Even with chuunibyou, let's learn together!

Page 104

Xia Chuan felt a chill run down his spine and followed him all the way to the school gate. Seeing that he was still walking forward, he couldn't help but quicken his pace and came to a position in front of him, wanting to call out to him.

Before she could even speak, Hayakawa brushed past her expressionlessly and walked towards the other end of the street.

"..."

Natsukawa Masuzu looked in the direction Hayakawa had gone. She knew the tram stop wasn't there, and he had never been interested in shopping, so he must be going to do something else.

What is he going to do?

Feeling lost, Natsukawa Masuzu followed Hayakawa from a distance through the crowd. She stared intently at the boy's tall, straight back as they passed colorful snack shops, numerous cram schools next to the school, and ramen shops plastered with various small advertisements.

After walking for about ten minutes, Hayakawa turned around and stared at Natsukawa Masuzu in silence.

"Stop following me."

Hayakawa said something calmly, then turned and left.

Natsukawa Masuzu stood frozen in place, completely lacking the courage to follow.

She stood there for a while, then turned around dejectedly, wanting to go back. She looked around and found that the surrounding high-rise buildings seemed to look exactly the same. The girl stood there staring at the strangely shaped billboards until she spotted a huge screen that looked familiar. Only then did she hesitate and walk back the way she came.

She turned her head and glanced at him, but Hayakawa's figure had already disappeared. She couldn't help but sigh softly, her feelings indescribably complicated.

She really didn't expect Hayakawa to be so heartbroken. After all, there had been seven exams, big and small, since the start of the semester, and Hayakawa had already lost seven times. After experiencing so many failures, she should at least be used to it, if not give up.

But he doesn't seem to be able to get used to it...

So he gets very sad every time.

……

Hayakawa, carrying his schoolbag, wandered aimlessly along the roadside for a long time.

He lowered his head, his mood indescribably gloomy, a deep weariness welling up from his body and soul.

He worked incredibly hard for a month, but his ranking only dropped, a fact that left him feeling powerless and sad.

Perhaps I should leave.

"Ugh…"

He walked along sighing, but then he saw a bar by the roadside. After hesitating for a moment, he went inside.

Chapter 143 Wine and Stone

It was a very conspicuous bar, its blue billboard standing out conspicuously in the brightly lit, all-glass building. At the top, a brightly lit sign read "Liquor Museum," and several drunken men and women were leaving together at the entrance.

Hayakawa glanced quietly at the strangely dressed men and women, then looked up at the sign above his head before walking into the bar.

Upon entering, one first encounters a foyer where items can be placed, with various floral decorations in the center and oil paintings of scantily clad nudes on the walls, using art to conceal and enhance the erotic atmosphere.

Hayakawa felt disgusted at first glance. He found everything about the men and women at the entrance and the paintings on the wall repulsive, even though he had come here himself. After all, he only wanted to buy some alcohol, not to fool around.

Yes, Hayakawa wants to buy alcohol.

He was in a bad mood... so he wanted to buy some alcohol to get himself drunk so he could forget everything.

Passing through the lobby, the bar's interior is dimly lit, with a band playing jazz on stage. Dancers sway to the rhythm, their languid and intoxicating voices filling the space and getting the blood pumping.

Hayakawa didn't even look in that direction, went straight to the bar, tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and then...

They summoned a young bartender wearing a white shirt and black vest.

"Make me a few drinks."

Hayakawa said expressionlessly, "It needs to be strong enough to get you drunk."

"you…"

The bartender frowned at Hayakawa and hesitated before saying, "Young man, you're probably not even an adult yet. How did you get in here? We don't allow selling alcohol to minors."

"I'm an adult."

Hayakawa said calmly.

"..."

The bartender glanced at Hayakawa's school uniform and thought, "Isn't this the uniform of Ichinose High School nearby? Are you trying to fool me?"

Hayakawa realized this too, so he casually took off his school uniform shirt and continued to look at the bartender.

The young bartender's lips twitched, and he reached out to call someone over to chase this arrogant guy away.

"I'm an adult,"

Seeing this, Hayakawa took out a stack of Fukuzawa Yukichi from his wallet and stuffed it into the person in front of him: "Don't worry about me."

"..."

The bartender squeezed the money in his hand, and just by feeling its thickness, he knew it was at least a month's salary. After a brief silence, he put on a fawning smile: "Sir, you look so young."

Hayakawa didn't say anything, but reached out and took the wine list, indicating that he wanted to order some drinks.

"How is the brightness? Would you like me to turn it down?"

The bartender attentively adjusted the bar's lighting for Hayakawa, then introduced the drinks to her: "This one..."

Hayakawa casually ordered two nice-looking cocktails, and then the bartender suddenly said in a suggestive tone, "Sir, you just said you wanted something that would get you drunk. May I ask if you're drinking it yourself or giving it to another lady? If it's the latter, I can prepare a little surprise for you..."

As he spoke, the bartender winked at Hayakawa, giving him a knowing look.

"……No,"

Hayakawa didn't understand, but his intuition made him somewhat annoyed by what the person in front of him was trying to say, so he said expressionlessly, "I'll drink it myself."

Drinking alone in silence?

"Okay, sir."

Although the young bartender felt strange, he was very professional and responded with a nod before going to mix drinks.

He would mix a cocktail to drown his sorrows, just as his sugar daddy requested.

……

Nakano Yotsuba walked aimlessly down the street, lightly kicking a pebble under her feet, sending it rolling far ahead, before chasing after it to continue kicking it.

When she was little, she often played this game: she would find a badly shaped stone of the right size and kick it all the way, following it wherever it went, until it disappeared. Then she would go home satisfied, but sometimes she would look up and find herself lost.

