The anger of an honest person is truly frightening.
Although Gui Kotonoha is indeed characterized as frail and sickly, throughout martial arts novels, many frail yet formidable experts exist, and they are generally not to be trifled with. Ancient Dragon once said, there are three types of people you shouldn’t cross in the Jianghu: children, women, and monks. Gui Kotonoha, currently only a high school freshman, embodies two out of these three traits, and when she acts, she acts decisively.
The actual fight didn’t last more than half an hour, but in that short time, Gui Kotonoha achieved a shocking feat. She not only dealt with Kato and her gang of four delinquents, but also the captain of the basketball team and his group, sending them all to the hospital.
Of course, Gui Kotonoha was considerate, as Fang Zheng noted, she held back, giving each one a debilitating fracture. While they could resume daily life, intense sports competitions were out of the question for them.
Exaggerating a bit, Gui Kotonoha might have ended the future of Japan’s basketball stars, future sports champions, future Olympians... and perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing?
The teachers were astonished by such a significant incident at the school and scrambled to cover it up. Luckily, since the fight occurred in the classroom, only those like Fang Zheng, who had planned ahead to watch the spectacle, knew what had happened. The school hurriedly called ambulances to take away the injured students, then dealt with Gui Kotonoha...
But what could they do?
The title "Young Lady" isn’t just for show!
In fact, according to Fang Zheng’s information, although Gui Kotonoha went to the police station afterwards, she was accompanied by her family’s lawyer. At the police station, she wasn’t mistreated, and from the police’s investigation, initially, they were inclined to treat it as intentional injury. However, later it was found that Kato and her group had first scammed Gui Kotonoha for money and tried to deceive her into selling herself. Though there was no written evidence, the text messages on her phone proved the truth of the situation.
Moreover, Gui Kotonoha acted in self-defense, as it was the others who attacked first. Ultimately, the police investigated it as a case of excessive self-defense.
So in the end, Gui Kotonoha spent less than five hours at the police station and went home to sleep after posting bail.
This is the evil of capitalism; there’s nothing you can do against it!
They have money, power, and influence; are you scared?!
If you’re not, what can you do about it?
Logically, this incident could have made it to the evening news, maybe even the headlines under some luck. Yet, Kato’s group lay in the hospital crying for days without a single reporter showing up; even the online media acted as if nothing happened.
Finally, the Gui family’s lawyer stepped in and had them sign a settlement agreement — they had no choice but to sign, lest they be sued for fraud.
Fifty thousand yen was enough to surpass the filing standards, and hiring a lawyer formidable enough to challenge Gui Kotonoha’s team would have cost more than selling all their kidneys combined.
After all, those lawyers charge by the hour.
After that, Gui Kotonoha didn’t return to school, partly thanks to the school’s attempts to downplay the incident. As long as the person involved wasn’t present, rumors were harmless. Moreover, with the cultural festival approaching, they did not want more complications.
Thus, Gui Kotonoha stayed home.
"Haa..."
Putting down the book, looking out the window, Gui Kotonoha showed a slightly melancholic expression. Despite staying home with her mother and sister, she felt a bit fearful upon calming down. She didn’t know how to face the school... Even though her mother suggested transferring to another school after hearing about the incident, Gui Kotonoha hesitated.
Honestly, she had no particular attachment to the current school, but when she thought about the friends she’d made there, especially their encouragement which gave her the courage to stand up...
"Ring ring..."
Just then, the phone rang, and Gui Kotonoha quickly picked it up.
On the display appeared the name ’Sora Haruno.’
Seeing this, Gui Kotonoha’s heart skipped, and she quickly answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"It’s me."
Sora’s voice came through, as brief and indifferent as usual, but it brought Gui Kotonoha immense comfort.
"How have you been?"
"Alright... And you?"
"Same as always, nothing special."
Sora’s tone was somewhat bored, but she quickly changed the topic.
"Tomorrow is the cultural festival. Will you come?"
"What?"
Only then did Gui Kotonoha remember that tomorrow was indeed the cultural festival... She had nearly forgotten about it amidst everything going on.
"I..."
Initially, without these incidents, Gui Kotonoha would have definitely attended. But now, she was hesitant.
"The Light Music Club’s performance is in the afternoon."
Yet Sora, uninterested in her hesitation, continued speaking.
"I’ve heard there’ll be a lot of people. Come early if you plan on attending, or you might not find a seat."
Her voice remained calm and detached. She neither asked about Gui Kotonoha’s current feelings nor her plans, simply informing her about the event as if it were a reminder for an early arrival to a concert to secure a seat.
Meanwhile, Gui Kotonoha’s heart wasn’t so calm.
Though she knew Sora wouldn’t distance herself because of past events, uncertainty crept in... But now...
"I understand."
With that realization, Gui Kotonoha gripped her phone tightly.
"I will definitely attend the culture festival tomorrow."
"Come early, okay."
After receiving Gui Kotonoha’s reply, Sora hung up the phone. Meanwhile, Gui Kotonoha set down her cellphone, took a deep breath, stood up, and then walked to her closet. She looked at the uniform hanging inside, lost in silence.
