CH 173

“…”

Silently, I let my pen run.

Doing nothing would block my mood with thoughts of bad things, so I just focused my attention on other things.

I opened my math textbook and turned my head to solve the problem.

Using the formula, I should be able to solve the problem, but the … solution never came, and my moving pen suddenly lost its momentum.

I knew I wasn’t smart enough.

I can’t even solve the practice problems in my textbooks, and I’m at a standstill.

My mother may be right to be angry…, but I can’t even do what everyone else can do normally.

I am really a person who can’t do anything.

I was in self-denial again.

“…Nakayama, are you bad at math?”

Suddenly, Kurumizawa-san, who was studying next to me, spoke.

The room was large, so even with a long desk, there was still plenty of space. This allowed us to study side by side, so Kurumizawa-san and I were standing next to each other.

“I’m not good at studying, not just math. I told you before, right? My grades aren’t very good.”

When I frankly told her the truth, she nodded lightly and then suddenly leaned closer to me.

Wary of the sudden approach, I almost stood up, but it was not for the purpose of skinship, and she reached for my notebook.

“Let me see a little?”

There was a question mark at the end of the sentence, but half-heartedly, Kurumizawa-san took the notebook from me.

She looked at the problem I had just started to solve, checked the past answers, … went through them all, and finally handed the notebook back to me.

“It’s beyond what I expected.”

I’m sure that’s not meant in a positive way.

“Nakayama may look sophisticated, but compared to other people, you’d be surprised at how much of a clunker you are. You seem to be very alert, and you have a lot of openings… I’m kind of tempted by your mischievousness.”

Suddenly, I noticed that Kurumizawa-san was snuggled up to me.

She pecked me lightly on the cheek and smiled happily.

“No, no, not at all…”

Of course, I stood up and kept my distance from her, but I guess she knew that I would do that.

She didn’t seem too bothered by it and beckoned me over again.

“I’m just kidding… Come here, okay? I’m not going to hurt you anymore, so don’t be scared.”

It is as if she is addressing a small animal.

“…!”

I felt ashamed of myself for being so, and it seemed very uncool to be so stubborn.

It is not good to be too sensitive. Fearfully, I returned to my seat. I’m not sure what to expect, but I’m sure I’ll be able to find a way to get back to my original location.

“Well, well, … Nakayama seems to be even dumber than I imagined, so I’ll teach you a lesson.”

“Huh? Kurumizawa-san?”

The unexpected offer left me bewildered.

I didn’t intend to be too friendly, and of course I wanted to refuse.

“You don’t like it? If that’s the case, well … I will have nothing to do but to aggressively approach and seduce Nakayama, is that okay? I don’t mind if I use this time alone with you for something other than studying.”

Once I heard the half-threatening words, I could not refuse the proposal.

I would certainly rather be studying than being tempted.

“Hah… if that’s the case, I’d rather study.”

When I told her that with a sigh, Kurumizawa-san’s cheeks relaxed happily.

“Yes, I think that would be better… You know, I don’t really want Nakayama to have a bad time. If at all possible, if we can spend some meaningful time with each other, that would be great.”

Her pink twintails were swaying, probably because her body was fidgeting.

Clearly, Kurumizawa-san was pleased.

It’s only a matter of time before she decides to teach me how to study.

That kind of unconcealed favoritism was really hard to do.

“Then this problem…”

And so I ended up being tutored by Kurumizawa-san.

Although I was formally the tutor, before I knew it, the positions were reversed, but … I’m not very smart, so it can’t be helped.

On the other hand, I heard that Kurumizawa-san is quite smart.

She taught me well and explained things carefully, so I was able to solve the problems that were taking me so long with ease.

I found myself concentrating.

I didn’t feel any disgust at the time, and I was spending my time as usual.

I was having a study session with Shiho, though it wasn’t the same as that time…

But it felt like a similar amount of time had passed, and it was kind of creepy.

It was as if my memories of the study session with Shiho had been overwritten.