Chapter Thirty: Cleaning Up

"Who wrote this? The handwriting is truly excellent, reflecting deep personal insight. It serves as a perfect summary of this poetry collection. After reading it, I find myself longing to experience the feeling of falling in love." Kurohane Ichi whispered to himself, savoring the lines from the poetry book.

The girl sitting next to him furrowed her delicate brows slightly, seemingly annoyed by his muttering. She lifted her head just a little and caught sight of the lines written in Kurohane Ichi’s textbook. Her bright eyes suddenly widened.

She flipped through her own textbook, and sure enough, apart from the notes she had just taken today, the rest were blank. She turned to the very last page—it was completely empty. It was clearly a brand-new book. It wasn't hers. She recalled bumping into someone on the road; she must have swapped books with him then. She had taken his, and he had taken hers.

"Um, excuse me, classmate," the girl said softly to Kurohane Ichi.

"Are you calling me?" Kurohane Ichi’s hearing was sharp; he immediately heard her voice, lifted his head, and looked at her.

"Yes, um..." The girl held a ballpoint pen and pointed the tip toward Kurohane Ichi’s desk.

"My name is Kurohane Ichi," he said with a grin, assuming she was asking for his name, and felt an immediate surge of excitement.

"No, the book in your hand," the girl clarified, speaking in a low voice.

"What's wrong with it?" Kurohane Ichi asked, puzzled. "Isn't my book the same as yours?"

"That’s not your book, is it?" The girl pouted slightly, revealing a cute dimple. She had made her point quite obvious, and she couldn't tell if Kurohane Ichi was truly foolish or just playing dumb to keep talking to her.

"Oh..." Kurohane Ichi realized it instantly. No wonder there was writing at the back of this book. Looking at the elegant penmanship, it must have been written by a girl. That meant this book belonged to...

"Yes, we accidentally swapped books." The girl handed over the book from her desk, signaling for him to trade back.

Kurohane Ichi took one last reluctant look at those elegant lines before closing the book and handing it to her.

"Hey, don't you know it's rude to flip through someone else's book?" Seeing that Kurohane Ichi was still staring at those lines—she remembered clearly what was written there, her own little secret—she stood up in a flush of embarrassment and snatched the book from his hand. She then tossed her own book back at him.

"Watanabe Reimu, are you feeling unwell?" The female teacher had heard the commotion and turned her gaze toward Watanabe Reimu in the last row by the window. Seeing her flushed face and downcast head, the teacher asked with concern, thinking she was ill.

"I'm fine, thank you, Teacher," Reimu replied, looking up at her.

"Do be careful. If you don't feel well, come to me for a leave of absence to go home and rest. Don't push yourself too hard," the teacher said kindly.

*Watanabe Reimu? That name sounds so familiar. I feel like I've heard it before.*

When Kurohane Ichi heard the teacher address his desk-mate, a sense of familiarity washed over him, as if he had heard the name or known her before. Yet, no matter how hard he tried to search his memory, he couldn't recall anything.

*Ring—ring—*

"Alright, that’s all for today. It’s the last row’s turn to clean the classroom. Everyone else is dismissed." The teacher packed her books and left the classroom.

Except for the students in the last row, everyone else began packing their bags and leaving.

"Cleaning duty?" Kurohane Ichi puffed out his cheeks. *My luck is terrible. I have to do manual labor on my very first day as a transfer student.*

"Suzumiya, two hundred bucks. You can do my share and my sister-in-law's share!"

A curly-haired boy sitting in the last row of the first column pulled two hundred yuan from his pocket and slapped it onto the desk.

*"Sister-in-law?"* There were four seats in the last row. One was empty, so that left only the curly-haired boy, himself, and Watanabe Reimu. If he called Watanabe Reimu his sister-in-law, did that mean she already had a boyfriend? At that thought, Kurohane Ichi felt a tightness in his chest.

The other students in the room continued as before; those who were still packing finished up and left. No one paid attention to the arrogant boy, as if this were a common occurrence.

"Five hundred, Suzumiya. That should be your living expenses for a month, right? Are you sure you don't want it?" The boy pulled out another three hundred and slammed it onto the desk with a mocking smirk.

The girl in the first row of the first column paused as she was about to step out of the classroom.

