Time flew by.
The golden ball of light in the middle of the sky slowly shifted between the stacked buildings.
The twilight sky, greeted by the cawing of crows, radiated a thick orange glow.
"That's enough for today. The midterm exams shouldn't be a problem."
After checking the answers on the problem sheet, Yuu nodded and began tidying up the books on the table.
Yuigahama slumped her face onto the table again, her chest flattened into two soft mounds, and she groaned weakly:
"Finally done... It's been so long since I studied with full concentration for hours..."
Besides that, the study atmosphere was completely different from what she'd imagined at first—supposedly warm, peaceful, and occasionally a little romantic.
Even though they were in a busy family restaurant, the man in front of her had successfully created a serious atmosphere like a study room. Forget romantic thoughts—her brain was essentially filled with various problem-solving methods and key study points, leaving no room for strange ideas.
Honestly, Yuu's tutoring was far stricter than two years ago. Yuigahama didn't know whether it was because he'd become smarter, or because their relationship had grown closer than before.
Besides, as a reward for studying so diligently, Yuigahama also learned the story of how Yuu met Chizuru.
It wasn't anything he couldn't tell. Chizuru had also briefly commented on her experience that day before leaving with her friends. She hoped to see his incredible acting again in the future, and if possible, she wanted Yuu to be her teacher.
Though it was just a joke, from her attitude of treating Yuu as an equal despite being a college student, Yuigahama realized one thing:
The man she loved really was amazing at everything!
It just depended on whether Yuu wanted to do it or not. It seemed there was nothing in the world that could defeat him... For some reason, Yuigahama felt incredibly proud.
At the same time, she also felt a little smug.
"You haven't told Natsukawa-san about this, right?"
"Not yet."
"Then this is our little secret! Right, the first person you told this secret to wasn't Natsukawa-san—it was me, Yui!"
Mimicking Masuzu's tone, Yuigahama puffed out her chest, pointed at herself with her thumb, and smiled happily—looking utterly silly.
Yuu didn't hesitate to douse her with cold water: "The first was my little sister. Then it was your turn."
"I can't hear, I can't hear—my little sister isn't someone else. How can she count~"
Covering her ears with both hands, Yuigahama shook her head playfully, as if releasing pent-up frustration from earlier times, clearly enjoying being ahead of someone else.
Yuu shook his head, too lazy to say anything more. He tidied up the stationery on the table and prepared to go home.
"After you get home, reread the practice test paper I gave you, then rest well. If nothing comes up, this midterm exam should let you shoot straight up."
Yuigahama blinked, lowering her hands and lightly pressing her lips. "I hope so... Honestly, I'm still a little doubtful."
Seeing Yuu frown, Yuigahama quickly waved her hands to explain. "It's not about you! It's my own confidence issue. You've helped me so much—ideally, I'd like to give my best score as a thank you—but... who knows, maybe I'll get nervous during the exam and forget everything!"
"Don't forget."
Yuu said straightforwardly: "No matter what happens, don't let yourself forget all the knowledge you learned today. Carve it into every wrinkle of your brain, like you'd never forget to wear clothes when leaving the house."
"So, so hard!" Yuigahama curled up, looking slightly scared.
"I believe you can. If you don't believe in yourself, that's fine—just believe in me, who believes in you."
After saying those big words, Yuu finished his remaining melon soda, placed the glass on the table with a clink, and looked at her seriously.
"And if the midterm results come out, and your grades haven't improved much, and you've wasted my entire day..."
"If..."
He stretched the sentence, making Yuigahama instinctively swallow, shifting restlessly in her seat.
That gaze, seemingly real, slowly slid from her face, lips, neck, collarbone, to her ample chest—even the lower half of her body, hidden beneath the table, wasn't spared.
As if Yuu were contemplating how to destroy everything he saw, the beautiful corner of his lips slightly lifted, gradually forming a devilish smile that made hearts race.
