Topics for Boys

Ryuji Kanzaki wanted to convey this fact to Yun Lan.

"Is that so?"

Yun Lan scratched his head and said no more, as the teacher for the first period had already arrived.

The bell signaling the end of the first period cut sharply through the quiet of the classroom. Before the teacher's final "class dismissed" had even fully faded from the podium, the atmosphere in the room felt as if a seal had been broken, instantly coming to life. The sounds of shifting desks and chairs, chatter, and the rustling of packing books wove together into a single hum.

Almost at the exact moment the bell stopped, Yun Lan stood up from his seat with a "whoosh," his movement so swift that even Ryuji Kanzaki beside him cast a sidelong glance.

The calm demeanor he had worn during class—at least on the surface—was swept away, replaced by a brightness that bordered on jubilant, his eyes seeming to shine a little more than usual.

As he quickly stuffed his textbook into his desk, he reached for the swimming gear bag he had prepared long ago. With undisguised eagerness in his tone, he said to Ryuji, who was just closing his notebook:

"Let's go! If we're late, the locker room will be packed!" He looked exactly like an elementary school student looking forward to a field trip, a far cry from the composed (or perhaps distracted) student he had been just minutes ago.

Ryuji Kanzaki's movements as he organized his books paused. He looked up, adjusted his glasses, and let his calm gaze rest on Yun Lan's face, which was practically shouting "I can't wait." He studied him carefully for two seconds. Then, in his usual, steady, and ripple-free voice, he uttered a clear sentence:

"Yun Lan, could you... return to how you were yesterday?" He paused, as if searching for a more precise way to express himself, and added, "I'm not quite used to you like this."

"This mode of overt emotion directed toward a single recreational goal deviates significantly from my baseline understanding of your behavioral patterns, and it will interfere with my subsequent observations and judgments."

He spoke with complete seriousness, as if requesting that the other party adjust an unstable experimental parameter. To him, this sudden "excited state" of Yun Lan's was like an anomalous fluctuation in data, introducing noise into a "model" that had been gradually becoming clear.

"Eh?" Yun Lan, who had been about to take a step, stopped. The excited expression on his face stiffened for a moment before transforming into a look of wry amusement. He looked at Ryuji, whose eyes behind his lenses were earnest and persistent; it was clear he wasn't joking.

"Like this..." Yun Lan rubbed his chin, the jubilant light in his eyes receding and settling at a visible speed. His shoulders relaxed slightly, and his straight spine returned to its usual, slightly lazy curve. The expression on his face was smoothed over by an invisible hand, and he put back on that gentle yet distant faint smile, his eyes becoming calm and inscrutable once more.

"Is this better?" he asked, his voice returning to its usual tone and rhythm—unhurried, with no discernible emotional fluctuations. It was as if the boy who had been rushing toward the swimming pool just moments ago had been nothing more than a hallucination of Ryuji's.

Ryuji Kanzaki observed his transformation carefully, as if verifying a program after debugging.

A few seconds later, he nodded with satisfaction and evaluated him rigorously: "Mm, facial muscle relaxation has returned to the baseline, the vocal spectrum has recovered to the standard pattern, and the overall energy representation is approaching the average observed yesterday. Correct, this is it."

Only then did he unhurriedly pack his things and pick up his swimming gear bag: "Let's go."

In the boys' locker room, filled with the faint scent of disinfectant and male hormones, the light was slightly dim, and the air was humid and warm. The clanging of metal locker doors opening and closing, the rustling of clothing, and the slightly excited chatter of the boys mixed together, full of the unadorned vitality and restlessness unique to adolescence.

Yun Lan had already changed into his swim trunks and was unhurriedly folding his school uniform neatly to stuff into his own locker. His movements were steady, forming a contrast with the boys around him who were shoving their clothes in haphazardly or rushing toward the pool. He successfully "blended" into the crowd, neither obtrusively pushing to the front nor lagging behind to draw attention, just like one of countless ordinary high school boys.

A few boys who had already changed and were waiting for their friends gathered together, starting one of the most common and enduring "between-class topics" among boys.

A slightly taller boy nudged the person next to him with his elbow, a mischievous smile on his face. He lowered his voice, but it was still loud enough for those nearby to hear:

"Hey, tell me, which girl in our class do you think... has the best figure?" The question was blunt, carrying the naive curiosity and bold discussion about the opposite sex's bodies typical of puberty.

The atmosphere instantly became even more lively.

"Mako Amikura, right?" A boy wearing glasses pushed up his frames and whispered, "She's tall, has long legs, and when she runs in PE class..."

"Chihiro Shiranami!" Another boy with slightly darker skin immediately chimed in, his tone certain. "Don't you think she... well, her proportions are great? And she's always so energetic."

"No way? You like that type?" The tall boy who had started the topic made an exaggerated gesture and teased, "A flat-chested board?"

"I vote for Yume Kobashi." A voice from the corner joined in, sounding a bit embarrassed. "She's cute when she smiles, and... well, she's very well-proportioned."

"Hey! What are you saying!" "To each their own!" "Then who do you think?" The boys immediately began to argue, question, and laugh in a jumble, pushing each other around. The atmosphere was heated and malicious-free, filled with the blunt and slightly clumsy aesthetic exchange unique to this age.

Yun Lan stood with his back to them, having just locked his locker. The metal latch made a soft "click." He listened to the names and evaluations coming from behind him, his face devoid of expression. He simply turned around quietly, leaning against the cold metal locker, his calm gaze sweeping over the group of classmates chatting away with such fervor.

He heard the names "Mako Amikura," "Chihiro Shiranami," and "Yume Kobashi" mentioned repeatedly. He heard the discussions about height, leg length, proportions, vitality, smiles, and even more explicit parts. He heard them laughing, joking, and teasing each other about their respective tastes.

But he did not join in.

He did not echo anyone's opinion, nor did he offer a candidate of his own. He simply stood there quietly, like an observer standing outside the fray, or perhaps like someone who had long ago found a single, definitive answer and therefore had no need to participate in this open audition.