The morning sun pierced through the clouds, casting warm splotches of light on the streets.
Lin En Tongxue walked slowly towards Soubu High School with his backpack.
As a well-known university, the area around Soubu High School’s campus was always vibrant in the morning, with students in groups of two or three hurrying by with books, quietly discussing topics or club activities.
Lin En’s mood was quite good; the dinner he had at Shiina Mahiru’s house last night was still incredibly delicious, and his stomach felt warm even now.
As he walked, he planned his schedule for the day in his mind—two professional classes in the morning, and in the afternoon, he intended to continue researching those letters with Chitanda Eru, and then go check near the old school building to see if he could find an entrance to the basement.
When he reached an intersection, the red light came on, and Lin En stopped, waiting with the other pedestrians.
He habitually looked around, his gaze sweeping over a nearby building that was undergoing renovation.
Scaffolding was erected on the outer wall of that building, with several workers busy on it, and a huge billboard hung from the edge of the roof, seemingly recently installed and not yet properly secured.
Just then, a sudden gust of wind howled past, causing the trees by the road to sway violently, making a rustling sound.
Lin En subconsciously narrowed his eyes, and in that instant, he saw the huge billboard as if it had been suddenly yanked by something, and the ropes used for securing it snapped with a loud ‘bang’!
Freed from its restraints, the billboard plummeted with a whistling sound, crashing down towards the intersection!
And directly beneath it were several pedestrians, including Lin En, waiting to cross the road!
The surrounding crowd let out screams of terror; some, scared, crouched on the ground with their heads in their hands, while others frantically dodged to the side.
However, the billboard fell too quickly for everyone to escape.
Just at this critical moment, a lithe figure, like an arrow released from a bow, rushed out from the nearby sidewalk.
It was a girl wearing a Soubu High School uniform, with long pink hair and eyes as sharp as an eagle’s.
Lin En didn’t even see how she moved; he just felt a blur before his eyes, then heard a loud ‘bang’ accompanied by the piercing sound of metal twisting.
He focused his gaze and saw that the girl had actually kicked the side of the falling billboard!
The power of that kick was astonishing; under her strike, the huge billboard was forced to change its trajectory, grazing Lin En’s shoulder and smashing heavily onto the empty ground nearby, making the ground tremble and sending gravel and dust flying.
Lin En stood still, with no trace of fear on his face, only a slight frown as he looked at the deformed billboard, then turned to the girl who had saved him.
The girl landed steadily on the ground, her movements clean and decisive, as if that astounding kick was merely an effortless gesture for her.
She patted non-existent dust from her uniform, then looked up, her gaze sweeping over the stunned crowd, finally resting on Lin En.
“Are you alright?” she asked, her voice clear and pleasant, with a cheerful quality.
Lin En looked at her, shook his head, and said calmly, “I’m fine, thank you.”
His reaction made the girl slightly stunned, seemingly surprised.
In that situation, even the bravest person would be somewhat flustered, but this boy was unusually calm, with not a ripple in his eyes, as if he had merely been brushed by the wind.
“You’re welcome, it was no trouble,” the girl smiled, revealing a set of white teeth, her smile bright and confident, “My name is Shikimori, Shikimori-san.
Are you also a Soubu High School student?”
“Yes, I’m Lin En,” Lin En nodded, “Yes, I’m in the Literature Department.”
“Literature Department? Then we might even meet in an elective class,” Shikimori-san raised an eyebrow, a hint of curiosity in her tone, “Weren’t you scared at all just now?
If that billboard had fallen, it wouldn’t have been a joke.”
“There’s no use being scared,” Lin En said flatly, “Instead of wasting time being scared, it’s better to think about how to react.
But still, thank you for reacting so quickly.”
He was telling the truth; the moment he saw the billboard falling, his brain did indeed race, thinking about how to dodge.
Although in the end, Shikimori-san still had to save him, he truly felt no fear; perhaps after experiencing strange things like transmigration and the system, his mindset had long become much more composed than ordinary people’s.
Shikimori-san observed Lin En with interest, her eyes full of curiosity: “You’re quite an interesting person.
Few people can remain so calm in that kind of situation.”
【Character: Shikimori-san】
【Bond Progress: 3% (Trigger Event: Saved by her)】
【Event Evaluation: She was impressed by your composure in a crisis and developed initial curiosity about you】
Just then, the green light turned on, and the surrounding crowd gradually recovered from their fright, casting grateful and admiring glances at Shikimori-san.
Some even took out their phones to photograph the fallen billboard, discussing animatedly.
“Let’s cross the road first, or we’ll be late,” Lin En reminded.
“Oh, right,” Shikimori-san snapped back to attention and crossed the road with Lin En, following the flow of people.
“Which department are you in?” Lin En asked.
“I’m in the Sports Department, majoring in martial arts,” Shikimori-san said with a smile, a hint of pride in her voice, “That move just now was just a warm-up.”
Lin En looked at her with some surprise, not expecting this very beautiful girl to be in the Sports Department, and even majoring in martial arts; no wonder she was so agile.
The two walked and chatted.
Shikimori-san’s personality was very cheerful; she spoke straightforwardly, completely different from Shiina Mahiru’s gentle introversion or Chitanda Eru’s curious persistence, giving people a very refreshing feeling.
“Speaking of which, Lin En Tongxue, you don’t look like you exercise often, but you’re quite brave,” Shikimori-san looked him up and down and said with a smile.
“I play basketball sometimes, and I’ve also learned some Kendo,” Lin En said, “As for courage, maybe it’s innate.”
Soon, the two arrived at the gate of Soubu High School.
The huge gate was solemn and majestic, with the gilded words “Soubu High School” shining brightly in the sun.
“I’m going to the training ground over there, so I’ll be going now,” Shikimori-san pointed to the nearby sports complex, waved to Lin En, “Lin En Tongxue, let’s chat again when you’re free.”
“Okay, goodbye,” Lin En also waved to her.
Watching Shikimori-san’s agile figure disappear into the crowd, Lin En’s lips curved slightly upward.
Soubu High School was truly a place where hidden talents resided; he had only been at university for a short time and had already met so many interesting people.
He turned and walked into the campus, heading towards the Literature Department building.
The sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, falling warmly on him.
Lin En stroked his chin, thinking that perhaps he could go watch the Sports Department’s martial arts training sometime in the future, and maybe learn something from it.
The two morning classes quickly ended.
Lin En walked out of the teaching building, just about to go to the cafeteria for lunch, when his phone suddenly rang; it was Chitanda Eru.
“Lin En Tongxue, are you free right now?” Chitanda Eru’s clear voice came from the other end of the line, sounding a little excited.
“Yes, what’s up?” Lin En asked.
“I just found some information about the old school building’s basement in the Library; it might be helpful to us!
Do you want to come and see?” Chitanda Eru’s tone was full of anticipation.
“Sure, I’ll be right there,” Lin En said.
Hanging up the phone, Lin En quickened his pace towards the Library.
It seemed he would be busy again this afternoon.
【One more chapter added!!!】