasonable excuse, sounding totally righteous and not guilty in the slightest. Listening from inside, Chongzong could only sincerely admire her.

“Uh—mm—more or less, I guess.”

Ito Tomono mumbled, unable to meet Yui’s eyes.

Side by side, the difference was obvious.

“This is the room you’re gonna be living in, you know. If you just half‑ass it, you’re the one who’ll suffer for it, so no slacking off.”

“Y‑yes, ma’am.”

“Mm~ Oh right, you needed something from Chongzong?”

“Kinda… actually, not really. I was just passing by and thought I’d say hi.”

She forced a smile, trying to bluff her way through.

“Oh~ then go on in. I won’t get in your way~”

With a sly grin, Yui patted her shoulder and headed off.

If you pictured that exchange as a battle between two armies, it was actually pretty fun. Ito Tomono’s forces accidentally discovered Yui’s troops, who were in a tactically bad position. She tried to use the element of surprise for a decisive strike—only for Yui’s army to counter instantly, wiping Ito Tomono’s side out instead.

—As expected of Yui‑nee. She even managed to completely blunt the edge of someone as strong‑willed as Ito Tomono.

Chongzong couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for Tomono. Crossing swords with Yui was pure bad luck.

And that wasn’t even the end of it.

After Yui left, Ito Tomono was the one “left behind,” and her situation was beyond awkward.

She sneaked a glance into his room—and just happened to lock eyes with him. She jerked her gaze away like she’d been shocked.

Of course, that was only how it felt to her.

As for Chongzong, he was just confused why she was standing in the doorway, neither coming in nor leaving. He had no idea what she was trying to do.

“Not coming in?”

He called out to her at the door.

“Hmph, you think I’ll just walk in just because you tell me to? I’m not that easy, you know!”

She tossed that line out, whipped her head away, and stalked off…

—Did Ito Tomono’s personality just unlock a new trait…?

He really hoped it was just his imagination.

The old man in his heart let out a weary “ha, ha, ha.”

*

A few hours later, everyone finally finished cleaning.

Once you’re done with work, you wanna treat yourself to food and drinks—that’s human nature, no matter the country or race.

“What are we having for lunch?”

“I wanna eat Chinese food~”

“Yeah, seriously. We finally made it here, we’ve gotta try real local Chinese food!”

“Mapo tofu~ mapo tofu~”

“Tianjin fried rice~ hey! Tianjin fried rice~ hey~!”

“Jiao~zi~ jiao~zi~”

“Garlic chive pork~ stir‑fry~ oh!”

“Almond~ tofu~ hey!”

“Shrimp dumplings~ pop~ steamed dumplings~ yo!”

“Verb big mercy—verb big mercy—yeah!”

“Fried noo~dles~ fried noo~dles~ fried fried fried noo~dles~ mmm mmm mmm!”

One shout after another, and before anyone realized it, everyone’s inner foodie had awakened. Someone even managed to cross racial lines and awaken a full‑on Black rap talent!

Seeing this horde of food maniacs about to charge down the mountain and rob innocent civilians of their lunch, Uesugi Yui stepped in right on cue.

“You guys… aren’t you getting a little too hyped?”

“You came all this way just to turn into a pack of gluttons, you idiots!”

“Before lunch, we’re doing field adaptation training!”

Three sentences. That was all it took. Every foodie on-site got instantly shut down, and the rappers and hecklers all quietly closed their mouths.

“…Yees~…”

Reluctant and grumbling, the Kyudo Club members dragged their feet as they filed into the dojo.

While the students were back in their rooms cleaning up, the club’s supervising teacher and the accompanying Mayumi Araki joined the staff of Cloudtop Rock and gave the building used as the kyudo hall a full, top-to-bottom cleaning. Since kyudo wasn’t popular in China, this former dojo had been abandoned for decades. After their work, the place felt refreshed and new, yet still faintly carried that old, lingering scent of age.

“Alright, just like we discussed before, start your own training.”

Uesugi Yui clapped her hands and stood at the edge of the range, urging the members to begin their individual drills. Because they were short on time, this adaptation practice was done in casual clothes—they didn’t even change into official kyudo uniforms. Even so, that solemn kyudo aura still seeped out from everyone as they trained.

The only one left standing on the sidelines, not knowing what to do, was Chongzong.

Honestly, because of all kinds of big and small hassles, Chongzong’s entry into the Kyudo Club had ended up ridiculously complicated, and he hadn’t even officially started beginner training yet.

So right now, he was just standing there alone, doing nothing, watching.

Uesugi Yui quickly noticed something was off and walked straight over to him.

“Ito didn’t tell you what you should be doing?”

“Uh… no.”

The two of them started looking around the dojo for Ito Tomono. They soon found her doing shahin—fixed-form practice of her shooting posture.

“Fine, I’ll handle it. It’s supposed to be my job anyway.”

Uesugi Yui took half a step back, set aside her big-sister demeanor, and put on the dignity of the Kyudo Club captain.

“Uesugi Chongzong, welcome to Donhon Municipal Middle School’s Kyudo Club. As a newcomer, I know you’re dying to grab a bow and start shooting, but that’s not happening.”

“Other clubs might let newbies feel what holding a bow is like on day one. Our club’s different.”

“According to our club’s tradition, your training for today is this…”

She pointed at something behind him.

“A flower vase worth five hundred thousand yen, weighing about twenty kilos. Raise it straight out in front of you with both hands and hold it for thirty minutes. If you give up halfway, the timer resets. As an intro drill, that shouldn’t be too hard for you, right?”

—A vase worth five hundred thousand yen, and that size is twenty kilos? Also, are you telling me this vase was shipped here from Japan by the club? This thing’s obviously been sitting here forever, right? Yui-nee, if you’re gonna lie, at least make it believable.

