He first took a look around the new classroom.
About half of the students had already arrived.
The seating seemed to be first-come, first-served.
Instinctively, Bai Qiu looked toward the spot he had already claimed in his mind.
The back row, by the window.
Ah… it was taken.
By a girl.
Logically speaking, that seat should have been reserved for him.
Sighing softly, Bai Qiu felt a bit disappointed, but there was nothing he could do.
After all, he hadn't arrived particularly early; checking every class roster had eaten up a lot of time.
Coincidentally, the girl sitting on the "throne" had an ahoge that twitched with what seemed like a life of its own, as if sensing something.
Then the girl looked at Bai Qiu, suddenly standing up with a face full of delight.
"小Qiu, Qiu-chan, over here, over here!"
Hirasawa Yui's face was lit with a bright smile as she waved enthusiastically at him.
Ah… so this was the one who had claimed his "throne."
Could it be… this silly Yui was actually the main heroine?
Compared to Yui's enthusiasm, Bai Qiu looked rather expressionless.
He hadn't expected the first heroine he would meet at this school to be Yui.
Well, it was also somewhat predictable.
Bai Qiu walked over.
"Why the disappointed look on your face?"
Hirasawa Yui puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction. Meeting an old friend, and Qiu-chan wasn't even happy?
Ah—Qiu-chan must be tsundere.
"Hirasawa-san, if you don't mind, could you not call me 'Qiu-chan' so loudly in public?"
Bai Qiu glanced around. The freshmen were busy getting to know one another, so no one seemed to notice their little interaction.
"Eh? But you are Qiu-chan!"
Yui's expression was innocent, almost naive.
"If you keep calling me that, I might pretend not to hear."
Bai Qiu spoke seriously—but only for show. This proved he had a good relationship with Yui.
He, a full-grown man, didn't need such a cute nickname.
"But Qiu-chan sounds so cute!"
It was too cute, that was the problem…
Bai Qiu muttered silently but couldn't help watching Yui blink her big eyes at him, looking adorably clueless.
He sighed softly. "Alright, fine."
Yui giggled.
"By the way, I didn't expect you to be at this school too. But you're so late! I got here at eight o'clock!"
Yui's face beamed proudly, clearly expecting praise.
"Oh, but class doesn't start until nine. You must have miscalculated the time and came early. Silly," Bai Qiu said bluntly.
"Eh! How did you know?"
Yui covered her face with her hands.
Then, noticing that Bai Qiu was still standing, she pointed to the empty seat in front of her.
If Qiu-chan sat there, she could block the teacher's view and nap peacefully.
Heh heh!
Bai Qiu, however, didn't plan to sit there. He chose the seat to Yui's right instead.
It wasn't by the window, but at least it was in the back row.
"Ugh… geez, Qiu," Yui muttered, though she didn't mind.
Being in the same class was enough to satisfy her.
"Let's slack off together for the next three years, Qiu!"
Yui enthusiastically extended the invitation.
Bai Qiu twitched at her words, astonished by her boldness.
Yui had been his classmate and deskmate for three years before.
She daydreamed, slept in class, snacked constantly, was a frequent visitor to the teacher's office, joined no clubs, and went home immediately after school…
Yet somehow, she still got into this school.
Maybe it was talent.
Bai Qiu smirked. "Sorry, Yui, I'm no longer the old me."
"I've found a new goal."
"Eh? What is it?"
Yui asked curiously.
A new goal?
Naturally—it was to form a band.
Play instruments.
Hold live shows.
"Not a secret—I'm planning to form a band," Bai Qiu said. Maybe telling Yui would encourage her to join the light music club sooner.
"A band?"
Yui pondered over this unfamiliar word.
Meanwhile, a short-haired girl sitting to Bai Qiu's right glanced at him, looking somewhat melancholic.
But she quickly turned her gaze away, lost in her own world.
"Ahaha, Qiu, you're joking again!"
"Last year you said you wanted to become a light novel master," Yui waved her hand, smiling dismissively.
To Yui, Bai Qiu was the perfect slack-off buddy.
No clubs, go home after school, sleep and play on the phone in class…
Geez, Qiu-chan really loved joking around.
