These Dangerous Girls Placed Me Into Jeopardy-Chapter 0Vol 3. : She Said She Wanted to Be Friends With Me

Lyna was not my friend.

She always called me “Invisible-kun.” I doubt she even knew my real name.

If I had to say when I truly started interacting with Lyna, it would be today.

Not that I didn’t know who she was before now. After all, she sat right next to me. She was popular, too—stories about her drifted into my ears all the time.

She was one of those famous students everyone knew about. Of course, when it came to fame, Lillian and Snowy were no slouches either. But their kind of fame was different. If Lillian and Snowy attracted people through their charisma and aura, then Lyna’s popularity came from something much simpler—she just had a ton of friends.

She gave off this vibe like she could be friends with anyone. Her communication skills were so absurdly good, I couldn’t help but be impressed.

To be honest, I kind of admired her.

I, who could count my total number of friends on # Nоvеlight # one hand, was worlds apart from Lyna, who had so many that you couldn’t possibly count them all.

They said she had over three hundred friends, that a third of the school considered her a friend. She could even strike up conversations with their friends’ friends, and she had people from other schools in her social network too... It was like a spiderweb of connections. She could hold conversations with five people at once and not miss a beat. She could talk with a total stranger for a few minutes and shift them from “white (stranger)” to “green (friendly)”—and leave a lasting impression while she was at it. That had to count as some kind of superpower.

She’d even become class president of Class 2-2, the zoo of monsters.

And yet, because our personalities were polar opposites, we’d never really crossed paths.

She was the embodiment of proactivity. I was nothing if not passive.

Lillian ended up interacting with me because she was interested in my body (no mistake). Snowy was similar—our personalities were alike, and she too had taken an interest in my body (no mistake). As for Lan Hua and Rainie... both had their own obsessive hang-ups about me, but let’s leave that aside for now.

Still, someone like Lyna connecting with me? I couldn’t even picture it.

We were like two dots at opposite ends of the map.

Would a quick-tempered rabbit ever go out of her way to befriend a slowpoke turtle?

This wasn’t some fable about a race—of course no rabbit would be that stupid.

So I genuinely believed that I could never be friends with Lyna.

But that’s the way life works—those things you think are impossible tend to be the ones that end up happening.

That’s the lesson I came away with after everything that happened today.

So, let’s rewind to this morning—May 8th.

Fresh out of the hospital, I was heading to school on a Monday.

I was riding a girls’ bicycle down the road between my house and the school.

I felt the frame wobble beneath me and quickly hit the brakes, stopping on the side of the road.

Squatting down to check, I found it wasn’t the chain. It was a flat tire.

If it had just been the chain, I could’ve rigged a fix, but a flat? That was game over.

"...No way. Am I really that heavy...?"

The girls’ bike belonged to Serena. Usually, she’d be the one pedaling with Cora riding on the back. I always walked to school on foot.

But today, since I was running late—and Serena and Cora had already left early for morning duty—I borrowed it for once.

And it blew a tire.

Just my luck.

"...What a pain..."

There weren’t any bike repair shops nearby. Was I really supposed to push this thing all the way to school? If I did that, I’d definitely be late.

The whole reason I even took the bike was to not be late. And now this—right in the awkward no-man’s-land halfway between home and school. It pissed me off.

...Guess I’d have to take that shortcut. Not gonna lie, I’ve got a pretty bad impression of that place because of the whole killer incident.

Still feels like something messed up always happens when I go through there.

But it was my first day back after being discharged. Better not be late.

I pulled out my phone, tapped the icon with the completely black screen, and the city map popped up.

The red dot was me. The nearest blue one... ah, there it was—a Black Street access point, close by.

The entrances shifted every week, so if you wanted to use one, it was pretty much up to luck.

I pressed start on the navigation and didn’t waste time. I pushed the bike toward the designated location.

Before long, I found the hidden spot—a dead-end alley.

The entrances to Black Street always appeared in these hard-to-reach corners. That was just the “setting.”

You couldn’t see it with your eyes, but when you walked through the marked location, you’d feel a sudden wave of vertigo—that was the sign you were entering Black Street.

