Hanyu Qingkong is a rather unusual first-year high school student. His family's financial situation was more than sufficient for him to live as a privileged youth. He had perpetually excelled academically and was regarded as a prodigy by others. Even the 'Thumbelina of Mechanical Creation' and 'Sleeping Beauty of the Literary Forest' in his grade couldn't eclipse him in their specialized areas.
During middle school, he experimented with submitting light novels, and with favorable fortune, Hanyu Qingkong distinguished himself among countless light novel writers. His serialized piece, "There is No Such Thing as a Hero," attained unexpected acclaim. In an era when passive and gentle male protagonists were ubiquitous, the powerful and distant male protagonist crafted by Hanyu Qingkong was more readily embraced by readers. Though such male protagonists have become more prevalent now, "Hero" as one of the pioneers, with its thoroughly developed characters, solid values, logical plot, and properly resolved foreshadowing, became a classic in the hearts of numerous readers.
Following his first romantic relationship ending at lightning speed in a hundred days during his third year of middle school, Hanyu Qingkong began to evolve. His new piece, "My Listless Self Thinks Falling in Love Is Too Troublesome," was extensively praised after its inaugural volume. The protagonist, who was relatable and remarkably authentic, made readers feel that Hanyu Qingkong was genuinely a fresh and original author.
The protagonist doesn't deliver grandiose wisdom, doesn't employ youth as justification when handling interpersonal relationships, is logical yet spontaneous, possesses neither adolescent pretentiousness nor delusions of grandeur, like an actual person, an average high school student. The only aspect is that factional conflicts are still quite intense, which is also a typical characteristic of popular novels; without factional conflicts, it is challenging to capture the attention of certain audiences.
Though Hanyu Qingkong, as an author, perceived that he had merely tapped into the readers' contrarian psychology—whatever you're weary of, I'll do the reverse—plus adequately exceptional character development and plot construction, it naturally garnered a favorable response.
When he commenced high school, Hanyu Qingkong relocated from his home and purchased an apartment with his substantial manuscript earnings, which made everything convenient.
Having only relocated here less than six months ago, Hanyu Qingkong was too indifferent to manage unnecessary relationships. He didn't purchase gifts to visit neighbors like others, remained at home during holidays, attended school punctually, and attempted to avoid socializing with people in the apartment building.
"If I had realized Teacher Kirisu resided next door, I wouldn't have relocated here." Hanyu Qingkong contemplated this while tilting his head backward to prevent his nosebleed from flowing.
Finally, having addressed his nose, Hanyu Qingkong collected himself and formally greeted Teacher Kirisu once more, "Please look after me from now on, Teacher Kirisu."
"Hanyu resides next door, what a coincidence." Kirisu Mafuyu's gaze wandered, displaying no indication of finding it a coincidence. "Please look after me."
After a brief exchange of courtesies, Hanyu observed Kirisu Mafuyu, with an "I'm going to perish" expression, enter the apartment and shut the door. "I sense that Teacher Kirisu isn't an easy person to befriend."
Just as Hanyu was about to extract his key to unlock the door, a muffled thud originated from next door, like someone had collapsed to the floor.
"Teacher Kirisu, are you alright?" Hanyu Qingkong called out through the door, but nobody answered. Concerned that something might have occurred to Teacher Kirisu, Hanyu resolved to enter and investigate.
The key was still inserted in the door. Qingkong silently said, "Pardon me," and opened the door, but the subsequent scene nearly made his jaw drop.
Physical disarray was everywhere, leaving virtually no space to stand. Teacher Kirisu was kneeling on the ground with her posterior elevated, her head buried in a pile of miscellaneous objects.
Qingkong had no alternative but to remove the objects from Teacher Kirisu's head and assist her up.
"Hiss, ouch, ouch, ouch." It appeared that due to her earlier collapse, Miss Kirisu's ankle injury had intensified. Qingkong didn't even contemplate that they were a single man and woman alone in a room at that instant. He positioned Teacher Kirisu on a nearby stack of books, a seated posture that made it easier to examine her ankle. As anticipated, it was swollen again.
"Teacher, do you have any medicine at home? We need to address the injury as soon as possible." Qingkong, who had withdrawn his hand from her ankle, prepared to treat his teacher.