Yotsuba used to get lost a lot because of this game, but she still enjoyed it. Even in high school, she would often unconsciously kick the stone under her feet.

This pebble was kicked by Yotsuba from the school gate and rolled all the way to this unfamiliar place, as if it were guiding her.

Yotsuba Nakano's backpack slipped to her elbow and hung lazily on her arm. She herself looked absent-minded, kicking stones absentmindedly, and her expression was very downcast.

Her depression stemmed from the appearance of Doma Umaru.

Yotsuba knows Umaru Doma, since she and Hayakawa were elementary school classmates, and naturally, she was also Umaru's elementary school classmate.

When Yotsuba first saw Umaru at school, especially after seeing her name and confirming her identity, she was so frightened that her green ribbon withered. After all, although she adhered to the principle of "harem members do not meet each other" in elementary school and had no contact with Umaru, her identity as a quintuplet was still quite conspicuous in elementary school, and Umaru most likely still remembered her.

If she recognizes me, wouldn't I be very likely to be exposed in front of Hayakawa?!

So these past few days she has been trying to avoid Doma Umaru as much as possible, and has also been secretly observing Doma Umaru, afraid that she will discover her.

However, through this observation, Yotsuba discovered that Umaru and Hayakawa had recognized each other.

Hayakawa remembers Umaru, but forgets about himself.

This fact left Yotsuba Nakano feeling very disappointed and heartbroken.

"..."

Yotsuba looked up, forgetting the stone beneath her feet, and muttered to herself, "After all, so much time has passed, and I've been intentionally avoiding contact with Hayakawa, so it's normal that he doesn't remember me."

Yotsuba comforted herself, but her expression grew increasingly dejected. She clearly remembered Umaru but had completely forgotten herself; such an obvious fact made it impossible for Yotsuba to deceive herself.

But you can't blame Hayakawa... Does he have to remember me just because I remember him? It's all because I didn't have the courage to acknowledge him.

But Nino likes Hayakawa, so I can't...

And even if we recognized each other, what difference would it make? I'm just an insignificant little Yotsuba. People don't even remember me. Doing anything unnecessary would only make everyone feel awkward.

"Yotsuba, you can't cause trouble for your sisters."

Yotsuba softly said to herself, then let out a long sigh of relief, looked around with a sense of relief, and immediately looked bewildered: "Huh? Where am I?"

Nakano Yotsuba stared blankly at the brightly lit streets around her, and subconsciously looked down at the ground for the pebble that had led her there, only to find that it had long been kicked away.

Looks like I'll have to take a taxi.

Yotsuba cursed herself for being an idiot; she had promised not to cause trouble for her sisters.

"Ugh…"

She sighed and went to the roadside to flag down a car.

As she was walking, she stumbled, as if she had kicked something inexplicable.

Chapter 144 A Warm Indoor Environment

"..."

For a moment, Yotsuba thought she had found the rock from before and instinctively kicked it, but then felt the touch of a human body. She instinctively looked down and saw a person sitting by the roadside, which startled her.

"Ahhh! I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention!"

Yotsuba screamed and bowed repeatedly in apology. The other person looked up at her, and their eyes met.

"Morning...Hayakawa?"

Yotsuba Nakano was stunned. How could it suddenly be the person she was thinking about?

"What...it's Yotsuba."

Hayakawa's face was flushed with drunkenness. He smiled slightly when he saw the girl and said wearily, "What are you doing here so late?"

"That's my line!"

Yotsuba immediately bent down to help him up from the ground, but as she got closer, she smelled the pungent, fruity smell of alcohol on Hayakawa and exclaimed incredulously, "Did you go to a bar for drinks?"

"hold head high…"

Hayakawa replied dejectedly, "That's really not a good place. You should never go there again."

He looked up at Yotsuba, his dark eyes sparkling with a clear light, like stars piercing the darkness, as if they were stones cleansed by water.

"..."

Yotsuba felt a mix of emotions; she found it hard to believe that someone like Hayakawa would be out drinking.

He must have encountered something very sad!

"Get up from the ground first."

Nakano Yotsuba forcefully placed Hayakawa's arm on her shoulder and used her body to lift him up. It felt a bit heavy, but still bearable.

"How did you end up here? What happened?"

Yotsuba helped Hayakawa to a bench by the roadside, then bent down to brush the dust off his clothes, saying hurriedly, "If you encounter any problems, just tell me, I'll definitely help."

Her helpfulness and willingness to lend a hand to anyone in need have nothing to do with whether or not she is Hayakawa.

"I'm cold, sleepy, and nauseous,"

Hayakawa looked dejected and stammered incoherently, "What God doesn't give me, no matter how tightly I hold on, will still slip away; what He gives me, no matter how hard I struggle, I can't break free. But it doesn't matter, my heart is free. Even if I'm heartbroken, I'll heal someday. Perhaps choosing to leave is the right thing to do..."

Yotsuba listened quietly to Hayakawa's rambling, feeling a strange sense of pleasure, because perhaps only she could hear these words, and no one else could.

Neither Nino, nor Fumino, nor Rizu, nor Umaru could hear it; only she could hear it!

Only Yotsuba can…

"what…"

Nakano Yotsuba was startled, realizing what she was thinking. She hesitated for a moment, then reached out and gently patted Hayakawa's back to pat him on the back, her tone softening naturally as she spoke: "Don't be sad, no matter what, I'll always be by your side..."

As she spoke, she found herself unable to continue, and lowered her head with a slight blush.

Hayakawa stared at her for a long time, then sighed and shook his head: "What use is an idiot like you to me?"