Even the walk home after school couldn't be wasted. Hayakawa Haku walked and grilled Ogata Rizu on the content of the notes he had copied for her the previous day. Although Ogata Rizu stumbled over her answers, it was clear she had made a serious effort to review them.
"This one is a tree, and that one is also a tree..." Hayakawa Haku was droning on, making Ogata Rizu dizzy, when he noticed Furuhashi Fumino walking slowly behind them, gazing up at the starry sky. He turned his head and called out to her, "Furuhashi, hurry up and catch up."
"Ah, sorry," Furuhashi Fumino replied.
Hayakawa Haku and Ogata Rizu walked a few more steps, then noticed Furuhashi Fumino had fallen behind again and was once more staring absently at the stars. Hayakawa immediately lost his patience.
"Hey! Furuhashi." Hayakawa Haku stopped, crossed his arms, and glared at Furuhashi with a dark expression. "Why are you always looking at the sky?"
Could she be staring at the endless sky, contemplating literary masterpieces as numerous and brilliant as the stars? Oh, that would be truly unforgivable. Choosing science but letting her mind wander to another subject—she's an unbelievably wicked woman.
"A-a-a-a-a-h! I'm sorry!" Furuhashi Fumino instantly snapped out of her daze, her pretty face beet red as she repeatedly bowed. "I'm sorry for constantly zoning out and causing trouble. I'll follow closely with my eyes closed next time."
"What is wrong with her?" Hayakawa Haku was confused and turned to ask Ogata Rizu.
"Fumino really likes stars. She often stares at the sky like this on clear nights. It's just her routine," Ogata Rizu pushed up her glasses and said matter-of-factly. "It's normal, after all, Fumino is studying science precisely to get into the Astronomy Department."
"Oh, so you like stars, Furuhashi." Hayakawa Haku said carelessly, "Why?"
"Actually, ever since I was little... I've always liked stars," Furuhashi Fumino started with slight shyness, but then answered frankly, "When the weather is nice and the starry sky is beautiful, I can't help but look up and search for my favorite star. That's why I often stare into the sky like that."
The girl raised her head to the boundless twilight sky, looking at the countless brilliant stars. Her clear eyes sparkled, as if she were immersed in a cherished memory.
Hayakawa Haku: "..." What is she talking about? I can't understand any of it... Sure enough, this girl isn't studying hard enough. Her brain is full of random nonsense.
"Ah, I'm sorry!" Seeing Hayakawa Haku's expression, Furuhashi Fumino's face flushed. She waved her hands repeatedly, embarrassed. "What silly things am I saying!"
"Hmm..." Hayakawa Haku didn't want to dwell on her strange words, so he turned to Ogata Rizu. "Ogata, did you hear what Furuhashi said just now?"
"I heard it," Ogata Rizu replied, confused. "What about it?"
"Then I ask you," Hayakawa Haku said expressionlessly, "What emotion or thought did this passage express? 4 points."
"Eh? That's so sudden?" Ogata Rizu was instantly bewildered, her eyes spinning like mosquito coils. She stammered, "This... that..."
Hayakawa Haku urged her, "Hurry up. Exams have time limits."
"Ah..." Ogata Rizu closed her eyes, giving up. "It expressed her feeling of liking stars!"
Hayakawa Haku's face darkened, and his eyes went vacant. "Illogical. Zero points."
Ogata Rizu immediately turned pale, looking utterly deflated.
"..." Furuhashi Fumino, standing nearby, was speechless. "I actually think that's a perfect score."
"Hmph~" Ogata Rizu's eyes lit up, and she instantly recovered her spirit, shaking her head and looking up at Hayakawa, a look of smug triumph on her cute little face.
"Your opinion is useless," Hayakawa Haku turned to Furuhashi Fumino, displeased. "National language comprehension questions require you to guess the question-setter's intent. You have to write the answer based on how the question-setter would test you and what answer they expect. No one cares what the author truly meant. Don't you usually think that way when answering questions?"
