Chapter 156: The Transmitted Exam Results!
In the Student Council office, the air was thick with the distinct sense of relaxation that follows the end of an exam season.
Horikita Manabu had good taste, having placed several green plants around the office. The pots on the windowsill had just been watered, and tiny droplets of moisture clung to the leaves, glinting slightly in the light. In the corner, an old-fashioned wall clock ticked away steadily; every jump of the second hand produced a faint, crisp sound.
Horikita Manabu sat in the President's seat, a summary sheet of the third-year results spread out before him. His expression was no different from usual—cold, steady, like a deep pool of water without a ripple. After confirming the final set of data, he closed the paper and set it aside.
The third-year Class A had lost fifty points in this exam.
This number wasn't exactly large, but it wasn't small either. Fortunately, the third-year Class B failed to catch up, and the gap between the two classes remained at over three hundred points. Class A's position was secure. As the President and the class representative for the third-year Class A, he could breathe a small sigh of relief. However, no change in emotion showed on his face; he simply folded his hands on the desk, his gaze falling on the sun-drenched, shimmering sports field outside the window.
The second-year exam results were brought in by Nagumo Miyabi.
When the Vice President pushed open the door and entered, the smile on his face was almost impossible to hide. His stride was a bit lighter than usual. Holding a report card, he walked to his seat and sat down, deliberately smoothing the paper out on the desk and looking at it a few more times.
"President, the second-year exams are over as well." Nagumo pushed the report card forward, his tone carrying a deliberate understatement. "Our Class A held steady. The second-year Class B was intercepted once, so their score didn't rise much."
As he spoke, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and his fingers tapped twice on the tabletop as if playing a silent song of triumph. On that report card, the numbers for the second-year Class A sat firmly at the top, and the gap between them and Class B had widened even more than last month—this was exactly the result he wanted.
Tachibana Akane stood behind Horikita Manabu. Her gaze swept over the report card and then moved away nonchalantly. She had long since grown accustomed to Nagumo's self-satisfied posturing and didn't care to comment.
However, she did look with some sympathy at the silent Kiriyama from the second-year Class B.
Because the second-year scores had now become:
Second-year Class A (Nagumo): 1,455 points Second-year Class B (Kiriyama): 1,011 points Second-year Class C (Fodder): 440 points Second-year Class D (Fodder): 310 points
The second-year Class B was now trailing Class A by a gap of over 400 points!
"The third-year exams are finished as well," Horikita Manabu spoke flatly, his voice steady as always. "Class A lost fifty points, but the position remains."
Nagumo nodded, his gaze sweeping over the third-year report card, but he said nothing more. Fifty points really wasn't a major issue for the third-year Class A; the gap was such that it couldn't be erased by a single exam.
The office fell silent for a moment. Tachibana Akane raised her hand to check her watch, then looked toward the door, whispering, "The first-year results... should be coming soon."
Just as she finished speaking, the computer on the desk let out a "ding" notification sound.
Horikita Manabu turned his head and clicked on the new email. The light from the screen reflected on his face, illuminating his sharp, angular features. His gaze lingered on the page for a few seconds, and then his eyes narrowed slightly.
"What is it?" Noticing his reaction, Tachibana Akane leaned forward.
Horikita Manabu didn't answer immediately; he simply turned the screen toward her.
Tachibana's gaze fell on the numbers, and she froze instantly. Her lips parted slightly as if she wanted to say something, but she couldn't find the right words.
She was shocked.
"This..." she murmured. "The first-year Class A... dropped?"
Nagumo, who had been leaning back in his chair in a good mood, suddenly sat bolt upright upon hearing this. He stood up, walked around the desk, and leaned toward the screen, his gaze rapidly scanning the lines of numbers:
Class A: 1,175 points → 825 points Class B: 1,011 points → 1,261 points Class C: 450 points → 550 points Class D: 130 points → 130 points
His eyes darted back and forth between "Class A: 825" and "Class B: 1,261." The expression on his face shifted from surprise to a complex, indefinable look.
"Didn't Sakayanagi-kouhai go to participate personally?" Nagumo's voice carried a hint of disbelief. "Didn't she take a helicopter there? How could..."
"During the island exam, there clearly weren't any major fluctuations..."
