The Slacker and the Senior

The joys and sorrows of different people are not interconnected. While they attended class, I was slacking off.

Leaving the boisterous sports field behind, Xiu Lan made her way to a chair in the resting area. There, a girl sat, her long black hair framing luminous, large eyes, gazing listlessly at the various activities unfolding on the field.

She watched with curiosity as Xiu Lan settled onto the chair beside her.

“Hello.”

She greeted, “Did you get hurt somewhere?”

“No, I’m just a little tired.”

“Tired? But it’s only…”

‘Classes just started, didn’t they?’

The girl glanced in the direction Xiu Lan had come from. A tug-of-war competition was underway there, sunlight glinting off the straining teams, as students’ sweat and shouts wove together a vibrant tapestry of youth.

‘Could this person be isolated or bullied?’ she wondered. ‘I never thought I’d encounter something like this.’ With that thought, the girl, named Villy, couldn’t help but cast a look of pity upon the youth engrossed in their phone.

‘Wait a minute.’

‘How dare they play on their phone so openly?’

“Your stare is quite rude, you know.”

Annoyed by the persistent gaze, Xiu Lan tucked her phone back into her pocket. “I simply have poor physical fitness,” she explained. “My teacher worries I might overexert myself and cause trouble. So, every time, they just tell me to symbolically walk a few steps, then find a cool, shady spot to squat in.”

Ever since a particular physical examination, Xiu Lan had essentially bid farewell to PE class training. To this day, she could still recall the incredulous expression on the school nurse’s face when the results came in.

‘No way, how can they even be alive with this?’

Still disbelieving, the nurse had pulled Xiu Lan through several more rounds of tests. Finally, upon handing her the examination report, the nurse delivered a conclusion in a tone usually reserved for memorializing the deceased:

“Please, continue to live on, strongly.”

‘I’m still perfectly lively! Don’t just hand down a death sentence to people so casually!’

‘However, thinking about it now, I’ve probably been kept alive all this time by the [Shadow]… Should I also be grateful to the [Life-Eating Dog] for saving my life?’

“Is that… so…?”

‘Hey, hey, this sounds even worse!’

The girl roared inwardly. ‘What kind of terrible health condition could make even a teacher afraid?’ She now dared only to speak in hushed tones, terrified that too loud a voice might literally shock the person to death, which would be a truly undeserved calamity.

Unconsciously, their rapport grew, and the two idlers continued to chat desultorily in their cool, shaded corner. As they talked, they discovered their hobbies were quite similar, with both having delved into games like ‘Monster Hunter’, ‘Tiefling Party’, and ‘Elder Scrolls’.

‘What a great gaming buddy!’

With that thought, Xiu Lan, uncharacteristically, took the initiative to add a friend.

“Let me show you this picture; try not to be too scared.”

As they chatted, Villy suddenly pulled out her phone with an air of mystery, even craning her neck to peek around, wary of a teacher’s sudden ambush.

“What picture? Why all the secrecy?”

Xiu Lan looked at Villy’s phone, and her previously listless expression became exceptionally solemn.

The scene was familiar, the figures recognizable. The photograph starkly depicted the moment Huang Siying had killed a survivor in the small grove.

Though the crucial parts were pixelated, Huang Siying’s contorted body and bizarre method of killing still delivered an immense shock.

“Well, isn’t that terrifying? This picture was posted on [Gray Hunter].”

“Gray Hunter… What’s that?”

“You don’t know? [Gray Hunter] is a famous and popular channel on the internet platform!”

“They’re named ‘Hunters’ because their goal is to identify criminals within the populace and sound the alarm for ordinary citizens.”

“One administrator, known as [Robin], has repeatedly risked their life, venturing into sordid blood-drinker trading sites to expose unregistered [Blood-Drinkers].”

“If it weren’t for her efforts, I truly wouldn’t have known so many dangerous individuals were lurking among us.”

As she spoke, the girl, as if to relieve pressure, patted her flat chest and declared indignantly:

“The picture I showed you was deleted less than half an hour after it was posted on the channel, under the guise of ‘violating regulations.’ Ugh, I really don’t know what the regulatory agency is thinking. The facts are right in front of them, yet they keep promoting this so-called ‘Blood-Drinker harmlessness theory.'”

………

Xiu Lan remained silent. Ultimately, the relationship between vampires and hemophilia (TL Note: A blood disorder, often used metaphorically in web novels to refer to a craving for blood or a vampiric condition.) was inherently inseparable. Without a deeper understanding of both, she found it difficult to draw a clear distinction. Faced with the indignant girl, she could only placate her with a string of ‘Yes, yes, yes.’

