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Chapter 36 - Chapter 36: He/She is So Naive

(Just say a little more... how can those mediocre people possibly compare to my dedication?)

As early as last week, Kikyo Kushida had used her meticulously woven social network to find out the swimming class schedules for the other classes. When she learned that the PE teacher would be organizing a freestyle competition, she immediately realized it was a perfect opportunity. So, for the entire weekend, while other students were perhaps enjoying their time off, she was in the pool by herself, repeatedly practicing every detail of her strokes, breathing, and turns. Her arms ached from the continuous training, but she would just shake off the water droplets and dive back in.

(It has to be perfect...)

And now, having this secret effort pointed out by someone, she felt a strange sense of satisfaction. It was as if the audience had finally seen the hard work behind the carefully arranged stage. The mix of embarrassment at being seen through and a secret pleasure made her heart beat a little faster. The dark thoughts from before quietly faded, replaced by a subtle feeling of exhilaration.

(Heh... Kiyomizu-kun is quite the smooth-talker today. I'll curse you a little less tonight. As for that bitch... she won't be so lucky.)

The PE teacher's loud voice suddenly echoed across the poolside: "Girls' group, get ready! The 50-meter freestyle race is about to begin! First place gets 5,000 personal points!"

A few minutes later, Kikyo Kushida stood at the edge of the swimming pool, her gaze discreetly scanning the lane lines.

(While swimming really isn't my strong suit... these past two days of practice weren't for nothing.)

(I originally just wanted to get some information about Suzune Horikita from Kiyomizu... I didn't expect we'd talk for so long. I actually feel quite relaxed when I talk to him.)

(But... since Kiyomizu-kun is so naive...)

She narrowed her eyes slightly, a faint smile on her lips.

(...I'll save these things for next time.)

.....

(Kushida is so naive.)

Just a few well-placed compliments were enough to make Kushida visibly let down her guard. She had even unconsciously entered a state of self-satisfaction. Although he wasn't sure what she had originally intended to get from him, it was clear her rhythm had been disrupted.

(Complimenting people is also a skill...)

The key was to find the one thing the other person cared about most. For someone like Kushida, the word "effort" seemed to have a magical effect. Especially when Kiyomizu accurately pointed out the fact that she had been secretly practicing over the weekend, the complex thrill of being seen through and acknowledged was more effective than any flattery.

As for his statement that "you're the only one in the entire class who practiced swimming beforehand," it was a complete and utter lie. After all, he was neither a human skin tone expert nor did he have superpowers. How could he possibly tell the change in all his classmates' skin tones at a glance? The truth was simple—he had known in advance that Kushida had gone to the swimming pool over the weekend. That was a piece of intel that had refreshed last Saturday.

But then again, such a white lie was harmless. It was like when a waiter at a restaurant casually calls you "handsome." You know it's just a pleasantry, but it still puts you in a good mood.

In the end, Suzune Horikita and Onodera tied for first place with an impressive time of 26 seconds. Kushida Kikyo came in third with a time of 31 seconds.

As the swim class was about to end, Kiyomizu noticed Kushida frequently casting meaningful glances at Suzune Horikita. Her usually crescent-shaped eyes were now dark and unreadable. Although her lips were smiling, there was an indescribable sense of dissonance.

(Is she that concerned about her rank?)

Kiyomizu thought to himself.

(Looks like the door is going to suffer again tonight.)

...

Advanced Nurturing High School was not much different from most other high schools in Japan. The curriculum followed a traditional structure, including basic subjects like Japanese, Mathematics, English, Social Studies, and Science, with each subject having a maximum score of 100.

After a week of adjusting, Kiyomizu had completely mastered the curriculum for Math and English; he was even finding it easy. He could follow the teaching pace without much effort. This was partly due to the solid foundation he had built from his education in China in his previous life, and partly because the pace of Japanese high school education was significantly different from China's.

If one were to use an analogy, the math curriculum in China was like a speeding Shinkansen, while the pace of Japanese high school teaching was more like a leisurely sightseeing train. In terms of college entrance exam difficulty, China's was much higher. After all, Japan's education system had been following a policy of "relaxed education" for many years. As for the current state of education in China, Kiyomizu wasn't entirely sure. At least in his time, students lived what could be called a "demonic schedule": waking up at 6 AM for early morning self-study and not leaving the evening self-study classroom until 9 PM, completely exhausted.

In comparison, the Japanese high school schedule was practically a "paradise model": classes started leisurely at 8:30 AM, and by 4 PM, students could leave with their bags. Kiyomizu wasn't criticizing this difference. After all, in Japan, the real competition often began after school. The brightly lit cram schools were filled with students desperately studying for prestigious universities. This educational ecosystem of "relaxed on the surface, high-pressure underneath" might be even more suffocating than China's overt competition.

However, in a completely enclosed campus like Advanced Nurturing High School, students didn't even have the opportunity to find a cram school. Being cut off from the rest of the world, even the most basic tutoring channels were severed.

But Kiyomizu knew a universal truth: whether in China or Japan, as long as one could master the three core subjects of Japanese, Math, and English, it was enough to maintain an upper-middle rank in the class. These three subjects were like the "golden triangle" of education, collectively testing a student's most fundamental and important abilities—Math honed logical thinking, English tested memory and language aptitude, and Japanese cultivated both emotional perception and writing skills.

For Kiyomizu, however, Japanese language class had become a hurdle he just couldn't overcome. Even after a week, the obscure classical grammar—the izenkei (perfective form) and mizenkei (imperfective form)—still tangled his thoughts like a messy ball of yarn. He had to admit, he was probably a disgrace to all transmigrators. After all, in his past life, he had never even touched Japanese grammar. Now, trying to cram this knowledge was like asking a modern person to suddenly interpret oracle bone script. No matter how hard he tried, he was bound to be confused.

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