Hearing Tanaka Masao's address, Yukinoshita Yukino, sitting in the Service Club, couldn't help but roll her eyes and speak.
"Tanaka-kin, a correction, I am not second, but tied for first."
That's right, in this midterm exam, Tanaka Masao and Yukinoshita Yukino achieved the same score, both perfect scores.
So, logically, there should be no distinction in rank.
However, Tanaka Masao's name is pronounced [tanaka], and Yukinoshita Yukino's name is pronounced [yokinaxi].
According to alphabetical order, Tanaka Masao was placed before Yukinoshita Yukino.
Tanaka Masao was proud of his surname for the first time.
With the advantage of his name, he successfully completed the underdog's triumph.
"Yukinoshita Classmate is quite unconvinced, but the fact is my ranking is above Yukinoshita Classmate's.
Hehe, if you're weak, train more."
Watching Tanaka Masao's smug and self-satisfied expression, Yukinoshita Yukino, for once, felt a bit angry.
If both of them had scored 499 and tied for first, Yukinoshita Yukino would still look for reasons within herself, reflecting on why she didn't get a perfect score.
But now that both of them had perfect scores, she really couldn't find any shortcomings in herself.
Was she supposed to change her surname?
Yukinoshita Yukino ultimately found only one of her own shortcomings.
That was not training Tanaka Masao to death; if she had made sure he had no time or energy to study, he definitely wouldn't have surpassed her.
"Yukinoshita Classmate, what are you laughing at?"
Tanaka Masao looked at Yukinoshita Yukino, who had suddenly started laughing, and said cautiously.
"Yukinoshita Classmate, please stop laughing, I'm scared."
"Tanaka-kin, what are you scared of?"
"I'm afraid Yukinoshita Classmate will ruthlessly attack me to reclaim the top spot."
"Really, Tanaka-kin, what are you saying? I'm also first, why would I attack you?"
Yukinoshita Yukino's smile grew increasingly gentle, but according to the law of conservation of energy.
The warmer Yukinoshita Yukino appeared on the outside, the more her inner coldness sent shivers down one's spine.
"I just think that since the exam is over, Tanaka-kin should resume his weight loss training.
After all, for the sake of reviewing, Tanaka-kin hasn't done high-intensity exercise for a long time; he needs to get back on track as soon as possible.
I'm doing all this for your own good."
"Heh…"
Tanaka Masao scoffed disdainfully.
"Saying it's all for my own good, when you clearly just want to wantonly abuse and torment my body.
Yukinoshita Classmate, you must remember one thing: even if my body yields, my spirit will never yield."
Listening to Tanaka Masao's righteous words, Yukinoshita Yukino tilted her head, saying with some confusion.
"Oh, really? But isn't your body yielding a bit too quickly?"
At this moment, Tanaka Masao had already put his hands together, in a posture of begging for mercy.
"What are you saying? I don't understand."
Facing the stubborn Tanaka Masao, Yukinoshita Yukino shook her head helplessly.
"Sigh, actually, you don't need to be like this; I'm not some devil, how could I do anything too excessive to you?"
Tanaka Masao looked up, saying somewhat happily.
"So you mean you'll let me go?"
"No, I will do my best to keep you alive during training."
Tanaka Masao, heartbroken, rushed out the door.
"Yukinoshita Classmate is an idiot!"
"Don't forget to come over after school."
Watching Tanaka Masao run off, Yukinoshita Yukino merely said indifferently from behind.
…
Tanaka Masao's exam results naturally caused quite a stir on campus.
After all, for someone who was last in grade to suddenly become first in grade, it seemed a bit surreal no matter how you looked at it.
Almost all the teachers gathered to examine Tanaka Masao's test papers, discussing whether he had cheated.
But even if he cheated, who could he copy from?
Coupled with Hiratsuka Shizuka knowing that Yukinoshita Yukino had recently been tutoring Tanaka Masao, a conclusion was finally reached.
[Yukinoshita Yukino is very suitable to be a teacher.]
Tanaka Masao: What about my effort and talent?
Tanaka Masao's grades were not an issue; other students also started discussing this matter, and what they asked most was.
[Who is Tanaka Masao?]
To protect himself and reduce his presence so as not to be noticed, Tanaka Masao was successful.
Currently, only a few people in the school could match his name with his appearance.
For example, Tanaka Masao's desk-mate, Kawasaki Saki.
Previously, because Tanaka Masao had helped her during an exam, she had paid a little attention to Tanaka Masao and knew his name.
It was just that she couldn't immediately connect Tanaka Masao with being first in grade.
Upon returning to the classroom, Tanaka Masao immediately saw Kawasaki Saki, resting her face on her hand, lost in thought.
As he passed her, he took the initiative to greet her.
"Kawasaki-kun, good afternoon."
Kawasaki Saki turned her head, looked at Tanaka Masao, and nodded slightly as a greeting.
Only after Tanaka Masao had passed her did she ask the question that was on her mind.
"Are you really that first in grade?"
Hearing Kawasaki Saki actively call out to him, Tanaka Masao was somewhat excited.
[Rare, Kawasaki actually called me voluntarily; sure enough, good students are the most popular boys in school.]
He smugly tossed his head, but unfortunately, he had a crew cut, so without bangs, it didn't look very dashing.
"That's right, it's me."
"Oh."
Contrary to Tanaka Masao's fantasy.
Kawasaki Saki did not, like in classic school dramas, instantly transform into a fangirl upon hearing he was first in grade, asking him all sorts of questions, and narrowing the distance between them while studying and improving together.
She merely said a very flat "Oh," and had no other reaction.
What was this called?
High school romantic comedy does not happen to a fat otaku.
After waiting two and a half seconds and finding that she had nothing further to say, Tanaka Masao was the first to ask impatiently.
"Um, Kawasaki-kun, don't you have anything else you want to ask?"
Looking at Tanaka Masao's somewhat anxious and embarrassed expression, Kawasaki Saki was a bit puzzled, but still thought for a moment and said.
"Which cram school did you go to that you improved so quickly?"
Kawasaki Saki also wanted to further her education and go to a better school.
She was currently working to earn money for her tutoring fees.
[Is that all you want to ask?]
Tanaka Masao felt a bit crushed inside; at this moment, shouldn't you be asking me why I'm so amazing? And I didn't rely on a cram school, it was all by myself.
Of course, Yukinoshita Yukino also helped a little bit.
His eyes darted, and he thought of how to answer.