"Good morning, Yukinoshita~"
Yukinoshita had just gotten out of the car and arrived at school when she saw Yui Yuigahama waiting by the gate. The moment Yui spotted her, she lit up with a cheerful smile and ran over.
She was like a slender poplar tree, vibrant and full of life even from a distance, her every movement radiating the energetic charm of a bright teenage girl.
Yukinoshita, however, wasn't used to people being so openly affectionate. "Were you waiting for me?"
Yuigahama was very popular at school among both boys and girls. To the boys, she was the ideal girlfriend: gentle, cheerful, and caring. To the girls, she was a kind and approachable friend, effortlessly beautiful and sweet.
As they passed through the school gate, many students boys and girls alike greeted her with warm smiles.
"Did you have something to talk to me about?" Yukinoshita asked as they walked toward their classroom. She gave Yuigahama a sideways glance. "Have you been waiting long?"
Yuigahama quickly waved her hands. "No, no! You always arrive at this time, Yukinoshita. Right on schedule, not too early or too late."
"…Is that so?" Yukinoshita replied.
Even she hadn't realized that about herself.
Yuigahama scratched her cheek awkwardly, laughing. "I really admire how seriously you study, Yukinoshita. I thought maybe if I spent more time with you, some of that passion for studying might rub off on me. Ehehe~"
Then she added, half-jokingly, "I'm probably going to fail again this month. At this rate, I'm gonna get held back…"
As a prestigious school, Sōbu High had strict academic standards. Students who failed too many subjects risked being forced to repeat the year.
Yuigahama looked at her with hopeful eyes. "Do you have any tips for staying motivated to study?"
Yukinoshita didn't respond right away. She was thinking that Yuigahama really did have a natural talent for getting along with others a skill quite similar to Haruno's, but fundamentally different.
Haruno had a sharp instinct. The moment she met someone, she could quickly categorize them, intuit their preferences and emotions, and then adjust herself accordingly for maximum effect. She could get along with almost anyone, and many people felt an instant connection with her the very first time they met.
But Yuigahama was different. She didn't analyze or adapt with cunning. She simply bent over backward for others, over and over.
She was overly sensitive, endlessly kind. Whatever version of herself people seemed to like, she would force herself to become that version.
She was like a beautifully stocked department store shelf everyone could find something they liked on her. And if it came down to someone having to suffer in the end, Yuigahama would always step up and quietly take that role for herself.
She was a hopeless people-pleaser.
And on top of that, she was beautiful. Adorably, irresistibly beautiful. It was no wonder everyone at school loved her.
While Yukinoshita was thinking this, she spoke with her usual calm tone. "Because I know my efforts pay off. For you… maybe not."
Yuigahama's face fell. "Ehhh, that's just a roundabout way of saying I'm dumb!"
"Yukinoshita, that's so mean."
"I'm only being honest."
"Hehe, fine. So, do you have a guess on how you'll do on the upcoming mock exams?"
Yuigahama was surprisingly considerate. She knew Yukinoshita didn't like too much attention, so she only asked the question casually when it was just the two of them.
Yukinoshita, however, was quite confident.
"This set of exams was fairly difficult. I spent the past month rushing through over a year's worth of content across five subjects, so I didn't get to digest all the knowledge thoroughly…"
She thought for a moment. "Top ten in the year shouldn't be a problem."
The questions were a bit obscure, and her review had been fast and intense, so her performance would probably land her somewhere in the top ten. Top three, though? That was unlikely.
Yuigahama blinked. "Wow, you're so confident."
To her, this was already on the level of a fantasy novel jumping from the bottom twenty of the grade to the top ten in just one month was beyond imagination for someone like her, who was constantly on the verge of flunking.
Even her look of existential crisis somehow seemed like she was pouting.
Yukinoshita, walking slightly ahead, kept her expression stoic but in her heart, she thought:
…She's adorable.
Any guy at school would be smitten by a Yuigahama like this.
Damn it, normie JK girls really are overflowing with feminine power!
Yuigahama pouted, rubbing her cheeks into an adorable scrunch. "Ugh, what am I gonna do if I fail again next week…"
Yukinoshita thought: Didn't Yumiko already set you up with a week of emergency tutoring?
This was totally your own fault for slacking off.
But before she could say something sharp, the awful system interrupted her thoughts:
[The system recommends the optimal path to improve your public image: Help Yuigahama Yui avoid failing this time.]
Yukinoshita: "…"
She could only sigh at how even the stupid system was a simp for cute girls in this LSP-infested world.
"…How about we make a bet?" she said, just before they stepped into the classroom. "If I rank in the top ten this time, then you have to pass the make-up exam next week."
Yuigahama blinked, then laughed and jogged to catch up with her.
"It's a deal!"
She still didn't feel any real excitement about studying but the thought of sharing a secret, of making a new memory with Yukinoshita, was something she wanted very, very much.
She wanted… to become Yukinoshita's friend again.
Inside the noisy classroom, Yukinoshita glanced at Miura's seat and saw that she'd already arrived. The moment Miura spotted Yuigahama, she marched over and grabbed her face in frustration.
"Yui! What took you so long?!"
Yuigahama quickly surrendered, giggling. "Ran into Yukinoshita at the gate and got caught up talking!"
Miura, who had previously been avoiding Yukinoshita with deliberate awkwardness, finally let her gaze fall directly on her. "What could you two possibly have to talk about…"
Even Miura herself probably didn't realize how jealous that sounded. The bitterness in her tone was enough to make her forget the discomfort she'd felt around Yukinoshita just moments ago.
Yuigahama smiled. "We were talking about the mock exam scores. They're being posted today, right? Probably during lunch on the bulletin board."
Scores are coming out?
Oh, right. Sōbu High always posted results the week after exams.
Miura had always done well academically and never paid much attention to that sort of thing.
Wait a second—
Miura suddenly realized something.
Yukinoshita had worked so hard this month. What if she still didn't do well? Wouldn't she be devastated?!
Miura immediately plopped back into her seat and pulled out her phone.
[Junko, Junko got any way to sabotage the school bulletin board?]
Kamizawa Junko: ???????????????
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