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Natsume Chikei’s words weren’t actually a lie.
Compared to her first year of middle school, Nishizonoji Nanase really had become much prettier.
When Nishizonoji Nanase heard this, a look of innocent confusion first appeared on her naturally dazed face.
She blinked her lively big eyes without thinking.
It was only after a moment that she belatedly—almost like a delayed system—fully parsed the meaning of what Natsume Chikei had just said: “You’ve become so much prettier than before that I didn’t recognize you.”
With a soft “poof,” as if the evening glow had just touched it, her fair, perfect cheeks flushed a faint red.
She even unconsciously shrank her neck a little.
Her long eyelashes lowered, casting small shadows on her reddened cheeks.
Nishizonoji Nanase couldn’t help but sneak a glance at the handsome and refined Natsume Chikei.
She remembered that back in middle school, he hadn’t talked much in class and hadn’t stood out at all.
If it weren’t for her exceptionally good memory, she probably would have had trouble remembering someone like Natsume Chikei.
It was just that she hadn’t expected his change to be this dramatic after entering high school.
Although he was still very attached to his phone and didn’t initiate conversation much…
Just then, the sound of a chair being pulled out came from the seat in front of Natsume Chikei.
A girl sat down.
When Nishizonoji Nanase saw who it was, her eyes immediately lit up with joy.
“Suzune?!
You actually got into this school too, and we’re even in the same class?”
Yukimura Suzune turned around at the voice, a trace of surprise flashing in her cool eyes.
“Eh?
Nanase, you’re here too?”
Nishizonoji Nanase nodded repeatedly, her voice full of excitement.
“Yeah!
I really didn’t expect us to not only be in the same class, but our seats are so close too!”
Yukimura Suzune gave a slight nod.
“It really is quite the coincidence.”
Nishizonoji Nanase happily turned toward Natsume Chikei beside her and enthusiastically introduced her best friend.
“Suzune, this is my classmate from middle school, Natsume Chikei!”
Although Yukimura Suzune rarely initiated small talk with ordinary classmates, since it was her close friend making the introduction, she had no choice but to turn around politely and prepare to introduce herself.
However, the moment her gaze truly landed on Natsume Chikei’s face, her words cut off abruptly.
Her expression stiffened.
Her lips pressed into a tight line.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, revealing clear surprise and a little mood—evidently she hadn’t expected to run into him here again, let alone… have this person sitting right behind her?
Natsume Chikei looked up and realized that his new neighbor was none other than the Yukimura Suzune he had encountered once on the train.
A trace of surprise flashed through his heart, followed by a faint, barely noticeable sense of delight.
This really was… better to arrive at the right moment than to arrive early?
Back on the train, he had already been wondering how to find a way to obtain this girl’s special piece of equipment.
If he had approached her directly, it would have seemed too deliberate.
If he scared her off, that would have been bad.
Now that she was sitting right in front of him, given enough time, he would probably be able to find an opportunity.
“Hello.
My name is Natsume Chikei,” he said politely, introducing himself.
Yukimura Suzune narrowed her eyes as she studied Natsume Chikei and gave a short reply.
“Yukimura Suzune.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly withdrew her gaze.
Even though she knew Natsume Chikei probably hadn’t noticed what she had done back then, and had no idea about her identity.
Right now, she was clearly still holding a grudge about what had happened earlier and didn’t particularly like Natsume Chikei.
In this slightly awkward atmosphere, someone in the classroom suddenly recognized Yukimura Suzune’s identity.
“She… could she be that Yukimura Suzune?”
“The one who won the ‘Gunzo Newcomer Prize’?”
“Yeah!
It’s her!
The one from the Yukimura family!”
The scattered discussions rippled through the room like water.
After all, Yukimura Suzune wasn’t just the daughter of the prestigious literary Yukimura family—she was also a talented young writer who had won the heavyweight literary newcomer award, the Gunzo Newcomer Prize, and had already made a name for herself in literary circles.
Plus, there were some of her old classmates in the room, so her identity quickly ceased to be a secret.
One girl gathered her courage and was the first to step forward, looking a little nervous and expectant.
“Um… are you Yukimura-san?”
Seeing this situation, Yukimura Suzune seemed to recall certain memories.
This time she didn’t immediately pull out her fountain pen.
“It’s me.
Is there something you need?”
The girl took out a copy of Cicada Rain and asked with a mix of anticipation and shyness:
“Um… I’m a fan of yours.
Could I get your autograph?”
The cool Yukimura Suzune’s mood improved noticeably upon hearing this.
She nodded slightly.
“Sure.”
In the classroom, the air on the first day of school was always filled with a kind of invisible anxiety.
All the new students knew full well: if they didn’t work hard to fit in and find a fixed circle of friends on the first day, the class would soon split into clearly divided small groups.
Once that happened, it would be extremely difficult to squeeze in later.
Meanwhile, Natsume Chikei, Yukimura Suzune, and Nishizonoji Nanase had naturally become the center of attention thanks to their standout looks.
Everyone knew that in Japanese high schools, which highly valued “popular kid culture,” being part of such a high-visual core circle was almost equivalent to securing a spot at the top of the class’s social pyramid.
So the tentative approaches began.
Quite a few people started gravitating toward the three of them, whether intentionally or not.
Among them, the area around Natsume Chikei was the liveliest.
For the boys, chatting with a handsome guy of the same gender was always much simpler and more relaxed than chatting with a beautiful girl of the opposite gender.
For the girls, chatting with a handsome guy of the opposite gender was always more enjoyable and interesting than chatting with a beautiful girl of the same gender.
Over at Yukimura Suzune’s side, however, she had already built up an invisible wall early on.
She felt that this kind of superficial socializing at the beginning of the school year was meaningless.
It could be said that aside from matters related to novels, she basically didn’t respond much to anything else.
Most of the time, Yukimura Suzune simply sat quietly reading her literary books.
That cool aura silently kept most people who wanted to talk to her at a distance.
In contrast, Nishizonoji Nanase, with her cute appearance and naturally friendly personality, won quite a bit of goodwill.
No matter who spoke to her, she would respond with genuine sincerity, and she quickly built a good first impression among her classmates.
While responding to the small talk from the students around him, Natsume Chikei also scanned the classroom.
Besides Nishizonoji Nanase, there didn’t seem to be any other familiar faces.
However, compared to observing old acquaintances, he cared more about something else—his sharp perception swept across the entire classroom and ultimately confirmed: aside from the “Literary Small Ornament” on Yukimura Suzune’s bag, there wasn’t a second special piece of equipment in the entire class.
Although it was a bit of a pity, encountering even one in a single classroom was already a pleasant surprise.
So the current priority was figuring out how to obtain Yukimura Suzune’s special piece of equipment.