There were two consecutive home economics classes in the afternoon.

The classroom was a bit secluded, large and shared by class four and class one.

When "Xiaoquan Aonai" arrived at the classroom with Saito Huijie's group, it was already full.

Her gaze swept quickly over the room.

Because of obstructive tools like sewing machines, even if dark clouds loomed overhead and daylight was obscured, the radiant Big Sister could not hide her own light, and it took her about five or six seconds to find her.

"I'm paired with Kiyono," she told Kunii Shuichi and the others.

The three of them made fun of her misfortune, teasing her to be careful of Jiutiao Meiji and not to get her head chopped off with a sickle.

She didn't understand what they were saying, but she roughly knew it was about something like "cheating."

"I just have a question to ask her," "Xiaoquan Aonai" explained briefly, and without waiting for them to speak, she headed straight to the fourth group's middle seat.

As she walked, her eyes lingered on Kiyono Lin.

At a window-side position, shadows of sunlight and beech leaves flickered over the pure black sewing machine.

She looked out the window following the shafts of light, where the beech trees were so lushly green it seemed like they were trying to squeeze spring into this home economics classroom.

"May I sit here?" she asked Kiyono Lin, who was bathed in the spring light.

Kiyono Lin, with her face propped on one hand, turned her gaze from the window to "Xiaoquan Aonai."

"If it were Dubian Che, he wouldn't be sitting next to me," she said.

"Xiaoquan Aonai" looked at Kiyono Lin, puzzled.

If they were such good friends, why couldn't they sit together?

"It seems you still don't understand this man, Dubian Che," Kiyono Lin, still with her hand propping her face, looked out the window again.

"Xiaoquan Aonai" took a seat in front of her at the sewing machine, looking back and asking:

"I only started talking to him properly yesterday, can you tell me the reason?"

Kiyono Lin, watching the window, spoke casually:

"Yesterday at the school gate, the cat fell to the ground, but not into my arms or on my shoulder; today during the day, the cat didn't sneak into my backpack, didn't suddenly appear on my desk."

"What do these mean?" "Xiaoquan Aonai" didn't understand.

"If it were Jiutiao Meiji, the cat would climb up her pantyhose."

"Uh—, you mean... Dubian Che likes Jiutiao Meiji more?" "Xiaoquan Aonai" ventured.

With her gaze still on the beech trees outside the window, Kiyono Lin's voice was cool and indifferent:

"Wait a month, when you understand him well enough, then come back and answer that question."

"He likes you more?" "Xiaoquan Aonai" asked again.

"That's not what I meant," Kiyono Lin said as she sat up straight, putting her hand down.

She looked at "Xiaoquan Aonai" and said:

"In some people's eyes, Dubian Che is frivolous, childish, and smooth-talking; to others, he's responsible, earnest, and clever; to some, he's gentle and kind; and yet to another group, he's heartless."

Kiyono Lin glanced at the home economics teacher who had entered, and said one last thing to "Xiaoquan Aonai":

"Who he likes best, I have my opinion, but isn't it so? Consider this one of your tasks in getting to know Dubian Che, and find your own answer."

This week's home economics project was to make a hat.

"Xiaoquan Aonai" got an A.

Despite her disinterest in academics, when it came to home economics tasks like sewing, cooking, ironing, and folding clothes, she seemed to have a natural talent and always received praise with little effort.

But she was lazy by nature; she enjoyed working on the sewing machine but was unwilling to spend time on it once she left.

From her future self, "Xiaoquan Aonai" learned that she would indeed not put much thought into this area.

To male students, her future self was a stunningly beautiful teacher with outstanding teaching skills.

Her appearance, in a suit and carrying a textbook, was unapproachably elegant.

Such a Waseda University graduate, a teacher at a private prestigious school, a 25-year-old earning over ten million yen, would prefer takeout to cooking her own meals.

However, it is said that after Dubian Che moved in next door, she began insisting on cooking every day.

Could there really be nothing between those two?

"Xiaoquan Aonai" recalled what Kiyono Lin had said...

Perhaps, Dubian Che's favorite was Xiaoquan Aonai?

Was it simply because he had to control himself due to their teacher-student relationship, yet was not content, that he was deliberately associating with Jiutiao Meiji, Kiyono Lin, and Mayi Asuka, to see if she would get jealous, to test her?

"Xiaoquan Aonai" slapped her forehead.

Even as a sixteen-year-old girl, such delusions were too much.

No, if it were a delusion, such a small extent wouldn't count at all, it was just a little twisted.

The class bell rang, and the evening homeroom ended.

"Xiaoquan Aonai" stopped fantasizing, packed her textbooks, and left the classroom.

She opened the door of the Human Observation Department's classroom, and Kiyono Lin sat reading by the window as always.

"Xiaoquan Aonai" had been living in the future for several days and had never seen Kiyono Lin talking to anyone else.

In the classroom as well, she always sat at her desk, reading quietly by herself.

She seemed to have no friends, "Xiaoquan Aonai" thought.

Not even one—Dubian Che was more like a lover than a friend.

Dubian Cat was there too.

He leaned against the sofa, stretching his cat legs straight like a human, as if a baby were reading a fairy tale book.

Of course, it wouldn't be a fairy tale book.

A language she hadn't seen before, a whole page of just one paragraph, it was a book that "Xiaoquan Aonai" would never bother to read no matter what.

It was a bit troublesome, "Xiaoquan Aonai" muttered to herself, sitting down on the steel-pipe chair beside the beechwood table.

Having learned much about Dubian Che from her future self and the stories told by Kiyono Lin, "Xiaoquan Aonai" felt a desire to try.

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