Study Session

"Why do I have to come to this kind of study session?" Uesugi Hara slumped over the desk, sighing with an expression full of reluctance.

Sakayanagi Arisu, sitting across from him, held a coffee cup and watched him with a beaming smile, while Kamuro Masumi, sitting beside him, rolled her eyes and mocked him without reservation: "It's because you're idle and loafing around all day! Instead of wasting your time, you might as well learn something."

Uesugi Hara glanced at her, his tone light and airy: "I still score higher than you."

"Heh, Uesugi, all you can do is run your mouth!" Kamuro Masumi gripped her pen tightly, her face darkening.

Uesugi Hara remained slow and steady: "I still score higher than you."

"Can't you say something else?" A vein throbbed on Kamuro Masumi's temple; she was clearly on the verge of being enraged.

Uesugi Hara thought for a moment and changed his phrasing: "Then you don't score as high as me."

"You bastard—" Kamuro Masumi slammed her pen down and stood up.

"Ara~ Uesugi-kun, don't tease Kamuro anymore." Sakayanagi Arisu spoke up at the right moment, chuckling to smooth things over. "If you keep teasing her, Kamuro might actually start throwing punches." She paused and looked at Uesugi Hara, her tone tinged with teasing. "Besides, Uesugi-kun didn't get a very high score last time either, wouldn't it be better to learn a bit more?"

"Hmph!" Kamuro Masumi snorted, echoing Sakayanagi Arisu's words.

"You might not believe it if I told you, but if I score too high, some people won't be happy." Uesugi Hara sat up straight and lowered his voice with a mysterious look.

"Someone isn't happy when you get a high score? Who?" Kamuro Masumi frowned, her face full of confusion—isn't having good grades a good thing?

"Oh? Uesugi-kun has such concerns?" Sakayanagi Arisu became interested as well and set down her cup. "Why don't you tell us, who are these people who wouldn't be happy?"

"Ahem, it's not that I can't tell you." Uesugi Hara cleared his throat, setting a disclaimer first. "But we have to agree, if anyone hears this and gets unhappy, wanting to beat me up, you two have to help me stop them."

"Hehe, that goes without saying." Sakayanagi Arisu agreed casually; in any case, she was physically frail and couldn't do anything.

"Then lean in closer, I'll say it quietly, don't let it spread." Uesugi Hara beckoned, and after the two leaned in, he lowered his voice. "It's said to be a white-haired girl under 1.5 meters tall who took a loss from me before and is still looking for a chance to get back at me. I'm afraid if I score too high, she'll drag me into comparing this and that again. Isn't that annoying?"

Kamuro Masumi blinked, looked at Uesugi Hara in confusion, and then secretly glanced at the expressionless Sakayanagi Arisu beside her. Why did the more she heard, the more it sounded like she was talking about Sakayanagi?

Meanwhile, Sakayanagi Arisu snorted coldly in her heart: Although what he said was indeed annoying, "under 1.5 meters"? That certainly wasn't her.

Miss Sakayanagi, who was exactly 1.5 meters tall, naturally had the confidence to think so.

Uesugi Hara kept glancing at Sakayanagi Arisu's reaction while he spoke.

This girl really knows how to keep her cool.

"So you see, I'm not doing poorly, I'm controlling my score. Do you understand?" He tapped the table and looked at Kamuro Masumi. "I'm talking to you, stop looking around." After saying that, he felt thirsty and picked up the paper cup beside him to take a sip of water.

Kamuro Masumi ignored his teasing and was just about to ask, "Who is that white-haired girl, do I know her?" when she met the temperatureless, death-stare gaze cast by Sakayanagi Arisu. She swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue and silently lowered her head, pretending to look at her textbook.

That look from Sakayanagi is a bit murderous.

Uesugi Hara sensed that the atmosphere was off and quickly changed the subject to smooth things over: "Sakayanagi, it's getting late, it's time to tutor Kamuro."

