Chapter 76: Tendou Trapped in a “Dead End”

Chapter 76: Tendou Trapped in a “Dead End”

“Um… Tendou-kun, can you come out for a moment?”

During the afternoon break, Tendou—who had been lying on his desk calculating his popularity-point income and planning out his spending for the next few days—was suddenly interrupted by a voice as soft as a mosquito.

He lifted his head in the direction of the voice, and his sunglasses slid down the bridge of his nose, revealing half of his sky-blue eyes.

Huh?

Seeing the female classmate who had barely spoken a few words to him appear beside his seat, Tendou’s face was full of confusion.

He had no idea what she wanted with him. They had barely interacted at all.

When the girl saw Tendou looking at her in bewilderment, her cheeks instantly turned red like a fully ripened apple. Steam-like white puffs practically spurted out from above her head—an exaggerated sign that her temperature had skyrocketed.

This sudden scene left Tendou completely dumbfounded.

What’s wrong with her…?

What was her name again?

After rummaging around the labyrinth of his memory, Tendou finally recalled the girl’s name.

“Chinatsu-san, if you need something, just say it here. Going outside feels like a hassle.”

The moment he said that, the girl’s cheeks became even redder.

Then, under the curious and gossip-hungry gaze of the rest of the class, she suddenly slammed a gift box into Tendou’s arms, then bolted out of the classroom like a startled rabbit, both hands covering her face.

Tendou looked at her fleeing silhouette, then at the gift in his hands.

At last, he understood what this was about.

Wait—so that was a confession!

But before Tendou could decide whether to open this unfamiliar gift box now or wait until he got home where no one was watching—Chinatsu’s action acted like a lit fuse.

In an instant, many other female classmates—who had originally been hesitating—suddenly sprang into action.

“Tendou-kun! This is a bento I made!”

“Tendou! Want to go to the Starbeast Expo this weekend?”

“Tendou!”

Seeing these girls swarm toward him as if they had rehearsed it beforehand—Tendou instinctively tried to step back. His sunglasses slid all the way down his nose, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.

What is this—are you girls forming a raid party to attack a boss!?

Before Tendou could think of a countermeasure, the fierce wave of people swallowed him whole.

In no time, the previously quiet classroom turned into a chaotic mess.

At that moment, Chen Kong—who was holding two lunchboxes—entered from the back door.

He looked at his own desk and chair, which had been shoved into a corner by the crowd, then at Tendou, who was now surrounded by several girls.

He couldn’t help but say, “W-What is going on here…?”

“What else? It’s because after hearing you guys are leaving soon, some people feel like if they don’t do something now, they’ll lose their chance forever.”

Chen Kong turned around and found that Isabelle had appeared beside him at some point.

Unlike back when Chen Kong first arrived and she treated him with polite distance, now, Isabelle truly saw Chen Kong and the others as good friends.

After all, ever since the incident at the resort hotel, Isabelle had learned that Tendou and the other transfer students had been hired by her father as her bodyguards.

Though technically bodyguards, Isabelle had never viewed them that way.

They were the same age, and they had been through things together.

Naturally, their relationship was much closer than that of ordinary classmates.

After hearing Isabelle’s explanation, Chen Kong immediately understood what kind of situation Tendou was facing.

He couldn’t help but say, “As expected of Tendou, he’s popular no matter where he goes.”

“So… back where you guys come from, is Tendou the same as he is here in Trilan?”

Isabelle looked at him with curiosity.

Chen Kong thought for a moment before giving an answer that was—at least—reasonable.

“Yeah… more or less. It’s just that compared to the classmates here, the people back home are a lot more troublesome.”

“Because earning their recognition… is definitely not something easy.”

“I see.”

Although Isabelle didn’t fully understand what this “recognition” Chen Kong was referring to meant, considering that everyone in their group was a Starbearer, she could make an educated guess.

If the place Tendou and Chen Kong came from had many other Starbearers like them—and if those Starbearers were all around the same age—then earning their acknowledgement truly wouldn’t be easy.

After all, as the daughter of the richest man, Isabelle understood very well just how prideful and high-spirited Starbearers tended to be.

With that thought, an amusing image popped into Isabelle’s mind:

Tendou beating up everyone one by one, then collecting them like trophies afterward.

The scene was so funny that she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Kong, I don’t know what Tendou was like in the past, but from what you said, he probably wasn’t nearly as easygoing as he is here, right?”

Chen Kong tilted his head and thought about it.

And he realized—Isabelle had a point!

Because even though Tendou never bullied him personally back at the base, he definitely never held back against everyone else.

For example, take his sister, Chen Xing.

She practically got beaten by Tendou every three days with a small beating, and every five days with a big one.

Although that really wasn’t Tendou’s fault—she was the one who kept asking for it—overall, Tendou’s behavior at the base really could be described as:

“A crab crossing the street—swaggering sideways and bullying anyone he pleased.”

