The Origin of a Young Girl's Romance

The whole story begins on the second day of school.

Entering a new environment, facing unfamiliar interpersonal relationships and a completely different atmosphere, eighteen-year-old boys and girls always carry a sense of cautious restraint.

Fortunately, the school is astonishingly generous.

In this tuition-free school, on the very first day of classes, every student's account was credited with a full 100,000 private points.

According to the class teachers, there is nothing in this school that cannot be bought with private points.

At the beginning of every month, students receive enough private points from the school to sustain their lives moving forward.

Generally speaking, even the most awkward person could use this massive sum of points to find companions with similar interests.

But unfortunately, even so, Shiina Hiyori had not managed to make anyone who could be called a friend in these first few days of school.

In the time that had passed, her world consisted only of the rustling sound of turning pages.

Whether it was profound literary classics or imaginative fantasy adventures, as long as it was a book carrying a story, it could make Shiina's eyes light up.

During that phase, she had never demanded of herself to establish any kind of relationship with the worlds of others, or perhaps, what one might call friendship.

Her dream was simply to buy many books to fill the bookshelves in her own home.

Shiina loves reading mystery novels and works by talented overseas authors.

However, sometimes she also reads other works to take a break.

Perhaps this was influenced by her father, who is a writer.

There is a cause for every effect, and every effect has its cause.

Shiina firmly believes in this ironclad rule.

Therefore, after finishing every book, Shiina would try to articulate the reason why she loved them.

As time went on.

Even she discovered that she had already changed.

While possessing such a clear passion for books, deep in her heart, she had always longed to have a book-loving friend with whom she could share this thrill.

But how does one find such a partner? After a period of observation, Shiina was very clear that everyone in the first year seemed to prefer outdoor activities; people similar to her were, on the contrary, a rare existence.

"Sigh." Shiina had a feeling that perhaps she would spend the next three years living a life of solitude again...

But it didn't matter; she was already accustomed to her reading time alone.

After school.

Shiina arrived in front of the library alone and carefully pushed open the doors.

"Wow." The moment she stepped into the hall, Shiina couldn't help but let out a sigh of wonder in her heart.

The vastness of the space and the abundance of the collection could rival a prefectural library. Should one say it is truly worthy of being a top-tier institution with a graduation and employment rate approaching one hundred percent?

Shiina couldn't help but lament what kind of hard life she had lived before... Speaking of which, would three years be enough for her to finish all the books here? This thought made her feel a faint sense of worry about her future school life.

She pinched her own cheeks, trying to cheer herself up in this way.

The temperature in April was very pleasant.

Perhaps because she hadn't yet adapted to the new uniform, Shiina felt a bit stuffy. She lightly loosened her collar and reached into her pocket for her bookmark as usual.

Her fingertips, however, grasped nothing.

She fumbled in her pocket for a long time, but the bookmark that should have been there was nowhere to be found.

She turned her bag inside out, but it was nowhere to be seen either.

Did she forget to bring it?

Shiina couldn't help but let her imagination run wild; perhaps her bookmark wasn't left in the classroom, but dropped outside instead?

Although it was just a bookmark made from a ginkgo leaf, when this thought popped up, a sense of unease welled up in her heart.

Maybe I should go back and check.

Thus, she had no choice but to memorize the page number in her heart, close the book, and decide to look carefully on the way back to the classroom.

If only there were a friend she could contact to help out...

As soon as this thought emerged in her mind, Shiina was surprised by her own idea.

It seems... she can no longer be like she was in the past, accustomed to being alone?

Shiina couldn't be sure, but as she looked up and saw the pairs of students on the campus outside the library, she also felt an inexplicable sensation.

Despite having her own hobbies, does she also long for the company of others deep in her heart?

Shiina could not judge.

After all, having never made a friend, she truly could not be certain that spending time with two people was necessarily inferior to being alone.

