Chapter 161: The Unlucky One Who Got Dragged In
After finishing lunch and returning to the classroom for a short rest, the afternoon English exam began.
There was no miraculous "divine inspiration" or anything like that. Hikigaya Hachiman's English grades could only be described as barely passable. With a frown on his face, he read the English characters on the test paper, translating the passages through a mix of guessing and luck.
He stumbled through the two-hour test, and only a few minutes before the teacher called for papers did he finally put down his pen, barely completing the answers.
In stark contrast to him was Miura Yumiko, sitting in the same classroom. Just like in the morning, after receiving the test paper, she simply skimmed through the questions before quickly starting to answer them.
The barrier of two languages was no obstacle for her.
In just one hour, Miura Yumiko had already filled the entire paper, then set her pen down and rested her chin on her hand, zoning out.
"What exactly was that thing?"
After receiving tutoring from Inoue Yasutaka, Miura Yumiko now had great confidence in her academic ability.
So instead of reviewing her answers, she began to think back to the scene she had witnessed in the classroom that morning.
A few weeks ago, on the night she met Inoue Yasutaka, she had suddenly found a severed head in her refrigerator, and then that head had rolled all the way from the 18th floor down to the 1st floor, dragging her along with it.
Originally, Miura Yumiko thought it was just a hallucination created by her mind.
But what she saw today completely denied that idea.
And also…
She lifted her head and secretly glanced at Hikigaya Hachiman. When she confirmed that he hadn't noticed her gaze, she quickly lowered her head again.
Even though it was only for a moment, when that monster appeared, Hikigaya's movement looked very much like he was about to take action.
Perhaps she was just overthinking, but after experiencing such bizarre things, Miura Yumiko didn't want to overlook any detail.
'Should I tell Inoue-senpai about this tonight?'
Instinctively, Miura Yumiko thought of Inoue Yasutaka.
As her newly acquainted neighbor, he had been looking after her like an elder, and he even came back from the University of Tokyo every night to tutor her.
If she told him she could see ghosts and monsters, he probably wouldn't laugh it off as some childish fantasy, right?
'Ugh, so annoying…'
Thinking about this, Miura Yumiko realized she was feeling irritated.
She held her head in her arms and lay down on her desk, furrowing her brows.
Ebina Hina had been having some personal problems lately and looked constantly drained, while Yuigahama Yui was busy preparing for midterms. Miura couldn't possibly bother her at such a crucial time either.
And so, the proud "Queen" of Sōbu High suddenly found that she had no one suitable to confide in about her frustrations!
.
.
.
The end of the English exam also signaled the early dismissal of students.
Although the dismissal bell hadn't rung yet, it was obvious that students who had just finished exams weren't going to obediently return to their seats to quietly review.
After all, the hardest subjects—science and English—were already over.
In the hallway, Hiratsuka Shizuka, dressed in her white lab coat, was dragging a gloomy-faced Yuigahama Yui toward the office while scanning the passing students with her sharp gaze, looking for her next unlucky victim.
The moment any student was caught in Hiratsuka's line of sight, their excitement immediately froze. They would then scurry back into their classrooms, pretend to study with textbooks in hand, and only resume making noise once she walked past.
"Uuuh…"
Dragged along by Hiratsuka and feeling the stares of classmates—whether surprised, curious, or gleefully gloating—Yuigahama Yui's face turned as red as a ripe apple, and she let out a pitiful little whimper.
"Don't whine. Since you dared to fall asleep during your science exam, I trust you were prepared to face my punishment, weren't you?"
With a lollipop in her mouth, Hiratsuka was completely unmoved by her student's pitiful noises.
She had always thought Hikigaya Hachiman was the most troublesome student she had to deal with, but today, she'd discovered someone even braver—someone who had actually fallen asleep during the exam.
And that someone turned out to be Yuigahama Yui, who usually behaved so well!
This made Hiratsuka seriously wonder if Hikigaya Hachiman had been a bad influence on her.
Just as they were about to enter the office, Hikigaya himself, fresh from the exam, walked past with his trademark dead-fish eyes and gloomy aura.
Without the slightest hesitation, Hiratsuka extended her free hand and grabbed the back of his neck.
"You're coming in too."
Hikigaya Hachiman: ???
Because it was right after the exams, the office was rather noisy.
The place was filled with the sound of teachers and students talking, and the constant rustling of papers.
Dragging in Yuigahama Yui along with the temporarily recruited unlucky Hikigaya Hachiman, Hiratsuka sat back at her desk, crossed her legs out of habit, bit down on her lollipop until it shattered, and swallowed it all before fixing her gaze on the two of them.
"Alright, tell me—why did you fall asleep during the exam?"
"B-because I stayed up all night studying…"
Under Hiratsuka's oppressive aura, Yuigahama explained in a trembling voice.
"All night?"
Hiratsuka raised an eyebrow at her answer.
Did Yuigahama not know how much damage pulling an all-nighter could do to a girl's skin?
She actually dared to do that?!
Was this the confidence of youth?
Tch. It honestly annoyed her a little…
"You do understand the consequences of failing an exam, right?"
Suppressing her inner turmoil, Hiratsuka asked Yuigahama in an even tone.
Falling asleep during an exam was bad enough. If she failed too, that meant she'd get double the punishment, including a call to her parents.
Hearing this reminder, Yuigahama's body trembled, and her face showed the expression of someone doomed.
"Ahem… Hiratsuka-sensei, I think this time Yuigahama's science exam should be able to pass…"
Dragged in for no apparent reason and still unsure why Hiratsuka had even grabbed him, Hikigaya couldn't just sit back and do nothing when he saw Yuigahama looking so uneasy.
He coughed lightly a few times to draw Hiratsuka's attention, then stated his belief that Yuigahama would be able to pass.
"Oh?"
Hiratsuka looked at Hikigaya with interest after he spoke up in Yuigahama's defense.
And when she noticed Yuigahama subconsciously hiding behind him after his words, a meaningful smile appeared on her face.
"Why do you think that, Hikigaya?"
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