"Take care in May, Mr. Che~" This message was followed immediately by a pop-up image of a rabbit reaching its hand towards the screen—probably a greeting sticker.
At ten in the evening, Dubian Che was solving math problems when his phone buzzed on the desk beside him, indicating a new message on LINE from an ID named "koko".
Upon opening LINE, he saw the message above.
Dubian Che: Sorry, I'm studying right now.
Three seconds later, the message showed as "Read."
LINE is really terrifying, especially the "Read" notification, and in group chats, it even shows how many people have viewed a message, leaving no room for lurkers.
koko: Wow, Che, you're so diligent, amazing *\(^o^)/*
Dubian Che: Well, I have exams next week.
koko: I won't disturb you then, good luck! ٩(˃̶͈̀௰˂̶͈́)و
Dubian Che had already put down his phone, but after thinking for a moment, he typed out, "You too, let's both do our best!"
After immediately receiving an "Okay" and a nonsensical sticker, Dubian Che buried his head back in his studies.
Though it was only high school freshman knowledge—they were revisiting—the thought of scoring first place was still quite challenging, especially since the usual first-placer, Kiyono Lin, was slightly smarter than him.
He didn't necessarily need to be first; he simply had a higher goal, keeping him motivated to study hard to get into Tokyo University.
He studied until midnight, and after completing a set of chemistry problems, Dubian Che stretched, turned off his desk lamp, and prepared to sleep.
Every Friday, within the student body of Dubian Che, a natural excitement surged—ah, tomorrow I can finally sleep in.
Being on duty today, he arrived at school earlier than usual, barely seeing anyone yet, but he could already hear the sounds of the Wind Instrument Club practicing.
Exams were approaching, yet they were still so diligently practicing.
Dubian Che sincerely hoped they would perform well in the big Tokyo tournament and secure a spot in the national competition.
He located Yuzao Haomei's shoe locker and put an envelope containing 150,000 yen inside. After completing this task, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Now, there was truly no debt between him and Yuzao Haomei.
Next was his duty as monitor.
He first went to the office to get the keys from Xiaoquan Aonai, the English teacher who also served as class adviser, then he opened the classroom doors and windows, checked if there was enough chalk, and so on.
In winter or summer, he was also responsible for turning on the heating or air conditioning.
With exams drawing near, the usually leisurely teachers also sped up a bit.
"This question will definitely come up in next week's exam, you better remember this!"
"Still sleeping? Don't you want to advance in your studies? Let me tell you, those who don't perform well, I'll be calling your parents for a discussion!"
"We should all know this part, let's move on to the next."
The morning ended, and the first class in the afternoon was physical education. The PE teacher briefly demonstrated how to bump and serve the ball before setting up a match.
Dubian Che couldn't understand why every PE class had to involve a competition.
"Dubian, watch my killer spike!"
Kunii Shuichi jumped up, chest out, head back, abdomen stretched, his arm bending backward above him, his whole body forming an arch.
Dubian Che struggled even with bumping the ball, let alone receiving a killer spike—he decisively dodged.
The volleyball hit the ground with a loud noise, then bounced furiously hitting the surrounding wire fence.
"Can you use a little less force?" shouted Dubian Che.
Kunii Shuichi, on the other side of the net, posed like a senior, "Listen up, Dubian, volleyball is about jumping no matter where you are and spiking any ball that comes your way!"
"Stop showing off with quotes from 'Haikyuu', you idiot!" Dubian Che picked up the ball and served it in a textbook manner.
The moment his hand hit the ball, a sharp pain shot through, and the volleyball, hit with all his might, didn't even cross the net, limply bouncing on his side of the court.
Dubian Che flatly raised his hand: "I give up."
"Finally standing on this court, how can we end it just like that?"
The classmates lightly tossing the volleyball to each other nearby were already drawn by Kunii Shuichi's loud voice, turning them into the focal point of the court.
"Stop shouting anime lines!"
Really unbearable—is this a case of 'chuunibyou'? No, considering his grade, calling it 'second year disease' might be more appropriate.
As the last class ended, Dubian Che—who didn't even look cool spinning his pen during class—performed his monitor duty, wiping the blackboard, his wrist slightly trembling when stretched.
So this is why he hated sports—the inevitable sweat, and the next day, the soreness would render him incapable of any activity.
As for getting used to it gradually? Who wants to get used to it, and if you stop practicing for a while, your body will revert to its original state anyway; who can guarantee they'll keep it up.
For future PE classes, better to team up with Saito, thought Dubian Che as he walked toward the society building.
Opening the sliding door of the club room, Kiyono Lin reading seemed to have perfectly blended into the indoor scenery.
Almost like a permanent fixture of this classroom.
"Whatever it is, if you're coming or not, please explain the reason in advance," the fixture spoke.
"Sorry, I was on duty today, so I'm a bit late," apologized Dubian Che earnestly.
He really hated others being late himself, so he always tried not to keep others waiting—if someone else was late without a good reason, he might not say it, but he would still get upset.
Now dissatisfied with his own actions, he warned himself to not slack off, even if it was just a club he joined to fulfill school regulations.
"It doesn't seem like you lied to avoid anything," said Kiyono Lin, not stating whether she forgave him or not, but just making that comment.
