A Celebration Dinner

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the exams were over.

There hadn't been much of a stir, and even Class D had passed across the board this time.

Then again, the questions weren't much different from previous years. With past exam papers in hand ahead of time, if they still couldn't pass, An Xiao might have to start doubting that person's intelligence.

After this exam, the class rankings hadn't changed, but the Class Points had shifted considerably.

[Class Points:

Class A: 1024 points

Class B: 976 points

Class C: 492 points

Class D: 207 points]

"Are the people in Class A all monsters? How did every single one of them score so high?!"

Looking at the Class Points on his phone screen, with their class falling even further behind Class A, An Xiao sighed helplessly.

"Hey, An Xiao, what are you standing around for? Come over here!" Shibata called, poking his head out of the living room.

"You're the hero of the hour, after all!"

"Are you sure?" An Xiao pointed at the headband wobbling slightly with his movements, the words "hero of the hour" written across it. His mouth twitched. Then he pointed at the floor and looked Shibata in the eye. "A celebration dinner is fine. You all really did work hard and wear yourselves out during that time, so I don't mind. I'm actually all for it. But could you explain why we have to hold it in my room?!"

"My room's a mess, and it'd be hard to prepare food in Kanzaki's room. Yours was the most convenient, An Xiao."

"We couldn't exactly hold it in a girl's room."

"Sorry about that," Ichinose said, looking a little embarrassed.

"Ugh, why do I feel like your mom?" An Xiao grumbled.

During this recent stretch of exams, An Xiao had lost count of how many extra tutoring sessions he'd given the group. He really did feel like a mom.

"Then we're counting on you, An Xiao Mom~"

"Eugh." An Xiao shuddered and handed the plate in his hand to Shibata, his face full of disgust. "When did you get so gross? Keep calling me that, and I'll smack you."

"Take this over. Dinner's about to start."

At the dinner table.

Once everyone had eaten a little, they grew more talkative. Even Yuki Himeno, who was usually the quietest, said a few more words than usual.

"To celebrate making it through midterms, cheers!"

Shibata raised his canned fruit juice and shouted, then clinked cans with An Xiao.

"But we have An Xiao to thank for helping the whole class get through the exams and score so highly," Yuki Himeno said, raising her drink to An Xiao from across the table. "Here's to you."

"Yeah, thanks to those papers An Xiao brought us, I got my highest score since enrolling." Shibata slung an arm around An Xiao's neck.

"Too bad we didn't have much time. We could've scored even higher."

"No, I think the timing was just right." Ryuji Kanzaki set down his chopsticks and adjusted his glasses. "If we'd gotten the papers too early, we would've grown complacent, and our studying wouldn't have been as effective."

"We can't keep relying on the exam questions not changing much."

"Right, we still have to rely on our own efforts. We took a shortcut this time, after all." Ichinose nodded in agreement.

"Even so, we still didn't overtake Class A. The gap even got bigger."

"I wouldn't say that." After swallowing his food, An Xiao pulled out his phone and showed everyone how the Class Points for each class had changed.

"Although points are added to each class based on their exam results, there are other factors to consider, so the proportions added probably differ from class to class."

"You can't seriously think Class D scored higher than Class A this time, can you?"

Recalling what they'd seen in the library, everyone shook their heads in unison.

"And besides..." An Xiao shrugged. "We don't need to obsess over Class Points. We just need to keep the gap with Class A small and carry on studying steadily."

"That way, even if we can't make it to Class A by the end, at least we can get into a decent university."

"After all, the teaching staff here are pretty good."

An Xiao's words seemed to open the floodgates, and everyone grew more talkative. At one point, Ichinose said she wanted to get some fresh air and left early. Seeing this, An Xiao seemed to think of something. He excused himself to the others and followed her outside.

"Hm? An Xiao, why'd you come out too?" Ichinose noticed the figure behind her and turned around.

"What about you? Your expression's seemed a little off since the gathering started."

"Hehe, you really did notice, An Xiao." Ichinose gave a sheepish laugh, then looked up at the sky, half of which had already turned red.

"I just suddenly felt like I wasn't as useful as I'd thought."

"What do you mean?"

"Look..." Ichinose counted off on her fingers. "Since the start of school, you were the first to figure out the rules and share your thoughts about them. And the same goes for this exam..."

Ichinose went on and on. An Xiao listened quietly without interrupting.

"I may have helped a little, but you clearly deserve more credit, An Xiao!"

"But everyone keeps saying you and I did all of it together. They won't listen even when I explain!"

"I feel...like a thief, stealing the recognition that should have gone to you."

By the end, a bitter smile had crept across Ichinose's face. She couldn't bring herself to look at An Xiao.

"An Xiao, do you think I'm a terrible person?"

An Xiao didn't say a word. He just stepped forward, stood in front of Ichinose, and raised his hand high.

Ichinose closed her eyes, but the pain she'd expected never came. Instead, he gave her head a light tap. Then she heard the boy's helpless voice beside her.

"I thought something serious had happened. That's all you're worried about?"

He'd thought Ichinose had been threatened by someone from another class—Sakayanagi, perhaps—or another year, which was why she'd looked so troubled. He hadn't expected her to be doubting herself.

"Ichinose, you're overthinking it." An Xiao bent his knees slightly to meet her eyes. "Bringing an entire class together isn't something just anyone can do."

"You'd do just fine even without me, Ichinose. And you always look after everyone. The class is doing so well now thanks to you."

An Xiao meant every word. With Ichinose around, there were hardly any conflicts in the class. Even when a minor problem cropped up, it was resolved quickly.

You could say that Class B was still a normal, positive class thanks in no small part to Ichinose.

Looking at the boy in front of her, speaking so gently, Ichinose felt a strange tickle in her heart.

"Pfft!"

"Hey! I'm trying to comfort you here. Could you show me a little respect? This is embarrassing!" An Xiao said, staring at the girl who'd suddenly burst out laughing, his face dark with exasperation.

"No, it's just...I've been staring at your hair this whole time, so I couldn't see your eyes. And then you said all that, and somehow it struck me as funny." Ichinose held her stomach as she laughed.

"If you're saying I'm that important, will you do me a favor?"

"Just so you know, if it's too hard or too much trouble, the answer's no." An Xiao looked at the girl, who'd perked up again, and answered helplessly, though the corners of his mouth were still curled up.

"It's nothing difficult." Ichinose pulled a hair tie from her pocket and looked at An Xiao with sparkling eyes. "Just take a picture with me."

"...Fine, but I don't know how to tie it."

"Leave it to me!"

After tying An Xiao's hair up, Ichinose smiled with satisfaction, then hugged his arm and got ready to take a picture.

"Wait a second. Do we have to stand this close for a picture? Men and women should keep their distance!"

"I can't help it. My phone screen's so small. Just bear with it, Xiao An."

"Since when was Xiao An a nickname?!"

"Hehe (＃^.^＃)"

Click.