An Encounter at the Library

The afternoon classes ended early. Due to his promise to Kushida, Hoshino did not leave immediately and continued to busy himself with his drawing.

Since they hadn't agreed on a specific location, Kushida would likely look for him in the classroom eventually. However, Hoshino didn't pin his hopes on that; after all, he had been stood up before. The work in his hands was a good way to kill time, and if he had nothing to do once he finished, he could just leave. That was Hoshino's plan.

Tired of drawing "stick figures," Hoshino occasionally wanted to draw environments and scenes. In his view, nothing was more moving than a landscape. In Hoshino's impression, people weren't worth drawing; nature was far more interesting. Hoshino would also fantasize about various scenes, such as an empty classroom at sunset—not the desolate kind, though it would have some artificial traces and wouldn't be purely natural. For that, color would be very important, and Hoshino wouldn't make a scene by doing such eccentric things during class, so he could only draw line art.

In Hoshino's understanding, those who could draw like a photograph were quite impressive, but many of the drawings he had seen weren't purely realistic; they always had various traces of human touch, which sometimes left Hoshino feeling conflicted.

He looked up to find that the classroom was empty; he was the only one left. Hoshino stopped his pen and looked through the glass at the window. Occasionally, groups of two or three people passed by. The playground was a distance from the teaching building, so it was normal for it to be quiet after school. The surroundings were silent, with only cherry blossoms drifting down.

Coming back to his senses, Hoshino didn't know how to continue his drawing...

After tidying up his desk, Hoshino prepared to head back.

The drawing didn't meet his expectations; it was just passable. It wasn't that it was ugly, but he felt something was missing. Pondering various questions, Hoshino was the last one to step out of the classroom.

As for the matter with Kushida, Hoshino wasn't interested. Whether she came or not was within his expectations, and since he wasn't just sitting there waiting, it didn't really matter.

Walking along the school path, Hoshino took his student ID out of his pocket. It was still early, not yet time for dinner. After a moment of thought, Hoshino decided not to return to the dormitory yet and planned to go to the library to read a novel for a while.

The library wasn't far from the teaching building, less than a five-minute walk. The environment was nice and the collection was vast; it was the place Hoshino had found most satisfying so far!

Entering the library and showing his student ID to the librarian, Hoshino walked through rows of bookshelves to the light novel section. The beige shelves were filled with all kinds of books. Although the quantity was huge, they were organized very neatly. At a glance, it felt like entering a world of books. Not only were there popular current works, but he could even see books whose names he had almost forgotten, which was truly amazing!

Wandering between the shelves, he found the isekai novel series he had been reading last time. Hoshino stopped, reached out to pull one out, and went to his usual corner. This was a "treasure spot" he had discovered by chance: a corner against the wall in the library. The table by the window was spotless, and the bookshelves surrounding the table gave it the feeling of a "secret base." The fact that this "treasure spot" was empty left Hoshino feeling both relieved and a bit regretful.

He walked quickly to the window seat, placed the book he had just taken on the table, pulled out the chair, and sat down. He tossed his bag by his feet, opened the book, and soon Hoshino entered the "adventure in another world" once again.

Time passed without him noticing...

What a masterpiece! The corners of Hoshino's mouth curled up slightly. He finished the last page, closed the book, looked softly at the illustration on the cover, and sighed in admiration.

A gentle breeze blew in, causing the pages to flutter restlessly. Only then did Hoshino wake up as if from a dream.

He looked up, and a silver-haired silhouette caught his eye.

"When did this person get here?" Hoshino caught a glimpse of the girl opposite him out of the corner of his eye and was startled.

Since someone was there, Hoshino didn't intend to stay any longer.

Withdrawing his gaze, Hoshino stood up gently, bent down to retrieve his bag from under the table, slowly pushed his chair back into place, picked up the book, and left quietly.

Walking out of the library, the sun was hanging halfway in the sky, emitting a soft glow. The entire school was shrouded in a peaceful atmosphere.

The scene he had dreamed of appeared before him unexpectedly. Hoshino felt a slight stir in his heart, took out his student ID, opened the camera function, and recorded the moment. The only flaw was that there were a few too many people.

Hoshino didn't bother finding a new angle to retake it; there was no need. It was enough to record the moment that moved him. Having a little regret wasn't a bad thing!

"Time to eat." After strolling along the path for a while, Hoshino's stomach growled.

"Tonkotsu ramen, I guess."

"Alright!... Here is yours!"

After Hoshino picked up his meal, he carefully carried the tray to the seating area. From a distance, he saw a familiar figure surrounded by a few girls in school uniforms. Kushida took a slow bite of her meal, looked up, accidentally made eye contact with Hoshino, slowly looked away, and continued chatting and laughing with the girls beside her.

Hoshino withdrew his gaze, found a nearby seat, picked up his utensils, and began to eat.

The way to lower one's presence was to do nothing; any unusual action would only attract attention. Hoshino had no intention of approaching Kushida, and this development just confirmed his guess.

"Wait, Hoshino-kun, I'm sorry. I got so caught up chatting with Miyu and the others that I forgot our promise. I'm truly sorry!" Just as Hoshino finished eating and was about to leave, Kushida called out to him from behind and bowed slightly in apology.

"Oh, it's fine. If there's nothing else, I'll be going," Hoshino said, his expression unchanged.

The girls who had been with Kushida were looking over and whispering, and people around them were also watching. After all, Kushida was considered a pretty girl and had talked to many people. Hoshino wasn't comfortable in such an environment and immediately took his leave.

The corners of Kushida's mouth twitched, as if she wanted to say something more, but Hoshino didn't give her the chance.