In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

And the result did not disappoint them; Yukino Yukinoshita appeared in everyone's sight wearing a brand-new uniform.

Her fair skin, slender body, and lovely face together create her graceful figure.

"Yukino!"

Rikka quickly approached, linking arms with Minamoto Chiya.

When Yukino saw her, her usually expressionless face, which had been cold and aloof when she got off the car, revealed a gentle smile.

The cherry blossom trees lining both sides of the road seemed to willingly cooperate with such a smile, with a few cherry blossoms swirling around her in the breeze.

Good morning, Rikka, Chiya.

"Good morning."

Good morning, Yukino. Your parents aren't with you today either.

As Rikka approached, she saw that there was no one else in the back seat of the car.

Yukino nodded.

“Dad originally wanted to come, but I felt it wasn’t necessary. He’s not a little kid anymore.”

"That's what I think too. Although I don't dislike it, I always feel embarrassed if my parents are around."

"Crack!"

As the two were talking, Yuan Qianye pressed the shutter of her phone, capturing from the side a scene of the two beautiful girls chatting happily on a spring morning during the start of the school season.

Yukino lowered her eyes slightly, giving him a helpless expression.

"Taking photos of others in public without their consent is a crime."

"I wasn't taking any photos secretly. I was just recording the beauty of life, and you just happened to wander into the range of my camera."

His style remains consistent.

However, Yukino didn't dislike it; in fact, she felt a kind of long-awaited joy.

"show me."

Rikka, without any shyness, came over and loudly praised his superb photography skills, demanding that he immediately send her the photos he had just taken.

"Yukino, do you want some?" Minamoto Chiya raised his phone.

"Isn't this a beautiful part of your life? Keep it for yourself and enjoy it slowly."

With her backpack in both hands, Yukino's posture became even straighter, revealing a unique and indescribable charm.

"Qianye! Yukino! Rikka!"

A vibrant voice rang out from afar.

Eriri, who appeared last, jogged over.

…………

Chapter 002: The Beginning of a New Semester, Same School, Different Classes

The breath of spring seemed to permeate every corner of Soubu High School.

Yuan Qianye and his group of four completed the assembly of the enrollment team at the school gate.

Sunlight filters through the tender green leaves of the roadside trees, casting dappled patterns of light on them.

The gazes cast from all around were obvious.

Eriri keenly noticed these gazes. She gently brushed a strand of her radiant blonde hair behind her ear, a smug smile curving her lips.

Several boys chased each other past like the wind, and almost instinctively, Yuan Qianye reached out and pulled Eriri closer to him.

This movement was as natural as breathing.

Eriri knew exactly what he meant, but her cheeks flushed uncontrollably, as if dyed by the first rays of dawn.

Rikka watched this scene with great interest, her joy for her friend impossible to hide.

Although Yukino also silently cast a concerned glance, her expression remained as aloof as ever, but a subtle ripple stirred deep within her eyes.

Yuan Qianye didn't seem to care much about this. He let go of her hand and looked into the schoolyard: "Let's go check the class assignments on the bulletin board."

"Hmm... um!" Eriri responded softly, then quickly grabbed Rikka's arm as if to cover up her mistake, pulling her ahead of her into the school, leaving only her slightly reddened earlobe visible.

Yukino and Chiya followed behind them in perfect unison.

The four of them walked into the campus.

The neat tree-lined avenue is lined with meticulously trimmed bushes.

Further on, tall oak trees stretched out their new leaves, rustling in the morning breeze.

After passing the statue of the school's founder, which stands in the center of the fountain pool and is bathed in sunlight, the view suddenly opens up.

In the spacious atrium, a bustling crowd was gathered in front of the notice board next to the main teaching building.

"There are so many people..." Rikka muttered softly.

However, with Chiyoko leading the way and the three girls holding hands and following closely behind, they managed to squeeze in quite easily.

Standing in front of the list, Eriri and Rikka's hearts pounded faster involuntarily, their eyes searching nervously and expectantly among the densely packed names.

They wished they could still be in the same class like they were in junior high, and of course, it would be even more perfect if Chiya could be with them too!

Yukino didn't have much of a psychological impact on this, because due to the special circumstances of her being an international student, she had decided from the beginning that she would attend the international education class, which was designed for the children of returning elites and students preparing to study abroad.

More than her class assignment, she was concerned about something else when she came to the notice board.

Eriri and Rikka nervously searched for their names line by line on the class assignment list, while Yukino's gaze quietly shifted to the side.

That was a list of the top fifty students based on their entrance exam scores.

