Chu Xin was bewildered, utterly clueless as to how the club president had found out.
The club president’s recent words had plunged the already quiet hall into an even deeper silence.
Following this profound stillness, an outcry erupted from Jiang Qianhe, whose reaction far surpassed Chu Xin’s. “Huh? Little Xin, you’re leaving the club? Why wasn’t I informed?”
She immediately rose, gazing down at Chu Xin. Though her standing height didn’t significantly exceed his seated, upright posture, her expression was stern, radiating a powerful sense of intimidation.
She adopted a distinctly “interrogative” demeanor. Gone was her usual tsundere tone, replaced by an unmistakable note of accusation.
Even Bai Cheng and Zhong Ling drew closer, reacting with profound regret. They spoke in unison, voicing their sorrow: “What a pity, experiment student. We truly thought you could become an eternal companion on our path of kendo…”
Yet, Jiang Qianhe showed no peculiar reaction to these two individuals suddenly approaching Chu Xin, whom she had already mentally claimed as her exclusive possession. There was none of her usual feeling of a beloved item being snatched away.
Her entire focus was, at present, completely absorbed by the club president’s words.
“Little Xin… why… why… why… why do you want to leave the club? Shouldn’t childhood friends be in the same club? Shouldn’t we… shouldn’t we?”
But Chu Xin paid her no mind.
‘Why does he want to escape my sight?’
‘Could it be that Chu Xin actually despises me?’
‘Then again…’
‘After all, he always avoids me, even evading a bond close enough to be called childhood friends.’
‘It’s only natural that he’ll eventually leave everything related to me, isn’t it?’
‘And then there’s that woman, Ji Yue Xuan…’
‘But… I’m so unwilling… so unwilling!’
‘Now… I suppose I have no choice but to act… Once I have his body, I can slowly reclaim his heart…’
‘Heh heh.’
‘Others don’t matter at all; I only need him…’
‘I’ll knock him out and take him home… As for the others, I’ll deal with them after Chu Xin is unconscious…’
As Jiang Qianhe finished speaking, her eyes turned vacant. She casually picked up a bamboo sword beside her and brought it down fiercely upon Chu Xin.
****
Chu Xin’s head was already buzzing, watching the chaos erupt around him, all triggered by a single sentence from the club president.
Consequently, he hadn’t heard a word of what Jiang Qianhe had just said. Meanwhile, the two senior sisters were still earnestly urging him not to leave the club.
Upon reflection, he realized leaving the club would indeed be rather difficult. If he were to truly resign, the kendo club would be left with only the two senior sisters, the club president, and Jiang Qianhe.
The minimum requirement for a club was five members. Should they fall short, they would be downgraded to an “interest group,” losing access to funding for club activities.
Compounding the issue, two clubs shared their dojo. Thus, there was a high probability that if they were demoted to an “interest group,”
even with the student council president’s presence, their reprieve would be brief. At most, it would extend for one or two weeks before ending. Jiang Qianhe had mentioned that the kendo club boasted a long history of tradition.
‘It seems it’s about to end on my watch…’
Just then, he heard a startled cry from a senior sister beside him. His scalp tingled, and in an instant, he instinctively rolled forward. Behind him, the loud thud of a bamboo sword striking the tatami reverberated.
History was repeating itself…
Yet, it seemed subtly different this time.
Chu Xin quickly turned his head to look, only to find Jiang Qianhe in a disturbing state. Her eyes were vacant as she steadily advanced towards him, a sight that brought a senior sister nearby to the verge of tears.
What was happening? He was utterly clueless. Jiang Qianhe’s appearance bore a chilling resemblance to the legendary “yandere.”
Her condition was far too unsettling. The sickly smile on her face as she clutched the bamboo sword eerily mirrored the expression of a female protagonist wielding a cleaver in an anime Chu Xin had watched in his previous life.
But Chu Xin couldn’t fathom how Jiang Qianhe had become like this. There was a strong possibility that his withdrawal from the club would lead to its demise, and for her, the place where she had invested her hopes and obsession was about to vanish. Thus, she had… broken.
He had no time for contemplation now, for Jiang Qianhe was rapidly closing in. He instinctively snatched up a nearby bamboo sword, holding it horizontally before him to block her next attack.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?” he urgently asked. “Why are you suddenly attacking? You’ve startled the senior sisters next to us! Calm down, Jiang Qianhe!”
Jiang Qianhe, however, offered no reply. Her eyes remained vacant, and her attacks relentlessly continued.
Each strike seemed to echo her unspoken “Why?”
Nearby, the club president, still seated cross-legged, sighed with a hint of resignation. ‘So it has come to this, after all?’
She had long since discerned Jiang Qianhe’s peculiar and impetuous feelings for the experiment student.
It was simply too early for them to surface so overtly.
‘Alas,’ she sighed again. ‘I was only planning to tease the experiment student a little~’
‘Who would have thought something like this would happen? Consider it a favor repaid to this adorable junior.’
‘After all, the only reason this club has lasted until now is because I’m the one who recruited members.’
She finally moved, stepping forward to embrace Jiang Qianhe, who was still relentlessly attacking. “Ah, Little Qianhe,” she said. “You know the kendo club was already on the verge of disbanding. Why go to such lengths?”
Noticing Jiang Qianhe’s fierce struggles, the president leaned in close to her ear and spoke softly, a hint of helplessness in her tone: “Little Qianhe… while I understand your feelings, by exposing them so prematurely… aren’t you going against your true intentions? Perhaps… after this failure… you might never see Chu Xin again… But if Chu Xin leaves the club… you’ll still have a chance.”
As these words entered Jiang Qianhe’s mind, “never see him again” echoed ceaselessly.
She clutched her head in agony, dropped the bamboo sword, and squatted down, crying out loudly, “I refuse!”
Only then did the club president breathe a sigh of relief. Gazing at Chu Xin, who remained on guard, an idea began to form in her mind.
She directed the two startled senior sisters to the changing room, patiently explaining, “It seems Little Qianhe got a bit carried away~ But as her childhood friend, the experiment student should be able to handle it easily, right? Let’s just step aside for now.”
The two nodded, hurrying off to the changing room.
Meanwhile, Chu Xin, who had been quietly observing, remained utterly baffled, completely unable to grasp the situation.
He finally exhaled when he saw Jiang Qianhe regain some semblance of reason after the club president spoke to her.
‘This is far too strange, isn’t it?’
‘It seems none of the women around me are normal.’
‘Still… I can somewhat understand. If something I was obsessed with was destroyed by someone I considered a “good friend,” I probably wouldn’t feel great either…’
‘However, that doesn’t mean I won’t be wary in the future. Jiang Qianhe’s sudden outburst was simply too bizarre.’
‘Coupled with her previous habit of showing up in the middle of the night for no reason, it’s truly…’
Just as Chu Xin was on the verge of finding an answer,
the club president suddenly appeared behind him.
His train of thought was abruptly interrupted by the club president. He had intended to ask how she knew he wanted to leave the club, and his question was already halfway out: “President—”
But in the next instant, the president cut him off directly. “Honestly, now isn’t the time for such discussions, is it?”
Caught completely off guard, he was given a forceful shove by the club president. Her strength was considerable, and he was unprepared.
Chu Xin’s feet suddenly slipped, sending him hurtling by inertia towards Jiang Qianhe, who was still squatting in a daze.
“Li-Little… watch out!”