Chapter 139: His Back

“My class does not welcome you. Leave immediately,” Inoue Kendo shouted.

Looking up at him, Lei Yin suddenly smiled and said, “Are you afraid of me continuing to speak?”

“Why would I be afraid of you?” Inoue Kendo retorted angrily.

Scanning the college students staring at him in shock, Lei Yin looked at them with a mixture of pity and cold indifference. “All of you here are both pitiful and pathetic. You are blindfolded and deafened by the current Japanese government and by instructors like him who teach without conscience. Do you truly believe that Japan invaded Asian countries back then just to promote the so-called Yamato spirit? Let me make it crystal clear for you: it was nothing more than blatant, bloody aggression.”

“Shut up and leave immediately!” Inoue Kendo snapped, his eyes twitching.

Ignoring him, Lei Yin continued loudly, “You don’t know the true history. You are all blind and deaf, which makes you pitiable. One day, when you travel to other Asian countries, you won’t even understand why people would point at you and curse, calling you ‘Japanese devils.’ That makes you pathetic. And years later, when you have children, you will, like this so-called instructor, teach this distorted history to your children. Then your children will teach it to their children. While you harm the people of other countries, you are also slowly destroying yourselves. That makes you despicable as well.

“Why is it that Nazi Germany, another perpetrator of World War II, does not face the same level of condemnation from other countries as Japan does? It is because they had the courage to take responsibility for their past crimes. In contrast, what have those self-righteous Japanese politicians done besides rewriting textbooks and stubbornly denying history? History is history—it won’t lose its authenticity just because a few people distort it.

“I know my words are useless now because you’ve been blind and deaf for far too long. Go online and search for yourselves. Find out what despicable things those ‘war heroes’ your prime minister honors every year actually did.”

“Get out of here immediately, you treacherous, traitorous bastard!” Inoue Kendo banged his desk furiously, his face dark with rage.

As if he had just heard the funniest joke, Lei Yin laughed out loud again.

“If you think what you’re saying is correct, then why don’t you have the courage to teach your class in Nanjing, China, or Busan, South Korea? Don’t worry, I’ll pay for your plane ticket and arrange a venue for your lecture. I’m sure you’ll become world-famous within a day. The only question is whether you’ll live long enough to return to Japan,” Lei Yin said with heavy sarcasm.

“Get out!” Inoue Kendo roared, his face red with fury, looking as though he might burst a blood vessel.

Lei Yin slowly walked to the aisle and looked at him calmly. “Unlike you, I am a person. I walk out—I don’t crawl out.” With that, he headed toward the door.

The classroom fell into a dead silence, with only the sound of Lei Yin’s footsteps echoing as he moved.

When he reached the door, Lei Yin suddenly turned back and said to Inoue Kendo, “Oh, one more thing—I forgot to tell you: your wig is crooked.”

Instinctively, Inoue Kendo reached up to adjust his head.

Seeing his ridiculous reaction, a girl couldn’t help but let out a stifled laugh.

Realizing he had been mocked, Inoue Kendo, in a fit of rage, grabbed his textbook and threw it at Lei Yin.

But the book fell to the floor, only making it a third of the way to its target due to the distance.

Lei Yin left with a cold smile.

The students in the classroom all wore complicated expressions as they watched his departing figure. The room remained eerily silent.

※※※

Opening the rooftop door, Takeda saw that Lei Yin was indeed standing quietly in front of the wire fence.

Looking at his tall and solitary figure, Takeda suddenly felt, for a moment, as if he didn’t recognize this person.

“Hey, it’s time to eat. How long are you planning to keep up this cool act?” Takeda walked over and called out loudly.

Lei Yin turned to look at him for a while before saying calmly, “It seems you have something you want to ask me.”

Leaning against the wire fence beside him, Takeda stared at him. “I don’t understand why you said those things. If it were someone else, I’d think they were just trying to stand out and get attention from girls. But I know you’re not that kind of person. Besides, no one would say those things just to attract attention. If possible, I’d like an explanation.”

Lei Yin smiled and looked him straight in the eye. “If I told you I was Chinese in my past life, would you believe me?”

Takeda stared at him for a moment before sighing in frustration. “Come on, if you don’t want to tell me, just say so. There’s no need to make up something like that to fool me.”

After thinking for a moment, Lei Yin said, “It’s not that big of a deal, really. My grandfather was Chinese, so I’m one-quarter Chinese by blood. Hearing that guy spout nonsense in class, I couldn’t hold back.”

“That explanation makes more sense. Alright, let’s go eat.” Takeda patted his shoulder understandingly.

Lei Yin smiled. Sometimes, the truth is harder to believe than a lie.

