Chapter 140: Things Are Not So Simple

"Boss, why did his underlings kneel down just now?" Seita Kawamoto asked in a whisper.

Jinnichi Kanda felt a bit faint. This was the first time he had seen Aoki Tsukasa's face up close, and to be honest, his legs felt like jelly. Still, Jinnichi gritted his teeth and tried to keep his voice steady as he scolded, "Idiot, it's obvious that the bald..."

Before he could finish saying "bald," Jinnichi shuddered and glanced around cautiously. Realizing no one was paying attention to him, he lowered his voice even further and leaned into Seita Kawamoto's ear: "It's obvious that the bald guy is acting like a fox borrowing the tiger's might..."

Seita waited for a long time, and when no more came, he smiled bitterly and added, "...borrowing the tiger's might."

"Right, borrowing the tiger's might. He's using his fake yakuza status to oppress his underlings." Jinnichi waved his hand violently and clenched his fist, his expression incredibly resolute. "As soon as we expose his true identity, these underlings who have been bullied for so long will surely unleash their long-suppressed anger. Once that happens, our domination of Wuyang will be within reach! As the saying goes, water can carry a boat, and then, well, the boat can carry the water..."

"It's 'water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it'!" Seita Kawamoto secretly glanced at Aoki Tsukasa's face, his already trembling legs shaking even more violently.

"That's exactly the point!" Seeing Aoki Tsukasa exchange a few words with Miao Fujiwara before heading outside, Jinnichi hurriedly pulled Seita against the wall. Both of them pressed their faces against the glass, staring intently at the playground outside, keeping a wary eye on Aoki Tsukasa's movements.

*Oh no, oh no, he’s walking toward us!* Cold sweat trickled down Jinnichi’s forehead. Just as he was about to ask his partner if he had a plan, he noticed Seita’s legs had turned to mush, and he was trembling uncontrollably as if having a seizure.

*Are you a vibrating cell phone?* Jinnichi pinched Seita’s arm hard and shouted loudly, "Ah, the sunshine today... is so dazzling!"

Seita seemed to catch on, hurriedly pressing himself against the window, not daring to look back, and shouted in agreement, "Yes, the wind today... is so boisterous!"

Aoki Tsukasa looked speechlessly at the two male students standing with their backs to him, acting bizarrely. He ignored them and walked past, unable to help but mutter to himself: *Are those two reciting poetry? Isn't that a bit too 'chuunibyou'?*

"He's gone, he's gone." Jinnichi didn't even dare to breathe, his face turning red, and only when Aoki was far away did he begin to take deep, gasping breaths.

Seita was in an even worse state; his legs gave out, and if Jinnichi hadn't been holding him, he would have collapsed onto the floor.

"Boss, c-can we give up? It’s too dangerous!" Seita felt like he was about to cry. He had caught a glimpse of Aoki Tsukasa glancing at him through the reflection in the glass, and when their eyes met, he had almost knelt down to beg for mercy right then and there.

*How can this guy be so terrifying?!* Seita wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve, still shaken.

"Sh-shut up!" Jinnichi’s expression was a bit cowardly, and his voice trembled, but he forced himself to stay determined. "Keep following. Let's see where they go."

Seita really wanted to just slip away. After all, it wasn't hard to find a new boss. But they had grown up together, and he couldn't just leave his boss here to fend for himself.

Jinnichi stealthily followed Aoki Tsukasa’s group, winding through the halls until they climbed the stairs. They watched helplessly as the group stopped at the stairwell, seemingly discussing something.

"Boss, it looks like there's no one inside!" Miao Fujiwara peeked around the corner at the guidance counselor's office and breathed a sigh of relief.

Aoki Tsukasa looked around and whispered, "Hurry up and do it. Get it and get out. Don't waste time."

"Understood! Boss, you keep watch here!" Miao Fujiwara gave a thumbs-up to Aoki, then led Takeo Matsuzaka to knock on the office door. Finding it empty—likely because today was the day to hand in the survey forms—they realized they were in luck; the door was unlocked.