"I don't," Furuhashi Fumino blinked, her tone matter-of-fact. "I always imagine what the author would be thinking in their heart when they wrote that passage, and then the answer naturally comes out."
"Eh?" Hayakawa Haku's brow furrowed, and a hollow feeling settled in his heart.
In that moment, he truly felt the gap in their talent. Furuhashi Fumino's level was one he could never reach, perhaps even never understand. This was why she always scored perfectly, and he couldn't. He figured Ogata was the same. They were both the pinnacle of talent in their respective fields, and he could only approach them by grinding out countless problems to synthesize exam experience.
But precisely because of this gap... it was all the more worth defeating!
The Great Hayakawa Emperor is second to no one in his entire life!
"Hmph!" After a brief moment of dejection, Hayakawa Haku regained his fighting spirit, the flame in his heart reigniting.
Go, Watashi (I, or me)! Yoshi (Alright)! No matter how despicable the means, as long as he achieved ultimate victory, it was absolutely fine!
Hayakawa Haku raised his fist and stretched his arm toward the sky—his personal way of cheering himself on.
"What is it, Hayakawa-kun?" Furuhashi Fumino looked at him, her handsome face full of curiosity.
"I'm cheering myself on," Hayakawa Haku smiled at her. "From tomorrow on, I will teach you two in an even more Spartan manner. Prepare yourselves."
Furuhashi Fumino: "..."
"Eek!!!!"
Late Night Epiphany
In his room in the early morning hours, Hayakawa Haku yawned while preparing review materials for the two girls. Tutoring two idiots certainly consumed more of his energy, but it wasn't without rewards. It helped him consolidate his own fundamentals. Over the last few days, he realized he had forgotten some knowledge points he thought he knew perfectly—a great gain indeed.
Another point was that Furuhashi's words today had sparked an idea in Hayakawa Haku.
In teaching Ogata humanities and Furuhashi science, he certainly had the absolute advantage and initiative, unilaterally cramming knowledge into them. But if they reversed the roles, Furuhashi in humanities and Ogata in science would gain the upper hand, and the dynamic would completely flip to the girls being superior to him. It would be their turn to heavily cram him.
Knowledge, cramming knowledge.
Thinking this way, he could also gain some study advantages from the two of them, such as their way of thinking. That would certainly be helpful. Plus, looking at the two of them, if he asked, they definitely wouldn't refuse to teach him. Wasn't this a Win-Win?
Hayakawa Haku was tempted. Absorbing advantages from his enemies, then brutally crushing them—that was precisely what he should be doing.
But...
"Forget it." Hayakawa Haku hesitated for a long time, then decided against it.
Their grades were simply too abysmal. The time after school was barely enough to teach them. If he spent even more time having them teach him, he wouldn't have enough time to ensure they got a score high enough to give them hope in the next monthly exam. Otherwise, his "Fallen Genius" plan would fail.
So, for now, he had to focus on tutoring the two of them.
"Phew..." Hayakawa Haku rubbed his eyes, feeling dizzy with sleepiness, but he shook his head, determined to finish writing the notebook before going to bed.
The night deepened.
The Wall-Slam and the Apology
It was 2:30 AM when he finished everything. Hayakawa Haku yawned and prepared to go to sleep. He glanced at his phone and realized he had received a message from Furuhashi.
Furuhashi: I'm sorry, Hayakawa-kun, I said weird things to you today! ∑ (′△｀)?! I hope you don't mind!!
Furuhashi: But... those things are the catalyst for my dream. I want to live a life connected to the stars, and for that, I must pass the science university entrance exam, so no matter the difficulties, I absolutely have to overcome them and formally study astronomy!
Furuhashi: This is the motivation and reason for me studying science. I felt I should tell you, my tutor, the reason, which is why I sent this message so late. I hope it doesn't bother you (┯_┯)...
Furuhashi: Ahhh... It's still so weird! It's all childish talk, please just forget it!!
