Hiyori Shiina, Little Angel

After deciding to take the exam—and setting his goal higher than merely "not embarrassing himself"—Yuefeng's pace of life suddenly sped up.

The library became his second home. Beside the Survival Notes on his dorm desk, thick exercise books, supplementary readings, and densely packed mind maps quickly piled up.

The ointment Hiyori Shiina had given him worked very well. Most of the bruising on his back had faded, leaving only faint yellow marks.

His recovering body allowed Yuefeng to focus more fully on the mental challenge ahead.

The information Kiyotaka had revealed that day was like a key, opening up Yuefeng's approach to studying.

He was no longer content with merely mastering the textbooks. He began consciously gathering and organizing knowledge that lay "outside the textbooks, but that elites ought to know."

Some of it had scattered notes in his Survival Notes, born from his exploration of the original world's setting.

Other things had to be painstakingly dug out from the library's vast collection and the limited access permissions of Advanced Nurturing High School's internal database.

"This isn't a high school exam. This is clearly a qualification test for compiling an encyclopedia..." Yuefeng grumbled for the hundred and first time, rubbing his aching eyes.

But grumbling was one thing; his actions did not slow in the slightest.

The "sea of exercises" tactics and "knowledge-point summaries" he had honed while preparing for college entrance exams in his previous life, combined with what seemed to be fairly capable mental faculties in this life—

—and the occasional flashes of his "detail-catching" ability—actually made his review remarkably efficient.

He even took the time to use his limited S Points to "purchase" several past school-level competition papers from upperclassmen, carefully studying the question styles and trap setups.

After several days, Yuefeng felt like a balloon stuffed full of knowledge. A light touch would make him spew out a flood of term explanations and case analyses.

His confidence in the exam had gradually shifted from "leave it to fate" to "maybe I can give this a shot."

Of course, he had not forgotten his core principle: keeping a low profile.

So in Class C, he continued maintaining the miserable persona of someone "forced by Ryuen to participate, working hard but likely getting nowhere."

Whenever Ishizaki or the other students asked about his study progress, he would always furrow his brow and say, "It's too hard. There's so much I've never seen before," or, "I'll do my best, but I'm not getting my hopes up."

He even deliberately held back on one or two questions during several in-class quizzes, keeping his grades at a "decent but unremarkable" level, fitting the image of a "hardworking but not especially gifted transfer student."

Ryuen neither approved nor disapproved of his "effort." He merely cast the occasional scrutinizing glance his way, as if evaluating whether this "tool's" final output would meet expectations.

Yuefeng pretended not to notice and continued burying himself in his Compendium of Obscure Knowledge.

That afternoon, Yuefeng was once again holed up in a secluded corner of the library, several thick books and densely written notebooks spread out before him.

He was trying to sort through how a certain economic model changed under different assumptions, his brows tightly furrowed as his fingers unconsciously scribbled across a sheet of scratch paper.

He was so focused that he was nearly cut off from the outside world.

Until an extremely faint scent of paper, ink, and some refreshing soap quietly approached, accompanied by nearly inaudible footsteps, and stopped beside his table.

At first, Yuefeng did not notice. He assumed it was just a passing student.

But the figure seemed to linger for a little too long. And for some reason, the feeling of being quietly watched made the hairs on the back of his neck rise slightly.

It was not Ryuen's aggressively invasive stare, nor was it Kiyotaka's inorganic scan.

This gaze was gentler... yet just as impossible to ignore.

He abruptly looked up.

Hiyori Shiina was standing beside the table, two books cradled in her arms. Her head was tilted slightly as her light brown eyes quietly examined the notes spread across his desk and those profound reference books.

Her expression held a hint of surprise, but also... understanding?

Yuefeng's heart skipped a beat. Oh no! I got too absorbed and forgot to hide it!

The books and notes on his desk were clearly beyond the scope of an ordinary first-year student's review. Some of them were not even part of the curriculum!

"Shi... Shiina?" Yuefeng hurriedly tried to close his notebook, but it was already too late.

Hiyori Shiina's gaze had already swept over the complicated symbols of economic model derivations on his scratch paper.

"Yuefeng... are you preparing for the Special Enrollment Exam?" Hiyori Shiina asked softly. Her voice was gentle, without any particular emotion he could discern.

"Ah... yeah, I was just looking around." Yuefeng gave a dry laugh, trying to bluff his way through it. "These books... are a little hard to understand. I was just curious."

Hiyori Shiina did not refute him, nor did she press the matter. She simply watched his slightly flustered movements in silence.

Then her gaze fell on another open book at his side.

"This book." She extended a slender finger and lightly tapped the cover. "There are only three copies in the library, and the other two have already been borrowed. I've been looking for it for days."

Yuefeng: "..."

I'm done for. Caught red-handed. The book really was obscure. He had gone through some trouble to find it himself.

"I... I'm just a little interested in logic," Yuefeng attempted one last desperate struggle.

Hiyori Shiina raised her eyes and looked at Yuefeng.

Her cheeks seemed faintly flushed, but her eyes were clear, carrying a gentle understanding that seemed to see right through him.

"Yuefeng, you work very hard," she said softly. It was not sarcasm, but more like a statement of something she had observed and found somewhat admirable.

"It's... not quite the same as what Ishizaki said, or what you show in class." She added the last part even more quietly, but Yuefeng heard every word clearly.

Yuefeng's heart missed a beat. She had seen through him? Seen through the fact that he had been hiding his abilities?

This girl, who seemed introverted and quiet and always kept her head lowered, had such sharp powers of observation?

"I..." Yuefeng was momentarily speechless, unsure whether to admit it or continue playing dumb.

Under the gaze of Hiyori Shiina's clear eyes, which seemed capable of reflecting a person's heart, lying became especially difficult.

But Hiyori Shiina did not wait for his answer. She gently placed one of the books in her arms on Yuefeng's desk.

It was an old-looking hardcover book. The gilt lettering on its spine was worn, but the title was still legible.

"In this book, chapters nineteen through twenty-two," Hiyori Shiina said, her voice still gentle but carrying an unquestionable certainty, "and the appendix to chapter seven in the one beside it may help you understand the intellectual background behind the model you were deriving just now.

"The teacher writing the questions... really likes to frame them through connections in intellectual history."

Yuefeng was completely stunned. He stared blankly at the heavy book on the desk, then looked back up at Hiyori Shiina.

The flush on the girl's cheeks deepened, but she did not avert her eyes.

She merely pressed her lips together slightly, as if encouraging him, or perhaps sharing a little secret known only to the two of them.

She had not only seen through the fact that he was hiding his abilities, and not only known what books he was reading, but had even... marked out the key points for him? Given him a more precise direction for studying?