If he didn’t like someone’s face that day, he’d just give them a few hits, and like magic, they’d become obedient and docile.

So naturally, faced with Isabelle’s question, the pure and honest Chen Kong answered without thinking—completely unaware that Isabelle’s playful gaze meant she had just set a little trap.

“Yeah, in a sense… Tendou really was like that!”

“…Was like what, exactly?”

Just as the words left his mouth, a voice suddenly sounded behind him.

He froze.

Isabelle’s smile deepened.

Slowly, stiff as a malfunctioning robot, Chen Kong turned his head.

“C-Caroline… Sis… when did you get here?”

Ignoring the unnatural expression on his face, Caroline stared at Tendou, who was still buried under the enthusiastic attention of multiple girls, and absentmindedly replied:

“Probably around the time Isabelle asked what Tendou was like back home?”

I’m done.

I’m COMPLETELY done.

With Caroline’s reply, the color drained from Chen Kong’s face.

In the anime-style overlay, his entire figure turned black-and-white, like a cracked statue shattering from despair.

Because among the Children of the Stars, there was a long-standing urban legend:

[Children of the Stars Rule: You can talk bad about Tendou in front of him. But you must NEVER bad-mouth Tendou in front of Caroline.]

The former might get you beaten up by Tendou.

The latter… Might make you wish you were dead.

And as far as Chen Kong was concerned, everything he had just said to Isabelle definitely counted as badmouthing Tendou!

So…

Is my life over…?

. . .

Meanwhile, in the real world.

Watching the scene where Chen Kong looked like he had given up on life, the viewers in the comment section jumped at the chance to make fun of him.

“Sigh~ poor kid. Got caught talking bad about someone else’s husband. Who else is supposed to die if not him?”

“Caroline: Your phone is pretty interesting. I think I’ll share your browser history with everyone.”

“This proves the rule once again—The prettier the girl, the more dangerous she is. Isabelle totally set that trap for Kong.”

“Give up, Kong. You’re still young—you can’t win against her!”

Although the livestream comments were exploding with people gleefully mocking Chen Kong’s tragic fate, in reality, Caroline didn’t actually care at all about what he said.

Compared to that, what she cared about far more was the sight of Tendou being surrounded by those female classmates.

Her expression was completely calm—so calm no one could see the slightest hint of emotion.

But beneath that still surface… A terrifying undercurrent was rapidly forming.

Uh-oh. Killing intent!

Danger danger danger!

Relying on his powerful instincts, Tendou suddenly felt a giant blood-red “DANGER” kanji pop up above his head.

Without a moment of hesitation, driven purely by the primal urge to survive, Tendou sharply turned toward the source of danger.

And there—he instantly saw Caroline standing at the back door, her face cold as ice.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

As soon as Caroline noticed Tendou looking her way, she lightly tapped her knuckles on the doorframe.

But that small knock—in the suddenly tense atmosphere—instantly silenced the entire noisy classroom.

Then, Caroline dropped her usual indifferent tone.

Instead, she spoke with a soft, gentle tone so out of character it was downright eerie, smiling sweetly at Tendou:

“Tendou, come out for a moment.”

Seeing that expression—hearing that tone—Tendou felt as if lightning had struck him.

This is bad.

This is very bad.

Without even a trace of hesitation, the same Tendou who couldn’t be dragged anywhere by force shot to his feet in one fluid motion.

“O-Okay, coming right away!”

Caroline nodded, turned, and began walking toward the rooftop.

Tendou immediately followed, not daring to delay even half a second.

Because he knew that If he hesitated even a single second—what awaited him would be a hell more brutal than anything on earth.

Meanwhile, the girls in the class watched Tendou get taken away so effortlessly.

After exchanging glances, each one saw the same unwillingness and regret in the others’ eyes.

It was obvious—they were doomed from the start.

As long as Caroline existed… They never stood a chance.

Once Tendou and Caroline were gone, Chen Kong—finally recovered from his shock—turned to Isabelle in confusion.

“Strange… why did Caroline suddenly show up today? She hardly ever comes to our class during lunch break.”

“Oh, that? That’s because I called her here.”

Isabelle grinned mischievously as she pulled out her phone and showed Chen Kong her chat with Caroline.

【Isabelle: Someone is confessing to Tendou. Want to come see?】

【Caroline: On my way.】

Seeing the chat log, Chen Kong understood everything instantly.

Ah.

So that’s where he fell for the trap.

But honestly, compared to being overheard badmouthing Tendou… Chen Kong felt that Tendou’s current situation was probably even worse than his.

After all, from Caroline’s expression just now, she practically looked like she was about to eat someone alive.

Thinking of this, Chen Kong turned to glance at Tendou’s retreating back in the hallway, his eyes full of sympathy.

Tendou…

I hope you can return alive.

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