I was picking out CS with some others. It’s not that my family doesn’t have a computer, it’s just that playing alone doesn’t have the right atmosphere.
I’m a third-year high school student, and the college entrance exam is just one week away.
During this time, the teachers and the principal have been following us around all day, handing out test papers every day.
The homeroom teacher in his thirties adjusted his glasses and said to me with a smile, "Fuitsu-kun, don’t just stand there, have a seat."
Looking at the homeroom teacher, who seemed a bit overly enthusiastic today, I said nervously, "Sho-sensei, I’m more comfortable standing."
Even though the air conditioning in the office was blowing cold air, I was still so nervous that sweat was pouring down my forehead.
Seeing that I wouldn’t sit, the homeroom teacher didn’t insist. He picked up his big tea mug, took a few sips, narrowed his eyes, and asked, "Fuitsu, the college entrance exam is just a week away. How are your preparations going?"
"I..."
For a moment, I couldn’t say anything. When it comes to my grades, it’s just heartbreaking.
The only time I ever won an award was probably the little red flower in kindergarten.
After that, whenever I took any exam, no one else had to worry about coming in last.
The year I took the high school entrance exam, when I came out of the exam room, the teacher leading our group immediately started checking answers and estimating scores with the other students. When it was my turn, he very bluntly asked me, "Did you manage to copy anything?"
Damn it, those bastards next to me seemed to know I was going to copy, every one of them covered their papers so tightly—how the hell was I supposed to copy anything?
In the end, my score was still way below the minimum admission score!
There was no way around it—I was too young to stay home, and I couldn’t go out to work either, because I was too young and no one dared to hire child labor. That would be against the law!
Right, that’s exactly what that Minor Protection Law was about.
With no other choice, my parents had to pull strings and pay tens of thousands of yen through the back door just to get me into this Seiko High School.
Of course, throughout my three years of high school, my grades were very stable—I never once came in second to last!
Now, even if your grades are bad, you should have some kind of talent, right? Good at sports? You can become an athlete. Good at arts? You can apply to an art school. Even if you’re just decent-looking, you can still be an extra, right? But unfortunately, I was born with a naturally raspy duck voice—when I shout, even ghosts get scared!
As for my looks, well, I’m not too bad, but I take the school bus every day, and even that bus driver with a full beard never managed to remember me!
I’m okay at sports though. I remember in my second year of high school I took part in a relay race. To everyone’s surprise, I actually came in first in the opening leg and smoothly handed off to the next runner!
But it wasn’t until my brain cooled down and my breathing returned to normal that I suddenly realized—why didn’t I recognize the person who took the baton from me? And when I looked at the classmate who was supposed to receive the baton, his face full of anger, I felt like the sky was falling.
That incident directly led to me being unable to hold my head up in this class where collective honor is above everything, even until now!
My parents had long given up hope on me. My teachers and classmates said I basically belonged in the scrap heap. But I kept thinking I was just born in the wrong era—if you threw me into a primitive tribe, I’d definitely become a chief or something!
Seeing me stammering and unable to speak, the homeroom teacher let out a long sigh, stood up, patted my shoulder, and said earnestly: "Actually, I know you’ve always behaved well in class—you never fight or cause trouble."
"You just sleep in class. But that also fully provides a quiet learning environment for the other students to study well."
"As a negative example, we have reason to believe you’ve done a pretty thorough job."
"In just one more week you’ll be taking the college entrance exam. This is an opportunity for you all."
"Of course, we still have to face reality. If we know we can’t pass, why waste the registration fees and exam paper fees? You have to know that every penny is earned by our parents through hard work, blood, and sweat. We can’t afford to waste it!"
"Don’t you agree?"
I stared blankly at the long-winded homeroom teacher and nodded reflexively.
Seeing me nod, the homeroom teacher smiled very happily: "That’s right. You should also know you can’t pass, so you might as well just not take the exam."
"This way, you can save money, and it can also improve our school’s college admission rate."
"This is good for you and good for the school—something we can totally do, right?"
At this point, even as dumb as I am, I understood what the homeroom teacher meant. So he was worried about the school’s admission rate.
