Small Circle

Honami Ichinose could only sit in her chair, watching Beihai's back grow farther and farther away, until finally her body slumped forward weakly over the coffee table, both hands fiddling with her terminal.

When she received the news, she never expected it would come to this. There were so many things she wanted to say, so was this a good thing or a bad thing?

For her class, this was undoubtedly a good thing, but for her personally, it was a very bad thing. However, both sides had clearly stipulated that this was a transaction.

But thinking about it a little, whether it was selling information or offering help, as long as this classmate wasn't in her own class, he would be completely unable to stay in his class.

The most crucial point was that he was strong. When everyone still didn't understand the situation, he had already gotten his hands on the information. No matter what, he got it. When everyone was in the dark, that was real skill!

Thinking and thinking, she wondered if he was saving up points? Then going solo? Or transferring classes? But she quickly dismissed it—how could that be possible?

Doing it that way would be way too slow. Besides, he had clearly told her the most critical thing. For example, taking this information to trade with other classes, or directly contacting the school—the rewards and transaction points would definitely be far more than a mere 50,000 points.

So Honami Ichinose's mood was now exceptionally complicated.

Beihai, on the other hand, didn't have that many thoughts. After meeting and talking, Beihai discovered that this girl not only had no sense of boundaries but was also extremely kind.

Of course, the most important thing was still the thought sharing. Opening his practice book now, problems that he had previously found completely incomprehensible, even needing a long time to solve, were now exceptionally clear, even extremely simple.

This feeling was very novel. Beihai even wondered if he had ever really been human before. Why couldn't he figure out such simple problems back then?

With this buff, Beihai pushed through until late at night, ruthlessly drilling through those coquettish assignments with his pen. The key difference was that unlike before, where the more he wrote, the more his spirit wilted, almost like he was about to drop dead.

This time, he was full of energy. His whole being felt as if it had been elevated. It was like clearing levels—every problem he finished gave Beihai an immense sense of accomplishment.

It was like those old flirtatious assignments had just been putting on a show, mocking Beihai's inadequacy. But this time, they had put on formal wear, acting proper on the surface, while secretly they had been completely conquered by Beihai. Who knows how many tally marks had been drawn on the pages, how many pen tips had been wasted! This kind of satisfaction came from the contrast!

Waking up the next day on his dorm bed, Beihai subconsciously sat up, wanting to rub his throbbing head, but suddenly realized that now that his brain was sharp, he didn't even have that kind of dull pain anymore.

Letting out a light breath, Beihai had never felt this exhilarated before. This thought sharing was worth it! Totally worth it!

Standing up, he took one step and—shuffle—stepped right on his practice book. Beihai quickly bent down to pick it up, dusting it off, then looked around. Practice books and some textbooks were scattered all over the bed, and the floor hadn't escaped either—it was a complete mess.

Beihai had two choices now. First, hurry to the classroom and clean the dorm later, since class was about to start. Second, clean up first and then go to class.

Beihai hesitated for two seconds, then opened the door and walked out, like that heartless man who just leaves after sleeping, without a single comforting word, not even preparing breakfast for the other party.

Walking into the D-class classroom, it was still a bit noisy. Even though class was about to start, it just showed how bad they really were.

Going to his seat and sitting down, Beihai, like an ordinary person, greeted the people next to him, blending into their little circles, and then did the classic "reading the air."

Beihai was somewhat discreet. Finally, he rummaged through his practice book, filled in a problem on it, and then looked at his deskmate next to him.

"Airisu Sakura, there's a problem I don't quite get. Could you take a look at it for me?"

Airisu Sakura, Beihai's deskmate, was a girl with a gentle personality, shy and timid, with a head of fiery red hair. Her hair was thick and tied into twin tails.

She also wore a pair of red-framed glasses, which made her look a bit plain and rustic. But Beihai could tell that was her disguise.

When it came to outward disguise, Beihai really had something to say, because he himself was a pretender.

Hearing Beihai's call from beside her, Airisu Sakura's body trembled involuntarily. Then she quickly lowered her head, but still reached out her hand to take the draft paper in front of her.

Airisu Sakura stared at the problem on the draft paper. How could she even think about how to solve it? Her mind was already a complete mess.

If she couldn't figure it out, she would start to worry. If she didn't know how, would he be disappointed? Would he get mad at her? Or be disappointed in her? No matter how she thought about it, it felt bad.

"Umm... this problem... I, I..."

Beihai watched her calmly. This kind of behavior meant he didn't need to dig any deeper.

He reached out and took the draft paper back. Pressing down on it, he pulled—but it almost didn't come out. She was too nervous, gripping the draft paper tightly, leaving it wrinkled with creases.

Seeing this, Airisu Sakura immediately started to explain anxiously, her hands unconsciously moving to her chest.

"No, it's not that. I'm sorry, I..."

But before she could finish, Beihai's face had already flushed unnaturally red. This was a reaction Beihai deliberately made his body produce.

