Half a month later.
Teitan High School, Year 2 Class B.
The class bell rang, and students quickly returned to the classroom, though they still whispered amongst themselves.
A girl with tea-colored, shoulder-length short hair rested an arm on the desk behind her. Though she kept her voice low, it was still filled with excitement and rather loud:
"Ran, Ran, did you hear? We're getting a transfer student in our class today! I heard, I heard he's super handsome~"
"Oh? Is that so?"
The girl called Ran brushed her hair back with her hand, then said,
"Sonoko, I think you should sit properly right away. If Mr. Kato sees you like this…"
"What Mr. Kato this, Mr. Kato that!"
Sonoko waved her hand dismissively, looking like she feared no one, then slammed her hand on the desk, exclaiming loudly,
"Ran, didn't you understand the important part of what I said? I'm talking about a super handsome guy! A super handsome guy! We're getting a super handsome guy in our class! Don't you feel even a little bit excited?"
"Not really."
Ran still looked quite indifferent.
Sonoko deflated, then a mischievous grin suddenly appeared on her beautiful face.
"Ah! I get it. It must be because your husband is right next to you, so you have to try hard to act like a virtuous wife and good mother, right? See? It's because of that big idiot, that mystery-obsessed fool, isn't it?"
Sonoko's gaze flickered to a handsome boy in the adjacent seat.
Ran's face turned beet red in an instant, as if she'd been steamed, and she glanced guiltily at the boy beside her, her voice rising three octaves:
"N-no! How could that be? What husband, virtuous wife and good mother, you're awful, Sonoko, you're just talking nonsense, I'm not with Shinichi…"
"Oh? Did I say that person was Shinichi just now?"
Sonoko still wore a mischievous grin.
"Anyway, it's not! It's not, okay!"
Ran looked like she was about to lose it.
The surrounding classmates were all enjoying the spectacle, as if teasing Ran and Shinichi was part of their homework.
The boy named Shinichi rubbed his forehead speechlessly, muttering to himself,
"Sonoko, that gossip!"
"Quiet! Everyone quiet! Mori Ran, Suzuki Sonoko, it's class time now."
A voice sounded from the doorway, and instantly the students in the classroom quieted down. Ran and Sonoko, who had been called out, bowed their heads and said, "Yes," in unison.
"We're sorry, Mr. Kato."
The male teacher named Kato walked in with someone wearing a student uniform, and began,
"Good morning, everyone. The student beside me is named Shu Yunwen. He was originally a student at Teitan High, your senior, but due to certain reasons, his studies were delayed. So now he's transferring into our class. I hope you will all get along well in the future. Now, Shu Yunwen, please give everyone a brief self-introduction, if you would?"
"…"
The classroom was utterly silent, deadly quiet, one might say.
Everyone stared at Mr. Kato and Shu Yunwen standing on the platform, their gazes shifting back and forth.
Shu Yunwen, wearing a student uniform and carrying a backpack on one shoulder, had a helpless smile on his face as he spoke,
"Hello everyone, my name is Shu Yunwen. I'm eighteen years old. My hobbies are reading, exploring, fortune-telling, and… mystery-solving. In the days to come, I will be your classmate, so please take good care of me…"
"Hello, Shu Yunwen, I have a question…"
A boy who, at first glance, looked like a troublemaker, raised his hand and asked loudly,
"Shu Yunwen, are you sure you're eighteen this year, and not forty-eight?"
Forty-eight your sister!
Shu Yunwen glared at the boy who had spoken, his mouth twitching a couple of times.
Then, a wave of joyful laughter erupted in the classroom. Even with the notoriously strict Mr. Kato present, it couldn't stop the students' whispers:
"…This Shu classmate looks quite old!"
"Yeah! He looks older than Mr. Kato. Isn't Mr. Kato forty this year?"
"Aizawa is totally right, he looks like he's forty-eight. Hey? What are you looking up? Why do you have a calendar with you?"
"I'm checking if it's April Fool's Day. Mr. Kato wouldn't have asked his friend to play a prank, would he?"
"…"
On the platform, Shu Yunwen, with dark lines all over his head, listened to the students' discussions, feeling even more helpless.
His current aged appearance… it couldn't be helped, okay?
At the hospital, Shu Yunwen hadn't tried to cultivate his Ghost Sorcery, so he had the appearance of a handsome young man. But, but after returning home, Shu Yunwen had only just tried to cultivate Ghost Sorcery for one night, and the tragedy freaking happened. Overnight, Shu Yunwen's face aged thirty years. When Kojima Genji and Kojima Mie saw Shu Yunwen, they thought they had seen a ghost—
That's right, Shu Yunwen's appearance was almost identical to his deceased "convenient" father; they really thought they had seen a ghost.
Later, Shu Yunwen explained for quite a while, even bringing up the "family heirloom exorcism technique," but Kojima Mie was still uneasy and took Shu Yunwen to the hospital for a check-up. Only after confirming that it was just his appearance that had aged and his body was fine did she let it go.
Of course, Shu Yunwen's attending physician, Dr. Tanaka, still wanted Shu Yunwen to stay in the hospital for observation, but he was, of course, refused.
Well, poor Shu Yunwen. He had only been a handsome young man for a month before becoming a middle-aged uncle again. This fragile heart of his was shattered beyond repair. Fortunately, through cultivating Ghost Sorcery, all of this would recover. Otherwise, Shu Yunwen would surely have died of depression.
All of the above were Shu Yunwen's internal thoughts.
