Practical teaching, all I want is your reward.

Finally, Karuizawa Megumi went to the bathroom to wash her hands and change back into her own clothes, finally getting rid of the state she had just been in, although her face was still a little flushed and she was clearly not calm yet.

Chapter 353 Girls with Duplicate Attributes

It was impossible to finish 40 questions in one day. Suzuki Toru spent the afternoon playing with Karuizawa Megumi and listening to her talk about many of her teenage worries.

That evening, Suzuki Toru escorted her home, but he didn't walk all the way to her floor, since it would be too conspicuous for a man to go up there alone.

Although taking leave wasn't considered a particularly serious matter, it was still quite alarming to many students, and Suzuki Tetsu received a lot of messages of concern for him.

If even he has people who care about him, then Karuizawa Megumi is even more so.

However, no one should be connecting the two yet; it's just too frightening to think about.

The following morning, Suzuki Toru appeared in Class A's classroom, and Kamuro Masumi, sitting next to him, naturally asked, "Were you in the dorm yesterday?"

Instead of asking if she had any health problems, she asked if she was in the dorm. That's really her style.

"I felt a little dizzy and spent half the day lying in my dorm." Suzuki Toru looked at her desk. "Do you have yesterday's notes?"

The course is not completely over yet. Teachers can't just rush through the semester's courses and then leave students to review on their own for a month.

"How strange, so you actually have to borrow my notes one day." Kamuro Masumi hummed twice, then handed the notes she had prepared to Suzuki Toru. "Yamamura will be waiting for you at the library this afternoon."

"Why are you the one relaying the message?" Suzuki Toru asked, puzzled.

"Is that not allowed?" Masumi Kamuro felt she didn't need to explain too much to him. "You'd better not stand me up. If you do, I'll never forgive you again."

Suzuki Toru glanced at Yamamura Miki not far away. The girl was sitting upright, showing no sign of anything amiss.

Soon, Majima Tomoya's English class started today. He glanced at Suzuki Toru but didn't say anything.

As time went by, today's class came to a successful end.

Suzuki Toru grabbed his schoolbag and left the classroom decisively in front of Kamuro Masumi.

"How strange, he didn't bring a lunchbox today," Kamuro Masumi frowned.

……

Perhaps it was a month before the exam, the library was full of students, with older students taking up the best seats, while first-year students could only sit in the aisles or other places.

"There are so many people!" Miki Yamamura seemed a little surprised.

"Is this your first time at the library?" Suzuki Toru was not surprised. During exam periods, the library was always the most crowded place.

"Eh, this is the first time," Miki Yamamura whispered. "Usually I'm in the dorm... studying by myself and stuff..."

“It’s not too late to relax now.” Suzuki Toru led her to a seat. “It’s hard to relax when you’re studying alone, but when you come to the library and think about how many other people are just as anxious as me, you’ll immediately feel relaxed.”

Miki Yamamura kept a straight face. Was this considered a lame joke?

It sounds like a struggling student trying to comfort themselves.

Soon, Suzuki Toru found a quiet spot and sat down with her.

"Um, what should I do next?" Miki Yamamura took out her textbooks and notes. In order to carry out Arisu Sakayanagi's plan, she decided to make herself look a little stupid.

"Wait a minute, there's one more guy." Suzuki Toru checked his phone, then looked around and saw the students from Class D, Class C, and Class B having a study session.

Miki Yamamura was a little nervous, not knowing who he was talking about.

A while later, a girl with braided pigtails and black-rimmed glasses came running over. She seemed to have overexerted herself, her full chest heaving as she panted.

"Waaah, I'm so sorry, I'm late..." Sakura Airi blushed and apologized to Suzuki Toru immediately.

"Don't worry about it, I only arrived a few minutes earlier than you." Suzuki Tetsu felt a little strange. The legendary online idols apologize to people every day in private, so it turns out that not all idols are like Fuyuko?

Miki Yamamura looked at Airi Sakura with curiosity. Although she had a weak presence and spoke very little, she was not as socially awkward as Airi Sakura. At least she was able to muster up the courage to observe the other person's actions.