He put all that grumbling aside and walked up to the vase. Only then did he see the chunks of what looked like lead stuffed inside.

—Hold it straight out? Twenty kilos? For thirty minutes?

Just imagining it made Chongzong feel it was impossible. Doing this in one go? No way. At least not today.

“What’s with that face? You look like you’re dying.”

“Huh? Do I?”

—No kidding. Anyone hearing that kind of training requirement would look miserable, okay!

“Anyway, don’t push yourself too hard. Once you can handle this drill, you’ll practice footwork. Only after that do you get to hold a bow. Got any questions?”

“…No.”

“Good. Then do your best. I need to go move around too.”

“Mm.”

“Tsundere from the inside out” describes the type who says nothing on the surface but is going insane in their heart.

Right this second, that word fit Chongzong perfectly.

After watching Uesugi Yui walk away, he tried a test raise. The result was tragic. Forget thirty minutes—he couldn’t even last three.

An indescribable bitterness sprouted, grew, and bloomed inside him. He glanced at the few other boys in the dojo and realized his eye for people was hopeless. He’d never have guessed these guys, including Eiji Hayamizu, could all hold a twenty-kilo weight straight out for thirty minutes. They were basically monsters.

No wonder there were so few boys in the Kyudo Club. The bar was way too high.

Just as he was quietly despairing over this entry drill, Eiji Hayamizu walked over.

“What’s wrong, Uesugi? It’s rare to see you looking like someone died.”

“Looking like someone died? Is my face really that bad right now?”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s pretty awful.”

Hearing that, Chongzong quickly slapped his cheeks and forced a more relaxed expression.

“How about now?”

“Much better… So, what are you stuck on? Wanna talk about it?”

“Eh…”

Admitting you’re worse than other people took quite a bit of courage.

“I can’t handle the captain’s beginner training…”

He lowered his head, helpless.

“Beginner training? You mean the holding drill?”

Eiji’s face twisted in shock.

“No way. You should be pretty strong, you know?”

The more Eiji asked like that, the worse Chongzong felt, and the lower his head sank.

“Wait… I think I get it. How heavy did Uesugi Yui tell you to hold, and for how long?”

That question made something click for Chongzong too. His spirit came back for a moment and he lifted his head—yes, the one with his brain in it.

“Twenty kilos. Thirty minutes.”

“‘Beep—Eiji Hayamizu’s swear word has been censored.’ I knew something was off. So that’s it. Who the hell could hold twenty kilos out front for thirty minutes?!”

Eiji let out a deep sigh, then suddenly grinned in a weird way, his smile openly dripping with lewd amusement.

“Uesugi, your sister is really ‘spoiling’ you, huh~”

“Smack—” Uesugi Chongzong punched him in the stomach without hesitation.

“Cut the extra crap.”

“From what you just said, that means your training back then wasn’t this weight and time, right?”

“’Course not. Our setup was ten kilos for five minutes. For girls, five kilos for five minutes.”

—Now that sounded like something a human might do.

“If you’re too embarrassed to bring it up with your sister, I can go file a complaint for you.”

It was a very tempting offer. Still, Chongzong didn’t accept right away. He hesitated, then ended up shaking his head.

“Forget it, Eiji… Since Yui thinks I can do it, then I’ll just do it and show her.”

“Oh~ that’s so like…”

Eiji laughed again, this time in clear admiration.

But then—

“Huh? Since when did you stop calling her ‘Sis’ and just say ‘Yui,’ huh, kid?”

He didn’t miss the most important part.

“I was talking too fast and forgot, that’s all. Don’t nitpick over details.”

Chongzong tried to brush it off, but Eiji Hayamizu was not the type to drop something like this.

“Like hell I’ll let it slide. Don’t tell me you’ve got a thing for Uesugi Yui…”

As usual, he went straight for the jugular.

“Hm? Got a thing for me how?”

Right then, Uesugi Yui suddenly appeared behind Eiji.

Voices coming from behind were always scary—especially when you were talking about something sensitive.

“W-wait, Captain Yui, how much did you hear?”

“Heh heh, wanna know?”

She looked off toward the distance. That faraway, unfocused gaze made Eiji’s heart freeze.

“At the foot of the mountain where we came up, there’s a bus stop sign. Run down, memorize everything written on it, then come back and recite it to me. You have twenty minutes.”

That was her “punishment.”

“Th-that’s ridiculous, I object!”

Of course he objected. A round trip in twenty minutes? Even if Eiji ran like his life depended on it, he probably wouldn’t make it. But to his protest, Yui just lifted an eyebrow and coolly added:

“Object? Then maybe I’ll just take that thing you once…”

Her tone was light, but her words were nuclear.

“Ahhhh—! Don’t—! Fine, fine, fine, please don’t say it!”

He desperately tried to drown out her voice, but it was too late.

“…love letter you wrote when you confessed and read it out loud for everyone?”

It felt like the planet had just shattered under a meteor.

—So that’s the kind of explosive secret we’re dealing with…

Inside, Chongzong was absolutely shook, but his face stayed calm. He knew that if he lost his composure now, Yui would immediately turn her sights on him.

Terrifying Uesugi Yui.

Terrifying. Uesugi. Yui.

Right here, right now, she was the last person you wanted to provoke.

So he acted like he hadn’t heard anything and went back to his holding drill.

Getting involved would only get him burned.

*

Half an hour later, Eiji Hayamizu staggered back into the dojo with the last scrap of his HP bar burning away, while Chongzong, after repeatedly attempting that impossible beginner drill, had both arms so swollen and numb he couldn’t even hold a light cup without shaking.

The two middle school boys, exhausted to the point their souls felt halfway out of their bodies, lay side by side like two rotten, blackened bananas.

