Living in Tokyo, all I want to do is laze around.

"No...no, it has nothing to do with Uesugi-kun."

"Ah~"

Rie Ayaka let out a dissatisfied cry, pressed her face close to her burning cheek, and rubbed it against it twice.

"Hanabi-chan, you always protect your idiot in your family, but you don't care about your best friend anymore."

"I didn't protect him... Uesugi-kun never bullied me..." Hanabi Hanamaru was honest; she wouldn't make fun of something that didn't happen.

So you don't like me?

“How could that be? Riei-chan is important too,” Hanabi Hanabi said firmly.

“Let me make this clear beforehand,” Uesugi Kai interjected calmly, “I’m not an idiot.”

"Hmph, whether someone is an idiot or not isn't for you to decide, it's for me to decide."

"why?"

This wasn't the first time Uesugi Kai had seen Ayaka Rie make such a domineering statement.

"Why should I tell you why? If the idiot knew why he's an idiot, he wouldn't be an idiot anymore."

Rie Ayaka smiled playfully, looking at the silent Kai Uesugi with a triumphant expression, and led Hanabi Hanabi forward, leaving him far behind.

Kai Uesugi didn't seem to mind and silently followed behind them.

One lively and the other shy, two girls, both dressed in black sailor uniforms, walked side by side ahead. The sunlight accentuated their youthful appearance, and just looking at their backs made one feel relaxed and happy.

The two men's behavior was very different, and seeing this, Uesugi Kai couldn't help but observe them carefully, unable to contain his boredom.

Rie Ayaka and Hanabi Hanamaru are about the same height.

In the past, Hanabi liked to let her hair down, draped over her back, with two strands left in front, naturally smooth.

She now has short hair and looks even cuter than before.

Ayaka Rie prefers to tie her hair into two braids and put them up in a bun, which makes her look more refined.

Hanabi Hanamaru walks with a very steady pace, one step at a time, while Ayaka Rie walks with a little hop every few steps, quickly disrupting Hanabi's rhythm.

The three of them quickly arrived at the station, which was a 10-minute drive from Shen Gao High School.

After quickly swiping their cards to enter the station, Ayaka Rie pulled Hanabi Hanamaru into the women-only carriage, while Uesugi Kai could only squeeze in with some middle-aged male office workers.

After a period of crowded and tedious jostling, the three of them got off the bus at around 8:10.

"By the way, Uesugi-kun."

Rie Ayaka, who was walking ahead, suddenly turned around and asked curiously, "What did you write in that 'independent research'?"

Kai Uesugi didn't answer; he didn't want to pay attention to the guy who had just called himself an idiot.

"If you don't want to talk, then don't! Stop acting all high and mighty!"

Rie Ayaka grew increasingly angry at Kai Uesugi's appearance, and turned to Hanabi Hanabi, whispering in her ear:

"This so-called highly intelligent advanced animal always wears a hypocritical mask. In fact, when he was walking behind us, he kept staring at our legs."

When she said the last sentence, Ayaka Riei deliberately raised her voice, causing several male classmates who were walking with her to turn their heads and look at Uesugi Kai with expressions of camaraderie.

Ignoring the stares of those around him, Uesugi Kai, whose hearing was excellent, declared, "I'm not paying attention to your legs, but to your movements."

"Another excuse for higher animals."

Ayaka Rie didn't believe the answer at all, and continued to walk forward arrogantly, holding Hanamaru Hanabi's hand.

I passed by a park full of blue morning glories, but unfortunately it wasn't summer yet, and the park only had green leaves, which looked a bit monotonous.

After walking for a short while, we arrived at Shinjuku Ward's Shinkyoku High School.

As usual, a teacher with a cane and a disciplinary committee member stood at the door.

They are responsible for checking students' appearance and demeanor; those who do not meet the standards will not be allowed to enter the school.

The three were dressed appropriately, and the two at the door glanced at them before continuing their work.

Since today is the first day of school, there will be an entrance ceremony and an opening ceremony, so there will be no classes in the morning.

In the second year of high school, students are not divided into classes.

After changing her shoes, she walked to the fourth floor of the teaching building, found her classroom, and naturally sat down in her window seat.

8:18:31

"Yo, Uesugi, good morning."

Kai Uesugi glanced at the smiling Iwakatsu Goto standing beside him and casually replied:

"Well, good morning."

Goto Iwakatsu shifted his stool and sat in front of Uesugi Kai, leaning over to whisper to him:

"Today is the entrance ceremony! We're the seniors now, so how about it? Are you interested in helping the new female students get acquainted with the school?"

"If you invite Tsubokawa along, he'll definitely be interested."

Uesugi Kai knew that this guy had invited him along just to make him a mascot to attract girls, since this wasn't the first time something like this had happened.

