Tokyo: Oreimo

The girl stood with her hands on her hips in the middle of the road.

"Did you get the items back?"

"what?"

"Don't play dumb! Didn't you go find that female giant? The final version should be finished by now!"

Takashiro Ryouno glanced at her father, who was reading a newspaper in the bedroom, and moved closer.

"You don't actually think that if I provide the materials, she can finish it on the spot, do you? There should be a limit to how much common sense you have."

Ryosuke rolled his eyes at her.

After spending more than half a year together, the relationship between the brother and sister has not improved to a harmonious point, but bickering with each other has gradually become the norm.

"What?! I've been waiting at home for so long, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Ling crossed her arms and let out a soft hum.

"My mistake was not realizing that you lack common sense."

Are you mocking me?

Takashiro Ryouno's eyes turned somewhat dangerous.

"Speaking of which, isn't this something you should be thinking about right now? It's already June, shouldn't you be focusing your attention on other things?"

Ryosuke quickly changed the subject.

If he couldn't win an argument with his younger sister, she might actually resort to violence, and in terms of sheer force, he was no match for her.

"What? Are you talking about school admissions?"

Takashiro Ryouko suddenly lost her composure and became somewhat embarrassed.

As for his academic performance, although it has improved by leaps and bounds in the past six months, he has not yet fulfilled the boast he made to Ryosuke.

The highest score she has ever achieved is only 98 points, which makes her feel ashamed in front of others because of this.

I should have just left it at that, saying things like I'd definitely get a perfect score next time.

It's just like a flag in a visual novel; once it's spoken, it always points to an inevitable defeat.

"Starting today, academic tutoring will be upgraded, exam preparation will begin, and tutoring time will be doubled."

"Huh?"

"You don't actually think that the academic qualification test at a school like Chiba First High School is easy to pass, do you?"

"What? I'm one of the top students in my class now."

"Stop talking nonsense. I won't be responsible if you fail the exam because you're lax."

"I'll learn!"

"After tutoring, you are not allowed to play on the computer and you must get enough sleep."

"You bastard! Are you trying to take away my hobby?"

Ryosuke knew that his words alone might not have any effect.

Ling Nai would accept extended tutoring hours, but she would definitely sneak out at night to play computer games.

"Oh."

Ryosuke Takagi walked past her and peeked into the living room.

"Father, if possible, how about confiscating Ling Nai's computer for a week? It might affect her school admission."

"Really? I'll go to her room and move the computer before dinner."

Takashiro Isamu agreed almost without thinking.

"Waaah!"

Faced with her father's suppression, Ling Nai could only let out a mournful cry.

Chapter 55 Entrance Examination

Chiba Daiichi High School is arguably one of the most difficult schools to get into in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

As a public high school, especially a key high school for local college entrance exams, its admission difficulty is higher than that of private high schools, and its teaching quality is also highly competitive within its range.

The entrance examination for high school in Japan is different from what I remember about my home country.

It does not set score lines based on cities and admit students step by step.

Public high schools have their entrance exams set by the prefectural board of education. The final score is based on the junior high school's internal review report, which is essentially a student's academic record and records of their performance in junior high school.

Time flew by, and under Ryosuke's guidance, Ryouno spent a week groaning every day.

"Don't feel too much pressure. Even if you don't get into this high school, there's Rongyang Private High School as an alternative. Ryosuke said that with your level, you'll definitely get in."

Takashiro Isao takes Ryosuke's opinion very seriously because he has witnessed Ayano's leap in grades over the past six months.

"What, are you looking down on me?"

Ling Nai looked at her elder brother with dissatisfaction, snorted, and then turned to look at her father.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely pass the exam. I'm leaving now!"

The family stood at the entrance of Chiba First High School, watching Ling Nai walk into the examination area.

"Ryosuke, do you think Ryono is a good candidate?"

The father felt like he was dreaming. Just six months ago, Ling Nai was a poor student, but now she was actually walking into the exam hall of Chiba First High School.

"Well, the written test should be fine."

Ryosuke has been personally tutoring Takashiro Ayano for so long, so he is certainly aware of her level. If she is careful and performs normally, it shouldn't be difficult for her to get a satisfactory score.

"That's good." Takashiro Isao seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thanks to you, Ryosuke. To be honest, I was worried that Ayano wouldn't be able to continue her studies. She's never been a good student since she was little."

"No, Ling Nai isn't stupid, she just hasn't been working hard enough."

Ryosuke was telling the truth; he was always verbally provoking his sister, which was essentially a different kind of motivational tactic.

It is well-deserved that he was able to reach his current level within six months after tutoring his students.

"Mihoko, you have a wonderful son. It's so good that he was able to marry you."

As if giving an acceptance speech, Takashiro Isao turned around and took Mieko's hand.

What should you say in front of the child?

Mieko blinked, her eyes filled with pride.

......

Takashiro Ryou entered the examination room and sat down in the seat where she had written her name.

After everything was ready, with five minutes left before the exam started, she rested her chin on her hand and looked around the classroom.

It doesn't feel much different from the junior high school I attended.

As the girl was thinking, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.

Huh? What's she doing here?

Her long hair cascaded down her shoulders, and she wore a white shirt paired with a black and red pleated skirt. The blue-streaked bangs on her forehead swayed gently in the breeze blowing in from the window.

Under the sunlight, her skin was so white it seemed to glow, and many boys in the examination room secretly cast their gazes at her.

Isn't that idol?

I think her name was Shizuka Hoshimi.

Ryosuke Takashiro was quite surprised. According to Ryosuke, the other person should be the same age as him and live in Tokyo. How could he be at the entrance exam hall of Chiba First High School?

Seemingly noticing her gaze, the idol girl looked over.

The moment their eyes met, the other person paused for a moment, then smiled and waved at her.

When others greeted her, Ling Nai could only frown and nod as a response.

Something feels off.

Before Ling Nai could think further, the exam bell rang, and the proctor entered the classroom to distribute the written exam papers.

.....

Hayakawa Shizuka never expected it to be such a coincidence that she would run into Takashiro Ryono in the classroom.

"It's fate."

"I guess she's here because she wants to get into the same high school as her brother?"

Since returning to the company two months ago, Hayakawa Shizuka has not seen Ryosuke again.

Firstly, because there wasn't a good reason, and secondly, because she was indeed quite busy.

After their debut performance on stage with their teammates, "No, Thank you" received very positive feedback, which led to the newly formed idol group receiving numerous commercial performance invitations.

The fact that she was able to appear in the exam hall today was thanks to Shinpei Ito squeezing out time for her.

After she finishes her exams, a car will come to pick her up immediately.

"The company has decided to release a CD for you, so don't mess up recently. Come back as soon as you finish your exams."

Remembering Shinpei Ito's reminder from yesterday, Shizuka Hayakawa felt a little regretful. She had originally planned to meet Ryosuke on her way.

"But there will be opportunities in the future."

After all, she's sitting in this exam room right now, and she'll be coming back to school eventually.

"I wonder what kind of expression Takashiro-kun will have when he sees me at school?"

Hayakawa Shizuka was somewhat expectant. Her pen touched the exam paper, and she cleared her mind of distractions, focusing intently on the questions.

......

As the bell rang, Takashiro Ryou handed in the last exam paper, completing all five exams.

She turned to look at the spot where Hayakawa Shizuka had been sitting, but it was now empty.