With a *whoosh*, the dilapidated wooden door, clearly neglected and rarely maintained, slid open under Chu Xin’s hand.
He poked his head inside, observing that no one paid him any mind as they continued their sparring.
The sharp *clack* of bamboo swords echoed from the tatami mats, accompanied by the spirited shouts of the girls.
The cool-headed club president stood with her bamboo sword held horizontally, leaning against a central dojo pillar, her eyes closed in meditation. Her long, pink hair fell loosely, obscuring one side of her face.
She was a third-year, and aside from her, the Kendo Club only had two second-years. Including Chu Xin and his neighbor, there were just five members in total.
At the very center of the dojo, a large character for ‘Dao’ was emblazoned in bold, flowing calligraphy.
On either side of the ‘Dao’ character, two phrases were written: ‘Strengthen the Body’ and ‘Foster Friendship’.
To the left was the changing room, shared by both the Kendo and Judo Clubs. Though the dojo wasn’t new, it was spacious enough to accommodate activities for both clubs.
However, the primary reason it could accommodate them was that, even with Chu Xin’s infrequent attendance, the Kendo Club only had five members. Despite kendo requiring ample space, four people didn’t truly need that much.
Chu Xin wasn’t sure if this style of dojo belonged to the ‘Sakura’ culture of his previous life or his own country’s.
The girls’ movements, beyond their bamboo swords and uniforms, carried the distinct shadow of forms from his past life’s country.
This was likely due to the original setting being a ‘grand fusion’ of cultures.
After a quick scan of the room, he sighed. ‘So it’s still like this, isn’t it?’ Though he rarely came, he knew that the so-called ‘Monday routine meeting’ had once again been supplanted by practice.
Strangely, the self-proclaimed ‘childhood friend’ was nowhere to be seen, nor were the enthusiastic girls from the Judo Club present in the activity room.
‘Still, it’s probably for the best if that ‘childhood friend’ isn’t here,’ he mused. ‘At least I won’t have to deal with that troublesome person.’
The two senior students sparring had already noticed his rare arrival, yet they remained engrossed in the dance of their hands, offering no greeting.
He slipped off his shoes and stepped onto the tatami, carefully dodging the sparring members to avoid accidental injury, and walked directly towards the club president.
However, the moment Chu Xin stood before her, the club president, still with her eyes closed, sensed his presence. “You’ve arrived, experimental student.”
Chu Xin paused, slightly taken aback, then settled opposite the president. “I’m here, President.”
Silence descended between them, neither knowing what to say. After all, the words they had exchanged could be counted on one hand.
For some inexplicable reason, Chu Xin felt their conversation had an odd, almost ‘chuunibyou’ quality to it.
He gazed at the president, who remained leaning against the pillar, eyes closed in contemplation. ‘Now’s my chance,’ he thought. ‘Before that ‘childhood friend’ shows up, I should just get it over with and say I want to withdraw.’
Besides, since he had barely attended any club activities, his departure wouldn’t affect anyone else.
But just as Chu Xin was about to speak, the president opened her eyes, picked up her bamboo sword, and stood. “Everyone’s here, then. Let the meeting begin.”
Chu Xin was bewildered. ‘Wasn’t that person who calls herself my childhood friend still missing?’
‘And wait, were the previous meetings always cancelled for sparring because I wasn’t here?’ he wondered.
As the president’s words faded, not only did the two senior students nearby halt their sparring, but urgent footsteps sounded from behind Chu Xin, accompanied by the distinct *whoosh* of a bamboo sword slicing through the air.
Hearing the commotion, Chu Xin quickly rose and stepped back, nearly colliding with the president behind him. Fortunately, she deftly sidestepped, narrowly averting an accidental fall.
A resounding *thwack* echoed from the spot where Chu Xin had just been standing, as a bamboo sword struck the tatami.
Chu Xin regained his footing, turned to face the source of the noise, and exclaimed, “Hey, that was really dangerous!”
The girl who had struck the tatami possessed cool brown, naturally wavy hair tied into twin ponytails. Her delicate features sparkled with the lively, energetic spirit of an athlete.
Despite her height of 158cm, she wielded a bamboo sword over a meter long. Her seemingly underdeveloped physique was, in fact, perfectly harmonious on her.
Her slender, fair neck, so inviting one might want to lick it, was glistening with sweat, yet it was as tempting as freshly washed fruit.
She appeared to have just changed out of her kendo uniform, now dressed in Maria Academy’s school uniform. Her legs, visible beneath her skirt, though not long, were remarkably fair and slender, yet shapely, sculpted by her dedication to kendo—a unique charm. If she were to wear white opaque tights, she would undoubtedly be even more captivating.
Overall, she perfectly embodied Chu Xin’s imagined image of a twin-tailed, ‘loser’ childhood friend.
This was Jiang Qianhe, Chu Xin’s neighbor, who often referred to herself as his ‘childhood friend’. In reality, aside from Chu Xin’s knowledge of her tsundere personality from the original story, they had no interaction whatsoever before he was fostered by the Su family.
Seeing that she hadn’t hit Chu Xin, she clicked her tongue and muttered, “Tch… didn’t hit him?”
Chu Xin saw her lips move and frowned, asking, “What are you doing? That was really dangerous just now…”
Even the club president frowned slightly. Chu Xin had expected her to defend him, but to his surprise, she spoke up for Jiang Qianhe’s sneak attack. “Qianhe, why would you ambush someone during a spar? You should fight honorably!”
The two senior students around them nodded in deep agreement with the president, their faces alight with ‘fangirl’ expressions.
‘This club is hopeless,’ Chu Xin thought, staring blankly at them. ‘It seemed so normal when I first walked in.’
Upon hearing the president’s words, Jiang Qianhe curved her lips into a slight smile, revealing a tiny canine tooth. “It’s fine, President. Xiaoxin is so strong; he won’t mind.”
Before a somewhat bewildered Chu Xin could react, she raised her bamboo sword and pointed it at him. “Of course, it’s a spar with you! You didn’t think I was just venting my emotions because I haven’t seen you in so long, did you? You might be thinking a little too highly of yourself.”
‘Here it comes. I knew it,’ Chu Xin thought to himself. ‘This classic tsundere trope, combined with her self-proclaimed ‘childhood friend’ status, always expressing her true feelings through reverse psychology.’
‘Such a typical character, almost every slice-of-life romance has this attribute, to varying degrees.’
‘But if only she were as straightforward as she appeared,’ he mused. ‘Shortly after Chu Xin started interacting with her, she used the excuse of ‘taking care of her childhood friend’ to sneak over frequently in the middle of the night. The occasional glint in her eyes, however, was eerily similar to that of a legendary ‘sadist’, sending shivers down Chu Xin’s spine.’
Seeing Chu Xin remain silent, Jiang Qianhe, whose eyes were solely fixed on him, puffed out her cheeks, then thrust her bamboo sword forward, nearly hitting Chu Xin. He barely managed to dodge in time.
Chu Xin retorted irritably, “What are you doing?”
Unexpectedly, Jiang Qianhe’s voice softened, and a faint blush crept onto her face, though her words grew firm in the next breath.
“Don’t you… have anything to say to your long-unseen girlf—childhood friend?!”