A Yandere’s Grip and an Angel’s Arrival

Ring-ring~

At long last, the clock hands pointed to noon. Lin Ling felt as though the morning had stretched into an eternity, his head heavy and muddled.

Thankfully, it was the longest break of the school day. He had just finished tidying his desk when, abruptly, a commotion erupted nearby.

“Chen Sishi, how about I fetch your lunch for you?”

“Hey, hey, hey, I was here first! Get lost.”

“What does it matter who came first? It’s all about who Chen Sishi prefers to fetch her meal.”

Following the clamor, Lin Ling saw the two notorious troublemakers of their class halting the silver-haired girl’s progress. In the original plot, these two had relentlessly pestered Qin Ruoxue, only to be brutally thrashed by the original protagonist. After that, their story arc seemed to vanish entirely.

But how had these two managed to find Chen Sishi? Could it be a ripple effect from the altered timeline?

In the original narrative, this minor interlude was meant to be a small event for Qin Ruoxue to develop affection for Lin Ling. Furthermore, Chen Sishi hadn’t transferred to Class Three, and her interactions with them were limited to break times or on their way home.

Now, however, with Chen Sishi having transferred to Class Three, she had become the unfortunate target of their harassment. One had to admit, these two truly possessed an audacious lust, daring to provoke even a yandere.

Yet, this turn of events suited Lin Ling perfectly.

Stealthily circling to the classroom’s back door, Lin Ling flashed a grin that seemed to urge, ‘You two, go get ’em! I’m watching with great interest.’ However, the instant Lin Ling’s foot crossed the classroom’s threshold, a girl’s voice abruptly chimed in from his side.

“Lin Ling, where are you off to?”

Lin Ling’s entire body froze, and he turned his head with a mechanical jerk. The two troublemakers glared at him with intensely unfriendly eyes, while Chen Sishi’s gaze seemed to bore straight through him.

“Lin Ling, you’re going to get lunch, aren’t you? Come on, let’s go together.”

Before Lin Ling could utter a word of protest, the girl simply took his hand and led him out of the classroom.

The two male students exchanged bewildered glances. Going to get lunch with a beautiful girl should have been a delightful experience, yet that guy looked as if he’d just been handed a death sentence.

Walking towards the cafeteria with a look of utter despair, Lin Ling found Chen Sishi’s cool, small hand seemingly fused to his own, impossible to shake off.

The sight of this striking pair—a handsome young man and a beautiful girl—walking through the campus drew considerable attention. Students around them, blissfully unaware of the underlying tension, either grimaced with envy or openly displayed expressions of admiration and jealousy.

After walking in silence for a while, Lin Ling found the oppressive atmosphere unbearable. After a moment’s hesitation, he steeled himself and addressed the girl beside him.

“Um… Miss Chen, don’t you find this terribly awkward?”

“Hm? Is it? What’s awkward about it? I think the atmosphere is quite lovely, actually.”

A sharp intake of breath.

‘So you genuinely don’t care about your reputation, do you?’

Lin Ling gasped, taking a sharp, cold breath. Thankfully, New City Private High School didn’t concern itself with such matters. Had this been in Lin Ling’s original world, they’d likely already have been photographed by the dean of students.

“Um…”

Gazing at Chen Sishi’s face, Lin Ling rehearsed his words countless times in his mind. Yet, the chilling thought that the silver-haired girl before him was a yandere sent a shiver down Lin Ling’s spine.

Lin Ling had originally intended to directly clarify their relationship with Chen Sishi, believing such tangled affections were best severed swiftly and decisively. While it was best to cut ties when necessary, a yandere wasn’t someone one could easily shake off.

“Hm? Is Lin Ling trying to say something?”

“Ahaha, no, it’s just… I’m just not used to being led around like this.”

“Don’t worry, Lin Ling. You’ll get used to being led.”

Chen Sishi’s words were barely a whisper, yet Lin Ling caught a distinct whiff of something amiss. Unbidden, the hairs on his nape prickled, and a fine sheen of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

“Did you just say something?”

