novellhall 85. School Days 2.0
85. School Days 2.0
The first day of May, a Thursday, is not a public holiday in the island nation.
Genji Aoyama struggled to wake up from his sleep. He first used his somewhat sluggish hands to turn off the alarm clock, and then walked towards the sink while yawning.
The cold water splashed on his face, waking him from his lingering hysteria. After a quick wash, he changed into lighter summer sportswear.
After doing all this, he opened the door and, as usual, reached for the breakfast on the doorknob—there was none.
Jealous? Unhappy? Or still half asleep?
With these questions in mind, Genji Aoyama prepared to close the door. A gentle breeze stirred up the door, and he could hear the rustling sound of plastic bags rubbing together.
It turned out it was placed on the ground.
Breakfast was more substantial than usual; in the past, it was usually quick and convenient breakfasts like sandwiches, toast, or fried eggs.
Today, in addition to toast, fried eggs, and a lunchbox, there was another lunchbox and a small pot of soup.
Holding it in my hand, the warm touch enters my palm, and it feels quite heavy.
I occasionally write sticky notes, and I did today as well, but they were extremely brief.
[I checked the weather forecast, and unlike Tokyo, it's still quite cold in Aomori lately. Please make sure you pack some warm clothes, Aoyama-kun!^^]
The handwriting was neat and beautiful, only two or three lines long, and all that caught the eye was concern, even accompanied by a cute emoji.
Genji Aoyama looked at it carefully, then started eating the toast and fried egg. It tasted as good as usual, though he chewed it a little slowly.
On the running track along the Sumida River, he ran at his own pace, trying to clear his mind through exercise, but the series of changes he had initiated the previous night still kept replaying in his mind uncontrollably.
Unlike the dissatisfaction expressed by Izumo Saki and Minatsuki Haruka, whether explicitly or implicitly.
Yuko Asahi seemed completely unconcerned.
But does she really not care?
With these questions in mind, Genji Aoyama thought back to the message that Yuko Asahi had retracted the previous night.
What was sent is now unknown.
Genji Aoyama pulled his wandering thoughts back and looked into the distance. The Azuma Bridge stretched across the Sumida River in the mist, still quite a distance away.
He quickened his pace, trying to shake off these troubling thoughts.
After finishing his routine morning exercise and having breakfast, Genji Aoyama set off on his way to school.
The upcoming Golden Week holiday seems to have filled the world with joy, and walking on the street, you can clearly feel the more cheerful atmosphere than ever before.
"I wonder if my trip to Aomori will be just as enjoyable?"
As Aoyama Genji walked, he kept thinking about this matter.
The air on the tram was a bit too noisy, so he simply put on his headphones and started scrolling through short videos.
It was probably an algorithm recommendation that suggested Aoyama Genji liked watching videos about cute girls or bands, because he accidentally stumbled upon a video of the cute girl band S performing yesterday.
Someone secretly filmed the concert hall and even posted the photos online.
Anyway, let's see how it goes first.
After clicking in, Izumo Saki's deliberately lowered boyish voice came through the headphones, accompanied by the sound of lively instruments.
After listening to it once, Genji Aoyama clicked into the comments section below.
[This melody, this arrangement, these lyrics! Are these people really at the level of college students?]
[Does anyone know which band this is? Do they have a livehouse? They sound really good, and the members are all so cute, especially the lead singer!]
[The background looks familiar?]
After thinking about it, Genji Aoyama clicked share and sent the video to Haruka Minatsuki.
[Aoyama: Video Link - A band full of beautiful girls, the lead singer is super super super cute!]
[Aoyama: This is definitely a hidden camera shot, isn't it? As the school representative, shouldn't Ms. Haruka do something about it?]
Since last night, Haruka Minatsuki has ignored him. They are probably in a cold war phase now.
However, the school, as the organizer, definitely bears responsibility for this.
About a minute later, Haruka Minatsuki replied with the same last sentence she had said the night before.
[Haruka Minatsuki: I understand.]
After getting off the tram, Genji Aoyama blended into the cheerful crowd and walked smoothly to the school gate.
Just as unhappy as him was Izumo Saki, the disciplinary committee member who was on duty at the entrance every Thursday; her face was filled with displeasure.
"snort!"
Before Aoyama Genji walked over, she let out a disgruntled snort.
"Good morning, Saki," Genji Aoyama greeted her with a smile.
"Not good at all!"
The disgruntled girl said this, her gaze still fixed on him, "I'm talking about Aoyama-kun. He doesn't seem happy at all."
"..."
Genji Aoyama didn't know what to say.
Is his unhappiness really that obvious?
"Isn't going out with three girls enough to satisfy Aoyama-kun?"
