The Library After the Exam

"Ring, ring, ring—"

The crisp sound of the bell suddenly pierced the quiet of the classroom, signaling that the midterm exams, prepared for over many days, had finally come to an end.

The Class A classroom instantly erupted into noise as students gathered in small groups, chattering away in discussion.

Some complained, "If I'd known the test paper was the same as the review sheet Katsuragi handed out, I would've studied it more carefully."

Others had already cast the exams to the back of their minds, excitedly making plans for the weekend.

A small minority were discussing how much their class points would increase.

Although a few people in Class A hadn't made full use of the review sheets, the majority had gone through them thoroughly.

Therefore, the increase in class points would certainly be no less than that of the other classes.

After all, no one could have expected that every class in this grade would manage to get their hands on the test questions.

Having finished the exam, Uesugi Hara also wanted to give his brain a break, so he headed straight for the library.

Just as he turned into the mystery novel section, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure at his usual spot by the window—it was Shiina Hiyori.

She was completely immersed in the novel in her hands, her brows slightly furrowed, her fingertips tapping gently against the page, entirely unaware of Uesugi Hara's quiet approach.

Uesugi Hara scanned the bookshelf, pulled out a newly arrived mystery novel, and walked slowly toward her, cradling the book.

As if the movement in the air had startled her, Shiina Hiyori suddenly looked up toward him.

When she realized the person approaching was Uesugi Hara, her eyes seemed to catch a glimmer of light, instantly blooming into a bright smile. Her crisp voice carried a slight huskiness from having just pulled herself out of the book: "Good afternoon, Uesugi-kun."

"Good afternoon, Shiina-san." Uesugi Hara sat down opposite her and placed his book gently on the table. "It seems you chose this place to relax as well?"

Shiina Hiyori closed her book, the gold-stamped title on the spine flashing in the sunlight. "Mm, after an exam, I always feel like I should read something that doesn't require much brainpower."

She pointed to the page she had just been reading, her eyes still holding a hint of excitement from the plot. "The trick design in this one is amazing; I couldn't guess who the culprit was even halfway through—is the one in your hand a new arrival? The cover looks very interesting."

Uesugi Hara pushed the book slightly toward her. "I just found it on the shelf; the author seems to be a newcomer. Would you like to take a look first?"

"May I?" Shiina Hiyori's eyes brightened. Her fingertips were about to touch the spine when she seemed to remember something and pulled her hand back. "You should read it first. I'm almost finished with this one, and we can swap later."

Uesugi Hara rested his fingertips on the cover. "It's fine, I'm not in a rush." He leaned back, his gaze falling on the open book beside her. "How far are you? You were frowning just now—did you run into a tricky puzzle?"

Shiina Hiyori immediately perked up, pushed the book toward the center, and pointed to a paragraph. "Look here—the victim was killed in a locked room, yet there's no murder weapon at the scene, and the only ventilation duct is too narrow for even an arm to fit through. I've been wondering how the killer managed to get the weapon out..." She suddenly paused, covering her mouth as if realizing something. "Ah, shouldn't I be avoiding spoilers?"

"It's fine, I've read this one." Uesugi Hara's lips curved. "Actually, the key lies in the grate of the ventilation duct. You'll know once you turn two more pages."

Shiina Hiyori's eyes widened, then she shook her head immediately. "No, no, it's only fun if I guess it myself." She pulled the book back toward her but didn't open it immediately, looking instead at the new book in his hand. "Is the protagonist of that one a police officer or a detective?"

"It should be a bookstore owner who moonlights by helping neighbors find lost cats and dogs, only to get dragged into a serial theft case." Uesugi Hara flipped through a couple of pages. "The beginning is quite mundane, though."

"That sounds interesting." Shiina Hiyori rested her chin on her hand and smiled. "Then once I finish this one, I'll leave it to you." Sunlight filtered through the window, landing on her hair and gilding it with a pale golden halo. "By the way, how did you feel about the midterm exam, Uesugi-kun? I think I messed up the steps on the last math problem; thinking about it now is quite frustrating."

"Is that so? It's said that this exam used last year's test papers. I heard Ryuen managed to get his hands on them, so he must have distributed them for you all to practice." Uesugi Hara flipped a page of the novel, his tone devoid of much fluctuation.

Shiina Hiyori paused, then wore an expression of sudden realization, tapping her forehead in annoyance. "Ah... no wonder everyone said the questions looked familiar! I was wondering why he was suddenly being so kind as to hand out review materials; it turns out there was a hidden motive." She stuck out her tongue, though there wasn't much genuine frustration in her eyes.

"Did Ryuen not give you the review materials?" Uesugi Hara didn't respond to her comment, instead throwing out this question.

Shiina Hiyori was stunned for a moment, then, as if she had just dredged the memory up from the depths of her mind, she scratched her cheek with her fingertip, her tone carrying a hint of embarrassed shyness. "Ah... I think he did."

She blinked, recalling the scene. "But I was right in the middle of the most critical turning point in my novel, so I just shoved the materials into my bag and completely forgot about it later."

"But never mind, the exam is over anyway. More importantly," she steered the conversation back to the books, pointing at Uesugi Hara's new novel, "did the bookstore owner find the killer in the end? Could it be that old lady who always comes to borrow gardening books?"

Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow. "Your intuition actually aligns with the clues in the book." He didn't give the answer directly, instead pushing the book further toward her. "Want to read it now? You might be able to guess the ending before I do."

Shiina Hiyori blinked and finally stopped being polite, taking the book. As her fingertips brushed the brand-new spine, the curve of her smile became even more pronounced.

The sunlight outside the window shifted to the table between them, illuminating the text on the pages with such clarity that even the dust motes in the air seemed to be swirling lazily.

Shiina Hiyori carefully opened the first page, her fingertips stroking the paper as if touching something precious. After reading only two lines, she suddenly looked up and smiled at Uesugi Hara. "Come to think of it, Uesugi-kun seems to know quite a lot about Ryuen-kun."

Uesugi Hara was watching the ginkgo leaves falling outside the window; he withdrew his gaze at her words. "Not quite. I just heard that every class had review sheets for this exam."

"I see." Shiina Hiyori nodded, her gaze falling back to the page, but she didn't continue reading. Instead, she turned her head to look at Uesugi Hara. "What about you, Uesugi-kun? Did you look at those materials before the exam?"

"I glanced at them." Uesugi Hara's tone was indifferent. "But I didn't count on raising my score based on the original questions."

Shiina Hiyori couldn't help but curve her lips. "As expected, Uesugi-kun is amazing." She lowered her head to continue reading, the sunlight casting faint light spots on her face through the window. "But that's good too; at least the class average should be higher, and we'll have more points next month."

Uesugi Hara didn't reply, simply picking up the mystery novel Shiina Hiyori had been reading earlier and flipping through it.

The library was very quiet, save for the occasional sound of turning pages and the faint chirping of birds outside. After an unknown amount of time, Shiina Hiyori suddenly let out a soft "Ah." Uesugi Hara looked up at her and found her frowning at the page. "This bookstore owner is too careless; he actually lost the important evidence."

Uesugi Hara followed her gaze to the book, his lips curling slightly. "Don't worry, he'll find it later."

Shiina Hiyori looked up, her eyes shining with curiosity. "How do you know?"

"A guess." Uesugi Hara's tone carried a hint of imperceptible amusement. "Isn't that how all mystery novels go?"

Shiina Hiyori nodded as if suddenly enlightened, then lowered her head to continue reading. Uesugi Hara watched her focused profile, feeling that such an afternoon was indeed perfect for giving his brain a break.