"Uesugi-kun is certainly good at changing the subject." Sakayanagi Arisu withdrew her gaze, elegantly took a sip of her tea, and shifted the tone. "However, you're not wrong; we have indeed wasted quite a bit of time."

She paused, her expression becoming serious: "The next exam concerns the honor of the class. I hope Uesugi-kun can bring out his full strength instead of pursuing this 'score control' nonsense."

"Then aren't you afraid that someone won't reach the passing line by then?" Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow.

Sakayanagi Arisu chuckled, but her tone was cold and unquestionable: "Those who still can't reach the passing line after being tutored in a study session are useless. The Class A I lead has no need for dead weight."

"Eh~ Sakayanagi, that's too cold-blooded. If that gets out, it'll make quite a few people unhappy." Uesugi Hara clicked his tongue; he couldn't believe this little girl could say such things.

"Hehe." Sakayanagi Arisu only replied with an elegant smile and offered no further explanation.

In her eyes, only excellent people are worthy of staying in Class A.

Kamuro Masumi listened to their conversation. Even though the atmosphere was relaxed, the content of their words made her feel a chill.

She could only carefully try to survive in the narrow space between the two.

Just as he was about to tutor Kamuro, Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly thought of something. "Since Uesugi-kun is so capable and his strength is clearly not weak, I'll leave the task of tutoring Kamuro to you."

Kamuro Masumi looked up at Uesugi Hara. Compared to Sakayanagi, although Uesugi Hara had a sharp tongue, he at least didn't make people feel nervous.

"Isn't that your job?" Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow; he didn't want to take on this troublesome task.

"As the class leader, I am naturally tied up with many affairs, so I must trouble Uesugi-kun." Sakayanagi Arisu held her cup, her tone slow and leisurely. "Besides, Uesugi-kun wouldn't want Kamuro to be expelled for failing to meet the grade requirements, would you?"

Kamuro Masumi looked at Sakayanagi Arisu, then at Uesugi Hara, and finally fixed her gaze on Uesugi Hara.

Uesugi Hara looked at the innocent-acting Sakayanagi Arisu, then met Kamuro's clear and foolish eyes, and sighed helplessly: "Fine, fine. I have nothing to do anyway, I'll just treat it as killing time."

Uesugi Hara: "First, mark the questions you don't know. Don't let me explain for half a day only for you to not even know what you don't understand."

Meanwhile, Sakayanagi Arisu was drinking her coffee in a light and airy manner on the side.

After studying for a while, Kamuro Masumi became more and more energetic. Under Uesugi Hara's guidance, she understood everything instantly. She had never felt that studying was such a simple thing, and even the way she looked at him became a bit kinder.

But Uesugi Hara was having a hard time. He propped his chin up and looked at Kamuro's scratch paper with a look of "life is meaningless"—he knew the answers to these questions at a glance, but now he had to rack his brains to "reverse-engineer" the steps, and he had to explain them using the most basic logic, fearing that if he went too deep, she wouldn't understand.

Sakayanagi Arisu was still holding her coffee and drinking.

The library, which should have been quiet, suddenly echoed with some noise.

The sound came from below. "It seems like a conflict broke out downstairs."

"Is that so?" Kamuro Masumi broke out of her focus. It was fine not to relax, but once she did, she felt very tired.

Uesugi Hara saw that she looked exhausted. "We've studied for so long, let's take a break."

Kamuro Masumi first glanced at Sakayanagi Arisu, and seeing that she didn't react, she whispered an "oh."

Uesugi Hara: "..." Was what he said really that ineffective?

He looked at Sakayanagi Arisu: "What have you trained her into?"

Sakayanagi Arisu smiled slightly: "I don't know anything about that."

Uesugi Hara glanced downstairs, "Those are people from Class D, and the one opposite them should be from Class C—looking at his lip movements, he just shouted that he was from Class C."

"That voice is way too loud. Don't they know this is a library?" he complained.

Kamuro Masumi also looked down, puzzled: "Class D and Class C are here for a study session too?"