The sight practically smelled of decay.

“Uesugi, why doesn’t this mountain have a cable car?”

“If you want one that badly, go build it yourself.”

“Too late to build one. I seriously feel like my legs aren’t there anymore. I can’t feel them at all.”

“That’s just overuse.”

“Oh, really? Now that you say it, that kinda makes sense. When I used to jack ‘beep—censored explicit word’ too much, I also felt like my ‘beep—censored explicit word’ disappeared for a bit.”

“Exactly the same concept. Also, stop bringing up gross ‘beep—censored explicit words,’ especially between guys.”

Right in the middle of that conversation, Uesugi Yui appeared again.

“Lying around like this, you’re pathetic. You two seriously dare call yourselves men?”

Luckily, this time the content of their chat was safer than before—other than those censored words.

Even so, the trauma from the last incident made both of them shiver hard. It took them a while to recover enough to answer her jab.

“No way, I’m still a boy, y’know.” (Eiji Hayamizu)

“Never called myself that to begin with.” (Chongzong)

“Is that so? Whatever. You get fifteen minutes to rest. After fifteen, we’re heading down the mountain for dinner. If you’re late, you’re on your own.”

She tossed that out and left, two boys staring at each other in her wake.

“Didn’t think we’d have to go down the whole mountain just to eat. I’ve got this feeling that once I go down, I’ll never make it back up.”

Eiji sat up and stared at his legs like they were two sausages that had been soaked in water way too long.

“If you don’t want to go down, then starve to death up here. I’m going to shower.”

“I’ll go with you, Uesugi.”

“Stay away from me, or I’ll slice that sinful spear of yours into knife-cut noodles.”

“I don’t even know what knife-cut noodles are, but my instincts are screaming danger. Also—calling my ‘beep—censored explicit word’ a spear sounds kinda cool. I feel weirdly proud. Ha~ ha~ ha~”

At that point, Chongzong had no desire to keep dealing with this pervy guy.

*

One hour later.

Chongzong was standing alone in the now-empty courtyard, staring up at the deep blue sky, thinking it somehow looked edible.

“You’re pretty quick in the shower, Uesugi.”

Eiji finally arrived, hair still dripping.

“You’re just too slow.”

“Really? I’ve always showered at this pace. Is that not normal?”

“Ask literally anyone if they think a guy taking a full hour to shower is normal.”

“Do you even need to ask? Anyone you ask is gonna give the same answer.”

“I’m more curious how you can spend a whole hour in the shower. Don’t you get bored?”

“It’s fine~ First I rinse off, then I jerk—beep, censored—then rinse again, then jerk—beep, censored—one more time, and finally wash up properly. That’s about an hour.”

Eiji Hayamizu said it like it was the most natural thing in the world, not embarrassed at all.

“Do you shower every day, Hayamizu?”

Since it was Hayamizu saying it, Chongzong wasn’t that shocked. In fact, it kind of triggered his scientific curiosity.

“Yeah.”

“And every shower follows that exact routine?”

“Yeah.”

Chongzong let out a long, meaningful, “Oh…”

Twice a day, that’d be sixty times a month. At this rate the guy was aiming for an early death.

So Chongzong slapped Hayamizu hard on the shoulder and sighed.

“If you wanna live a little longer, you really should cut it out.”

“Huh? Cut what out?”

“Figure it out yourself. As a guy, how are you gonna survive with zero self‑control?”

“And there’s another piece of bad news.”

“What, someone was peeping on me in the shower? I don’t really care about that kind of thing.”

Ignoring that nonsense completely, Chongzong finally got to the actual bad news.

“They already went to eat without us.”

“Uh… so we’ve been ditched?”

“Yup. Got this note as proof.”

He fished a crumpled note out of his pocket.

He’d found it at the door, the handwriting clearly Uesugi Yui’s.

His emotions had spiked while reading it, which was why the paper ended up so wrinkled in his hand.

“‘We’re going ahead to eat. You guys figure it out.’—Why? Why screw us over like this for no reason?”

“Forget it. Yelling at a note isn’t gonna change anything.”

“…Agreed.”

They were just too hungry. They didn’t even have the strength to stay mad.

With their stomachs growling like crazy, as long as there was food, everything else was secondary.

A familiar taste floated up in Chongzong’s mind, something he always craved when he was starving like this.

Someone once said: sometimes what saves your soul isn’t knowledge, but a bowl of shacha noodles.

“Whatever, I’ll treat you to shacha mian.” He slipped into Minnan pronunciation under his breath: “sha-tê-mi.”

The second he said it, it was like he could already smell that unique aroma, or more accurately, recall that flavor so vividly it felt real.

“Sha…te mi? What’s that?”

But his mental imagery didn’t reach Hayamizu. To him, “shacha mian” was such a foreign word he couldn’t even picture it.

“Uh, it’s a kind of noodle.”

Chongzong had no idea how to describe it. Things you grew up with felt simple—right up until you had to explain them in detail. Then they suddenly became strangely hard to pin down. If that foodie Harumura Kana were here, she might have been able to help.

“Ramen? Soba?”

“It’s noodles, but not like ramen or soba. The flavor’s totally different.”

“So what’s it like?”

“I can’t explain it. You’ll know once you eat it. Keep asking dumb questions and I’m not taking you.”

“Last question!”

“Fine, ask.”

“Is it good?”

“Once you’ve eaten it, you can die without regrets.”

No matter how vivid you talk it up, the best way to introduce a food is still: “Just eat it.”

Hunger turned straight into fuel. They sped up from a fast walk to a jog, clattering down the mountain, caught a bus, and after a bit over half an hour they were almost there.

About ten minutes’ walk from the shop, maybe out of boredom, maybe sheer starvation, Chongzong finally couldn’t hold back a question he’d been suppressing.