And sure enough, the best confirmation was right in front of me—this crowd of [Background Actors].

They were the people who lived on this street, all members of the “Troupe.” Sure, sometimes they showed up in normal TV dramas too, but mostly they played “bystanders” in special productions.

For their own safety—or to avoid being targeted—they lived in Black Street when off-duty.

Only in Black Street could these “actors” drop their act and be their real selves.

...Or so they said, but I honestly couldn’t tell if they were acting or not.

Their performances were so convincing, you’d think any one of them could be a legit star.

Or maybe they were just playing themselves.

“Well if it isn’t Newbie-kun. Morning. Off to school?”

“Yeah. Morning. Running late. Taking the shortcut.”

The one who spoke to me was Old Man Zhang, the flower shop owner. He was carrying a pot of flowers out to get some sun.

He glanced at the bike I was pushing, cracked his back, and said:

“Flat tire, huh? I’ll fix it for you.”

“No problem. I’ll get a spare tire from Old Liu next door. Come grab it after school.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

After handing off the bike to Old Man Zhang and giving a polite bow, I continued on foot.

People here in Black Street would greet me like that, even lend me a hand.

They used to ignore me—thought I was just a stray who wandered in—but once they figured out who I was, they started treating me like one of their own.

Why was I allowed to come and go freely through Black Street...?

SF Light Novel

“Wahhh! I’m gonna be late! I’m gonna be late!!”

That voice, that setup—yeah, I knew it well.

Just like that frantic white rabbit who always seems late for everything—her pounding footsteps closed in from behind.

Suo, Yuan, and San all knew how much of a pain she could be. They tried to stay as far away from her as possible.

I was no different.

I knew exactly what was about to happen, so I stepped aside immediately.

For someone whose brakes never seemed to work, dodging was the only logical move.

That should’ve let her zip right past me without issue.

That’s what I thought—

But...

She still crashed into me.

But unlike that time I crashed into someone at school, this time was clearly intentional.

Which meant I wasn’t the only one who got knocked down—she crashed with me, and we tumbled together across the pavement.

Good thing I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. If I’d taken a hit like that from a full-body human missile after eating, I probably would’ve thrown everything back up, exactly as it went in.

...What the hell?!

I’m the one in pain here, okay!

She came at me like she’d taken the wrong meds—or maybe forgot to take them at all—slamming into me full-speed, no hesitation.

That unpredictable creature known as Lyna. A bizarre lifeform whose behavior pattern defies all logic.

I’m sure I dodged her just now. She must’ve seen me and deliberately added force to her impact. It was like she zeroed in on me.

The background actors nearby all flipped on their ‘Ignore’ switch.

Guess they knew Lyna was trouble.

Tch. No loyalty at all.

“Ah! If it isn’t Invisible-kun! What a coincidence!”

Lyna climbed off my stomach and exclaimed like she’d discovered a new continent.

It was so fake, anyone could see she was acting.

“Yeah, sure is a coincidence. Coincidental enough to feel suspiciously pre-planned, right, Lyna-san?”

I looked at her, this girl who was pretending she ‘accidentally’ ran into me, scratching her head with a troubled expression.

Seeing I wasn’t buying it, she gave up the act and casually patted the dirt off her skirt.

Then she picked up the slice of bread that had fallen beside us and said cheerily:

“Getting hit by a beautiful girl with bread in her mouth—and even accidentally grabbing her boobs in the fall—sure, it’s a cliché GAL GAME opening, but old tropes are classics for a reason, right? Ahahaha!”

“Pretty sure that trope hasn’t been used in years. It’s kinda fresh now because it’s extinct. And besides—that’s not the issue! I dodged you! Why the hell did you crash into me?!”

And I didn’t even get to grope you, okay?!

I didn’t get any benefits—I’m the one who lost out!

At my protest, Lyna dramatically leaned back and shouted in exaggerated disbelief.

“Ehh?! You’re blaming me?! Invisible-kun, that’s not very gentlemanly! I was trying to dodge you! But you moved first, and our paths ended up overlapping perfectly, so... boom! In the end, you can’t really say it’s my fault, right?”

