Even with chuunibyou, let's learn together!

Page 179

For example, that letter.

Gu Qiao's gaze fell subtly on the letter on the bedside table, which remained untouched as if no one had ever read it.

Indeed, that was the case; the ancient bridge was not visited.

That's only natural, after all, it's someone else's letter, and like a diary, it's someone else's privacy. Whether it's something someone wrote to Hayakawa or something Hayakawa wrote to someone else, you shouldn't just look at it casually.

So, although Fumino Furuhashi was very curious, she suppressed her curiosity and put the letter back in its original place.

However, although I cannot read the letter, I can directly ask Hayakawa what the letter is, so it doesn't count as an invasion of privacy.

Fumino Furuhashi looked at Hayakawa on the bed, only to find him motionless, looking truly exhausted.

Chapter 268 The Gap in Talent

"You're really sleepy,"

Seeing Hayakawa's exhausted face, Fumino Furuhashi ultimately didn't dare to ask, and whispered, "Then I'll go, you should get some rest."

After saying that, Fumino Furuhashi walked out. She wanted to go back and reconcile with Riju Ogata as soon as possible. As for Shin and Hayakawa, she wasn't in a hurry. She could ask them tomorrow or the day after. There were still several days left on the trip, and they would have plenty of time to spend together in the future.

The girl smiled faintly and walked out the door.

The beauty of youth lies in its naivety; at this time, they are unaware of the cruelty of time and naturally assume that it will be the same in the future.

"Bang~"

The sound of the door closing came from the doorway, but Hayakawa lay motionless on the bed, a feeling of exhaustion rising from his knees up his spine and spreading throughout his body.

This blow left him utterly devastated.

He could tell that when Ogata Rizu first started playing, her skill level was no different from that of a novice, at most she knew the specific rules, but she was still able to fight him to the end through defense and eventually beat him. In the following games, she became more and more proficient, she became familiar with the rules and even learned a lot from him, and winning against him became easier and easier.

This is the difference in talent. Whenever it comes to science, Rizu Ogata seems to be a different species from her peers, knowing everything and being omnipotent.

Hayakawa could feel this gap, and the harder he tried, the more he could feel it. It wasn't like climbing a mountain; it was more like Ogata Riju standing on one side of a cliff, while he was on the other, with an abyss between them.

Because no matter how difficult climbing a mountain is, you can still get close to it, but no matter how hard you try, you are helpless when facing a cliff. You can only jump and then fall to your death.

Fumino Furuhashi is the same.

Their existence renders all efforts meaningless.

Hayakawa took off his clothes, not in the mood to tidy himself up, and lay down on the bed to sleep, but he couldn't feel sleepy at all. His mind kept replaying those games of chess, Ogata Riju's calm and indifferent face and her increasingly casual moves, which completely locked down his large group of stones, directly devouring them and turning them into dust.

He couldn't sleep all night, as if he were asleep but couldn't actually fall asleep. He was unable to move, as if he were being paralyzed by a ghost. Scenes kept replaying in his mind like a nightmare: the scene when he first met the two girls, the stacks of test papers he had prepared for them, the study notes that filled the entire bookcase at home, and his slightly swaying figure under the dim light.

Perhaps it's useless to try.

he thinks.

……

"yawn…"

Hayakawa yawned deeply, his expression clearly showing drowsiness and sleepiness.

You seem very sleepy…

Having reconciled with Rizu Ogata, Fumino Furuhashi, after a good night's sleep, regained the enthusiasm she had at the beginning of the trip. Hearing Hayakawa yawn, she immediately looked over and exclaimed in surprise, "Wow! Your dark circles seem even worse. Didn't you sleep last night?"

"I didn't sleep well last night."

Hayakawa mumbled something, his furrowed brows, which he was trying to keep alert, making him look somewhat fierce.

He tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, until around 5 a.m. before finally losing consciousness. He was having nightmares, which made him feel even worse than if he hadn't slept at all. Just at 7 a.m., he was woken up by a phone call from Fumino Furuhashi and the shrill sound of the doorbell.

