Path Notes

During the break, the classroom was filled with the noisy chatter of students. Wu Qiao was sitting at his desk, staring blankly out the window, when a head with a honey-colored ponytail suddenly leaned in close to him.

"Hey, Wu-kun." Karuizawa Kei lowered her voice, her tone carrying a rare, serious edge. "There's something I think I should give you a heads-up about."

Ever since the two of them had reached a certain unspoken understanding, Karuizawa Kei had been very proactive when it came to sharing information.

"It's about Horikita-san," Karuizawa Kei said, her voice audible only to the two of them while she pretended to tidy the books on her desk. "She's been asking around about you lately. Not just your background, but your daily routines and who you're close to—she's been investigating it all in secret. Judging by how she's going about it, it seems she's set her sights on you."

Upon hearing that name, Wu Qiao's eyes flickered slightly. Horikita Suzune, the aloof girl determined to reach Class A. Her interest in him was likely nothing more than an attempt to evaluate his value or to incorporate him into her "Class Promotion Plan."

"I see," Wu Qiao nodded calmly, showing no sign of surprise.

Watching his unflappable demeanor, Karuizawa Kei couldn't help but frown slightly, asking tentatively, "So, what do you plan to do, Wu-kun? Horikita-san is a total go-getter; once she latches onto you, it's going to be a real headache."

Wu Qiao didn't answer immediately; instead, he raised a hand and gently rubbed his throbbing temples. He had indeed spent a great deal of mental energy dealing with the troublesome matters within the class lately.

"I'll handle it myself when the time comes."

Karuizawa Kei looked at him, ultimately deciding not to say anything more. She simply gave a soft "mm" before turning and heading back to her own seat.

The lunch break bell had just rung, and the hallway was instantly flooded with students heading toward the cafeteria.

Horikita Suzune walked through the crowd with an expressionless face, preparing to head to the cafeteria alone for lunch as she always did.

However, just as she stepped out of the school building exit, a figure suddenly blocked her path.

"Horikita."

Hearing the voice, Horikita stopped and looked up, seeing Wu Qiao standing in her way. Before she could even ask what he wanted, Wu Qiao shoved a cold object into her hand without a word.

Horikita looked down to see a chilled tea drink, still beaded with condensation.

"Drink this with me and let's talk for a bit." Wu Qiao's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a firmness that made it impossible to refuse.

Horikita Suzune frowned slightly, instinctively wanting to reject such a meaningless social interaction. But feeling the cool, refreshing sensation in her hand and looking into Wu Qiao's deep, calm eyes, she ultimately didn't throw the drink back, instead standing silently in place.

The two leaned against the hallway wall side-by-side. Not far away, the crowd was boisterous, but an invisible barrier seemed to exist between them.

Wu Qiao took a sip of the tea, the cold liquid sliding down his throat and helping him clear his head. He turned his head to look at Horikita Suzune, who was still standing perfectly straight, and cut straight to the point.

"I know you want to promote your class—that you're desperate for it." Wu Qiao watched her profile, stating the facts in a calm tone. "Your goal is clear, which is good, but..."

He paused, his gaze drifting past the hallway window to the students gathered in small groups on the playground.

"Class D is still a mess right now. Everyone is scattered, and there's no motivation to compete with the other classes." Wu Qiao withdrew his gaze and looked back at Horikita, his eyes showing a hint of helplessness and clarity. "You need to solve that problem first. Haste makes waste, Horikita."

Horikita Suzune held the lemonade in her hand, her fingertips feeling the chill radiating from the cup. She didn't argue, merely lowering her eyes as if digesting Wu Qiao's words.

"So, you've been asking around about me lately—are you trying to use me as a breakthrough to solve your predicament?" Wu Qiao chuckled, his tone tinged with a hint of mockery. "Too bad, you're looking in the wrong direction."

Horikita snapped her head up, a sharp light flashing in her red eyes. "I was merely evaluating your capabilities."

"And what was the result of that evaluation?" Wu Qiao countered.

Horikita was silent for a moment, looking into Wu Qiao's eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through everything. Finally, she coldly spat out two words: "Unknown."

"Then keep watching." Wu Qiao finished the tea in one gulp and tossed the container into a nearby trash can. "But until you reach a conclusion, don't bother me. I have my own things to do."

With that, he turned to leave.

"Wu Qiao." Horikita Suzune suddenly called out from behind him.

Wu Qiao stopped, but didn't turn around.

"Thanks for the drink." Horikita's voice remained cold, but it seemed to have lost some of its previous sharpness.

Wu Qiao didn't speak, simply waving a hand as he strode into the noisy crowd.

The afternoon sun filtered through the library's tall floor-to-ceiling windows, and tiny dust motes floated in the air. It was so quiet that only the occasional soft sound of turning pages could be heard.

For Wu Qiao, this library was a rare sanctuary within Advanced Nurturing High School.

At least here, there were no faces twisted by the struggle for points and status, nor was there any suffocating scheming.

