Let's do it again, Yukino.

Thinking of this, Haruhi snorted coldly, ignoring Hiratsuka Shizuka's continued tugging at her sleeve in private, and continued to speak to the head teacher with dissatisfaction.

"Director, you just want me to say to your face that I actually copied all my grades from Nagato Yuki?"

"Isn't that so?"

The dean of students, who was already used to the attitude of such a troublesome student, confronted the boy head-on without fear, and sneered in return.

Snapped!

Finally, out of fear of Yukinoshita's strength, Haruhi couldn't help but slam her hand on the table and angrily shouted:

"Don't push your luck. I've been putting up with you, you bald old man, for a long time."

“From the moment you walked in, you old man have been looking at me like a criminal.”

"I'm sorry, Kasuga-kun, I think you've misunderstood me. Hiratsuka-sensei and I are both teachers. No matter what mistakes you've made at school, as long as you acknowledge and correct them, you'll still be our student, and we'll help you."

"You're clearly still looking at me like a criminal, aren't you?!"

"If you insist on thinking that way, then..." The dean of students' face, which had previously appeared somewhat harmless, now revealed a gentle smile. "Then there's no difference, unless you can produce evidence that you didn't cheat."

"You want me to retake the test?"

"Retake the exam? I don't have the time to be your proctor, and the other teachers are also unavailable."

"...you...you..."

Looking at the shameless headmaster, Chunri sighed with a mix of admiration and resentment, thinking to herself that experience is indeed valuable.

This old man is holding a grudge. He's clearly resentful because I just called him a bald old man, that's why he's acting like this.

I almost forgot that this annoying director hates it when people bring up his nearly bald head.

Depend on!

Without saying goodbye, he turned around and walked out of the office.

"A thousand-word self-criticism, remember to send it to me by this time tomorrow."

"What a genius wrote that!!"

The door was slammed shut, and the boy's impatient voice rang out from outside.

……

At this point, Hiratsuka Shizuka had completely given up trying to persuade her student. She stood aside as if it were none of her business, keeping a distance from the two of them and not saying a word.

After a long pause, she hesitated for a long time, and only spoke to the head teacher after hearing Chunri's footsteps disappear into the corridor.

"Well, Director, I think that a student like Haruhi, who doesn't care about grades, wouldn't have any motive to cheat."

The headmaster, who was massaging his temples and had a headache, carefully tidied up the sparse hair on his head, then waved to Hiratsuka Shizuka, indicating that she didn't need to say anything more, and said casually.

"I'm not as stupid as you think. Regardless of the past, regardless of whether this test reflects Kasuga-san's true abilities, what I just did was not wrong. Hiratsuka-sensei, please go back and think about it carefully."

Looking at the director who seemed as if nothing had happened, even Hiratsuka Shizuka was a little puzzled.

Could it be that he was really angered by Haruhi's comment, "bald old man"?

Chapter Twenty-One: This is a secret, don't tell anyone!

Speaking of the Service Department,

Well, when it comes to Yuki's Service Club, Haruhi sometimes feels a little strange.

Perhaps it was my own insignificant sense of male chauvinism.

The fact that two girls and one boy always stayed in the same club made Haruhi feel inexplicably uncomfortable.

Although Kasuga knew that Hachiman, who was jokingly called "Master Hachiman," was indeed a harmless herbivore, she still found it hard to let go of the fact that she hadn't yet gotten along with Hachiman at that time.

After all, the name "Service Club" is somewhat similar to the brothels in the entertainment industry, and it always serves as a point of ridicule for Koyuki, who couldn't even come up with a club name back then.

As he walked out of the director's office, Chunri had no desire to go straight back to his classroom. It was lunchtime, and as he looked up at the blazing sun high in the sky, he suddenly felt a surge of interest and decided to sneak over to Xiaoxue's service department.

As for what just happened in the director's office

"I remember, the story of the Service Club should have only just begun."

he thought.

Yoshiteru Zaimokuza, that future best friend of Haruhi Suzumi who will become a stinky erotic novelist, probably hasn't reported to the Service Club yet.

I was introduced to writing novels by that guy.

……

On his way to the Service Club, he coincidentally ran into Ms. Yukino, who was being greeted by several girls.

These days, he often runs into the classical Chinese teacher from Yukino Yukari's class in the corridor. It seems that Ms. Yukino Yukari is quite popular now.

Haruhi, who had intended to ignore the female teacher, walked forward with his hands in his pockets. In the instant they passed each other, Yukino-sensei, who was surrounded by girls, noticed the boy walking past her out of the corner of her eye. Suddenly remembering something, she slowly leaned out and, without caring that there were other students around, a happy smile appeared on her beautiful face.

"Good job, Kasuga! You did very well on the test this time. Please keep it up next time."

