NOVEL NEXT Chapter 29: Home Visit
Haruto sighed, closed his book, glanced at Itsuki, and noticed her wandering eyes, as if she was hesitant to speak.
"Itsuki, what's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing."
Itsuki shook her head, took the initiative to lift her bangs, and allowed the boy to flick her forehead.
Haruto thought for a moment, extended his hand, and said, "Itsuki, lift your head."
"Huh?"
Itsuki lifted her head and gazed at him with her beautiful blue eyes. It had to be said, Itsuki's eyes were stunning, pure, and clear like the afternoon sky.
'Is this really for flicking my forehead? Can flicking my forehead really make me smarter? Well, it doesn't hurt to try...'
Itsuki hesitated for a moment, then blushed and agreed.
The flow of ideas she had felt yesterday was great.
She couldn't refuse!
Itsuki nervously lifted her bangs, her cheeks tinged with pink.
She raised her face, closed her eyes tightly, and her voice trembled: "Kuromori-kun... please start!"
Itsuki's embarrassment was hard to hide.
The girl shyly lifted her face, tightly shutting her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering nervously, her sakura-colored lips slightly pursed, and there was a shimmer in her expression.
Haruto couldn't help but glance again.
Then, Itsuki's face grew redder, and her ears were stained with a deep crimson hue.
Feeling embarrassed, she trembled slightly and said, "Mhm, Kuromori-kun, stop staring."
Haruto coughed lightly and said, "I'm ready."
"Mm..."
Itsuki lifted her face, clearly feeling the warmth on her cheeks. Even her heart was beating faster than usual. She placed her right hand over her chest, feeling both hopeful and anxious.
Haruto reached out his hand and gently flicked her glowing forehead.
*Crack*
A sharp sound echoed, followed by Itsuki's groan.
"Ugh... That hurt..."
"It'll only hurt for a moment."
"Kuromori-kun, that was too much. You could've been gentler."
"Sorry, I couldn't help it."
"Ugh... that was mean."
Itsuki accused him, her eyes brimming with tears.
Haruto put on a serious face and said, "Do you want to try again?"
"No, I'm not doing it again."
Itsuki quickly covered her forehead and shook her head, saying, "I'll just start studying my notes."
How could she do something as embarrassing as letting her forehead be flicked again?
Luckily, no one was in the library, or else she would never forgive him!
Frustrated, Itsuki dove into her notes with intense focus.
Then, to her surprise, she realized she had become a genius once again.
'Amazing. Does flicking my forehead really work? No, it's not that forehead flicking is effective, but only forehead flicking by Kuromori-kun works?'
Even though Itsuki wasn't the brightest when it came to studying, it didn't mean she lacked common sense.
If someone could get smarter just by having their forehead flicked, there wouldn't be any foolish people in the world!
The library soon fell silent.
The sound of soft footsteps echoed, and Haruto turned to see a girl with pigtails and large glasses tiptoeing to place a book on a high shelf, clearly struggling.
Haruto averted his gaze and resumed reading.
There was no need to help; after all, they were strangers.
He knew who the girl was—one of the library managers at Sobu High School.
Her name was something like... Sanshokuin?
As the sun set, tired birds returned to their nests.
Unknowingly, the clouds in the sky had turned red. Haruto glanced at the clock—it was already 4:30 PM.
"Itsuki, that's enough for today."
After saying this, he handed her a few exam papers. "Take these home, prepare, and give them to me for checking tomorrow."
Itsuki's foundation in math was so poor that she couldn't even grasp some basic middle school concepts.
The notebook Haruto gave her was a summary of key points from middle school up until now, along with some common questions.
However, the test questions not only covered math but also world history, Japanese, English, and other subjects.
Though he originally agreed to tutor Itsuki to get closer to her, after spending time with her, he realized this earnest fool shouldn't give up.
Effort might not always pay off, but without trying, there was no hope.
"Alright, thank you, Kuromori-kun."
Itsuki took the exam papers, her little ahoge swaying, clearly in a good mood. There was also a sparkle in her eyes when she looked at Haruto.
"I'll definitely do my best on these."
If not for Haruto, she might still be struggling to get by with her inefficient study methods.
'Thankfully, I met Kuromori-kun, though I do feel a bit guilty for troubling him so much.'
Haruto said, "It's already 4:30 PM, let's head out! Time to go home."
"Huh? It's already 4:30?"
Itsuki turned to look outside and saw the sun setting in the west, with the sky ablaze in red.
So fast!
She was dazed. In the past, even when she studied hard, she was easily distracted and found it challenging.
But now, without even noticing, the time spent studying had flown by.
"Let's go!"
"Mm."
The two of them left the library and found the school mostly deserted, with only a few members of the sports clubs still training.
Itsuki lifted her hand to brush away the windblown hair by her ear, let out a sigh of relief, and said, "Kuromori-kun, Nino has caused you trouble."
When she had checked her phone earlier, Itsuki realized there had been some conflict between Nino and Haruto, but fortunately, the misunderstanding had been resolved.
Itsuki spoke earnestly, "I'll talk to Nino properly when I get home. Kuromori-kun, you don't need to worry."
"No need."
"Huh?"
Haruto calmly said, "I'm going to visit your house."
"Huh?"
Itsuki looked at him in surprise, unsure of what he was thinking. She turned away, her eyes wandering, her cheeks tinged with pink. "Well, I just want to focus on studying hard right now."
Haruto's eyes looked indifferent: "You're overthinking it."
Itsuki puffed out her cheeks and said in frustration, "Kuromori-kun, you're bullying me."
"I'm not."
"You totally are."
"Fine, I really am bullying you!"
❀❀❀
Itsuki opened the apartment door, took a deep breath, and said, "I'm back..."
Haruto glanced around and commented, "It looks nice."
Seeing him so composed, Itsuki couldn't help but complain, "Kuromori-kun, you're too calm!"
"Relax!"
Haruto waved his hand, took off his shoes, and said, "Don't worry about Nino, I'll handle it."
The misunderstanding had been cleared up, so there was nothing to fear.
Besides, even if Nino wanted to cause trouble, Haruto wouldn't take it personally.
"Hearing you say that makes me even more worried."
Itsuki lifted her hand to cover her forehead, pouted, and said, "Anyway, I'll deal with Nino in a moment. Come in!"
"Excuse me."
Haruto nodded slightly, put on the slippers Itsuki had bought, and followed her into the living room.
No one was there, and Itsuki felt a bit relieved.
"Kuromori-kun, please sit for a while. I'm going upstairs to change."
Itsuki handed Haruto the TV remote and turned on the TV. "Kuromori-kun, feel free to watch TV for a bit."
"I'll be right down."
After saying that, Itsuki rushed upstairs.