These Dangerous Girls Placed Me Into Jeopardy

Poison!

Not only was there poison on the chopsticks—Lillian Ji herself was poison. In every sense of the word.

“Whatever happened to basic human trust...?”

“Aiya, I didn’t lie to you, okay? I said I didn’t put poison in the bento. I never said I wouldn’t poison anything else, did I?”

“There were traps in the wording?!”

I really couldn’t let my guard down with her for even a second!

“And it’s not even some kind of high-grade poison. It just triggers symptoms similar to food poisoning, that’s all~ I just wanted to see what it’d be like to take care of you, Cheng-kun...”

With an expression like she was on the verge of tears, full of devotion like a girlfriend who truly loved her boyfriend—just looking at her, there was no way to tell if she was acting or serious.

Even if she said it like that, the sense of horror rising in my chest didn’t lessen one bit.

Because if you think even a little about what could come next, the flowchart becomes very obvious:

Stomach pain → ask to leave class → rest in the nurse’s office → Lillian Ji comes to visit → get murdered in the infirmary → dead ending.

It’s clearly a one-way express train to death if I take even one wrong step!

“Stop it.”

That voice came from Snowy Jiang, who had remained silent until now.

Stop it...? Does that mean she also knows Lillian Ji is a murderer?! Or wait—maybe everyone else already knows, and I’m the only clueless one!

“Aiya, if it isn’t Snowy Jiang. You were so quiet I almost forgot you existed~”

Whoa. That was a straight-up personal attack right off the bat. She really doesn’t look like the type to be so vicious just based on her appearance.

“Leave.”

Snowy Jiang stepped in front of me, stretching one hand across my chest—as if shielding me.

“Ara, ara... I think you’re the one who should be leaving, no?”

That smile.

Lillian Ji was angry again.

But it wasn’t that forced, fake grin—it was a perfectly natural, flawlessly measured smile, something that could literally be used as a textbook example of what a smile should look like.

And yet, in this kind of atmosphere, in this kind of situation, that smile didn’t feel “friendly” at all. It was full of malice... a dangerous smile.

Her mouth smiled. Her eyes smiled. But because that smile was too perfect, it instead radiated pressure.

Anyone with even slightly weaker mental strength might’ve already dropped to their knees, kissing her shoes while sobbing, “Lady Lillian, please spare my life!”

Honestly? I was kinda on the verge of doing that myself...

“Barging into the sweet, harmonious world of a loving couple and deliberately cutting off our tender moment—don’t you think that’s a little too nosy of you, Snowy Jiang?”

Yeah, I’d say there’s no such thing as a “sweet, harmonious” couple when it’s full of deception and traps... And especially not one where the girlfriend poisons her boyfriend!

This is way more extreme than feeding me some disgusting mystery food!

“Could it be that you like Cheng-kun too, Snowy Jiang? Or maybe you’re just the type who can’t stand watching other people being lovey-dovey?”

Every single sentence was an attack. Not a single word was insulting on its own, but each one struck at the weak spots, straight to the heart.

How the hell did she manage to smile so gently while ripping someone apart?

It’s terrifying!

I’m 100% sure that if anyone ever tried to negotiate with Lillian Ji in the future, they’d get emotionally steamrolled into tears.

And yet, Snowy Jiang remained completely silent. She had her back to me, so I couldn’t see her face, but anyone would be upset hearing those words, right? Wanting to avoid a fight, I tried to step in and play peacemaker.

“H-Hey now, that’s enough, don’t you think—?”

“Don’t speak, Cheng-kun.”

“Shut up.”

“Uh...”

Yeah, I always go kind of limp when confronted by assertive girls... And now there were two of them, so I was even more useless...

Do guys not get any say at all during times like this...?

“I like him.”

Those three words came out of nowhere. It took me a solid two seconds to realize Snowy Jiang was answering Lillian Ji’s earlier question.

But I don’t think she meant she likes me as a person. It was more like, “I like doing what I want. You got a problem with that?” Don’t ask me how I know—I just happen to be good at interpreting the real meaning behind stoic faces.

Lillian Ji’s smile disappeared. She stared intently at Snowy Jiang, her eyes sharp enough to cut steel.

“I see. So you’re the same kind as me.”

“...I’m not like you.”

“I saw him first. You trying to get in my way?”

“...Not interested.”

There was no room for me to say a damn thing. Is this what they call a conversation between women? (It’s not.)

Why did I feel like I’d just become a hunted animal... or worse, a bargaining chip? My status felt like it had dropped several levels...

