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Chapter 23: Sixteen years old, a high school student
International class, Yukinoshita.
Hiratsuka Shizuka looked at Yukinoshita Yukino. Her expression was calm, not changing at all because of what others were saying behind her back.
"I'll go warn them."
"There's no need for that." Natsume Rinno stopped Mr. Hiratsuka's good intentions and said calmly, "We are used to such small things. Only ordinary people can avoid being envied."
"It would probably be embarrassing for them if they were discovered." Yukino wiped her mouth.
"It's pitiful that they have fallen to the point where they can only speak ill of others behind their backs. Hiratsuka-sensei should not destroy their little interest."
These two freaks are completely different from ordinary students.
It can even be said that they are very different from ordinary high school students.
"What would your reaction be if someone said something bad about you in person?" Natsume Rinno became curious.
Xue No looked at him with disdain and said seriously: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Of course I will taunt you back, but no one has been so bold so far."
"Yukinoshita-san, you're an idiot." Natsume dared to try something that had never happened before.
"You are an idiot. Is the word idiot used to insult people? Can you please have a little common sense?" Yukino scolded him in a low voice.
"Hey, how should I put it?"
"Natsume-san, use your yellow garbage head to think carefully..."
They started arguing about how to pick on each other's flaws to attack, but in front of Shizuka Hiratsuka, a perennial single, it was just naked showing off.
This wasn't a quarrel; it was clearly flirting. What kind of crazy woman was she that she actually wanted to make their relationship closer.
Instead of spending this time, you might as well think carefully about blind dates.
"You two, stop it!"
Under the high pressure of Mr. Hiratsuka, the dinner finally ended. When they left, the girls who were sitting not far from them and had just discussed Yukinoshita looked at their backs with pale faces as they left.
In front of the family restaurant, Shizuka Hiratsuka said goodbye to them with her bag.
"Now I'm pretty sure that high school life for you two won't be as lonely as you think."
"I'm not lonely to begin with." "What's the difference?"
Therefore, Mr. Hiratsuka's efforts did not give them any sense of recognition at all.
Heartbroken Hiratsuka Shizuka covered her face and walked away.
The third day after the dinner party was also the day when Natsume Rinno finished revising the second major chapter of "Sword Art Online".
The finished version will be sent over this week. He has despaired about Mr. Kashiwagi's work efficiency, but he cannot forget his own work.
Relying on notes and memory, he used the club activities during this period to correct typos and plot. Yukino was very interested in the fact that he spent the whole day writing and drawing on the table, but she was too embarrassed to ask directly.
Her instinct was to maintain a close relationship with Natsume, but due to her natural personality, and the fact that Natsume was intentionally or unintentionally keeping a distance from her, she was fooled by him every time she tried.
"Done!"
The last rays of sunset disappeared in the activity classroom, and the hand of the clock on the wall moved to six o'clock.
Natsume Rinno tidied up the papers on the table. Yukino, who was sitting opposite him, lowered her head, her slender body rising and falling rhythmically.
After hearing the noise, Yukino moved a little and opened her eyes blearily.
"wake up?"
"I didn't sleep." After wiping the saliva from the corner of her mouth, Yukino refused to admit that she had fallen asleep while reading.
"Is this what you've been working on lately? Can I take a look?"
In order to hide her embarrassment, Yukino looked at the arranged papers on the table.
After the classification was completed, she guessed that it should be items such as books.
"It's a trade secret and shouldn't be shown to others before publication." Natsume Rinno kept it a secret. When she looked disappointed, she changed the subject: "It's just what Minister Yukinoshita said. I believe you are not a talkative person."
"That's good to know." Yukino picked up the corrected booklet with satisfaction and flipped through it casually.
Natsume was responsible for closing the door. When she reached the school gate, she was already several steps behind with her head down reading a book.
"I feel inexplicably familiar. I seem to have heard of these characters somewhere before." Yukino rubbed her forehead and returned the booklet to him.
"Could it be that Minister Yukinoshita actually has the spare time to read light novels?"
"Who do you think I am?"
"He looks sixteen, but he's a very mature high school student on the inside."
"...After all, I am still a high school student both mentally and physically. Even though I don't have much interest in popular things on the market, I do have some understanding of them." Yukino rubbed her forehead.
"As expected of Minister Yukinoshita."
After glaring at him fiercely for saying such strange things, Yukino turned her gaze towards the street in front of the school gate.