Tachibana Akane leaned against the desk, holding her folder and staring at the set of numbers. Her tone was filled with emotion.
"Looking at this, the first-years really fought fiercely this time. Class A was deducted 350 points, and Class B added 250—this is no longer child's play. Class B has risen to Class A; the first-years have completed a swap."
"In a single exam, the gap between Class A and B actually closed by 600 points—"
She paused, her gaze landing on Horikita Manabu's face. "President, you were right. This year's first-year students are indeed formidable."
Horikita Manabu didn't respond. He simply closed the email and leaned back in his chair. His expression remained calm and ripple-less, but deep in his eyes, something flickered slightly.
'That fellow Hikigaya... indeed showed his brilliance in the second exam.'
Nagumo returned to his seat and sat down again, but his posture was no longer as relaxed as before. He folded his hands on the desk, his expression appearing somewhat stunned as if he were digesting the information. It took a long while before he slowly spoke.
"Sakayanagi-kouhai went there herself, and yet they still lost by this much..." He shook his head, a hint of schadenfreude he hadn't even noticed himself creeping into his tone. "It seems that Hikigaya-kouhai from Class B really does have some skill."
He felt that President Horikita was indeed impressive for granting the Hikigaya-kouhai from Class B the right to run for the next President right from the start. If judged by merit, the other party truly should have obtained that authority.
President Horikita truly knew how to judge people.
Thinking this, Nagumo suddenly remembered something, his brow furrowing slightly. "However, their Class B added 250 points this time, and Class A lost 350—the discrepancy is too large. What exactly was Sakayanagi-kouhai doing?"
No one answered him. The office was so quiet one could hear the occasional birdsong from outside.
Meanwhile, the second-year Vice President Kiriyama sat in the corner, having said nothing from beginning to end. Before him lay the report card for his own class—the second-year Class B had once again been pulled away from Class A in this exam. He had been digesting this result for a while, but there was still a sense of regret. When Sakayanagi-kouhai had reported Nagumo for interfering with the first-year exams, he felt the opportunity for the second-year Class B had come, but the result remained the same.
Sigh. And not only that.
His gaze fell on the first-year report card, his mood complex.
Because...
The first-year Class A had also fallen.
Just like him.
He was also someone who had fallen from Class A. He knew that feeling all too well—falling from the highest position, watching that "A" above your head turn into a "B," and watching those who once looked up to you begin to view you with a different gaze. That drop was not something that could be measured by numbers.
And then, wanting to climb back up desperately, but ultimately being burdened by the pressure.
Kiriyama remained silent for a long time before speaking softly, as if to himself, or to someone else. "...The first-years have also started down this path."
His voice was very low, nearly swallowed by the ticking of the wall clock. But Nagumo heard him.
Nagumo turned his head and glanced at Kiriyama, seemingly smiling, but he didn't respond. Nagumo felt he was in a great mood. Although he didn't know the specifics, the fact that Sakayanagi-kouhai had gone back to take the exam only to result in the worst possible point difference and lose her position as Class A made him feel delighted. This was the consequence of opposing him.
But he also felt that the dead-eyed kouhai from before was quite impressive. Even with Sakayanagi involved, they still lost this miserably.
As such, he felt he should go see Hachiman Hikigaya from the first-year Class B even more.
Since the other party was not only his direct kouhai but now held a similar status—having successfully risen from Class B to A—President Horikita would likely grant him a reward.
Nagumo withdrew his gaze and looked back at Horikita Manabu. He felt that Sakayanagi had offended him, but Hachiman Hikigaya had not, so perhaps he could build a good relationship with Hachiman.
He suggested, "President, since the first-year Class B has risen to Class A, according to custom, shouldn't we give Hikigaya-kouhai some... reward? For example, the position of Student Council Vice President?"
That was what Horikita Manabu had given him after his successful promotion. Given Horikita Manabu's sense of fairness, it was very likely he would grant this kouhai the same honor.
So, while he was merely adding the finishing touch, it counted as building a good relationship with this kouhai Hikigaya.
But Horikita Manabu's eyebrows twitched slightly. He was silent for a moment.
"In principle, there is that step. However, as far as I know, Hikigaya Hachiman of Class B likely doesn't want to enter the Student Council," Horikita Manabu said.
Eh.
