Unexpected

In Class D of the first year, during morning homeroom.

The homeroom teacher, Chabashira, arrived right on schedule. Unlike usual, she didn't just bring news of the upcoming midterms and finals—the grim reality that failing would lead to expulsion—but also revealed something that had never been mentioned before.

That is, the letters A, B, C, and D do not represent mere class numbers, but rather a ranking system for the classes.

In other words, Class D is the worst of the lot, a collection of defective goods, or what one might call zero-point trash.

Listening to Chabashira's series of cold remarks, some of the lower-performing students, already on the verge of collapse due to the point system, were now pushed to the very edge of breaking down.

Rinya, sitting in the back and listening to all of this, didn't feel much of anything, watching as Ayanokoji and Horikita Suzune were already secretly discussing something.

Meanwhile, Hirata Yosuke, Kushida Kikyo, and others were busy comforting and encouraging the students who were failing not to give up.

It seemed that after Chabashira's words, the entire class had become a hive of activity.

Perhaps he was the only one who remained indifferent and unmoved.

"Rinya-kun, will you be okay with the exams?"

At that moment, a slightly timid voice suddenly rang out by his ear; although she was standing a bit away, he could still hear her clearly.

Rinya looked toward the sound, but a second later, a hint of surprise couldn't help but flicker across his calm face.

Because the girl walking slowly toward him was none other than Matsushita Chiaki, whom he had met once at a barbershop.

But it had only been a short while; how had her voice become so shy and timid? Was this really the same person?

Seeing her subconsciously look away the moment their eyes met, Rinya more or less understood what was going on.

However, he still had to answer the girl's question: "Oh, is that you, Matsushita-san? As for the exams, I think I'll be fine."

"Is that so? But... Rinya-kun, I remember your score on the last quiz was just barely at the passing line. Are you sure you don't need tutoring?"

"Uh... as for that, I'm afraid I might lack a bit of ambition~" As a qualified master of controlling his scores, Rinya naturally couldn't tell the truth, so he found himself momentarily at a loss for words.

Perhaps it was because both of them usually had a very average presence in class.

Just as Rinya was thinking about how to answer appropriately, he didn't expect the girl to suddenly issue a very bold invitation: "Rinya-kun, if it's alright with you, could you accompany me to the library to study?"

"I just feel like I can't be at ease with my own scores."

"Of course, if you think it's too crowded, a park or a cafe would be fine too."

"Uh~ as for that, wouldn't asking Hirata be better than asking me? I'm just a rookie who barely scrapes by the passing line; I really can't be of much help to you."

Just when Rinya thought she would give up after his refusal, he didn't expect a flash of cunning to suddenly cross the girl's previously shy eyes.

After making sure no one around was paying attention, she leaned her lips toward the boy's ear very quickly. "Shh~ Rinya-kun, you can't refuse me."

"Oh? Why?"

"Heehee, because I think I've discovered a big secret of yours."

As she spoke, the girl tapped her phone a few times.

The next second, Rinya felt his phone chime; it was clearly a message from her.

"Why not just say it to my face instead of sending a message?" Rinya cast a questioning look at Matsushita.

However, he only saw a smug, mischievous expression on the girl's face. She didn't speak, just kept pointing her index finger at his phone.

"What exactly is it? You can just say it."

"No, no, no..." The girl was already puffing out her cheeks, pointing anxiously.

Seeing this, Rinya was actually a bit curious, so he smiled imperceptibly, turned his head, and feigned indifference as he replied: "Is it that mysterious? Then I'll just wait until I get back to look at it."

He made a move to put his phone back into his pocket.

If you like this book, please remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

Hearing this, Matsushita's puffed-up face was practically fuming with impatience. She wanted to say it out loud but was worried about being discovered. Seeing him acting so dense and oblivious, and after confirming no one was watching, the frustrated Matsushita Chiaki decided to go all in. Her fair little hand reached out quickly, trying to open the message on his phone.

"Hey, where are you touching?"

"Ah! I'm sorry." With a shriek, the girl recoiled as if she had touched some terrifying taboo, though a faint blush instantly spread to her neck and face.

