My love index is at its maximum.

Tazaki glanced up, then lowered his head to continue copying.

"What are you doing?"

Murakami Mizuiro glanced at the notebook, which was filled with printed text, so neat it looked as if it had just been printed out of a printer.

"I'm helping my teacher's sister prepare review materials," Tsukasa Tazaki replied while copying, using the same tone most men use when giving a perfunctory answer to their girlfriends.

"You won't even spare your own sister?"

Tazaki Tsukasa tapped his head with the tip of his pen: "Believe it or not, I'll have the teacher invite your parents in for another meeting?"

"hateful……"

Murakami Mizuiro clutched her chest, looking deeply hurt: "I thought our relationship was unbreakable, but you actually used the 'teacher-student collusion' tactic against me!"

"I'm busy. If you don't have anything to do, go cool off under the air conditioner vent."

"Something's up..." Murakami Mizuiro said cheerfully while wiping the sweat from her forehead with a towel, "The school's anonymous forum exploded again last night. Nearly a hundred posts appeared overnight around the topic 'Tazaki Tsukasa from Class 1-F is a scumbag who plays with girls' feelings.' Congratulations, Tazaki-kun, you've become famous throughout Kitagawa Academy once again!"

"Okay, okay, I got it." Tsukasa Tazaki yawned boredly, turned over the page full of writing, and continued copying the questions while mentally planning to go to Kinokuniya Bookstore after school to buy some books on improving concentration.

Besides his limited intelligence, the major problem that the dim-witted Deer Faces in his studies is his inability to concentrate.

I hope to find a way to save my sister-in-law from the book.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Murakami Mizuiro gently tapped his table. "Tazaki, you always stop talking halfway through a conversation. If it were someone else, they would definitely think that you look down on them."

There's a saying that goes something like that.

"What?"

"When I get tired of listening to someone and want to get rid of them, I pretend to agree."

Murakami Mizuiro thought it made a lot of sense, so he pressed for an answer: "Who said that?"

"From Camus's Stranger."

As soon as he said it, Tsukasa Tazaki was stunned for a moment. He sincerely admired the book "The Stranger" and thought to himself that it was really amazing. No wonder the department head had read it so many times.

Sigh, wait a minute...

When did I start to get used to calling her "Minister" instead of "flat-chested"?

Tazaki Tsukasa was so engrossed in this matter that he even forgot to continue copying the questions.

A few girls were chatting quietly in the seats not far apart, and they would occasionally glance over here.

Murakami Mizuiro stared at the ceiling, pondering Tazaki Tsukasa's words for a moment. Then, belatedly realizing what he'd said, his face turned green: "You don't mean you find me annoying, do you?"

Tazaki Tsukasa replied calmly, "If you keep rambling on, I'm really going to get annoyed."

"You're so boring."

"You're the one who's really boring, saying things like that."

"You have no idea how awful the insults people hurl at you, especially from girls. They call you the ultimate scumbag who cheats on four women at once!"

Just as Tsukasa Tazaki was about to speak, Mizuiro Murakami suddenly shushed him, secretly pointing at the girls. Then, the two of them tacitly pricked up their ears to eavesdrop on their conversation.

The girls secretly glanced over again, and the two remained motionless, gazing deeply into each other's eyes.

"I never imagined that Tazaki-kun was such a womanizer, dating three girlfriends while still entangled with his ex."

"He's the worst kind of scumbag ever!"

"A concentrated display of human shame!"

"What a waste of such a handsome face!"

Murakami Mizuiro winked smugly at Tazaki Tsukasa and mouthed, "See, not all girls are just pretty-faced fangirls. These girls..."

Before his lip-reading performance was over, the girls continued their conversation.

"But being able to be a scumbag at least proves that Tazaki-san is really amazing."

"Yeah, especially since you can tolerate someone like Kuriyama, who's so high and mighty. Don't you guys find that strange?"

"Look, he's really handsome."

"Even if he's a jerk, he's a handsome, innocent, and intelligent jerk!"

"agree!"

Several girls looked over again, excitedly discussing whether they should be reserved and say they would think about it and agree the next day if he asked them to be his fifth girlfriend, or be more direct and say that their parents weren't home and they could stay at his place that night.

Murakami Mizuro: "..."

Can this world that judges people by their appearance ever get better?

After school in the afternoon, Tsukasa Tazaki packed his bag and headed to the ATF club's activity room.

The still-bright sunlight illuminated the elevated walkway, and looking out into the courtyard, the lush oak trees exuded a unique seasonal vitality, their leaves swaying and whispering in the wind, while the freshly watered lawn shimmered with light.

[Tsukasa Tazaki from Class 1-F is a scumbag who plays with girls' feelings.]

These whispers would occasionally drift from some unseen corner, and after passing through the air, they would turn into light dust particles, landing on his shoulder with either envy or jealousy.

Tsukasa Tazaki said he could understand their feelings.

After all, the "normie" group represents the top tier of the campus pyramid.

