Mr. Tsubota asked Aki Tomoya to evaluate his own article. Looking it over, Aki Tomoya felt that the areas for extension had increased.
"At least it's not as awkward and formulaic as before..."
Aki Tomoya replied to Mr. Tsubota as such.
He handed the article to Mr. Tsubota and retrieved the small test he had previously graded from Mr. Tsubota.
Aki Tomoya quickly looked at Mr. Tsubota's handwriting on each question on the test paper and the detailed annotations on the incorrect questions. It seemed that one or two more questions had been added to his collection of incorrect questions.
He didn't disturb Mr. Tsubota while he was reading the article, but excused himself and returned to his seat to continue his practice.
The tutoring at Aomine Cram School is currently divided into two main parts for Aki Tomoya.
One is to integrate and review the knowledge points before the third year of high school to prepare for the seven subjects of the National Examination, and the other is to strengthen his weak areas.
Now is not the time to focus on the scope of the Tokyo University in-school exam, but to ensure he passes the National Examination.
To get into Tokyo University, the prerequisite is the National Examination, so it must be the National Examination first, and then the scope of the Tokyo University science entrance exam.
In short, Aki Tomoya should ideally prepare sufficiently for the seven subjects of the National Examination as quickly as possible.
After discussing this with Mr. Tsubota, the most ideal time would probably be before the winter vacation of his second year of high school.
The sooner he finishes the seven subjects of the National Examination, the more time he will have left to prepare for the Tokyo University in-school exam.
When taking University entrance exams in Japan, each school has different recruitment exams and different questions. What is taught in school is roughly geared towards the National Examination level. Therefore, even for private University that are relatively simpler and do not require the National Examination as a threshold, most students still need to attend Academy to prepare for specific University.
"There is no beginning that does not have an end, but few can finish well." Aki-kun's extension of this sentence in the article can be considered the highlight of the theme, a good extension...
Mr. Tsubota walked behind Aki, placing the article on the table.
"Speaking of which, isn't this line from the Book of Songs?"
There are few who have a good end, though all have a good beginning.
In Mr. Tsubota's impression, this line seemed to originate from China.
"When Aki-kun was writing before, he often used ideas from many ancient Chinese texts for explanation as well."
Mr. Tsubota sighed like this.
Aki Tomoya nodded, not denying it.
In the article he gave Mr. Tsubota, the line "There are few who have a good end, though all have a good beginning" not only corresponded to the theme of his article, but when he wrote it, he was also admonishing himself to see things through to the end.
"This time you wrote well, but in terms of writing style, it would be better if Aki-kun could be more concise. Some parts are too subtle, making them a bit ambiguous and unclear."
Mr. Tsubota said, pointing with his finger at the paragraphs he had annotated with a red pen.
"This is Aki-kun's bad habit. After all, the Teacher grading the papers won't remind you like I do."
Using a tactful tone, he pointed out the bad habits in Aki Tomoya's article. Although Mr. Tsubota seemed lenient in this regard, he didn't give Aki Tomoya any time to breathe afterward.
This was just the first problem. Writing a bit subtly, some parts unclear – to put it bluntly, it means you yourself aren't expressing your meaning clearly, yet you're causing trouble for the reader.
Mr. Tsubota can be accommodating and give Aki Tomoya more opportunities, but the Teacher grading the papers won't give him a second chance. The most important thing is to find bad habits early and improve them quickly.
Mr. Tsubota would praise the good parts without hesitation, and for the bad parts, he would point them out directly, continuously drilling Aki Tomoya.
"However, the weight of the essay on the National Examination isn't very large, but if you want to create a gap in the Tokyo University entrance exam, it's not actually about math and science. The people taking the exam are all confident in math. To create a gap there, while maintaining the standard in math and science, you absolutely cannot fall behind in Japanese and English. And English is Aki-kun's strong point, but your vocabulary must be further expanded!"
Although he had severely criticized Aki Tomoya's article this time, Mr. Tsubota knew that if he were to be discouraged by such things, Aki Tomoya would have probably collapsed over the past month.
What needed to be done for Aki Tomoya was to find his problems, and if it were him, he would improve quickly.
