Like a Ghost

The second day arrived, with only four days left until the end of April.

The weekend rest day had passed, and a new day had dawned.

On this day, in other schools, it was Monday—the dreaded Monday, where motivation was practically nonexistent.

But in this school, during this Special Exam period, everyone was still doing their own thing, slacking off to the extreme.

The classroom was a flurry of individual activity; the only rule that seemed to hold was that no one skipped class. Then again, it made sense—in this school, there was no way to escape.

No truancy, only tardiness. Showing up a dozen minutes late drew no attention, and arriving early went equally unnoticed.

Beihai entered the classroom and reached his seat. The moment he sat down, a greeting came from beside him.

"Good morning, Beihai."

The sudden greeting made Beihai pause in flipping through his book. The voice was male and somewhat familiar. He turned his head to see Kiyotaka Kiyotaka.

Thinking back to yesterday's events, Beihai still raised his hand in a slight greeting.

"Morning. You're here early? You know, it's only these few days. Once this month is over, it won't be this easy."

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka understood what Beihai meant. Since the month's Special Exam wasn't over yet, and Class D was already in this state, they might as well just slack off and enjoy a few more days of ease.

"Isn't it because I saw you here? But you're right. Want to head out?"

Beihai: "..."

Sometimes, that guy's mouth really didn't know how to talk.

"Ah, forget it. I'm a model student—I have to study hard and not leave a bad impression on the teacher."

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka watched Beihai spread his hands and say such a blatantly dishonest thing.

Even he couldn't help but silently retort: Really? That doesn't look like it at all.

Soon, the bell for class rang, and they ended the conversation.

Airisu Sakura dashed into the classroom right after the bell, found her seat, and sat down. She then quietly curled up, hunching her body to shrink into her safe zone.

She didn't want to attract any attention. The only one who could break through her defenses was Beihai, who would push this little pet over with both hands and make her reveal her soft belly.

But today, the feeding that had been going on for a while suddenly stopped. Airisu Sakura, like a kitten missing her catnip, looked up in confusion and saw Beihai writing a small note, then tossing it to a seat by the window in the second row.

Suzune Horikita, the black-haired girl sitting between them, silently endured the small paper balls flying over her head. She seemed indifferent.

But if one observed closely, they'd notice Suzune Horikita's hand unconsciously clenching, crumpling her textbook.

The teacher on the podium continued the lesson as if seeing nothing.

Beihai hadn't expected that, during class, just when he thought everything was over, a paper ball flew over, forcing him to engage in some conversation with the other party. Considering yesterday's events, he figured he should give the guy some face.

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka: [Free this afternoon? Want to continue?]

Beihai: [It's class time. Passing notes isn't great, is it? And since you treated me yesterday, I'll treat you today. Want to watch a movie? Also, do you have enough points? Want me to lend you 50,000 first?]

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka: [No need. I know how to earn points. Let's watch a movie after class. Just let me get the points first.]

And so, they agreed on their after-school plans.

After passing the note, Kiyotaka Kiyotaka found it interesting. Was this what it meant to have a close friend?

Sharing joy with a friend, sharing some personal things. It was a pity there were some things he could never say, but this kind of friendship was something he could learn from.

At that moment, Haruki Yamauchi and the others were relegated to the status of surface-level friends in Kiyotaka Kiyotaka's mind—good for a greeting or a meeting at most.

Right after the first class ended, Beihai went over to Airisu Sakura.

"Hey, did you take good notes during that class?"

"Mm, yes, yes."

Airisu Sakura quickly responded and pulled out her notebook to show Beihai.

Beihai took it, glanced at it, and knew she had jotted down a bunch of trivial things. In his past life, this was the kind of person who filled notebooks but still didn't do well on exams.

"Worth a reward, but you've written down both the key points and the useless stuff. It's a bit messy and works against you."

After class, of course, he came to find his little group. There was also a reward-and-punishment system from the game. Even if Airisu Sakura had no great merit, she had her effort, so he gave her a sour candy.

Watching her eyes glisten with moisture as she forced the sour candy into her mouth, Beihai felt a bit of malicious amusement.

This was his little pet. How could she not study seriously? After all, this school was a different kind of Shrek Academy—in simple terms, those who didn't dare to cause trouble were mediocrities, and the worst would be expelled.

If she couldn't keep up with the main group, things would get ugly.

Then Beihai would have to find a new circle to fit into. But Class D was full of what kind of people? There wasn't a single clique he wanted to join.

Just like now, Beihai looked over at Kiyotaka Kiyotaka.

The note-passing during class had clearly affected Suzune Horikita, who was sandwiched between them.

After class, she slammed her book on the desk, stood up, and walked over to Kiyotaka Kiyotaka's side.

A cold black-haired beauty and an expressionless face. The two stared at each other, not a ripple in their eyes.

"I know some of you are hopeless, but could you at least not disturb me during class? That's the bare minimum of being human."

Suzune Horikita had thought this school would have something impressive about it, but after nearly a month, she was gradually disappointed. It was just that those guys had lost their discipline, but she certainly wouldn't.

And those two—when had they gotten mixed up together?

Though it seemed normal enough; after all, it wasn't surprising that this guy could even strike up a conversation with Yamauchi.

"Ah, sorry. If it's too much trouble, how about we swap seats?"

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka finally spoke, and his words also startled Suzune Horikita.

"What?"

"Is it not allowed? It's just swapping seats."

"That's not what I meant. I just didn't expect... forget it, get up."

Another one who had already given up on himself? Suzune Horikita couldn't help but think.

In just ten minutes, the two of them switched positions. It didn't waste much time—just moving some books, or simply swapping desks outright.

And just like that, Beihai was dumbfounded, suddenly caught in a pincer attack from both sides.

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka even raised a hand, a stiff smile on his face: "Hey, buddy, happy or what?"