Confessing your love to your crush at dusk, walking each other home after school, embracing and whispering sweet nothings in the courtyard of a romantic spot, wearing a beautiful yukata to watch fireworks at a summer festival, and having your first time together at a shrine after the crowds have dispersed... This kind of heart-stirring youth is the youth that most people dream of.

Tsukasa Tazaki embodies four parts of youth by herself; it's no wonder she's hated.

Pushing open the door to the activity room, Sakura Kuriyama was still sitting by the window, like a vividly colored oil painting.

Tsukasa Tazaki slowly walked towards her.

Kitagawa Academy is one of the top elite high schools in Japan, filled with countless children of wealthy families and countless super-achievers.

And Kuriyama Sakura stood out from the crowd.

Putting aside her grades, appearance, and family background, her signature cold, aloof smile alone was enough to distinguish her from ordinary students.

Maybe I shouldn't return the stockings to her. After all, I'm her only male friend, so it's normal for her to keep a pair of stockings as a souvenir, right...? Tazaki Tsukasa was thinking about all sorts of random things when he pulled out a steel pipe chair and sat down opposite Kuriyama Sakura.

I had barely settled into my seat when I heard her say coldly, "Give me your socks!"

"Clam?……!"

Tsukasa Tazaki obediently took out the stockings from his schoolbag and handed them over with both hands.

"Did you use my socks?" Kuriyama Sakura stretched and stared at him with a barely perceptible smile, the corners of her mouth just slightly raised, or perhaps it wasn't a smile at all.

Tazaki Tsukasa, with the air of a gentleman, said: "How could a grown man like me wear women's stockings?"

Kuriyama Sakura silently put the socks away.

What she really wanted to ask was what Hoshino Hanami did last night while wearing those socks, but she was too embarrassed to ask such a direct question.

Tazaki Tsukasa gave her a look that said, "Do you know what role those socks played last night?"

"What is its function?"

Are you sure you want to know?

Tazaki Tsukasa made an ambiguous expression, which made Kuriyama Sakura subconsciously think of certain inappropriate images of people wearing socks.

I always felt that was terrible...

The minister frowned and instinctively leaned back to move away from him.

"Forget it, I don't want to know, and I always have a feeling you're going to say something disgusting."

"I'm just kidding." Tsukasa Tazaki put the review materials on the table and said with a smile, "They're useless. I haven't even touched these socks."

Kuriyama Sakura snorted at him dismissively, then secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

My previously gloomy mood immediately improved, and it felt like the air itself had become fresh and new.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Hoshino Shikami arrived at the ATF club. After a brief greeting, she sat down quietly next to Tazaki Tsukasa and began working on the English exercises he had carefully selected.

This surprised Tsukasa Tazaki, who had expected her to make a scene.

Shiori Ninomiya entered a little later, and quietly did the same exercises as Shikami.

The clock on the wall ticked away, the western sky began to turn crimson, and the afterglow of the setting sun refracted through the windows of the opposite teaching building, turning the activity room floor orange.

At 5:30 p.m., Hoshino Shikami, who hadn't been distracted at all, handed the homework to Tazaki Tsukasa for inspection.

The exercises are not difficult; they only cover some basic knowledge and mainly test grammar and vocabulary.

When there were any mistakes, Tsukasa Tazaki would patiently explain them, and Shikami Hoshino remained quiet and well-behaved throughout.

My sister-in-law, who is usually innocent and adorable, seems to have grown up a lot overnight.

Tsukasa Tazaki felt very gratified.

It turns out that the idea of ​​dating her older sister can motivate the younger sister, making her give up the bad habit of fantasizing about intimate moments with her sister whenever she reads a book, thus helping her to focus her attention.

Looks like I don't need to spend money to buy books at Kinokuniya Bookstore anymore. The quickest and most effective way to save that idiot Shikami is to continue to persecute her.

Oh right, there's another target to be persecuted.

Tsukasa Tazaki plans to meet the golden retriever again after the final exams.

Under the intense atmosphere of exam preparation, the week quickly drifted away through the window along with the rainy season over Tokyo.

7 month 12 day.

Final exams officially began on Monday.

In Chapter 176, the final exam results showed that Tazaki was still in first place.

In the depths of my eyes, I see the phantom of a fireball descending upon the Red Leaf Mountain.

This was the beginning of a reading comprehension passage on the Japanese language exam. Tazaki Tsukasa read it twice before starting to answer the questions. The sky outside the window seemed impenetrable, so high and clear that the warmth of the sunlight shone freely on his arms beneath his short-sleeved shirt.

During lunch break, he took his lunchbox and headed towards Class D. There was a whole row of students in the corridor holding books and making their final efforts.

“kiki~”

Ninomiya Shiori waved to him from her seat, "Hurry up, Shiori-chan is so hungry!"

"How did you do on the Chinese exam?" Tsukasa Tazaki sat down opposite her and opened his veal steak and mashed potato bento.