“Hey, Hayamizu, lemme ask you something… if you don’t mind.”

“How am I supposed to know if I mind before you ask?”

“Why are things with you and girls such a mess? You’re super passionate chasing new girls, but totally ignore the ones already around you.”

“You ever heard people say this? That so‑called playboys are actually very devoted. They look for the tiniest details of the person they love in every girl they meet. And in the end, they find the one girl who has all those details.”

“I’ve heard it. It’s just an excuse for being a player, though.”

“Hahaha, that’s you alright. Pierced straight through it in one line.”

“The reason I’m like this is because…”

He trailed off, smiling bitterly, like he didn’t know how to explain it to Chongzong.

After struggling for a few minutes, the only answer he gave was:

“Because of my family.”

What exactly “because of my family” meant, he didn’t elaborate. So Chongzong didn’t push.

He had plenty of reasons not to pry, and one of them was simple: they’d arrived at the place to eat.

Xiamen had at least fifty or sixty “famous” shacha noodle shops. But everyone’s taste was different, so there was no universally accepted “best shacha mian.” The one Chongzong brought Hayamizu to wasn’t famous at all, but it was the shop he’d been going to since he was a kid.

The name was plain: the owner’s wife’s name plus “Shacha Noodles.” The location was average too, a little way down a narrow alley, not too deep, not too shallow. The shop was small, but the foot traffic on the street outside never stopped. Even when every seat inside was taken, business went on just fine; they’d set up extra tables by the roadside. Some regulars didn’t eat in at all and just took it to go.

The entrance was where you chose your toppings and ordered your noodles: a big pot of shacha broth, fresh ingredients piled up, and a fridge serving as a storage locker. Further in were the tables and chairs for customers. That was your standard shacha noodle shop layout.

Of course, the hygiene here couldn’t compare to Japan’s. Especially in small roadside joints like this, a few flies buzzing around was normal.

Chongzong had been used to this since childhood. But to Hayamizu, it was hard to accept. He stood at the doorway, frowning, not following Chongzong in. His face was full of hesitation.

“What’s wrong?”

Chongzong hadn’t noticed any of this, so he didn’t understand why Hayamizu was reluctant. To him, this “lack of hygiene” was part of the shop’s familiar feel, a piece of his childhood memories.

“Is it really okay to eat food from… a place like this?”

He didn’t outright say “it’s dirty,” but “a place like this” was euphemistic enough.

While he was still hung up on hygiene, the people inside had already reacted to these two kids speaking Japanese at the door.

“Hey, how come there’s little Japanese kids in here, chattering some bird language I can’t understand.”

“Who cares. They’re tourists for sure. First time seeing a shacha noodle shop, got scared by the scene.”

“Please, it’s just a little shacha joint, what’s there to be scared of…”

On one side was the familiar Minnan dialect. On the other, a very hesitant Eiji Hayamizu. Chongzong decided to end this quickly.

“Hayamizu, listen. At this point, it’s not about hygiene anymore. If we don’t eat something soon, we’re gonna starve to death right here.”

“…Yeah, but…”

“No buts. You wanna live or die? Your pick.”

“Uh… live, obviously…”

“Good. Go sit down. I’ll order for you.”

First he got Eiji settled at a table, then headed back out front to order.

He hadn’t been here in a while, so the boss’s wife didn’t recognize him at first.

“Auntie, you don’t remember me?”

It wasn’t until he greeted her directly that she squinted at him, thinking hard, and finally placed the face.

“Chongzong? That you, Chongzong? You little brat, haven’t seen you for over two months. Where’d you run off to?”

“Over two months? Auntie, you’re exaggerating. I went to Japan to study.”

“No exaggeration at all. It’s been at least two months. Auntie’s got no special skills, just a great memory!”

“This your friend?”

“Yeah. Classmate from Japan.”

“Geez, of all places you had to go study in Japan?”

“Uh… that’s a long story…”

“Forget it, as long as you’re happy. Here for noodles today?”

“Yeah. I’ll have my usual. For my friend… lean pork, sausage, meatballs, and youtiao.”

He’d originally wanted to use this chance to introduce Hayamizu to the joys of pig liver, heart, chicken blood, duck blood, and the like, but figured the guy probably wasn’t ready for that. Better to save it.

Your first bowl of shacha noodles should be a beautiful memory.

The secret of shacha mian was all in the broth. The broth was prepped ahead of time. When you ordered, they’d blanch the alkaline noodles, add broth and toppings, and that was it. In under three minutes, Chongzong was carrying two bowls back to the table.

“Here, try it.”

He hadn’t even finished his sentence before Eiji had already snapped apart the disposable chopsticks, muttered “I’m digging in,” grabbed a mouthful of noodles and slurped them down. Then he lifted the bowl and took a sip of the soup.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa—!”

Eiji practically shouted with emotion, drawing a ton of looks from inside the shop. He didn’t care. His entire being was already immersed in that bowl.

Another mouthful of noodles. Another sip of broth. Tears slid down Eiji Hayamizu’s face.

“Hayamizu… you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Then why are you crying?”

“Crying?”

He wiped his cheeks, sniffed, and said quietly,

“These aren’t tears. This is… being moved.”

Once it reached that level, no words could do justice to how good that shacha mian tasted.

If only the boss’s wife could understand the stream of praise Eiji was spilling in Japanese.

So thought Chongzong.

Sadly, she didn’t speak a word of it. All she saw was this foreigner bursting into tears after two bites and decided he was just weird.

If the “eating noodles” scene ended there, it would be underestimating Eiji Hayamizu.

Eiji Hayamizu was not a man who left women hanging.

Before the boss’s wife’s gaze even drifted away from him, he’d already noticed something was off.