"..." Hayakawa Haku looked at the chat screen expressionlessly. "Too many emojis. So annoying."
This was typical of Furuhashi Fumino when chatting. She always liked to use emoticons and cute emojis, just like her—very expressive.
After thinking about it, Hayakawa Haku replied.
"Keep up the good work. I will definitely get you into a science university."
And may your humanities score plummet, heh heh heh~
He typed and sent the sentence word by word, then broke into a malicious smile. He lay down on the bed and closed his eyes, falling asleep soon after.
In his dream, he and Furuhashi sat on an endless, sprawling field, gazing up at the vast starry sky together.
The Morning Interrogation
It was another tired day.
Hayakawa Haku, sporting dark circles, leaned his head on his desk in the classroom, intending to catch a quick nap. Suddenly, a commotion erupted near the back door.
"Look at that, it's her!"
"Isn't that Class 1-A's Sleeping Beauty of the Literary Forest?"
"Furuhashi Fumino is here. What's she doing in our class?"
Hayakawa Haku was confused hearing Furuhashi's name. He pushed himself up and looked toward the back door, where Furuhashi Fumino was cornered by several boys who were enthusiastically trying to flirt with her. Furuhashi looked embarrassed, her expression akin to being cross-examined or even interrogated.
"What is she up to..." Hayakawa Haku watched the scene with detached amusement, having no intention of going over to rescue her.
However, he was spotted.
"Sorry, sorry~" Furuhashi Fumino stood by the back door, her hand held up in front of her. She forced a dry laugh as she scanned the classroom. "I'm looking for your class's Haya..."
As she spoke, Furuhashi Fumino saw Hayakawa Haku watching her with an expression of pure schadenfreude. Her face immediately darkened, and anger flared in her heart.
"Excuse me," Furuhashi Fumino bypassed the two strange male classmates who were trying to ask her to karaoke and walked straight up to Hayakawa Haku.
"What do you want?" Hayakawa Haku was slightly bewildered and asked instinctively. The next moment, Furuhashi Fumino grabbed his wrist.
"Come out with me for a moment. I have something to tell you." Furuhashi Fumino spoke without room for refusal, then, under the gaze of everyone, pulled the stunned Hayakawa Haku out the door.
"Hey?!" Hayakawa Haku's words died in his throat as his figure vanished from the classroom, leaving behind an incredibly silent room.
A few seconds later, the classroom was engulfed in an uproar. Clearly, a wave of rumors was about to sweep through the entire grade, perhaps even the entire school.
The Wall-Slam
"Tang~"
Hayakawa Haku was dragged by Furuhashi Fumino to an empty corner of the hallway. Before he could react, she immediately wall-slammed him (kabedon) without a word.
"What are you trying to do?" Hayakawa Haku looked at Furuhashi Fumino, whose posture and expression were full of menace. He actually felt a little intimidated. Furuhashi had always been a small fry he could easily manipulate and tease. Now, this unexpected reversal—the little small fry had "slammed" him—made Hayakawa Haku feel utterly confused.
"Hayakawa-kun..." Furuhashi Fumino kept one hand on the wall, maintaining the wall-slam posture to prevent him from escaping. With the other hand, she pulled out her phone from her uniform pocket and smiled. "Could you please explain this?"
She showed the phone screen to Hayakawa Haku. He saw it was the chat thread from the message Furuhashi sent yesterday, with his reply at the very bottom.
"Uh..." Hayakawa Haku didn't understand. He looked up. "What is it?"
"I want to ask you..." Furuhashi Fumino's face still held that gentle, "You-better-explain-yourself-to-me" smile. "Why did you reply to my message so late?"
Hayakawa Haku: "..."
What kind of bizarre reason is this? She got so mad about a slow message reply that she dragged me out of the classroom to interrogate me? Are we that close?
"Um... Furuhashi," Hayakawa Haku was drawn into profound thought. He finally looked at Furuhashi Fumino, genuinely confused, and asked tentatively, "Did we, by any chance, start dating sometime?"