Nagumo thought back to the end of the first month, when Horikita Manabu had given Class A and B each a secretary position, and Hikigaya from Class B had directly sold his.
So, if Horikita Manabu were to give Hachiman Hikigaya a Vice President position now, would he sell that too?
Wait, is this kouhai... a bit too fond of points?
Just like that dead-eyed kouhai from Sakayanagi's class he met during the exam with the old questions.
"..."
Nagumo quickly pushed that strange thought aside.
.
.
.
Hachiman sneezed.
The sneeze came without warning, giving him no time to react.
Perhaps... someone was talking behind his back. The thought popped up without any basis, yet he felt it was highly likely. It was probably Nagumo-senpai. Hachiman figured the exam results had already been sent back to the school.
Once he learned the news that Class A had fallen, Nagumo-senpai would probably be mockingly ridiculing Sakayanagi in high spirits and then using his successful promotion as a talking point. Hachiman ran through the potential candidates in his mind and instinctively felt this answer was closest to the truth.
But at the moment, he didn't have much energy to dwell on that. He leaned against the window in the hallway, looking at the sea surface turned golden-red by the setting sun, but his mind drifted elsewhere.
Over the past few days, he seemed to have told three people that he might transmigrate back.
One was Ichinose, one was Kushida, and one was Sakayanagi. The timing for each was different, but the result was the same—making something that hadn't even happened yet sound like a certainty.
What was he thinking? He probably felt that since he would have to face it sooner or later, it was better to arrange his path of retreat in advance. But thinking about it now that he was calm, he felt a bit ridiculous.
Transmigration—there was no pattern to be found in such things. The protagonists in those novels just finish the big boss and leave; that's a plot arranged by the author. Him? He hadn't even figured out who the "Big Boss" of this world was, yet he was already worrying about things after returning.
He let out a soft sigh.
In the end, what he truly cared about wasn't the act of returning itself. What he cared about was—if he returned, he would have learned nothing.
The "Conquer Yukinoshita" plan had made zero progress since enrollment. Forget about experience; he hadn't even figured out the trick to interacting normally with girls.
Yukinoshita had no romantic experience, and neither did he.
According to the current marriage market, this was like making a group of guys who were the worst at handling girls pursue the hardest-to-handle girl.
The difficulty was extreme.
After all, his goal was different from most people's. He didn't want to work! He just wanted to live off a woman! He wanted to be a househusband!
Sigh.
Looking at it that way.
Life is not easy. Hachiman silently repeated those four words in his mind, feeling they were practically tailor-made for him.
His phone vibrated at that moment.
He pulled it out and looked; a message from Karuizawa was sitting on the screen. It was only a few words: [Are you free right now?]
Hachiman stared at that line of text for two seconds. He had intended to find her anyway; some things needed to be made clear in person. So, his fingers tapped the screen a few times, replying with a single word "Yes," and then asking where to meet.
Karuizawa's reply came quickly, so fast it seemed she had thought of the location long ago: [The café on the third floor. Is that okay?]
Hachiman looked at the word "café" and fell silent for an instant.
The café on the third floor. The very place he had been to twice this afternoon. He had been there with Kushida, talked with Chabashira-sensei, was pulled into a seat by Hoshinomiya-sensei for a while, and later met with Sakayanagi. Now, he was going again. For the fourth time.
He put away his phone and turned toward the elevator. The lights in the hallway pulled his shadow long, dragging behind him like some silent sigh.
When he pushed open the café door, Hachiman's steps didn't falter.
He walked straight in, his gaze scanning the shop—there weren't many customers at this time, with just a few scattered tables occupied. One window seat was empty. He sat in that spot and nodded to the staff member who walked over.
The staff member was the same young woman with a ponytail from this afternoon. her gaze stopped on Hachiman's face for a second, moved away, and then stopped again for another second. Her expression was somewhere between "How is it you again?" and "Exactly how many people did you ask out?" Her mouth twitched slightly, but professional etiquette allowed her to quickly recover her smile.
"Sir, would you like anything?"
"No," Hachiman said without changing his expression. "Waiting for someone."
The staff member nodded and turned to leave. But Hachiman noticed that after walking two steps, she kept looking back. He pretended not to notice and turned his gaze out the window.
