After I Picked up a Notebook Filled With Intense Emotions, the Girls Started Acting Strange - Chapter 37

The tests finally start today and will last for three days.

Since this time, it’s the midterm exams, and only the five main subjects are included.

Last year, my final ranking was around 40th place.

My grades aren’t bad, but I’m still below Shindou.

And yet, I challenged him… Maybe that was reckless after all.

But thanks to Sena-san’s special practice tests, my preparation is solid.

They were so well-made that I honestly wondered if a real teacher wrote them. I learned a lot from them.

Sena-san made fifteen pages for each subject.

That means seventy-five pages in total.

I worked through all of them until the exam day.

I almost froze when I saw that huge stack of papers, but when she handed them to me with a smile, there was no way I could refuse.

Besides, she worked so hard for my sake. I couldn’t ignore that.

Still… I never want to remember that amount again.

I didn’t even study that much for high school entrance exams.

The first test is math.

When the bell rang, the teacher started the exam, and I turned the first page.

And when I saw what was written there, the words slipped out of my mouth.

“Sena-san is amazing…”

◆

“I-It’s fine… I’m fine… I’m fine… I’m fine…”

On the day of the test, I kept whispering those words to myself as I waited for it to start.

Then, when the teacher gave the signal, the exam began, and I turned the page.

“…Haha.”

The moment I saw the questions, I couldn’t help but laugh.

And then, everything I had done during the whole study period flashed through my mind like a slideshow.

＊＊＊

My life had been going smoothly until recently, but everything suddenly went downhill when Mizuki stopped taking care of me.

And that wasn’t the only problem.

Because of the strange rumor Yukina spread about me that day, the reputation I had built up slowly started to fall apart.

But things began to get better again.

Ever since I started dating Rei, my life has changed once more.

Just having her in my life made the whole world look brighter.

She was so beautiful, like a goddess who could steal anyone’s gaze.

And she became my girlfriend.

That alone made me feel like everything up until now had been worth it.

Studying for tests together with her like this… I felt like the happiest person in the world.

“What’s wrong? You’re staring at my face so much.”

“Ah… I was thinking how beautiful Rei is today.”

“Hehe. Thank you.”

Her smile healed me, but I had to return my focus to the test in front of me.

When we first started dating, I thought she would cling to me and act sweet all the time, but that wasn’t the case.

She always acted cool, and she rarely relaxed her expression even in front of me.

In fact, because she was so capable, she expected the same level of effort from me.

Top five in the grade.

That was what she wanted from me.

At first, I thought it was impossible. But I convinced myself it was a test of love.

If I could overcome this challenge, she would truly acknowledge me, and our relationship would deepen even more.

Then we could hold hands, kiss, or even go further… hehe.

No matter what, I really wanted to do things with her.

But even though I agreed to her condition, the truth was it was tough.

Last time, I only managed a good score because Mizuki made me her special study notebook.

I didn’t have that this time.

But Rei was even smarter than Mizuki, so if she taught me, it would be easy…!

“Rei, I’m sorry, but can you teach me this part?”

“What don’t you understand?”

“Um, this part here…”

“That’s the basic area. If you can’t understand that, you won’t be able to solve anything after it. If you want to ask me, then learn the basics first and come to me when it gets harder.”

“Ah… huh?”

Rei looked away from me and started reading her novel.

“R-Rei, aren’t you going to study?”

“Me? I don’t need to. If you always work hard, you can score well. You don’t have to look so worried. You can do it, Shindou-kun. I believe in you.”

“─Gasp.”

Ugh. If Rei has that much faith in me, then I can’t stumble here!

After that, I worked as hard as I could to reach a level where she might help me.

But as expected, there was a limit to what I could do alone.

I got tired, lost motivation, and felt like I needed… some kind of reward to keep going.

That’s it, a reward.

That much should be allowed, right?

So I made a proposal to Rei.