So…

“Boss!”

He called out “Boss” in clumsy Mandarin. Since he was looking straight at the boss’s wife, there was no misunderstanding.

“Noodles!”

He lifted a clump of noodles with his chopsticks, raised his free left hand in a big thumbs‑up, and said:

“Oishii!” (Delicious!)

She didn’t know what “oishii” meant, but that thumbs‑up was more than enough.

“Wow, handsome and sweet‑tongued. I’ll give you an extra marinated egg!”

“Wakarimasen kedo… thanks!”

Once there was “don’t understand but looks awesome,” now there was “don’t understand but thank you” courtesy of Eiji Hayamizu.

After she dropped a fragrant braised egg into his bowl, Chongzong got his first real look at how dangerous Eiji was around women.

Didn’t matter if she was auntie‑aged, foreign, and they didn’t share a language—nothing could stop Eiji from hitting it off with the opposite sex.

Ten minutes later, they set their chopsticks down at the same time, fully satisfied.

Even if it were ambrosia itself, it couldn’t beat that post‑meal bliss.

“Thanks for the treat. I can die without regrets now, Uesugi.”

“You’re thanking me way too early. Xiamen’s got way more food that’ll make you feel like dying without regrets.”

“Seriously? Then I—wait! Uesugi, look! Cute girl coming in, three o’clock!”

One second they were talking about food; the next, Eiji’s soul had been sucked right out of him by a moe girl.

This wasn’t slander. At their hormone‑ruled age, being drawn to the opposite sex was normal. So when Eiji said “cute girl,” Chongzong turned his head too.

Chongzong turned his head a bit too late and missed the girl’s face, but judging from her back alone, she definitely had an elegant aura about her.

And there was this faint, nagging sense of déjà vu.

But for the moment, he couldn’t place where that feeling came from.

“I’ll go over and try talking to her.”

Curious to see how it would play out, Chongzong didn’t stop Hayamizu. He just sat there and watched.

With the scraps of Chinese he’d barely picked up, Hayamizu launched into his first attempt at hitting on someone in Xiamen.

He walked up to the girl and lightly tapped her shoulder.

“Ni hao~”

“Hm?”

The girl turned around. Chongzong finally saw her face—and at the same time, realized something, far too late.

Including the answer to that déjà vu.

“Hey! Don’t mess with—”

His warning didn’t reach Hayamizu in time, and it definitely didn’t beat that spinning kick.

The girl pivoted and swung her leg back. Her kick landed squarely between Eiji Hayamizu’s thighs—right where, since ancient times, common human knowledge had agreed all men shared an unavoidable weak point.

There’s this saying, made up but brutally on point about men’s weakness: normally, humans can endure a maximum of 45 del of pain (unit). When a woman gives birth, she endures 57 del—that’s like breaking 20 bones at once. But! If a man takes a hit to his balls, that pain is 9000 del, equal to giving birth to 160 kids at the same time, or snapping 3200 bones at once.

And so, Eiji Hayamizu “passed on.”

By “passed on,” it meant his soul’s temporary return to the Pure Western Paradise.

Though Eiji Hayamizu’s life was short and basically filled with chasing girls, if he happened to run into the monk Tang Sanzang and his disciples from Great Tang in that Western Paradise, he could probably still sit down and chat about life and philosophy with them.

Well then. Farewell, student Eiji Hayamizu.

“Hey~ student Eiji Hayamizu, you still alive?”

Chongzong called out cautiously to him.

Hayamizu didn’t respond at all, just clutched his balls and stayed perfectly still.

To be safe, Chongzong bent down and felt for his pulse.

Then he regret—no, gratefully realized that Eiji Hayamizu’s journey to the Western Paradise was only temporary.

“Mm… he’s still alive… it’s just that his balls’ life-force is really weak…”

Muttering to himself, Chongzong gave his diagnosis.

For Hayamizu not to complain about such a roast said enough—his balls had indeed gone west.

Meanwhile, the girl who’d delivered the fatal blow finally noticed Chongzong.

“Eh, I’m not seeing things, am I? Wait…”

“Yeah… this face…”

“Chongzong? That’s you, right?”

“No way. Why are you here?”

Someone who was supposed to be a thousand miles away suddenly showing up in a hangout spot nearby—anyone would be startled.

“Yeah, I just got here today.”

He hadn’t expected to run into her this fast either, and he was genuinely happy about it.

Yes—both “startled” and “happy.”

“You didn’t even call when you got here, you little punk…!”

Having fully learned from the lesson called “The Death of Eiji Hayamizu,” Chongzong quickly stepped back, dodging another lethal ball attack.

That was why his “startled” had quietly upgraded to “terrified.”

“Pulling that move the moment we meet is way too much, Jingyu-jie!”

“Can’t help it, it’s the only move I know.”

“Even if it’s the only move you know, you can’t just use it on everyone you see!”

“Didn’t you dodge it anyway?”

“What if I hadn’t, huh? Would you take responsibility for my balls?”

“Ugh, you’re so annoying, how can a guy talk more than me? It’s just balls!”

“Urgh…”

This girl who knew Chongzong well—Ran Jingyu—threw out her signature finishing line, “You’re a man, how can you…”, and finally won their war of words.

She walked over to him. Since Eiji Hayamizu’s body was sprawled across her path, she casually gave his (temporary) corpse another kick and booted him out of the way.

“Jingyu-jie, the guy you just kicked aside is my classmate…”

“Oh, really? Don’t hang around with trash like that, you’ll get infected.”

“Infected?”

“Yeah. With an incurable disease called ‘human scum.’”

Chongzong accepted this definition of Eiji and steered the topic elsewhere.

“Uh… Jingyu-jie, you’re here eating noodles alone?”