Regarding the method of teaching Aki Tomoya, Mr. Tsubota already had a rough idea in his mind.
His weak points were Japanese, Japanese history, and essays. English was his strong point. Math and science tested well initially. The main focus was on reviewing the weak points, but to get a foot in the door on the National Examination, Aki Tomoya couldn't be too lopsided in his studies.
In Mr. Tsubota's view, Aki Tomoya's biggest enemy in trying to get into Tokyo University wasn't actually himself, but time.
Without considering retaking the exam, the main issue was how to maximize the limited time available.
"Regarding essay writing, I have a reference here that Aki-kun can look at, but you don't need to put too much effort into writing. Just follow the progress you've been making."
Mr. Tsubota took out the prepared file bag.
"These are some good articles I've collected, and also some newspapers."
"Newspapers?"
Aki Tomoya could understand Mr. Tsubota giving him some good articles as examples for reference, but what was with the newspapers?
Hearing Aki Tomoya's question, the former pushed up his glasses and replied helplessly, "Of course, it's to discuss some popular topics from the past as themes, which can also be considered practice for writing."
Hearing this, Aki Tomoya could understand.
After all, if there was a goal, he wouldn't have to think of one on the spot when practicing writing, but could take a certain event as the theme and then discuss it.
"Among the articles I've collected, there's one written by a student from Ichinose Academy. What that person wrote is only for reference; you absolutely must not try to imitate it. After all, that level is indeed a bit too advanced for a student..."
Mr. Tsubota said, pulling out one article from the excellent ones he had painstakingly collected.
"The literature genius of Ichinose. Just looking at the article, it's amazing, the level is extremely high. Aki-kun, just look at it; you don't need to reach that level. If you can reach half of her level, I think we won't need to continue practicing writing."
He sighed like this, then placed that article in front of Aki Tomoya.
"Of course, you don't have to look at it now, you can look at it back home. I've arranged new intensive training for you, starting in ten minutes."
...
At eleven o'clock at night, when Aki Tomoya returned home, the house was also completely dark.
April was also coming to an end, and the last two remaining days of April didn't require going to school. Golden Week's consecutive holidays had arrived.
Welcoming Golden Week, Aki Tomoya had no intention of relaxing. Unlike previous years' Golden Week, this year would definitely be busier than before.
Preparing for the seven subjects over the past month, Aki Tomoya didn't feel like he had shed a layer of skin, the only thing he wanted to lament was that time had passed faster than he expected.
Holding the file bag containing the articles, he opened the door and walked into the entrance, Aki Tomoya lightened his movements to avoid waking up the people at home.
"Ichinose Academy, I think I remember that..."
Returning to his room, Aki Tomoya took out the file bag containing the articles Mr. Tsubota had collected for reference. He suddenly remembered what Mr. Tsubota had said earlier at the Academy.
The literature genius of Ichinose Academy, that title sounded a bit similar to the title of the literary talented girl of their Toyosaki Academy.
Aki Tomoya had some impression of this school in his mind. When he was researching those high schools for advancement, he seemed to have seen something about the existence of Ichinose Academy.
While thinking about this matter, he took out all the articles from the file bag.
On the manuscript paper, Mr. Tsubota had already made all the annotations and classifications, so Aki Tomoya didn't need to organize them a second time.
"Ichinose Academy, Furuhashi Fumino?"
By the name, she was also a girl. Mr. Tsubota had also said "she" at the time.
In Japanese, there is a clear distinction between "he" and "she" for male and female.
Aki Tomoya wanted to see where this Furuhashi Fumino's greatness truly lay.
Literature genius?
Moreover, in Mr. Tsubota's evaluation, he used the description of being beyond a student's level.
Aki Tomoya picked up the article written by Furuhashi Fumino, the literature genius from Ichinose Academy. In the first second, his eyes lit up, and then not long after, he was immersed in the article.
For a student, writing an article like this was indeed extraordinary.
It truly deserved the praise of being amazing!
"Gulp..."
Aki Tomoya's throat moved slightly, and he couldn't help but swallow.
His hands were trembling, or rather, his brain was vibrating.
What word should he use to describe it?
Heaven-sent genius?
That was a bit exaggerated, but he did feel a lot inside.
