The Fourth Period Is Modern Chinese (Continued)

Little Chi's back was bent from Komachi pushing him so hard that his schoolbag was nearly falling off. He twisted around to say goodbye to us, then gradually disappeared down the end of the hallway while still being shoved along by Komachi.

I waved vigorously, while she, almost as if peeking, kept lowering her gaze and nodding slightly as she watched him leave.

And just like that, only the two of us remained.

In the hallway, now empty of everyone else, only our footsteps echoed.

My dragging indoor shoes made a patter-patter sound, while her model-like, graceful steps produced soft tap-tap sounds. The two utterly different noises intertwined and reverberated.

But as we neared the skybridge connecting the special classroom building to the main school building, one set of footsteps disappeared.

"...Is something wrong?"

The moment the slightly foolish-sounding footsteps stopped with a patter, she noticed immediately and stopped as well.

Then her indoor shoes gave a small squeak.

In an instant, her beautiful black hair, smooth and silky as satin, danced lightly in the breeze. She turned toward me, tucked the strands hanging over her cheek behind her ear with slender fingertips, and wore a smile that looked as though it might melt away if one looked away for even a moment.

"...Yeah."

The reply was vague. I couldn't tell whether she was admitting it or swallowing her words at the last second. Or perhaps she was buying time to figure out how to say it. Her voice was so soft it was nearly inaudible.

The slanting sunlight reflected brilliantly off the enormous glass windows of the skybridge, making her, already beautiful to begin with, look even more breathtakingly so.

"...It's nothing."

Beautiful, cute, and lovely enough to make anyone envious—when someone so captivating lowered her long lashes and