“Or what, you think I came to a shacha noodle shop for northern hand-pulled noodles?”

“…Right, obviously not.”

Jingyu’s nonstop nitpicking made it hard to keep the conversation going.

The noisy energy of their reunion faded, and the two of them slipped into a brief, awkward silence, neither sure what to say next.

“How long have you been back?”

Once the silence settled the mood down, Jingyu calmed and switched into normal small talk.

“I actually just got in this morning.”

“Oh, yeah? Well… half a day isn’t that long, but not contacting me is still wrong, isn’t it?”

“My bad, Jingyu-jie.”

Admit fault honestly. Apologize honestly. That was enough. Chongzong knew Jingyu wasn’t truly mad, so as long as he lowered his stance like this, things would pass peacefully.

On the flip side, if Jingyu were seriously angry, no amount of apologizing would help.

“Just remember next time.”

She ruffled his hair, and that was that.

“Hey, Jingyu-jie, are you in a hurry right now?”

“Nothing urgent. Why, wanna talk to me about something?”

Chongzong glanced back at the unconscious Hayamizu. Thinking about how few chances he’d have to be alone later, he brought up “that matter.”

If he didn’t ask now, he probably wouldn’t get another chance for a long time.

That’s what he felt.

—“Help me find out if a guy named Situ Qilian is dead or not.”

—“What are you even saying? That Situ Qilian guy’s a hot topic across the whole country right now, causing a huge scene. The police haven’t even caught him yet, and you want me to check if he’s already dead?”

Originally, the “Situ Qilian” case had nothing to do with Chongzong. But Ito Shinran had asked him to investigate it. Combined with Ito Shinran’s completely unreadable behavior, Chongzong felt that if he dug into the “Situ Qilian” case, he’d eventually figure out why Ito Shinran was going to such ridiculous lengths.

That’s why he’d turned to the genius information-gatherer, Ran Jingyu.

“Jingyu-jie…”

“Mm?”

“About that thing you asked me to look into.”

“Tch, so it was about that. I thought you wanted to pour your heart out about life or something.”

She huffed, clearly displeased. She didn’t like men, but Chongzong, this “little brother,” was a special case.

“I’m not a little kid anymore, Jingyu-jie.”

They’d known each other since they were very young, and his way of addressing her had evolved from “big sister” and “Jingyu-jiejie” to the current “Jingyu-jie.”

“Alright, about that matter… I did dig up a little.”

She was about to go on, but when she saw his eyes shining with curiosity, she couldn’t resist messing with him.

“But I’ve got other stuff to do. I’ll find another chance to go into detail next time.”

With that, she picked up her packed shacha noodles and left.

Chongzong didn’t run after her. He just stood there and called out a goodbye to her retreating back. He knew Jingyu’s personality all too well—if he chased her and begged, she’d only torment him even more.

Jingyu was a good person, sure. But she was also an extreme, twisted, sadistic S.

So the detailed follow-up on “that matter” would have to wait until next time.

Now that he’d finished his shacha noodles, the plan was to revive the dead Eiji Hayamizu and then head back to rest.

That was what he thought.

Right up until he heard the noisy conversation outside the shop.

“Yui-senpai, are you sure this is the right road?”

“Of course it is.”

“But didn’t you just lose the map? Are we finding our way by memory now?”

“It’s not memory, don’t underestimate me like that.”

“Then right now… what are you using to find the way, Yui-senpai?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

“Please enlighten me!”

“Obviously… my wild instincts!”

Hearing that, Chongzong instantly understood the state the group about to appear in front of him was in.

He couldn’t tell whether it was a blessing he hadn’t gone to eat with them, or if some encounters were just inevitable.

He really wanted to avoid running into them here.

That was, clearly, just tsundere talk.

Because while his brain was going “please don’t let me run into them,” his body had already walked outside to look for them.

Heading straight toward him was Uesugi Yui, who’d successfully led her group totally astray.

“Ah…”

“Hm?”

“What are you doing here?”

“Didn’t get full, so we wandered around a bit.”

“And then got lost without realizing it?”

“We are not lost!”

After the standard “oh wow, what a coincidence” lines, Chongzong officially entered the state called “running into a group of girls who weren’t full, wandered around looking for food, and ended up lost.”

“Alright, alright. Since Yui-sis says you’re not lost, then you’re not lost.”

“Cut it out. That tone isn’t agreeing with me, you’re obviously trying to comfort me. I don’t want that half-baked sympathy.”

“Then you can all head back on your own later, yeah?”

“O-of course we can!”

Just a few lines in, Yui had already backed herself into a corner.

The Kyudo club members behind her, realizing their leader was beyond saving, all put on pitiful puppy eyes, peeking past Uesugi Yui and appealing directly to Chongzong for help.

The only one not softening up at him was, as always, the cold Katagiri Mai.

While everyone else was stressing about being lost, she was seriously studying the Chinese characters on a nearby billboard.

“Come to think of it, why’s Uesugi-senpai here?”

While Yui was too busy bluffing to reply, Ito Tomono cut in between them.

“Because you guys ditched us, obviously. So I took Hayamizu and came here for noodles.”

“Huh? Hayamizu’s here too? I haven’t seen him.”

“He’s lying over there on the ground.”

“Eh—why’d Hayamizu pass out?”

“Because…”

Looking at Hayamizu’s peaceful face, Chongzong decided not to air his dirty laundry.

“Because the shacha noodles here are too good. They made him so happy he passed out.”

“Eh? What’s shacha noodles? They’re that good here?”

“Yeah, seriously. I’ve loved this stuff since I was a kid.”

“Yui-senpai, can we go in and try it? We walked so long, I’m starving again…”

Led by Ito Tomono, the girls all started clamoring. Uesugi Yui had no choice but to nod.

