I, Aki Tomoya, will not be a simp.

Because, if things were to be agreed upon, Eriri would keep her distance from him in order to maintain her image, and even after elementary school, it took them a long time to achieve normal communication as childhood friends.

If there's anything wrong with that, before spring break, they were pretty much otaku friends who borrowed games and comics from each other. Although there were some twists and turns along the way, it doesn't matter now.

"Gu..."

The gaze of her childhood friend made Eriri a little nervous. She crossed her arms and pretended to be reserved, pursing her lips as if she wanted to say something but hesitated. A small tiger tooth added a touch of cuteness to her appearance.

She did manage to stop Aki Tomoya, but when she got to him, Eriri swallowed the words she had prepared and couldn't bring herself to speak.

"Just say what you have to say. If someone comes along and sees us together, that's not the kind of thing you want to see, is it?"

Aki Tomoya looked helplessly at his childhood friend, a hint of self-mockery flashing in his eyes. It was truly rare for her to take the initiative to find him at school.

Perhaps because Aki Tomoya didn't hide the sarcasm in his tone, his words sounded very harsh to Eriri, but seeing the calm expression on his face, she couldn't lash out.

Everyone else could see Aki Tomoya's "abnormality," so if Eriri, his childhood friend, couldn't, then she must be blind.

And to be honest, Eriri was the first person to notice that Aki Tomoya was acting strangely.

"I'm inexplicably angry..."

She muttered through gritted teeth, which made Aki Tomoya burst into laughter.

"You're the one who suddenly showed up at my door, aren't you? Why are you angry?"

Aki Tomo didn't think Eriri had any reason to be angry with him.

In the past, Aki Tomoya could have used a smile to appease her, but now he doesn't have time to continue playing this twisted childhood friend game with Eriri.

"Gu..."

Seeing that unfamiliar look in Aki Tomoya's eyes again, Eriri stared at her in disbelief, still unwilling to accept the fact.

"You, you, you really sold all the things in the house?"

Eriri stammered at first, then asked in a seemingly indifferent tone, tossing her golden ponytail and turning her head away – a tsundere gesture she was incredibly skilled at.

Upon hearing this, Aki Tomoya frowned slightly and replied, "Don't you already know? Thanks to those games, anime, manga, and light novels, my work schedule is packed. How can I make money if I don't sell them?"

There were just too many things in the room, and they cost a lot of money.

After thinking things through during spring break, Aki Tomoya completely broke with the past and set his sights on the University of Tokyo.

For someone with a deviation score of only 45, this is not an easy path to take; learning also costs money!

So, in order to prove his determination, Aki Tomoya went so far as to undergo surgery on himself, and found people on Instagram and Twitter who were willing to accept all of those things.

"Those are things you've spent years collecting, you're really going to sell them?!"

Eriri glared angrily, seemingly feeling it was a waste to sell those things, or perhaps because she saw her childhood friend Aki Tomoya's determination to quit being an otaku.

Faced with her questioning, Aki Tomoya pushed up his glasses and replied quite calmly, "I also face the pressure of entering higher education."

It was an absolutely irrefutable reason, and even Eriri couldn't refute it once it was said.

Even Aki Tomoya didn't hold back in comparing, saying, "Unlike you, although our deviation values ​​are similar, my future can't really be secured by being a famous ACG blogger. If I continue to immerse myself in those things for the next two years, I'll be the one who pays the price in the end."

Eriri is different from him. She doesn't have to worry about going to school at all. Not only is her family background different, but she is also a well-known artist in the doujinshi world. She has a bright future. Moreover, even if something goes wrong in the future, she will have a diplomat father to support her.

Therefore, Aki Tomo doesn't feel that he has no way out and can really follow his previous ideas to make some games or make a living as a famous blogger. He believes that people should have a more ambitious goal.

"But why does it have to be the University of Tokyo? A mere deviation score of 45, do you really think you can get into that kind of place? Don't be silly! Baka!"

Eriri said indignantly, "It's true that I'm facing the pressure of getting into university, but that doesn't mean I should completely quit being a shut-in and even dream of getting into the best university in Japan."

With a deviation score of 45, how am I supposed to get into Tokyo University? And I'm already a junior in high school!

She couldn't understand why, even though she and Aki Tomoya were so close, their hearts were suddenly separated by an insurmountable chasm.

"There is no conflict between the two. Precisely because it is the University of Tokyo, I have to put in twice the effort of ordinary people. Where do you think the money for my cram school came from?"

Aki Tomoya's eyes shone with a resolve that Eriri could never attain.

Is the Japanese college entrance exam harder than that in China?

In fact, all crows are black, so don't think you've seen the whole picture with that superficial understanding.

Even in Japan, high schools are divided into classes similar to college entrance exam high schools, regular high schools, non-college entrance exam high schools, sports high schools, and so on...

As for Toyonosaki Academy, to be frank, Aki Tomoya said it was just average, not too good, not too bad either.

If you really want to get into a good university, what you learn in school is not enough. Most students who want to go to university and face the pressure of university entrance exams will choose cram schools, which are a lot of expenses.

