After everything was over, Nishikata took a few group photos with everyone, and they said goodbye at the school gate.
The cold air of early spring mixed with a faint, almost imperceptible scent of cherry blossoms.
Nishikata stood at the corner of the slope, watching his shadow stretch long in the setting sun. For three years, he had always slowed his pace at this moment.
Beside him, Takagi's school uniform skirt brushed against the railing, creating a series of rustling sounds.
Today, she had tucked her long hair behind her ears, revealing a small patch of skin on her neck, which was dyed honey-colored by the setting sun.
"Nishikata, it's time to say goodbye again."
Takagi's gaze withdrew from the distant houses, her round-toed shoes stopping at the edge of his shadow, and the Teru Teru Bozu charm hanging from her backpack gently swayed with her movement.
Falling cherry blossom petals brushed past the girl's shoulder, and Nishikata subconsciously swallowed, reaching into his pocket for his phone.
He could clearly feel his dry voice mixing with the rustling sound of the wind shaking the cherry tree, "Um... that... graduation..."
He paused, the cherry tree swaying his shadow into a blur, and swallowed:
"Could I... could I take a picture with Takagi?"
"Sure," Takagi replied with a light chuckle without hesitation.
"!"
He was a little taken aback, not expecting her to agree so easily. He had been thinking of explaining himself if Takagi refused.
Takagi's eyelashes cast small shadows beneath her eyes. When the girl suddenly stood on tiptoe and leaned closer, the shutter sound he pressed in a panic startled the sparrows on the power line.
"Nishikata, it's time to say goodbye."
Takagi took half a step back and raised her phone, shaking it. On the screen was a photo of them together, taken by Nishikata at some point, appearing slightly misaligned.
Her finger traced the boy's flushed ear in the photo. "See you tomorrow. I hope Nishikata gets a good score."
By the time Nishikata came back to his senses, Takagi had already walked away. He waved at her retreating back and softly muttered, "See you tomorrow."
With that said, he turned and walked toward another road, not forgetting to save and back up the group photos he had taken on his phone.
---
The night descended like light ink from the eastern mountain. The fluorescent blue of the vending machine on the street corner lit up quietly, and the warm yellow lanterns of the shopping street lit up one after another.
"Shouko, have you thought of a pen name?" Tsuna looked back helplessly at the girl lying on his bed, swinging her feet.
Shouko stopped moving and sat up. "Let's just call it Nishimiya."
"This is the pen name you came up with after discussing it with Takagi and the others for half the day...?" Tsuna's eyes flashed with a hint of speechlessness.
"Mhm..." Shouko nodded. "An illustrator's pen name isn't that important anyway, and I've decided!"
"From now on, I'll only draw illustrations for you, so the name doesn't matter!"
With that, she leaned back again.
"..."
"The exam is tomorrow, doesn't the genius Shouko need to review?"
Tsuna took out his phone, found Fūno Jun's contact picture on LINE, and tapped it.
"No need, no need, I have confidence in myself!" Shouko hugged Tsuna's pillow and waved her hand dismissively.
"Jun, Shouko's pen name will be Nishimiya. For my pen name, since it hasn't been printed yet, could you please change it to Miyamura?"
"Arigato."
After sending these two messages, Tsuna looked up again at Shouko, who was playing on her phone behind him, and threatened,
"I heard that public high schools are mainly based on 'district + grades'. Shouko, aren't you afraid that we won't be in the same school because of our grades?"
"!" Shouko's hand paused while replying to a message. She suddenly sat up from the bed and met Tsuna's gaze, wanting to see if he was trying to scare her.
But she found her skills weren't up to par and couldn't discern anything. She stood up, ignored his confused expression beside her, and quickly walked downstairs.
"Auntie...!"
Shizuka, who was watching a drama in the living room, heard Shouko's anxious voice coming from outside. She paused the TV with the remote and looked up at her, bewildered.
"What's wrong? Did Tsuna bully you...?"
"No." Shouko quickly walked over and sat on the sofa beside her. "Tsuna told me that high schools will be assigned based on 'school district and grades'? Is that true?"
"Hmm..." Shizuka narrowed her eyes in thought. This question really caught her off guard. Honestly, she had never paid attention to this information...
Her high school at the time was a private high school... she wasn't very familiar with public ones...
"What Tsuna said is true."
The two people on the sofa looked over at the same time upon hearing the voice and saw Daisuke walking into the living room with a book.
"Public high schools are generally managed by local governments and usually adopt a combination of the school district system and examination selection."
Daisuke walked to the coffee table and sat down. Seeing that they were still looking confused, he continued to explain patiently:
"The school district system means students must apply to schools within the school district of their place of residence, but some highly competitive high schools may recruit across districts."
"The selection method is based on examination results and internal review points, such as junior high school grades, attendance rate, extracurricular activities, etc."
This time, Shizuka understood, but Shouko still couldn't quite grasp it.
"Hmm..."
Daisuke thought for a moment, reorganized his words, and explained it in a simpler way. Only then did Shouko fully understand.
But before Shizuka could ask her why she was asking that question, she suddenly stood up, said something to the two of them, and continued running back upstairs.
"This child..." Shizuka withdrew her gaze helplessly and looked back at Daisuke, who was eating an orange by the coffee table. "Is everything sorted out?"
"Yes." Daisuke nodded and handed the peeled orange to Shizuka. "We just need to tell them about it later."
---
"Tsuna...!"
"What did you go down for?" Tsuna looked at the girl who had run back up, confused.
"Help me review!" Shouko picked up the water cup from the table and drank it in one gulp. "Quick, quick, quick, I regret it now, I want to review!"
"Okay, okay, calm down first." Tsuna handed her a tissue, gesturing for her to wipe the fine sweat from her forehead.
Then, after she sat down, he asked about the whole story, feeling a little speechless...
Shouko was just too impatient. If she had kept asking, she probably wouldn't have even wanted to review...
Because Auntie Yaeko had already come to ask his mom about the high school matter, and his mom had agreed without hesitation.
However, it's a good thing that Shouko wants to study now, and he wouldn't pour cold water on her.
["(OK.jpg)"]
["Why did you want to change your pen name?"]
["Also, Miyamura, when will the next volume be ready?"]
["Trust me, okay? Your first volume will definitely be a bestseller, so there's absolutely no problem with you sending me the next volume!"]
Tsuna's phone had been on silent for a while. He didn't see these messages until after 10 PM, after saying goodnight to Shouko.
"Go to bed early tonight, get enough rest, and be ready for tomorrow's exam." Tsuna ruffled Shouko's head.
"Mhm, you too." Shouko lightly swatted his hand away and wrinkled her nose at him. "Goodnight, Tsuna."
"Goodnight."