"Tsk, just wait and see," Bai Qiu said.
"Alright~"
Seeing Yui's disbelief, Bai Qiu didn't bother explaining.
He certainly wouldn't tell her that he was already a somewhat famous light novel author.
A light novel author could never casually reveal their identity—especially one whose reputation in the industry wasn't exactly spotless.
To ease financial pressure, Bai Qiu had chosen the traditional "text-copying" method.
To Yui, they were just lazy friends.
But in reality, he was quietly getting stronger.
For now, he ignored Yui and observed his surroundings.
Everyone was making an effort to meet new friends, trying to avoid being left at the bottom of class social hierarchy.
Yet the atmosphere seemed quite good.
Perhaps that was the perk of a music anime world.
Everyone was genuinely kind!
The seat in front of him was still empty.
To his right sat a seemingly quiet girl.
But despite it being the first day of school, unlike the completely clean desks around her, her desk was filled with strange little items.
Bai Qiu's curiosity was piqued.
Stickers? Bandages, notebooks, even small stones?
Interesting girl.
This thought popped into Bai Qiu's mind.
The short-haired gray girl seemed to notice his gaze.
She tilted her head and greeted him:
"Hi… I'm Takamatsu Akari. Please… take care of me."
Takamatsu Akari turned fully toward him, and Bai Qiu got a good look at her.
Amber eyes, fair cheeks.
Her voice was a little timid, but very pleasant.
"Hi, I'm Bai Qiu. Nice to meet you."
Bai Qiu paused for a moment before smiling in return.
What a cute girl—like a little animal.
She would probably become the class favorite!
Although Yui also had that potential.
Truly, in a music anime world, even a random female deskmate was a beautiful girl.
Bai Qiu had a small suspicion—perhaps…
Maybe this girl, like Goto Ichiri, wanted to attract attention in a special way to make friends?
Yes, that must be it.
He was happy to help her make friends.
"Mm…"
Takamatsu Akari nodded slightly. Noticing Bai Qiu looking at her desk earlier,
She picked up a bandage and tentatively asked:
"Do you… want this one?"
"Eh? Can I?"
Surprised, Bai Qiu still accepted the bandage.
Seeing him take it, Akari's face lit up, nodding like a little chick. "Mm mm!"
"Thanks. This is a penguin with a hat, right?"
Bai Qiu examined the bandage, using his ample outside knowledge.
"Eh! You know it?"
Akari's voice rose in excitement, as if she had found a kindred spirit.
"Yes. Its little hat makes it look cute, so I remembered it," Bai Qiu said.
Seeing Akari so happy, he felt good as well, silently appreciating his own erudition.
Akari then picked up the rest of the bandages on her desk.
"This one's an Adélie penguin… this one's a Gentoo… King penguin, Rockhopper, Magellanic… do you want them?"
She introduced her collection like a passionate otaku preaching about her favorite hobby.
Seeing this, Bai Qiu was a little taken aback—cough, retract that earlier thought.
Clearly, this girl wasn't socially awkward like Pocchi-chan.
"Isn't that… too much? You probably worked hard to collect all these, right?"
A gentleman does not take another's treasures.
Although bandages weren't valuable, collecting so many different patterns clearly required effort—like card collecting.
"Yes, but it's okay!"
Akari looked at him expectantly.
Seeing her small, animal-like eyes and adorable cheeks, Bai Qiu opened his mouth—and found he couldn't refuse.
"Then I won't be polite," he said.
Akari smiled brightly, hands held out, and Bai Qiu began picking.
Eh…?
Yui, to his left, watched their interaction.
Her ahoge twitched twice, then drooped.
Her eyes rolled back, dumbfounded.
She had been ignored by Qiu-chan, and now he was chatting happily with a new classmate…
Unfair! Unfair! Too sneaky!
She needed to go find Hehe to report Bai Qiu's wrongdoing.
Looking around—uh… Hehe wasn't here…
Boohoo…
Yui also needed to make new friends.
"Hakamatsu-san, hello! I'm Hirasawa Yui, but you can just call me Yui!"
Yui suddenly stood from her seat and stepped into the aisle.
Smoothly, she became the third party in Bai Qiu and Akari's little exchange.