Real teaching, hypocritical gray life

Because the final exams were approaching, the student union issued a notice on that day to completely stop club activities. Although most clubs had stopped operating before this, a small number of students in the school pursued their own interests and hobbies more than the academic studies that would determine their fate.

The cafe where we held our study session earlier, the [Palette] on campus, was overwhelmed by the crowds as we expected. Even when we moved to the cafe in the Keyaki shopping center where we are now, it was still noisy, so we were lucky that the scene did not develop into chaos.

"Anyway, if I find you again, I won't show mercy."

Even if I don't want to, do you want me to pretend to listen carefully? This is too much to ask. No, no, no, the key point is that the strength just now is not the limit of this girl in front of me. According to Ji Ye's personality, if my lazy behavior is discovered again, she is very likely to retaliate against me with all her strength, and it may not be as simple as [pen cap].

Even though Ichinose didn't use that much force when he scolded me last night for staying out in the rain, and that was when Ichinose was angry. As expected, the differences between people cannot be generalized. In comparison, I like gentle pain. So -

"Why don't we take this opportunity to rest for a while? Ji Ye should be a little tired."

Listening to the cheerful noise in the coffee shop, my mood can't help but be aroused. The era of studying hard is over, and the combination of work and rest is the kingly way of learning today.

"Well, if we do it...it doesn't seem to be a problem. Let's take a break then."

The teaching method here is different from Ichinose, which teaches in a fixed time period. There is no specific time. As long as the prepared topics are solved, the study session is over. There is no so-called scheduled time. Whether it is a two-hour teaching or a few minutes of experience, there will be natural conversation. The use of methods for different people is also different........

It is not difficult to get good grades. You just need to study hard and apply yourself to [answer any related questions]. With this basic foundation, you can achieve the final victory after a little persistence. This should be the model for everyone.

In the end, the gap between people after the change is only the ambition to achieve...

"By the way, after so many days, do you feel that I'm making progress?"

"What? This question. Shouldn't this be the type of question you ask yourself?"

"It's probably because you don't feel like you're making any progress that you're asking Himeno."

"Since there is no sense of reality, it's okay to regard it as your own weakness."

"That's totally wrong. If that were the case, then all my efforts for the past month would have been wasted. Just thinking about it is even more unbearable than the distraction I just had. Even though the destination is unclear, it doesn't mean I can't walk. Similarly, even if I don't feel any progress, it doesn't mean I haven't made any progress at all..."

"Luo always brings up some nonsense that makes people unable to understand..."

It's a pity that what I just said is the cruel truth of this world - truly valuable things cannot maintain a specific form, and cannot even be detected by the naked eye. Humans are pathetic creatures. Although it may sound a little stupid, I will feel angry about it.

"...........To be honest, I think Luo's current level is actually about the same as mine...........A few days ago, I felt that I had nothing else to teach. It was for this reason that I was indifferent to Luo's request for leave yesterday. That's about it, yeah."

"Eh, so I could have graduated from Himeno a few days ago. Then why do I have to go through this torture after studying for six hours?"

"That's because... Luo didn't mention this to me either."

Anyway, when Ji Ye said this, which he believed to be true, I lost the motivation to do the questions. At the same time, I also had negative thoughts that I would never have to attend study sessions again.

"In that case, do you plan to help out at the study session held at Ichinose?"

I asked Jiye again tentatively. I have asked this question several times so far. Although he did not resist my proposal, he was somewhat disgusted.

"I can't do that, right? No, I can't do it at all. My grades are at best in the upper middle level of the class, and I know my own abilities. I can't be compared with Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-san, let alone help them."

"Well, it's not that bad. I was originally at the bottom of the class, but after Himeno's teaching, my academic ability has improved. In other words, Himeno is definitely capable of this."

I am not praising her, but giving her an objective evaluation. Jiye did a great job in both setting questions and answering them. I even think that this description is not enough to describe her level. Although she cannot do the same as the teacher, at least she has the capital to fight back.

Even if I still couldn't understand after several explanations, Ji Ye didn't show any anger, but just repeated the meaning in different ways. Of course, if she found out that I was just testing her all along, she would definitely want to kill me.

"No, no, no. Being with Luo and being with other students in the class are two completely different things. I can never do it, and I can't do it as easily as I am now."

