Chapter 21: Disappointment!

Just before class.

Xia Xia Xia Mujun returned to the classroom and sat quietly in his seat.

The sun shone through the window, casting dappled light and shadows on his desk.

Ring-a-ling—

The class bell rang right on time, echoing in the slightly noisy classroom.

But because the bell had just rung, the teacher for that period hadn't arrived yet.

Although the students in the class were sitting in their respective seats, there were still groups of three or five huddled together, whispering.

Saionji Nanase gently tapped Xia Xia Xia Mujun’s shoulder, her movements light and restrained.

"Um, Xia Xia Xia Mujun..."

"Mm? Is something the matter?"

Xia Xia Xia Mujun turned his head at the sound, his gaze carrying a question.

"At noon, shortly after you left the classroom, a girl came looking for you," Saionji Nanase reminded him politely.

"A girl came looking for me?" Xia Xia Xia Mujun was slightly startled, a confused expression appearing on his face, "What is her name?"

"I don't know, she didn't say," Saionji Nanase blinked her lively eyes, carefully recalling, "But she had short hair, her skin was a healthy wheat color, and she was very pretty."

"Oh, if you put it that way, I know who it is." Upon hearing this description, Xia Xia Xia Mujun quickly realized the person was Fujiwara Aoi.

Fujiwara Aoi had indeed said she was at the same school as him.

She had come specifically to find him at noon; she probably had something important.

"Thanks for the reminder, I'll go ask her what she wanted later," Xia Xia Xia Mujun nodded politely in thanks, calculating in his heart that he would go find Fujiwara Aoi after class to ask clearly.

Though it was embarrassing, he didn't know which class Fujiwara Aoi was in...

But he remembered that Fujiwara Aoi seemed to have a shift at the coffee shop today, so he might as well wait until then to ask about the situation in detail.

"You're welcome, even if I didn't say anything, other classmates would have reminded you," Saionji Nanase shook her hands gently, revealing a gentle smile.

She suddenly remembered something, leaned forward slightly, and asked curiously: "By the way, does Xia Xia Xia Mujun plan to join any clubs?"

"I haven't decided yet," Xia Xia Xia Mujun shook his head.

"How about... we find a time to go visit the school's clubs together?" Saionji Nanase suggested, her eyes brightening slightly, "I heard the school will be open for club visits these few days."

"Sure," Xia Xia Xia Mujun had no opinion on this.

Since every student had to join a club, visiting club activities was indeed a necessary step. ===== CHAPTER 43 =====

"Then how about after school today?" Saionji Nanase suggested happily, her tone filled with anticipation.

"Not today, I have something urgent after school," Xia Xia Xia Mujun said with a hint of apology, "How about tomorrow?"

"Mm, of course that's fine!" Saionji Nanase replied with a smile, then asked Yukimura Yukimura Yukimura Lingyin in front of him, "Yukimura Yukimura Lingyin, do you want to visit the clubs together tomorrow?"

Yukimura Yukimura Yukimura Lingyin clearly heard the conversation between the two, but still focused on the novel in her hand, responding indifferently without turning her head: "No, I'm only interested in the Literature Club, I plan to go straight there after school."

"I see..." Saionji Nanase sighed with some regret.

But she knew very well that Yukimura Yukimura Yukimura Lingyin was indeed only interested in literary creation, so it was a matter of course that she wanted to join the school's Literature Club.

At this moment.

The bald math teacher walked in with his lesson plan, his leather shoes making rhythmic sounds on the floor.

The classroom instantly quieted down, and the students sat up straight one after another.

Saionji Nanase stopped talking and took out her math textbook to start listening to the lecture seriously.

Xia Xia Xia Mujun also straightened his posture and focused his attention on the blackboard.

He was, after all, a graduate of a 985 university.

Looking at the problems in the first-year high school math textbook, he only felt they were indeed simple, with basically no difficulty.

But Xia Xia Xia Mujun didn't slack off in his studies because of this.

Reviewing the old to learn the new—once you stop studying for a long time, forgetting is inevitable.

And now that he was in Japan, the exam questions were vastly different from those back home.

If he let his guard down just because his grades used to be good, he might very well fail in the exams.

