Chapter 1: The Otaku and the Belle’s Taunts

“Hey, hey, I’m talking to you, you useless otaku. What are you spacing out for?”

“Ah, my apologies.”

Bai Yuliang snapped back to reality from his thoughts, offering an apologetic smile to the girl before him.

Standing there was an exceptionally pretty and petite young woman.

This was Qichuan Feng, the campus belle of Kyoto’s Luonan High School and the second daughter of the illustrious local Qichuan family.

Her family, the Qichuan, was an ancient lineage in Sakura State, and their children often possessed unique, striking features.

As the second daughter, Qichuan Feng’s distinct traits were her peach-pink short hair and emerald-green eyes. Paired with her utterly captivating face, there was scarcely a man who wouldn’t fall under her spell.

Though Bai Yuliang also admired her beauty, he found himself thinking…

“Hmph, you worthless otaku, can you not come to class so early from now on?”

Qichuan Feng slapped her hand forcefully on the desk, leaning slightly closer.

“Every day, if I arrive even a little early, the first person I see is you, a commoner. To be honest… it really ruins my mood.”

A look of utter disdain marred Qichuan Feng’s features.

“You clearly look like a shut-in, you’re not particularly handsome, nor are your grades outstanding. Why do you come to class so early every day? I strongly suspect you’re trying to peek at girls’ legs under their skirts as they walk in!”

‘They are quite lovely, it’s true,’ Bai Yuliang thought, ‘but that’s truly not the main reason.’

‘Perhaps, just perhaps, there might be a tiny bit of truth to it…’

“I’m just used to waking up early. Does that offend you, too?”

“Then develop a habit of sleeping late and waking late!” Qichuan Feng retorted, crossing her arms and looking down her nose at him. “Every time I arrive early and sit down, I always feel a disgusting gaze from behind me. It must be you, you useless otaku commoner, peeking, right?”

“Huh?”

‘I might have glanced a bit,’ Bai Yuliang thought, ‘but it’s not as exaggerated as you make it sound. Besides, aren’t you dressing so adorably precisely to be looked at?’

‘You yourself groom your hair perfectly every day, apply fragrant lotion to your neck, and wear slightly sheer white pantyhose under your short skirt, which sways alluringly, making my eyes go blurry.’

‘Aside from me, which man could possibly withstand such a test!’

“Don’t pretend. I know exactly what boys your age are like! Do you have any idea how much pressure I’m under during these ten-plus minutes alone with you every day? Moreover, for a worthless otaku like you, being able to speak this much to me is practically a reward, isn’t it?”

Qichuan Feng scoffed, gazing at him with an air of superiority.

“In any case, I hope I won’t see you when I come early tomorrow.”

Then, she slowly pressed her small leather shoe onto Bai Yuliang’s instep, playfully grinding it.

‘Is this tiny bit of force supposed to be a reward?’ Bai Yuliang thought.

But…

“You wouldn’t want to be isolated in class, would you, Bai Yuliang from Shenzhou?”

At these words, Bai Yuliang visibly tensed.

Seeing the reaction she desired, Qichuan Feng showed a satisfied expression, lightly adjusted her hair, turned, and took her seat.

Watching those legs, encased in white stockings, move away, Bai Yuliang knew his expression had likely pleased her. He sighed inwardly.

‘These kids nowadays…’

‘How did they all turn out like this?’

The reason for his lament was that Bai Yuliang wasn’t originally from this world.

Though his memories were somewhat hazy, he knew that long ago, he had been a Taoist in a place called Zhongyuan.

Zhongyuan, while a land of spiritual significance and outstanding people, also attracted ghosts and malevolent spirits.

To ensure safe travels, people often needed to hire capable Taoists for protection.

Bai Yuliang had made a living in Zhongyuan relying on his half-baked Taoist skills.

However, perhaps even Heaven couldn’t tolerate his shoddy abilities. One day, he suddenly felt a pang in his heart, only to wake up and find himself in a place called Sakura State.