Almost instantly, she found the information she was looking for.

Her name, along with Yuan Qianye's name, was prominently listed at the very top of the list.

First place, tied!

"Oh? Tied for first place." Yuan Qianye's tone was relaxed, with a hint of a smile, revealing no particular emotion.

Yukino glanced at him sideways, then turned her gaze back to the ranking list, stating calmly,

“During my three years of studying abroad, in addition to my schoolwork, I would study for an extra three hours every day, and I attended tutoring classes on Saturdays and Sundays without fail.”

"Your hard work has paid off." Yuan Qianye didn't understand what she meant and thought she was relieved to finally be able to keep up with him.

But Yukino shook her head, her face showing no joy, and her tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible stubbornness.

“I gave it my all, while you managed to achieve this result despite juggling many other things, so in the end… I still lost.”

"That's not how it works..."

Yuan Qianye wanted to comfort her, but seeing the familiar, ignited fighting spirit in her eyes, he swallowed the rest of his words.

At times like these, excessive consideration might be perceived as disrespectful and contemptuous by someone who sees her as a rival in academic pursuits.

"Ah! I found my name!" Rikka's clear voice broke the subtle atmosphere between the two. She excitedly pointed to the list: "I'm in Class 1-A!"

Eriri then found her own name: "I'm in Class C, Grade 1."

Gen Chiya's gaze stopped at the bottom of the notice board: "I'm in Class F."

"..."

Rikka and Eriri, who were just moments ago excited and full of energy, suddenly fell silent, as if a pause button had been pressed.

They hung their heads and slumped their shoulders; the world's vibrancy faded from them, leaving only a pale gray.

“There’s no need to be so disappointed,” Yukino tried to comfort her, but her tone was a little stiff as she wasn’t good at it. “At least we got into the same school, which is already pretty good.”

The only response she received was a dry, empty "heh" from the two of them.

Yukino immediately turned to Chiya with pleading eyes—'They're all like this, you have to think of something!'

This made Chiyo imagine the future, when Yukino became a mother and couldn't soothe her child, she would probably ask him for help just like this.

I feel like she's kind of cute.

"Alright, you two, didn't we already agree that we'd form a club? Maybe we can apply to the school for an activity space, so we can all get together during our free time."

According to Chiyo's original plan, once he entered high school, he would only become busier and busier, and probably wouldn't have time to play school club games like house with Eriri and Rikka anymore.

But there was nothing they could do. Both of them were so downcast that their faces were pale, and they looked utterly disappointed. If they weren't given some nice words to cheer them up, they would probably stay in this dejected state until school was over.

On the first day of school, you can't stay depressed forever; you have to make it a good memory.

Yuan Qianye has already thought it through. He will simply join their club, register his name, and then go about his own business when he's busy, only showing his face occasionally when he's not. He believes they will be satisfied with that.

“Well, you’re right…” Eriri’s eyes finally regained a glimmer of light.

Rikka nodded vigorously, silently clenching her little fists: "At least... the club can still stay together!"

The clumsy Yukino's mother breathed a slight sigh of relief.

She later found her name on the class roster, under Class J in the first grade.

At this point, the four confirmed that not only were they not in the same class, but their classes were also distributed quite "evenly," perfectly scattered.

Incidentally, the sharp-eyed Rikka and the quietly observant Minamoto Chiya also spotted Kazusa's Class I.

After finding out which class they belonged to, they turned and pushed through the crowd toward the teaching building.

They agreed to meet at the bench in the school's front courtyard during lunch break, and then headed to their respective classrooms.

Yuan Qianye's class, F, is located on the first floor of the teaching building.

The windows on the other side of the corridor face the playground, and if you look out from the classroom, you can see the special building, which is on the second floor and connected to the main teaching building by a corridor.

The classroom was noisy, with many students in twos and threes who looked like old acquaintances from junior high. There was also a lone wolf sitting at his desk, surrounded by a quiet atmosphere, pretending to read or scroll through his phone to relieve the awkwardness.

When Yuan Qianye pushed open the door and walked into the classroom, the noise paused for a strange moment.

He casually glanced around the classroom. It seemed that he had been delayed while meeting up with the others, and all the good seats in the classroom were already taken.

Only the very front row seats and the very back seats are left.

If it were up to Yuan Qianye to choose, he would naturally choose the last seat, which would be more comfortable during class and easier to concentrate on other things occasionally.

As he casually walked to an empty seat in the last row of the second group of seats and sat down, the noise in the classroom returned, but whispers about him quietly began to spread in several corners.