Gently shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Shiina stood up and returned the book to its original place.

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After finishing this, she returned to the entrance, silently and respectfully bowing slightly to the teacher at the front desk.

Finally, as if afraid of disturbing something, she gently pushed open the library doors and left.

On the way back from the library to the classroom.

Shiina kept her head slightly lowered, her gaze focused on scanning the ground along the path, especially the corners piled with fallen leaves, which she checked with particular care.

Soon, Shiina confirmed that the object she was looking for was not on the path from the library to the classroom.

This wasn't exactly good news, but Shiina could only console herself: it must have been left in the classroom, it had to be. It was absolutely impossible for it to have been blown away by the wind, nor could it have been picked up and thrown away by someone else.

If it had just been picked up by someone, that wouldn't be entirely unacceptable—after all, it was a bookmark she was very fond of, and if it could be cherished by someone else, she would actually be quite happy.

But if it had been carelessly tossed aside... the mere thought of that made her heart tighten.

At the entrance to Class C.

Shiina's hand had just touched the cold doorknob.

Suddenly, a faint sound from inside made her movements freeze instantly.

Are there still students in the classroom at this hour? Did they forget something too?

Filled with questions, Shiina snuck a glance through the glass on the door.

Is that Kujo? His full name is Kujo Makoto, right? Shiina was good at remembering people's names; this was likely a skill honed by years of reading.

Some people could read novels their entire lives and still not remember the names of the protagonists, but Shiina could truly remember them.

Is Kujo cleaning the blackboard?

Shiina felt puzzled.

Is Kujo on duty today?

Is it convenient to go in now?

Kujo is very tall and has a good build; if he has a bad temper, would he...

Shiina was a little worried.

But if he had a bad temper, would he stay behind to clean? Or is Kujo actually being bullied by his classmates?

When faced with something that piqued her curiosity, Shiina couldn't help but let her imagination run wild.

This was perhaps a side effect of reading for so many years.

In the end.

She withdrew her hand from the doorknob and chose to leave quietly.

The next day.

Shiina spotted her ginkgo leaf bookmark at a glance, pressed intact under a book at the corner of her desk.

The book was tilted slightly, seemingly positioned intentionally to ensure it wouldn't be blown away by the wind.

The veins of a ginkgo leaf are extremely fragile and would shatter with the slightest force.

She remembered clearly that she always tidied her desk whenever she left.

Although she wasn't a neat freak, she had long been accustomed to keeping her desk perfectly organized.

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So, who helped her?

Recalling the sight of Kujo in the classroom last night.

Shiina hesitated for a long time.

She did not intend to ask him about it.

In fact, Kujo was rarely seen in the classroom, so even if she wanted to ask, it would be difficult to find a suitable opportunity.

Because she heard he had used a great many points to trade with the teachers for his attendance records.

Why would he do such a thing?

No one would firmly remember a small favor like helping someone else.

Most people would even forget small things like whether they had closed the door when they left the house.

But... what if?

If, by any chance, the matter of the bookmark really was Kujo's doing.

Then... how should I thank him?

Once this thought arose, it became impossible to stop.

Shiina kept asking herself internally, why would she want to thank him when she wasn't even sure if he was the one who helped?

Why?

Does liking someone require a reason?

The young girl's thoughts suddenly drifted toward the tangled and lingering tales of youth found between the pages of her books.

Although literary critics often say that endings filled with regret are more profound and better at opening a reader's wallet, Shiina was a greedy reader; she loved all types of stories, whether complete or incomplete, sweet or bitter.

Her fingertips felt the cool, resilient touch of the leaf-shaped bookmark, as if it possessed a life of its own.

Shiina subconsciously buried her flushed cheeks into her palms, a name silently and repeatedly brushing against the sea of her heart, carrying a hint of raw sweetness.

The young girl buried her face in her hands, yet her lips kept silently mouthing the name of one person.

"Kujo Makoto."

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