novellhall 19. There is an old saying in this great Eastern country: "A long illness makes one a good doct
19. There is an old saying in this great Eastern country: "A long illness makes one a good doct
"Eighteen centimeters, that's so long!"
Saki Izumo gasped in surprise, her small, cherry-petal-like mouth slightly open.
At this moment, Izumo Saki's body was almost pressed against Aoyama Genji's, and the girl's fragrance uncontrollably swept past his nose.
Her big, blinking eyes were so close, it seemed like they could overflow with tears at any moment.
Genji Aoyama stood still, letting Saki Izumo measure his length with a ruler.
Of course, we're talking about hair here.
During this time, Genji Aoyama kept an eye on Yuko Asahi's state. Her shyness had disappeared, but no other emotions appeared.
That's enough of the probing.
"Excuse me, is the length acceptable?" Genji Aoyama asked.
Having read the school rules, he knew that boys' hair length should not exceed 20 centimeters, and his length was right on the line.
Asking was just a reminder to Izumo Saki that it was enough.
It would be impolite to post it again.
"Barely passable."
Izumo Saki lowered her tiptoes, and the two returned to normal distance. Her expression seemed to show that she didn't care at all about the contact that had just occurred.
Outgoing and friendly?
Or is it because...
Genji Aoyama thought of that inexplicable passivity.
Yesterday after school, he found love letters from other girls in his shoe locker.
The pink cover, sealed with cute little labels, contains the heartfelt wishes of young girls in the throes of first love.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, we may receive more in the future.
Of course, Genji Aoyama did not intend to disappoint them—he would write down the names of all the girls who wrote him love letters.
If any of these people have problems, he will consider whether or not to take action.
Entering the school gate.
Genji Aoyama glanced at the time; it wasn't even 7:30 yet, and there was still more than an hour before the first morning meeting.
"I'm going to the archery club, wanna come along?"
On the main road in front of the teaching building, Genji Aoyama looked at Yuko Asahi.
"Let's skip it today," Yuko Asahi shook her head. "I have a class this morning where we need to submit the assignments from last class. I'll check them again in class."
"I see." Genji Aoyama thought for a moment and didn't insist.
After putting his schoolbag in the shoe cabinet in the entryway, he went back to the archery dojo.
Just like yesterday, if neither he nor Asahi Yuuko came, then only Ohara Mami would be in the dojo.
Although I acted like a lazy bum in the LINE group chat and didn't care much about the competition rankings, I was still quite responsible as the department head.
"You've come at the perfect time, Aoyama-kun!" Mami Ohara said, holding a rag in one hand and giving a thumbs-up to Genji Aoyama, who was taking off his shoes, with the other.
"Do I need to clean too?"
"Since we're already here!"
So the reason why Asahi Yuko doesn't come is because she has to clean the dojo in the morning?
That woman is despicable!
He stopped coming in the mornings from then on.
Of course, it was just a joke.
Genji Aoyama took a rag from a corner piled with cleaning supplies and, with his butt sticking out, began pushing it across the tung oil-coated wooden planks of the dojo.
"Aoyama-kun, is it all done?"
When the two brushed against each other and reached a horizontal line, Mami Ohara turned her face and started talking to him.
"What?" Aoyama Genji was concentrating on mopping the floor.
In private, Genji Aoyama also learned some things about Kyudo, and cleaning was considered a compulsory course in Kyudo, a part of the training.
Since he has decided to get involved, he will not shirk the chores.
"Asahi-chan."
They were talking about going to the bow and arrow shop over the weekend.
"Yes, it's already arranged. She'll go with us this weekend," Aoyama Genji said with a smile.
Mami Ohara gave her an approving look.
"Senior, I'm not someone who doesn't understand romance. I'll send you the address of that bow shop later. I won't go there myself; I'll leave you two alone."
"Thank you, Minister Ohara is a very nice person."
"Don't just give me the 'friend zone' treatment like that!"
After saying that, Mami Ohara suddenly sped up and started sprinting across the tung oil-covered wooden floor. Reaching the other end of the dojo, she abruptly turned back, exclaiming, "Oh, right, remember to buy me coffee after your date with Asahi-chan!"
A date—
It should be pretty good?
……
Aoyama Genji spent almost the entire day studying, occasionally pondering matters related to the system.
He is considering whether to use the weekly additional matching opportunity.
[Matching attempts: Increased once a week, filtering out targets that match the host. If no match is found, there is a chance to receive rewards such as money. (Note: Targets are independent individuals known to the host and have a certain degree of compatibility. The system filters and matches targets, and the host can choose whether to bind to a target.)]
