Just a few simple sentences, yet they were full of cold-blooded meaning.
To Hayakawa Haku, as long as the final result was failure, all the sweat, effort, and hope left behind in the process would instantly lose meaning—as if they never existed. For him, the word "process" was like an escape from a failed result; the more one emphasized the process of effort, the more it was an excuse for a loser.
"Whatever a loser says is wrong."
Furuhashi Fumino looked at the indifferent-faced boy sitting next to her, feeling a pang of bitterness in her heart.
She felt like she was beginning to understand Hayakawa Haku—understanding why he loved studying so much, why he'd be holding a portable vocabulary book even while eating, and why he'd be pondering problems even while walking.
Because he had stripped the process of meaning, leaving only the result. He could only chase the result with all his might.
But this was too cruel. He was only a high school student, after all.
"..." Furuhashi Fumino slightly pursed her lips, her beautiful eyes shimmering with a gentle warmth.
It looks like Hayakawa-kun's thinking is too extreme. This isn't the kind of thinking a 16-year-old high school boy should have. If he keeps this up, a lot of happiness will slip away.
"Ahem..." Furuhashi Fumino gently cleared her throat, holding her head up with a dignified air.
Ah, I can't do anything about you. It seems only the well-mannered, gentle, and dignified Big Sister Furuhashi can change your overly extreme mindset.
Given Hayakawa-kun's lack of common sense, although we are in the same grade, he must be younger than me. In any case, I should be the older sister.
Furuhashi Fumino thought this, having made up her mind, and glanced at Hayakawa with a smug look.
You're always swaggering around, ordering me to study, but in the end, you still need my help. This is only because I'm too gentle and kind that I'm taking care of you. Anyone else wouldn't be so enthusiastic. After all, you seem to have unspeakable thoughts about me, and other girls wouldn't be so kind as to help an unromantic boy who harbors evil intentions towards them.
However, it should be fine now. After all, he was very serious about studying just now, and it's only my first day here. No matter how perverted he is, he wouldn't expose his desire on the very first night I move in, right?
"Furuhashi..." Furuhashi was just thinking happily when she suddenly heard Hayakawa call her name. She smiled and looked up to meet his gaze. "What is it, Hayakawa-kun?"
"Do you..." Hayakawa looked at Furuhashi Fumino and asked seriously, "Have someone you like?"
Furuhashi Fumino: "..."
The... the first day, and he's already exposed it!!!
How desperate are you?! You're starting to show your wicked, lustful thoughts on the first night?! Then I dare not imagine how far you plan to go in the next few nights!!
It's terrifying... his self-centered, wicked desires, dominated by his lower body, are completely exposed... so scary.
Go home... I absolutely must go home immediately. A high school student getting pregnant is a one-way ticket to hell...
Furuhashi Fumino's face was pale, and all sorts of horrifying fantasies appeared in her mind. She forced a strained look at Hayakawa Haku and asked, "W-why are you suddenly asking a question like that?"
If you don't give me a reasonable explanation, I'm genuinely going home.
"Yes, Hayakawa-kun," Ogata Rizu also said, puzzled. "Why are you suddenly asking such a question? Do you have feelings for Fumino?"
The science loli looked up at Hayakawa, her puzzled expression carrying a hint of oddity, a feeling of discomfort in her heart.
"About that," Hayakawa Haku glanced at Furuhashi Fumino. "Can I say it?"
Furuhashi Fumino's expression changed dramatically. Say what? Are you talking about your confession to me? Are you going to let Rizu-chan know here?! That's so lacking in common sense! There's no way I can let you say it!
"I mean the matter of that Tanaka confessing to you at noon. Surely I can mention that." Hayakawa Haku was slightly confused by Furuhashi Fumino's expression, so he leaned in and whispered in her ear. The warm breath instantly made the girl's delicate earlobe turn red.
Furuhashi Fumino was startled when Hayakawa leaned in, blushing and wanting to dodge away, but she froze when she heard his words. She then breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Oh, it was that. Then go ahead and say it."
"What did you think it was?" Hayakawa Haku was still puzzled, so he turned to Ogata Rizu and said, "Furuhashi was confessed to by a male student at school earlier today."
"Eh? Is that so?" Ogata Rizu was briefly surprised, then said casually, "That does happen sometimes. Fumino is very pretty and popular, so it's normal for someone to like her. So, Fumino, how did you respond in the end?"
"Don't say things like that." Furuhashi Fumino was a little shy, then said seriously, "I ended up rejecting him. I don't know him at all. He suddenly confessed several times, and I found it quite troubling, so I refused."
"I can't understand that at all," Ogata Rizu said after hearing it, looking somewhat bewildered. "Confessing directly to a girl you barely know—I can't understand that by one picometer."
"Most guys are like that," Hayakawa shook his head from the side. "A pretty face and a slender figure are more important than familiarity and affection."
"Hayakawa-kun, you're a boy, too..." Furuhashi Fumino said expressionlessly from the side.
"I'm different," Hayakawa said, then looked earnestly at Furuhashi. "That's what I wanted to ask you. Although you rejected that Tanaka, you were confessed to by him after all. I'm afraid you might be influenced by that person and develop an interest in romance. So I wanted to ask you and Ogata, what are your thoughts on high school romance?"
"Oh, so that's it?" Ogata Rizu blinked. "I never thought that even a topic like romance could be addressed so formally by Hayakawa-kun. I don't feel any resistance to it."
Hayakawa said, "It is a very serious topic. Anything related to studying is a serious topic."
"Hmm... romance?" Ogata Rizu lowered her head and pondered. "I feel no sense of reality about it, and I have no desire to be in a relationship. Compared to romance, I'm more eager for board games."
"Eh... is that so?" Hayakawa Haku's eyes became vacant.
Ignoring romance to play games? What about your high school student's study mission? Did you forget? You are a lost cause. You're rotten to the core.
"What about you, Furuhashi?" Hayakawa Haku silently deducted ten thousand points from Ogata in his heart, then turned to the literature girl.
"Me?" Furuhashi Fumino subtly pressed her lips together, then turned her head away from Hayakawa Haku's gaze and whispered, "My inner thought is... I don't want to pursue romance. Even if I meet a very good person, I want to focus on my studies. So, I apologize."
Her voice was soft but very serious, as if she were simply answering Hayakawa's question.
In her heart, this was also her response to Hayakawa's feelings.
A polite rejection, a "friend zone" card.
"Is that so..." Hayakawa was momentarily stunned when he heard Furuhashi's words, then he smiled with relief.
"That's good."
At that moment, Furuhashi Fumino looked at the plain, somewhat lonely smile on Hayakawa's face, and suddenly felt a slight ache in her heart.