On the way back to the dorm, Beihai looked at the photos on the camera,
Seeing how intently Beihai was studying them, Airisu Sakura suddenly thought of something and grew a little irritated,
But Beihai looked so serious that he didn't seem to be looking at photos of her embarrassing herself. After all, even if he had really taken those pictures, he'd look at them openly—and might even laugh at her to her face,
So she couldn't help feeling curious. It was like a kitten was scratching at her heart, and she couldn't resist turning her head to peek,
Among the photos they had just taken, there was one of her bumping into the wall, caught in the instant she let her guard down, her expression a little dazed. In the corridor behind her, a red-haired boy seemed to be shoving and jostling with several people,
"Anyway, what are you going to do with this photo?"
Beihai handed the camera back to Airisu Sakura. He had no intention of deleting the photo or confiscating the camera,
It wasn't his camera, and he had only taken the pictures to help out. What to do with them was up to her. Otherwise, if he took matters into his own hands, it could turn into exactly what Beihai had mentioned before: thinking you're helping someone, when all you're doing is making things worse,
Airisu Sakura took the camera back, but for a moment she had no idea what to do. If she deleted it, well, this was a camera—and the boy looked familiar. He seemed to be Sudo,
But if she didn't delete it, it might cause trouble,
She thought about it for ages, and by the time they got back to the dorm, she still hadn't come to a decision,
"Beihai, what should I do?"
If they'd still been on the way, Beihai would have gladly offered some advice. But now they were already back at the dorm,
His exercises were waiting for him, so naturally, Beihai couldn't afford to waste a single second,
"Ah, you're asking me? I'm waiting for your answer."
Airisu Sakura hadn't expected that response,
"Huh? You are?"
That left her speechless. Beihai eventually returned to his own room and, looking solemn, faced the homework waiting on his desk,
For some reason, his throat felt dry and his body was growing warm. That's right: it had been waiting for him all day long. In this world, it was the only companion he could truly feel at ease with,
Anyone could lie, but cold, lifeless questions and answers couldn't. They were like a beautiful woman, old-fashioned and bound by convention. Every day, Beihai and his homework exercised restraint,
As Beihai washed up, the homework once again made a move as if it wanted them to write together. That's right, the homework was tempting him,
And just then, someone knocked on the dorm room door. Kiyotaka stood outside, holding a game disc under his arm,
"You should get some proper rest tonight. You can't stay up playing like you did before."
Faced with such a kind reminder, Beihai naturally didn't refuse,
Beihai nodded and accepted the game disc. Although he'd promised to go to bed early, he simply couldn't resist the temptation of his homework,
He thought he should get some rest soon so he'd be ready for tomorrow's exam. Otherwise, something terrible might happen,
But in the end, he still picked up his special tool and carved his own mark and handwriting onto the paper,
The pristine pages were printed with letters, like something from Balenciaga, but Beihai scribbled all over them, stamping them with his own mark,
First came the long, thin stream of black liquid, like a whip. Then he even covered it with a layer of white correction fluid,
The next morning, after a night of wild revelry, reason and composure swept over him like a breeze. Beihai straightened the collar of his uniform,
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't hide the weariness in his eyes. He regretted not resisting temptation and getting a little carried away, but the system kept him going, and he still felt as energetic as ever,
Beihai's face was pale. The long nights and wild excess had long since drained his body, but at times like this, he always insisted he was fine,
"Don't tell anyone what happened last night. It was just an accident."
With a light kick, he sent all the completed homework under the bed, attempting to destroy the evidence,
Back to his usual self, Beihai looked over the exam papers he had to take that day. His expression was calm and detached, his eyes free of worldly desire,
Like someone who'd gone out to cheat, only to find he'd lost all his passion when he got home and was ready to get back to business. The papers were clearly full of high school questions, but to Beihai, they seemed a little tacky,
So, without any fancy solutions or questions that needed much thought, he just worked through them carelessly and got it over with,
The day's exams ended quickly, and Beihai felt very confident about how he'd done. He hadn't fallen asleep, nothing unexpected had happened; he'd just grown a little resistant to these questions,
After all, Beihai hadn't stopped studying after gaining Mind Sharing. He was like a sponge, soaking up knowledge,
He already had a thorough grasp of the basics taught in high school, but to be safe, he kept reviewing them,
As time went by, it was like facing a wife who'd grown old and plain: the passion of the early days was gone, even though all this knowledge had been with Beihai for a long time,
But Beihai wasn't a heartless jerk. He knew where to draw the line,
He still couldn't let his guard down. There were too many geniuses in this world. What if he did badly on the exam? Wouldn't he have to suffer at the hands of his birth family? He couldn't let that happen!
Just thinking of his bizarre father in this world meant Beihai couldn't afford to relax at all,
After the exam, Beihai returned to his dorm. He'd barely sat down on his bed when his hand unconsciously fished out all the completed exercises,
"I'm just checking them, so don't get the wrong idea. I'm just flipping through them. I'm not going to mess around with you."
After opening them, he took out his Terminal and started photographing the questions, asking Homework Help to check them in more detail. Then he picked up a pen and traced little circles with its cap,
Just rubbing against them—he wouldn't open them up and write on them,
Just then, someone suddenly knocked on the dorm room door. Beihai hurriedly closed the homework, turned off his Terminal's screen, and slipped it into his pocket,
His movements were quick and practiced, as if he'd rehearsed them many times. Only afterward did Beihai realize what he'd done, and he couldn't help chuckling,
This wasn't his damned birth family. There wasn't some drunk, crazy boy who'd come charging in to tear up his homework and take his rage out on him,
Beihai walked over to the dorm room door and opened it. A cute calico cat was right in front of him,
?
Typing that symbol didn't mean there was something wrong with him. It meant there was something wrong with this expressionless guy. What on earth was he trying to do?
He'd given Kiyotaka a dog, and now Kiyotaka was giving him a cat in return?
He could barely manage his own life. How was he supposed to look after a cat too?
Kiyotaka had no idea how much was going through Beihai's mind. If he had, he would surely have remarked that it was quite the coincidence. After all, he was a bit of a closet romantic himself,
"This is a return gift for you, Beihai. I really liked that dog."
Beihai's eyes widened. He couldn't imagine what he was supposed to do with this cat. Other than adding to his responsibilities and shedding fur that would make him furious, he couldn't think of any use for it,
Was he supposed to tell his little group later that there was a cat in his dorm that could do a backflip?
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