Before she could finish speaking, Izumo Saki's hand reached out and gently pinched Aoyama Genji's waist.
The slight pain interrupted his brief thought.
He felt he should be happy about traveling with three beautiful girls, and this wasn't just wishful thinking on his part.
Saki Izumo's dissatisfaction was written all over her face.
Haruka Minatsuki didn't show it so obviously, but her dissatisfaction only intensified.
Yuko Asahi is the same; with her awkward personality and sensitive mind, she must be extremely bothered by it in private.
"...Thank you," said Genji Aoyama.
"ha?"
Izumo Saki could hardly believe it. She stared wide-eyed at Aoyama Genji, her face even showing a long-lost excitement. "Does Aoyama-kun have some kind of peculiar fetish?"
"This is absolutely a misunderstanding!"
Aoyama Genji had to deny this, saying, "It was just that Saki reminded me, which made me think about some things a little better."
"What? What?"
"Let me think about how to express this..." Genji Aoyama looked up at the sky, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I feel like three beautiful girls aren't enough. It would be great if there were one more."
"!"
Saki Izumo lightly stepped on Genji Aoyama's foot, puffing out her cheeks in anger, but ultimately couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Aoyama-kun is such an idiot!" she said.
"Oh, by the way, I saw an interesting video on the tram just now, I'll send it to you in a bit."
"Can't I send it now?"
Genji Aoyama glanced at the student council members who were on duty with Saki Izumo, but said nothing.
His meaning was clear, and Izumo Saki immediately understood. After a brief hesitation, she said, "Tomorrow—no, today—I'm quitting the student council!"
Why would it come to that?!
Walking on the main road of the campus, Genji Aoyama felt that there was no problem. Izumo Saki probably joined an organization like the student council for novelty and fun, and it was not surprising that she found it boring after experiencing it.
As he went up the stairs, he reopened the short video app, wanting to share the video he had seen on the tram with Yuzumi Saki.
However, it has been removed from the platform.
"Such fast efficiency!" Aoyama Genji exclaimed to himself as he sent a message to Yun Saxi.
[Qingshan: Sorry, the video is gone. It was probably reported and taken down.]
[saki: ? ? ? ]
[Aoyama: Please have Disciplinary Committee member Saki do her job well. Hmm... I'll talk to Saki about it when I go to the club.]
After replying, he put away his phone and walked into the classroom, which was also filled with laughter.
The morning classes passed quickly. As usual, Genji Aoyama studied very diligently in class and pondered the material after class.
At noon, he went to the activity room—
"Yesterday's performance was secretly filmed, and the person who filmed it even posted it online," Genji Aoyama told her while eating his bento. "I stumbled upon the video this morning."
"Really?" Izumo Saki looked very interested.
"Yeah, everyone's praising Saki. I saw it and sent it to Minazuki. She must have contacted the school and got the platform to take it down."
"snort!"
While still annoyed, Izumo Saki kept putting her food into Aoyama Genji's bento box, pouting as she said, "It's not like it's anything bad, everyone's praising me!"
She even felt it was a pity, and had no complaints about the violation of her privacy or portrait rights.
At noon in the activity room, Genji Aoyama found it very interesting that after getting through the adjustment period, Saki Izumo seemed to have returned to being the energetic girl she used to be.
The afternoon passed quickly as well. After the last Modern Chinese Language class, Yuqian Hui held a short class meeting.
The class meeting was as concise as she was, with safety as its core message.
"Will this trip to Aomori be dangerous?"
After cleaning, Genji Aoyama took out his phone and sent a message to Saki Yuzuru while thinking.
[Qingshan: I plan to go back and pack my things first, so I won't be going to the activity room this afternoon.]
[saki: Eh——]
[Saki: The General Manager is about to give an important speech!]
[Aoyama: I'm all ears on LINE]
[Saki: Yoda-sensei just came by. She said there will be new members joining our club after Golden Week. Oh, and they're beautiful girls!]
[Aoyama: Not interested]
No matter how many times he has to state it, Genji Aoyama will always say it—he's not very interested in pretty girls!
After packing his schoolbag, he walked out of the classroom.
The afternoon sun was shining brightly, and people were coming and going in the corridor. Groups of students gathered by the protective windows, leaning on the railings and looking out at the atrium, excitedly chatting about their Golden Week itineraries.
However, there are also people who are out of place in this atmosphere.
"Good afternoon." Genji Aoyama greeted Haruka Minatsuki, who was walking towards him.
When their eyes met, he noticed that Haruka Minatsuki seemed to want to speak as well, but her cherry blossom-colored lips only moved slightly, and she ultimately couldn't say anything.
Amid the laughter of the crowd, her gaze became complex, eventually settling into a calm indifference.
The two walked in opposite directions, their paths intersecting.