The window seat in the back row, the king’s homeland.
While the teacher kept droning on at the front of the classroom, Lin Cun’an gazed out at the blue sky and white clouds.
Beneath the sky lay the schoolyard.
A class was having PE on the schoolyard.
One by one, the Japanese girls took off their sailor uniforms and changed into gym clothes. Lin Cun’an had only ever seen a scene like this in anime before… Though, of course, he’d seen plenty of it in doujinshi, too. Those books had all sorts of ways to play around in gym clothes.
O-Of course, I mean pure-love doujinshi!
The stuff in NTR doujinshi just goes in one ear and out the other…! It’s indecent! Absolutely indecent! He thought it was disgusting! Disgusting! Disgusting—
Lin Cun’an tossed those wild thoughts aside and went back to watching the girls enjoy their youth. As for the Japanese boys, he ignored every last one of them.
Among the crowd, he spotted a jet-black ponytail.
A tall figure, slender limbs, skin as white as snow.
It was Siyuan Liangxiang, warming up with a forward bend. Everyone around her, boys and girls alike, was watching.
Siyuan Liangxiang stood out like a flower blooming in the grass.
“Hm?”
Siyuan Liangxiang had been reaching for her toes with her fingers when she suddenly turned around and looked up toward the school building.
She saw a boy watching her from one of the windows.
…It’s Xiao Lin.
The corner of Siyuan Liangxiang’s mouth lifted ever so slightly. She raised a hand to her chest and waved.
“What is it, Liangxiang?” a classmate asked.
“Nothing…” Siyuan Liangxiang gave a soft laugh.
“Oh? Did you spot Songyuan?” The girl grinned mischievously. “You two are so close… I’m jealous.”
“N-No…” Siyuan Liangxiang hurried to explain. “Bu and I just grew up together.”
That’s right. Bu and I are just childhood friends.
Siyuan Liangxiang told herself. And Xiao Lin and I are… just ordinary classmates.
That was all.
What animal instincts.
Lin Cun’an clicked his tongue. Even from this far away, and looking down from above, Siyuan Liangxiang had pinpointed his position right away. Was this the confidence of the Karate Club captain?
He looked away and went back to listening to the lesson.
【Hooost! It’s already been half a day! Why haven’t you asked Ai-chan for help even once!? Beep! Ai-chan is making a huge fuss to get her host’s attention.】
“This problem…”
Lin Cun’an looked at his textbook.
He could now be called an expert in Chinese, but English still had him stumped… Oh, no, this was a math textbook.
He had no idea where he’d tossed his high school math knowledge, and now he’d forgotten the Pythagorean theorem completely.
And math was the most honest subject of all. It would never lie to you: if you didn’t know something, you didn’t know it.
So Lin Cun’an quickly gave up and looked out the window again.
The system? What the hell was it even good for…?
Yesterday it had sworn up and down about some “chasing love all the way to the crematorium,” and now, not even half a day later, it was back, desperate to make its presence known.
What a useless thing.
【Hoo—】
He cut it off and started thinking about something else. Lin Cun’an spun his pen as he thought.
He hadn’t even gotten as far as thinking about the situation in Syria when the teacher’s booming “Xiao Lin!” jolted him upright.
“H-Here.”
“Then tell us how to solve this problem.”
Sometimes, doing certain things comes with a price. If you daydream in class, the teacher might catch you.
“Uh…” It was a fill-in-the-blank question. The board was covered in formulas written with English letters, making Lin Cun’an wonder, ‘Is this really math?’ If it were multiple choice, at least he’d have a chance of guessing.
But it was a fill-in-the-blank question!
Lin Cun’an had lived two lives, but his math skills hadn’t improved. In some other areas, though, he’d grown a lot. Like his thick skin.
He was about to answer, “I dunno,” when he thought of a way to solve it.
(You stupid system! Are you there?)
【Here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here! Beep! Ai-chan is always standing by for her host… But Ai-chan must emphasize that she isn’t stupid! Ai-chan’s IQ is higher than…】
(If your IQ is really that high, tell me how to solve this problem.)
【Heh-heh, I knew you’d be dying to rely on Ai-chan. After all, in this era, systems are justice… Beep! Ai-chan proudly thrusts out her 36D chest…】
(If you can’t solve it, shut up!)
【…0…】
“The answer is O,” Lin Cun’an answered at once.
“…Oh, Xiao Lin. I didn’t expect you to be paying attention,” the math teacher said in surprise. “Then stop looking all over the place.”
“My eyes were getting a little tired, so I looked into the distance.” Lin Cun’an sat down gracefully.
“Oh, so the answer’s 0.”
“I thought it was 1. How can Xiao Lin be 0?”
“His answer, O, is the right one…”
The students around him started comparing the answers they’d worked out.
(Not bad.)
【Of course! Ai-chan is a high-intelligence system. Beep! Ai-chan spins around proudly. And even though her host scared her just now, Ai-chan won’t say so. She hopes her host will figure it out on his own and comfort her with some gentle words…】
(Wow, the sky’s so blue…)
【Hey, hey, hey! You’re totally taking advantage of Ai-chan and then ditching her! Talk to Ai-chan, come on…………】
Once his thoughts drifted away, the artificial idiot’s voice grew indistinct. He only caught the last, distant word…
【Jerk!】
…
The blue sky turned fiery red, and the final bell rang.
After remarking, “Wow, those clouds are so hot,” Lin Cun’an got up with the flow of the crowd and packed his bag to head home.
“Hey, Xiao Lin! Let’s go home together!” Anshi Zhengzhi said.
“Sure.”
“And come with me to get a haircut!” Anshi Zhengzhi said.
“Ah, I just remembered I’ve got something to do. Go by yourself.”
“Hey! You’re the one who told me to get a haircut!”
“I never said I’d go with you. Getting your hair cut would take at least thirty minutes, not counting the wait… I don’t have that kind of free time!”
“Save it. You’re coming with me today, whether you like it or not!”
Anshi Zhengzhi slung an arm around Lin Cun’an’s shoulders and kept it there until they reached the school gate together.
“Xiao Lin…”
Siyuan Liangxiang, her schoolbag in hand, waved to Lin Cun’an, then looked at Anshi Zhengzhi, who stood there dumbstruck. “Who’s this…?”
Anshi Zhengzhi hurriedly took his arm off Lin Cun’an’s shoulders, then sprang back to put some distance between them.
“Oh! Aibo! From here on, I’ll walk alone! I’m off! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!”
He laughed heartily and sprinted off in the exact opposite direction from home.
What the heck!?
So Xiao Lin and Siyuan Liangxiang were already this close? Aibo… you have to find happiness!!
“Him…?” Siyuan Liangxiang pointed a slender finger at Anshi Zhengzhi’s ever more distant back.
“He’s weird,” Lin Cun’an said. “Are you waiting for Songyuan?”
“Mm.” Siyuan Liangxiang lowered her eyes and nodded. “I’m waiting for you, too.”
“…Huh…” Lin Cun’an said.
…
…