That was the only possibility. For a slow message reply to make the girl so angry, the only possibility Hayakawa Haku's brain could conjure was "Lovers."
"No!" Furuhashi Fumino's face instantly flushed bright red. She shouted, "I mean yes, we're doing the tutoring, but that's not what I mean!"
Hayakawa Haku was expressionless. "Which is it?"
"Hmph..." Furuhashi Fumino's pretty face was burning with shame and anger. She took a deep breath, then pointed to the timestamp beneath Hayakawa Haku's reply. "What I mean is, why did you reply so late? Were you not sleeping at 2:30 AM?"
"Uh..." Hayakawa Haku looked bewildered. "Yes, why wouldn't I be?"
His matter-of-fact, "you're-the-one-with-the-problem" expression drove Furuhashi Fumino nearly crazy. She glared at Hayakawa Haku's annoying face, grinding her teeth, looking like she wanted to tear him into shreds of yuxiang rousi (fish-fragrant pork).
After a long while, Furuhashi Fumino's emotions stabilized. She whispered, "Does that mean... Hayakawa-kun, you stay up that late every day?"
"Not every day," Hayakawa Haku raised an eyebrow and thought. "It's usually past one, but two is getting a bit too sleepy."
"One is still very late!" Furuhashi Fumino's voice rose slightly. She stared unblinkingly at Hayakawa, her tone full of guilt and worry. "Hayakawa-kun, be honest with me. Were you up that late preparing study materials for Rizu-chan and me?"
"..." Hayakawa Haku was stunned for a moment, then realized. "Oh, so that's why you came out here."
"Of course!" Furuhashi Fumino pursed her lips, her face darkened. "I woke up and saw your reply, and of course, I felt upset and guilty."
"Uh... then why were you so aggressive? You came here to thank me?" Hayakawa Haku thought about her wall-slam and said with a strange tone, "I thought you were going to hit me."
Furuhashi Fumino's face flushed red at the mention of the wall-slam. She squirmed. "Who told you to look like that and say weird things..."
"Fine," Hayakawa Haku sighed helplessly and waved his hand. "Don't overthink it. I used to stay up late even without you two. Staying up a little longer makes no difference, and preparing your notes doesn't take me much time."
"That's not acceptable!" Furuhashi Fumino said without hesitation. "Hayakawa-kun, do you know the minimum healthy sleep time for a 16-year-old? It's six hours! You definitely aren't getting that!"
Hayakawa Haku quietly looked away. "I catch up on a lot of sleep on Saturdays and Sundays, so it's fine."
"That's not how it works! The mental fatigue from insufficient sleep during the week is already done; you can't just fix it in a day or two," Furuhashi Fumino frowned deeply. She reached out and grabbed Hayakawa Haku's shoulders, forcing him to look her in the eyes. She saw the tired dark circles beneath his eyes, and her tone instantly softened. "Hayakawa-kun... if you don't sleep properly, I will feel very guilty. I won't be able to use the notes you gave me with a clear conscience... I'm sure little Rizu feels the same way."
Her eyes, the color of the clear blue sky, looked earnestly at Hayakawa, transmitting her stubborn insistence completely to the person in front of her.
Hayakawa Haku's eyes darted away, unwilling to meet the girl's gaze. Those clear, pure eyes held genuine kindness and regret, gratitude and appreciation, and a vulnerable, worried heartache—completely unlike his own eyes, which were filled with jealousy and malice.
"..." Hayakawa Haku scratched his head. "Alright, I have been a bit tired lately. I should probably sleep more, or my concentration in class will suffer."
"Exactly! That's how it should be!" Furuhashi Fumino's eyes shone brightly. She looked satisfied, then her expression turned guarded as she looked at Hayakawa. "You'd better not just be placating me. I'll find ways to monitor you anytime, anywhere."
"Just stop already..." Hayakawa said expressionlessly.
A stalker? She's going to monitor when someone goes to sleep? Even a regular stalker wouldn't go this far.