Chapter 30: A Bitter Memory and a Sweet Temptation

Bai Yuliang approached the front of the classroom, where a class photo hung on the wall.

He had once believed that this photo would evoke beautiful memories in the future. Now, however, Bai Yuliang felt only a profound sense of desolation.

“Here… Asakura Mirai is gone.”

“Behind him… Ogiwara Tai is gone.”

“Then Koda Hikari is gone, Iwata Noriko is gone, Yuto Kirigaya is gone, Maruta Tsuchiya is gone…”

“Our class, originally forty strong, now has six dead, leaving only thirty-four.”

“At this rate…”

Gazing at the empty spaces where his classmates once stood, Bai Yuliang let out a deep sigh.

“Perhaps, in less than a month, Class 3-D will be completely wiped out.”

This was not how his everyday life in Sakurashu was supposed to be.

His thoughts drifted back to the day the photo was taken. It had been a rare, beautiful sunny day, with cherry blossoms in full bloom and a gentle breeze caressing them.

The newly enrolled high school students stood together shyly. Being taller, Bai Yuliang had taken a position slightly in the back, yet his gaze lingered, unable to pull away from a beautiful and adorable figure in front.

Pink cherry petals had fallen onto the girl’s shoulder, vying for beauty with her hair.

As if sensing his gaze, the girl had turned her head, adopting a haughty and disdainful expression. Bai Yuliang couldn’t help but chuckle, seemingly displeasing her.

He later learned that the girl was Qichuan Feng, the school idol of that high school.

Although that little girl often troubled him, those ordinary days felt far more reassuring than the present ones.

And she hadn’t been wrong; he really did often steal glances at her.

The innocent youthful aura she carried, an enchanting scent, held a fatal allure for Bai Yuliang.

[If you protect me, I’ll give you more… more of these things later.]

Rubbing his lips, Bai Yuliang seemed to recall that very taste.

‘Was it worth it?’

“Alas… Bai Yuliang, Bai Yuliang, how did you so muddle-headedly agree to that girl’s request?”

Amidst his lament, he seemed to recall memories from his past life.

“You once swore to your patriarch… that your words would be your bond for this entire life.”

Shaking his head, he pushed those thoughts away, intending to leave the classroom and clear his mind with a walk around the school during lunch break.

However, the moment he stepped out, he suddenly caught a scent that was intimately familiar.

“Yuliang.”

Following the direction of the voice, Bai Yuliang saw Nishionji Mitsuki standing quietly in the sunlight at the stairwell around the corner, holding a book. The sunlight fell upon her soft legs, encased in black stockings, radiating a captivating glow.

“Keep going. I believe you can definitely find a way to escape this deadly assignment.”

Nishionji Mitsuki approached him with her slender long legs and handed him a booklet.

“What is this?”

“The school’s student roster. Perhaps looking at this will help you.”

“Where did you find it?”

“As class representative, isn’t it easy for me to get my hands on something like this?”

A slight smile played on Nishionji Mitsuki’s lips, and a cunning glint shone in her azure eyes.

In that moment, not even her glasses and bangs could conceal her beauty; she was like a flower quietly blooming.

The familiar fragrance grew stronger, making Bai Yuliang’s consciousness waver slightly.

When he regained his senses, Nishionji Mitsuki had already departed, but her scent seemed to linger in the air, refusing to dissipate.

****

During his lunch break, Bai Yuliang went to the rooftop, preparing to examine the student roster given to him by the class representative.

Although the rooftop was still locked today, it was no match for Bai Yuliang’s relentless assault with a toothpick. After just a few pokes and jiggles, the lock helplessly surrendered once more.

“Oh… you’re here too.”

Just as he was about to open the student roster, Bai Yuliang heard a soft, sweet voice beside him.

He looked up to see Qichuan Feng, holding a small pink bento box, half-crouching and looking at him.

“Yeah, just came up for some air,” Bai Yuliang said, giving her a gentle smile. “The classroom was a bit too smelly earlier… er, no, I shouldn’t mention that.”

