Back in her dorm room, Ayanokoji Kiyoha sat on the edge of her bed, quietly studying the faint pink nail polish on her fingernails in the soft light. The unfamiliar sensation at her fingertips was subtle, but it constantly reminded her of everything she had just experienced. She had to admit, the feeling was quite novel.
These were things she had never experienced in the White Room, things that had not even been allowed to exist there—"unnecessary decorations." Was this... what an ordinary person's life was like? Full of color and noise, and seemingly useless little details that nevertheless lifted one's spirits.
She gently clenched her fist, then relaxed it.
Hmm... I suppose I can try experiencing ordinary life for myself.
Perhaps that was why Wu Qiao had asked her to spend time with those girls: so she could understand the humanity and everyday life that had been completely stripped away from people in "that place."
Just as she fell into thought, the Personal Terminal on her bedside table suddenly vibrated, breaking the silence. Kiyoha came back to herself and picked it up. The caller ID showed Ichinose Honami.
She answered, then leaned back onto the soft bed and gazed at the white fluorescent light overhead. In a calm voice, she asked, "Honami, is something up?"
A hesitant voice came from the other end, as if Honami were carefully choosing her words. "Um... Kiyoha, do you know how Wu-kun's been doing with his studies lately?"
Kiyoha blinked and gave a faint "Mm." "I do. He's been cramming math lately. He's already reached differential equations, and he's making very quick progress."
At the words "differential equations," Honami paused noticeably on the other end, as if trying to process the information. After a moment, she continued, sounding curious and probing. "Do you know what's going on with Wu-kun? I mean, why did he suddenly start studying so hard?"
Kiyoha fell silent for a moment. She recalled the scene in the library a few days ago, when Wu Qiao had dragged her there, as well as his usual lazy, easygoing, yet unfathomable demeanor.
"I'm not sure," she finally replied honestly, her voice giving nothing away. "I just know he learns very quickly. Um... based on his pace so far, he finished learning all the math from his final year of high school in a single day. Now he's challenging himself with even harder problems."
He finished all the math from his final year of high school in a single day... Silence stretched on for a long time at the other end of the call.
Honami's grip tightened slightly around her terminal, and the unease in her heart grew stronger. So his pained expression in the library hadn't been because the problems were too difficult for him to solve. It was because he was forcing himself to devour knowledge at an inhuman speed.
"Kiyoha," Honami said, taking a deep breath. Her voice turned serious. "Thanks for telling me. Um... if Wu-kun needs help with anything, or if anything seems off about him, please tell me right away, okay?"
Kiyoha looked at the glaring halo of light on the ceiling, Wu Qiao's face floating through her mind, wearing that ever-present, carefree smile.
"I understand," she replied softly. "But I don't think anything's wrong with him. He's just... following his own path."
After hanging up, Kiyoha set her terminal beside her pillow, rolled over, and watched the night grow darker beyond the window. Ordinary life was interesting, but that guy Wu Qiao seemed to be forever chasing something beyond the understanding of ordinary people.
"Differential equations, huh..." she murmured, then closed her eyes. Maybe she should prepare something more difficult for their next study session, just to see whether he could still look so unruffled.
Breaking through to a new level on the Path of Erudition didn't come with any earth-shattering sensations. There was no golden light enveloping him, nor any sudden enlightenment. The only way to notice a difference was to test how quickly he could do mental calculations.
Wu Qiao's brain now felt like a computer with a newly upgraded CPU. The sluggishness he felt when processing complex logic and numbers had noticeably diminished.
Of course, studying to gain experience wasn't limited to boring math. Languages counted as knowledge, too. And when it came to languages, there was no avoiding that damned English.
Wu Qiao scratched his head, but in the end, he could only turn to Wang Meiyu. After all, Ayanokoji Kiyoha still needed to maintain a certain "ordinary" facade. Letting her have a reputation for being exceptionally good at math would give this inscrutable "Ayanokoji" a modest amount of presence. Any more than that wouldn't be ideal; it might attract unwanted trouble.
So, at their usual spot in the library, Wu Qiao brought Wang Meiyu along this time. Her English was excellent. As an international student, she had no trouble with either everyday conversation or exams. But... Wu Qiao simply learned too fast, fast enough to make her head spin.
"Wait, Wu-kun, slow down!" Wang Meiyu stared at the densely packed grammar notes he had handed her, feeling as if her CPU was about to overheat. "I haven't even finished explaining the inversion used in the subjunctive mood that you just asked about. How have you already analyzed all the complex sentences that came after it? And... you even corrected a preposition I misspoke just now?"
Wu Qiao blinked innocently, the pen in his hand still moving as he took notes. "Did I? Maybe I just filled in the gaps in my head and figured that was how it should be. Wang, let's move on to the next point: how clauses nest within each other..."
Wang Meiyu looked at his eager, thirsty-for-knowledge expression—when in reality, he was just trying to fill up his experience bar—and could only sigh helplessly before resigning herself to being his "human audiobook."
Wu Qiao's habit of grabbing someone and forcing himself to study with them had made his reputation in class both bizarre and perfectly harmless. No one thought twice about how close he was getting to the girls; no one even suspected there might be a romance involved.
After all, he had dragged Hirata Yosuke into tutoring him, pulled Sotomura Hideo into discussions about computer algorithms, and even forced Horikita Suzune to discuss essays with him.
In the eyes of Class D, Wu Qiao was now a complete study maniac. Anyone who got near him had better be prepared to be dragged into "suffering" alongside him.
Of course, Wu Qiao wasn't the sort to take without giving anything back. Whenever he finished using someone as a "teacher," he gave them a thank-you gift, like an iced milk tea, a bag of nicely packaged snacks, or an expensive sports drink.
"Thanks for all your hard work. Here's your payment for today." Wu Qiao handed Wang Meiyu a freshly bought hot chocolate, wearing an ingratiating smile. "I feel like my English instincts have improved again, all thanks to you."
Wang Meiyu took the hot chocolate and sipped the sweet drink, feeling some of her exhaustion melt away. Looking at the boy before her, who studied like a demon but was unexpectedly considerate toward others, she couldn't help smiling. "Wu-kun, at this rate, you'll turn the whole class into your private tutors. Still... for the sake of this, come ask me next time you don't understand something."
Wu Qiao was secretly pleased. It seemed his "bribery" strategy was working well. He could gain experience on the Path of Erudition and improve his classmates' opinion of him at the same time. It was the best of both worlds.