If Gui Kotonoha had been hesitating about whether or not to transfer schools before, she had now made her decision.
The next day, the culture festival.
The weather today was quite average, neither good nor bad.
As Gui Kotonoha jogged to the school entrance, she saw Sora standing at the gate, glaring at her with a displeased expression.
"You’re so slow!"
"I-I’m sorry..."
"Hurry, the second song is almost over!"
As she said this, Sora grabbed Gui Kotonoha’s hand and quickly ran towards the hall.
When the two arrived at the hall, they saw that the entire venue, which could accommodate over a thousand people, was filled to the brim. The audience was raising their hands excitedly, cheering. Gui Kotonoha looked up to see Fang Zheng on stage under the spotlight, dressed in his school uniform with a guitar in hand. His fingers moved frantically, as if performing magic, producing a string of guitar solos that were mesmerizing and sent shivers down one’s spine, enveloping the entire hall.
"That’s amazing..."
Watching the scene before her, Gui Kotonoha couldn’t help but marvel. She quickly covered her mouth and glanced around. Yet, not a single person was looking at her; instead, everyone’s eyes were glued to Fang Zheng on stage until the last subtle notes ceased.
"—————!!"
The next moment, thunderous applause erupted, almost lifting the roof off the entire hall.
"Everyone, thank you for your support!"
Komizo Yukina, happily holding the microphone, raised her hand, and the crowd, seeing her appearance, immediately started cheering again.
"Next is the last song... This is a newly completed song that I dedicate to all of you, please listen!"
As she spoke, Komizo Yukina closed her eyes as if in prayer, holding the microphone tightly.
"The song is titled—Secret Base ~What you gave to me..."
As Komizo Yukina’s voice echoed, the entire stage gradually dimmed once again. Kazusa Touma then took a deep breath, glanced at Fang Zheng, and pressed her hand on the keyboard.
Soon after, the gentle piano notes intertwined with the guitar’s melody began to surface.
Gentle, calming, causing everyone to hold their breath involuntarily, while at the same time, Yukina’s singing emerged.
"The promise with you at the end of summer, future dreams, never forgetting grand hopes. I believe that ten years from now, in August, we can still meet again, with the most beautiful memories..."
".........."
Just this one line caused everyone present to subconsciously lower their voices, while Yukina continued singing.
"Our first encounter was an unintentional moment, at the crossroads on the way home, hearing you calling me ’let’s go home together’..."
At this moment, Fang Zheng walked out from the other side and continued to sing.
"I was a bit embarrassed at the time and used my backpack to cover my face, yet inside I was extremely, extremely happy..."
Listening to the duet by Yukina and Fang Zheng, everyone present fell silent. They seemed to reminisce about their past, as though they saw their childhood selves. They had returned to those days of innocent companionship, two children meeting at a crossroads, happily going home together.
During that summer, they played and adventured together, in the forest, by the stream, creating a secret base known only to themselves. They simply wanted to play, enjoy happiness, and spend those summer days together. And there, they made another promise...
"The promise with you at the end of summer, future dreams, never forgetting grand hopes. Ten years from now, in August, I believe we can meet again. You’ve always called ’thank you’ from the bottom of your heart, I’ve actually known, holding back tears, smiling and saying goodbye feels a bit melancholic, with the most beautiful memories..."
Yet, summer eventually passes, and dreams ultimately come to an end.
Singing up to this point, Yukina gripped the microphone tightly. No matter how many times she practiced this song offstage, she still felt an overwhelming sadness and pain whenever she sang it. She turned her head, looked at Fang Zheng beside her, and revealed a slight smile.
"The sudden transfer was out of our hands. I’ll write to you, call you, so never forget me. Never forget our days in the secret base..."
By now, many in the crowd had red-rimmed eyes. They all once had those innocent times, playing joyfully with their friends in a summer. But eventually, for various reasons, friends had to part ways. Back then, they cried and felt powerless. Yet, over time, those past memories had been sealed away in the depths of their minds.
But now, with this song, those once-buried memories resurfaced once more.
Will former friends meet again in ten years, in August?
"At the end of summer with you, there are so many words left to say, from the setting sun to the twinkling stars. The tears on your cheeks I’ll never forget, you waved to me without effort till the end, I promise never to forget, if this is a dream, can it never end..."
Yukina’s voice quivered slightly, and Fang Zheng’s voice also became soft and low, but this only highlighted the atmosphere of this melancholy parting.
"The promise at the end of summer with you, future dreams, never forgetting grand hopes. I believe that ten years from now, in August, we can still meet again... with... the most beautiful memories..."
The music gradually faded away.
But this time, no immediate cheers erupted in the hall; everyone was immersed in the previous atmosphere. Gui Kotonoha didn’t know when her face became covered in tears; she covered her mouth, eyes red, staring at the stage.
"Clap... clap, clap..."
After what felt like forever, scattered applause began to rise. The crowd immersed in it seemed to awaken from a dream, lifting their heads. They wiped away the tears at the corners of their eyes, then began to applaud strongly.
Soon after, a storm of applause washed over the entire hall.

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