"Aren't you someone who hates lies? I don't want you to continue disliking me either."
Dubian Che closed the sliding door, sat down on a steel pipe chair he found yesterday, and hung his school bag on the corner of the long table.
"You can't even keep the truth going for two sentences, which leads me to believe there's something wrong with your character."
Dubian Che denied, "Wait, that was just a joke."
In fact, he was trying to see if he could complete the "temporary event." Even if he couldn't score a million points right away, it wouldn't be bad to secure a chance to purchase the "Mind Reading Technique" first.
Kiyono Lin remained non-committal, merely closing the hardcover book that seemed endless, and assumed a posture ready for a meeting.
Dubian Che had to admit, with Kiyono Lin looking so adorable, even if she didn't smile or play along with male humor, she was still beautiful and alluring.
However, compared to appearances, he cared more about how to deceive her.
He obediently put on a serious listening face to create an atmosphere of strictly business to pave the way for his next move.
Kiyono Lin might not have noticed, or perhaps she had noticed but simply didn't care—her expression and demeanor didn't change at all.
She pulled out a stack of lists, "This contains the names of all members of the Literary Department. Write down those from your class, home economics, and elective classes who are members of the Literary Society, and observe their reactions to you."
Home economics was a class combined from two classes, while elective classes included art, music, and calligraphy, and Dubian chose art.
"Are you serious?" Dubian Che stared at the thick list, which included names, classes, and photos of the individuals.
Where on earth had she obtained such a thing?
Dubian Che felt the darkness of capitalist society anew; forming clubs was one thing, but exploiting personal information was entirely another!
"Even if your brain is only good enough for exams, at least memorize the names of your peers. This forms the foundation for future activities of the Human Observation Department."
"But I haven't even memorized the names of half the people in my own class yet."
That statement was an exaggeration. It was only a few particularly unremarkable classmates he hadn't remembered.
"Then take this opportunity to memorize the names of all the students in the school."
This request was so absurd that Dubian Che wondered if he had heard wrongly.
"As a member of the Human Observation Department, remembering your peers is basic, but remembering the entire school qualifies you as competent," Kiyono Lin pushed the list towards him.
The girl lightly flicked her neat, straight hair and crossed her arms, chuckling softly.
Moreover, the game hadn't sent an email, so it seemed his exaggerated lie had also failed.
"What after observing their attitudes?" He asked while trying to memorize the contents in his hand.
"Their most proud achievements defeated, feeling remorse, anger, reluctance, or giving up... First, let's see the proportion."
Dubian Che looked up, "This feels like you just thought of that on the spot."
"You just need to complete the task I've set for you," the girl, arms still crossed, gave him a cold superior's gaze.
"All right, whatever you say."
When the setting sun had tinted the room with an orange glow, Dubian Che had finally memorized the names and faces of all the first-year students, taking over an hour to do so.
Wasn't Friday's meeting supposed to be a simple encounter? Why did it waste so much time? Could this be considered lying?
And the rigid school rules—what was the point of making every student join a club?
Was it really expected that every student would sincerely participate in club activities, savor their youth, or learn a specific skill?
Dubian Che neatly arranged the list in his hand: "All memorized."
Kiyono Lin, who was reading a book, gestured with her chin towards the corridor—did that mean he could just leave?
After coming all this way and wasting so much time, how could he give up so easily?
"Kiyono, I will surpass you in this exam and take the top spot."
"Hmm?" Kiyono Lin did not look up from her book.
Her tone made Dubian Che unsure whether she was wondering why he hadn't left yet, or why he was suddenly declaring war.
"Perhaps you don't know, but I actually ranked third in the whole school in the entrance exams, and recently I've been studying hard. I'm quite confident about taking first place."
Kiyono Lin looked at Dubian Che, her tone colder:
"Since the beginning, you've been lying. Are you challenging my patience? I might be indifferent about many things, but generally, I'm not easy to talk to, and it has nothing to do with being nice. If you're trying to use those stupid tricks you use on other girls on me, I suggest you give up."
His sudden seriousness made Dubian Che momentarily lose his composure and even question if he had done something wrong.
"I'm sorry, I was just curious to see if your 'ability to see through all lies' was real. I had no other intention."
That statement was probably true... Dubian Che wasn't entirely sure.
Though he wanted to complete a "temporary task," he still doubted Kiyono Lin's abilities. After all, the "appendix" made it clear there were no impossible tasks, so perhaps there was some desire to test her?
But now that even a half-joking, half-serious lie was detected, was using drugs the only option? But how accessible were such convenient drugs?
"You, constantly lying..."
Kiyono Lin's smile contained no warmth as she spoke, "Did I lie just now?"
Kiyono Lin's smile vanished, her voice icy: "Are you implying that I would lie?"
Ah, I no longer understand myself, thought Dubian Che at that moment.
"I think you could be a lie detector, helping the police solve cases," he sincerely suggested.
"A person, no matter how hard they work, can only change the world so much. Besides, you don't need to worry about my career path," Kiyono Lin withdrew her cold gaze: "Can you leave now? The stench of lies on you is quite unbearable."
"The stench of lies? All right, I'll leave for today."
Then the girl politely said thanks, making Dubian Che almost believe he really did smell.