Chapter 40

He was getting a bit addicted to this head-patting thing, and Ichinose just watched him with a smile, the two sharing a brief look. Yuan Yuyuan turned his head to continue speaking to the others: "I have seen all of your hard work. We are now only one step away from that position. During the next special exam, I am confident that we can leap into Class A. When that time comes, I will have to trouble you all." The students of Class B had never heard such words before. After what Yuan Yuyuan said, he instantly became an image of someone silently sacrificing for the class without asking for anything in return. For such a person to say he was troubling them, they were practically moved to tears. Yuan Yuyuan was a little surprised; he really hadn't expected such low-effort platitudes to bring these youngsters to the verge of tears. However, this wasn't exactly malicious manipulation, so he didn't feel much of a burden. He decided to strike while the iron was hot and raised his teacup. "Come, I will toast you all with tea instead of wine." "Cheers!" The students of Class B at the other tables also raised their cups to toast Yuan Yuyuan. Whether it was the information he provided on the first day of school or the answers he brought for this midterm exam, Yuan Yuyuan was worthy of their respect.

The meal proceeded in a harmonious atmosphere, with everyone chatting and laughing. Only Yuan Yuyuan wore a sour expression. Although he quite liked tea, his old man always used to force-feed him shochu after training, claiming it was good for his health, though in reality, it was just because that was the only time his old... father could get a drink himself. Over time, he had grown quite fond of it. He felt a bit of a craving now; it was usually fine, but in this kind of setting, only having tea felt like something was missing. When they promoted to Class A, there should be another celebration, and he would have to invite that drunkard Hoshinomiya along; otherwise, as a minor, he really couldn't get his hands on the stuff. Ichinose noticed Yuan Yuyuan's unusual behavior and, thinking he wasn't used to such a lively place, left her followers behind to ask with concern: "What is Yuyuan thinking about?" Caught off guard, Yuan Yuyuan responded without changing his expression: "Nothing, just that we didn't seem to invite Hoshinomiya-sensei. I feel like we've let down her guidance." "Ah... I forgot about that too, and it's almost over now... But with you here, Yuyuan, we can hold another one once we promote to Class A. We can invite Hoshinomiya-sensei then." "That's true, she's still alive and well, anyway." "Pfft, Yuyuan, really. You shouldn't say things like that in front of the person herself." Yuan Yuyuan was a bit speechless. Did Ichinose think he was unsociable because he lacked emotional intelligence? This is called being aloof and independent, you know! "Of course I wouldn't do that. Why does it feel like Honami thinks I'm an idiot?" "How could I! I was just reminding you, just reminding, hehe." By now, the dinner was coming to an end. Yuan Yuyuan once again offered some platitudes, telling the others not to slack off and that victory would surely be theirs, and everyone happily dispersed. Except for...

"You guy! You didn't even pay attention to me while I was sitting right next to you. Aside from stuffing your face and spacing out, you only talked to Ichinose, huh? Do you know that since I started following you, I barely have any friends left in Class B!" "Hey, hey, stop pinching! Lady Himeno, I know I was wrong. It's just that Honami interrupted my spacing out. If you wanted to talk to me, you could have just found me." "Who wants to talk to you! I was just bored! Do you understand what being bored is!" Yuan Yuyuan rubbed his bright red ear and muttered under his breath: "Tch, tsundere is already out of fashion. Where did you come from, a wild-mode player?" Himeno Yuki arched her beautiful eyebrows, a gentle smile appearing on her face that Yuan Yuyuan had never seen before. "What is Yuyuan muttering about? Say it louder so I can hear it too." Yuan Yuyuan felt his life was nearing its end and stubbornly left behind his final words in this world. "Nothing... just reflecting on my mistakes. I really deserve to die!" "Is this your last will? Then go in peace!" "No! I still want to see more of this beautiful world!" Yuan Yuyuan took off running, and Himeno Yuki chased after him.

Not long after, Himeno Yuki stopped, standing in place and panting: "Hoo, hoo, hoo... stop! I can't run anymore. Come over and let me hit you once, and I'll forgive you." This clumsy acting made Yuan Yuyuan frown. He had clearly been adjusting his speed to match Himeno Yuki's, so how could anyone be tired after running for such a short time? But he had no choice, so he had to offer himself up to let Himeno Yuki vent her frustration... "Only for a second, okay?" Himeno Yuki revealed a successful-plan smile and reached for Yuan Yuyuan. "Caught you this ti—" To her surprise, Yuan Yuyuan, who had walked over with a depressed look, escaped again just as she reached out. This made Himeno Yuki flush with anger. She pointed at the untrustworthy Yuan Yuyuan and shouted: "Yuan Yuyuan, you liar! Get back here!" "Xiao Xue's acting is a bit too clumsy. You must not have been attending the Kushida Training Class properly as I told you to, right? That's not how a good girl behaves." "Don't you worry about that! Get back here!" "Alright, alright, I'm coming. Xiao Xue isn't actually angry, right?" After Yuan Yuyuan returned to Himeno Yuki's side, she didn't actually hit him, but instead used both hands to knead his face. "You pig-headed fool, you never know how to let me win. You deserve to be single forever." "Girl..." Yuan Yuyuan removed Himeno Yuki's hands from his face. "You have the nerve to talk about me, you're also... eh?" Yuan Yuyuan discovered a blind spot, leaned into Himeno Yuki's face, and raised an eyebrow: "Does Xiao Xue mean that as long as I let you win, I can find love?" "Tch, don't be narcissistic. I meant that someone as ungentlemanly as you deserves to be a bachelor for life, bleh." "You can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you want. You have to take responsibility for what you said. However, I'm not that cruel of a person, so Xiao Xue just needs to take responsibility for me." "Get lost! Who wants to take responsibility for you?"

After messing around for a while, Himeno Yuki was truly tired this time, so the two found a bench and sat down. "You hypocrite should at least be a bit gentler with me. This makes me feel very unbalanced." Yuan Yuyuan looked at Himeno Yuki, who was leaning her head on his shoulder, and pondered to himself. He felt this girl was acting strange today... But Himeno was different from Kushida, so he agreed. "Xiao Xue is such a jealous type, but I suppose I can agree to that." "Who's jealous? I'm just... you wouldn't understand even if I told you." Himeno Yuki glanced around and realized they had never been here before. She grabbed Yuan Yuyuan's arm in fear. "By the way, where is this? We didn't get lost, did we?" "Who told you to chase me so far? Besides, the school-issued phones have maps, you idiot." "Oh right. Hey, didn't we agree to be a bit gentler? You..." Himeno Yuki couldn't think of a new word for a long time, so she weakly added: "...you single-since-birth jerk!" "...I am single since birth, so what? Let's just go back." "But my feet are so sore, it's all your fault! If you had just stood there and let me hit you, it would have been fine." "Let's be reasonable, okay? If you hadn't hit me, it would have been fine." "I don't care!" Himeno Yuki spread her arms and sat on the bench, swaying.