“Ugh, whatever. My head’s pounding... feels like it’s gonna split open.”

“Eh? Seriously? A-Ahahaha... sorry...”

Hearing me say that, Lyna seemed to realize she’d messed up. She laughed awkwardly a couple times, then bowed her head and apologized earnestly.

When you make that face, what am I even supposed to say? Seriously.

But her serious mode lasted all of three seconds before she perked back up and sparkled at me with those shining eyes.

“Then I’ll lick your wound for you! It'll heal much faster! And you’ll never feel pain there again!”

She stuck out her tongue with a “blehhh,” wiggling it around. And despite being a youthful beauty, she somehow managed to look disgustingly lewd.

I raised an eyebrow and shot back:

“And the side effect is turning into a zombie?”

“Well, not necessarily! Maybe you’re naturally immune, Invisible-kun!”

“What’s the probability of that?”

Without hesitation, I flicked her right on the forehead.

“Ow ow ow! You’re so mean, Invisible-kun~ But I’m your friend, you know~”

“Who’s your friend?! Also, how about finally remembering my actual name?”

“Eh, um, er... I’ll remember it soon! It’s, uh, that...”

Never mind that we’d sat next to each other for over a year, and I literally reintroduced myself yesterday.

And she forgot my name anyway!

Lyna crossed her arms, humming in thought, before a lightbulb suddenly went off. She clapped her hands and pointed at me with glee.

“You’re... Cheng-kun, right? See? I remembered!”

She stood there hands on hips, wearing that smug ‘praise me, I’m amazing’ look on her face.

But she got it wrong! freewebnσvel.cѳm

“It’s Ethan An, you moron! And what happened to my surname?!”

“...Huh?”

“Go die. Twice.”

I couldn’t help thwacking her on the head again.

Normally I’m not this quick to anger, but for some reason, she always managed to piss me off.

Was it just in her nature to draw out people’s need to roast her?

“Ehh, can’t help it. I’m a zombie! We zombies aren’t known for our memory, y’know~”

“Oh, so now you’re blaming your race.”

“C’mon, let’s drop that. We’d better get moving—we’re gonna be late!”

Like nothing had happened, Lyna plastered on her usual sunny smile and bit into her bread.

Whose fault do you think that is...?

And seriously, she’s eating the bread that just fell on the ground?

Noticing my gaze, Lyna gave me a thumbs-up and chirped:

“No problem! It hasn’t been three seconds yet! Still edible!”

“Pretty sure that logic doesn’t apply here. Also, shouldn’t you be more worried about what’s already in your body than a few germs?”

“The virus is my immune system, duh~”

Wow. Zombie viruses are surprisingly wholesome, huh?

I let out a deep, weary sigh. Talking to this girl is exhausting.

“Don’t sigh so early in the morning, Ethan~ You’ll chase away your luck!”

“And whose fault do you think that is—wait. You do know my name.”

So that amnesia act earlier was just for show?!

Lyna chomped down the rest of the bread, wiped the crumbs from her mouth, and flashed me a breezy grin.

“Of course I know your name—Ethan An. Nailed it, didn’t I?”

...I’ll let it slide for now.

Lyna turned sideways, hands behind her back, and looked at me with a bright smile.

“So, will you be my friend?”

“Nope. I refuse.”

Once again rejected, Lyna looked utterly shocked, her voice trembling in disbelief.

“Eh?! Why?! At this point, shouldn’t you be swooning over my charm and sobbing out ‘Yes, please be my friend!’ like some lovestruck schoolgirl?!”

“What fantasy drama is that from... We’re collaborators, not close in private, remember?”

“Aw, that’s too bad.”

Even if you pout at me like a sad abandoned puppy, I’m not giving in!

...Well, if you could remember my name properly, I might reconsider—

“Got it! Ethan!”

Her smile was so bright it was like looking directly at the sun.

No wonder this girl had so many friends. She really was charming.

With her around, you’d never feel bored.

She was just so energetic, it was a real pain in the ass.

Oh—by the way, we ended up being late anyway.