After all, Xia Xia Xia Mujun’s goal was a prestigious school like the University of Tokyo, the difficulty of which far exceeded the university he had attended.

Not to mention he had promised his sister they would get into the University of Tokyo together, so he couldn't be the slightest bit careless in his studies!

Time slipped away quietly amidst the sound of pens rubbing against paper.

Soon, the class was nearing its end.

The ringing of the bell signaled the end of class, breaking the classroom's tranquility.

Many girls immediately surrounded him again, chirping like little birds, their faces filled with nervousness and anticipation.

"Xia Xia Xia Mujun, a girl with wheat-colored skin and short hair came looking for you at noon, who is she?"

"Could it be your girlfriend?"

"Xia Xia Xia Mujun... is this true?"

Xia Xia Xia Mujun shook his head and explained calmly:

"No, she's just a colleague from where I work part-time."

Upon hearing this, the girls all showed happy expressions, exchanging relieved glances with each other.

Saionji Nanase’s ears twitched slightly; although she couldn't see Xia Xia Xia Mujun, who was surrounded by girls, she was clearly listening to the conversation.

Xia Xia Xia Mujun needed personal time to write, thinking he couldn't let the girls in the class take up his break time anymore, so he found a decent excuse and politely dismissed them.

These girls were quite reasonable; although they looked slightly disappointed, they still returned to their seats in twos and threes.

Xia Xia Xia Mujun, finally quiet, let out a long breath.

This scene was seen by Saionji Nanase, who couldn't help but smile slightly: "That's really great, Xia Xia Xia Mujun."

"What?" Xia Xia Xia Mujun turned his head, confused.

"No, it's nothing," Saionji Nanase shook her head with a smile.

Xia Xia Xia Mujun was a bit baffled, but didn't press the issue, just took out his phone and started writing with focus.

Saionji Nanase didn't go up to disturb him like the other girls.

Although she felt Xia Xia Xia Mujun was the same as before, still liking to play phone games.

But what was wrong with being able to do what you liked?

Thinking of this, Saionji Nanase took a copy of *World Curio Collection Atlas* out of her schoolbag and started reading it quietly.

At this moment.

A beautiful blonde girl passed by in the hallway, her tall figure flashing past the window.

The boys in the class noticed and couldn't help but stretch their necks to take a few more looks.

Kondo Miki had noticed Xia Xia Xia Mujun was in Class A when looking at the class assignment information in the morning.

As she passed by, she subconsciously glanced into the classroom.

She saw Xia Xia Xia Mujun sitting in his seat, tapping his phone screen rapidly; that focused expression looked like he was playing a game no matter how you looked at it!

Seeing this scene, she couldn't help but frown, thinking that his family had suffered such a major change and was already reduced to such a state.

Yet he was still not paying attention to his studies during school hours and only cared about playing games?

If it were her facing such a situation, she would definitely study twice as hard, and wouldn't slack off even during break time!

Kondo Miki shook her head repeatedly and left the hallway with a disappointed expression.

The bell for the end of the school day rang crisply, echoing throughout the teaching building.

The class instantly boiled over, with students cheering and making a ruckus.

Many students had already made plans with companions to participate in club activities or go home together.

Some girls couldn't hold back and came to Xia Xia Xia Mujun’s side.

"Xia Xia Xia Mujun, do you want to go out together this afternoon to get familiar with the area around the school?"

"I know a karaoke place nearby that's a good deal, how about going there?"

"I think that's great, what do you think, Xia Xia Xia Mujun?"

Xia Xia Xia Mujun shook his head and politely declined: "Sorry, I have things to take care of this afternoon."

Upon hearing this, the girls' faces were instantly filled with regret.

Xia Xia Xia Mujun picked up his already packed schoolbag and left the noisy classroom alone, intending to sign up for a new shogi tournament!

Walking on the school path where cherry blossoms were falling, he took out his phone and carefully searched for the registration information and specific address for the new shogi tournament.

He discovered the registration deadline was 5:00 PM.

And it was just past 3:00 PM.

It took ten minutes to walk from the school to the subway station, and about half an hour by train.

If nothing went wrong, he should have plenty of time! ===== CHAPTER 44 =====