If Eriri thinks that Aki Tomoya is just talking big and daydreaming, she is sorely mistaken!

She had no idea how much resolve Aki Tomoya had when he set Tokyo University as his goal.

Although the deviation value of 45 was before the spring break, I could still comfort myself with some reason. But thinking about it rationally, even if I had lost most of the knowledge I learned in my previous life, I could still handle some science problems and English. But as it stands now, that little bit of knowledge is really a drop in the ocean.

If we don't take action, we'll really become a laughing stock!

“If I don’t take action, everyone will think I’m just talking. If I don’t pay for the first term of the academy myself, my parents simply won’t believe I have this kind of awareness!”

Aki Tomoya's words were powerful and resounding, completely shocking Eriri.

Learning costs money!

In particular, he also needed to change his parents' opinion of him. Aki Tomoya gritted his teeth and paid for his first semester's tuition at the cram school to show them his determination. This made them promise that if they saw that he really had this determination in the first semester, they would give him the corresponding support.

His words left Eriri speechless. Only now did Eriri realize that the Aki Tomoya in front of her was no longer the childhood friend she knew.

In just one short spring break, Aki Tomoya has completely transformed!

"But...but..."

Eriri avoided eye contact with Aki Tomoya, her eyes darting away. She instinctively clenched her hands, her delicate body trembling slightly, her eyes looking as if she were about to cry.

=

Thank you for the two spicy strips from 【一刀斩，超凶】.

Chapter 3 Saying Goodbye to the Past

But all of that was Aki Tomoya's hard work.

Eriri knows better than anyone how much her childhood friend loves anime and manga.

Just like Aki Tomoya argued for this back then, this guy who now aims for the University of Tokyo isn't joking.

He proved his determination with his actions, willing to part ways with his beloved anime, comics, games, and light novels in order to get into that top university and compete with those geniuses and monsters.

While shocked by Aki Tomoya's determination, Eriri couldn't understand it.

Because this was a move akin to a warrior cutting off his own arm, Eriri felt unfamiliar with Aki Tomoya.

"The University of Tokyo, the top university in Japan, you can't even dream of getting in if your deviation score isn't at least 70. Even if your deviation score is above 70, who can guarantee they'll get in? Don't underestimate this hellish situation, Eriri."

Aki Tomoya seemed to sense the other person's confusion, and he explained as if talking to himself.

It is precisely on the path leading to the battlefield that one must be prepared for this.

Not to mention, during spring break, Aki Tomoya spent several days meditating and was ready to say goodbye to the past, after all, this was his "new life".

"Moreover, a deviation value of 45 does not mean there is no possibility of getting into Tokyo University. Even a deviation value of 75 only roughly guarantees that you can get a decent ticket in one test."

It's far more terrifying to not believe in yourself than for others not to believe in you.

Aki Tomoya wasn't exactly optimistic. The lack of support was secondary; if he didn't believe in his chances of getting into the University of Tokyo from the start, then he shouldn't have set it as his goal.

"Eri, do you understand? This is a matter where the process is fair, but the result is unfair. If I don't want the result to be unfair to me, then I have to pay a lot of price in the process. All of these things serve the result. This is the same principle as your drawing itself."

Aki Tomoya wasn't trying to persuade her. If he had any intention of trying to persuade her, his calm tone wouldn't have sounded so harsh and unfamiliar to Eriri.

"When Eri Kashiwagi is creating a new work, she must have confidence in creating a good one. Perhaps the biggest similarity between Eri Kashiwagi and me at this moment is that we support ourselves, while the biggest difference is that she has a group of people supporting her."

Aki Tomoya simply stated his position without any unnecessary words in his tone.

That's how it was explained, laying the facts clearly before Eriri, enough to make her blush with shame.

When you have doubts about someone, should you try to find out what efforts they have actually made?

Perhaps this is why more and more people are paying more attention to results.

Seeing the shame on Eriri's embarrassed expression, Aki Tomoya felt no pleasure, just as he hadn't been angry when Eriri had doubted him and advised him to give up the idea of ​​applying to Tokyo University.

There's no need for these things. What's there to be angry or happy about?

It would be good to let Eriri, his childhood friend, get to know him again, and besides, the one who "deliberately" kept her distance was the one who started it first.

Speechless after being confronted by Aki Tomoya, Eriri blushed deeply, her pitiful appearance evoking sympathy.

However, this had no effect on Aki Tomoya. Despite being childhood friends, whether it was due to the other's arrogant personality or a hint of playing hard to get, Aki Tomoya didn't want to take their relationship too seriously.

In his eyes, their relationship was only slightly better than that of ordinary people. It was only thanks to his good temper that he had a good temper in the past, otherwise they would have broken off relations long ago.

Because compared to secret comrades, comrades like Yoshihiko Uesugi are much rarer and more precious.

This also made Aki Tomoya sigh that being an otaku in Japan is really troublesome, but fortunately he no longer plans to continue doing it.

"It's getting late. Your friend must be waiting for you. I also need to strive for my dream. The University of Tokyo is a grand goal, isn't it!"

Aki Tomoya looked out the window and saw that the students coming out of the cafeteria were heading towards the teaching building or the club building.