With Chongzong’s help, the group filed into the shop, all lively and noisy again.

Unlike Eiji Hayamizu earlier, the girls didn’t fuss over hygiene. Not that they cared less than he did; it was just that at this point, they were too hungry to bother.

Yui was the last to sit. While everyone’s attention was on the new discovery called “shacha noodles,” she quietly apologized to Chongzong.

“Sorry for leaving you and Hayamizu behind like that…”

“Hm? Oh, I forgot about that already. Besides, I used to live here. Something this small doesn’t even count as a problem.”

He also understood that Yui and the advisor had decided that because he was a local.

With that little misunderstanding cleared up, Uesugi Yui joined the others in their grand tasting session of shacha noodles.

Chongzong stood outside the shop with nothing to do and nothing to look at. He was just about to tilt his head back and stare at the sky he used to live under for so long (though honestly, he was just pretending to be artistic), when a familiar voice suddenly hit his ears.

“Yo, Chongzong.”

He didn’t need to hear that voice a second time, didn’t need to turn around and check the face. He already knew who it was.

“Zebe– big bro Zebe!”

He shouted the name as he turned.

“Mm. Long time no see.”

Unlike Ran Jingyu, Pang Zebei looked completely calm when he saw Chongzong, not the least bit surprised.

It was like he’d already expected to run into him here.

Pang Zebei, like Ran Jingyu, had been friends with Chongzong for many years. He was a few years older, so on top of being friends, there was also that older-brother / kid-bro vibe between them.

“I actually saw you just now. I only didn’t come over because Ran Jingyu was there.”

That was why he hadn’t been surprised.

But that wasn’t the point. There was something else in that sentence that shocked Chongzong more.

“Oh, I see… w–wait a sec!”

“Hm? What is it?”

“You just mentioned Ran Jingyu, right? What’s going on, how do you two know each other?”

Only when Chongzong asked did Pang Zebei realize he’d slipped. But he didn’t really care; it was something that would come out sooner or later anyway.

“Ah, it’s a long story. Anyway, it’s nothing fun.”

Zebei’s face twisted into a bitter look; he clearly didn’t want to get into it.

The truth was, Pang Zebei and Ran Jingyu were a bit… special.

Even though lines like “how do you even date if you’re different genders” had gradually become a kind of golden joke-level truth, in reality most people were still obsessed with “how do you fall in love if you’re the same gender” while living the happy-and-miserable life of straight people.

Pang Zebei and Ran Jingyu weren’t “most people.” They only liked people of their own gender.

In other words…

Pang Zebei was a hardcore gay guy.

Ran Jingyu was a hardcore yuri girl.

A hardcore gay guy and a hardcore yuri girl—shouldn’t they become instant soulmates?

Chongzong really couldn’t make sense of it.

Maybe their personalities just clashed to begin with. Nothing to do with who they were attracted to.

“More importantly, your friends inside seem really interested in me.”

Only when Zebei said that did Chongzong notice: the girls who’d been completely focused on their sata noodles a moment ago had already shifted their attention.

Good fortune never comes twice, disaster never comes alone.

He wasn’t sure if that ancient saying was correct or not; all he knew was that Zebei’s appearance had blown up the atmosphere on-site.

In terms of looks alone, Pang Zebei really was unmatched. He was way past the average line—so far past that people didn’t even feel jealous anymore, they could only look up and worship.

So practically every girl instantly forgot about her sata noodles. Their gazes switched straight into lovey-dovey mode.

For middle school girls, this cool, mature high schooler Zebei was basically a walking nuke.

Too bad most of the good men in this world had already gone off to be gay.

It’d already been mentioned: Pang Zebei was a hardcore gay guy.

He was one of the proud ranks of the gays. And it wasn’t an exaggeration—he was gay among gays, the fighter jet of gays, the ultimate giga-gay.

In the gay circle, everyone called him “Big Gay Bro.” That alone showed his prestige.

“So, how about we walk a bit farther before we talk?”

He made the suggestion with a smile.

“Mm…”

The two of them walked to a spot out of sight from inside the shop.

Zebei gave him a wicked grin, slung an arm around his shoulders, and leaned in close to his ear.

“Not bad, Chongzong. A few months and you’ve turned into a total stud horse.”

“Eh? How am I a stud horse?”

“Aren’t all those girls in the shop your harem?”

Only then did it hit him why he’d been called a stud horse. He’d wanted to argue, but on second thought, it was pointless.

“Heh… I’m still way behind you, big bro Zebe.”

“Heh, kid, you’re getting nastier by the day.”

Of course Chongzong knew what Zebei was hinting at. Instead of playing dumb or putting on a righteous act, it was better to just flip it and roast him back.

It was all just banter anyway.

Would he ever actually end up in a relationship with any of those girls?

He’d never really thought about it.

Probably not?

Would he?

At least for a long while after this, he wouldn’t have the time to think about it.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the students of Donhon Municipal Middle School were stuffing themselves happily.

“Uwaah~ this is~ just~ too delicious!”

“That perfect bit of spiciness mixed into this strangely fragrant broth, and these super springy alkaline noodles!”

“This meatball is huge~”

Ito Tomono picked up a meatball somewhere between beige and brown, took a big bite, and the juice trapped inside exploded out. Sitting directly across from her, freshly revived Eiji Hayamizu got hit full-on in the face.

But nobody really paid any attention to the tragically facial-ed Eiji, because on the other side…

“...Hot.”

Mai Katagiri had eaten too fast and burned her mouth. She stuck out her tongue, trying to cool it down.

She was way too cute like that, tongue out and flustered, and everyone’s attention locked onto her at once. (Which was exactly why Eiji’s, cough, “facial accident” got completely ignored.)

