The colored ball of light rotated slowly, and the light shone through the small holes, sweeping over the faces of the two men in the corner.

"I thought there would be one of those waiters who carried a lot of wine glasses on their plates and were messing around at the party." Morimi suddenly said, "It didn't turn out." ”

"How can there be such a waiter at a Christmas party at school......"

Naruse paused and reacted, "What do you want to drink?" ”

"Whatever."

"Then drink something hot."

He went and asked for two glasses of hot milk.

"Thank you." Morimi took a sip, pursed his lips, and finally smiled a little, "It feels much warmer." ”

"Can you stay in this corner without getting cold?" Having said that, Naruse didn't leave either, still standing next to her.

"I want to be quiet alone."

"Then what kind of party are you going to?"

"The silence in the noise can make people know themselves more deeply."

"Are you confirming the gold content of this 'second grade' that you have got?"

“……”

She looked over, took a deep breath, and spoke after a few more moments.

"I almost threw this glass of milk in your face just now."

Naruse stood to the side.

After his emotions calmed down a little, Morimi asked, "How many points did Naruse score?" ”

Before the so-called "top 50" results are released, there is no way to know the scores of other students except for direct inquiry.

Naruse groaned.

"Don't remember?"

"No, you finish the milk first."

Mori saw a look at him, "How many points?" ”

Naruse had no choice but to report his score.

“……”

She opened her mouth, and the expression on her face disappeared at once.

Holding the remaining half of the cup of hot milk in his hand, he couldn't feel the slightest temperature, and all that echoed in his mind was the number just now.

"This kind of score ...... How, exactly? ”

"This exam is relatively simple, and I am more serious."

As soon as she heard the seriousness, she couldn't help but sigh deeply: "I'm also serious......"

Naruse didn't answer, looked ahead, lifted the cup and took a sip.

Darkness enveloped the party venue, the crowd swayed around in the buzzing noise, and it was as if night had fallen.

In the middle of the sweep, he suddenly saw Naoko who was staying with the Takigawa sisters.

The venue was dim, and several people were standing under the lights, which was quite conspicuous.

"I passed...... Morimi? ”

She tugged at his uniform.

"What about the specific score?"

Morimi looked at him, "You should remember the scores of each subject." ”

“……”

Naruse was a little helpless, "Does it still make sense to ask this now?" ”

"I want to know." She insisted.

He had to tell her the specific scores for each subject.

"Full marks in math, perfect marks in English, perfect marks in biology......"

Morimi involuntarily let go of his hand and muttered, "It's relatively simple, but it's not as simple as this......"

Naruse looked at her, "I just said that I also take this exam seriously." ”

She pursed her lips and frowned, trying to say something but not speaking.

Seeing her in this state, Naoko Narose wanted to find Naoko, but she didn't take a step after all.

"What about Morimi's score?" He asked.

She glanced at him and moved her lips a few times before she spoke.

"The gap isn't huge."

Her expression softened a little, but her brow was still gloomy.

"Isn't there a big gap? That's right, looking down from the top is completely different from looking up from the bottom.

At this level, it is difficult to improve a few points, let alone ...... More than twenty points. ”

Naruse looked at her, "If you feel too much pressure to look up all the time, Morimi can occasionally turn around and look at the people below." ”

She looked at him, "I'm just going to look up and not looking for satisfaction in people who are lower than me." ”

Naruse suddenly smiled, "Did you think so when you were the first in the exam?" ”

“……”

She pursed her lower lip.

"I don't deny Morimi's self-motivation, but it's always tense, and it affects the efficiency of learning, doesn't it?"

"But if you relax a little, you will be chased by the people below......"

"—why are you so nervous?"

Naruse couldn't help but interrupt her, she was so stubborn that she gave him a little headache when it came to studying.

"And even if you get caught up, it's not the most important exam.

Morimi fell to ninth last time, and this time he won't take the test again...... What, is it the first grade other than me? ”

She pursed her lower lip, seemed to smile, and quickly turned her face away.

After a brief silence, she sighed softly.

"What is the first grade except for Ling, don't you feel embarrassed to use this strange statement."

“…… This is what Morimi himself said just now. ”

"Forget about it."

Naruse rolled his eyes, "Forgot." ”

Morimi pinched the disposable paper cup in his hand.

The tide comes, the tide recedes, and it keeps surging.

The many irritabilities that could not distinguish the source and were entangled in a mess disturbed her, but most of them suddenly dissipated out of thin air, and she took a deep breath and looked away.

The party in the field is still going on and has not been affected in any way.

Her problems have not been solved, but she has also lost the sense of oppression that has been pressing in her heart step by step.

- What he just said still had some effect.

Although he was the one who made her suddenly feel anxious.

"It's all because Naruse ......" she didn't look at him, "I'm going to be so weird." ”

"Don't use that strange statement."

She took a half-step back, leaning against the wall, losing focus.

"When I saw that I was second in my grade, I thought I wouldn't really care...... I can't tell what I'm anxious about now, and I don't know if it's right for me to relax at this time. ”

Naruse glanced at her and drank all the milk in the cup.

"Morimi's real problem is that he thinks too much."

"But I can't help but think about it, it's always the thing I care about the most...... Especially now that I've just gotten results. ”

"Didn't you come to the party just to put these things aside for a while?"

"I told you that the starfish brought me here."

Naruse looked at her, "But if you see that you don't want to, can the starfish pull you?" ”

“……”

The brief silence was a foreshadowing of the outburst.

"So...... It's all to blame for Naruse's sudden accosting, which made me think crankily for a long time - don't suddenly create pressure on people, it's obviously this kind of occasion, isn't it here to relax, you have to learn to read the air. I think you just want to come over and show off that you've been the first in your grade again. Ahhh Anyway, you're definitely thinking about ...... again."

"Yes Yes ......"

Naruse didn't bother to refute, but she also understood that she had accumulated a lot of pressure, and she would admit everything.

After venting, Morimi stopped.

“…… That's it. ”

"What you're taught."

It was impossible to completely relax after hearing his score, but she didn't want to be immersed in the anxiety caused by the gap all the time, so she decided to enjoy the party in front of her for a while.

After all, it's all here.

And today is the last day of the semester.

"Did Naruse see the starfish just now?"

"Nope. Naoko and Hikari are over there. ”

Morimi glanced twice at the place he was pointing, and then realized something: "Naoko would actually let you run around on such an occasion." ”

"So I'm going to look for her now."

"Are you going to leave me?"

"Can't you just come along?"

She didn't move, she looked over there for a moment, and suddenly handed him the cup.

"One more drink."

Naruse took the cup and went to ask for another cup of hot milk.

"Thank you."

She took a sip, an undisguised smile on her face.

Not only because of the hot milk that warmed the cold body again, but also because of the indescribable satisfaction that he brought by his obedience.

Although he won't always listen to her......

She looked at the girl in the light over there.

"Then again, how did Naoko do in the exam this time?"

"Twenty-one grades."

“…… Has it improved so much again. ”

"It's amazing, isn't it?"

Morimi pursed his lips.

Thanks to the leader of the book friend rankiw, add more in a few days

(End of chapter)