Karuizawa arrived a few minutes later than him. When she pushed open the door, her blonde ponytail swayed on her shoulder. She was wearing a light pink knit cardigan over a white top, paired with a dark pleated skirt. She usually dressed loudly within her "gyaru" group, but when coming out alone, she tended to choose more plain colors.
Hachiman thought she was quite thoughtful.
Karuizawa soon spotted Hachiman and walked over quickly, sitting down opposite him. Once settled, she raised a hand to fan her face; she had probably walked a bit fast, as a thin layer of sweat had formed on her forehead.
"Have you been waiting long?" she asked.
"No." Hachiman shook his head. He didn't engage in small talk and went straight to the point. "I called you out because I have something to tell you."
'Oh.'
Karuizawa lowered her hand and sat up straight, her eyes looking at him seriously.
Hachiman weighed his words. "On Sakayanagi's side, I've already made arrangements. If—and I mean if—I leave this school, she will look after you."
Karuizawa was stunned.
Her eyes widened slightly, her eyelashes trembled, and her lips parted as if she wanted to say something, then stopped, then wanted to say it again.
"Eh?" she let out a short syllable, her voice carrying obvious surprise. "Sakayanagi-san?"
"Yes." Hachiman nodded. "She promised. With the Sakayanagi family's resources, it shouldn't be hard to arrange a decent position for you. Of course, the prerequisite is if I actually leave."
Karuizawa stared at him for a few seconds, still wanting to speak yet holding back. But finally, she spoke.
"Hikigaya, you..." she paused as if organizing her words. "When you say leave, do you mean..."
"Transmigrate back." Hachiman finished for her.
Karuizawa's small hands pressed against the tabletop. After several seconds, she looked up again. "So, you looking for Sakayanagi-san... was to arrange things for my future?"
Hachiman nodded. "You handle things reliably, flexibly, and you're obedient. This is what you deserve."
His tone was very normal when he said this because he was stating a fact. But looking at him, Karuizawa suddenly felt her nose tingle. She quickly lowered her head, pretending to adjust her skirt, pushing that bit of emotion back down.
"Besides," Hachiman added, "you were the first person who, after hearing my heart, actively ran to tell me."
Karuizawa's movements stopped.
She looked up, meeting Hachiman's gaze. In those eyes that were always half-lidded, there was now a trace of sincerity. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat, and her cheeks felt a bit warm, but she soon returned to normal.
"So..." she began, her voice steadier than before. "Are you really going to transmigrate back?"
Hachiman was slightly taken aback.
The question caught him a bit off guard. He thought Karuizawa would be surprised by the arrangements he made for her—after all, given her personality, she would have some reaction to such news—but her point of focus was clearly not there.
He was silent for two seconds, then slowly spoke. "The fact that I am a transmigrator—you know that. According to the tropes in the novels I've read, when the protagonist transmigrates to an ivory world and completes the task, they usually have to go back. Like... once the mission is complete, the system automatically retrieves you.
And.
I truly have a premonition. A... premonition that I won't stay here for long. As for exactly when, I'm not sure. Maybe soon, maybe a long time from now," Hachiman said.
Karuizawa listened quietly, not speaking.
If Hikigaya Hachiman's heart could be heard by everyone, then if his sixth sense were a bit stronger, Karuizawa could accept and understand that.
"However." Hachiman withdrew his gaze, his tone carrying a hint of self-mockery. "The things I wanted to do—I haven't accomplished a single one."
As he spoke, a subtle look of sorrow appeared on his face. It wasn't obvious, but Karuizawa saw it clearly. She naturally knew what he wanted to do—find a girl to date, learn some experience, and then go back to conquer that person named Yukino Yukinoshita.
She had known this goal since she first came into contact with him, and it seemed he had never changed.
Karuizawa leaned back in her chair, suddenly not knowing what to say.
Looking at Hachiman's sorrowful face, a wave of indefinable emotion rose in her heart. This person, clearly so smart, whether in exams or strategic planning—he could even calculate against an opponent like Sakayanagi. But in this sort of matter, he was so stupid it left one speechless.
"So." She spoke tentatively, her voice lowered. "You want to take advantage of the fact that you haven't transmigrated back yet to... find someone in this school to try with?"
Hachiman nodded. "At least I need to learn something before going back. Otherwise, if I haven't made any progress, going back will be for nothing."