While answering this question, Ji Ye turned his head away to express his inner resistance.

“…Is there any special reason for that?”

Although it is not difficult to see that Ji Ye has a good impression of me, but that is all. If it is caused by personal feelings and selfish thoughts, then the development of things is too difficult to understand.

"Of course there are many reasons. How can I explain them clearly? Too much trouble, or something... The main reason is probably..." Jiye was reluctant, with his hands on his knees, looking a little uneasy, "I can't let go. If I do that in front of everyone, I will feel very shy..."

Having said that, Ji Ye looked away as if running away, put his hands in his pockets, pinched his warm and white thighs, and finally covered his cheeks in embarrassment.

“…This is a surprising reason.”

No, no, no, the most surprising thing is that Ji Ye can say this directly in front of other people. Just trying to imagine it, I will also feel an indescribable fatigue.

In order to calm my shameful heart, I took a sip of cappuccino as a cover-up. This kind of coffee is mainly sweet with a slight bitter taste, and the milk foam floating on the surface also makes the taste more comfortable... In fact, I don't care about anything at all.

After a few sips, I noticed the difference between this cafe and [Palette], or the characteristics of this place. There was text printed on the wall of each coffee cup, and it seemed that there was more than one kind.

Is it something that has suddenly become popular recently, or is it an old culture...?

While thinking about the issues that matter to me, I stare at the words surrounding the wall of the cup.

[We are not anyone’s. You are waiting for someone to add sugar to your coffee, and I am looking forward to someone to share the simple bitterness of coffee. ]

The meaning of this sentence is not difficult to understand. Perhaps it will make people who drink coffee peacefully understand the mood. However, it would be too embarrassing for the coffee cup to print so many times on the wall of the cup.

"And Luo too, seems to be asking me similar questions recently. Are you teasing me?" Jiye shrugged angrily, looking a little upset. It was inevitable to be noticed, after all, his actions in recent days were indeed quite frequent, but now he just needed to pretend that he knew nothing and give a calm attitude.

"No one would tease others with such things, I just suggested it as a matter of course. But if it has a counterproductive effect on Himeno, I'm really sorry."

"Phew~ I should be the one to apologize. I did seem a little uncalm. Sorry... But this feeling is still a little strange."

"…What does that mean?"

I tilted my head to the side in feigned confusion.

"How should I put it... When Luo asks me this kind of question, I always feel like I'm being questioned... Luo should know how I feel, right?"

As he spoke, I heard the sound of Jiye biting the lollipop in his mouth.

"I see. In other words—"

"Hey, why are you stepping on my cup? This wasn't an accident, was it?"

"Huh? The cup rolled down to my feet. I thought it was thrown away, so I stepped on it to save you some effort."

Ryuuen laughed and kicked the crushed cup under his feet.

The coffee shop fell silent for a moment, interrupting my speech.

Chapter 216: The Strange Kōenji Classmate

The crushed cup was kicked back to the girl's feet. There was a hole in the cup, and even if it was of good quality, the little coffee left inside would spill out because of Ryuen's rough action. The scene was tense.

"Why is it so quiet all of a sudden... Hey, what happened over there?"

Himeno was not used to dealing with this kind of situation, and looked in the direction I was looking at, at a loss. Then she and I saw the C class who were causing trouble. The leader was the rumored [tyrant], Ryuen, and behind him were the usual C class trio, Ishizaki, Komiya, and Kondo. The three of them followed Ryuen's instructions during the fight at the beginning of the school year.

In addition, Shiina, who was not interested in the internal affairs of the class, also joined Ryuen.

Should I say I was surprised? I had hardly met Shiina in the past month, and I didn't know if there was any conflict in Class C that could cause him to change. But Shiina still had an expression on his face that didn't fit the situation, and there was no tension at all............

In other words, Shiina doesn't consider herself as a member of "Ryuuen's group".

Perhaps he found something funny, as Ryuuen had a grin on his face.

"It seems that the plastic cup was destroyed, and the girl wanted to pick it up......"

