One-Way Childhood Sweethearts

As the morning sun began to spill over the campus of Advanced Nurturing High School, Sakayanagi Arisu woke up early. She skillfully rose with the help of her cane, her gaze immediately falling upon the system interface visible only to her.

[Morning Check-in: Remain at the track for half an hour.]

[Noon Check-in: Drink a cup of coffee.]

[Evening Check-in: Solve ten math problems.]

After reviewing today's tasks, Sakayanagi Arisu left her bedroom, took the elevator to the first floor, and slowly exited the dormitory lobby, heading toward the track.

Sakayanagi Arisu had always held an inexplicable sense of anticipation regarding her system.

This was mainly because, after checking in, the system would provide strange yet incredibly practical little items. For instance, candies that could instantly increase one's grip strength by ten kilograms, or incense that could instantly banish drowsiness and leave one feeling refreshed and energized.

As someone with limited mobility, no matter how composed and elegant she appeared in her daily life, her longing to stand up again and walk freely was unparalleled.

Having seen a glimmer of hope, Sakayanagi Arisu was exceptionally diligent with the system's tasks, never once showing the slightest slack.

However, when Sakayanagi Arisu arrived at the track with her cane, she unexpectedly spotted several familiar figures: Ayanokoji Kiyoha, as well as... Ichinose Honami and that boy, Wu Qiao.

Sakayanagi Arisu narrowed her eyes slightly, evaluating them in her mind. Ichinose Honami was a "goody-two-shoes" from Class B with a stellar reputation, but in Sakayanagi's view, such a personality was ultimately of no concern in this school.

As for that Wu Qiao, Sakayanagi Arisu's expression turned somewhat peculiar. According to Kamuro Masumi's previous investigation, the boy appeared to be a hidden genius. After a discarded draft paper was retrieved and shown to a teacher, it was confirmed that the calculations on it were actually differential equations.

Furthermore, it seemed he was being tutored by Ayanokoji Kiyoha? Watching Wu Qiao training under Ayanokoji's guidance not far away, a trace of doubt arose in Sakayanagi Arisu's heart: So, is he Ayanokoji Kiyoha's apprentice?

If that were the case, things would become interesting.

Had that hypocritical genius, Ayanokoji Kiyoha, finally started cultivating her own faction?

Sakayanagi Arisu gripped her cane tightly, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.

It seemed she needed to re-evaluate the weight of this boy named Wu Qiao.

Ichinose Honami's physical fitness was actually quite impressive among the girls, and she was usually a top performer in physical education classes. However, since the two people she was training with could not be judged by conventional standards, she could only grit her teeth and desperately try to keep up.

Watching Wu Qiao voluntarily add five laps of weighted running, Ichinose Honami truly couldn't understand it. How could someone's physical fitness be this good? Could one really force out this kind of potential? Why couldn't she feel this continuous, steady improvement no matter how hard she pushed herself?

Ayanokoji Kiyoha, having finished her planned goal, looked calm, her breathing barely disrupted. She picked up a bottle of water and began to drink it at her own pace.

Through her observations during these days of morning exercise, Ayanokoji Kiyoha had silently confirmed one thing: Wu Qiao's physical fitness was improving in a steady, additive manner.

Every day, he seemed to grow stronger by an insignificant amount. This change was so subtle that if she hadn't been meticulously recording the data every day, she would never have noticed.

However, for a normal person to become stronger by even a little bit, it required long-term, scientific training, and they would even encounter plateaus; it was impossible to grow as steadily as Wu Qiao.

And this was happening on a daily basis. This growth curve, which defied physiological common sense, was like that of a precision machine with a pre-set program.

"Wu Qiao, have you... felt anything unusual about your body lately?" Ayanokoji Kiyoha asked, tightening the bottle cap as if it were a casual remark.

Wu Qiao picked up a towel to wipe his sweat and scratched his head, looking puzzled. "Unusual? No, not really. I just feel like my appetite has gotten better lately, and I recover really quickly after running. I wake up feeling fully recharged after a night's sleep. Why do you ask?"

Ayanokoji Kiyoha looked at his oblivious expression and said nothing more, her eyes flickering slightly. This unconscious, steady, and continuous growth was the most troublesome aspect.

Just then, Ichinose Honami finally finished her last lap, collapsing onto the ground, panting heavily, her face a mask of exhaustion. Looking at the two monsters before her, she silently vowed: Tomorrow, tomorrow I must persist for at least half a lap more!

During the break, Wu Qiao, who had been adjusting his breathing, suddenly gestured calmly toward the petite figure standing in the shade of a tree not far away, and lowered his voice to speak in Chinese: "That girl is watching you."

Ichinose Honami was taken aback by the sudden use of a foreign language. Although she couldn't understand the specific meaning, she could sense a hint of playfulness in Wu Qiao's tone.