The recent scene of torture had been too disgusting; he didn’t want to ruin her appetite.

“What’s that?”

Qichuan Feng slightly adjusted her skirt and gracefully knelt beside Bai Yuliang, pointing curiously at the book in his hand.

“It’s the student roster, the class representative gave it to me…” Bai Yuliang suddenly exclaimed in realization, “Oh, so that’s how it is!”

“What?” Qichuan Feng wore a puzzled expression.

“This student roster records the names and photos of every student in every class for the past twenty years of our high school! If, and I mean *if*, this death assignment situation appeared before our generation…”

“Then the number of students from previous years would definitely show abnormal fluctuations!” Qichuan Feng also understood.

“Exactly, I hadn’t thought of that before…” Bai Yuliang couldn’t help but sigh. “It seems the class representative is truly impressive; not only is she beautiful, but she’s also brilliant.”

Qichuan Feng had just opened her pink bento box, but upon hearing his words, her body strangely stiffened for a moment.

“Yuliang-kun…”

Just as Bai Yuliang was about to open the student roster, Qichuan Feng’s breath suddenly brushed against his ear.

The loli school idol had leaned in abruptly, so close that she was practically biting his ear. Her breath, unrestrained, struck his sensitive ear canal, causing Bai Yuliang’s body to jolt as if electrocuted.

“Uh… what is it?”

Bai Yuliang looked at her nervously, for she was staring intently at him, her seemingly normal gaze revealing an indescribable intensity.

Qichuan Feng spoke in a gentle tone completely unlike her usual voice: “It looks like you didn’t bring a bento box. Don’t you want to eat something?”

“Ah, indeed, I lost my appetite because of what happened earlier, but now that you mention it, I am actually a bit hungry.” Bai Yuliang rubbed his stomach, feeling it empty. “I’ll sort it out later, for now…”

“No, here…”

Qichuan Feng knelt before him, shyly opening the pink bento box on her lap. Inside was an exquisite and luxurious unagi kabayaki dish.

“The chef at home prepared this meal this morning, using excellent Sakurashu eel. While it tastes wonderful, I can never finish it all…”

Qichuan Feng extended her small bento box towards him, her fair wrist peeking slightly from her sleeve, so pale that the faint blue veins were visible.

“Could you help me eat some?”

Her clear, loli-like voice, almost impossible to refuse, made Bai Yuliang’s heart pound.

And when he met her watery, pleading gaze, peering through her pink hair, he gave his answer without hesitation.

“Since it’s a request from Miss Qichuan, I naturally… cannot refuse.”

He instinctively reached for the utensils, but the loli school idol suddenly picked up a piece of eel and placed it into his mouth.

“Eh?”

‘Why are you eating it yourself?’

As he stood there stunned, Bai Yuliang suddenly caught another scent.

But this time it was different; it was a faint, delicate scent belonging to a much younger girl, a stark contrast to the class representative’s intense fragrance.

“Haaah…”

With a sweet exhalation, Bai Yuliang’s teeth were suddenly pried open by an unexpected attack. With a simple slide, the soft dish was delivered into his mouth.

Yet, after the dish, something else soft seemed to playfully wiggle in his oral cavity, exuding a sweetness no less delightful than the eel sauce.

“Mmm…”

Like a lightning strike, his mind went blank, and he became so rigid he forgot to breathe.

When he came to, the little girl was kneeling gracefully beside him, meticulously wiping his mouth.

“This is… for today,” Qichuan Feng said in a very faint voice, lowering her head, a hint of embarrassment in her tone.

“Uh… mm.”

Bai Yuliang could only respond mechanically now.

“May I ask a question?”

“Please… please do.”

“Yuliang-kun, in your eyes…”

The little girl took a deep breath, hesitated for a long while, and finally mustered her courage, speaking in a nervous, trembling voice.

“Between me and Nishionji-san… who is cuter?”