Although I am not familiar with the girl who confronted Ryuen, if nothing unexpected happens, she is a student from Class D. The reason for the speculation is simple, the small group she is in now includes Ayanokouji. There are two boys left, one of whom is Yukimura who was in the same group with me in the special examination for favored students, and the other one is not very clear, but he looks very manly.

"Hey, Ryuuen. I've been meaning to say this before. It's time to stop your attitude! Repeated provocations are causing too much trouble to other students."

"Huh? Who are you talking to like that? Don't take yourself so seriously."

Before Ryuen made a move, Ishizaki stepped forward and grabbed the stranger's collar. The meaning was probably that there was no need to trouble the "boss" to do such a small thing, and the "little brother" could also serve for it.

"I'm not talking about you. Since you are a flatterer, you should understand your position. This is not something you can interfere with. Get out of the way, Ishizaki."

Even in the face of violence, the strange boy did not waver at all. Instead, he calmly shook off Ishizaki's hand that was grabbing his lapel and forced him to take a few steps back.

"Are you looking for death, you bastard!"

Enraged by the opponent's actions, Ishizaki shouted loudly, and the low murmurs that were originally existing around him were suddenly shocked, and the students' eyes gradually became sensitive.

"It doesn't seem like a good idea to continue like this............"

Ji Ye's worry was not groundless. After all, it was not impossible for the members of the fighting group to resort to violence. Speaking of which, when things got to this point, the staff of this store had no intention of intervening to stop the fight? They were really fearless.

"Stop it. Are you going to cause violence in a place like this, Ishizaki?"

"Ah. Yes, I'm sorry. This, this is because Miyake's attitude in response was too arrogant, and I was careless..." After being scolded, Ishizaki retreated tremblingly.

"Although I don't hate fools who act rashly based on emotions, you better behave yourself now. You know the consequences of causing violence in a place like this, right? Either do it in private, I don't want to be involved with you."

"I, I understand............"

The person who spoke out to stop the sensitive behavior was none other than Ryuen, the leader of Class C. Although he used violence to rule Class C, it seemed that he was not the only one capable of this.

In such a public place, it is definitely not a wise choice to cause violence. Not to mention that the students present can provide eyewitness evidence for the incident, there are several surveillance cameras in the coffee shop. Except for small spaces covered by objects such as under the table, this is a public place with no blind spots. According to the previous turmoil operation, the punishment must be expulsion.

Unlike last time, the class that will be held accountable this time is obviously Class C.

As he said this, Ryuuen turned his gaze away. Because it was a side profile, I couldn't tell who he was looking at. The only thing I could tell was that the deal was going to be made not too far away, probably soon after the Paper Shuffle special exam was over.

"I'm not looking for you, and I'm not interested in either of you. I'm interested in the other two people."

The fearless smile on Ryuen's face never disappeared from the beginning. The blue-haired, red-eyed girl who was [bullied] and the boy called [Miyake] did not seem to be Ryuen's target, which meant that the other party had done some investigation and confirmed that the two had no ability. The remaining Yukimura and Ayanokouji.

Ayanokouji's behavior is definitely not too outstanding, but following the leader [Horikita Suzune] will inevitably arouse suspicion. As for Yukimura... the four of them are probably a study group. Other than that, I can't guess any other natural possibilities.

Because Yukimura's academic ability is high, he is responsible for teaching Miyake and the girl with blue hair and red eyes to prevent them from dropping out. As for Ayanokouji, let's just assume that he was sent by Horikita to inspect the situation. The two of them did not attend the study session held by Horikita, so there must be a contradiction. Full seats can also be explained.

"Did you receive the gift?"

"What on earth are you talking about............"

"Don't you know............"

The two sides had a very intriguing conversation, and Ryuen's purpose became easier for other students to understand. No, this tough approach of asking questions directly was something Ryuen had never thought of hiding from the beginning. As expected, after getting the result he wanted, he hoped that students from other classes, even senior students, would know about it.

In this coffee shop, there are not only first-year students, but also senior students.

Then when that day comes, my choices and words will determine the outcome.

Ryuen looked away and turned his head to talk to Shiina. Because he lowered his voice this time, and the students around him were talking again, I couldn't hear what Ryuen was saying. Shiina has always been a soft-spoken girl in my impression.

All in all, there was a subtle conversation among the members of Class C. The Ishizaki trio also behaved respectfully towards Shiina, similar to the atmosphere of an employee facing his superior.

