It was lunchtime.
There was still a continuous stream of female classmates asking Lin Yi to have lunch with them.
Lin Yi rejected them without hesitation.
As a cool and aloof heartthrob, how could he casually agree to have lunch with others?
It would be too demeaning.
...
According to their original plan, Ran and Sonoko intended to clarify things with Shinichi during lunch.
But now that Lin Yi had appeared, they had to abandon that plan. After all, it felt strange to talk about such things with Shinichi under these circumstances.
Especially Ran, the confession at this moment would involuntarily make her think of the word "deception."
Coupled with the bullying incident that had just occurred, Sonoko also felt that it was not a good time for a confession.
"What should we do? Should we go say hello to him?"
Kind-hearted Ran watched Lin Yi eat alone in the corner of the classroom, feeling lonely.
Thinking that he had just transferred to the school, hadn't had time to make friends, and had even been bullied, her heart softened, and she felt he was quite pitiful.
Moreover, there was a physical connection between them, which made it impossible for Ran not to care about him.
Sonoko had a very good impression of Lin Yi, especially since he had unhesitatingly rejected the invitations from a group of female classmates to share lunch, which made Sonoko feel that he was not a frivolous or casual boy.
"Let's go."
Sonoko nodded, picked up her bento, and took Ran with her.
"Hi, Lin-kun, can I have lunch with you?"
"Of course, sit down," Lin Yi said.
As soon as Lin Yi agreed, the female classmates who hadn't left yet immediately turned their gaze to the two girls. They began to whisper and point at Sonoko and Ran.
Ran was somewhat concerned about what others thought, which made her a little uncomfortable.
Facing the pointing and whispering of others, Sonoko not only didn't feel shy but rather sat opposite Lin Yi with considerable pride.
Lin Yi's indifference contrasted with their enthusiasm, and this starkly different attitude greatly satisfied Sonoko's vanity.
"We haven't introduced ourselves yet."
"My name is Sonoko Suzuki..." Sonoko pointed to Ran, who had just sat down: "This is my good friend, Ran Mouri!"
"I didn't expect to meet you two here..." Lin Yi said with emotion.
"Yeah, we were surprised too," Sonoko asked a somewhat timid Ran: "Right, Ran?"
"Mm... mm." Ran wasn't as uninhibited as Sonoko; she was still a bit shy.
Sonoko was a very outgoing person. She immediately asked, "Lin Yi, I heard from other classmates. Did you get into a fight with those delinquents in our class? And you beat them all down?"
When Sonoko asked about this, Ran couldn't help but look at Lin Yi. She practiced karate, which made her instinctively more interested in other things related to "fighting."
"They came looking for trouble with me."
Lin Yi looked innocent: "I'm not wrong for fighting back, am I?"
"Not only are you not wrong, but you fought well!" Sonoko gave Lin Yi a thumbs-up and said indignantly, "I've been annoyed with those delinquents in our class for a long time... It's one thing if they don't study well themselves, but they also cause trouble everywhere!"
"By the way, if they bother you again, you can let Ran handle it!"
Sonoko patted Ran's shoulder and laughed, "Ran is really strong, you know, and she's a karate champion! They're all afraid of her."
"Sonoko!!" Ran called out, a little embarrassed. Then she looked at Lin Yi, trying her best to hide her awkwardness, and said, "Lin-kun, don't worry, I'll talk to them."
"Thank you, Ran."
Lin Yi smiled.
This made Ran pause slightly.
"You smiled!" Sonoko stared at Lin Yi's smiling face and said, "I finally saw you smile."
"Is... is that so?"
Lin Yi heard her, touched his face, and stopped smiling.
"You look really good when you smile; you should smile more often." Sonoko looked at Ran: "Right?"
"Mhm." Ran nodded, agreeing with Sonoko's opinion.
"I'll... I'll try."
Lin Yi nodded, indicating he would do his best.
Hehehehe, the cool and aloof heartthrob persona is working.
Cold to others, warm to them—this means they are special, and girls love to be treated differently.
If you're equally good to all other girls, then you're a central air conditioner, and girls find it very difficult to fall for such boys. They'll think such boys can't give them a sense of security.
Adding the attribute of "not smiling often" further paints his situation with a touch of tragic color!
Girls love men with stories the most! Because they feel that such men have gone through a lot, are very experienced and mature!
As for why I know? Mind your own business!!!!
Back to the point!
In short, this is a great start.
The impression has been reversed, so the next steps will be much easier.
Open their hearts, then take their hearts!