Karuizawa was silent for a few seconds, her fingers lightly drawing circles on the tabletop. Her gaze fell on her fingertips as if she were thinking about a very difficult problem.
"But," she finally spoke, her voice lower than before, "if one really wants to date, who would be willing to start when it's destined to end in a breakup?
Even if they're just guiding you through experience, people still have to put in some genuine heart," Karuizawa said.
"..."
Hachiman's fingers paused slightly.
Karuizawa looked up, meeting his gaze.
"If you really go looking for someone with the mindset of 'leaving once I've learned,'" she said word by word, "you'll probably only find girls who are after your points. After all, who would take a relationship that includes a guaranteed breakup seriously?"
The café was quiet for a few seconds. The sound of a cup being placed lightly on a table came from the distance, along with the faint creak of a door opening, but those sounds felt as if they were behind a layer of something, becoming blurred by the time they reached here.
Hachiman didn't speak. He just sat there quietly, his gaze on the tabletop.
Looking at his profile, Karuizawa suddenly added, "However, not everyone is after the points."
Hachiman raised his eyes.
Meeting his gaze, Karuizawa's tone carried a subtle hint of probing. "For example, Matsushita."
Hachiman was slightly startled.
"In the evening," Karuizawa said, her fingers starting to draw circles on the table again, "I went to the accessory shop with Sato and the others. I originally wanted to buy some small things to take back to school as souvenirs."
She paused as if weighing how to say it.
"Then the clerk said Matsushita had been there in the afternoon. And it wasn't just a casual stroll—she stood in front of those glasses for a long time and even asked the price. The clerk said she was holding those glasses and looking them over for a while before finally buying them. And that area was the section for men's glasses, not women's, so her intentions are actually quite easy to guess."
Hachiman fell into thought.
Glasses.
He remembered the scene of meeting Chiaki Matsushita at the accessory shop in the afternoon—she was standing in front of that display case holding a pair of black, thin-rimmed plain glasses. Upon seeing him, she had hurriedly put them back, saying she was "just looking around." At the time, he hadn't thought much of it, assuming she really was just browsing.
So it wasn't that.
Karuizawa looked at his expression, the corner of her mouth curling up slightly before she quickly suppressed it. "Matsushita, she usually seems quite rational and has a good sense of propriety in everything she does. But if she really cares about someone, she will spend a lot of time preparing."
Speaking to this point, she suddenly remembered something and lowered her voice even further. "Even though you said before that she and you are the same type of person—both looking for a long-term meal ticket—from the look of her, it seems she's not just after the points."
Hachiman didn't speak.
He leaned back in his chair, his gaze out the window. The setting sun on the sea had completely sunk, leaving only a faint streak of orange-red lingering in the sky. The lights of the café were reflected on the glass, overlapping his and Karuizawa's shadows, blurred yet clear.
He thought back to the accessory shop in the afternoon, the panicked expression on Chiaki Matsushita's face when she saw him. He thought of the pair of glasses in her hand, almost identical to the ones he had received. He thought of the flush on her ears when she lowered her head and said she was "just looking around."
His heart seemed to skip half a beat.
Only half a beat.
Hachiman took a deep breath and suppressed that subtle emotion. He shook his head as if convincing himself, or perhaps convincing Karuizawa.
"What she seeks is a stable, long-term meal ticket." His tone was very calm, calm to the point of being deliberate. "On that point, it's the same as my goal. We are competitors."
Karuizawa stared at him for a few seconds.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, she only let out a soft sigh. That sigh was very light, yet it carried a sense of helplessness, as if to say, "I already knew you'd say that."
Her voice carried a hint of being between laughter and tears. "You really are..."
She didn't finish the sentence, just shook her head.
Seeing her expression, Hachiman suddenly felt a bit guilty. He coughed and changed the subject.
"The holiday is coming up soon."
Karuizawa blinked. "Hm?"
"Go back to school for five days of classes, and then there's a month-long holiday. A month... it's not exactly long, but it's not short either," Hachiman said.
And so?
Karuizawa looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
"I've prepared some points." Hachiman finally looked up and met her eyes. "If any girl is willing to... well, attend classes with me and chat, I can provide compensation."
When he said the word "classes," his voice was noticeably lower as if he were hiding something.
Karuizawa's mouth twitched.