“Mai-chan really has a cat tongue, huh.”

“…”

Maybe she got embarrassed because everyone was staring. Mai picked up her bowl of sata noodles, slipped off to a corner table, and sat with her back to the group.

But they didn’t let her escape. Bowls in hand, they followed and sat down around her, trapping her in place. Mai was so shy she didn’t know where to put herself, and could only bow her head and quietly eat her noodles.

Even though Mai’s attitude toward people was cold, once you spent enough time with her, you’d realize she just wasn’t good at expressing herself. Her heart was actually much warmer than some people who looked kind and friendly on the surface.

Camera back to Chongzong.

“So you’re saying, big bro Zebe, you came here to eat noodles, but when you saw Jingyu-nee inside, you hid and didn’t come in?”

“Pretty much, yeah. That’s the short version.”

“Then… did I get in the way of your noodle time?”

“Come on. You disappear for a while and suddenly you’re this polite with me? I’ll just get it to go and eat later. Don’t worry about it.”

“Mm, okay then.”

“So, those girls are all your harem?”

“Why did we go in a huge circle just to come back to this topic?!”

“Hey, it’s impressive. So many girls, and you’re all hanging out together. How’d you pull that off?”

“…Do you need me to roast you here, big bro Zebe? That’s obviously impossible.”

“Impossible? You mean you can stand in a crowd of girls like that and not lose your chastity line?”

“...That’s not even a normal topic anymore.”

“So you actually don’t like girls, is that it, Chongzong?”

“So that’s what you were aiming for this whole time?!”

“Join the gay side, Chongzong. I’m sincerely inviting you.”

“I don’t care how sincere you are big bro Zebe I’m not joining just give it up okay just drop the invitation and drop this whole topic already!”

He fired that whole string of words in one breath without pausing, then sagged and started panting.

Zebei stood to the side and burst into loud laughter.

“I’m messing with you. It’s been a while since I teased you; feels great.”

“Hah… y-you’re just… ugh…”

“Oh, right. Since I ran into you, about that thing you called me about before…”

Zebei gave an awkward smile, and from that alone, Chongzong could pretty much guess how it had turned out.

What he was referring to was the favor from that phone call earlier: Chongzong had asked him to help build a road bike.

“About the bike, I’m really sorry. I might look free, but I’ve actually been pretty busy lately, so I haven’t managed to build it. If you really need one, just use the road bike I ride to and from school.”

“What about you then?”

It wasn’t an emergency to begin with, and if it was going to cause Zebei trouble, Chongzong wouldn’t feel comfortable riding it.

“Me? I’ve got this now.”

Zebei fished a set of keys out of his pocket.

“I’ve upgraded to a motorcycle.”

“…Right.”

This high-handsome-gay world of Zebei’s was on a gear progression curve that Chongzong just couldn’t keep up with.

The sunny boy—well, sunny gay—who’d still been on a bicycle a year ago was now the high-handsome gay on a motorbike.

“Then I won’t hold back. But I probably won’t need the bicycle for the next couple of days anyway, and I don’t have anywhere to park it, so I’ll contact you if I really need it.”

“It wasn’t urgent, and you still called so early to reserve this whole thing.”

“It’s called manners.”

“Talking about bikes suddenly reminds me of those days we trained stamina together, riding uphill.”

“Why are you randomly getting nostalgic?”

“Hm? Nostalgic? Guess you still don’t know me well enough, Chongzong.”

“Me~ I never forget the men from my past so easily.”

“…Don’t make it sound like I had that kind of relationship with you.”

“Hm? What kind exactly?”

“…If you keep flirting with me I’m not talking to you anymore, Pang Zebei.”

While enjoying the fun of messing with him, Zebei took a quick glance into the sata noodle shop.

“Looks like your harem is about done eating. Where to next, Stud Horse Chongzong?”

“That’s enough, Pang Zebei.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop. Don’t get mad.”

The second he heard Chongzong switch how he addressed him, Zebei immediately backed off.

“I’m not mad… Next up we should head back to the training camp.”

“Mm, then let’s call it a day.”

“Weren’t you here to eat noodles?”

“I’ve still got something to take care of. Once that’s done, I’ll come back.”

“What could be so important you can’t even eat?”

“Gay business. You straights don’t need to worry about it. I’m off.”

“Wait, one last question. How did you and Jingyu-nee even meet?”

“Ah… that (Ran) Jingyu or whatever…”

His eyebrows scrunched together like he’d just dredged up some seriously painful memories.

“For certain reasons, I’m living together with Ran Jingyu right now.”

“L-living together?!”

“Shh! Keep your voice down!”

With news that explosive, there was no way Chongzong could stay calm.

He’d been away from home for a while, and when he came back, two friends of the opposite sex who hadn’t even known each other before were suddenly living together. And they were both still in high school.

“You’re not joking?”

“Do I look like I’d joke about that?”

That kind of living arrangement would be pure bliss, roses and sparkles, to most guys. But for Pang Zebei, it probably didn’t mean anything special.

“How long?”

“Almost half a year.”

“Half a year? So basically right after I left you two moved in together?”

“Yeah… but it was just a coincidence.”

“Living with Jingyu-nee… big bro Zebe, it’s a miracle you’re still alive.”

“‘Not easy’ doesn’t cover it. I’ve never faced a trial this terrifying in my life.”

“Hang in there. Good things come to those who endure.”

“Can you say that with a straight face and not feel guilty?”

“I’m sorry… take care of yourself.”

At this point, all he could do was quietly, sadly watch Zebei walk away. Yes—sadly…

On the other side, the lost Kyudo Club members had finally wrapped up their “sata noodle appreciation session.”

With Chongzong leading the way, the lost Kyudo Club members finally made it back alive.