But shouldn’t that be the principal’s concern? When did it become his? I figured his real goal was to improve our class’s passing rate so his bonus would be bigger!
I started to despise him a little. Looking at his expectant eyes, I said, "Sho-sensei, I’ll go back and think it over."
"Then you’d better think it over quickly. There’s not much time left."
I could clearly hear a hint of disappointment in his tone.
"I understand, Sho-sensei."
Seeing that I agreed, the homeroom teacher said nothing more. He waved his hand and shooed me out of the office.
As I walked, I cursed the homeroom teacher viciously in my heart.
When I got to the gate, I realized the school bus had already left. I couldn’t help but curse the homeroom teacher again in my heart—so much nonsense. If he had just gotten to the point, I wouldn’t have missed the school bus.
Just great. I had no money on me, and I can’t fly. Looks like I’ll have to walk home slowly!
By the time I got home, the evening lights were already on. I pushed open the door and collapsed onto the sofa, rubbing my nearly broken legs as I shouted, "Mom..."
No one answered from inside. She must have been at work.
I was long used to this. As usual, I found the food my mom had left for me in the kitchen, wolfed it down, and immediately rushed into my room.
I’d been hooked on video games since middle school. It was my favorite way to kill time.
Ever since the new online game launched, I’d logged in every single day. By now, it had been almost five years.
The game itself was great, but anything locked behind a paywall was completely out of my reach.
I wanted to spend some money on in-game items, but my pockets were empty. My parents were ordinary working people and barely gave me any allowance. If they found out I was asking for money just to buy game items, I’d be in for a beating.
So I had no choice but to make do with the free content.
I turned on my computer, connected to the internet, and launched the game I’d played for years. The loading screen appeared.
Five minutes passed. Still nothing. What the hell? Was the server down?
Of all days, it had to happen today!
I’d finally reached the climax of the latest event. Was the game seriously going to die on me now?
I spent the next two hours messing with the computer before finally accepting that the problem wasn’t on my end.
Dejected, I collapsed onto my bed. How was I supposed to live without my game? Then I thought about it. Maybe I should splurge for once.
I jumped up, returned to my computer, and opened the game’s recharge page. With trembling hands, I pulled my card from my backpack and entered the details.
My heart practically bled as I watched half a year’s worth of hard-earned allowance disappear.
"Recharge successful. 500 Yen has been added to your account."
The notification appeared on the screen. I immediately forgot about the pain and eagerly launched the game.
After a while, I saw the computer screen slowly go black. Gradually, a stage appeared in the middle, with flashing lights.
In the center of the stage, out of nowhere, appeared a seductive woman with fiery red hair. She winked at me and blew a flying kiss.
The woman’s perfect face carried a hint of lust. Her upper body was dressed in a bikini-style transparent undergarment. The tiny transparent cloth, not even the size of a palm, barely covered the front, and I could clearly see the little red dots protruding inside.
Her towering chest stood upright, making my blood surge and my face flush bright red.
Looking further down, the palm-sized cloth couldn’t conceal that mysterious triangular area. The transparent fabric allowed me to easily see the inverted triangle, and there were even two or three mischievous little hairs stretching out from the cloth to breathe the fresh air outside.
The woman looked at me coquettishly, then slowly turned around. Her round, large buttocks swayed continuously.
That strip of cloth—no, it should be called a thin string—was wedged in the crevice in the middle, appearing and disappearing.
A hot stream flowed from my nose. I quickly pinched my nose. It was just too stimulating.
In my heart I secretly shouted—if I’d known that recharging for VIP also let me watch hot dances, I would have recharged long ago.
The game’s promotion really wasn’t enough!
By now, the woman had climbed onto a steel pole in the center of the stage, her movements extremely seductive.
I felt a wave of heat spreading from my lower body throughout my whole body. My nosebleed wouldn’t stop, gushing out continuously.
Then the woman lay on the floor, her deep cleavage completely drawing my gaze.
In the center of the screen, another page appeared, blocking my view: "Congratulations! Because you are the 8,888,888,888th account to recharge on this game, you only need to fulfill one condition to receive the grand prize (the dancing woman)."
Seeing this message, I was stunned for about ten seconds: "This is too damn ridiculous."