"Ring, ring—"
The crisp chime suddenly broke the classroom's quiet, announcing that the midterm exams, which they had spent days preparing for, were finally over.
The Class A classroom instantly grew lively. Students gathered in groups of three or five, chattering excitedly.
Some complained, "If I'd known this year's test was the same as Katsuragi's review sheet, I would've worked through it more carefully";
Others had already put the exam behind them and were eagerly making plans for the weekend;
A few were discussing how much their Class Points would increase this time.
Though a few students in Class A hadn't made full use of the review sheets, most had gone through them properly at least once.
So their Class Points would certainly rise by at least as much as those of the other classes.
After all, who could have imagined that every class this year would get hold of the exam questions?
After the exam, Uesugi Hara also wanted to give his brain a break, so he headed straight for the library.
As soon as he turned into the mystery section, he spotted a familiar figure at his usual window seat. It was Shiina Hiyori.
She was completely absorbed in the novel in her hands, brows slightly furrowed and fingertips gently tapping the page. She didn't notice Uesugi Hara quietly approaching at all.
Uesugi Hara scanned the shelves, pulled out a newly arrived mystery novel at random, and strolled over with it in his hands.
Perhaps the movement in the air caught her attention, because Shiina Hiyori suddenly looked up in his direction.
When she saw that it was Uesugi Hara, it was as if tiny flecks of light had fallen into her eyes. A bright smile spread across her face, and her clear voice was touched with a slight huskiness, as though she'd only just emerged from her book. "Good afternoon, Uesugi."
"Good afternoon, Shiina." Uesugi Hara sat down across from her and gently set his book on the table. "Looks like you chose this spot to relax too?"
Shiina Hiyori closed the book in her hands, its gold-embossed title glinting in the sunlight. "Mm. After exams, I always feel like reading something that doesn't make me think too hard."
She pointed to the page she'd been reading, her eyes still bright with excitement over the plot. "The trick in this one is brilliant. Halfway through, and I still can't guess who the culprit is. Is the one you're holding new? The cover looks interesting."
Uesugi Hara nudged the book toward her. "I just found it on the shelf. The author seems to be a newcomer. Want to take a look?"
"Can I?" Shiina Hiyori's eyes lit up. Her fingertips were just about to touch the spine when she seemed to remember something and pulled her hand back. "You should read it first. I'm nearly done with this one, so we can trade afterward."
Uesugi Hara rested his fingers on the cover. "It's fine. I'm in no hurry." He leaned back, his gaze falling on the open book beside her. "How far have you gotten? I saw you frowning just now. Did you run into a tricky puzzle?"
Shiina Hiyori immediately perked up. She slid the book toward the middle of the table and pointed to a passage. "Look here—the victim was murdered in a locked room, but they can't find the murder weapon at the scene. The only ventilation opening is too narrow to fit an arm through. I've been wondering how the culprit got the weapon out..." She suddenly stopped and covered her mouth as if she'd realized something. "Oh, was I not supposed to spoil it?"
"It's fine. I've read this one." Uesugi Hara's lips curved into a smile. "The key is actually in the grate over the vent. Turn ahead two pages and you'll see."
Shiina Hiyori's eyes widened, then she immediately shook her head. "No, no. It's more fun to figure it out myself." She pulled the book back toward herself but didn't open it right away. Instead, she looked at the new book in his hands. "Is the main character a police officer or a detective?"
"I think he's a bookstore owner who helps the neighbors find their cats and dogs on the side, then gets caught up in a string of burglaries." Uesugi Hara flipped through a couple of pages. "The opening seems pretty ordinary."
"That sounds interesting." Shiina Hiyori smiled, resting her chin in her hand. "Then I'll be counting on you once I finish this one." Sunlight streamed through the window lattice, gilding her hair with a faint golden glow. "By the way, how did the midterm exams go, Uesugi? I think I made a mistake in the steps for the last math problem. I'm still annoyed about it."
"I see. I heard this year's exam was last year's test. I also heard Ryuen got hold of a copy, so he probably gave you one to work through." Uesugi Hara turned the pages of his novel, his voice betraying little emotion.
Shiina Hiyori paused with her book open, then wore a look of sudden understanding and ruefully tapped her forehead. "Ah... no wonder everyone was saying the test looked familiar! I wondered why he'd suddenly been so kind as to hand out review materials. So that was the catch." She stuck out her tongue, though she didn't look particularly upset.
"Didn't Ryuen give you any review materials?" Uesugi Hara didn't respond to her comment, instead suddenly asking her that.
Shiina Hiyori blinked at the question, then seemed to fish the memory out of her mind. She lightly scratched her cheek, a little embarrassed. "Ah... I think he did."
She blinked, recalling what had happened. "But I was right at the most important twist in my novel, so I just shoved the materials into my bag without thinking. Then I completely forgot about them."
"But never mind. The exam's over anyway. More importantly..." She steered the conversation back to books, tapping the new novel in Uesugi Hara's hands. "Did the bookstore owner find the culprit in the end? Could it be the old lady who's always borrowing gardening books?"
Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow. "Your intuition does line up with the clues in the book." He didn't give her the answer outright, only nudged the book farther toward her. "Want to read it now? You might guess the ending before I do."
Shiina Hiyori blinked, then finally accepted the book without hesitation. As her fingertips brushed the pristine spine, her smile grew even wider.
The sunlight outside happened to fall across the table between them, making the words on the pages especially clear. Even the dust motes in the air seemed to drift lazily in circles.
Shiina Hiyori carefully opened the first page, lightly running her fingertips over the paper as though touching something precious. After reading two lines, she suddenly looked up and smiled at Uesugi Hara. "Come to think of it, Uesugi, you seem to know a lot about Ryuen."
Uesugi Hara had been watching the ginkgo leaves drifting past the window. At her words, he turned back. "Not that much. I just heard that every class got a review sheet for this exam."
"I see." Shiina Hiyori nodded and looked back at the page, but didn't continue reading. Instead, she turned toward Uesugi Hara. "What about you? Did you look over that material before the exam?"
"I glanced at it." Uesugi Hara's tone was rather flat. "But I wasn't counting on the original questions to raise my score."
Shiina Hiyori couldn't help smiling. "You really are impressive, Uesugi." She lowered her head and continued reading, sunlight from the window casting faint patches of light across her face. "Still, that's a good thing. At least the class average should be higher, and we'll get more points next month."
Uesugi Hara didn't reply. He simply picked up the mystery novel Shiina Hiyori had been reading and began turning its pages.
The library was quiet, with only the occasional sound of turning pages and the faint birdsong from outside. After an unknown amount of time, Shiina Hiyori suddenly let out a soft "Ah." Uesugi Hara looked up and saw her frowning at the page. "This bookstore owner is so careless. He actually lost an important piece of evidence."
Uesugi Hara followed her gaze to the book and smiled faintly. "Don't worry. He'll find it later."
Shiina Hiyori looked up, curiosity shining in her eyes. "How do you know?"
"I'm guessing." A hint of amusement crept into Uesugi Hara's voice. "Aren't mystery novels always like that?"
Shiina Hiyori nodded as if she understood, then lowered her head and continued reading. Watching her focused profile, Uesugi Hara thought that an afternoon like this really was perfect for giving his brain a break.