"What exactly do you want to do, Ryuen? If there is something wrong, please solve it as soon as possible. If you want to cause trouble, please be decisive. We are very busy. Are you nagging with meaningless meaning, or do you simply want to waste our time and disturb us?"

"It's really nothing. Isn't it normal for students in the same grade to greet each other? But, I'll tell you something. I'll come to see you again soon."

Since Miyake stood up from his seat, his attitude and tone have been quite tough. If it were an ordinary student, he would be as angry and anxious as Ishizaki, but at least this is not seen in Ryuen. On the contrary, he was quite calm and even the tone of his response was vague.

"............What does this mean?"

Ignoring Miyake who still chose to contradict him at this time, Ryuen led Ishizaki and the other two out of the cafe. However, Shiina volunteered to stay, and the other companions did not care about this.

It seems that the other party is a lone actor who just happened to join Ryuen's team. However, why Shiina is respected by the students who follow Ryuen is a matter of concern.

Ryuen had already left, but Shiina was still talking to the other party. Although he wanted to know the content of the conversation between the five people, unfortunately, the students in the coffee shop regained their vitality and became noisy again, and he had no chance to get close to the other party. If he read the lip language, it would be too tiring, and the only thing he could do was to look at Himeno in bewilderment.

"............Those guys in Class C really like to do this kind of thing, but fortunately we are not Class C's competitors in this exam." After Ryuuen left, Ji Ye breathed a sigh of relief.

"But Class B would be more difficult to deal with, but Class C seems to be easy to deal with in terms of academic ability."

"That's true, but isn't it difficult to face Class C in a sense? It's troublesome to be picked on for no reason. In comparison, Class B at least won't take direct action."

Once things involve physical attacks, things will become troublesome. But fortunately, in this society bound by moral laws, such violent incidents can only be realized through clever design.

"............And is Class C really that bad at academic performance?"

"Well, I know a little bit about this. Although there are students with high academic ability, are they considered as [National First-Class Protected Animals] in terms of quantity? Like the endangered crested ibis. The class as a whole is still weak in terms of academic ability. But why are you asking this suddenly?"

"Because they have a lot of free time, they have time to bother the enemy class. Although it can be called mutual sacrifice, it is impossible to do such a thing without certainty."

Without a certain degree of confidence.........Jinye is right, after just one month of review time, the results can be more or less presentable. If even this cannot make up for it, then the other party's original level is bound to be incredible.

No, after all, I didn’t consider the situation that the other party was not reviewing…

"Why are these guys in a school like this? Are the students taking the entrance exam even more stupid than these idiots who are always thinking about causing trouble?"

After hearing Himeno say "idiot" several times in a row, I couldn't help but feel confused emotionally, or more accurately, at a loss. Although it is an insulting word, the feeling it brings to people is quite different when it is put together. How should I describe it? I don't know.

"............Didn't Ichinose say this in class before? The criteria for admission are not based solely on academic ability, otherwise there would be no possibility of promotion for lower-ranked classes."

"Perhaps the school is attracted by their personalities. Although they are unreasonable, at least they are keen to take the initiative. It is quite rare to be able to act recklessly within the rules."

"This standard is too ridiculous... But everyone should come here for the publicity of this school, and I have no say in this matter. If you can choose to continue your studies and find a job as long as you graduate, no student will not be tempted by this. I was also tempted by this... Why did you fall?"

I was somehow dragged into this topic, but what would I think after being questioned? My current situation should be... trying my best to solve the other person's confusion.

I always feel that this statement cannot be called a certain kind of mood, and I don’t understand it at all. It’s better to say that I am just following my own action mode, and similar topics seem to be just for coping.

"Having trouble making ends meet is also a reason to choose this school. This school is so special that it doesn't charge accommodation fees, and you can survive even without points... In short, after three years in society, you can save a lot of living expenses."

He gave an answer that sounded like an answer, and because the topics were similar, Himeno did not doubt it.

"Ah, come to think of it, I did consider that. But what attracted me the most was that I could go to school and find a job as I pleased, and I could stay in Class A until graduation. Although I still had the fluke of thinking that I could enjoy the security as long as I graduated from this school."