A Pleasant Collaboration!

The school bell tore through the hush of dusk. Midterm Exams were only two days away, and the atmosphere in Class B had shifted from studying together to one last push on their own. Most of the study groups had disbanded. Students were bent over their own notes and workbooks, while the air filled with the rustle of turning pages and the scratch of pen tips. Thanks to his focused tutoring over the past while, classmates occasionally came to Shimiya Kuki with a few difficult questions. His concise, clear explanations always helped them see the way forward. Watching this, Ichinose Honami smiled with quiet satisfaction. The invisible wall between Kuki-kun and his classmates seemed to have crumbled quite a bit under their shared goal.

Shibata Hayato clutched his battered physics workbook and squeezed up to Shimiya's desk, sweating profusely. "Shimiya! I've drawn this energy-conservation problem out several times, but I'm still stuck on the third part..."

Shimiya Kuki glanced at the question Shibata was pointing to and answered without a moment's thought. "Sorry, Shibata." His voice was as steady as ever, but carried a hint of firm distance. "I have something else to do today. Ask Kanzaki for help."

Kanzaki Ryuji, who was standing nearby organizing his school bag, pushed up his glasses and replied calmly, "Shibata, let me see." He turned to Shimiya, his gaze understanding and concerned. "You really need a day off. Go ahead. I'll cover for you today."

"Thanks." Shimiya said no more. He gave a slight nod, quickly gathered his things, picked up his school bag, and left his seat.

A short distance away, Ichinose Honami was helping Ohashi Yume review classical Japanese grammar. She noticed what was happening. She watched Shimiya's departing back, then glanced at Shibata, who had begun working through the problem again with Kanzaki's help. A trace of worry flashed through her bright eyes, but she soon pushed it down. Drawing a deep breath, she turned her attention back to the textbook before her and to the somewhat nervous Ohashi Yume. Her voice was gentle but firm. "All right, Kobashi-san, let's keep going over this grammar point..."

After leaving the School Building, Shimiya Kuki didn't return to the dormitory. Instead, he headed straight for the school's Shopping Street. Dusk had deepened, and the shops along the street were lighting up, their colorful signs glowing invitingly. The aroma of food mingled with the students' chatter, filling the place with warmth and life. He hadn't come here after school in a long time. Ever since Ichinose had volunteered to handle the grocery shopping for their study sessions, this bustling street had faded from his daily routine.

He didn't stop at any of the shops lining the busy main street. Instead, he turned down a familiar, relatively quiet alley. It wasn't long, and at the end stood a café called Ismo. Its dark-brown wooden façade and warm yellow light shining through the spotless windows gave it a cozy air. A delicate copper bell hung by the entrance, and a few strands of ivy wound around the lintel, lending it a touch of old-fashioned charm. Most eye-catching was the spacious terrace extending from the second floor. Plants and waist-high wooden railings divided it into several relatively private booths, while soft string lights swayed gently in the breeze, making it feel like a hidden oasis amid the busy streets.

Shimiya pushed open the door, and the copper bell rang out brightly. He didn't linger on the first floor, heading straight up the wooden stairs in the corner to the terrace. There weren't many customers. He made his way to the innermost booth, which was partly concealed by lush pothos.

"Sorry, I'm late." Shimiya sat down across from the woman in the booth, his tone flat.

"No, I just got here early." A woman was already seated there. She looked a few years older than Shimiya, with thick, loosely curled dark-brown hair draped over her shoulders. A few untamed strands brushed her striking yet beautiful features. She had an excellent figure and wore a well-tailored dark blouse, its top two buttons casually undone, revealing a hint of her full bust. Her waist, however, was surprisingly slender, accentuated by her fitted trousers. She gave off a relaxed, carefree air, yet had a strong presence. Her bright, sharp eyes and the faint, knowing curve of her lips made her the very picture of a seasoned, larger-than-life big sister.

She pushed a menu toward him with easy, almost careless nonchalance. "Would you like something to drink? The coffee here is pretty good."

"I don't know this place very well." Shimiya glanced over the menu without lingering. "I'll leave it to you, senpai."

"Heh, still so cautious." His senpai chuckled and, unbothered, snapped her fingers.

A moment later, a server in a classic black-and-white maid uniform came over. She looked quite young, with delicate features, but her eyes weren't as docile as an ordinary server's. Instead, they held a sharpness and wariness. She gave a slight bow. "What can I get for you?" Her voice was crisp, and her movements were precise, but her straight back and the quick glance she shot at Shimiya revealed that she wasn't an ordinary employee.

"Two of the house coffees," his senpai ordered.

"Certainly. Please wait a moment." The maid-uniformed server answered briskly and left.

While they waited for the coffee, Shimiya took a thin kraft-paper envelope from his school bag and pushed it across the table to his senpai. "This is what we agreed on."