This place was utterly different from the Zhongyuan he knew. Everything, from the local customs and traditions to the language, presented a massive disparity. Only ancient texts’ descriptions of the land of Dongying bore a slight resemblance.

Fortunately, relying on some additional memories that appeared in his mind, he quickly adapted to his new surroundings.

In this place, despite slight differences in appearance, his name was still Bai Yuliang, and he now made a living as a ‘high school student.’

‘Just bear with it,’ he thought. ‘Consider it a test of my Taoist heart.’

Although Qichuan Feng’s words had just now stirred his Taoist heart, making his fists clench with the urge to immediately give this girl a harsh lesson with a stick, he held back.

He couldn’t act on it, nor could he afford to.

No matter the place, people were always divided into different social strata.

Firstly, Qichuan Feng was, after all, the daughter of a prominent family. As a mere commoner student, if he were to lay a hand on her, he would likely have to prepare for a very miserable end.

Secondly, despite the little girl’s verbal taunts and occasional bullying, this hardship was still far better than his past life.

Of course, perhaps a part of the reason was simply how truly adorable the little girl was.

He also quite enjoyed being ‘pinched’ by girls—physically, of course.

As time passed, students gradually arrived in the classroom. During this, Bai Yuliang found it impossible to concentrate, irresistibly stealing a few extra glances at his female classmates’ JK uniforms.

‘Sakura State is truly open, unlike conservative Zhongyuan,’ Bai Yuliang mused. ‘Even rich young ladies can wear such revealing clothing in the same room as men.’

‘I truly didn’t come to the wrong place,’ he sighed inwardly. ‘To feast my eyes like this every day is quite good.’

“Yuliang-kun, you can’t keep going on like this.”

When collecting homework, Nishionji Mitsuki, the class representative responsible for the task, looked at Bai Yuliang with concern.

“I’ve found your homework unfinished several times. If this continues, the teacher will definitely make you attend a three-way meeting…”

“Mhm, I know,” Bai Yuliang said very sincerely. “I’ll definitely finish it next time.”

His gaze lingered on Nishionji Mitsuki for a moment.

Nishionji Mitsuki was the class representative and, aside from academic matters, generally didn’t socialize with classmates.

Because she always wore her hair in braids, had dense bangs, and large glasses, Bai Yuliang couldn’t quite discern what the girl truly looked like.

His main impression of Nishionji Mitsuki was that she seemed to be very sensitive to cold.

Consequently, she always preferred to wear black pantyhose to school.

Pantyhose were truly a wonderful thing, feeling even better than silk to the touch. Most importantly, when girls wore them, it felt like they were both wearing something and yet not.

Especially when they were torn…

“‘Next time for sure’—you’ve said that many times already, you know.”

As Bai Yuliang’s thoughts drifted, Nishionji Mitsuki had already stacked the homework neatly.

She spoke with a regretful tone, “If you don’t study hard, you’ll end up sweeping the streets in the future. This is the last year of high school, Yuliang-kun, you… Oh, never mind.”

Watching Nishionji Mitsuki’s retreating back as she walked towards the podium, Bai Yuliang rubbed his chin in slight confusion.

‘Why do I always feel like this girl is a bit… Oh, never mind, I won’t think about it.’

Bai Yuliang gave up on thinking, clasped his hands behind his head, and waited with a resigned expression for the class bell.

‘Anyway, I must have accumulated perfect merit in my previous life to be surrounded by so many women now. Why bother thinking so much? It’s pointless.’

Although sparring with these rich young ladies every day was amusing, these girls were still too immature.

Lolis and mature women—the bustier ones were always better.

So, the women of the pleasure quarters were probably more suitable for him.

Now, he no longer needed to cultivate Taoist arts that required a pure ‘boy body’ to use.

Graduating early and heading there to break his abstinence was the real priority.

Such were Bai Yuliang’s thoughts, but all his future plans changed with the sound of the morning class bell…