Chiba City Public Library. Hoshimi, now dressed in clean clothes, stood in front of the bookshelf, quickly flipping through books using the legendary "quantum reading method."
Beside him, Kotoko, wearing a brand-new dress, held onto Hoshimi's sleeve with one hand while reading a book with the other.
"Swish—"
The pages flipped. In less than 30 seconds, Hoshimi had finished recording a book. He closed it and returned it to its original place.
Then, he turned to Kotoko beside him. "Kotoko, why don't you go to the reading area and read a book? You don't need to stay here with me."
Without lifting her head, Kotoko, seemingly immersed in the book's knowledge, said, "It's okay. Just pretend I'm not here, I won't bother you."
Hoshimi: "..."
It's not about being disturbed. He was reminding Kotoko because of her physical condition. Compared to normal people, Kotoko, with one leg as a prosthesis, didn't need to stand by his side for too long.
He came to the library today to input books, and it would take quite a while. If this continued, what if Kotoko stood for too long and it affected her health?
"Hoshimi, keep going~," Kotoko tugged on his sleeve.
Hoshimi shook his head, said nothing, and casually picked up another book to continue his work.
Seeing Hoshimi focus, Kotoko quietly shifted her attention to him.
She had two purposes for staying by his side: one main and one secondary.
The secondary purpose was to keep an eye on him. She wanted to see if he was genuinely there to study or if he had plans with someone else at the library.
After observing him for a while, she was almost sure he didn't have any hidden agenda. He was likely there to record books.
Her primary purpose was much simpler. She stayed by his side just to enjoy their time alone.
Just standing together, not talking, each doing their own thing, was nice.
When she got tired, she could look up at his profile and feel refreshed again~
"..."
In the quiet library, Kotoko sneaked a glance at Hoshimi, her lips curling into a smile. She moved her feet slightly and quietly inched closer to him.
"Swish—"
As the pages flew by, Hoshimi gradually got used to Kotoko's presence...
...
Meanwhile, at her own living room, Yukino was deep in thought.
"Swish—"
She flipped through the test papers for the second year of high school she had just bought. She carefully reviewed each midterm paper from beginning to end.
But no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find any questions that might stump Hoshimi.
Sometimes, after some thought, she would figure out even the difficult ones.
This wouldn't do. If she could solve these problems, there was no way Hoshimi couldn't.
"Hmm..."
Yukino grew more irritable as she read. She kicked off her slippers and lay back on the sofa, staring at the white ceiling. Yukino let out a long sigh.
Last night, Hoshimi had scored just one point shy of perfect marks in all subjects except literature. And that one point was very ambiguous. According to the textbook Hoshimi had brought, he should have scored full marks...
In other words, Hoshimi was already capable of achieving a perfect score in all subjects...
Thinking of this, Yukino couldn't help but bite her lip.
What to do? According to their agreement, if Hoshimi got a perfect score, she would lose her autonomy over her own lips...
As for what Hoshimi might do with this autonomy, she could imagine it with just her toes.
So, what should she do now?
Should she make the test harder so he wouldn't get a perfect score?
No, that wouldn't work. She had already tried that yesterday. On last night's test, some of the questions were completely beyond the syllabus.
Yet Hoshimi still scored such an amazing result. And after the test, Hoshimi didn't even mention the out-of-syllabus content.
Considering Hoshimi's personality, this was abnormal. If he had noticed that she manipulated the test, he wouldn't just keep quiet. He would definitely bring it up to force her into doing something strange.
The fact that Hoshimi didn't mention it at all... What did this mean?
It meant that Hoshimi hadn't noticed the questions were beyond the syllabus! It meant that his learning progress had unknowingly surpassed the second-year level.
Only in this way would he not notice the out-of-syllabus content!
"Hoshimi Kiyokawa... you cunning liar..." Yukino muttered under her breath.
She believed, and had confirmed, that Hoshimi was a genius. But even geniuses couldn't possibly master all the first- and second-year high school knowledge in just a few days, right?!
If Hoshimi really had this learning ability, he shouldn't be at Sobu High! No one would just let him stay at home and waste a year of his time.
So! Hoshimi Kiyokawa, you cunning liar! You must have learned all the high school knowledge beforehand!
You pretended to be a poor student, pretending you couldn't understand, just to confuse me! So that at the crucial moment, you could lure me into a trap!
Ugh~ That damned liar! There's not a single truth out of his mouth!
And me! I'm a fool! An idiot! Even though I've lost so many bets to Hoshimi before, I still didn't learn my lesson and fell into his carefully laid trap again!
What should I do now? Hoshimi will probably get a perfect score tonight, and if he makes some outrageous demand, what should I do?
Should I refuse? Or keep my promise?
If I choose the former, there's a slight chance Hoshimi might go easy on me. But he might also use that so-called "vector manipulation" to control my body and fulfill the contract, or use some strange method to force me into submission...
If I choose to keep my promise, then there won't be so many complications.
So, what should I do? Resist or surrender?
"Ahhhh!"
Yukino suddenly sat up, clenched her fists, and took a deep breath.
The next moment, she opened her eyes, the icy blue pupils no longer showing any hesitation.
I, Yukinoshita Yukino, am not a promise-breaker!
It's just a little bet, right? So what if I go along with Hoshimi's wishes?
Besides, it's just a dream, not reality. It won't have any real impact!
"Shush—"
Having made up her mind, Yukino stood up and headed straight for the study.
As for why? Naturally, to research how to deal with Hoshimi's excessive demands once he gets his perfect score.
===
Enjoying the novel? If you'd like to read additional chapters, visit my Patreon page at - patreon.com/cherryblooming.
There are already more than 30 extra chapters available.