Returning the perspective to the classroom, beside Shu Yunwen, Mr. Kato's face had darkened.
"Quiet! Everyone quiet! Is this how you welcome a new classmate? Especially you, Aizawa Eisuke. If you don't want to stand in the hallway with your schoolbag on your head until class ends, you'd better apologize to Shu Yunwen immediately!"
Aizawa Eisuke froze for a moment, then stood up with a dejected look, bowed, and apologized,
"Shu Yunwen-san, I'm truly sorry. I meant no harm, please forgive me."
"Heh heh… It's fine."
Shu Yunwen nodded, acknowledging his apology, then spoke again,
"Aizawa Eisuke, right? I accept your apology. However, you must be careful today, okay!"
"Wh-what do you mean?"
Aizawa Eisuke's eyes widened.
Was this a threat?
Mr. Kato also spoke up,
"Shu Yunwen…"
Shu Yunwen smiled and said,
"Mr. Kato, Aizawa Eisuke, please don't misunderstand. I'm not some delinquent. It's just that our family has been cursed, so anyone who mocks my appearance will also be cursed and have bad luck for the entire day, you see!"
Is there such a thing?
A curse?
Are you freaking kidding me?
Everyone in the classroom had expressions of disbelief.
Aizawa Eisuke was momentarily stunned, then let out a laugh:
"A curse? I'm not afraid…"
"Mm…"
Shu Yunwen nodded, a smile on his face, and silently chanted a few incantations. Then, a strange power enveloped Aizawa Eisuke.
"Hahahahaha…"
Ghost Sorcery—Bad Luck Follows!
After nearly half a month of cultivation, although Shu Yunwen didn't have much mystic power, casting a few simple incantations was still no problem.
Spells like "Bad Luck Follows" were the most basic level of sorcery, not even considered a first-level spell. It was just a little trick to play on people, only causing bad luck, not even any injuries. So, using it now was absolutely no pressure at all.
As for why Shu Yunwen wanted to use Ghost Sorcery to tease someone?
It couldn't be helped!
If he didn't say this, who knows how many people would constantly bring up his old-looking face. Such things, once or twice is fine, but too many times, it's very annoying. So, it was better to make everyone afraid from the start, then naturally there would be no problem.
After casting the spell, Shu Yunwen continued,
"Also, for the next twenty-four hours, please try to stay away from Aizawa Eisuke to avoid being affected."
A wave of laughter immediately filled the classroom.
Mr. Kato said helplessly,
"Shu Yunwen, no more jokes like this in the future…"
Before he could finish, Aizawa Eisuke suddenly cried out, "Ouch!" and fell to the ground with a thud.
"Wh-what happened?"
A boy next to him said,
"Eisuke, you really need to lose weight! You broke your stool!"
"Hahahahaha…"
Another round of laughter filled the classroom. Aizawa Eisuke got up helplessly, looking at the stool with one broken leg.
Mr. Kato frowned.
"Aizawa, use the class's spare stool for now, and don't cause trouble. And Shu Yunwen, you can sit…"
Mr. Kato looked at the few empty seats in the classroom, hesitating.
Shu Yunwen pointed to a seat and said,
"Mr. Kato, can I sit there?"
"Of course."
Mr. Kato nodded, then looked at the seat next to it.
"Kudo, Shu Yunwen will be sitting next to you. You'll be responsible for helping Shu Yunwen get familiar with the class environment as soon as possible, okay?"
"Ah, I understand, Mr. Kato."
Kudo Shinichi stood up and replied.
Mr. Kato also turned to Shu Yunwen and said,
"Shu Yunwen, you also need to get familiar with the environment quickly, get into the groove, get along well with your classmates, and study hard, understand?"
"Yes."
Mr. Kato left, and Shu Yunwen walked to the seat next to Kudo Shinichi and sat down.
Kudo Shinichi took the initiative to greet him,
"Hello, Shu Yunwen, my name is Kudo Shin…"
Shu Yunwen smiled and took out his textbook.
"Kudo Shinichi, right? You're quite famous. The high school detective, the Sherlock Holmes of the Heisei Era, the savior of the Japanese police. Your name has been all over the recent newspapers! Also, my name is Shu Yunwen. I hope we can become good friends in the future."
"Hahaha…"
Kudo Shinichi scratched his head.
"Am I really that famous?"
In the seat beside them, Sonoko looked annoyed, propping her head up, her eyes like dead fish.
"…Hey, hey, hey! Ran, that new uncle is chatting quite happily with your husband!"
"You're awful, Sonoko, I already said it's not like…"
Ran chided, then smiled teasingly,
"By the way, Sonoko, he really is a super handsome guy! Though he looks a bit old…"
"Please! Is that just 'a bit old'? He looks the same age as my father!"
Sonoko pouted.
"I thought we were getting a super handsome guy, but instead we got an uncle. Not my type… Sigh, it's not like I'm lacking fatherly love…"
"Hehehe…"
Ran chuckled softly.
At that moment, the Japanese literature teacher walked onto the platform and began the lesson.
Aizawa Eisuke had just moved his stool and sat down. He reached out to lean on his desk, and then, with a "crack," the desk also collapsed, and Aizawa Eisuke fell flat on his face again.
"Hahahahaha…"
A wave of laughter filled the classroom.
Shinichi spoke up,
"…Eisuke, that guy, seems to be really unlucky."
Shu Yunwen glanced over, smiled, and said,
"This is just the beginning."