Notebook and Heading to the Classroom

Sakayanagi Arisu was still sitting in the chair she had occupied earlier, holding the notebook he had tossed onto the corner of the desk last night—it was filled with scribbled plans regarding personal points.

Seeing him emerge, she gently closed the notebook with her fingertips and returned it to its original spot, her tone indifferent: "Classmate Uesugi is quite concerned about points, aren't you?"

Uesugi Hara felt his heart skip a beat. He walked over and tucked the notebook under some textbooks: "In this school, points are our lifeline, after all." He glanced at the water glass on the table; it was nearly half empty. "You aren't thirsty, are you? Should I refill it?"

"No need." Sakayanagi Arisu raised a hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, her gaze sweeping over his chin, which was still damp with water droplets. "It seems Classmate Uesugi washes up much faster than he tidies his room."

"That goes without saying." Uesugi Hara tugged at his collar, attempting to change the subject.

But Sakayanagi Arisu didn't give him the chance, tapping the desktop lightly with her fingertips: "I saw the names 'Katsuragi' and 'Sakayanagi' written in your notebook earlier. Are you thinking about the class leadership?"

Sakayanagi Arisu's fingertips remained on the desk, tapping out a rhythmic tap-tap, her eyes fixed on his face as if observing an intriguing subject.

Uesugi Hara cursed inwardly—he had been caught, sure enough. He paused his collar-tugging motion and simply said: "Just writing things down at random. After all, anyone in class can see that the two of you have different ideas about quite a few things."

He didn't admit it outright, nor did he fully deny it, casually picking up a textbook from the table to press down further on the notebook: "But that doesn't have much to do with me. I just need to manage my own points."

Sakayanagi Arisu, however, seemed to see right through his thoughts, a faint arc forming at the corners of her mouth: "Is it really unrelated? Since Classmate Uesugi can come up with point-earning schemes, you should understand—the people and events in this class are never truly separate from 'personal points'."

She raised her hand to smooth her silver hair, the morning light catching her eyes, shining so brightly that her true emotions were obscured: "For instance, Classmate Katsuragi cares more about stability within the rules, while I believe that occasionally breaking the rules is the only way to seize more opportunities. Which method do you think is better for accumulating points, Classmate Uesugi?"

Uesugi Hara looked at her—this wasn't a question about points; it was clearly a probe into his stance. He rubbed the tip of his nose and deliberately laughed it off: "I wouldn't know. After all, to me, any method that gets me points is a good method."

Having said that, he quickly turned toward the door: "Let's not talk about this. Have you eaten yet, Miss Arisu? If not, let's go grab something."

Behind him came Sakayanagi Arisu's faint laughter, light as a feather—he knew this little lady had no intention of letting him off the hook so easily.

Uesugi Hara bit into the ham bread he had just bought, crumbs falling in a flurry as he chewed. Sakayanagi Arisu walked by his side, her cane tapping the ground lightly. Her pace was not fast, just enough to keep up with his rhythm—she had already eaten breakfast before arriving.

"Classmate Uesugi, you can eat slower; no one is going to snatch it from you." She tilted her head to look at his ravenous eating, her tone carrying a hint of imperceptible disdain. "Bread crumbs are about to fall into your collar."

Uesugi Hara let out a muffled "mm," shoved the last bite into his mouth, and wiped the corner of his lips: "Otherwise, I won't make it to the class meeting. Didn't you know? Katsuragi sent a message last night saying we'd have a meeting before class." Uesugi Hara spotted a trash can nearby and took a few steps to toss his wrapper away.

Just as Uesugi Hara returned to his spot, his arm was gently linked—Sakayanagi Arisu's movements were already as familiar as if she had done it a thousand times. He subconsciously glanced to the side; the morning light fell on her forehead, and he could see fine beads of sweat sliding down her temples, causing a few stray hairs to stick to her cheeks.

"Let's walk faster." Uesugi Hara's tone was calm, but he quietly adjusted his stride. This little lady really had terrible stamina; she had only been walking for ten minutes and was already like this. "If we dawdle any longer, we'll be late."

Sakayanagi Arisu rubbed her fingertips against his sleeve as if wiping away sweat. "What's the rush? Classmate Katsuragi's meeting is mostly just unimportant padding anyway." Despite saying that, her grip on his arm tightened, and the frequency of her white cane tapping the ground increased.

Uesugi Hara could feel the heat radiating from her arm, a bit warmer than yesterday. He didn't say anything more, just shifted his bag to the other side to avoid touching her arm, and led the way steadily toward the school building—the sun was getting stronger, so it was better to get into the classroom early.