Springtime shrugged, not bothering to greet the classical Chinese teacher. He vaguely heard the students' sighs, but he didn't bother to say anything more.

This Yukino-sensei, she never learns from her mistakes.

"Teacher, I heard—"

Several girls were quietly trying to persuade Ms. Yukino.

"That's not a good way to put it. Although I don't know much about the exams in other subjects, from what I remember, you can't just get a perfect score by being lucky. You absolutely can't do that without putting in any effort."

Yukino-sensei's smiling yet unwavering words drifted slowly from behind him.

She still chose to believe the boy.

…………

"Ms. Yuihama, you invited someone but then didn't show up at the agreed-upon place. What does that mean? Shouldn't you have contacted them beforehand if it was going to be late?"

At the entrance to Class 2F, Haruhi heard Yuki's voice for some reason.

"Huh? What are you saying? I don't understand at all!"

That must be Yumiko Miura's voice.

"If you're going to act like a mountain bandit and bluff your way out, you should stay in your own territory. Just like the makeup you're wearing now, it'll be easily removed."

"I'm so sorry, I'm not very familiar with your ecological environment, and I accidentally classified you and the apes in the same category."

Although there was no emotional fluctuation in his tone, Haruhi sensed a hint of impatience in his words.

Not long after, he saw Yuki walk out of the back door of the classroom. Standing next to her was Hachiman Hikigaya, the teacher. But for some reason, when the girl came out of the back door, Haruhi clearly saw that Yuki's cold face was covered with an unmelting frost. At this moment, her two slender hands were also tightly clenched into fists. An indescribable sense of disharmony filled her chest. Ignoring the teacher behind her who was holding his breath and had a slightly dead fish look in his eyes, Yuki frowned slightly, turned around and disappeared into the corridor alone.

The cherry blossoms bloom alone, but she alone is unaware.

Having roughly understood what had happened, Haruhi smiled, clicked his tongue, and after thinking for a moment, he abandoned his original plan to go to the Service Club. He started walking and casually followed in the direction Yukinoshita had gone.

……

…………

On the rooftop

As soon as I pushed open the door, I tiptoed and slowly approached the corner of the wall.

In the shadowy corner, away from the sun, a slight, cool breeze blew from the side, revealing the beautiful scenery of Chiba.

Spring Day couldn't appreciate the beautiful scenery anymore. He was now looking at Xiaoxue, who was squatting in the corner with her knees drawn up to her chest, looking like a completely withdrawn person.

Just as I expected...

He bent down, gently flicked Xiaoxue's smooth forehead beneath her bangs with his finger, and said with a mix of amusement and exasperation.

Are you angry again?

"...No, why would I be angry?"

Yukino turned her face to the other side, her head down so her expression was not visible, and she did not look up at Haruhi.

“‘I’m unhappy’ is written all over my face. Even someone like Da Zhangwei can see it. Do you think I’m that oblivious?”

He stretched and looked at the girl sitting on the cold cement ground. He frowned, thought for a moment, took off his coat, folded it into several pieces and put it in his hands. He spoke to the girl softly as if coaxing a child.

"Miss Yukinoshita, lift your skirt up a little, be careful not to get it dirty."

"No."

"I can see right through your tasteless Mr. Pan underwear, and you're still saying no..."

Without waiting for the other person to react, he lifted up the somewhat soft area and placed his uniform jacket under Xiaoxue's black and white skirt.

After finishing all that, he leaned against the corner of the wall and sat down, his snow-white shirt pressed against the relatively clean wall, sitting side by side with Xiaoxue, who seemed a little shy because of what he had just done.

I have absolutely no idea why you're so shy. It was just a little touch on your butt. It's not like I haven't touched you before.

"Honestly, even if you're angry, don't take it out on Yumiko. Our business is our business. If you're angry, take it out on me. Yumiko hasn't offended you."

"I wasn't angry with her; I was just following the script that had played out before."

Xiaoxue blushed and retorted somewhat illogically to Chunri beside her.

"From the moment we were reborn, our future has no fixed plot. Don't treat me like an idiot, Xiaoxue."

Spring sighed, and in the shadows, he gazed at the beautiful scenery that was only inches away from him.

"You know, that blonde loser Yumiko is already pitiful enough. She had a crush on Hayama, but in the end, she was dumped without even being able to confess."

"..."

"If she knew that Hayama had a crush on Yui from the beginning, she would probably be even more devastated. Her biggest rival in love is her best friend. The blonde loser is really pitiful."

Spring's casual remark immediately unsettled Xiaoxue, who had been calm.

"???"

"Oh? Hayama likes Yui? You must be kidding, right? Isn't she my sister? You're not lying to make me happy, are you?"

Xiaoxue seemed genuinely frightened by Chunri's words.

Haruhi scoffed dismissively and said softly, "What makes you think that Hayama is a siscon?"