My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 80

"Even if you have a great relationship, won't it get annoying to be together like this?"

She spoke as if nothing had happened.

He was talking while sipping his drink through a straw.

Xiaoyue and I both turned our eyes toward the expressionless face of the student to the east.

I have three things to say.

First of all, you can't just casually use sensitive words like "annoying".

Secondly, don't you realize how attached you are to the sink?

Finally, at least you can put down your drink when you say things like that.

—But before I could even say those words, Xiaoyue had already pulled away from my arm as if she'd been electrocuted.

"Huh... That's strange...? No way, could it be...?"

Xiaoyue's gaze wandered furtively around, while she clasped her hands together nervously.

I'd better smooth things over.

I immediately had this idea, but I spent too much time carefully choosing my words and didn't have time to put it into practice.

"Yui...Yui girl...Lately, haven't I been dragging you to the bathroom all the time...?"

"Huh? Hmm... It happens almost every time after class."

"When we're walking together, does he always cling to you...?"

"Hmm, uh... almost?"

"Is the number of messages on LINE... many times more than usual?"

"...It seems so?"

I don't know what "normal situation" means, so I can't give a comparison; however, compared to the past, it seems to be more frequent recently.

"Ah──...Ah──...Ahahaha."

Xiaoyue seemed to be trying to cover something up with a smile, then hurriedly stuffed her stationery, textbooks, and other items into her schoolbag and stood up from her seat.

"I'm sorry, Yume! I have to go back now! ...I'm really sorry."

The last sound was very faint, almost like a mosquito buzzing.

Xiaoyue left the money for our drinks on the table and quickly left.

Dongtou continued drinking his beverage while watching her retreating figure... then whispered:

"...Did I say something wrong again?"

"...It seems so."

"I'm so sorry..."

Seeing that Dongtou was clearly frustrated, I brought her a drink first.

Later, Xiaoyue's clingy attitude improved a lot.

Of course, she didn't suddenly stop talking to me. The next day, she greeted me normally, we had lunch together, and went home together after school—it was just that the distance between us had returned to how it used to be.

Regarding the bomb that Dongtou dropped at the family restaurant...

"I'm so sorry about yesterday! I've already apologized to Dongtou!"

The problem was solved in one sentence—Xiaoyue paid for the drinks for us on her own initiative, and we peacefully returned the money to her.

Everything returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

However, for some reason, the strange feeling that made me feel uneasy still hasn't gone away.

I really want to clarify this strange feeling, but the situation doesn't allow me to do so.

Because we have officially entered the final exam period.

"Hey, second in the class."

"...What's wrong? You're the top student in your class."

At home that evening, Shuidou brushed past me in the hallway and tried to talk to me, to which I responded in a fierce tone.

"You seem quite relaxed this time, no dark circles under your eyes."

"Not last time either. You're the one who should be teaching Kawanami-kun? Do you even have time to teach him?"

"I approach everything with composure and calmness, unlike some people who only push themselves to the brink."

"You don't need to worry, I do things according to plan. Unlike some people who deliberately do poorly on a formal exam because of a sudden whim."

"........."

"........."

We exchanged a glance, and I went upstairs, heading towards the washroom.

...Really. Why can't they just honestly say, "Don't force yourself like last time"?

In order to seize this opportunity to make that guy lose face, I used my ample and unhurried schedule to study diligently.

Then, the final exams arrived.

I no longer suffer from sleep deprivation like I did during the midterms, allowing me to answer the questions in peak condition.

"……ah……"

I stood frozen, staring at the bulletin board displaying the final exam rankings.

I checked one by one from the bottom up, following the order of names—no, no, no—I didn't see any at all.

Finally, at the very top, I found it.

"Number 1: Irito Yume"

"Second place: Mizuto Irito"

"Amazing!" "They've taken back the top spot!"

My friends praised me highly.

As for myself, I still can't believe it.

My name is above that man's.

This situation feels somewhat precarious and unstable...