“No, no, no,” Goto Iwakatsu quickly shook his head. “Tsubokawa isn’t handsome enough to be a wingman.”

"Don't go."

Kai Uesugi resolutely refused. He would act as the wingman to draw the enemy's attention, and the lead pilot wouldn't offer any benefits, so why should he go?

"No, no!"

Goto Iwakatsu looked very unwilling and whispered, "You don't know, when I was in school I saw some super cute female students, the kind I've never seen before!"

"If you haven't seen it before, you haven't seen it before. Anyway, we're from the same school, we'll meet sooner or later. You can ask for it then."

Goto Iwakatsu, with his slightly handsome looks and knack for dressing up, has countless girls on LINE in his phone.

But he mostly just chatted and didn't talk about dating. He liked to keep the other person in suspense, claiming that this was the kind of youthful life that high school should have.

"No, that won't work..."

After agonizing for a long time, Goto Iwakatsu slammed his hand on the table with a loud "bang," and made his decision:

"I'll help you with the cleaning this morning."

"make a deal."

"Sigh, looks like I'll be busy again," Goto Iwakatsu sighed, then thought for a moment, "No, I have to drag Tsubokawa into this too. How can I be the only one suffering?"

Goto Iwakatsu looked around the classroom but didn't see Tsubokawa Takahiro. He immediately got up and went out the door to look for him.

On the first morning of April, there is an entrance ceremony for new students at Shen Gao High School. As their senior, you not only need to clean your own classroom in the morning, but also help the younger students clean their classrooms.

Uesugi Kai disliked this because it was very troublesome, but now that Goto Iwakatsu had made a promise, he could finally relax and slack off.

###Chapter Twelve: People's Thoughts Change Over Time###

No sooner had Goto Iwakatsu stepped out than Ayaka Rie walked in, holding Hanamaru Hanabi's little hand.

As soon as she entered the room, she noticed that Uesugi Kai was looking at her, and she raised her head haughtily.

Hanabi Hanabi, whose little hand she was holding, nodded politely to him. Her delicate little face and small movements made her look well-behaved and cute.

Uesugi Kai ignored Ayaka Riei and turned to pick up the book he hadn't finished reading before and continued reading.

Rie Ayaka seemed to harbor some hostility towards him.

The two of them sat down in their classroom seats.

Ayaka Riei and Hanamaru Hanabi sit at adjacent desks and have a good relationship. Because Hanabi is timid, Riei always protects her when she is treated unfairly.

So Uesugi Kai didn't bother arguing with her and continued doing her own thing.

Around 10 o'clock, after a long and tedious opening ceremony, Uesugi Kai was finally able to relax.

To be honest, he couldn't stand the opening ceremony. The school auditorium was big enough, but they insisted on making everyone stand, and the principal's speech was completely unchanged.

In his view, it was simply a rewrite of last year's manuscript, edited and re-edited to make do with shoddy work.

However, Goto Iwakatsu was incredibly excited, especially when the new students were entering. He would cradle his head and look around, and if he saw any cute or pretty new female students, he would poke them so he could see them too.

Kai Uesugi expressed no interest in this, saying that since she wasn't as cute as Hanabi, why bother?

Now he sits alone on a bench in the school courtyard, enjoying the gentle spring breeze and savoring a rare moment of leisure.

But the pleasant time was always short-lived, and his moment of peace was soon shattered by their class monitor.

"Uesugi-kun, why aren't you doing the cleaning?"

Uesugi Kai glanced at Kyuuji Rika, then continued reading, calmly replying:

"Goto and Tsubokawa did it for me."

Upon hearing this, the beautiful Jiu Shi Lixiang frowned slightly.

"Are you exploiting them again?"

Exploitation?

"I'm not some rich heiress in our class, I'm not your wealthy tycoon, why would I do something so inhumane?"

He flipped through the book in his hands without looking up.

"This is an equal exchange. I gave up my looks, and they gave up a little physical labor. Everyone is willing to do it. Isn't it a good deal?"

“Don’t speak ill of my father,” Uesugi Kai’s attitude made Kyuju Rika slightly unhappy, feeling that he was being somewhat perfunctory. “Also, my father is not a businessman, he is just a member of parliament, a politician.”

"Agricultural association member."

Rika Kujo didn't understand what Kai Uesugi meant at all, but she didn't dwell on it too much and instead changed the subject:

"You must join the club this year."

“No,” Uesugi Kai said, closing the book and firmly refusing. “I know I’m a senior member of the Homecoming Club and have a high status at school, but your behavior of poaching people is absolutely unacceptable.”

He looked up at her.

"I'm leaving. How heartbroken the students in the Homecoming Club will be."

Shin-gao High School does not force students to join clubs, because that would only increase the number of ghost members in name only.