Real teaching, hypocritical gray life

When combined, it will be a sharp contrast between light and dark.

At this time, in the tutorial on chiaroscuro in the night sky painting course, the balance of the picture appears to be to actively guide the viewer's eyes, but in fact it is to fill one's own emotions.

Difficulties, sorrow, passion, love...

No matter what kind of emotion it is, what we want is the most natural and pure one.

So I also injected my most natural purity into the only painting in my life.

An absolutely natural landscape constructed according to the absolute standards of the format.

[It can be considered a kind of purity, because there is nothing. 】

"..."

Yes, from that time on I acted alone, so even now I have no desire for teamwork.

If the rules require teamwork, then change them, even

——Erase.

After reaching this conclusion, my cell phone beeped softly.

The text message notification from the school at that time, although perhaps a little late, was somewhat expected.

[The Monkey group's exam is over. Monkey group students do not need to take the exam again. Please be careful and do not disturb other students.]

Chapter 99 Abnormal Operation of Gears and Unexpected Estimates

"Good evening, classmate Luo."

Kushida from Class D slowly walked out from the darkness beside me and greeted me with a slightly surprised smile.

"Good evening... Kushida-san, why don't you go back to your room and rest so late?"

"I can also ask the same question in return. Isn't Luo-san the same as me?"

"Although the reality shows this, there are always thousands of reasons."

"I see a few couples around...so are you waiting for Ichinose?"

"No, I don't think Ichinose has any reason to come out at this time. I just wanted to take a walk because I simply couldn't sleep."

"Then it seems that our situation is the same... But it would be better if we separated a bit. After all, if others found out that we were gathered together at this time, some bad rumors might arise. Ichinose-san would probably be troubled by this, too."

"As long as you explain it clearly, there will be no problem. Besides, we don't have that much in common. As for Ichinose...she won't be bothered by such a small matter. She is already too busy with the affairs in the class."

"Is this sentence said with a hint of resentment?"

"..."

"I'm just kidding. There's no change in your tone. I also know Ichinose isn't that kind of person."

"That's good. If Kushida-san really thinks so, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to explain it clearly."

"Sorry, please don't take it seriously, it's just a joke."

I pretended to be relieved and wiped the non-existent anxiety from my forehead.

"So what's troubling Kushida? If it were an ordinary person, they would have been extremely sleepy a long time ago. Even someone like me who basically rests in the room all day is a little sleepy."

"A little bit... I'm a little worried about what would happen if I end up being left alone."

Kushida leaned against the railing of the cruise ship and murmured these ambiguous words facing the surging sea. I don't know what she really thought at this moment, but the loneliness of being abandoned by herself can be sensed.

That kind of abandonment is not self-degradation, but more like self-salvation.

Save yourself, redeem yourself, instead of relying on others, or even the power of so-called "Gods".

What kind of feeling is that, self-deception and betrayal.

"Do you need a chat service? The beverage room is still open."

"...Haha, of course there's no need for that. I'm not really worried about that."

After a long silence, Kushida's expression suddenly changed and he returned to his usual gentleness and kindness, but under the natural moonlight he looked extremely sick.

At least in my eyes, the betrayal she understands is definitely not as simple as selling out.

"But I am relieved... We didn't have much interaction, but I really appreciate you bothering me to talk."

"I'm honored to be of help, so you don't have to be so polite."

"Well, I'm feeling sleepy all of a sudden. Good night then."

"Good night."

After a simple farewell, Kushida went straight into the cabin.

I watched her back gradually disappear from my sight, while paying attention to Ayanokouji who had been watching from a distance and was now gradually approaching me.

"Could it be that you were just confessing your love?"

"Do you think it's possible? Kushida-san doesn't even think highly of me... Besides, you seem to have some misunderstanding about me. Why do you think we're in love every time I'm with a girl?"

"If we exchange identities, you will also experience running into many situations that you shouldn't see, and you will have the same idea."

"I'm so sorry..."

"So what were you guys talking about?"

"I can't answer the content, but it seems that Kushida-san is having some difficulties... I don't understand the meaning of that conversation either."

"Is it a question for this special exam?"

"That's why I said I don't know. I just heard that from your tone... You don't like Kushida-san, do you? You care so much about her."

While joking, I observed Ayanokouji's facial expressions, hoping to get any useful information, but he hid it more deeply than I thought.

"From the looks of it, I can say that Kushida-san has me completely bewitched, but at least I know myself well enough to leave that kind of thing in my imagination."

"It sounds humble... If I remember correctly, you are on the list of handsome guys in school."

"Unfortunately, the rankings on the Gloomy List are also comparable, which means I don't have any advantages."

"...I'm going to go to the vending machine to order some drinks now, do you want to come with me?"

Ayanokouji nodded, "My throat is a little dry."

There are several vending machines on the first floor of the cruise ship. I originally wanted to choose a more remote location, but considering that such an action might arouse suspicion, I went straight to the bar.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Hoshinomiya was talking with Mr. Chabashira from Class D and Mr. Mashima from Class A. In order not to disturb their conversation, I took Ayanokouji to find a more secluded place.

No one under the age of 20 was allowed to drink alcohol, and because of this rule, there were no students other than us around.