“U-um. If I make it into the top five, will you do anything I ask? Just one thing.”

“I don’t mind. If that motivates you, then go ahead.”

When I heard her say that, I pumped my fist in my heart.

The heavens were on my side.

Feeling fired up, I threw myself into studying for the test but…

The next afternoon after school.

I was studying with Rei again.

She had told me to study the basics on my own, but we’re still a couple.

She could teach me a little, right?

With that in mind, I tried asking her again.

“Rei. I did study on my own, but I still want you to teach me. You know, studying together like this is part of what couples do, right?”

“…That’s true.”

Yes.

I expected her to turn me down again, but to my surprise, Rei accepted my request.

“Alright then, first…”

“─Gasp.”

She brushed her hair behind her ear and leaned closer to me.

She smelled so nice.

My heart was pounding like crazy. I couldn’t even think about studying anymore.

“Are you listening?”

“Y-Yeah. I’m listening!!”

“Then…”

For a moment, I thought she was mad, but it seemed fine.

“It’s a little warm.”

“…!?!!”

Then she unbuttoned the top button of her blouse.

My eyes were sucked in like a black hole.

Gulp…

My throat made a sound. No, this is bad! If she notices I’m staring… glance.

“Can you concentrate?”

“I-I’m fine. Totally fine… glance.”

From that point on, it was pure hell.

Her temptation was too strong, and none of her words entered my brain.

All the charm she gave off pulled every bit of my focus away.

Halfway through, all I could do was desperately fight against the burning desire inside me.

Even though she stayed late every day to teach me, I didn’t feel like I was learning anything.

And when I went home, I kept thinking about her… which led to self-service again and again, until I was exhausted and fell asleep without getting any real studying done.

That day after school, she distracted me again.

She almost noticed that I wasn’t focusing on her lesson, so I pretended I needed a break and escaped from the room.

“If this keeps up, I’m done for… I haven’t studied at all… Why did things end up like this…”

I decided to take a short break and buy a drink from the vending machine in the hall.

But as soon as I stepped into the hall.

I saw my childhood friend… and that annoying classmate I hated.

The moment I spotted them, something dark rose inside me.

Did they even understand whose fault it was that I was suffering like this?

Before I knew it, I was already challenging Shiomi again.

If I could get Mizuki back, my easy life would return.

Rei told me I should only look at her, but… her personality honestly doesn’t match mine.

She’s too smart.

She doesn’t even notice how much I’m struggling because of it.

But even if that’s the case, she’s incredibly beautiful and at the top of the class.

I absolutely want to sleep with her.

And if I rank in the top 5 on the test, she has to do whatever I ask.

Then I can train her to be obedient.

With this test, I’ll make Rei fall completely for me… and I’ll take Mizuki back too.

It was the perfect plan.

─Or at least, it should have been.

A few days later.

This time it was PE class.

Once again, that guy made me look like a fool.

I thought Rei would give up on me, but she didn’t.

That was a relief.

Those cold eyes she showed me… Just remembering them sends a chill through me.

I told myself I would embarrass that guy in the next test… but then even more trouble hit me.

I didn’t notice it during PE because I was so desperate, but after class, a sharp pain shot through my finger.

A strong and throbbing pain.

─I had jammed my finger.

After that, I couldn’t write well while studying, and I couldn’t prepare for the test properly.

＊＊＊

“Time’s up.”

The teacher’s voice echoed sadly through the quiet classroom.

From the back, the test papers were being collected row by row.

Meanwhile, Arata held his head in his hands.

“…ah… aah… aaaah…”

He was in complete despair.

◇◇◇

Afterword

To those who already read it, I’m sorry.

I made some corrections.

I changed some of Rei’s actions.

I also removed the part about Tokyo University~.

I felt it was a bit strange for her to actively get in the way of studying, so I changed the story to make Shindou-kun mess things up on his own instead.

Thank you for understanding.