He sat in a corner against the wall with a thick notebook spread out before him. The tip of his pen scratched across the paper, leaving behind neat lines of Chinese characters.

"Erudition: Learning, excavating knowledge, calculating all."

"Voracity: Devouring, satisfying instincts and desires."

"Elation: Laughter, what is happiness, understanding joy."

"Nihility: Negation, all is meaningless."

Wu Qiao stopped writing, looking at the eighteen "Paths" he had summarized in Chinese, a flicker of deep thought in his eyes. This was nothing more than something he had written out of boredom, used incidentally to organize the precautions for his own practice of these "Paths."

After all, he was the only so-called "Pathstrider"; he didn't even have anyone to discuss these things with, so he had to cross the river by feeling the stones himself.

He shook his head slightly, the corner of his mouth curling into a self-deprecating smile.

Incidentally, these words were all in Chinese. In this Advanced Nurturing High School, the number of people who could understand these characters could be counted on one hand, which served as a natural protective camouflage he had left for himself.

Just as Wu Qiao was immersed in his thoughts, conducting a deep analysis of "Mystery" and "Remembrance" in his notebook, he failed to notice the library's glass door being gently pushed open.

Ichinose Honami walked in with a light step, holding a book she intended to return, her long pink hair bouncing slightly on her shoulders with each movement.

Phew... not many people in the library today. Ichinose Honami felt a secret sense of relief; she had originally only planned to return her book and find a quiet place to read for a while.

Clutching the book, she habitually headed toward the window-side area where she usually sat. However, just as she rounded a row of bookshelves, her footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

In that familiar corner sat a boy, and Ichinose Honami's eyes widened slightly.

It was Wu Qiao.

He seemed completely unaware of anyone around him, his head lowered as he stared with intense focus at the notebook in front of him. Sunlight struck his profile, outlining a face that appeared slightly cold and stern.

Ichinose Honami was someone exceptionally skilled at reading the room, and she immediately realized that Wu Qiao seemed to be contemplating something of great importance, his entire being radiating a "do not disturb" aura.

She lightened her footsteps, like a kitten afraid of startling its prey, and walked silently to the seat opposite Wu Qiao, pulling the chair out slowly and gently before sitting down.

Throughout the entire process, she did not make a single sound.

After setting her book down, Ichinose Honami folded her hands on the table and tilted her head slightly, her clear eyes quietly fixed on Wu Qiao across from her.

She did not speak to disturb him, simply waiting quietly as her gaze fell upon the notebook filled with dense, cramped characters.

Although she could not understand those square characters, she could sense Wu Qiao's focus; it was as if the entire world had narrowed down to just him and that notebook.

Time ticked by, and the library remained so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

Finally, Wu Qiao let out a long breath, seemingly snapping back from a state of deep contemplation. He looked up, his gaze meeting a pair of eyes just inches away, filled with a gentle smile.

"Ichinose?" Wu Qiao was taken aback, clearly not expecting her to be sitting there, nor that she had apparently been waiting for him for a while.

"Good afternoon, Wu-kun." Ichinose Honami revealed her signature smile, as warm as a spring breeze, her voice kept extremely low as if she were afraid of shattering the tranquility. "I'm sorry, but when I came in, you seemed to be thinking about something very important, so I didn't want to disturb you."

Wu Qiao glanced at the notebook on his desk and then at Ichinose Honami, feeling a secret sense of relief. It was fortunate she couldn't read Chinese; otherwise, if she had seen his terminal-stage chuunibyou "Path Notes," he would likely suffer a social death.

"It's nothing, just jotting down some random thoughts." Wu Qiao closed the notebook, pushed it aside, and looked at Ichinose Honami to ask, "Why are you here? Returning a book?"

"Mm, I was going to find a place to read after returning my book." Ichinose Honami nodded, her gaze resting on Wu Qiao once more, her tone laced with a hint of concern. "But looking at you just now, it seemed like you were struggling with something? You were even furrowing your brows."

Hearing this, Wu Qiao instinctively touched the center of his forehead. He had indeed been pondering the dialectical relationship between "Nihility" and "End," and he hadn't realized his facial expressions had slipped out of his control.

"Just some ideas I needed to sort out," Wu Qiao replied indifferently, not intending to explain further.

Ichinose Honami did not press him; she simply watched Wu Qiao quietly, her eyes filled with a reassuring sense of tolerance.

"Wu-kun," she said softly, her voice like light music flowing through the library, "if you have any troubles, while I might not be able to help much, I am always here if you need someone to listen."

Wu Qiao looked at her, his heart stirring slightly.

In this school filled with lies and schemes, Ichinose Honami's purity was truly a rare comfort.

"...Thank you," Wu Qiao said quietly.

Ichinose Honami smiled, picked up a book from the side, and gently opened it. "Then, shall we each read our own books?"

Wu Qiao nodded and reopened his notebook.

The sunlight remained warm, and in the library, the two of them shared a rare moment of peace within that quietude.