After Transmigrating to Become Lady Skylark - Chapter 53

Chapter 53

The next day, Class 2-A of Namimori Middle School.

A girl with light blue hair tied back, wearing the Namimori uniform, entered behind the homeroom teacher along with two other transfer students. She immediately caught the attention of Sawada Tsuna, Gokudera Hayato, and Yamamoto Takeshi.

Fortunately, they had already heard from Reborn that morning about the accidental time travel of Jin Chaoyan, so they didn’t look particularly surprised.

“Hello everyone. I am a temporary exchange student from another school, and I am also the older sister of Jin Chaoyan in this class. My name is Jin Xiyan. Please take care of me in the coming days.”

Sawada Tsuna: “…Is the name change really that lazy?”

In the quiet classroom, his mutter was so distinct that Jin Chaoyan instinctively glanced at him before nodding politely in greeting.

The girl, taller than most middle schoolers, wore a white shirt, a deep blue knit vest, and a light brown short skirt. Her long legs drew the gazes of many boys in the class.

Whispers began to circulate: “Looking closely, she really does look a bit like that girl?”

“Not that similar, right? The hair color is different—she’s light blue, her sister is brown. Besides, that Jin Chaoyan keeps her head down like a quail every day; her face must be ugly. She can’t compare to a beauty like this~”

“True. I wonder where the transfer student will sit. Anyway, the seat next to me is empty, hehe.”

Amidst the hushed discussions, the other two transfer students also introduced themselves.

Jin Chaoyan didn’t pay much attention. When she stepped off the podium into the aisle, she paused in front of Tsuna. “Excuse me, where is my sister’s seat?”

Tsuna instinctively pointed to a scruffy desk in the last row by the window. The edges of the desk were dented and old. When Jin Chaoyan walked over, she found the inside of the desk stained with dried ink of various colors, as if a palette had been overturned. The textbooks she pulled out, though the printed text and notes were barely legible, looked like props from a horror movie.

She looked down at the chair. Fortunately, it hadn’t been tampered with. She decided to sit there. Just as she sat down, the boy in the row in front of her turned around.

“Jin-san, this spot is too far from the blackboard. Won’t you have trouble seeing what the teacher writes? Do you want to sit next to me?”

“No, thank you,” she gave a polite smile. “Excuse me, do you know what happened to the ink in my sister’s desk?”

The boy, who used his chair to slam into the back desk every day and loved seeing the spineless girl make a fool of herself, was suddenly at a loss for words. He stammered:

“Maybe she brought her own ink and someone accidentally knocked it over?”

“Is that so?” Jin Chaoyan responded thoughtfully. As the boy turned back to continue the conversation, she tilted her chin toward the podium. “The teacher is about to start. Could you please not disturb my listening?”

The boy shut up immediately. As he turned back, he bumped shoulders with the boy next to him, letting out a smug laugh.

Sitting at the very back, Jin Chaoyan pretended not to hear. She took out a brand-new notebook from her new schoolbag and began taking serious notes for the original host while trying to decipher the previous knowledge points recorded under the ink stains.

Fifty minutes later.

As Jin Chaoyan was packing away her Japanese notes and checking the schedule for the next class, several shadows suddenly fell across her desk. She looked up and saw Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto.

“What is it? Do you need something?”

Sawada Tsuna: “…” How can she blend into the middle school classroom atmosphere so naturally! Aren’t you an adult?

He opened his mouth to speak, but was teased by other boys about whether he also wanted to get to know the transfer student. To avoid mentioning the future world here, he said, “Cha—Xiyan-san, can we step outside to talk?”

“Sure.”

Jin Chaoyan followed him out, asking as they went, “By the way, do you know where I can buy new textbooks and exchange the desk?”

Tsuna, still unable to adapt to her instant student persona, made a face. “Chaoyan-san, why did you adapt to the student role so quickly?”

“Because Mr. Reborn said yesterday that if I’m here, the ‘her’ of this world has likely gone to the future. A week’s time means she’ll miss a lot of schoolwork. I have to take notes for her.” The original host wasn’t a protagonist like Tsuna; missing a week of progress could be disastrous for her.

“…” The “loser” Tenth thought this made a lot of sense and found himself speechless.

Yamamoto, however, gave it some serious thought. “If you want to change the desk and books, you’ll probably have to go to the Dean’s office on the top floor, write an application explaining the reason, and then get the Principal’s seal.”

“That much trouble?” Jin Chaoyan frowned. “Can’t I just buy them with money?”

“Because the number of books and desks is procured based on the student count at the start of the term~” Yamamoto replied with a smile.

“Tenth, Baseball Idiot, aren’t we here to talk to her about getting Hibari to participate in the trial? Don’t let her lead you astray!” Gokudera Hayato, who had been listening to the boring conversation, couldn’t help but shout a correction.

“Ah, right.” Tsuna snapped back to attention, his expression turning serious. “Chaoyan-san—”

“Can you help us out, Chaoyan?” Yamamoto took over the topic cheerfully.

“…”

Facing the three pairs of eyes, Jin Chaoyan licked her lips, her expression becoming very strained. “If it were the Hibari from ten years later, I might be able to try. But this one…”

She lightly tugged at her new uniform. “Besides, I’m ‘eating his food and staying in his house.’ I’m really sorry, but I can’t bring myself to ask him.”

Moreover, she was currently not only eating his food and spending his money, but she had even stayed over at the Hibari residence of this era last night.