Aside from the one free gift at the start of the game, he hasn't used it actively yet.
The main issue is that Genji Aoyama is unsure whether there are any suitable candidates among the 'independent individuals' he knows.
Using it rashly would be a waste of a once-a-week opportunity.
His initial plan was to find a suitable target before using it, and now he is indeed making some progress.
But now this point in time is somewhat delicate.
Today is Thursday.
The weekend will begin as soon as Friday is over.
On the sticky note that Aoyama Genji had put on his desk in his apartment, his schedule was almost completely full, and it seemed that he didn't have many opportunities to meet Izumo Saki.
Let's reconfirm the previous definitions.
[Correction Quest: After binding a target, a correction quest will be triggered the first time you encounter the target. It will then be triggered randomly at important junctures. Rewards include, but are not limited to, money, attributes, skills, and special items.]
After binding, the first time you meet the target.
Genji Aoyama thought of the message Saki Izumo sent him at 1 a.m., saying that he still had to go to the Psychological Problems Research Club after school.
What if the system gives him a time-sensitive and demanding task after they meet? Wouldn't it be a loss if he couldn't complete it?
His prudence is perhaps the most important of his hundred virtues that should not be forgotten.
Aoyama Genji decided to meet with Izumo Saki one more time before deciding whether to use her.
[Aoyama: I have something to take care of after school. You go to the archery club first, I'll be there in about half an hour.]
Before he could explain at noon, Asahi Yuko said she had to leave first.
"Aoyama-kun, please don't use your phone during class meetings."
Yuqian Hui coughed lightly on the podium.
The last class on Thursday afternoon was Modern Chinese, which she happened to be teaching concurrently. After class, the class meeting naturally followed.
"Feel sorry."
Genji Aoyama put his phone away and turned his gaze to Megumi Hazen, who was standing on the podium.
Starting yesterday, not only in class meetings, but also in the classes she teaches.
Aoyama Genji could always feel that Umamoto Megumi's gaze would occasionally drift towards him.
not understand.
He considers himself to be a diligent student; he always finishes his homework properly, even at midnight; he almost never daydreams in class—his phone use just now was an accident, because the class meeting was really uninteresting.
"...Regarding club attendance times, the school has received a petition from the students, and we should have a result by tomorrow. So, that's all for now, school dismissed."
After saying that, Megumi Hanae walked out of the classroom.
After saying goodbye to Kenta Hirata, Genji Aoyama left the classroom and headed straight for the elevated corridor, which led to the special building at the other end.
This time he came up from the third floor, and soon he knocked on the door of the activity room of the Department of Psychological Problems Research.
"Please come in." The response was instantaneous.
As soon as the door to the activity room opened, Genji Aoyama sat down opposite Saki Izumo, just like yesterday.
"Hello, 18 centimeters~" Izumo Saki gestured the length with her fair fingers, her eyes and brows full of smiles.
"Hello, Izumo-kun."
Genji Aoyama smiled and took off his mask. Wearing a mask after being recognized would be like burying his head in the sand.
"Regarding my friend's therapy session yesterday..."
"The analysis results are in."
The two spoke almost simultaneously.
"Speaking."
Genji Aoyama looked at Saki Izumo.
Although he identified some problems in his own analysis, as someone in the know, he may have made a misjudgment.
As for Saki Izumo, let's listen to her side; it might broaden our thinking or at least eliminate the wrong options.
"Personally, I think your female friend has some feelings for your male friend."
Although your female friend is unwilling to admit it.
Saki Izumo thought of Yuko Asahi, who had run over here at noon, and remained stubborn.
"Besides liking someone, is there nothing else?"
"It's probably dependence." Although Izumo Saki used conservative words, her expression looked very confident, making people want to believe her.
"Is there any basis for this claim?"
He shared the same idea as Genji Aoyama, but he wanted to hear Saki Izumo's reasons. If she could reveal details he hadn't noticed, that would be a valuable gain.
"From personal experience, because I often come into contact with psychologists and occasionally hear about other people's cases," Izumo Saki laughed, "I've heard that there's an old saying in the great Eastern country across the way—'A long illness makes one a good doctor,' which is roughly the idea."
"..."
Aoyama Genji was somewhat surprised, his gaze sweeping back and forth across her face.
Saki Izumo had a bright smile on her face, looking cute and full of energy, and didn't seem to have any mental illness at all.