"You there! Last seat! Shion-kun!"
Yinglan-sensei’s voice cut through the post-test chatter. "Quickly, bring your answer sheet to the front!"
"Ann—okay, Sensei," Reikou replied, standing up with a stack of papers that looked suspiciously thick for someone who didn't know the answers.
As he submitted his work, his eyes locked onto Meiyu. She was moving toward the exit, her expression a mix of focus and hidden anxiety. Reikou didn't hesitate. Grabbing a spare pen and a sheet of paper, he slipped out of the classroom, trailing her like a shadow.
Meanwhile, back in the classroom...
"Hey! Ryuuto-kun!" Shiori leaned over his desk. "How was the test? Did you actually write something?"
Ryuuto sat perfectly still, his head bowed. He didn't respond for a long beat.
"Huh? Ryuuto-Kun? Are you sleeping?"
"WAHHHHHHHHH! WAHHHHHHH!"
Ryuuto suddenly erupted into a waterfall of tears. Shiori jumped back, her face pale with terror. "W-what happened?! Did I say something wrong?!"
"WHHHH! Why are you asking about my test?!" Ryuuto wailed, snot and tears splashing onto his desk.
"Ahhh! Gomen! I'm sorry!" Shiori apologized frantically, trying to calm him. "It’s okay! It's just one test! It’s okay to fail!"
Hic! Hic! "Fail?!" Ryuuto yelled, suddenly stopping the waterworks. "Do you know what I did for forty minutes? I wrote every single question... five times!"
"Wha—?!" Shiori stared at him in disbelief. "So you spent the whole time copying the questions instead of answering them?"
"You're really a duffer," she sighed, shaking her head.
Suddenly, Ryuuto’s mood flipped. He crossed his arms and flashed a proud, smug grin. "Don't be fooled, Shiori-chan. That was just a 'trial ball.' I was testing the potential of the question paper!"
Shiori stared at him like he was a specimen in a lab.
"The questions were too easy," Ryuuto explained pompously. "I could have topped the class easily. But I don't want the burden of the 'Topper Tag.' I left the answers blank so Yinglan-sensei could finish grading early and go home to his family! I SAVED THE TOPPERS AND THE TEACHER!"
Ryuuto closed his eyes, basking in his own imaginary glory. Shiori just looked ready to hunt him for sport.
In the school library, the air was thick with the scent of old paper and silence. Meiyu sat at a corner table, flipping through a magazine, her eyes constantly darting to her phone.
‘If Father sees that video... it’s over,’ she thought, her brow furrowed in tension. ‘I have to find out who uploaded it.’
Hidden behind a nearby bookshelf, Reikou was peeking through the gaps in the books. Scritch-scratch. He noted something down on his paper.
[Observation #1: Subject looks for clues when she thinks she is alone.]
But the library was too silent. As Reikou’s pen moved across the paper, the friction created a soft, rhythmic rubbing sound.
Meiyu’s ears twitched. ‘That’s the third time I’ve heard that... Is someone here?’
She didn't move her head. She used her peripheral vision to scan the bookshelf gaps. She saw a flicker of movement a human eye looking back at her. Reikou, sensing the danger, instinctively ducked.
BIG MISTAKE.
The sudden movement confirmed everything. Meiyu’s heart skipped. ‘Someone is definitely watching me. And based on that clumsy movement... it’s 100% Reikou-kun.’
‘Did she notice me?’ Reikou thought, his heart hammering against his ribs.
‘It’s Reikou-kun. Why is he stalking me?’ Meiyu thought, acting like she was still reading.
The atmosphere in the library shifted instantly. It was no longer a place of study it was a battlefield of nerves.
‘She 100% noticed me,’ Reikou panicked. ‘I need an escape plan. I can’t let her catch me acting like a creep!’
‘He knows I noticed him,’ Meiyu strategized. ‘But if I move now, he’ll run. I need confirmation. I have to lure the shadow into the light.’
One wanted to catch.
One wanted to escape.
Both were locked in a high-stakes game of mental chess.
[End of Chapter 13]
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