Ayanokoji Kiyoha followed the direction of Wu Qiao's finger, glanced over nonchalantly, and then responded in a low, Chinese tone: "What is it?"

A faint smile curled the corners of Wu Qiao's mouth as he continued in Chinese: "That person has seen you before and seems to hold a grudge against you. She's always wanted to defeat you, though you might not remember. Do you need to go say hello?"

This long string of rapidly spoken Chinese gave Ayanokoji Kiyoha a moment to process. Her gaze swept once more over the porcelain-doll-like girl with fair skin leaning on a cane, and she quickly searched her mind for relevant fragments of memory before giving a slight nod. "I understand. I'll go handle it."

With that, Ayanokoji Kiyoha placed her half-finished water bottle on the bench and turned to walk toward Sakayanagi Arisu.

Watching her leave, Ichinose Honami curiously leaned toward Wu Qiao and asked, "What were you two just talking about? The atmosphere suddenly felt a bit different."

Wu Qiao shrugged, switching back to Japanese, and said with a relaxed expression, "Nothing much. An old friend of Ayanokoji's came to find her, and I was just being kind enough to give her a heads-up."

Ichinose Honami looked curiously in their direction and asked, "Sakayanagi-san? Does she know Kiyoha? I remember Sakayanagi-san is from Class A..."

Wu Qiao pondered for a moment, as if weighing his words, and finally gave an ambiguous answer: "Let's just say it's been a long time. As for their relationship... it's actually not that great."

Not far away, the morning sun filtered through the gaps in the leaves, dappling the two of them. Ayanokoji Kiyoha stopped three steps away from Sakayanagi Arisu and greeted her politely but distantly: "Morning, Sakayanagi."

Sakayanagi Arisu tilted her head slightly, a flicker of imperceptible excitement flashing in those eyes that seemed to hold bottomless wisdom. She tapped her cane lightly against the ground and said softly, "Good morning, Ayanokoji-san. What a coincidence; I didn't expect to run into you here."

Their conversation sounded polite and bland, as if they were merely ordinary classmates exchanging pleasantries on campus.

"Not a coincidence," Ayanokoji Kiyoha replied calmly, as if she had already seen through the other's intentions. "You've been standing here for a long time, haven't you? Is something the matter?"

Sakayanagi Arisu covered her mouth and chuckled softly, showing no embarrassment at being called out. "Oh my, I've been discovered. After all, I've always been interested in Ayanokoji-san's movements. Besides, I didn't expect you to be hanging around with Ichinose from Class B and that boy named Wu Qiao. Especially that Wu Qiao... I hear he's a very interesting person."

"We are just ordinary classmates," Ayanokoji Kiyoha replied calmly. "Sakayanagi, you shouldn't be here just to chat about such trivial gossip."

Sakayanagi Arisu's smile faded, her gaze gradually sharpening. She took a small step forward and lowered her voice: "Ayanokoji, I heard you've been 'tutoring' that Wu Qiao lately? What's the matter? Are you planning to cultivate him as your proxy? Or is it that you've finally decided to stop hiding and are prepared to face my challenge head-on?"

"You're overthinking it," Ayanokoji Kiyoha said, her expression unchanged. "I am merely fulfilling the obligations of a classmate. As for your so-called challenge, I have never accepted it, so naturally, there is no such thing as a response."

"Heh, what a heartless answer." Sakayanagi Arisu sighed softly, then changed the subject. "But that's fine, Ayanokoji. No matter how you try to escape, our game has only just begun. I will keep watching you—watching you, and watching those around you. I hope you won't disappoint me; after all... I've been waiting for eight years."

Having said that, Sakayanagi Arisu gave Ayanokoji Kiyoha a deep look, then turned and walked away with an elegant yet slightly labored gait, leaning on her cane.

Ayanokoji Kiyoha stood where she was, watching the petite figure disappear around the corner. She turned around, walked back to the bench, and picked up her water bottle once more.

"Done?" Wu Qiao looked at her with a half-smile.

"Mm, just came to make my presence known," Ayanokoji Kiyoha said indifferently as she unscrewed her bottle cap and took a sip of water.

Ichinose Honami watched the subtle, tense atmosphere between the two. Although she couldn't understand the specific content of their conversation in Chinese, she vaguely sensed that there seemed to be an unknown past hidden between Ayanokoji Kiyoha and Sakayanagi Arisu.

"Um... Sakayanagi-san seems to be very concerned about you, Kiyoha," Ichinose Honami said after a moment of hesitation.

Ayanokoji Kiyoha glanced at her, her expression returning to its usual calm. "Don't worry about it."

Watching Ayanokoji Kiyoha begin to stretch, Ichinose Honami, despite being filled with curiosity, could only temporarily bury these questions deep in her heart.