—As a note, if a handsome man does it, it's called a devilish smile. If he's not handsome, it's called a perverted smile. Those who try to imitate, please be self-aware.
For readers of this book, no need to worry—all who've read this far are handsome men. No matter how you smile, you'll look cool.
All day long, the atmosphere finally became a bit romantic. Yuigahama unconsciously pressed her legs together, her hands gripping her knees, cheeks blushing, blinking faster, looking at him nervously yet somehow full of hope.
"There won't be some weird punishment, right?"
"Of course there will."
"Really?!"
"...Why do I feel like you're actually happy?"
"T-t-there's nothing like that! What right do you have to punish me!"
"Because I've given you the most valuable thing to humans—knowledge."
"Oh... then fine, as long as it's not too terrifying a punishment."
Yuigahama mumbled, turning her gaze away, trying to look relaxed, her fingers nervously squeezing each other under the table.
"Relax." Yuu smiled very kindly. "Anyway, I plan to hand this matter over to Natsukawa Masuzu, so you won't call me a demon... As for what punishment she'll give, I don't know. You can only hope she's a good person."
"..."
There was no way Yuigahama could stay calm.
People who are loved always have high self-confidence. That must be what's meant by people like this, right?
As she grabbed a book and angrily hit Yuu's head with it, Yuigahama also swore in her heart—this midterm exam, she had to impress Yuu!
After all, with Masuzu's personality, she'd definitely deliberately flirt with Yuu in front of her and wildly flaunt their love!
This wasn't just about confidence anymore.
To avoid having her heart stabbed again, and to protect her unrequited love, Yuigahama resolved to break free from the 'dumb girl' image once more.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
The sun hadn't set yet. In a luxury apartment, a girl suddenly closed her rough-drawn comic book.
"I can feel it... this is the scent of infidelity!"
She licked her lips, stood from her bed with a serious expression, put on a light jacket, and prepared to quickly leave.
But as she opened the door, Masuzu frowned, swiped her phone screen, yet still held back the urge to call him.
"I should've installed a GPS tracker on his phone... With my 'Yuu Sensor,' I can't locate him in this vast Chiba city."
She clicked her tongue in annoyance, put her phone away, and held her chin, thinking.
Yuu had gone to study with his friends, so he should be at places like a library or family restaurant. But across Chiba City, there were dozens of family restaurants, not to mention large and small libraries. Masuzu couldn't confirm their location...
Ambushing to 'catch them in the act' and give him a little surprise was as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.
"Then, I can only rely on the law of 'Stands attracting each other.'"
Anyway, she had to act now.
Having made her decision, Masuzu locked her apartment door. She wanted to take the elevator directly to the first floor, but it stopped halfway.
A stylish, mature woman entered. She was startled upon seeing her leaning in the corner of the elevator, her eyes slowly narrowing.
Then she politely smiled at her, turned and pressed the door-close button, hands tucked into her coat pockets.
The elevator descended again. Silence enveloped them, only the faint sound of breathing audible.
For some reason, seeing that slender back, Masuzu couldn't relax.
It was like an ordinary person encountering a Pillar Man—the pressure from that high-level creature made her feel inexplicably anxious.
The elevator descended slower than usual—to the third floor, second floor, first floor...
Suddenly, the frozen silence was shattered by a bright, gentle voice, and at the same time, her tense nerves reacted.
"Hey, I said—"
Yukinoshita Haruno, a smile full of interest on her face, turned around.
Her dark eyes locked onto Masuzu behind her, like a leopard capturing its prey—she wouldn't let go until she reached her goal.
"You look familiar. Have we met before?"
Masuzu: "..."
So this was the most cliché way to start a conversation?!
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
The study session ended smoothly. Yuu parted ways with Yuigahama near the hill, and no one disturbed them the entire time—
Chizuru didn't count. In some ways, she even helped boost Yuigahama's study motivation. She was a good person with emotional intelligence matching his own.