"Perhaps? I don't know." Probably due to embarrassment, Miss Kirisu turned her head away. "Besides, do you believe you can locate a medicine box in such chaos?"
Several dark lines appeared on Qingkong's forehead. He thought, 'Though I know your house is disorganized, don't self-deprecate and diminish yourself.'
He exhaled, thinking, 'How bothersome.' "Excuse me, Teacher, could you please come to my house briefly? I should have medicine at my place."
"No, this injury is fine, Qingkong, you should return." Miss Kirisu narrowed her eyes and looked up at Qingkong with an expressionless face.
Without speaking, Qingkong frowned, feeling that women were genuinely troublesome. As someone who advocated for energy conservation, he felt there was no necessity to interfere.
But he still crouched down, randomly located a book, and prodded Teacher Kirisu's ankle with the corner of the book.
Observing Miss Kirisu retract her foot and her beautiful eyebrows furrow, Qingkong knew he might still have to deal with this difficult woman. "After all, she's my teacher and neighbor; assisting isn't meddling, is it?"
Maintaining a crouching posture, Qingkong attempted to look at Teacher Kirisu at eye level. "Teacher, if you don't treat it, I'm concerned you won't be able to attend school tomorrow. You've always had perfect attendance, so you wouldn't want to take leave right after school commences, correct?"
Seeing her student's clear eyes, Miss Kirisu's gaze shifted to the side. The pain in her foot was genuinely very affecting. Should she just go to the student's house briefly? No, no, it felt so peculiar when he touched her ankle just now. Won't she have to remove her stockings when applying medicine later?
Looking at Teacher Kirisu, who remained silent and merely shook her head, Qingkong felt that his sigh count today was nearly comparable to when he was rushing a manuscript.
"Excuse me, Teacher, I've always received your care. If I don't do something for you now, I won't feel comfortable either." Qingkong leaned closer to Teacher Kirisu and directly scooped her up in a princess carry.
"So light." Unexpectedly, Teacher Kirisu was significantly lighter than he imagined. Qingkong easily stabilized himself amidst the clutter.
"I really have to thank her for correcting my princess carry posture." Recalling the time he used the incorrect posture for a princess carry, putting his hand around her neck nearly suffocated her. The sight of her flailing in his arms made Qingkong find it quite amusing.
After that single occasion, Qingkong learned the princess carry, and today he finally utilized it.
Miss Kirisu, who was initially preparing to resist, noticed that Qingkong was clearly contemplating other matters and didn't resist anymore. After all, if she genuinely didn't treat it, she would have to take leave. All her teacher's dignity was gone, how mortifying. Should I turn my head even more sharply? Qingkong's physique is so strong. Will I have to remove my stockings later? Though her expression didn't change, Miss Kirisu's mind was in turmoil.
"Oh no, I don't have a free hand for the key." The key was in his pants pocket, but it was already so awkward. Requesting Teacher Kirisu to retrieve it from his pocket would be even more awkward. Though dropping Teacher Kirisu on the ground to get the key would also be quite awkward.
Just as Qingkong was frantically weighing the advantages and disadvantages, the door opened by itself. Rengar was dangling on the doorknob, its small eyes seemingly saying, "You fool, it's entirely thanks to your master carrying you."
"Dinner, super size." Qingkong, too occupied to bother with his cat, said only one sentence, causing the rotund cat to trot along. Kicking the door shut, Qingkong positioned the beautiful teacher in his arms onto the sofa. Looking at Teacher Kirisu's indifferent expression, he weakly said, "Um, Teacher, I'll go locate the medicine box first. You can start by treating yourself." He glanced around the living room, found no prohibited items, and indicated he was departing.
Leaving a seemingly calm but internally frozen Miss Kirisu in the living room, she thought, "First time, in a boy's room." She had no notion that Qingkong's "treat yourself" actually meant for her to remove her stockings.
At this moment, Qingkong, who had long located the medicine box, was dawdling, thinking, "Teacher should be almost done, right?" The more he contemplated it, the more troublesome it seemed, and Qingkong felt he was purely inviting trouble.
"Maybe I should visit the shrine this weekend." Qingkong's thoughts wandered far, but he had no notion that his teacher hadn't cooperated with him at all, bringing him even greater trouble.