Chapter 14 - Maiden Beloved!

It's the beginning of April. Hundreds upon hundreds of native cherry trees blossom all over Japan, flowering, and showering parks with thousands of delicate white petals. With treetops and canopies exploding in swaths of pink and white, it is truly a sight to behold.

The school that Mai attends also has some in front of its entrance. Mai just looked at the magnificent scenery in front of her with her usual blank stares after she got down from the bus. She knew that it was gorgeous, but she still didn't get why are there some foreigners that come to Japan all over from their country just to get a glimpse of it.

'Can't they just view it from the internet?' Mai asked no one particularly. Maybe she's the weird one. She didn't understand that she didn't understand.

She then began to walk slowly toward the school. The three orphanage boys were already in when she stood still, viewing the scenery.

"What a strange thing! To be alive, beneath cherry blossoms..." Mai heard someone reciting something that felt phenomenal from right behind her. She turns her head and saw Jimmy, trailing her.

Jimmy is the brat that sat beside Mai. He was her most loyal subject. He will do everything that she said. Except dying, of course. His reason is that he couldn't serve Mai anymore if he died. But, if it were to save Mai, he would gladly sacrifice himself.

It was just sad. Unrequited love, that is. People can only hope that he can move on effortlessly in the future. He's still a child right now. He doesn't understand that he doesn't understand.

Mai reckons that the brat has totally made her life easier. He also always gave her homemade food. At first, it tasted really bad, but Mai still ate it anyway. She didn't want to waste food. He looked very happy because of that.

But the day after, he kneeled down in front of Mai and declared his sorry. It was because before he goes to school, he got a little curious about his food's taste and ate it himself. He quickly spits it out because it tastes like shit. Unfortunately, the food falls on his mother's face who stands beside him.

Mai easily accepted his apology. Jimmy flooded with tears just because of that. He promised to give her the best food ever.

Then, the food got better little by little. Mai found out that Jimmy was the one who made the dishes. The last time she tried the food, its taste can rival those average meals in the school cafeteria. It's awesome that a child her age can cook dishes as decent as that. Mai was convinced that he had a really great talent for cooking.

Back to the present, while Mai was wondering why would this brat followed her, Jimmy greeted her.

"Hello, Friend-san, it's good to see you today. I really missed you!" He said with a smiley face.

"Nhn..." Mai just nodded and continue her walking. Jimmy just quietly follows her from behind. He's already used to this kind of treatment. But he didn't mind it at all.

It's been a few days since Mai just started her third year in elementary school. Yup, third year. Her second year was already over. Also, a week ago was the welcoming ceremony for the new students. It fortunate that the principal got tied up by the teachers.

Also, after the student council president was done doing his speech, for some reason, Mai was urged to give her speech next. So, when she was on stage, she thought for a moment before she grabbed the microphone. What she said was...

"Just do it..." (Extreme Pose)

"Don't let your dreams be dreams..."

"Nothing is impossible..."

"No, what are you waiting for..."

"Do it..."

"Make your dreams come true..."

"Just... (Extreme pose) do it..."

Even though she said it with a flat tone and unemotional face, some of the older audience was crying, while the younger one thought her speech was so cool. Another batch of Mai's fans has arrived at this school.

Long story short, right now, she pretty much had already become the school's idol. She also got so many love letters, especially from her seniors, because they've already mature enough to know what love is. Of course, they were all got rejected.

As for her juniors, they were still sweet and pure, so there was only admiration in their eyes. A few of them envy her, but they quickly get taken care of by [Redacted!]. Yeah, [Redacted!]. The most famous, if not, an infamous organization in the school.

They were made out of Mai's crazed loyal fans who oversee the school from the shadow for her sake. Mentioning their name was considered taboo in the school society. That's why they were called [Redacted!]. The organization's real name was Federation of Mai's Best Friends.

The organization was established when Mai was still in second-grade. It was also when her popularity at school reached the max. Mai was aware of this, but she didn't say anything. She really likes it when they do all the dirty work for her.

From her investigation, Mai already knows who's the founder and leader of her fan's organization. It was actually the brat who walked behind her right now.

But they're still not competent enough, there are still a few rats that can go through them. The real organization that rules the school from the dark is the Student Council. Their members are more well-organized than Mai's fans. It was all because of their very skillful leader, the Student Council President.

Mai didn't gain her popularity just by her looks, but also by her intelligence. Not only did she get an almost perfect grade on her test, but she also won so many competitions, making her school become more popular among middle-aged gossiping women who were wondering which schools would be chosen for their children.

Think about what happened to her, Mai just sighed with her deadpan expression and opened the door toward her classroom. Unknown to her, on the class beside her, three boys from her orphanage were gathered and whispered to each other.

"Hey, have you done it?"

"Yeah boss, it's already been done!"

"Good, that b*itch is gonna get what she deserves from me! Muhuahuahua!"

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(Past Life Story)

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Inside a certain three-story house in Japan, a little girl can be seen cheerfully walking along its corridor. She's around 15 years old. In her hands, is the test result that she has gotten from her school.

All her test scores were perfect except for one. Fortunately, the art test wasn't drawing. The girl was sure that her parents would be proud of her. She has been trying her best to reach this far. Even studying until midnight.

"Father, mother, look what I got!" When she got to the living room, she immediately showed it to her parents who happened to be there.

They both looked at the girl with disgust when they saw her. The girl stopped at her place and was a little afraid to come closer.

The mother then steps forward arrogantly to the front of the girl. She then rudely grabs the test score from her daughter's hands to view the content of it.

From the top, all she can see is the score of 100 on the side of the subject. Her face looks ugly. But when she looks down at the very bottom, which is mathematics, it shows 99. The mother then put the paper on the nearby table and glance at the daughter, who smiled jovially. Her disgust is heightened.

The girl looks expectantly at her mother. Seeing her mother's hand movement, her mind was filled with joy. 'Is it head pat?' The girl thought to herself.

*SLAP!*

A loud slap was heard in the room that had previously been silent. The girl's hopes were shattered just like that.

"What?! You didn't get a perfect score on all of that?!"

*SLAP!*

Another slap rang in the room. The girl had tears in her eyes. Then...

*SLAP!*

"Don't cry! If you cry..."

*SLAP!*

The girl can only hold her tears. She felt hurt, both physically and mentally. 'Why?' She asked herself. 'Why did this must happen to me?'

While she contemplating, the living room door was opened. The one who comes in was the girl's twin brother. They both had the exact same appearance, except their hair. The girl's hair was long up to her waist while her twin brother was short.

Both of the parents' face turn into a smile seeing their son. He then shows them his test score. The mother just skims through it.

"Good!" She patted his head. "Darling~, look! What a good son we have!" She said to her husband. Her gaze then returned to her son. "Just don't be like your sister, Mai, alright?"

"Don't worry mom, I won't!" He heartily said to his mother. He then secretly peek at her sister. Their eyes were meet.

The girl, Mai, just silently left the room, ignoring her twin brother's lecherous expression that was thrown at her.