Sakura Airi became even more nervous under her gaze, and felt somewhat at a loss.

“She’s Yamamura, my classmate and exam partner. Like you, she’s someone who needs tutoring.” Suzuki Toru gestured for Sakura Airi to sit next to him. “Yamamura, this is Sakura from Class D, my good friend.”

The two girls' eyes met, but Sakura Airi immediately looked away, while Yamamura Miki didn't know how to greet them.

It seems that pairing two girls with similar attributes together is not very effective.

"Relax, we're just reviewing for the exam." Suzuki Toru tried to keep his voice down. "Although I'm the one in charge of tutoring, Yamamura-kun, I'm sorry I didn't tell you beforehand, because the punishment for this special exam is expulsion, and I can't watch Sakura-kun drop out of school."

Miki Yamamura nodded; she didn't have any objections to it anyway.

"I'm sorry, I've troubled you again." Sakura Airi lowered her head. She knew she was not popular and was introverted. She didn't dare to attend either the study group hosted by Hirata Yosuke or the study group hosted by Horikita Suzune.

“I already said it’s okay, I’m the one who asked you to come,” Suzuki Tetsu said. “Besides, maybe things will change a little.”

Are you talking about making friends?

Sakura Airi secretly glanced at Yamamura Miki, feeling that the other woman shared a similar aura with her.

"To be honest, I don't know your specific situation yet. Could you let me take a look?" Suzuki Tetsu asked.

Suzuki Toru was somewhat surprised when he saw the notes and textbooks that Sakura Airi carefully handed over, thinking that her grades weren't very good. Her handwriting on the blackboard was so good, much better than Karuizawa Megumi's.

After asking a few more questions about her grades, I discovered that Sakura Airi had surpassed Karuizawa Megumi and was even catching up with Kamuro Masumi at the beginning of the semester.

No wonder she hasn't dropped out of school after more than half a year; there's a reason for that.

Suzuki Toru checked Yamamura Miki's notes again, feeling a little strange. Although grades cannot be completely determined by the quality of handwriting, this girl is actually not that bad, is she?

A student who can consciously highlight key points and add supplementary information on the blackboard is already beyond the average student.

Just as Suzuki Toru was pondering what to do, someone called out to him in surprise.

"Hey, is Xiao Che studying in the library too?"

Suzuki Toru turned his head and saw Hasebe Haruka giving him an unexpected and happy smile; it must have been a chance encounter.

Chapter 354 Becoming More and More Outgoing

Upon hearing the name "Kotobuki," Suzuki Toru almost thought he had encountered an older sister.

However, looking at Hasebe Haruka in front of her, she did indeed have the figure of an older sister. Her high, perky breasts far exceeded those of her peers, and below her slightly slender waist were a pair of fair and plump thighs. Moreover, her delicate face was gradually maturing, and one could imagine what an alluring older sister she would become in the future.

"Good afternoon, Hasebe-san." Suzuki Toru was a little puzzled, but didn't think much of it. Judging from the direction Hasebe Haruka had just passed, she must have gone to the restroom and happened to see him here.

"Although it's a bit unexpected, it's not particularly hard to understand why Tetsuya would be studying in the library. But why is Sakura-san here?" Hasebe Haruka seemed to notice Sakura Airi immediately, her eyes sparkling with a strange light.

"I, I am... Please, please ask Suzuki-kun to take a look..." Sakura Airi blushed and stammered, unable to speak a complete sentence. For her, having her classmates discover that she was with a boy must have been a shockwave that swept through her brain. It was already a miracle that she didn't crash on the spot.

"Eh~" Hasebe Haruka stared blatantly at Suzuki Toru and Sakura Airi without saying a word, but her ambiguous gaze was impossible to ignore.

"I saw Sakura studying alone, so I asked her if she wanted to study together." Suzuki Toru wasn't going to let the conversation stay on his own. "Is Hasebe attending a class study session right now?"

Of course, one can study in the library alone, but Hasebe Haruka was heading towards the D class's study group, so it's not hard to see why she was in the library today.