...I understand.

So it turns out that after all that talking, I still thought—I couldn't compare to that guy.

Unconsciously, my gaze drifted to the side. I was searching for him.

Finally, I saw the figure I was looking for standing outside the human wall.

Kawanami was beside him, a comforting smile on her face, and she gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

The guy looked extremely annoyed and slapped the hand away.

Then, the man turned his back to me—leaving Kawanami, who was shrugging helplessly, behind—and walked away silently.

Those steps—were a little bigger than usual.

...successfully.

I did it! I did it!

"I did it...!"

I won! I won! I won! I won...! I beat that guy!

I clenched my fists and savored the joy welling up from the depths of my chest.

See that? See that? See that…! I won’t hide behind you like a little tagalong forever!

Last time I pushed myself to the limit and lost, but this time I won while teaching Dongtou's classmate to read. It feels a bit ironic—but to put it bluntly, it probably means that pushing yourself too hard isn't the only way to get results.

Speaking of which, I wonder how Dongtou did on the exam? Maybe he made it into the top fifty...?

I was so focused on finding my own name earlier, but this time I looked through the ranking list again.

It seems Dongtou's name isn't on the list. Looks like my score won't improve that much all at once... Next time, I'll aim for the top 50.

"—Strange?"

Looking at the list of names, I gradually noticed something was amiss.

Xiaoyue's name was not on the list of students who passed the midterm exams.

"Yui-kun～～～～! I passed the test～～～～～～!"

Not long after the rankings were announced, Dongtou came running over holding up his answer sheet as if he had won a case.

The student from the east end, with tears in his eyes, sobbed and said:

"That way I won't have to spend the summer vacation on remedial classes~ Thank you~~~!"

Seeing how happy she is, did she really do that well on the test?

So I asked her to let me see the scores, and I saw that all the scores were a little lower than the average.

"...Next time, I'll try to improve by twenty points in each subject."

"Huh? No, no need~ I can't let you help me every time~..."

"It's alright, it's alright, don't mention it."

"I don't want to study anymore!"

Dongtou's classmate refuses to listen, but passing with such low scores will be very difficult every time, and I guess last semester's school report card is probably no longer convenient to show to his parents.

"Hey, Dongtou, maybe it's not very polite of me to ask this..."

"Huh? What else do you want to say to me? Do I look so bad that people want to bully me...?"

"Well, if you really have to say something, that's true."

"Do I really look like that?!"

"No, I meant that you only passed with such a low score, and you actually considered applying to this school? You must have been really pushing yourself to pass the entrance exam, right?"

If we're talking about showing off, I, a public school student who didn't graduate from a prestigious university, am about as good as her, especially since I'm trying to snag a special admissions spot... But Dongtou's classmate is even more strained than me. I bet she had a really tough time during the entrance exam... I truly admire how she managed to pass despite her self-destructive personality.

"Ah...you're asking about that..."

The student in the east corner lowered his head shyly and twisted his fingers together.

"If it's too embarrassing to talk about, it's okay not to say it..."

"No... well, I should say it's just that kind of phase... what you call chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)..."

"?"

"...At that time, I thought that as long as I went to a better school, I might be able to meet...friends I could talk to."

Hehe. Dongtou's classmate gave a shy smile, trying to smooth things over.

"Back then, I thought the reason I didn't fit in with others was...maybe because of my environment. But after starting school, I quickly realized, 'Ah—it's just that I have a communication problem...' Yes, sorry, that's such a lame reason..."

"Won't."

I immediately and slowly shook my head.

"It's not boring at all... I think I can understand. It's that feeling of hoping that somewhere in this world, someone will understand me."

"Really……?"

"Of course... Besides, you're not mistaken."

"what?"

"Your efforts paid off. Didn't you meet Xiaoyue, that guy—and me too?"

Dongtou blinked several times in a row.

Then her lips softened and relaxed, and her body began to twist and sway.

"Hehe. Mmm hehe, hehehehehe..."