The smile faded slightly from his senpai's face. She picked up the envelope and opened it without hurry, then pulled out several pages of documents. She began reading them carefully, page by page. The amusement in her expression gradually gave way to seriousness, and her brows drew tighter and tighter. The terrace lights cast alternating shadows and highlights across her face, and the mood grew heavy. At last, she finished the final page and let out a long, silent sigh. She gently closed the documents and set them back on the table.

"Ah..." Her sigh held both a trace of understanding and a weight of sorrow. "So it really was like this."

Shimiya watched her quietly, his dark eyes deep and unreadable. "You don't seem surprised, senpai."

"Surprised? Heh. I just didn't want to believe it." His senpai raised her eyes to Shimiya, her sharp gaze seeming to pierce his calm. "Your investigation was impeccable. Almost... flawless." She paused, and the bitterness in her eyes gave way to resolve. "Perhaps we really can try working together."

"Then," Shimiya said evenly, though with a hint of confirmation in his voice, "am I qualified to work with you, senpai?"

His senpai stared at him for a few seconds. Then that familiar, brazen smile returned to her face, though a trace of bitterness remained buried beneath it. "Of course! Your 'ticket' is worth plenty. Kid, you're more interesting than I expected." She lifted the steaming cup of coffee the maid-uniformed server had just brought over. "Here's to... a pleasant collaboration?"

Shimiya lifted his own coffee and gently clinked it against hers. The ceramic cups rang out with a clear "clink," especially distinct on the quiet terrace. "A pleasant collaboration."

"By the way," his senpai said, as if suddenly remembering something. She took a smaller folder from her bag. It bore the school crest, and she pushed it toward Shimiya, wearing a peculiar, almost teasing expression. "You must have your Midterm Exams coming up soon, right? As a gift for our first collaboration, your senpai has a little 'welcome present' for you."

Shimiya picked up the folder and opened it. Inside were several clearly printed sample test papers. He quickly scanned the questions, his expression unchanged.

His senpai leisurely took a sip of coffee, watching his reaction with interest. "Well? Interesting, isn't it?"

"Certainly." Shimiya closed the folder and slipped it into his school bag. "Then, senpai, I should be going." He stood up.

"Take care, kid. Good luck on the exams!" His senpai leaned back in her chair and waved to him, her smile as boisterous as ever.

Shimiya gave a slight nod and turned to leave the Terrace Booth.

Not long after he disappeared down the stairs, the maid-uniformed server from earlier hurried into the booth. Her professional smile was gone, replaced by tension and gravity. "Big Sister, how did it go? Is he trustworthy?"

His senpai didn't answer right away. She simply pushed the documents Shimiya had brought across the table toward the server.

The server picked them up and flipped through them quickly. As she read, her face turned visibly ashen, and her fingers trembled slightly around the pages. She jerked her head up, her voice laced with shocked anger and a trace of fear. "Th-this can't be! What are we supposed to do now?"

His senpai picked up her now-lukewarm coffee and looked toward the street below, where Shimiya had just disappeared into the crowd. Her gaze was deep and hard to read. "For now, we carry on as before. Then..." She paused, the corner of her mouth lifting in a complicated smile. "Let's see what kind of 'surprises' our 'collaborator' can bring us."

"Big Sister," the server said anxiously, "you really trust him? What if..."

"Whether we trust him or not, it's too early to say." His senpai cut her off, her voice calm with the resolve of someone who had burned her bridges. "But we have to try. Besides..." She drained the rest of her coffee, its bitterness spreading across her tongue. "It's not like we can end up any worse off."

Shimiya Kuki walked back toward the dormitory. The bustle of the Shopping Street gradually fell away behind him, and the tree-lined path leading to the dorms was much quieter. The streetlights had come on, casting long shadows across the ground. As he passed a recycling bin by the roadside, he didn't break his stride or even glance at it. He simply reached into his school bag, pulled out the folder bearing the school crest, and casually flicked his wrist.

The folder landed neatly inside the "other waste" bin with a soft thump. Inside lay the "gift" that would have sent countless students wild: a test paper containing every question from a recent important quiz, unchanged from the ones they had already taken, as well as every question on the upcoming Midterm Exams. More importantly, the Midterm Exams questions were entirely within the range the teachers had already specified. In other words, this was practically the Real Exam Questions.

Yet Shimiya Kuki had thrown away this easy shortcut without hesitation.

Class B didn't need it. They had worked so hard for so long. With accurate assessments and effective mutual support, everyone had clearly identified their weaknesses and worked to overcome them. They should—and had to—earn their actual results through their own ability. That was the foundation of the road to Class A.

Dusk settled around him, and the dormitory lights came into view. Shimiya Kuki calmly pushed open the dormitory's front door and disappeared into its warm light. The secret in the trash bin, as if it had never existed, was forgotten beneath the dim streetlights.