"Kamuro, if even you can come, why can't they?"

"Hmph!" Considering how hard he had just worked to teach her, she decided not to snap back at him.

At this moment, Kamuro suddenly pointed at a girl with pink hair in the crowd: "That person, is she the leader of Class B, Ichinose Honami?"

"Yeah." Uesugi Hara nodded.

"Uesugi, you know her?" Kamuro asked curiously.

"A friend," Uesugi Hara said casually.

"Ara~ Uesugi-kun has made friends with a famous beauty from the first year so quickly?" Sakayanagi Arisu put down her cup, her tone carrying a hint of teasing.

Uesugi Hara tilted his head and looked at her: "You're a beauty too."

Sakayanagi Arisu lifted the corners of her mouth, carrying an air of natural confidence: "Unhuh."

"Just a lame one," Uesugi Hara added. He regretted it the moment the words left his mouth.

The smile on Sakayanagi's face vanished instantly. She stared at him expressionlessly, her tone cold and hard: "I just have a weak constitution; I am not 'lame'."

Uesugi Hara's heart skipped a beat—it was over. He had taken the joke too far. How did this little loli's aura suddenly become so terrifying? How do you coax an angry young lady! Waiting online! Urgent!

He immediately put on a fawning smile, bowed, and apologized: "I see, it was my misunderstanding, I'm sorry! Please, Miss Sakayanagi, who possesses both beauty and wisdom, spare this lowly one. I will never dare to be presumptuous in front of you again."

"Hmph!" Sakayanagi snorted coldly and turned her head away, refusing to look at him.

"Hehe, don't be angry. I really didn't mean it; it was just a misunderstanding. You are a magnanimous person, so please forgive me." Uesugi Hara moved behind her and tentatively raised his hands, "Come, let me massage your shoulders to help you relax."

Sakayanagi didn't speak, which counted as tacit consent. Uesugi Hara had only massaged her for a moment when he heard her command: "A little more pressure on the left."

"You got it! How's this pressure?" Uesugi Hara hurried to comply, his tone incredibly eager to please.

"Hmph." Sakayanagi snorted again, clearly not intending to forgive him so easily.

Kamuro Masumi: ?

While massaging Sakayanagi Arisu's shoulders, Uesugi Hara secretly adjusted his strength, terrified of hurting this thin-limbed little loli, all while keeping an eye on what was happening below.

Fortunately, Ichinose Honami mediated quickly, and the conflict between the people from Class C and Class D was resolved before it could escalate.

Just as he let out a sigh of relief, he saw Ichinose Honami turn around and look up. Her gaze met his, and her eyes lit up: "It's Uesugi-kun!" As she spoke, she raised her hand to wave enthusiastically. However, as she watched Uesugi Hara massaging Sakayanagi Arisu's shoulders, a hint of confusion appeared in her eyes.

Why is Uesugi-kun massaging someone?

Isn't that person Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A?

Are the two of them that close?

Ichinose Honami thought of many questions all at once.

Uesugi Hara quickly raised his hand to wave back, but before he could say anything, Sakayanagi Arisu's chilly voice came from behind him: "It seems Uesugi-kun and Ichinose-san from Class B aren't just 'ordinary friends' as you claimed."

"I'm not just ordinary friends with you either, Miss Sakayanagi. If I run into you on the street next time, I'll definitely greet you proactively as well," Uesugi Hara said, quickly trying to prove his loyalty, his massage pressure lightening a fraction.

"Is that so?" Sakayanagi raised an eyebrow, her tone full of disbelief.

"Of course!" Uesugi Hara promised.

"Heh~" Sakayanagi only gave an ambiguous cold snort, clearly not taking his words to heart. "The pressure was too light just now. Use a bit more..."

Uesugi Hara: "...You got it." If I use too much, you won't be able to take it. You're such a hassle.

Kamuro Masumi, watching this scene from the side, silently lowered her head and continued working on her problems.

She decided she shouldn't get involved in the interaction between these two, lest she get caught in the crossfire.