"Uno Taku, who is your sister-in-law? Don't talk nonsense." Watanabe Reimu packed her textbook into a pink casual bag, stood up, and looked at Uno Taku.

"Isn't that bound to happen sooner or later? Heh heh." Uno Taku gave her a fawning smile.

Watanabe Reimu didn't say anything more. She walked straight to the front door, grabbed a broom, and began to sweep from the front of the room, using her actions to rebuke him.

"Uno, you're always so tactless. Big Sister is angry; hurry up and apologize." A buzz-cut boy sitting in the first row of the second column saw Reimu’s expression and assumed she was upset. He shot a look at Uno Taku.

"Big Sister, I'm sorry. I was wrong. My apologies." Seeing the signal, Uno Taku immediately understood, lowered his head, and apologized to Reimu with feigned sincerity.

"It's fine. Just don't call me that again. And don't call me Big Sister; just call me Watanabe," Reimu said, looking up at Uno Taku and Miyamoto Tsunehisa with a polite smile.

"Suzumiya Asuka, are you going to do it or not? It's just one person's work—sweeping and mopping. Five hundred for less than half an hour's work," Uno Taku said. Whatever the reason for his polite attitude toward Watanabe, he was extremely cruel to the girl standing at the door.

The girl named Suzumiya stood at the entrance, clutching her hem. After a moment of hesitation, she lowered her head and walked silently toward Uno Taku’s desk, reaching out to take the money.

"Hahaha!"

Uno Taku swiped the five hundred yuan, throwing it onto the floor, and put his feet up on the desk with a mocking laugh.

Suzumiya stood in place with her head bowed, her hair obscuring her face, making her expression impossible to see.

"Ah, sorry, my hand slipped," Uno Taku chuckled meanly, seemingly enjoying the way he used money to humiliate others.

Suzumiya Asuka’s body trembled. With her hair blocking her face, it was impossible to tell if she was crying or just furious.

"Heh, I'll do it. I'll clean for you."

Kurohane Ichi dashed from his seat to Uno Taku’s desk, bent down, and picked up the bills one by one. He stacked them together and clutched them tightly, fearing Uno Taku might take them back.

"Huh? What kind of garbage are you? How dare you..." Uno Taku tilted his head, took his feet off the desk, and stood up, frowning at Kurohane Ichi. He hadn't expected someone to suddenly intervene; no one in this class dared to cross him.

But when he saw it was Kurohane Ichi, the smirk on his face grew wider.

"Well, someone has to do it, right? If she doesn't want it, I'll take it. Heh, thanks."

Kurohane Ichi stuffed the money into his pocket without further ado and turned toward the front door to get the cleaning supplies.

"Wait!"

Uno Taku called out to him and slipped his right hand into his pocket.

"What's wrong? Are you having second thoughts?"

Kurohane Ichi stopped, his back to Uno Taku. Beneath his bangs, his right eyebrow arched slightly, and his lips maintained a subtle curve.

"No. Since you're a new student, I should naturally look after you."

Uno Taku walked toward Kurohane Ichi with one hand in his pocket. Passing Suzumiya Asuka, he acted as if she weren't there, shoving her aside with his shoulder before smiling at Kurohane Ichi.

Suzumiya Asuka stumbled into a desk nearby, looking at them through the gaps in her hair. Her tear-filled eyes held a glimmer of relief, mixed with worry and, more than anything, pity.

"Uno, stay calm. Take your time!"

Miyamoto Tsunehisa walked over to Uno Taku’s side with his hands in his pockets, casting a provocative glare at Kurohane Ichi’s back.

Kurohane Ichi turned around, wearing a friendly, sycophantic smile for Miyamoto and Uno.

Under Kurohane Ichi’s seemingly nervous gaze, Uno Taku smiled and slowly pulled his clenched right hand from his pocket, then gradually opened it.

Kurohane Ichi’s expression relaxed as the hand opened, and he let out a sigh of relief.

"Kurohane, here is another five hundred. Go have a blast tonight. Celebrate your first day at this school—which is also your last."

In Uno Taku’s palm lay several crumpled hundred-yuan bills, which he held out toward Kurohane Ichi.

"Heh, Uno, you don't have to be so polite. We’re all classmates after all. If there are any more good opportunities like this, remember to call me." Kurohane Ichi seemed to ignore the underlying threat in Uno Taku’s words; he snatched the money from his hand and tucked it into his pocket.