The Girl Who Doesn't Fit In With Class C

"To be honest, this library is actually huge!"

An Xiao casually grabbed a book from the shelf beside him and remarked with a hint of emotion.

While he had initially come out of curiosity and hadn't expected it to be a library, he found it quite interesting now that he was here.

It wasn't that the schools An Xiao had attended before lacked libraries, but compared to this one, they were much smaller, and the books inside were mostly textbooks, test papers, or some yellowed literary journals.

Yes, I'm talking about you, Forest, and the even more boring Reader.

The library at Advanced Nurturing was different; while it did have some supplementary teaching materials, it was mostly filled with world classics and a small selection of light novels.

This made An Xiao quite happy.

After picking out a few light novels with titles that suited his taste, he wanted to find a seat, but he stopped after only a few steps.

Is this... meeting an oddball?

He saw a petite girl with shoulder-length silver hair curled up on the floor a few steps ahead of him, reading a book.

It looked like... Journey Under the Midnight Sun?

Beside her, stacks upon stacks of books were piled up on the floor.

Seeming to notice An Xiao's gaze, the girl slowly moved her eyes away from the book and looked at him with somewhat dazed, adorable eyes.

"Am I blocking your way? Sorry." The girl's gentle voice reached him, and as she spoke, she tucked her legs in.

"No, it's just... aren't there plenty of seats over there? Why are you sitting on the floor?" An Xiao waved his hands repeatedly.

After all, it was dinnertime, and most people had gone to eat, so the library was quite empty, and there were plenty of vacant seats.

"Hmm~ the lighting is better here, it's not too bright, and..." The girl pointed to the stacks of books beside her and explained, "It's more convenient to swap books this way."

Seeing the girl say this, An Xiao didn't know what else to say. He squatted down and curiously examined the books piled beside her.

And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes...

They were all very famous mystery novels.

"You really like mystery novels, don't you? Everything here is one."

"Yes." The girl nodded, her eyes brightening a little after hearing An Xiao's words.

"Classmate, do you like mystery novels too?"

"Ah?" An Xiao scratched his head and said truthfully, "They're alright, but it might be a bit different from what you're thinking."

"Although I do read these kinds of books, I mostly read Kindaichi and Conan."

"Is that so..."

Upon hearing An Xiao say this, the silver-haired girl didn't look disappointed at all; instead, she showed the joy of finding a kindred spirit and spoke on her own initiative: "My name is Shiina Hiyori, from Class C of the first year."

"Oh, I'm An Xiao, from Class B of the first year." An Xiao replied subconsciously, but immediately after, he thought of something, and the expression on his face became a bit strange.

Class C of the first year—that 'fists-to-flesh' Class C, which was more of a collective than a class?

She doesn't look like it at all!??

Looking at the petite, frail-looking, and dazed girl with a gentle tone in front of him, An Xiao couldn't connect her to the Class C he had seen before.

"Are you sure you're a student from Class C?"

"Yes." Shiina Hiyori nodded.

"That really is... the diversity of species."

Just as An Xiao was feeling bewildered, Shiina Hiyori, sitting opposite him, patted the empty space beside her, her pair of purple eyes watching him silently.

Is this... asking me to sit here too?

An Xiao pointed at the floor uncertainly, then pointed at himself. Seeing the girl nod at him again, he confirmed that was indeed the case.

An Xiao's mouth twitched. Looking at the girl who wasn't speaking but just watching him, he didn't know what to do for a moment.

Seeing the girl still looking at him with her cute eyes, An Xiao felt both amused and helpless.

Without being coy, he took his books and sat down beside her.

Seeing An Xiao sit down, the previously dazed expression in Shiina Hiyori's eyes brightened a little, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. She picked up the book she hadn't finished and continued reading quietly, just as she had before.

Time slowly slipped away amidst the rustling sound of pages turning.

When An Xiao finally came to his senses and stretched his neck, he realized that outside the library windows, the sky had already turned dark.

There were even fewer people in the library than when An Xiao had arrived.

"How long have I been reading?"

"About... three hours or so." Shiina Hiyori's gentle voice came again. An Xiao turned his head and saw her tucking a bookmark into her book before gently closing it, looking completely relaxed.

"Will you come to read again next time?"

"Ah? I'll probably come often." Although An Xiao didn't know why she asked, he thought about it and replied.

After all, compared to e-books, An Xiao actually preferred physical books.

Sometimes, even with the exact same content, An Xiao couldn't get into it when reading the electronic version, but that wouldn't happen when he switched to a paper book.

Therefore, he should still be coming to the library quite often during his free time later on.

"Is that so! That's wonderful."

Upon receiving An Xiao's reply, Shiina Hiyori clearly let out a sigh of relief, and the smile on her face grew a bit brighter.

"After all, An Xiao is the first person I've met at this school who shares similar hobbies with me. I previously asked around in my class, but unfortunately, not a single person there likes to read."

As she spoke, a hint of disappointment appeared on the young girl's face.

"..." An Xiao fell silent all of a sudden. Recalling the scenes he had witnessed in Class C earlier, he didn't know what to say for a moment.

Although Class C might indeed be slightly better than Class D, it certainly wasn't by much.

At the very least, An Xiao found it hard to imagine what kind of scene it would be to read a book while listening to classmates fighting in the classroom.

So, why on earth was she placed in Class C!

Shiina Hiyori, standing before him, was unaware of An Xiao's internal complaints. She gently set down the books in her arms, then took out her phone and waved it in front of An Xiao, saying.

"Next time, let's read together again."

ps: I applied for a contract today. I don't know if it will pass, but I hope it gets approved on the first try.