Kushida and Shiina Fail to Find Companions

The air in the classroom seemed to freeze for a few seconds.

Kushida Kikyo's face, which always wore a sweet smile, stiffened for a fleeting moment after being flatly rejected by Horikita, but she immediately returned to her usual carefree smile and said, "Alright then, let's do it another time, Horikita-san."

With that, she turned and walked back to her seat, leaving everyone with a back that remained as cheerful as ever.

This scene was taken in entirely by Shangguan Che, who was sitting not far away.

He rested his chin on one hand, as if he had just watched a short, punchy play about human reality, and muttered to himself, This Horikita-san is truly impenetrable. Kushida has been so proactive; anyone else would have agreed by now.

It was only because he had heard Kushida's invitations so often lately that he had gradually picked up on the surname "Horikita." She was the only one in the class with that surname, so it was easy to remember.

The student council president... I think his name is Horikita too? A thought suddenly popped into Shangguan Che's head. Hair color, eye color, they're both similar. In anime, isn't this the standard setup for siblings? One in Class D, one serving as president in Class A; this contrast is kind of interesting.

"Shangguan-kun, we can start studying now."

A small, fair, and slender hand waved gently before his eyes, pulling Shangguan Che's drifting thoughts back. He turned his head, let out a yawn, and met the clear, slightly worried eyes of Sakura Airi.

"Right, right, sorry, Sakura-san, I zoned out again." Shangguan Che quickly put away his wild thoughts and scratched his head in embarrassment.

"It's okay, I understand," Sakura Airi said softly, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Counting the days, they had been studying together like this for two weeks now.

Four to six days a week, without fail, they would head straight to the library after school and study until dinnertime. Sakura had long since figured out Shangguan Che's little habit—he would always suddenly lose focus, his eyes turning vacant, clearly thinking about something else.

At first, she would get a little nervous, thinking she had done something wrong, but later she realized Shangguan Che was simply "having an out-of-body experience," so she stopped minding it.

Luckily, his eyes don't keep staring at me when he zones out, otherwise... Sakura Airi stole a glance at Shangguan Che and quickly lowered her head, her earlobes turning slightly red.

In her heart, Shangguan-kun was an amazing person. Not only was he good at studying and able to explain problems clearly and easily, but his photography skills were also top-notch, making her look especially good in photos.

"Come on, show me the problems you don't understand." Shangguan Che pulled Sakura's workbook toward him and took out his pen, ready to explain.

Sakura Airi pointed to a few math problems marked with red ink and whispered, "It's these ones, especially this function problem. I always get confused about the domain."

Shangguan Che nodded and began to explain patiently.

While it was called "studying together," most of the time was actually spent with Sakura doing problems while Shangguan Che tutored her from the side.

Shangguan Che felt this was the most efficient way. Sakura's foundation was a bit weak and needed targeted guidance, while he could also consolidate his own knowledge during the explanation process—killing two birds with one stone.

Taking advantage of the gap while Sakura was busy calculating with her head down, Shangguan Che's thoughts began to "wander" again.

Karuizawa Kei doesn't seem to have any special movements lately. She's the same as always, hanging out with a few other girls...

As for Ichinose Honami, I complimented her yesterday on how attentive she is to her classmates, and she reacted even more happily than if I had complimented her directly. Looks like I found the right direction. But why does she care so much about other people's opinions? I'll have to keep observing.

As for Hirata... he's a grown man, he can take care of himself. I'll just let him be.

Shangguan Che calculated his "interpersonal relationship observation plan" in his heart, not forgetting to give himself a pat on the back: I've put in quite a lot of effort to maintain relationships in the class, what with all the chatting and observing.

He had put in extra work for Ichinose, chatting with her every few days and specifically choosing those "rainbow farts" (flattery) that would be too embarrassing to say in real life. He would even secretly use his Clairvoyance to see her reaction when she read his messages, then adjust his "compliment strategy" for next time.

"Shangguan-kun, I still don't quite get this part." Sakura Airi's voice interrupted Shangguan Che's internal self-affirmation.

"Oh, here? Look..." Shangguan Che immediately snapped back to reality, pointing at the problem and explaining it again until Sakura wore an expression of sudden realization.

"Do you understand now?"

"Yeah, I think I've got it!"

"Then you keep working on it, I'm going to go find a book to read by the shelves."

"Okay." Sakura Airi nodded, watching Shangguan Che stand up. He even made a point to raise his right arm in a "fighting" gesture, which made her unable to help but curl the corners of her mouth.

Actually, at first, Shangguan Che had wanted to sneakily play on his phone while Sakura did her problems, but he reconsidered, feeling that it was disrespectful and made him seem dismissive. Thus, he had developed the habit of going to the bookshelves to find something to read.

The library at Advanced Nurturing High School truly lived up to its reputation; the collection was astonishingly large, ranging from literary classics to professional textbooks and original editions in various languages—it had everything.

Shangguan Che had initially wanted to challenge himself by finding a French edition of The Little Prince to revisit a classic that never went out of style.

In the end, he simply revisited Andersen's Fairy Tales, One Thousand and One Nights, and Aesop's Fables.

As expected, children's books are just great—simple, pure, and no need to strain the brain. Shangguan Che read with great interest, occasionally sighing softly at the plot points in the stories.

Having flipped through most of the fairy tale books, Shangguan Che stretched and decided to look for some new "spiritual food." He wandered aimlessly between the shelves and, before he knew it, arrived at the mystery novel section.

"Excuse me, are you looking for a mystery book?"

A soft, moist voice came from behind him. Shangguan Che turned around and saw a white-haired girl standing there.

She looked very delicate, holding a few thick books in her arms, and her voice was soft, like a feather brushing against his heart. Judging by her attire and the ID badge on her chest, she must be a student librarian.

Shangguan Che was stunned for a moment, then gave a polite smile. "No, thank you. I'm looking for science fiction, something like the style of The Three-Body Problem." He added the clarification, fearing she might not know The Three-Body Problem.

The white-haired girl tilted her head, wearing a slightly dazed expression, and after thinking for a moment, said, "If it's science fiction, I think it's in that section over there."

"Okay, thank you very much." Shangguan Che nodded and turned to leave.

In truth, he had already used his Clairvoyance to confirm the location of the sci-fi section; he had just wandered into the mystery section by mistake. But facing such a polite and delicate girl, he naturally wouldn't point that out.

My bond with the sci-fi section cannot be underestimated, Shangguan Che thought silently to himself.

He remembered back in high school, the scene where his desk-mate first lent him The Three-Body Problem and a few sci-fi magazines. Although there was a lot of hardcore physics knowledge he still didn't understand, the grand worldview and unique imagination had deeply shocked him. Ever since then, he had fallen completely in love with science fiction.

Carrying this small obsession, Shangguan Che walked quickly toward the sci-fi section. Sunlight streamed in through the library's glass windows, casting dappled light and shadows on the bookshelves as if guiding his way. He knew that for the time to come, he could once again roam freely in the world of science fiction.