Surprised that a student could have such writing skill, Aki Tomoya felt a bit of a shock in his heart.
Aki Tomoya now understood why Mr. Tsubota had warned him not to get too hung up on it, and not to think about reaching this person's level.
If he had half of Furuhashi Fumino's level, in terms of writing, just as Mr. Tsubota had said, they wouldn't need to practice anymore.
"This is simply..."
Simply, comparing people makes you furious!
Damn!
Having lived two lives, his writing level was still inferior to a student's, how embarrassing!
Aki Tomoya sighed, thinking this in his heart, but he wasn't a literature major in his previous life either, so there was a reason why his writing wasn't good!
But for the other person to still be a student, it was indeed a bit discouraging.
Aki Tomoya admitted his inadequacy regarding the subtlety of language compared to this girl, and he clearly understood the gap between them.
Perhaps choosing to read this Furuhashi Fumino's article in the first place was a wrong choice.
"Literature genius, truly lives up to her reputation!"
Aki Tomoya exclaimed.
He already understood why Mr. Tsubota had included Furuhashi Fumino's article among the many others; it was specifically to warn him, but wasn't it also to give him a kind of confidence?
Because if he were to read other people's articles, Aki Tomoya would discover—
Huh?
It turns out it wasn't that he was too weak, but that his opponent was too strong!
Compared to other excellent articles, although there was a gap, it wasn't as shocking as reading Furuhashi Fumino's article.
This person, Furuhashi Fumino, indeed exceeded the level of an average student.
Using her as a standard for comparison was a bit biased.
This girl from Ichinose Academy, Furuhashi Fumino, truly deserved the description of literature genius.
"I wonder which University this Furuhashi Fumino plans to apply to?"
Aki Tomoya thought to himself.
If this person were to engage in literary creation and develop properly, perhaps an extraordinary female figure would appear in Japan's literary scene in the future.
Of course, he was just thinking, Aki Tomoya shouldn't make too arbitrary judgments.
Moreover, this didn't have much to do with Aki Tomoya.
Viewing Furuhashi Fumino's article from an appreciative perspective was indeed pleasing to the eye and a good baptism for the brain. Aki Tomoya's overall impression of her article was very good.
But as for learning, he couldn't learn from it, he really couldn't!
If he only looked at what Furuhashi Fumino wrote, it was simply a blow!
However, the other articles Mr. Tsubota thoughtfully prepared for him had many parts that Aki Tomoya could use.
Unlike her, Aki Tomoya's references mostly came from ancient Chinese texts and poetry.
Because Japanese literature was indeed a weak point for him.
Having not been exposed to those ancient Japanese works, Aki Tomoya couldn't draw any references.
Aside from Furuhashi Fumino's article, what others wrote also had many merits.
Being in the same Confucian cultural sphere, there were also many common points, and it wasn't very difficult to understand.
By the time he finished reading the articles Mr. Tsubota had given him, time had quietly reached midnight.
But Aki Tomoya wasn't sleepy at all; on the contrary, he was somewhat excited because he was still savoring that Furuhashi Fumino's article.
"I saw something good!"
Aki Tomoya now felt that literature wasn't so boring.
As a student, being able to write such lively words was indeed impressive.
Furuhashi Fumino's words left a deep impression on Aki Tomoya, and he also saw a different direction.
As for the literary talented girl at their school, Aki Tomoya hadn't read Kasumigaoka Utaha's articles.
But if he were to make a comparison, Aki Tomoya, who knew Kasumigaoka Utaha's true nature as an otaku, still felt that Furuhashi Fumino fit the image of a literary talented girl more.
There was no particular reason, it was simply that after reading a well-written article, his brain had been stimulated and was still active.
Swimming in the ocean of words also seemed to be a unique enjoyment.
Aki Tomoya didn't compare his own article with Furuhashi Fumino's; they weren't on the same level and couldn't be compared. But because Furuhashi Fumino was included, comparing himself to others suddenly boosted his confidence. He didn't know if this was Mr. Tsubota's deliberate intention or simply the effect of recommending a good article that happened to cause this result.
However, now regarding writing, Aki Tomoya had gained some insights by comparing himself to others and from what he experienced in Furuhashi Fumino's article.
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