"So the reason you didn't sleep so late couldn't be that you encountered some troubles."

[It feels like it’s been a long time since we three have sat down so comfortably like this.]

"I had fallen asleep, but the room was unexpectedly noisy tonight, and when I woke up, my sleepiness disappeared without a trace."

[How is your previous boyfriend doing?]

[Ahaha, we broke up in two weeks──I’m the type that will cool down in one go if things get serious. Once I’ve done what I need to do, I’ll abandon the other person…Also, I have some worries, so I’ll still refuse in the end.]

"That's right. Although the exam has only started for one day, in fact, one-third of our six gatherings have passed. It's normal to feel anxious because we have no idea what to do."

"How do you know that what we're going to talk about is this special exam?"

[As a rule of thumb, the school policy is to put all the class representatives in the Dragon Team, right?]

"Eh, isn't it? I thought all the discussions in the dorms would be about this. Anyway, part of the reason I went out for a stroll was because all the conversations in the room were about the content of this exam."

"In that case, shouldn't we take an active part in the discussion?"

"If I have a useful solution, I will certainly participate. But if we can't convince Katsuragi-san from Class A to take the exam, then we have no solution to the current impasse, right?"

"Even Ichinose-san hasn't come up with a feasible solution?"

"If she had, do you think we would still be in the situation we are in now? She herself was planning to discuss this with Katsuragi-san... What about Horikita-san?"

"The battle over there with the Dragon Group was very intense, and she had no time to take care of the situation here."

"No wonder Kanzaki didn't contact us today."

[Of course not. I really think that Ichinose-san has something to learn, so I removed him from the Dragon Team. Kanzaki-san is actually better in this respect.]

[Is this really the case?]

"That's the reason... Also, are you and Ichinose really not a couple? Although it sounds like you're rejecting each other verbally, your actions towards each other are another story."

"Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

[Haha, of course I have some selfish motives, just a little bit. You must have heard the rumor that Ichinose has a boyfriend, right?]

"It's just the gossipy nature of ordinary people. I also want to know how far you two have developed. Are you pursuing each other, or are you being intimate behind each other's backs and deliberately hiding your relationship in public?"

[They both clearly like each other but they just don’t show it. They haven’t even developed to the most basic thing like holding hands. You don’t know how anxious I feel just watching them.]

[I see... Even though this isn't a rule, at least we should follow ethics. I really want to avoid reporting the misbehavior of my colleagues.]

[Hey, what I said is true. Also, it's really anxious to watch. We can understand it if we switch roles... And if you really want to say that, isn't it the same for Mr. Sakagami? He put Ryuen-san into the Dragon Team. If he made the evaluation he deserved, it wouldn't be that kid.]

"...Do I have to answer this question?"

"If it embarrasses you, forget it. Although the gears cannot rotate without power, the fact that they are rotating is enough for me."

[This year's students seem to have special qualifications.]

"...What a mysterious way of speaking you have."

"Don't you think it would be cool to say that?"

“I don’t understand it at all…”

"That's a shame. This is a language expression I learned from my classmates from other villages... But I seem to be dying, so I'll go back to sleep first."

“I have plenty of energy here.”

"That's it."

After saying this, Ayanokouji walked up the stairs without looking back.

After parting with him, I still did not choose to go back to the room to rest, but went back to the deck of the cruise ship, but this time I stayed at the stern.

If I were to ask for the reason, I could only say that the position of the bow was too dazzling and dangerous, and that I needed to think quietly for a while. However, what I didn't expect was that even so, I could still hear slight footsteps around me.

"Ugh."

What is going on? Are there unexpectedly many students who are worried tonight?

I turned around and stared at the corner where the sound came from. Soon a familiar figure came into my sight. When she saw me, her expression was quite moved and she seemed a little at a loss.

"Why is Luo here?" Ichinose asked first.

"I took a nap after the exam, and I woke up a while ago and couldn't fall asleep, so I thought about going out for a walk..."

I was originally planning to try to ask her to watch the stars together, but Ichinose's approaching figure made me sense something was wrong, so I instantly decided to back out.

"Now that I think about it, I've almost returned... Can you step back a little? Isn't it too close..."

After hearing what I said, Ichinose didn't make way, but moved closer, with his nose just a breath away from my lips, and I could easily feel the warmth between my breaths.

"It smells like alcohol. Were you hiding here and drinking secretly just now?" After saying this, Ichinose picked up the drink in my hand.

"It just smells a bit similar."

"Kvass... Where did you buy this drink? Was it a bar?"

"The bar does not sell alcohol to minors, this is purchased from vending machines."

"Ah."

I took the drink and drank the rest of the can in one gulp, then threw it into the trash can beside me.

During this time, Ichinose kept staring at my actions without saying a word. Even after I dealt with the problem, she still kept staring at me.

This kind of behavior makes me feel a little creepy.

"Uh - anyway, I'll go back first, Ichinose should go to bed early too -"

"Wait a moment--!"

Just when I was about to successfully achieve my goal of bypassing Ichinose and closing the distance between us, Ichinose suddenly turned around and grabbed my sleeve.

"...Do you need to chat?"