His fake girlfriend didn't send annoying messages, his sweet little sister waited for him at home, and today there weren't many housewives crowding the supermarket... All this happiness came together, and Yuu should've been enjoying a dreamlike, happy time.
Yet now, Yuu stood behind a shelf, glancing sideways at a brown-haired girl carefully selecting scallions, his expression turning odd.
"Why is she here?"
Though the Yuuki family home was quite far from this supermarket, and this place wasn't on the route home from Kuroyuri Girls' Academy, why did Asuna—Yuuki Asuna—appear before him?
Before discussing the important matters, let's review the previous events.
Yuuki Asuna, online name Asuna, was one of his ex-girlfriends—a beautiful girl who had only recently 'amicably broken up' with him.
She was intelligent, lively, and had a chest size between C and D. Right now, she was less than ten meters away, carefully inspecting scallions on the shelf. In the basket hanging from her slender arm were ingredients like meat, eggs, and others.
Her soft, long hair was tied into a ponytail, gently swaying behind her; her face was exceptionally beautiful and elegant, her aura like a gentle, wise young wife. Even the cashiers couldn't help but glance at her repeatedly, slowly captivated by her faint, soft smile—they were just one step away from starting a conversation.
Honestly, Yuu could understand that feeling.
After all, Asuna was a girl he'd once loved. Yuu naturally knew better than anyone how captivating she was—even if he no longer felt that way now, the memories of love were still deeply engraved in his heart.
Yet driven by instinct, despite having promised Asuna to 'wait for her in the future,' Yuu still avoided her. He didn't want to be seen.
He just hid behind the shelf beside her, observing her wise demeanor while shopping.
"...Seems like she's truly doing fine."
The girl's face looked healthy and cheerful, the frown lines on her brow completely gone. She was like a bird flying into the sky, singing loudly—no longer bound by any chains holding back her wings of freedom.
Like being reborn—
The phrase came to mind, and Yuu couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.
It didn't matter if Asuna didn't remember. It didn't matter if she didn't wait—no need for any hope. Just peacefully live out the rest of their lives.
"Keep being happy, Yuuki Asuna."
After one last look at the girl picking scallions, and his body reflexively poking the air twice, Yuu didn't linger. He turned, left the shelf, and walked to the checkout.
After paying and quickly putting his items into a bag, he thought about what other ingredients were missing for dinner and headed to a second supermarket.
His face showed only relief and joy—no longing or regret at all.
"Hmm?"
Inside the supermarket.
The motion of waving scallions suddenly stopped. The girl turned as if sensing something, her brown ponytail spinning half a circle and gently landing in front of her chest.
She looked around, but found nothing worth noticing...
The earlier sensation of a racing heartbeat felt like an illusion, and the emptiness of losing something was gone too.
Asuna touched her chest, frowned, her eyes showing deep confusion.
"Why... does it suddenly feel so painful?"
Why did the feeling of forgetting something suddenly become so clear?
And why did she want to shout, 'Wait, don't go!' at someone...
Who was that 'someone,' and where was he now?
Asuna bit her lip, lowered her head in thought, unconsciously clenching her fist, trying to dig for clues from within her memories.
After a while, as if suddenly remembering something, she opened her eyes wide and lifted her head in disbelief.
"...The scallions in my hand are damaged!!!"
The limp scallions in her hand successfully diverted her attention from sadness and reluctance. She quickly returned to the shelf and grabbed several more scallions as replacements, hoping the store staff wouldn't make a fuss.
Even now, Asuna still hadn't woken from that false dream.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Time flew by, and the midterm exams ended smoothly.
The results were announced two days after the exams—just one day before the school picnic.
To the surprise of most students, this time's top rank in the second year wasn't Yukinoshita Yukino, nor Natsukawa Masuzu—whose beauty rivaled hers and was highly anticipated by observers.
Instead, it was...