“Then why—”

“But.”

That crisp voice wasn’t loud, but it rang clearly in my ears. A definite turning point in tone.

“He’s my friend.”

Because he’s my friend, I can’t just stand by while you hurt him.

Looking at that small silhouette standing between me and Lillian, I felt a surge of safety rise up from deep within.

Today, I’d actually made two friends in one day!

Wow... that’s a new personal record. I was... honestly touched!

“Oho... a friend, is it?”

The oppressive pressure faded.

“Hehehehe... how popular. Well, I’ll take my leave for now. Let’s go home together later, Cheng-kun~”

Lillian Ji picked up her lunchbox, lifted her skirt hem with elegance, flashed an angelic smile, and turned to leave the pavilion.

That Lillian Ji... actually backed off. A miracle!

I wiped away the imaginary sweat from my forehead and said:

“Whew~ You really saved me there, Snowy Jiang.”

That was almost literally a life-saving act!

I couldn’t even begin to put my gratitude into words.

Snowy Jiang looked up at me and extended a hand.

“Payment.”

...What? She wanted a reward?!

Ugh, I guess there really is no such thing as a free lunch in this world (only poisoned ones). She did help me, so I did owe her something.

“Uh, how much? Just so you know, I don’t have a lot of money...”

I’ve said it before: even with all the change on me, I barely make it into the triple digits. And that’s on a good day—most of the time, I’ve only got a few coins.

Still, this was a lifesaving favor. If I tried to put a price on it, it’d feel like I was saying my life was dirt cheap.

Complicated feelings.

Fortunately, Snowy Jiang soon gave me the kind of answer I was hoping for.

“I don’t want money.”

“Then what do you want?”

Something like me doing a favor in return?

“...Hair.”

She shook her head and gave me an unusual request.

“H-Hair?”

I pointed to my own head, confused.

She nodded.

Yep, hair it is.

I really wanted to ask why it had to be hair, but I swallowed the words.

Snowy Jiang was a bit strange—she was in our class, after all. That title of hers made it clear enough. So it wasn’t out of character for her to ask for something weird.

There’s no way she’s using my hair to curse me or something, right?

“Okay, strange request, but if you want it, I guess it’s fine... Wait, how much? You’re not gonna ask for all of it, are you?”

Ugh. If she wanted everything, I’d even be willing to shave myself bald!

Snowy Jiang put her book down and suddenly leaned right up into my face. Whoa—that was way too close... our noses were practically touching.

“What’s up?”

“...(mumble)...(mumble)...(mumble)...(mumble)...”

She was saying something, but it was way too quiet!

We were already this close, but her voice still sounded like static from a radio with bad reception.

“Wait, I can’t hear you at all. Just tell me how many strands of hair you want!”

She tilted her head, thought for [N O V E L I G H T] a moment, and then extended both hands from her sleeves, spreading all ten fingers right in front of me.

“Ten strands?”

“Mhm.”

This time, Snowy Jiang actually answered properly—and loudly. I guess the longer her sentences are, the quieter she gets.

Just ten hairs? That’s nothing! I lose that much just from brushing my hair in the morning.

I casually grabbed a few locks and counted the ones that came loose. Not too few, not too many—exactly ten. A couple of them were white hairs, though.

I looked up and asked her:

“White hairs okay?”

“Okay.”

Snowy Jiang’s facial expressions were even more limited than Serena’s—most people wouldn’t be able to tell her emotions at all. But maybe I’d gotten used to dealing with cold personalities, because I could tell she was in a really good mood.

“Seriously? Hair’s all you want? That feels a bit...”

“It’s enough.”

She looked... genuinely happy.

I didn’t really get what was so exciting about getting my hair, though.

After taking it from me, she pulled out a clear plastic zip bag from her pocket, gently tucked the hairs inside, then put that into a cloth pouch.

Come to think of it, I’d seen her save her own fingernail clippings before... She really did have some strange hobbies.

Well, as long as she’s happy, I don’t have any reason to judge my friends for their interests!

Actually, if it’s just hair, I can totally afford that. Maybe I should just hire her to be my bodyguard?

Although... having someone as tiny as Snowy Jiang as my bodyguard would be a little embarrassing...

Eh, I’ll figure it out on my own for now. If things get really bad, I’ll call on my dear friend Snowy Jiang for help!

What I didn’t realize at the time... was that what started as a simple “hair” request would eventually snowball into a price I couldn’t afford at all...

There really is no such thing as a free lunch.