……
The next day at school, Xiao Chun Miura clearly felt that the atmosphere around her had changed.
During breaks, she could always sense vague gazes falling on her, accompanied by whispers.
Obviously, rumors spread like the wind across the sea, let alone between classrooms just a few floors apart.
It seemed that Kondo Haruka coming to the Classroom and calling her out by name, then confronting her in the corridor, had already spread within a certain range, regardless of the accuracy of the details.
“How did she get involved with a Class 1 student…”
“I heard she deliberately approached Kanzaki-kun from Class 1 and made Kondo-san angry…”
“Huh? Are those two dating? Why did they get angry…”
“Eh~? Not sure, but they’re childhood friends, right? I’ve heard about that…”
“Wow—there’s even such gossip…I didn’t expect Miura-san to look so honest, yet be so proactive…”
Such discussions, though not loud, slipped into Xiao Chun Miura’s ears like flying insects.
She could only lower her head as much as possible, helplessly pretending she hadn’t heard anything.
Sigh, this was inevitable.
When she decided to do that, she should have foreseen it would turn out like this.
***
Compared to the bad mood all day, work hours made Xiao Chun Miura feel a bit more at ease.
Kondo Haruka, like most times, didn’t show up at the Library…Xiao Chun Miura even wondered idly if Kondo Haruka hated the Library.
Thanks to her absence, it wasn’t as awkward as imagined between Xiao Chun Miura and Kanzaki Sou, and the two still cooperated seamlessly at work as usual.
It wasn’t until the afternoon shift ended that Xiao Chun Miura’s heart tightened again.
“It’s about time…I have something to do, so I’ll go back to the Classroom first.”
“Miura-san, is it okay if you go to the Self-Study Classroom by yourself first?”
Kanzaki Sou’s gentle tone sounded somewhat ominous to Xiao Chun Miura.
***
With her bag on her back, Xiao Chun Miura walked anxiously to the Self-Study Classroom on the third floor.
There were already quite a few people inside—seven or eight students quietly reviewing at their desks, with only the sound of pens scratching on paper.
Kanzaki Sou sat in the middle of the Classroom, patiently explaining something to a male student; Kondo Haruka had unsurprisingly taken the seat beside him, almost like a bodyguard.
…Though she was also reading, those eyes were like radars, instantly locking onto Xiao Chun Miura at the door the moment she entered.
When Kondo Haruka saw Xiao Chun Miura come in, she immediately shot her a hostile look, even letting out a silent cold snort through her nose.
——”You really dared to come.”
…That look seemed to say exactly that.
Xiao Chun Miura’s scalp tingled.
She slipped inside, closed the door, and instinctively wanted to find an empty seat far from them to hide.
…Tsk.
No.
The reason she joined the Study Group was to increase contact time…if she hid, it would defeat the purpose.
Xiao Chun Miura’s outstretched leg froze in midair, tangled over where she should go.
“Miura-san, over here.”
“Eek!”
Kanzaki Sou’s voice sounded just in time, making Xiao Chun Miura flinch with bared teeth.
She slowly turned her head, both avoiding and seeking, and saw Kanzaki Sou smiling in greeting, his eyes behind his glasses squinting gently as usual.
He pointed to an empty seat diagonally in front of him, still wearing his gentle smile. “No one’s sitting here.”
With that, all eyes in the Self-Study Classroom instantly focused on Xiao Chun Miura.
The intense feeling of being watched enveloped her, especially Kondo Haruka’s sharp, burning gaze, which made Xiao Chun Miura’s cheeks heat up instantly.
She felt completely uncomfortable.
But since Kanzaki Sou had spoken, she had no room to refuse.
…Sometimes, she really wished Kanzaki Sou wouldn’t be so gentle—just because you have a gentle aura doesn’t mean everyone around you will become gentle too.
With no other choice, Xiao Chun Miura braced herself, hugged her bag, and walked over, sitting down under that gaze.
“Thank you…”
She whispered her thanks, not daring to look at anyone.
“You’re welcome.”
Kanzaki Sou’s voice came from behind. “Sort out the parts you don’t understand first. I’ll come over after I’m done here.”
The next hour felt like a year to Xiao Chun Miura.
She could clearly feel Kondo Haruka’s gaze burning into her back like two laser beams, making even the act of turning pages stiff.
She tried hard to focus on her textbook, but the unfamiliar yet familiar formulas and words turned into twisted symbols in her eyes.
Because she had graduated a long time ago, she couldn’t tell which knowledge points were “truly difficult” and which were “embarrassing to ask about”, so she struggled to find suitable questions but couldn’t get into the right mindset.