Miao and Takeo slipped into the room cautiously, while Aoki stood at the corner to keep watch. Tiger Maeda went to the other side of the corridor to guard against anyone coming from the other stairwell. Fortunately, the floor housing the principal’s office and the guidance counselor’s office had no student classrooms, or else it would have been a real headache.

"Boss, what is he doing?" Seita Kawamoto and Jinnichi Kanda were downstairs, able to see only a glimpse of Aoki’s shoes through the gaps in the stairwell.

Jinnichi fell into deep thought. After a long moment, he swung his arm violently and said with a grave expression, "Could it be that someone leaked the news and he knows we're investigating him?"

"Huh?" Seita didn't quite understand what Jinnichi meant.

Jinnichi hurriedly explained, "Maybe he didn't think much of it when he filled out the survey and wrote down his real situation. Now that he knows we're investigating him, he's here to steal the survey form to cover his tracks!"

Seita had a sudden epiphany, though he remained skeptical: "How could that be? We only started investigating him yesterday and just thought of stealing the form today. How could he have known?"

Jinnichi gritted his teeth. "As expected of a difficult opponent. This is what they call 'flawless foresight'! He really is a cunning guy. Only someone like him would think of using these rumors to fabricate an untouchable background for himself."

"Oh no, if he changes it, we won't be able to use this to expose his identity! Without evidence, no one will believe my theory..." Jinnichi paced back and forth anxiously, then suddenly slapped his forehead as an idea struck him! He pinched his throat, making his voice sound raspy, and shouted, "Hello? Who is this? Yes, I am the Wuyang High School guidance counselor. What can I do for you?"

Aoki Tsukasa, standing at the stairwell, heard someone on the floor below talking on the phone. The voice sounded like the guidance counselor had returned. Aoki hurriedly dialed a number on his phone while heading down the stairs.

According to the plan, once his call went through, Miao Fujiwara would know someone was coming. All he had to do was stall for time.

As he walked down, Aoki wondered how to strike up a conversation with the counselor. Meanwhile, Jinnichi Kanda, downstairs, was so startled by the sound of approaching footsteps that he turned to run. He turned too quickly, twisted his ankle on the stairs, and let out a sharp cry of pain, clutching the banister as he crouched down.

"Boss, are you okay!" Seita hurried to help him up.

Jinnichi felt a piercing pain in his ankle. As Seita pulled him, Jinnichi’s hand slipped from the railing, and he lost his balance, grabbing Seita’s hand tightly as he fell.

Seita was caught off guard by Jinnichi’s sudden tumble. Before he could react, he was pulled down the short flight of stairs with him. He let out a yelp, but didn't feel much pain. When he came to his senses, he realized he was sprawled on top of Jinnichi.

Jinnichi’s face was purple with agony. The pain was so intense he couldn't even scream; he just squeezed his eyes shut and let out a miserable whimper.

Aoki Tsukasa had reached the stairs by then. He peeked around the corner of the zigzag staircase and saw that the guidance counselor was nowhere to be found. Instead, he saw the two 'chuunibyou' teenagers sprawled out in the corridor.

Aoki’s eyes widened, and he stood frozen in shock—the two of them were literally lying on the floor, clinging to each other! Although he couldn't see their expressions, their faces were terrifyingly close, and the one on the bottom was making muffled whimpering sounds.

*My god, are young people today really this wild?* Aoki was so horrified that he completely forgot about the guidance counselor. He hurriedly retreated back up the stairs, patting his chest and muttering to himself, "Good thing I didn't see it clearly, or I'd need to wash my eyes out."

At that moment, Miao Fujiwara ran out in a hurry. Seeing Aoki at the door, he asked, "Boss, what do we do? I couldn't find it."

Miao looked around, noticing the absence of the guidance counselor. "Eh? Didn't the counselor come? Then why did you call me?"

"You keep watch, I'm going in to find it!" At the thought of what he had just witnessed, Aoki couldn't help but shiver, feeling that this place was not a good place to stay.

*Sharing is caring*, Aoki thought, and said sternly, "You two go check under the stairs. I thought I heard some noise down there."

Miao and Takeo exchanged suspicious glances, brows furrowed, sensing that something wasn't quite right.