"Hori-kun and the others take the final exams very seriously. They plan to have all the students with lower grades attend the study group, and they dragged me along too." Hasebe Haruka played with her hair with her fingers, looking somewhat uninterested. "However, to be honest, with my grades, I might really have to drop out."

The rule for dropping out is that if a student scores below 60 in any subject, both she and her exam partner will be expelled. Unfortunately, neither she nor her partner can guarantee that they will score above 60 in every subject.

Suzuki Toru thought for a moment, then said, "Would you like to study with us too?"

Haruka Hasebe paused for a moment, then looked at the two girls next to Toru Suzuki with a strange expression.

"Hmm... I'm not worried about Che's grades, after all, you're a student in Class A and you also have time to tutor others, but I'm a student in Class D, is that okay?"

"If there were any problems, I wouldn't have invited Sakura, who is also in Class D."

"That's true, but Che, you don't actually think you're the male protagonist of a light novel, do you?"

"?"

"Look around you, there's one on your right and one on your left. And then I sit across from you. Doesn't it look strange?"

"I see, but I can't let you sit on my lap, that would be even stranger."

"?"

Haruka Hasebe stared at Toru Suzuki with a deep look, and he quickly announced his surrender.

"Okay, I thought you liked it when I played along with your lame jokes."

“This is not a lame joke at all, it’s sexual harassment.” Hasebe Haruka crossed her arms, slightly raised her head, and seemed to be giving him a disdainful look.

Just when Suzuki Tetsu thought it was hopeless, he suddenly heard her ask, "Teaching me by myself... won't that be a burden to you?"

"I can't just say polite things to you, can I?" Suzuki Toru said calmly.

Haruka Hasebe smiled and said, "Tetsu's attitude is really tough. There's nothing I can do. I'll reluctantly agree to your request."

Despite saying that, his actions betrayed him as he walked back to the D class's study room, seemingly intending to bring his own schoolbag with him.

At that moment, Sakura Airi quietly tugged at Suzuki Toru's sleeve.

"I'm sorry, did I make you unhappy?" Suzuki Tetsu thought her social anxiety was acting up again.

“No, no…” Sakura Airi shook her head quickly, looking at Suzuki Toru’s face with a conflicted expression. “Why… why would Hasebe-kun call you by your name? And, so affectionately, call you… little little little…”

As she spoke, her face turned completely red, unlike Haruka Hasebe who could speak of Toru Suzuki's name so naturally.

"Maybe that's how she calls her friends. It's the first time I've heard her call me that today." Suzuki Toru also felt something was off, and he fell into deep thought. "But if Hasebe-san calls me that, shouldn't I call her by her name too?"

Sakura Airi's breathing stopped.

After a while, Hasebe Haruka finally returned. She looked somewhat relaxed and relieved, probably because she was extremely uncomfortable staying at the study session.

"I thought Horikita would be angry, but I didn't expect her to behave immediately just by mentioning your name. That's surprising." Hasebe Haruka sat down opposite Suzuki Toru, a position that made her frown slightly. "This distance doesn't seem quite right. How about we go to a coffee shop next time?"

The coffee shop had round tables, and the tables weren't too far apart, while the long tables in the library made her feel a little uncomfortable.

Suzuki Toru glanced at Class D not far away, where one figure stood out: Horikita Suzune was instructing the students of Class D with a blank expression, showing no change in her expression.

"Is this student Kotetsu's classmate?" Hasebe Haruka looked Yamamura Miki up and down and introduced herself, "Nice to meet you. I'm Hasebe from Class D, and Kotetsu's friend."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Yamamura." Yamamura Miki nodded slightly to her, her eyes slightly evasive.

"Yamamura-kun?" Haruka Hasebe smiled. "He looks cute. Is he Toru's exam partner?"

Miki Yamamura knew she had encountered the type she was least suited to deal with, and her expression turned somewhat awkward.

“She is indeed my partner,” Suzuki Toru said. “May I ask about Hasebe-san?”