The fluorescent lights hummed softly, mingling with the screech of chalk on the blackboard, making everyone drowsy.
By the time I rushed to the classroom door, I was already late. The teacher merely glanced at me indifferently and continued teaching.
I tried to be as quiet as possible, slipping into the classroom through the back door. After only a few steps, I felt a malicious gaze, passing over rows of bowed heads and landing on me.
"Teacher, Wang Allen is here! He's late..."
Without turning around, I knew that voice belonged to Wang Sheng, my "excellent" cousin.
The chalk sounds continued, and the teacher's voice rang out: "I see him; being a little late is not a big deal. Wang Sheng, please concentrate on the lesson. You will have priority in answering questions later..."
"Huh... How... He's late... Why ask me...?" Wang Sheng's voice was clearly flustered and unwilling.
"Because you don't know. Of course, I'll prioritize tutoring you." The teacher's voice came again, devoid of emotion.
I chuckled inwardly: Cousin, oh cousin, you are the leading figure in the class for dragging down the minimum score. Who else would the teacher ask if not you?
"I'm not the only one with the worst grades in the class..." Wang Sheng was still muttering, his voice so low that he thought no one could hear him. But unfortunately, in that quiet classroom, every one of his words was clearly audible.
No sooner had he spoken than the classroom suddenly became eerily quiet; you could hear a pin drop. Immediately after, this strange silence was broken, and everyone seemed to have an unspoken understanding about Wang Sheng's words.
"So unlucky... Gave that cheap pig a punch this morning, and now I'm being targeted again... I wasn't even late..." Wang Sheng's voice was even lower, tinged with a hint of grievance and unwillingness.
After Wang Sheng finished speaking, I could feel several gazes pass through the crowd, landing on me, who had just entered through the back door of the classroom. They were probably gossiping about the "grudge" between Wang Sheng and me.
I silently made my way to my desk, where a small mountain of homework books was piled up. Alas, it was because I was always late; the student collecting homework naturally set the "collection point" at my spot.
I was already used to this.
As soon as I sat down, I habitually looked towards the last row by the window.
There, Aini Agno sat. Her name rolled on my tongue, but I swallowed it back down.
She was the first person I confessed to after coming to this school, and also the beginning of my troubles.
Aini was wearing a simple white T-shirt and school uniform jacket today, which made her already fair skin appear even more translucent. Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a golden edge on her, making her whole person seem to glow.
She was looking at me, her head tilted, and our gazes met in the air. A few seconds later, she mercilessly gave me a "head-turn kill," then focused on looking out the window, seemingly indifferent to everything in the classroom.
"Heh, here we go again." I smiled bitterly to myself.
My gaze shifted to the person in front of Aini. Emma sat there, a girl with short silver-white hair. She was Aini's "follower" and also the Aini family's exclusive "maid."
Emma was beautiful, the kind of girl with intellectual beauty. Usually, if our eyes met for more than three seconds, she would first show a look of disgust, then turn her head away.
Moreover, she almost never spoke to me, but she interacted normally with other classmates. This left me completely puzzled; how exactly had I offended her?
She was also the student responsible for collecting homework. A class had over fifty homework books, and I would always help her share some of the burden, taking them to the faculty office together. This should have been the class monitor's job, but since our class monitor was the young lady Aini, Emma naturally took the initiative to handle it.
Speaking of which, Emma was a "top student" at school; her grades were excellent, and her speech and demeanor were impeccable. In regular tests, the top two spots in the class were always a competition between her and me.
In my opinion, Emma was practically a maid template, but her memory and insight were also at a superhuman level. She often assisted Aini in bullying me, helping Aini significantly with the outcomes of bullying me.
Therefore, my strategy was to minimize contact with her.
Looking at these two girls—Aini and Emma—who both gave me the "head-turn kill," I felt a wave of helplessness.
They were two of the "trio" who bullied me, and also the main source of bullying I faced in this school. I called them the "internal cycle."
In the past, facing such a situation, I could only give a bitter smile and silently endure. But now, I was different.
My gaze once again fell on Aini. This time, I clearly saw a faint heart-shaped icon hovering above Aini's head.
This was a power granted to me by the "Eternal Capture System," an ability to "see through" others' empathy levels with oneself.
Aini's heart-shaped icon had only one bar. This meant that she was not completely heartless towards me.
I had just sat down and hadn't even had a chance to catch my breath when a gaze, almost tangible, pierced me.
No need to guess, I knew who it was. I looked up and saw Gwen staring at me with spirited eyes.
Gwen extended her fist, shaking it slightly in the air. This was our unique unspoken understanding.
I didn't hesitate, extending my fist and gently bumping it against Gwen's.
This simple action held profound meaning for me. It was a rediscovered friendship from another life, and a rebuilding of trust.
Gwen, my deskmate, a rebellious blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty, as beautiful as a rebellious angel.
She had a dual identity, making her unfathomable.
During the day, she was one of the "trio" who bullied me; at night, she would transform into my "boss" and "teammate," fighting alongside me on the racetrack.
I looked up at Gwen's head, and there, too, was a heart-shaped icon. Although it only had one bar, it was enough to ripple my heart.
"Indeed, my feeling was not wrong; behind these seemingly cold 'bullying' acts, perhaps something deeper is hidden," I thought. "Aini and Gwen both have feelings for me, like two seeds encased in a hard shell, waiting for the moment to break through the soil."
The empathy levels of the "Eternal Capture System" are divided into six levels:
Level 1: Mutual Affection.
Level 2: What is Love in this World.
Level 3: My Heart is Full of You.
Level 4: Cherishing Each Other.
Level 5: Until Death Do Us Part.
Level 6: Eternal and Unchanging.
Each level represents a deeply engraved emotion.
But now, what I saw was merely the initial budding.
Whenever Aini tried to bully or insult me, Gwen, her good sister, would always act like a mischievous and playful child.
She would excitedly participate, as if vying for a beloved toy, her blue eyes gleaming with the satisfaction of a successful prank.
After one semester, I had been thoroughly tormented by their various forms of bullying, but I had also gradually adapted to how I interacted with them. Could this be considered a kind of... alternative "harmony"?