I, Tomoya Aki, am not a bootlicker

These words made Eriri bite her lips and her eyes dimmed.

Chapter 54 The listener has a heart

Because when they were in elementary school, when they were discussing otaku with Tomoya Aki, they were both isolated as the parties involved.

That can also be considered as a kind of school bullying.

At that time, Eriri was isolated and looked at strangely, so she later cut off her relationship with Aki Tomoya.

These are all things from my childhood, but things like this are not something that can be easily forgotten.

He ran up to Eriri excitedly, wanting to share something they both loved, but was ruthlessly rejected.

After a period of time, no matter how hard I tried to fight for it, I was met with indifference and deliberate avoidance from the other party.

Looking back now, I still admire the fact that he was able to persevere by fighting alone.

But it’s hard to say who is right and who is wrong.

Anyway, the fact is that during the time between entering junior high school and going to Toyosaki Academy, the two of them spent a lot of time developing an underground secret communication channel.

Being able to communicate normally for a sentence or two was the final result at the end of last year.

At school, Eriri had never had any interaction with Tomoya Aki, and no one would have thought that they were childhood sweethearts.

It seems ironic now, that is, after Aki Tomoya was no longer obsessed with otaku culture, they communicated more than before.

Of course, Aki Tomoya was referring to verbal terms.

Because before last year, their way of communication could only be described as troublesome.

If this is the result of all the hard work he put in all those years, Tomoya Aki now feels that it was not worth it, but he will not blame Eriri now.

After all, no one is like him, who can ignore external factors and not be affected by prejudice.

He couldn't possibly use his own standards to demand Eriri. A little girl like her must feel bad for enduring everyone's prejudice.

"Do you think it's my fault, Renye?"

Eriri clenched her fists and asked in a low voice unwillingly.

She lowered her head and looked at her toes, as if she was thinking of the strange looks given to them by other people in the elementary school at that time.

Thinking about it now, Eriri could admit that she was indeed not as strong as Tomoya Aki.

"what?"

Eriri's voice was a little soft, so Akitomo couldn't hear clearly what she was saying.

Looking at Eriri who buried her head, Aki Tomoya noticed something unusual.

"Nothing, Renye must have been very busy preparing for the exam, I won't bother you."

At this time, Ying Lili raised her head, with a smile on her face, and shook her head as if she didn't care.

But in Tomoya Aki's eyes, the way she looked now looked like she was forcing a smile.

"here we go again……"

Aki Tomoya frowned and muttered subconsciously.

Should he say that he was wrong and that he accidentally mentioned that Eriri was looking for him, which was not in line with his usual style at school?

If the blame was put on himself, Akitomo could accept it.

But how many times does he have to say the same thing before Eriri finally understands?

"I was joking, I didn't mean anything else."

As Aki Tomoya explained this, he felt a little powerless.

An unintentional joke might be taken as a mockery by the other party.

Maintaining this friendship that has lasted for more than ten years is much more complicated than Tomoya Aki had imagined. Eriri is now more sensitive than ever before.

“…Isn’t that the truth?”

Ying Lili sighed in her heart.

That’s indeed the truth. Didn’t the two of them just pretend not to know each other in school?

Even if she believed that what Tomoya Aki said was just a joke, Eriri did feel it was a bit ironic at this moment.

"Eiriri?"

The voice of Tomoya Aki sounded in her ears again, bringing Eriri back to reality.

At his signal, Eriri noticed the librarian who had returned and was about to close the library.

"It's closing time, you two..."

The girl over there said weakly, her eyes wandering between Tomoya Aki and Eriri.

The librarian who had just returned here didn't know what had happened, but he always felt that the atmosphere in the library was quite subtle.

"Sorry, I'll be right there."

Tomoya Aki replied to the librarian, and at the same time reminded Eriri with his eyes that it was getting late.

But at this moment, after noticing the gaze of the librarian, Eriri felt that the gaze was particularly irritating.

The feeling is not much different from when I was in elementary school.

However, at that time, the people around them did look at them with prejudice, but now, the girl was just curious at most.

But even this was enough to prove how sensitive Eriri was right now.

"excuse me."

Eriri said this and walked out of the library.

She took a long breath, recalling that she had been acting like a young lady ever since she entered this school. Under the shadow of her elementary school days, she dared not reveal her true self again.

To this end, he superficially distanced himself from his childhood sweetheart, Tomoya Aki, and pretended that they didn't know each other.

After what happened in elementary school, she chose to hide herself and did not want to expose her relationship with Tomoya Aki, also because of the shadow left by that elementary school experience.

On the one hand, she is afraid that her relationship with Aki Tomoya will be exposed and others will make associations with her, but on the other hand, she is still brooding over the isolated incident in elementary school and wants to repair the relationship between the two.

It has come to the point where I can’t take off the mask anymore, at least not until I finish high school.

So even though those words were a joke, they were close to the truth.

No wonder Aki Tomoya said before that it was difficult for them to communicate, and the rift had never been repaired and had always existed.

Now the boy doesn't care, it's just because he is relieved unilaterally, but she is still feeling aggrieved about it.

Aki Tomoya frowned and looked at Eriri's departing back, and after being reminded by the girl next to him, he slowly walked out.

"Nothing has changed since before. I still care about that thing."