As they walked downstairs, Takeda suddenly said, “By the way, after class, I overheard some guys talking about you. It didn’t sound good. You should be careful.”

When they reached the cafeteria, Yoshikawa Jiro and Shiraishi Akira were already waiting for them.

“What took you so long? We’re starving!” Yoshikawa immediately complained as soon as he saw them.

“It was just a few minutes. Quit whining,” Takeda said, casually pulling out a chair to sit down.

“Masashi, why hasn’t your sister joined us for lunch these past few days?” Takeda asked.

“She’s not comfortable being around strangers,” Lei Yin said with a hint of helplessness. Though there’s no right or wrong when it comes to personality, being overly withdrawn isn’t ideal. He was beginning to worry about Kazumi’s future social interactions.

Suddenly, Lei Yin looked up toward the cafeteria entrance.

A group of more than ten young men entered. They didn’t seem to be here for a meal; they immediately began scanning the room, as if searching for someone.

“Masashi, get your head down!” Takeda suddenly tugged at Lei Yin’s sleeve and whispered.

“Why?” Lei Yin asked.

“I recognize two of them—they’re the ones who were talking about you earlier. They might be here to cause trouble. Before they spot you, go hide in the bathroom,” Takeda whispered urgently.

“What’s going on?” Yoshikawa, sensing something was wrong, asked in confusion.

“I’ll explain later. Masashi, I’ll cover for you—just head to the bathroom quickly. There are too many of them for you to take on,” Takeda said anxiously, seeing Lei Yin still sitting motionless in his chair.

Lei Yin glanced at him and finally stood up from his seat.

But before Takeda could breathe a sigh of relief, he saw Lei Yin walking straight toward the group.

Was this guy going crazy again? Takeda had the sudden urge to run up and smack him.

Seriously, what debt did I owe him in my past life? Without thinking much, Takeda immediately stood up and followed behind Lei Yin.

Seeing Takeda’s actions, Yoshikawa and Shiraishi Akira realized something serious was happening and got up to follow as well.

Surrounded by more than ten students, Lei Yin looked at the leader and said, “Judging by your faces, it doesn’t look like you’re here to treat me to lunch.”

The young man in a dress shirt sneered. “Seems like you already know why we’re here. I’ll keep it simple—if you kneel down right now and bark like a dog for everyone in the cafeteria, we’ll let this go. Otherwise, don’t blame us for what happens next.”

“Senpai, don’t push people too far. He just said a few words—he didn’t actually offend you,” Takeda cut in before Lei Yin could respond.

“You’re wrong. He’s insulted all of us Japanese. If you don’t want to end up like him, get out of the way right now,” the young man said loudly.

“You don’t seem like someone who cares about patriotism that much. You’re just looking for a chance to show off in front of everyone, aren’t you, Senpai?” Takeda said sarcastically.

“You’ll regret saying that, kid,” the young man sneered.

By now, Yoshikawa had pieced together what was going on from their words. Never having been in a group fight before, his palms began to sweat.

Shiraishi Akira, as usual, remained expressionless.

Everyone in the cafeteria was watching them. Even at Teikyo University, a prestigious institution, this was the first time such a scene had occurred.

“Enough. If you have something to settle, let’s take it outside. Don’t ruin everyone else’s appetite here,” Lei Yin finally spoke, breaking the tension.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said you need to bark like a dog right here and now,” the young man stepped closer, emphasizing each word.

“Campus violence in a university setting, huh? Brings back memories. But fighting on campus will get you a disciplinary record—maybe even expelled. If it’s off-campus, though, that’s a different story. Don’t you agree?” Lei Yin said calmly.

The young man glanced around and saw many people watching them.

After a moment of thought, he said to Lei Yin, “You’re not getting away from this.”

Lei Yin ignored him and turned to his three friends. “Don’t follow me.”

“No way!” Takeda objected loudly.

Lei Yin looked at him seriously and said, “If you still consider me a friend, do as I say.”

“It’s because I consider you a friend that I can’t let you go alone! At worst, we’ll stop being friends after this is over,” Takeda replied stubbornly.

Lei Yin stared at him silently for a moment, then suddenly smiled. “Fine, do whatever you want.”

It was the first time Takeda had seen such a smile from him, and it stirred a wave of emotion in his chest.

“Hey, don’t forget about us. Two grown men smiling at each other like that—people will think you’re gay,” Yoshikawa said with a resigned sigh. After all, Takeda was his best friend.

“Let’s go. Don’t waste everyone’s time,” Lei Yin said, turning back to the young man.

The young man sneered and led the way out.

The others in the cafeteria stood frozen, watching as the group left.