To be honest, the moment the phone and doorbell jolted Hayakawa awake, he even had the illusion that he was going to have a nervous breakdown and die.

However, this physical blow was not the most painful for Hayakawa, since staying up all night to study was commonplace for him. The most painful thing was the mental and emotional blow.

He had originally planned to escape this morning, but was forced to stop because he hadn't slept a wink last night.

It looks like I can only delay it for one more day, and then I'll have to run it every day.

Hayakawa yawned, feeling a chill creeping up his body, somewhat like the fever he had during his temple fair trip.

"..."

Hayakawa felt his body and couldn't help but frown slightly. Getting sick now was absolutely not an option. He was going to the temple to train, and if he looked sickly, would the abbot still accept him?

Hayakawa felt a headache coming on. His concept of a temple abbot was basically based on stereotypes: a bald old monk in abbot's robes, stubborn, rigid, and rule-abiding, with a fierceness similar to Ogata's father who knew someone was after his daughter. His stereotype of monks was the "Eighteen Bronze Men" from the internet, shirtless with bulging muscles, who would smash their heads with a sledgehammer to train their will and physique.

If I'm not in good health, I might not be able to get in even if I have a letter of introduction.

Looks like I need to buy some medicine.

"Buy some of all kinds of medicine."

Hayakawa muttered to himself, but then he saw Ogata Riju, dressed up, walk out of the next room, and a tearing pain shot through his heart.

Love may fade, but pain... will not.

The pain is etched into my heart, flows in my blood, and has become me.

"Let's go."

Rizu Ogata walked to the side of the old bridge, and the two girls smiled at each other, seemingly having no conflict at all.

"Where to go?"

Hayakawa is currently experiencing some PTSD regarding Ogata Rizu, and instinctively took a step back as she approached.

"Does that need to be said?"

Furuhashi and Ogata looked at Hayakawa with puzzlement, then said at the same time, "Let's continue our journey!"

Hayakawa: "..."

Oh, I'm still on my trip. I was so heartbroken last night that I completely forgot about it.

Looking at the girl's joyful face, Hayakawa couldn't help but lower his head and ponder.

I remember Fumino Furuhashi telling me about her travel plans for a long time before, and the second day's itinerary was something like:

Take the tram and climb Mount Yangti.

climb mountains…

Hayakawa was filled with confusion. He hadn't slept all night, and he was going to go hiking early the next morning. Was it really okay?

……

Damn it...

Hayakawa gritted his teeth and got off the tram. He had almost fallen asleep while riding the tram because the carriage was shaking so violently.

"Hayakawa, let's go!"

Fumino Furuhashi pulled Ogata along in the queue ahead and waved to him, saying, "There are too many people here. If you can't keep up, we won't be able to find you."

Knowing this, why aren't you slowing down?

Hayakawa watched the two girls walking forward excitedly and took a long breath. After resting for a moment, he looked ahead and saw that the tourists in front of him were as numerous as the tide, shoulder to shoulder, and noisy. The crowd queuing to buy tickets filled the long street like a long dragon. You couldn't see the beginning or the end of the queue, which made people feel annoyed just looking at it.

Hayakawa looked bewildered upon seeing this daunting scene.

There are so many people in this world? This was the first time he had realized it.

Chapter 269 First Encounter with the Temple People

There are just too many people in this world... as numerous as ants.

Hayakawa looked at the crowded and noisy crowd in front of him and suddenly felt dizzy. He was not prone to motion sickness, seasickness, or airsickness, but he would inexplicably become irritable when he saw a lot of people. In addition, he was feeling unwell after staying up all night, which made him feel even worse.

"Ancient bridge..."

Hayakawa instinctively called out, but when he looked up, he found that Furuhashi and Ogata were nowhere to be seen; they had long since disappeared.

His vision blurred, and he staggered, struggling to support himself on his knees. Exhausted, he wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve. The damp hair on his forehead clung to his skin, making him feel as if his face was covered in a spider web. His pale skin had only a trace of color, which then revealed a bitter smile.