Aki Tomoya shook his head and sighed.

An unintentional teasing, seeing the other party's sensitive nerves at the moment, Aki Tomoya would rather not have such an unexpected gain.

I thought we had known each other for more than ten years and we could talk it out and be just ordinary friends for the rest of the time, but this is the result...

"I would like to take care of your feelings, but who will take care of mine..."

Tomoya Aki pushed his bicycle out of the school gate. At the bus stop in the distance, Eriri had already boarded the last bus and left.

The incident in elementary school was not just a shadow that belonged to Eriri alone. It was also a huge shadow for the former Tomoya Aki.

Like Eriri, Tomoya Aki could never say that he had let go of his past.

Chapter 55 List Release Day

On the second Friday of July, the final exams of Toyosaki Academy had already ended since the last sociology exam last Friday.

"Ren Ye, today is the day when the exam results are announced. How do you think you did in the exam?"

“A little bit worse.”

While wiping the blackboard, Tomoya Aki replied calmly to Yoshihiko Kamigo behind him.

After the final exams, there will be a graduation ceremony at the end of next week, and then it will be summer vacation.

After the exams, the students also relaxed because as long as most people performed normally, the possibility of having to stay in school for tutoring was very small, and they could have a good time during the summer vacation.

Today is the day when the results are announced after the final exams. In addition to the transcripts in each student's hands, the academic year rankings will be posted publicly.

"Don't be so cold, after all, we are comrades who have fought together!"

Uego Yoshihiko sighed.

They reviewed together at the end of the semester, especially Uego Yoshihiko himself. He was very confident about his results in the final exam. Although he couldn't say they were very good, there was still hope of passing all subjects!

"Besides, do you know how much others are looking forward to your performance this time?"

I don’t know if it’s because Tomoya Aki’s grades improved significantly in the last midterm exam, but after this final exam, more students in my class and other classrooms started talking about him.

It seems that many people want to see how much Tomoya Aki can grow in just one semester.

"Yes, yes, yes. Anyway, the results will be announced at noon. You can go and see then and find out, right?"

Aki Tomoya's attitude remained cold.

It's just the final exam of the first semester, not even a mock exam. In Tomoya Aki's opinion, it's time to see the results.

From making a plan at the beginning of the school year, attending cram school at his own expense, and making further progress under the advice provided by Mr. Tsubota, to the later Tokyo University failed student, now the failed adult Harumi Junko, who specializes in liberal arts tutoring, Aki Tomo has done everything he could.

While being concerned about the results of the first semester, Aki Tomoya was thinking more about whether he could complete the review of all subjects for the national exams before the end of the second semester, and then start preparing for the Tokyo University science exams.

Even after receiving a cold response from Tomoya Aki, Yoshihiko Uego's enthusiasm did not diminish.

During lunch break, at his request, Aki Tomoya was pulled to the lobby on the first floor of the teaching building.

The final exam schedule was still posted on the bulletin board, but the grade-by-grade achievement lists had not been replaced.

But even so, students from all grades still gathered here at the first moment.

In terms of proportion, half of the students at Toyonosaki Gakuen are not considering further studies and half are considering further studies. Although the types of university choices vary, there are quite a few students who are concerned about their grades.

"Oh no, Renye, my heart is beating so fast!"

Yoshihiko Uego pressed his chest and made an exaggerated expression to Tomoya Aki at this time.

You can see that this guy is very excited. He is clearly here to check on his friends' rankings, but Uehara Yoshihiko himself is a hundred times more nervous and excited than Aki Tomoya himself.

"Calm down, everyone is looking at you!"

Aki Tomoya wanted to remind Uego Yoshihiko not to act funny here and embarrass himself, but he found that most of the students were looking at him.

Alas, the title of the three famous people of Toyonosaki Academy still has an effect.

But compared to before, other people are now more curious and expectant.

He became a sensation in his first year at school, turned over a new leaf and studied hard in his second year, and the results were seen in the last midterm exam. After this final exam, the celebrity effect has made many people look forward to him again.

Thanks to last year's events and the changes after the start of this year's school, Tomoya Aki is still well-known in the school.

He himself didn't know what to say about this matter.

"Here we go, Renya!"

Yoshihiko Uego suddenly pointed at several teachers who were walking down the stairwell.

The students automatically made way for the teachers holding the grade lists to walk to the bulletin board.

First was the third-year grade report card. Since there was no suspense, apart from the third-year seniors who were concerned about their own grades, other students didn’t pay much attention to it.

After all, Kasumigaoka Utaha is still sitting firmly on the throne of the top student in the school.

The key is the second grade report card, and there are gradually more and more students around.

Yoshihiko Kamigo held his breath and paid attention to the second list that was gradually unfolding after the third-grade report card was posted. Infected by his exaggerated expression, the people around him also held their breath. Would they be able to see the birth of a miracle?

The person involved, Tomoya Aki, was not paying attention to that at all, but was looking around boredly.

Outside, he saw several familiar faces, a senior student, a childhood sweetheart from the same grade, and an inconspicuous girl in the class.

Akitomo also glanced at Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha without leaving a trace. He often saw that pair when he was reviewing for the final exams in the school library with Kato Megumi and Uego Yoshihiko. Their combination had even caused a new sensation in the school.