Time rewound to when Class B's exam results were announced.
"Byakuya, I didn't expect you to actually score so well." Kanzaki looked in surprise at Ying, who had gotten perfect marks in every subject.
"Yeah! The other subjects I can understand, since they were from the original exam, but you even got full marks in math and physics. Are you really human?" Hamaguchi was just as astonished.
"Hahaha! Now you know how amazing I am!" Ying's nose was practically pointing at the ceiling.
"Congratulations on getting such great results, Byakuya. Asako and Chihiro scored much higher, too, thanks to your tutoring." Ichinose smiled as she congratulated him.
"Of course! You should see who their teacher was." Ying puffed out his chest.
"I wonder how everyone in Class D did." Ichinose looked a little worried.
Ying smiled. "Heh, why don't you go over to Class D and take a look?"
"What are you talking about? If anyone's going to check, it should be you. Ichinose is the leader of Class B, and she has to give a speech soon." Kanzaki flatly rejected the idea.
"Why!? This is the fruit of all my hard work!" Ying felt sure that after all the time he'd spent tutoring Sudo and the other two, they'd gotten even better results than they had in the original story. He'd wanted Ichinose to witness how impressive he was again, too.
"If it's the fruit of Byakuya's hard work, then I'll go take a look," Ichinose said after a moment's thought.
Everyone: Huh?
Not long afterward, Ichinose returned from Class D, walking more briskly than usual.
"Everyone, listen up~. I just went to Class D and found out that three of their students are about to be expelled. But someone in their class discovered that you can use personal points to buy marks. They didn't have enough points to cover the marks their classmates were missing, though, so I used our class funds to pay 600,000 points for them. But don't worry, they'll pay us back—and with interest. We signed a contract in front of their homeroom teacher: they'll add another 100,000 points each month, and once they have enough points to repay the debt, they'll pay Class B back immediately. Otherwise, Class D won't receive any more personal points. Everyone, you don't mind that I made this decision on my own, do you?"
"Of course not! Honami did it for Class B, right?"
"Exactly! We'll support any decision Ichinose makes!"
"All right, all right. Let's go celebrate together!"
Class B clearly had no intention of blaming Ichinose. If anything, they were praising her.
"Ying! This is a celebration for Class B's midterm victory. You're the top scorer in every subject—you can't skip it!" Shibata hooked an arm around Ying's neck and threatened him.
"Fine... fine... fine! I... I'll go. Let... let go of me! Ugh..."
As soon as Ying agreed, Shibata released him.
Ying rubbed his reddened neck and looked at Shibata with a mischievous smile.
"Sata! Just you wait till I catch you!" Then Ying chased Shibata around the classroom.
Kanzaki and Ichinose watched the two of them fool around and smiled at the same time.
"I'm so glad I ended up in Class B~," Ichinose sighed.
It was an ordinary-looking day in June, but for some people, it was anything but ordinary.
"Stare..."
Ying stared at the envelope on his desk, decorated with a heart, and fell into deep thought.
This must be it. The thing. My first love letter in either of my two lives.
He'd found the letter, which looked suspiciously like a love letter, in his desk when he arrived at the classroom that morning. Now he was debating whether to open it.
It couldn't have been put in the wrong desk, right?
It's for me, isn't it?
All right! I'll open it!
"Ying, what are you doing?"
Just as Ying was about to open the letter, Shibata came over.
"Wait, is that a love letter? Byakuya, are you going to confess to Ichinose!?" Hamaguchi exclaimed, noticing the letter in Ying's hand.
"Who said anything about confessing!? And why Ichinose!? Listen up, you single losers..." Ying stood up, planted one foot on his chair, and showed the letter off to everyone. "Someone put this in my desk this morning. It's a love letter for me!"
Hamaguchi and Shibata exchanged a look and suddenly started stifling their laughter, while Kanzaki sighed and went back to what he was doing.
"Hey! What are you laughing at!? I'm telling the truth. It's such a pain being this charming." As he spoke, Ying flicked his hair.
"Then open it and see what it says," Hamaguchi said, covering his mouth as he tried to hold back his laughter.
