At first, Shizunomiya Natsuki thought it was just her imagination.
But after she pretended to solve problems for two minutes, Hayato's naked gaze toward her didn't disappear.
Shizunomiya Natsuki even felt that Hayato was looking at her hands.
She also subconsciously looked at her own hands too; they weren't big or small, her fingers were fairly long, her palms were slender and not fleshy. In a boy's eyes... they should be considered pretty, right?
But what could he be thinking when he looked at her hands!?
Could it be to help him mastur—
Shizunomiya Natsuki was instantly furious.
But Hayato didn't notice the change in her mood at all.
If you keep staring, it's not polite!
Shizunomiya Natsuki turned her head, wanting to reprimand him for this lewd behavior.
"You got it wrong," Hayato said.
"Eh?" Shizunomiya Natsuki stopped mid-sentence.
"The two problems above," Hayato said.
"..." Shizunomiya Natsuki.
Hayato had just inadvertently glanced at the answers Shizunomiya Natsuki had written down.
He immediately frowned.
Wrong.
Looked at another problem.
Dammit, you're really going to be the death of me.
Wrong again?
How could you get this wrong!?
Isn't it just substituting this into that, then transforming that into this, adding this to that, dividing by two using this formula to evolve it into this, multiplying this with the original that, getting this answer, then plugging this answer into the problem, and finally getting this answer according to the meaning of the problem?
Is it really that complicated?
Honestly, Hayato didn't want to get involved.
But those two wrong answers were just sitting there so blatantly, it was just too distracting.
And the next problem.
Shizunomiya Natsuki put her pen down, then lifted it again, hesitant; it was obvious she didn't know how to do it either.
And this is called [good grades]!?
Dammit, how did education become like this!
How can a country be managed well when it's with you bunch of insects! Japan is doomed sooner or later—
Thinking of this, Hayato tilted his head.
Education fails, Japan falls.
How pleasant that sounds.
Isn't this a beautiful thing?
But after holding it in for a bit, Hayato still couldn't help himself.
If he kept sitting by and doing nothing, he was afraid he wouldn't even be in the mood to study Japanese ancient history.
Just as Shizunomiya Natsuki was about to turn her head, Hayato reminded her:
"Shinomiya-san, this algebra problem isn't solved like that. If this were a real exam, you would have already lost all the points."
"Eh?" Shizunomiya Natsuki's brain immediately crashed.
Then, looking at where Hayato was pointing, Shizunomiya Natsuki's head immediately went 'duang!'
"Oh, oh... huh? Wrong?"
"That's right," Hayato said indifferently, then copied the problem-solving method he had rehearsed in his mind to his tongue, and explained it to Shizunomiya Natsuki again.
Shizunomiya Natsuki felt as if she had been enlightened, as if the clouds had parted to reveal the sun, and she was suddenly enlightened.
"...So... that's how it is."
She wasn't sure if she was answering the algebra problem or commenting on the little drama that had just played out in her head.
"And this problem, it's a similar question, you need to read it carefully, Shinomiya," Hayato said again.
"Yes, yes..."
Shizunomiya Natsuki carefully checked the problem and re-calculated it on a blank sheet of paper. These two problems weren't too difficult; they just had a very easy trap to fall into.
Shizunomiya Natsuki had been misled and accidentally chosen the distractor.
"Is this the answer?" Shizunomiya Natsuki asked.
Hayato took a look.
"Mm," he said, "And the solution for this problem... hmm, you think about it first. This problem..."
He pointed to a previous problem that Shizunomiya Natsuki had solved, "Actually, the approach is the same, just with a slight variation."
Shizunomiya Natsuki frowned and looked for a while, then her expression brightened: "So that's how it is—"
She looked up and smiled.
The space was indeed quite cramped, and both of them had long limbs.
Now, to explain the problem, they were sitting quite close.
When Shizunomiya Natsuki looked up, her forehead almost bumped into Hayato's.
Too close!
Shizunomiya Natsuki immediately became alert and scooted back with a loud 'creak' from her chair.
This jarring sound broke the library's silence, and the other students studying looked towards Shizunomiya Natsuki.
"Sorry..." Shizunomiya Natsuki made an 'I'm sorry' gesture and gave an awkward smile. She looked at Hayato, who had re-established his distance.
The latter remained composed.
...It seemed that ever since she first met him, this guy had only ever had this one expression.
"...Could it be, Hayato, that your grades are very good?" Shizunomiya Natsuki asked softly.
"How did you know..." Hayato was finally about to show a faint smile, but he stopped halfway through. He seemed to remember something, his eyes flickered, and his mouth twitched twice: "Oh, you don't know..."
"Huh?"
"They're pretty average."
"But these problems..."
Although not difficult, being able to know the solution steps just by glancing at them, without even needing to calculate, shouldn't be considered average, right? "...May I ask what your score in math was?" Shizunomiya Natsuki asked.
"One hundred and fourteen," Hayato said.
Shizunomiya Natsuki gasped.
This is called average!?
Has high school in Tokyo become this competitive?
"...Could you tell me what your rank in school is?...Ah, if it's too private, please keep it confidential, I just want to understand..." Shizunomiya Natsuki added.
Hayato's face became somewhat distorted.
He really didn't want to say.
However, precisely because it was a humiliation, he had to remember this moment, he had to remember this term, he had to—strictly demand it of himself!
"Second," Hayato said.
"Second in class?" Shizunomiya Natsuki said.
"Second in the entire grade," Hayato said sorrowfully.
Shizunomiya Natsuki:...
Damn!
Second in the grade, and still studying during the summer vacation after the exams!?
Shizunomiya Natsuki looked at Hayato with utter disbelief.
Humiliation, humiliation! Hayato thought to himself. He originally wanted to say that he could get first place before to save face, but after thinking about it, he gave up.
A hero doesn't boast about past glories.
A good man doesn't talk about how tough he used to be.
With excellent grades like second in the grade, there was no reason to specifically come to Hachijojima High School to study during the summer vacation.
Doubt flickered in Shizunomiya Natsuki's eyes.
...He just happened to sit next to her, and just happened to tutor her.
Could he really be thinking what she thought... that he had some ideas about her? That would be quite disgusting, that would be quite nauseating.
"Shinomiya, is something wrong?"
As Shizunomiya Natsuki felt a surge of vigilance, a balding man, a teacher, quietly asked her from behind.
"Ah, Taicun-sensei," Shizunomiya Natsuki turned around and called out.
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