Ichika and Yotsuba returned to their dorm room and sat together on the bed, facing each other in silence.
After a long pause, Ichika spoke wistfully, "Yotsuba…"
"Stop! Ichika, don't talk yet," Yotsuba looked startled. "Let me think for a minute!"
"Don't bother thinking with that walnut-sized brain of yours," Nakano Ichika gently tapped Yotsuba's head. "You asked, you know it's a misunderstanding. Are you finally relieved?"
"What are you talking about?" Nakano Yotsuba turned her head away and whispered, "I don't understand…"
"Oh, really…" Ichika pretended to look exasperated, but her eyes were twinkling slightly. "Someone you knew in elementary school. You only spent half a year in school together, yet you're still thinking about him all these years later. Yotsuba, you're so pure."
"Mmm…" Yotsuba's fair face flushed so deeply it looked like blood might seep through. She hung her head, as if looking for a crack in the floor to disappear into.
"So, now that you know he's single," Nakano Ichika teased, "when are you planning to confess?"
"I-I-I… someone like me can't do that," Yotsuba stammered, immediately realizing she had let something slip. She quickly twisted her head back. "I don't understand what you're talking about!"
As she spoke, her chest heaved intensely.
"It's okay to think about it a little, but is Hayakawa-kun really okay? He doesn't seem like the type to date at all, he's so awkward," Nakano Ichika looked troubled, turning to Yotsuba. "Was he that obsessed with studying in elementary school? I don't remember, since I wasn't in his class. You must remember, Yotsuba."
"No," Yotsuba shook her head, a strange look on her face. "In elementary school, his grades were about the same as ours."
"Hah?" Ichika's eyes widened in disbelief. "What is that? A mutation?"
"That's why I'm curious. What happened after he transferred out of elementary school?" Nakano Yotsuba looked up and gazed out the window, murmuring, "But he probably doesn't remember me anymore…"
I need to find a way to make Furuhashi and Ogata study 100 hours a day.
Hayakawa Haku thought this to himself as he found Ogata Rizu on the path.
"Ogata, perfect timing." Hayakawa Haku smiled and walked toward her.
Ogata Rizu, the Thumbelina, even showed a slight smile on her usually expressionless face when she saw Hayakawa. "Hayakawa-kun…"
"Here, take this," Hayakawa Haku pulled out a stack of practice tests as thick as a dictionary from his bag. "Find the time to complete these. This covers all the material for the liberal arts midterms. If you go through all of it, you'll be much more prepared."
The smile on Ogata Rizu's face vanished.
So much…
Ogata Rizu stared blankly as she took the stack from Hayakawa's hand. The sheer weight caused the girl, who often helped deliver food for her family's udon shop, to momentarily lose her footing. She felt the heavy weight of knowledge.
"Make sure you do it properly. It's meaningless if you spend time on it without seriousness." Hayakawa Haku didn't care about Ogata Rizu's psychological state. Since his teaching skills were currently limited, he could only resort to a Spartan teaching method. He spoke with crushing seriousness, "Go through all of this in the next two days. I will test you when we get home."
At that, a shadow crossed Ogata Rizu's already troubled face. She parted her pink lips and whispered, "Hayakawa-kun…"
It was a rare moment; the mechanical Thumbelina felt an urge to beg for mercy, a feeling she had never experienced before in her life.
"Ogata, do you know where Furuhashi is?" Hayakawa Haku cut off her attempt to speak and asked, "I need to give her share to her."
"Over there." Ogata Rizu pointed in a direction without hesitation, her movement seamless and merciless.
"Okay, I'll head over there then." Hayakawa nodded and walked straight away, leaving Ogata alone, clutching the overwhelming amount of knowledge, confused in the wind.
"Such a huge amount… it's going to break me." She muttered, then suddenly noticed a strange gaze. She instinctively looked over and saw a beautiful silver-haired figure walking nearby, her figure graceful and stunning, like a fantasy elf in the forest.
The elf disappeared into a building, and Ogata Rizu looked momentarily lost.
She is… someone I don't know.
"..." Ogata frowned slightly in thought. She didn't know why, but she felt that the person, though seemingly just passing by, was actually secretly observing her… or perhaps Hayakawa-kun.
Must be my imagination…
Hayakawa Haku found Furuhashi Fumino with the Deer-Butterfly Trio from her class.
"Furuhashi." Hayakawa called out to her. Furuhashi Fumino's expression immediately changed when she saw Hayakawa approaching. "Hayakawa-kun!"
"Oh my~" The curly-haired girl named Shikazono's eyes immediately lit up when she saw Hayakawa. She drifted swiftly over to him. "So you're Hayakawa-kun, the rumored boyfriend of Furuhashi, the princess of… Furuhashi-kun~"
"Ah-ah-ah, no! I already told you it was a misunderstanding!" Furuhashi Fumino followed in a panic, waving her hands in a frenzy. "Don't create a bigger misunderstanding!"
"She's right," Hayakawa, seeing Furuhashi Fumino's denial, said without hesitation, "It's just a normal student-teacher relationship. It's not a romantic one. Shikazono-kun, please don't overthink it."
Furuhashi Fumino suddenly stopped talking. She blinked and looked at Hayakawa.
Normal?
"Is that so?" Shikazono maintained her creepy, squinty-eyed smile and pulled out her phone. "Then what about this video?"
Hayakawa Haku looked at it and saw the video of Furuhashi Fumino saying those words at Ogata's udon shop. It was irrefutable evidence.
What do I do now? Hayakawa Haku silently looked at Furuhashi.
"Well… there are various reasons," Furuhashi Fumino stammered, then gave up completely. "It was a misunderstanding, anyway."
"That's right, it's a misunderstanding." Hayakawa Haku folded his arms and nodded, echoing Furuhashi's words like a yes-man. He was utterly clueless about emotions and interpersonal communication, so all he could do now was act as a parrot to ensure he didn't make a mistake.
"Furuhashi-kun was forced to publicly admit to dating, but they aren't actually dating? Is that what happened…" Shikazono covered her mouth in feigned surprise, then looked at her phone and said casually, "This shop looks a little familiar. Ogata-kun is in the video too. It must be the Ogata Udon Shop her family owns. I think I need to go over and ask, after all, Furuhashi-kun is my friend, and I can't just ignore a friend's situation…"
"Ah~ I really can't keep it a secret anymore. I'm so sorry, Shikazono-kun! My darling and I have actually been dating for a long time, ahahaha!"
Furuhashi Fumino suddenly hugged Hayakawa's arm tightly. Her eyes swirled like mosquitos in a coil as she let out a forced, shy laugh. "I only kept it a secret before because it was too embarrassing. I'm truly sorry~"
Hayakawa Haku: "..."
That was a truly manufactured, emotionless laugh.