She naturally knew what this "classes" meant—finding someone to teach him how to get along with girls, how to date, and how to conquer that person named Yukino Yukinoshita. This plan was perhaps his major life goal. He had first looked for Kushida and was rejected; later, he asked Kushida to help find candidates, but there was no progress. Now that the exams were over and the holiday was approaching, he had brought this matter up again.
"On Kushida-san's side, although she rejected me once before, now..." Hachiman added, "I think using points should also be able to..."
He didn't finish the sentence, but the meaning was already clear.
Karuizawa leaned back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest, looking at him with a complex gaze. After several seconds, she slowly spoke.
"So, you intend to bribe Kushida with points?"
Hachiman weighed his words. "It's not a bribe; it's a partnership. Each gets what they need."
Karuizawa stared at him for two seconds, then let out a soft sigh. That sigh was longer than the one before and even more helpless.
"Hikigaya, you really are..." She shook her head and didn't finish the sentence.
Then she sat up straight, hands on the table, and looked at him seriously.
"I understand." Her tone sounded very calm. "Tomorrow afternoon, I'll help you arrange it."
Hachiman was slightly startled. "Arrange what?"
Karuizawa didn't answer immediately. She just looked at him, the corner of her mouth curling up into an arc. The smile wasn't large, but it carried a sense of certainty, as if to say, "Leave it to me."
"Don't you want to find a girl to attend classes with you?" She stood up. "I'll handle it for you. After all, aren't I your partner? Since you've run into trouble now, what I need to do is help you solve it, right?"
Hachiman froze for a moment, then nodded. He thought Karuizawa meant she would help him make the connections, just as Kushida had done before—finding suitable candidates and then setting them up.
He indeed needed that kind of help. After all, this kind of thing was somewhat embarrassing and hard to bring up.
"Then I'll trouble you," he said.
Karuizawa looked at him but didn't respond.
She turned to walk toward the door. After a few steps, she suddenly stopped. She didn't turn back, but just stood there with her back to him. The light spilled down from above, casting her shadow thin and long on the floor.
" Hikigaya Hachiman."
"Yeah?"
Her voice was very soft, as if she were afraid of being heard. "You said just now that I was the first person who ran to tell you as soon as I heard your heart."
Hachiman didn't respond, waiting for her to continue.
"That's too unfair to you.
Actually, it wasn't because I was so smart or brave." Her voice lowered a bit. "It was just... I felt that if I didn't tell you, you wouldn't know someone was eavesdropping."
After saying that, she pushed the door open and walked out. The door closed gently behind her, letting in a cool sea breeze.
Hachiman sat in his original spot, looking at the closed door, silent for a long time.
Outside the window, the last bit of orange-red light had also sunk into the sea. The lights in the café were on, casting a small patch of warm yellow light on the table before him. He stared at that patch of light for a while, then let out a soft sigh.
Karuizawa, sometimes she was much more perceptive than he thought.
She probably guessed—him asking Sakayanagi to arrange a path of retreat wasn't just for her. Him looking for Kushida to "cooperate" wasn't just to learn some experience. The reasons he spoke out loud were true, but there were also things left unsaid that even he was somewhat unwilling to admit.
For example, he didn't really want to go back that much. Having lived here for three months, to say he didn't care at all would definitely be a lie.
The atmosphere Class B gave him was very good, and Ichinose's attention and pampering toward him, even Karuizawa's trust in him, and the sense of being nurtured Horikita gave him...
He didn't want all of these things to just end like this. Even if they had to end.
But when that thought surfaced, Hachiman himself was startled. He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling for a few seconds, then shook his head, throwing that bit of inexplicable emotion away.
'Forget it. Thinking about this is useless.'
He stood up and walked toward the door. Passing the counter, the ponytail-wearing clerk was wiping glasses. Seeing him walk over, she looked up, her mouth carrying a polite yet restrained smile.
"Sir, are you leaving?"
"Yes."
"Will you be back tomorrow?" the clerk asked.
"...Probably not."
And so, Hachiman quickly departed.
Back in the café, the clerk put down the glass and looked at the closed door. She finally couldn't hold it in and let out a soft laugh.
She had originally thought this dead-eyed boy was a super scumbag, but looking at it now, perhaps he was just a novice who kept hitting walls.
Ah, to be young.
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