"It's okay. I understand. Actually, Airisu Sakura, I just wanted to be friends with you. But I didn't know how to greet you either, so I should be the one saying sorry."

When Beihai said this, it was as if he had mustered up a lot of courage. He immediately turned his head back and looked down at the problem on his draft paper.

Faced with this situation, Airisu Sakura was also stunned for a moment, because Beihai had already done what she was about to do.

"Mmm."

Airisu Sakura let out an unconscious hum, then imitated Beihai's action, lowering her head to look at her own desk. But her heart was far from calm.

If it were anyone else making a bold self-introduction, Airisu Sakura definitely wouldn't be able to handle it. She would even act like an ostrich, unable to say a single word. But a gentle, slightly introverted virgin boy was the universal formula and persona.

Beihai did this because the groups in the class had already been determined. The class was quickly divided into small cliques.

There was the gal group led by Kei Karuizawa, a pretty girl with blonde hair in a ponytail. Beihai definitely couldn't blend into that group—they were all girls. And even if he did manage to get in, he would face hostility from the other boys in the class, which would lead to a lot of trouble.

Then there were guys like Kakeru and Yamauchi in the class, who were somewhat eccentric. Even the topics they talked about made Beihai not want to join in—they were just too easy to look down on.

To give an example, they would openly talk about girls' private parts.

And if he really joined them, it would be easy to get associated with those guys. Then, when he wanted to study, they would see it as a betrayal. The only thing that surprised Beihai was that there was one guy who clearly looked like a bot, forcing himself to join in on those kinds of topics in a very mechanical way.

Yosuke Hirata was different from the small cliques. He was the gentle boy of the class, good at considering others' feelings. A lot of people gathered around him. Even if you didn't approach him, he would approach you. The class self-introductions were also initiated by him. If nothing unexpected happened, he would be the classmate with the best social connections.

With a similar personality and equally popular was a female, who naturally had an advantage in gender—Kikyo Kushida.

Beihai naturally needed to find a group too. But at the same time, he couldn't make too many friends, nor could he make too many enemies, so as not to affect his studies.

As the saying goes, if you're too strong, people fear you; if you're too weak, they bully you. Only by being just like everyone else—ordinary—can you live together happily.

Beihai also needed to find his own little group; otherwise, he'd easily be isolated and ostracized, sparking discussions about him among the others, gradually edging toward bullying. Standing out would draw attention and waste unnecessary time.

Beihai waved with a shy smile, greeting Airisu Sakura beside him. He deployed the universal kindness formula.

His deskmate, Airisu Sakura, lowered her head like a mole caught in the light, shrinking fearfully into her safe zone.

There was not only fear but also awkwardness in it—after all, the last time Beihai had interacted with her, handing over a problem, she'd been so nervous she stammered and said nothing at all. How could that not be awkward?

Airisu Sakura finally mustered her courage, quietly lifting her head to look at Beihai, only to meet his gaze. Seeing him smile and nod at her, she subconsciously returned a greeting.

When she came to her senses and observed her surroundings, she found that no one seemed to have noticed.

Right, she was so ordinary. No one would recognize her identity. Her deskmate beside her seemed just as ordinary as she was. For a moment, her mood relaxed considerably.

Now she even had the nerve to cheer herself on in her heart. For someone who disguised herself as an introvert, her thoughts were starting to stir.

Beihai was so nice and didn't attract much attention. Maybe she could start with him.

Thus, summoning immense courage, she told herself this, encouraged herself. Yes, take the first step! Talk to someone! Even if she failed, no one would notice.

"H-H-Hello, B-B-Beihai, nice to m-meet you. Please take care of me from now on!"

She blurted it out in one go, her voice not very loud, but in Airisu Sakura's heart, it felt like the whole class had heard!

What am I even saying? It should be "nice to meet you," but I didn't introduce myself, right? Or maybe I did? My head's a mess, I can't think clearly. I feel utterly mortified, like there's nowhere to hide.

She quickly scanned her surroundings. Luckily, still not many people were paying attention. And Beihai didn't make things awkward because of that greeting; instead, he handled it calmly.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too. Please take care of me for the next three years."

Beihai naturally knew how to handle this. His deskmate was like a cat that startled easily—you had to go along with it, not deliberately stroke it backward or suddenly poke it. That would easily trigger a stress reaction, resetting their relationship to zero.

So he just needed to treat her like a normal person and be kind. After all, in his past life, Beihai had seen all kinds of abstract people—he'd been infuriated to death by them.

He was also a master of galge games. Though his galge games were a bit different from others, he'd conquered no less than a hundred characters like this!

Right now, she was just a shy, introverted girl—easy to handle!

Airisu Sakura felt like she was facing a great enemy. What should she do now? Reply calmly? Then what should she say?

She thought for a moment, feeling like she was growing a brain from the effort. But thankfully, at this critical juncture, the teacher finally walked in.

The moment the teacher stepped into the classroom, all the noise stopped in unison. Airisu Sakura let out a breath and whispered under her breath, "Saved."