My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

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Kawanami, who had been hiding and not speaking in front of Sakamizu and Kanai, suddenly appeared next to Minami.

"That guy will only get more and more demanding! And before long, he'll be acting like he has a girlfriend even though we're not actually dating!"

"I feel like we've said this a lot already—but it's okay. Isana isn't the kind of person who can't tell the difference between a joke and the truth. It's okay if others misunderstand, as long as we understand ourselves."

Is that really the case...?

With a melancholy murmur, Minami forcefully pushed Kawanami's face back.

"What do you think, Jie Nu? After he became friends with Dongtou's classmate, did you notice anything different about him?"

"Huh? ...Hmm...It's hard to say. It doesn't seem to have changed much..."

"Huh? So, he's been this good at manipulating girls from the very beginning?"

Jie Nu's eyes flickered, probably after looking at my face on the screen, and she said:

"...Maybe."

You sound like you know everything.

Back in junior high, I never intentionally toyed with your feelings. You were the only one who was passionately pursuing me.

...Otherwise, I wouldn't be thinking about this and that and worrying all the time.

"Oh? Well then, tell me, Irito-kun! What kind of ways has he toyed with girls—"

"Alright, alright! That's all for today! I'm going to take a shower! That's all for now!"

"Ah, she escaped."

The image of Yui disappeared. Seeing this, Kawanami turned his attention to me and said:

"Then, Irito! You should know what's going on—"

"That's settled then."

"Hey, hello!"

I ended the call... That peeping tom, doesn't he know the saying "beat the grass to alert the snake"?

Mizuto Irito◆The person you like must be...

After the remote book club ended, I took my textbooks down to the living room. I hadn't finished the parts I planned to review today, so I decided to take a short break before continuing my study.

I boiled water in the kettle and brewed tea with black tea bags. I've heard that drinking tea at night can cause insomnia, but since I'm a night owl, I rarely suffer from caffeine.

I sat on the sofa, took a sip of hot black tea, and waited for my brain to reboot. Then I opened my textbook again.

A few minutes later—as I turned the page—the living room door opened.

"Oh, you've come."

It was Yui, wearing pajamas. She had taken off the glasses she wore at the remote book club, and her hair was tied into two buns that hung down in front of her shoulders.

"Um……"

Hearing my reply, Jie Nu said as she walked towards the kitchen:

"Aren't you going to take a shower?"

"Let's go later."

"Um."

I heard the sound of someone pouring water from behind me, and I focused on reading the article in my textbook.

Not long after, I heard a soft "thump" as the cup was gently set down. Then, I heard footsteps slowly approaching.

"Yeah."

Only when she called me did I finally lift my face.

Jie leaned forward from the back of the sofa and peered at my face.

"May I... read a book with you here?"

In an instant, various explanations rushed through my mind.

The first explanation that came to mind was that she had some questions for me about preparing for the exam.

The next claim that emerged was that she wanted to continue the remote book club that had just been disbanded.

And then, the very last explanation that emerged was even simpler, more straightforward, requiring no reason and needing no explanation; it was purely a matter of desire, a desire to be with me—

"...It doesn't matter to me."

Extensive thinking ultimately culminated in these four words.

I must admit, I'm only good at hiding my true feelings.

Jie Nu seemed relieved, a smile spreading across her lips as she said:

"I'll go get my textbooks."

She jogged out of the living room, went up the stairs, and quickly returned, sitting down beside me and arranging her textbooks and stationery on the table.

And so, we continued with the book club meeting.

This time it wasn't as lively as before. I was just looking at my textbook, and Jie was just working on problems in her notebook. There were no questions asked and no conversations. The only sounds were the mechanical pencil writing, the turning of pages in the textbook, and the ticking of the clock, all of which drifted through the quiet living room.

Sometimes, I would steal a glance at the profile of the girl facing the laptop.

The somewhat intimidating demeanor she displayed during last semester's midterm exams was gone. She appeared calm, yet approached the practice questions with a serious attitude.

(Illustration 012)

—The person you like is the one whose profile you've seen the most.

The words Izana had spoken flashed through my mind.

Her simplistic definition of me leaves me unable to hide the meaning behind my actions. I'm merely looking at her profile, yet I feel as if I'm doing something embarrassing—I desperately want to look away, but then I realize I'm still staring at her.

Okay, that's roughly how it is.

Although it makes me angry, and although it's not something I wanted to do.

...Ugh, how awful. Even these inner thoughts have become so easy to understand; it's nothing but ugly self-deception.

I remained steadfast and focused back on my studies. Now is not the time to be obsessed with anything. That moment will come after I successfully pass the mid-term exams—once November arrives.