Several students nearby who heard the noise wanted to come over to see what was happening, but before they could move, they were all scared off by the sharp, piercing gaze Rinya shot their way from afar.

Seeing the girl trembling and standing there in a panic, Rinya didn't intend to tease her any further, so he smiled reassuringly: "Haha, it's fine. No one noticed you just now. If you don't believe me, take a look."

Hearing this, Matsushita carefully observed her surroundings and realized that, indeed, no one had noticed her scream. What she found strange, however, was that three boys had appeared at the front of the classroom and were doing a striptease. Though she couldn't understand why, their vigorous performance had indeed indirectly helped her.

At this point, seeing that Matsushita had calmed down, Rinya said: "I'll read the message now, okay?"

"Mm~"

However, he didn't know what to expect until he saw it. When Rinya saw that the content of the message was a segmented analysis of the anomalies in his entrance exam scores, he almost doubted his own eyes.

"I was discovered just like that?" Rinya shook his head, finding it somewhat amusing.

Although the confession at the end of the message was the point she wanted him to see, he had to admit that this girl, in order to date him, had actually gone through the trouble of comparing the correct and incorrect rates of the entire school against his own consistent entrance exam scores, eventually deducing his suspicion of score-fixing.

"Heh~ It seems I really did underestimate some people." Rinya, who knew everyone's profile, really hadn't expected that he would have a day where his calculations failed.

However, Rinya didn't deny it. On the contrary, he found himself quite interested in the girl before him.

After all, he wasn't Ayanokoji; he didn't enjoy playing word games with others or hiding himself too deeply.

Since I had been discovered, I decided to just ask directly: "Heh, interesting. Besides me, have you discovered anyone else?"

Sure enough, I saw Matsushita Chiaki's gaze flicker slightly toward Ayanokoji's position, and then the expectant look she had been wearing in front of me instantly reverted to her original, timid persona.

After witnessing this performance, I felt that if she went into acting in the future, it would be a waste of talent if she didn't win a Best Actress award.

"I want to know, ever since you enrolled, when have you been real, and when have you been fake?" I asked, staring at her with a playful glint in my eyes.

"Eh~ Rinya-kun, you still haven't answered my previous request."

"Is that so? As long as you tell the truth, I agree to tutor you. How about that?"

"Hmm... no backing out."

After a brief silence, the girl let out a sigh, as if she had made some important decision. She turned her back to me and whispered, "Perhaps for most of my life, the way I act and do things has been more or less fake, but there is one thing that will never change: whenever I see you, Rinya-kun, I will always be my truest self."

As soon as she finished, the girl suddenly leaned forward slightly, her hands held out in a gesture of sincere invitation. Her trembling voice was even quieter than a mosquito's buzz: "Will you go out with me, Rinya-kun~?"

Although her voice was soft, the overflowing, unusual affection behind it—even though I had already guessed it—still left me feeling somewhat moved.

"This is the first time in my life I've been truly confessed to. Thank you." I revealed a rare, pleasant smile, seeing the sincerity and expectation in her eyes.

Seeing that I hadn't given a direct answer, Matsushita Chiaki seemed to have expected it. Although she couldn't hide her disappointment, she still forced a sweet smile: "I will wait for you forever. Can I call you Yoru-Yoru in private from now on~?"

"I think that name suits you well."

"Heh, what a suffocating name." My voice rang out, carrying a hint of disdain.

Upon hearing this, the tears that had been welling up in her disappointed eyes seemed unable to be held back any longer. However, the very next second, my cunning voice made those tears fall as she laughed, drop by drop.

"But, I accept."

"R-really? Thank you!"

After saying this, the girl bowed deeply in excitement, then looked at me quietly, a flicker of longing flashing in her eyes. I could naturally see it, but after all, we were still in the classroom. Even though the back row was inconspicuous, I ultimately chose not to take that step forward.

And as it turned out, my choice was correct.

Because the next second, three wails from male voices echoed throughout the entire classroom.

I looked over from afar and saw that the late Sudo Ken was leading his lackeys, fiercely teaching those class pests a lesson.

"Looks like I'll have to provide a bit more compensation." I flipped through the points on my phone and gave a helpless smile.

If you can't find the book title, try searching for the author; perhaps the name has just been changed!