Gokudera Hayato was the first to get irritable. “You’ve stayed with him for so long, you should know his temperament well. Don’t you have any other way to make him listen?”

The woman reached up to brush the hair from her shoulder and asked politely in return, “Then, does Gokudera-san usually manage to make Uri listen?”

“?”

While Gokudera’s mind went blank for a second, Yamamoto hauled him away. “Alright, we just wanted to try a different angle. Since you can’t do anything with him either, we’ll keep working at it ourselves. Thanks, Chaoyan.”

“You’re welcome,” Jin Chaoyan nodded, answering them sincerely. “You’re all working so hard, I’m sure you’ll pass the Arcobaleno trials and get the seals. Good luck.”

Returning to the classroom, Jin Chaoyan saw Sasagawa Kyoko standing at her desk holding a form. Seeing her return, Kyoko smiled happily:

“Cha—Xiyan-san, new transfer students need to fill out a club activity application. Have you thought about which club to join?”

Because of Haru, Jin Chaoyan was quite familiar with her. As she took the form, she asked curiously, “Is there an introduction sheet for the clubs? By the way, what club is my sister in?”

“The Literature Club.” Sasagawa Kyoko, who often helped the class reps, quickly recalled the club of the Jin Chaoyan of this era. Hearing such a refined choice, the woman wasn’t surprised.

She nodded and said, “Then I’ll also join Literat—”

“You come to the Disciplinary Committee.”

A highly recognizable, melodious voice came from the back door of the classroom.

The lively, relaxed break-time atmosphere of Class A suddenly turned into dead silence. When Jin Chaoyan turned around, she realized the rest of the students were shivering near the front door; those who could escape the classroom had already run out. The newcomer leaned against the back door, looking casual, his grey-blue eyes looking at her calmly.

After locking eyes with him for a few seconds, Jin Chaoyan followed the flow and changed her answer. “Okay, I’ll join the Disciplinary Committee.”

She picked up a pen and finished the form. Amidst Kyoko’s small sound of surprise, she handed the form to her, only to hear Hibari Kyoya say faintly, “Give the application to me.”

Jin Chaoyan had to get up and walk over. As she handed the form to him with both hands, the boy’s gaze fell on the red ink stains on her fingers. “What happened to your hand?”

Following his gaze to the ink she’d gotten from grabbing books in the drawer, she replied casually, “The desk and books are too dirty. I was planning to go to the Dean’s office to fill out some application…”

“A hassle.”

Hibari took her form and dropped a line as he turned to leave: “Have the Vice-Chairman change them for you.”

“Oh, okay,” Jin Chaoyan nodded, smiling at his back. “Thank you.”

The entire corridor was empty due to Hibari’s presence; it seemed the students of Namimori had long ago mastered the skill of evasion. When Jin Chaoyan turned back to her seat, the boys who had previously been exceptionally enthusiastic toward her now looked at her as if she were a venomous snake.

Only the one who had spoken to her earlier, under the prodding gazes of his friends, swallowed hard and leaned in slightly, asking:

“Jin… Jin-san… what is your relationship with that Disciplinary Chairman?”

“Want to know?”

Jin Chaoyan gave him a professional fake smile. As he relaxed his guard, she quickly delivered the second half: “Why don’t we step outside for a chat? I’ll tell you all the details.”

4:00 PM.

After beating up the boy from the front desk in a deserted corner of the hallway and extracting plenty of information about the original host, a refreshed Jin Chaoyan walked toward the reception room. Seeing a row of boys in black uniforms with pompadours standing at the door, she instinctively paused.

To her surprise, in the next second, the delinquents stood in two rows, parting like the Red Sea to clear a path in the middle.

—Silence was louder than words at this moment.

Jin Chaoyan even stopped to look back and forth, confirming that the person they were greeting with this ceremony was indeed her. With a strange and hesitant expression, she walked to the door, knocked, and then turned the handle.

“You’re here.”

The boy standing by the window looking at the campus turned around. The same old uniform on anyone else looked like a gloomy crow, but on him, it appeared clean and ethereal, handsome and elegant, especially highlighting the slender quietness of his white shirt.

No matter how many times she saw it, she couldn’t adapt to the fact that he possessed such a beautiful face yet wielded such terrifying martial power. Jin Chaoyan quickly recovered and asked, “Mhm. It’s club activity time now. What do I need to do after joining the Disciplinary Committee?”

“Today’s schedule is collecting protection fees from the beach area.”

After Hibari finished, he gave a lazy yawn. A small yellow bird flew in through the open window, perched on his shoulder, chirped “Hibari~” twice, then looked at Jin Chaoyan curiously before hopping to change its position.

It was the Hibird of this era.

Jin Chaoyan looked tenderly at the little pet who didn’t know her but was still just as cute. It took her a moment to process what the boy had just said.

“You just said you want me to go… collect protection fees?”

She pointed at herself.

Hibari gave her a calm look, seemingly unable to understand why such a simple sentence elicited such a slow reaction. Recalling that she didn’t seem very good at fighting yesterday, he added casually, “You can pick anyone outside to take with you. Remember to turn the fees in to me by six o’clock.”

Jin Chaoyan: “…”

Now the play had reached the second installment of the “Husband as a School Delinquent” series: Collecting protection fees, huh?

She wanted to speak but stopped; she stopped but wanted to speak. At this moment, she finally felt that she had truly married into organized crime. With a complex expression, she still nodded: “U-understood.”

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