Soon, the short hand of the clock pointed to twelve. "If I don't take a bath soon, the water will get cold"—just as I was thinking this and preparing to close my textbook, I noticed Jie was looking at me.

(Illustration 013)

"……What's wrong?"

"Ah, no..."

While frequently stealing glances at my face, Jie said:

"I just feel that... when you're reading aloud, you have... the same expression."

—The person you like must be…

For some reason, Izana's words came back to mind.

I tried to string together those reasons and explanations in my mind, but then I gave up.

I worry that letting things develop without thinking will lead to bitter consequences.

"...Since it's all about reading, there's no difference."

So I gave this dry and boring answer.

Then, I left the living room with just the words "I'm going to take a shower".

...Am I afraid?

Perhaps that's to be expected.

After all, this time, failure is not an option.

Irito Yume ◆ A unique way of living

The nightly remote book club sessions have been more effective than we expected.

The advantage lies in the remote aspect. If we actually met in person, we'd probably just start fooling around and wouldn't be able to concentrate on studying, but there's limited what you can do through a calling app, and the most distracting thing—the smartphone—was used for video calls. This approach was quite successful for me.

We got through the midterm exam week smoothly. One day, after school, I wanted to study on my own, so I went to the student council office and found that two people had already arrived.

"Thank you for your hard work..."

I greeted them softly, but the two members who arrived first did not respond.

That's for sure, since both of them seemed to be asleep.

One of them was Xingbian, who, as usual, lay back on the guest sofa with his open textbook covering his face.

The other person was a complete surprise to me.

Tomorrow, Ye Yuan was found slumped over the conference table, dozing off.

I tiptoed over and peeked at Asuha-in's face. She was sleeping soundly, her cheek pressed against an open notebook, her complexion rosy. Because of her pretty features, her sleeping expression was as cute as a kitten's.

He was still holding a mechanical pencil in his right hand. It seems he accidentally fell asleep halfway through his self-study session.

She must be so tired... Since the start of exam week and the suspension of student council activities, I haven't had many chances to see Asuha-in. But occasionally, I'll brush past her in the hallway, and even in that brief moment, I can see the obvious weariness on her face.

Perhaps she's pushing herself too hard. Besides, seeing how motivated she is for this exam—it really reminds me of myself in the past.

I took the blanket that Hoshibe-senpai had brought from the archives next door and carefully draped it over Asuha-in's shoulders.

Let her sleep for a while.

Later, I remained quiet, held my breath, and began to read my own book.

...About twenty minutes later, Asuhain's shoulder twitched.

"Um…………"

Asuhain slowly got up, and the blanket slipped off her shoulders with a soft thud. For a long time, she stared blankly at the blanket lying on the floor.

"Good morning."

As soon as I called out, Tomorrow Ye Yuan's eyes slowly regained their clarity, and she suddenly looked at the notebook she had been using as a pillow.

"I...I...! Could I have fallen asleep?!"

"Yes. Sleeping soundly."

"what……"

Asahi-no-in's doll-like face contorted with regret as she picked up the blanket that had fallen to her feet.

"You... covered me up like this...?"

"Hmm. You look really tired, I was thinking of letting you take a nap."

"...Thank you. But...if I could, I'd prefer you wake me up."

Tomorrow, Ye Yuan looked up at the clock, his expression filled with regret.

"She only slept for a short twenty minutes. At least from the time I arrived."

"But for me, every moment is precious. To surpass you and become number one... no amount of time is ever enough."

I understand how she felt. Last semester, during the midterm exams, I was also fixated on maintaining my top grade in the grade, and I felt like there was never enough time, frantically cutting back on my sleep...

However, the position I valued as much as my life wasn't actually as important as I thought. Mizuto made me realize this by taking the top spot from me…

"Asuhain-kun, I want to ask you... why are you so determined to beat me?"

Facing her, who seemed just like me back then, I couldn't help but ask her this question.

To maintain my image as the top student in my grade, I was determined to get first place. So, by the same token, what motivates Asuha-in to aim for first place?

"Because that's all I have to offer."

Asahi-no-Yuan picked up her mechanical pencil again, opened her textbook, and answered in a firm tone:

"I... I've always been small and not good at arguing. So when those boys made fun of my name as 'promiscuous,' I couldn't yell back... So, I could only study. To teach those guys a lesson, I had to study hard..."

Even as he spoke, Asahi-no-Yuan continued reviewing his lessons. It seemed perfectly natural for him to do so.

Even though my hard work paid off and I got a perfect score, the boys would only praise me for being fast or good at video games, calling me a nerd. I still remember the frustration and resentment I felt back then.

"So, you've been studying so hard all this time? Just to get back at those people?"