"Agreed!"
"That sounds great."
With Kushida Kikyo and Karuizawa Kei leading the way, more and more people in the class voiced their agreement.
However, Chiba Yu glanced wistfully at Karuizawa Kei, who was sitting in front of him, and grumbled to himself, Heh. She acts so haughty toward me, but treats Hirata like this?
Still, he had no objection. What other people did was their own business. He just had to live his own life. Why bother himself with all that?
"Then I'll go first." The gentle-looking boy clasped his hands together and spoke with a smile. "I'm Hirata Yosuke. You can just call me Yosuke. I love all kinds of sports, and I'm planning to join the school's soccer club. I look forward to getting to know you all."
As Yosuke finished introducing himself, the class grew even more enthusiastic, and a round of applause rang out.
Next, a sweet, cute-looking girl with short hair stood up from her seat. "Then I'll go next. My name is Kushida Kikyo. My goal is to become friends with everyone here. I want to make lots of wonderful memories, so please come hang out with me!"
"Nice to meet you!"
After Kushida Kikyo's introduction, the class erupted in cheers, most of them from the boys.
As expected of the social butterfly from the early part of the story. Just one introduction was enough to win them all over.
Next, Yamauchi, Ike Kanji, and the others took turns introducing themselves, and the room grew lively.
While Chiba Yu was still silently grumbling to himself, he noticed someone's gaze fall on him.
"Next up... how about that student?"
Chiba Yu looked up and saw Hirata smiling warmly at him. The meaning behind his expression was clear.
Guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. After murmuring to himself, Chiba Yu slowly stood up from his seat, his mind racing for something to say.
"Um... My name is Chiba Yu. I like taking it easy, and I hate troublesome things. As for hobbies, I used to practice piano and tea ceremony. Uh... that's about it. Nice to meet you."
When I finished, I glanced over at Hirata. He smiled and nodded, then led the applause. Then he asked me, "Can I ask you something, Chiba? You said just now that you like taking it easy... What does that mean?"
Only then did Chiba Yu remember that it was a common expression in his previous life. It was no surprise that people in Japan at this time didn't understand it.
"Um... It means not actively facing a difficult situation and tending not to take action. In other words, choosing to relax instead of taking the initiative. Does that make sense?"
After Chiba Yu explained, his classmates began whispering among themselves.
"Isn't that just being lazy? Why dress it up like that?"
"Aw, it's rare to see another good-looking guy, but it turns out he's a shut-in."
Hey, hey, did you think I couldn't hear you just because I was sitting farther away? Keep it up and I might start crying.
Chiba Yu stole a glance in their direction, grumbling helplessly to himself.
But he wasn't bothered. Instead, he let his mind wander. This was just right—not so conspicuous that he'd stand out, but not so aloof that he'd seem unapproachable... probably?
Just as Chiba Yu was about to start daydreaming, Hirata called on someone he couldn't help but pay special attention to.
"Uh, my name is Ayanokoji Kiyotaka... Um... Ah, nice to meet you... There's nothing in particular I'm good at, but I'll do my best to get along with everyone."
Now that was an intense moment. When I watched the anime, I thought he was just an ordinary antisocial guy. But seeing him in person, I understood why everyone would end up seeing Ayanokoji Kiyotaka the way they did. His introduction was even more unbelievable than Chiba Yu's.
Only then did Chiba Yu realize that it probably wasn't possible for either him or Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to become like Hirata or Kushida Kikyo.
The opening ceremony was mostly dull and tedious. Even Advanced Nurturing High School obviously couldn't avoid the usual formalities.
After a speech from the student council president, Horikita Manabu, the new students finally finished the ceremony and headed to their respective dormitories.
After searching for a while, Chiba Yu finally found his dorm room.
Room 402
The number on the door was the number of Chiba Yu's room.
"This is pretty luxurious. The air conditioner and kitchen are both private, and there aren't even any usage restrictions."
Looking at the spacious layout, Chiba Yu couldn't help marveling at how generous the school was. In most other places, this would be the size of a small hotel room.
After unpacking his belongings, Chiba Yu decided to go to the mall to buy some daily necessities. He had just stepped out when—
"Click!"
"Hm?"
Their eyes met. Chiba Yu blinked and greeted the person next door.
"Hello. You're Ayanokoji, right?"
"...Yeah."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka answered, clearly not expecting the person in the room next door to be him.
Chiba Yu gave him a once-over and casually asked, "Ayanokoji, are you going to buy some daily necessities?"
The school had told them that they could buy all their daily necessities after arriving. And since Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had just arrived at his dorm and was already heading out, it wasn't hard to guess what he was going to do.
Ayanokoji seemed to think so too and answered calmly, "Yes."
They'd run into each other, and they were headed to the same place. It was only natural that they decided to go to the mall together.
"By the way, Chiba, it looks like you're picking out the cheap stuff."
As they shopped for household necessities, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka remarked when he saw Chiba Yu put a cheap set of bowls and chopsticks into his basket.
Chiba Yu simply pursed his lips and gestured at the items in Ayanokoji's hand, which were in the same price range. "Maybe it's because of the way I used to live. But what about you? Aren't you doing the same thing? Oh, and calling each other 'classmate' sounds too formal. Just call me Chiba or Yu."
Ayanokoji nodded and looked at the assortment of cheap items in Chiba Yu's hands, his thoughts unreadable.
"Are you... Ayanokoji and Chiba?"