“Hm? Did I? I didn’t say anything at all, you know.”

Gazing into the girl’s pale blue eyes, Lin Ling couldn’t shake the eerie sensation that his surroundings had grown chillingly ominous.

Upon reaching the cafeteria and securing his meal, Lin Ling immediately sought out a secluded corner to sit. While waiting for their food, the sheer press of the crowd had momentarily separated them. Seizing the opportunity, Lin Ling had swiftly slipped away from the throng to buy a meal from a different stall.

Just as Lin Ling was inwardly commending his own cleverness, a familiar, fragrant breeze wafted towards him. He froze for a full two seconds. As the familiar fragrance enveloped him, Lin Ling felt as though his heart might burst.

“Oh, so you’re here. There were simply too many people just now. Lin Ling, how about we go out to eat alone from now on?”

Lin Ling, who had been silently eating without daring to lift his gaze, nearly choked on his food at Chen Sishi’s words.

“What? Go… go out to eat?”

“Yes, exactly! Let’s eat out. It’s far too crowded here.”

Swallowing hard, Lin Ling saw the light in the girl’s eyes slowly dimming. With Chen Sishi in such a state, Lin Ling couldn’t guarantee he’d return alive if he went out with her.

Just imagine: a single man and woman, dining out, with the woman being a yandere young lady. Who knew, he might be knocked unconscious by her family’s bodyguards, only to awaken later to find himself trussed up like a zongzi.

Lin Ling rubbed his temples, a profound sense of vexation settling in his heart. He had tried so diligently to avoid Chen Sishi, even steering clear of the ‘death sentence’ of a confession, so why was she still clinging to him?

Was this the world’s ‘correction force’ at play? It was truly terrifying.

“So, what do you say, Lin Ling?”

Chen Sishi, observing Lin Ling’s silence, immediately grew agitated. Her voice, usually as gentle as spring sunshine, now carried a hint of impatience, tinged with an emotion Lin Ling couldn’t quite decipher.

“Eh? What exactly are you two doing?”

At the sound of that voice, Lin Ling’s entire being revitalized. He looked up to see Qin Ruoxue’s somewhat displeased expression. He felt as though Qin Ruoxue was a legendary angel, descending to rescue him, a mere mortal trapped in a quagmire.

Qin Ruoxue, having just finished getting her own meal, paused as she passed by, momentarily taken aback by the atmosphere between the two. It was only upon seeing Chen Sishi that her expression shifted to one of slight annoyance. The several female classmates beside her glanced at Qin Ruoxue, then at the seated Lin Ling, before finally turning their confused gazes to Chen Sishi.

“This is my classmate. You all go find seats first; I’m eating with him today.”

Qin Ruoxue apologized slightly to the girls, who then gave her peculiar looks, as if silently asking, ‘Is there some juicy gossip? Spill it!’

Noticing their expressions, Qin Ruoxue’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she spoke with a newfound seriousness.

“Alright, alright, what are those expressions for? Go eat your lunch before it gets cold.”

Having sent them away, Qin Ruoxue unceremoniously took a seat beside Lin Ling, her gaze scrutinizing both him and Chen Sishi.

“What exactly are you two doing?”

Upon seeing Qin Ruoxue settle beside Lin Ling, Chen Sishi’s face instantly clouded over. Her previously gentle, delicate demeanor now harbored a hint of morbid sickness and overt hostility.

“What… what is your relationship?”

Fixing her gaze on the silver-haired girl before her, Qin Ruoxue’s golden eyes narrowed to slits. She recalled the frenzied, twisted expression this girl had worn while pursuing Lin Ling previously, and a distinct scent of danger wafted to her.

“That question, I believe, should be directed at you.”

“What exactly is your relationship with Lin Ling? And your transfer to this class… that wasn’t a coincidence, was it?”

The two girls were at daggers drawn. Lin Ling glanced nervously from left to right, wanting to interject, but found himself utterly speechless. This kind of ‘harem on fire’ scenario hadn’t appeared at all in the early stages of the plot. Why were these two ready to claw at each other the moment they met?