The breeze at the entrance of the school building carried the coolness of the shade. As soon as they reached the porch, Sakayanagi Arisu loosened her grip on his arm, her fingertips brushing his sleeve one last time as if wiping away residual sweat.

"Phew," she exhaled softly, her voice carrying a hint of imperceptible breathlessness, yet she maintained her usual composure. "It seems morning strolls really should be taken in moderation."

Uesugi Hara glanced at the stray hairs at her temples; the areas dampened by sweat shimmered with a faint luster in the shadows. He didn't respond, just gave the little lady a calm look.

"Why aren't you moving?" Sakayanagi Arisu tilted her head slightly, her cane tapping the ground gently.

"Waiting for you to catch your breath." Uesugi Hara watched the students running toward the classrooms in the distance and checked the time: 8:17. "Anyway, if we go in now, Classmate Katsuragi probably hasn't started yet."

Sakayanagi Arisu chuckled softly and raised a hand to tidy the hair on her forehead. Her fingertips were very pale, and when they touched her cheek, they seemed to exude a hint of coolness. "Classmate Uesugi is unexpectedly considerate today~"

"Just to keep you from looking too pale when you enter the classroom and giving yourself away." Uesugi Hara spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, but he took his bag off his shoulder, unzipped it, rummaged through it, and pulled out an unopened pack of tissues to hand to her. "Wipe your sweat."

Sakayanagi Arisu's fingertips paused before she took the tissues. Her movements in opening the package were very light, and as she pulled one out and folded it, he could see her knuckles turning a pale pink from the effort. "Many thanks."

She didn't wipe her face directly; instead, she wiped her fingertips first, then slowly pressed the tissue to her temples. "Come to think of it, Classmate Uesugi doesn't seem like the type to carry these things."

"Just grabbed them at the convenience store this morning." Uesugi Hara stared at the bulletin board inside the school building as if reading a notice. "Let's go; if we wait any longer, we'll really be late for the meeting."

As he turned to walk toward the hallway, he could feel the footsteps behind him slow by half a beat before catching up again. This time, Sakayanagi Arisu didn't link his arm, letting the sound of her cane tapping the ground follow his rhythm, trailing neither too far nor too close.

As soon as they entered the classroom, a ripple of commotion broke out.

Comments like "Uesugi, you guy, did you score so quickly?" and "Classmate Sakayanagi, are you and Classmate Uesugi really dating?" surged toward the two of them.

Uesugi Hara didn't speak, only looking at Sakayanagi Arisu behind him, as if to say, "Look, the trouble you caused."

Facing these questions, Sakayanagi Arisu only smiled lightly. "We were just going the same way yesterday. Classmate Uesugi saw that I was having trouble moving and gave me a hand, and we happened to play a joke on Classmate Yamamura along the way. To express my gratitude, I treated Classmate Uesugi to a drink. There is no such relationship between us, you know."

Sakayanagi Arisu's voice was clear and light, yet like a stone thrown into a pond, the rising chatter immediately died down by half. Her fingertips pinched the half-used pack of tissues, gently rubbing the edge of the packaging, the smile on her face perfectly measured—neither appearing to be deliberately explaining nor lacking a touch of "it can't be helped if people misunderstand" helplessness.

Uesugi Hara had already reached his seat in the back row. Just as he was about to put his bag down, he heard someone in the front row muttering: "But we saw you come in together in the hallway just now..."

He raised his eyes and swept a glance over, and the person immediately shrank back.

"Is it strange to enter the school building together?" Sakayanagi Arisu happened to walk to her own seat, leaning her cane against the table leg. "Classmate Uesugi Hara waited for me at the entrance for two minutes; I couldn't very well let him go in alone, could I?" She turned her face, as if speaking to Uesugi Hara, but her voice was just loud enough for those around her to hear. "He is a gentleman, after all, right?"

Uesugi Hara pulled out his chair and sat down, not responding, simply pulling his textbook out of his bag.

Hashimoto Masayoshi, sitting in front, couldn't help but turn around with an "I understand" expression: "Hey, Uesugi, was it really just a coincidence?"

"What else?" Uesugi Hara's fingers paused as he flipped through the book. "Do you want to be targeted by Sakayanagi?"

Hashimoto Masayoshi said enviously: "With Sakayanagi's background, if you can find her as a backer, what is there to fear in this school?"

The classroom gradually quieted down. Katsuragi Kohei was already standing at the podium, having opened his notebook.

"Alright, let's begin the class meeting." Katsuragi Kohei's gaze swept over the class with his habitual rigor.