"Hey! I told you to stop laughing! You can't just open a letter like this whenever you want. Do you people understand? It carries the resolve of a girl in the prime of her youth. I can only open it if I'm feeling the same way. Otherwise, wouldn't I be disrespecting her feelings?" Ying held the letter to his chest and gazed at it wistfully.
"Sure, sure. Open it whenever you start feeling that way, then. Be sure to tell us how it goes." Hamaguchi and Shibata walked away, laughing.
"I told you to stop laughing! You don't believe me!? Just wait! I'll get a girlfriend tomorrow, and then I'll rub it in your faces every day! Damn it!" Ying fumed as he sat back down and stared at the letter again.
That afternoon, Kanzaki felt like he was having the worst day of his life. The person sitting behind him, Ying, kept bouncing his leg, sometimes kicking his chair and making strange noises. Kanzaki couldn't concentrate in class at all. He'd wanted to turn around and remind Ying to behave, but Ying was staring at the letter on his desk and wouldn't pay him any attention. In the end, Kanzaki could only silently recite a calming mantra.
After school, Ying strolled around campus, still thinking about the love letter.
"Byakuya! There you are. I've been looking for you everywhere," Ichinose panted. It seemed she'd been searching for quite a while.
"What's up, Ichinose?" Ying asked.
"Well... there are a lot of people here. Let's go somewhere else to talk." Ichinose led Ying to a secluded spot.
Ying's heart began to race. Could the girl be Ichinose? Could I finally get a girlfriend after being single in both my lives? And a girlfriend this cute, too!?
His imagination was already running wild. He nearly started drooling.
"Um, Byakuya, you got one of those this morning, right? One of those..." Ichinose asked, fidgeting.
Ying swallowed and took out the love letter. "You mean this?"
"Yeah. It's a little embarrassing, but there's something I want to talk to you about." Ichinose fidgeted even more. Ying was nervous, too, waiting to hear what she had to say.
"Actually..."
Ying: (wipes sweat)...
"I got one, too! I was hoping you could help me!"
"Please take care of me from now on."
"What?"
"I-I mean, I see..."
Ying's heart shattered... It's fine. Even if it isn't Ichinose, there's still a girl who likes me, right? The thought made him feel a little better.
Then Ichinose took out her own letter and said, "Actually, I wanted to ask you to pretend to be my boyfriend. I've never been in a relationship, and I don't know how to reject him, so this was the only thing I could think of."
"Have you read the letter?" Ying asked.
"Huh? Not yet," Ichinose replied.
"If he wrote a love letter to confess, that means he must have worked up a lot of courage. If you reject him like that, wouldn't you be disrespecting his feelings? Why not read what the letter says first, then face him properly? At least don't disregard his feelings." Ying folded his arms as he spoke.
Ichinose read the letter, then went with Ying to the place it mentioned. Ying hid off to the side. Before long, the sender arrived. Shiranami Chihiro?
"Chihiro, we can still be friends, right?" Ichinose said apologetically.
"Of course. Actually, I'm the one who feels bad for you, Honami..."
After taking in the pure friendship between the girls, Ying felt that his soul had been cleansed. Now, he felt ready to read his own letter.
"Byakuya, thank you," Ichinose said, coming over to thank Ying after seeing Shiranami off.
"Don't mention it. It was nothing."
"I don't think you've read your own letter yet, either. Aren't you going to?"
"Yeah, I was just about to..."
Then Ying opened the letter:
If you thought this was a love letter, you're a complete idiot. Hahahaha! (￣y▽￣)~* snickers behind hand
In two quick motions, Ying shredded the letter and casually tossed it into the nearby trash can.
"Byakuya, what are you..." Ichinose asked in confusion.
"It's nothing, Ichinose. I just remembered I have something urgent to take care of, so I'll be going." With that, Ying sprinted toward the soccer club.
"Shibata Sou! Hamaguchi Tetsuya! You can't mess with your buddy's feelings like this! Just you wait! I'll make you feel what I'm feeling right now!" Ying howled in anguish as tears streamed down his cheeks.
Ying's heart shattered... (again
Before you continue