In the end, she gave up and chose a few math problems.
After all, not knowing how to solve a math problem was normal—everyone had ones they couldn’t do.
“…Alright, sorry, which part don’t you understand? Did you sort it out?”
Finally, at that moment, Kanzaki Sou finished tutoring the other boy; holding a stack of scratch paper in one hand and a pen in the other, he naturally walked over to Xiao Chun Miura’s desk and pulled over an empty chair to sit.
Feeling the intense gaze from behind, Xiao Chun Miura pointed to a function problem in the textbook, her voice a bit unnatural. “Here…I don’t really understand substituting this variable…”
She thought for a moment, then added, “I can’t figure out the calculation relationship after setting the variable…”
Kanzaki Sou leaned over for a look, his eyes behind the lenses focused and serious.
“Alright…then I’ll start from the problem itself.”
He didn’t give the answer directly but picked up his pen and began analyzing the entire solution process from the function expression on the blank part of the scratch paper.
“Look, the key is to understand the essence of the function’s graph. If you view it from the coordinate system, the value of x itself has a threshold, right? So as an algebraic function, f(x) also has a threshold…”
The more she listened, the more amused Xiao Chun Miura felt.
Kanzaki Sou explained thoroughly—so much so that even if he were substituting for a Teacher, Students could understand.
But Xiao Chun Miura wasn’t really a High School Student; she was pretending to be one while listening to Kanzaki Sou’s explanations…so the better he taught, the more she listened, and the more this contrast made her want to laugh.
But honestly.
Kanzaki Sou’s voice when explaining was clear and composed, sometimes requesting feedback, and just based on tone alone, it was hard not to find it pleasant to listen to…
Under such a strangely comfortable teaching style, Xiao Chun Miura found herself gradually drawn into Kanzaki Sou’s thought process, truly reviewing knowledge she’d learned long ago and solving familiar problems together.
…This long-lost sense of familiarity made Xiao Chun Miura genuinely happy.
Those algebraic formulas, calculation methods, and problem-solving approaches, awakened from dusty memories, made Xiao Chun Miura feel as if she’d returned to her High School days.
It made her briefly nostalgic for her Student era, forgetting the danger she was in and the pressure of survival.
“So that’s how it is…This solution is correct, right?”
In the end, under Kanzaki Sou’s guidance, Xiao Chun Miura really solved a practice problem.
“Mm…One part is wrong. Check again?”
“——…Mm…Ah, is it here…What about now?”
“Yes, Miura-san, solving it this way is a full score.”
“——That’s great!”
As the last doubt was cleared, Xiao Chun Miura’s mind brightened, and a genuine smile appeared on her face; her large eyes behind the glasses sparkled with sincere excitement.
“Mm, you’re very smart—you understand immediately.”
Kanzaki Sou also smiled in praise, his clear eyes reflecting the warm lights of the Self-Study Classroom, making him look especially sincere.
“Hmph.”
A deliberately heavy cold snort sounded nearby, instantly pouring cold water over Xiao Chun Miura.
At some point, Kondo Haruka had come to stand beside their desk, arms crossed, looking down at them with a face full of “unhappy”.
“Sou-kun, I ran into trouble too just now. Can you explain it to me?”
She glanced at Xiao Chun Miura, then spoke calmly.
Kanzaki Sou didn’t seem surprised by Kondo Haruka’s appearance. He simply stood up calmly and replied gently, “Of course. Which problem is it?”
“Let’s talk at my seat.”
“——Alright, let’s hurry.”
With that, Kondo Haruka led Kanzaki Sou away from Xiao Chun Miura’s desk.
Before leaving, Kondo Haruka even gave Xiao Chun Miura a triumphant glance, as if showing off her victory.
A few minutes later, after seeing Kondo Haruka’s workbook, Kanzaki Sou began explaining to her as well.
Xiao Chun Miura remained seated, unmoving.
The harmonious and pleasant atmosphere from before had completely vanished.
She unconsciously pursed her lips, her fingers picking at the edge of the desk drawer.
…In the few days since coming to this world, those ten or so minutes just now were probably her happiest.
A sense of emptiness grew quietly in Xiao Chun Miura’s heart, amidst the voices of Kanzaki Sou and Kondo Haruka discussing.
If possible.
A thought surfaced in Xiao Chun Miura’s mind.
…Though it didn’t matter and wasn’t necessary.
But if possible.
She wished that time just now could have lasted a little longer.