He has always believed that the spirit is more important than the body, so what makes him so dejected now is not the exhaustion from staying up all night, but the psychological imbalance caused by the games of chess last night.

Those few games of chess were like a mirror... clearly reflecting the gap between himself and Ogata Riju, leaving Hayakawa completely aware of it without any concealment.

To reiterate, their existence renders talent meaningless.

But I...

Hayakawa smiled wryly and decided to squat down for a while to rest.

However, just as he bent down, a body suddenly appeared beside him and firmly supported him.

"Are you alright, child?"

A sweet voice came from beside his ear, accompanied by a soft touch and a pervasive fragrance. The faint bitter taste reminded Hayakawa of apricot blossoms.

"child?"

Hayakawa turned to look at the people next to him, only to see a young girl.

Her face was delicate and elegant, her figure was graceful and curvaceous, and her long legs were particularly eye-catching in the sunlight. She was wrapped in a long coat and scarf typical of Hokkaido winters, and her long purple hair, braided into pigtails, reached down to her waist. She had the typical long, straight hair that people could never get tired of looking at.

"Huh? So you're not a middle school student after all!"

The girl blinked, and only after recognizing Hayakawa's face in confusion did she turn pale with fright. She immediately let go of Hayakawa's arm and apologized repeatedly, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. I saw you standing there bent over, looking so thin and small, and I thought you were a middle school student who had gotten lost from your parents. I was even thinking of taking you to the lost children's identification center. But when I looked at you, you seemed much older than a middle school student. I'm so sorry!"

As the girl spoke, she repeatedly bowed to express her apology.

"Do I look like a little kid...?"

Hayakawa didn't know how to react, so he just made a comment and straightened up.

"No, no,"

Seeing this, the girl stopped bowing and hurriedly waved her hand. Then, with an extremely serious expression, she said solemnly, "You look very mature, not at all like a middle school student."

Hayakawa: "...Okay."

"And your dark circles are really bad, you must have stayed up late. High school and junior high school students can't possibly be sleep-deprived during holidays,"

The girl made her judgment and said with certainty, "You must be a college student who works very hard at school."

Hayakawa said expressionlessly, "I'm a high school student."

"Huh? Same as me?"

The girl was stunned for a moment, then tilted her head in a somewhat dazed manner.

"Ah."

Hayakawa took a deep breath, nodded, and said, "Thank you. I'm Hayakawa Shiro."

Hayakawa introduced himself to the girl. He had an inexplicable fondness for her. The reason was simple: there was a kind of clear stupidity in her eyes, and her words and actions gave people the feeling that she was not smart. This made Hayakawa feel the superiority of his intelligence over others once again.

Good heavens, ever since I started high school, I've been surrounded by people like Fumino Furuhashi and Rizu Ogata, and then there are people like Masuzu Natsukawa and Umaru. I don't know how long it's been since I've felt this way.

I miss that feeling of being in control so much.

Hayakawa closed his eyes slightly, and even his body and mind seemed to have recovered somewhat.

"Oh, are you going to sleep standing up?"

The girl in front of her saw that Hayakawa had closed his eyes and looked around in a panic: "At least find a bench or something."

"No."

Hayakawa's face immediately darkened; being too stupid really does make one somewhat repulsive.

"Oh, you look a little tired,"

The girl said something, then clutched her chest and introduced herself, "I am Aoba Setsukatsuki, from a nearby temple..."

Her tone suddenly softened, and she whispered, "An ordinary female high school student from nearby, and then that was it."

Hayakawa: "..."

What?! That change in expression, as if he's hiding something, is so obvious! It's really piqued my curiosity.

However, Hayakawa didn't seem to care much about Aoba Yuzuki in front of him, after all, she was just a girl he had met by chance, so he simply nodded indifferently and said, "Hello, Aoba..."

Hayakawa frowned, unsure of how to address him, so he subconsciously chose the way he was most familiar with: "Aoba-kun".