Their conversation was finally interrupted by the whistle signaling assembly. Before parting ways, Villy repeatedly emphasized and reminded Xiu Lan that there might be danger at night recently, urging her to be extra careful.

By the time Xiu Lan returned to the activity area, the students had already gathered into two bustling groups, boys and girls, separated by the teacher. As the class’s most frail and sickly (?), the students had always been indifferent to his tardiness.

Except for a certain **** rich second generation who kept waving at her.

“Hmm…”

Compared to the students’ indifference, the PE teacher found himself with a headache. Regarding this ‘troublemaker’ in a sense, he had always taken a ‘hands-off’ approach, assigning him daily to slack off.

‘But if I keep him from participating in activities, won’t people think I’m isolating him?’

After staring blankly at the youth before him for a long moment, the teacher had a sudden flash of inspiration. He finally devised a compromise. Amidst the students’ jeers and Xiu Lan’s sullen expression, the teacher announced, “Alright, Liu Yu, why don’t you go join the girls’ activities?”

“Hahahahaha, I can’t believe you actually went!” Old Zheng laughed, bending over backward.

“Stop laughing. Do you still want this?”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

Xiu Lan tossed the drink in her hand to Old Zheng. Although she spoke of severing ties, she reluctantly accepted the tip when Old Zheng asked her to run an errand, for who would ever turn down money?

“Sigh.”

“What’s wrong, bro?”

“The senior student asked me to have lunch at her place.”

“Your mom’s looking for you, huh?”

Too lazy to correct his peculiar nickname for the senior, Xiu Lan rolled her eyes at him. “How do you think she manages to patiently mentor someone like me—a person with terrible grades, average looks, who often skips class, and has a poor temper and weak body?”

“I get it, bro. You’re feeling inferior; it’s a psychological issue.”

Old Zheng suddenly understood, pointing to himself. “You should learn from me. My older sister is also someone who can do anything, and compared to her, I feel like a complete waste.”

“So how did you deal with it?” Xiu Lan asked, curious.

“By not thinking about anything, of course! Just accept your place. Like me, I’m content with the status quo, just eating and drinking all day, not overthinking things.”

‘Isn’t that just ‘lying flat’ (TL Note: A modern Chinese slang term, ‘bǎilàn,’ meaning to give up, accept one’s fate, or stop trying in the face of insurmountable pressure.)? So what if that **** rich second generation has a few stinking coins? I hope you squander your family fortune soon. Then the tables will turn, and you’ll be begging to be my subordinate.’

In matters of inner darkness, Xiu Lan had always been second to none.

****

In a verdant, tree-shaded garden, Rosa and Tina sat at one side of a round dining table. This was the school’s garden restaurant, renowned for its beautiful scenery.

“Why aren’t they here yet? I’m so hungry, ahhhhh!”

“You’ve said that twenty times in the last three minutes.”

Closing her book, Rosa watched Tina rolling around on the ground, a troubled expression on her face. Although an [Elf]’s body wouldn’t pick up dust, this behavior still instinctively made her uncomfortable.

“Sigh~”

Unable to convince herself to simply stand by, she placed her book on the table, then pinched Tina’s pointed ear with her right hand, scolding, “Get… up!”

Unfortunately, while her mind might be lacking, Tina’s strength as a derived [Elf] was not to be underestimated. Following the direction of the force, she rose, then, before Rosa could react, she let out a ‘hehe’ and pounced.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

Tina’s sudden insubordination threw Rosa completely off balance. Under Tina’s powerful pounce, she tumbled backward onto the grass.

“Hmph, hmph, Mama’s scent, so sweet!”

Pinning Rosa to the lawn, Tina nuzzled and rubbed against her. Her ample chest rose and fell with her movements, pressing against Rosa.

“Pardon the interruption.”

Just like a classic trope in various anime plots, Xiu Lan arrived at the restaurant precisely when the two were entangled.

……..

Seeing the senior student, her face flushed crimson, pinned to the ground by an unfamiliar woman, Xiu Lan’s heart was profoundly shaken.

“My apologies, perhaps I’ve come at an inopportune moment.”

“No, you’ve arrived at just the right time! Waiter, serve the dishes!”

The woman who had been on top sprang to her feet, shouting loudly, her enthusiastic demeanor completely belying the sheer embarrassment of what she had just been doing.

The senior student, meanwhile, rose as if utterly broken, then hid behind the other woman, straightening her clothes.

‘Lesbians are truly terrifying.’