The sky was already getting dark at this time, and there were not many people at the school gate. Even the sound of car horns had decreased.
Natsume Rinno will next go to meet with Mr. Kashiwagi, who took the initiative to invite her to a meeting. It seems that the other party has achieved his goal before the deadline.
"What are you going to do next?"
When they reached the place where they should separate, Yukino said.
"I made an appointment to meet up with a friend."
"Oh." Yukino pinched her chin, "Do you mind having one more person?"
"Because I'm in good spirits and I don't feel like I have anything to do when I get home, so I want to learn about the lives of the club members. It should be okay."
Before he could ask any questions, Yukino calmly explained the reason.
This reason...
What kind of club did he belong to? The minister was so concerned about its members.
"If you're not afraid, come with me." Natsume Rinno sighed.
A victorious smile appeared on Yukinoshita Yukino's pretty face, and she ignored the slight warning in his words.
No matter what, Rinno shouldn't hurt her.
"The person I'm going to meet is a very scary guy, don't take it lightly." Natsume Rinno warned again.
God knows what the 18+ painter looks like in real life, but judging from Mr. Kashiwagi's usual movements, he should be a normal person.
"Ah, Natsume, are you worried about me? And how come you become friends with strange people?"
She said this as if they were not strange people.
What a girl who lacks self-awareness!
"Mutual attraction? Anyway, just don't say anything when the time comes."
"Tsk, got it."
Yukino nodded indifferently and agreed. Being able to follow him was already achieving her goal.
She would have to observe carefully what the key is for Natsume to survive alone in Tokyo, and then find an opportunity to catch him and take him down in one fell swoop!
Chapter 24: Eriri, believe in yourself!
"Eri, don't worry, this kind of outfit is very common."
In the shadow outside the restaurant, the not-so-tall Ying Lili kept comforting herself. After the self-deception session was over, she finally plucked up the courage to come out.
Wearing a black hood and a black floor-length robe, she looked like a cosplayer who had just run out of a comic convention.
As soon as he appeared, he attracted the attention of passers-by, and even when he entered the restaurant, he was almost stopped by the waiter.
After taking great pains to explain clearly that she did not run away from the comic convention, nor was she part of some black organization, Eriri finally went into the restaurant.
If it wasn't for the purpose of avoiding the exposure of Mr. Kashiwagi's true identity, would she have to go through so many disguises?
"Teacher Kashiwagi, this way."
Eriri, who couldn't see the interior of the restaurant clearly because of her sunglasses, looked in the direction of the voice.
A man and a woman were sitting there. The boy was quite handsome, and the look in his eyes when he looked at her was full of helplessness. The girl also had a similar appearance, but the way she looked at her as an alien made Eriri very angry.
If it wasn't for concealing her identity, there was no way that Eriri would be worse than the others when she attacked in her complete form!
But compared to these gazes, Eriri discovered something even more terrifying.
The clothes these two people are wearing look so familiar...
How come they are exactly the same as the clothes I wore when I was in school?
No way, could there really be such a coincidence!
Tokyo is so big, is it necessary for everyone to gather in one school?
"Teacher Kashiwagi, please sit down." Natsume Rinno helped her move the chair.
Yukinoshita Yukino looked at the mysterious hooded person in front of her. Because he was wrapped very tightly, she couldn't see more details. She could only judge that the other person was a girl from the details of her walking and body posture.
However, with this kind of dressing, Rinno really couldn't make many normal friends during the time she ran away from home.
After classifying herself as normal, Yukino followed his instructions and said nothing, sitting quietly in her seat watching them discuss strange things.
"Teacher Yan Shang, this is a newly painted work, please take a look."
The voice is a slightly hoarse male voice, and it can be clearly identified as a voice changer.
Natsume Rinno picked up the drawing paper and thought that even if it was not suitable, he didn't have time to find a new artist to replace him. He was still a little dissatisfied with Kashiwagi Eri's behavior of being stuck on time.
Even artists who are prone to procrastination must have a strong sense of time, especially for such an important task. How can they delay the entire work until the last week to complete it?
With the mentality of just passing, Natsume slowly flipped through the polished illustrations and was surprised to find that the quality of the work did not seem to fluctuate much over time.
"Teacher Kashiwagi, that's great!"
"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Yanshang. I think your guidance was good."
"No, no, no, I just mentioned the requirements for one painting, but the rest of Mr. Kashiwagi's works are amazing. You are indeed a famous painter."