"Hm…"
Hiko glanced at Ai, who was walking over, and took out a book titled Grammar of the Film Language from his desk, placing it open on top of his textbook.
This was the book he had been reading recently.
"Is Hiko-kun really that at ease?" Ai saw Hiko's actions and recalled the conversation he'd had with Ichigo yesterday.
Hiko always seemed to get full marks, but now that class had started, he was taking out an extracurricular book to read.
"I've already previewed it."
Hiko was used to others' surprise.
After transmigrating, he had gained the ability of photographic memory, so he never found exams in elementary school, or now in his first year of junior high, difficult, handling them with ease.
Although he had already memorized the content of Grammar of the Film Language[1] and could recall it at will, doing so would tie up his attention, and he might not remember what happened in class.
When the teacher explained the textbook's content, his mind would be busy recalling instead, and he wouldn't remember the lecture. Therefore, unless necessary, he wouldn't rely on memory to reread books he had already seen.
"Is this what a genius is like?" Ai looked enviously at Hiko, reaching into her desk for her textbook, but she only touched the desk wall; the desk was empty.
"Oh no… Hiko-kun, I forgot to bring my books…" Ai whispered, seeking help from Hiko.
Forgot your books on the first day of transfer? Isn't that a bit too careless?
How did you live by yourself before?
Hiko originally wanted to complain, but instead, he moved his desk closer to Ai's, pushing them together, and placed the textbook in the middle of the two desks.
"Thank you," Ai said, then took out several notebooks, including a record book and an arithmetic book, from her jacket pocket, along with pencils, ballpoint pens, and several refills.
Hiko watched Ai continuously pull things out of her pockets and knew she definitely hadn't forgotten that today was an important day for her transfer.
Everything was there except for the textbook.
He secretly rejoiced that he hadn't spoken his thoughts aloud, or it would have been awkward.
Her claim of forgetting her textbook was definitely a lie!
Hiko guessed, "Is it because it's already the second semester of first-year junior high, and the midterm exams are over, that you don't have a textbook?"
"Who knows?" Ai only said this and then turned her head to listen to the lecture.
This was clearly also a lie.
As the person involved, how could she not know the reason?
Seeing her focused on the lecture, Hiko had no choice but to give up on questioning her further.
He crossed his arms and leaned on the desk, looking at Ai, who was intently listening and taking notes.
'Is my reaction different from what she expected?'
The teacher's lecture continued in his ears.
Hiko felt he was gradually understanding the content of the textbook from his memory.
Even though his mind was on Ai and he wasn't actively recalling, the content being lectured suddenly became clear to him.
This had never happened before!
'Is it the effect of the aura?'
Hiko had thought the aura would only increase Ai's learning ability.
He hadn't expected it to affect himself as well.
It was a pleasant surprise.
"The teacher's way of lecturing feels the same as in my old school, but I don't know why, I find it so engaging," Ai listened to the lecture for a while, then turned to look at Hiko.
Only then did she realize Hiko was staring at her.
"Is there something on my face?" Ai tilted her head, asking in confusion. Reaching up to touch her cheek, she found nothing.
"No," Hiko shook his head slightly, resting on his arms, then asked about what she had just said, "Does it just sound interesting?"
Hiko knew that the teacher on the podium actually had an average teaching level.
"Now that you mention it, I do feel a bit strange. My foundation wasn't very good before, but now I don't find it difficult to listen, and I can even understand what the teacher is saying," Ai said, feeling confused.
"Maybe it's because it's Japanese, and for Japanese, you just need to understand what the teacher says, that's enough," Hiko said perfunctorily.
Then he took out a notepad and a pen.
"Isn't it too late to take notes now?"
"I'm not taking notes."
Seeing Ai still staring at him, Hiko added, "If you get distracted like this, can you still understand what the teacher is saying? And you're not taking notes either."
"You're also distracted… So annoying…"
Ai stopped mid-sentence, remembering that Hiko always got full marks. She gritted her teeth, glared at him resentfully, then turned to face forward, concentrating on the lecture.
Hiko watched Ai listen intently and occasionally write notes.
He began to ponder who that "scumbag" truly was.
He used his phone to search for the business card Ichigo had given him last night.
First, he excluded all females.
The second round of exclusion proved difficult for Hiko.
Because he only knew the person was male; he didn't know their age, build, hobbies, or anything else.
'Hmm… The Idol group Ai was in was only slightly famous before she turned sixteen, and as the plot progressed later, her first time as an actress on TV was around seventeen or eighteen.'
Therefore, he could rule out the scumbag being a character with the right to choose actors.
Hiko wrote down the word "power" in his notebook, then crossed it out.
Since it wasn't for climbing the ladder that she chose to date, a dating partner chosen at fifteen or sixteen would either be very handsome, glib-tongued, or a playboy.
Therefore, he could further exclude honest and ugly men.
And men over forty years old wouldn't lack power, but they would also get uglier at this age.
He wrote down "honest, ugly, over forty" in the notebook again, then crossed it out.
Ai had once complained that her salary was low and she needed to take on more advertisements to earn money to raise her children, which meant she didn't have much savings.
So, could generous rich young masters also be excluded?
Hiko was unsure if this deduction was correct. After writing down "rich young master", he drew a line underneath it.
In the plot, Ichigo had asked who the person was, but Ai had brushed him off.
So, they must not have been close to Ichigo?
Therefore, it shouldn't be someone from their own company, because if they were dating, when Ai got pregnant, the company would definitely investigate. But in the plot, after Ai died, Ichigo lost his spirit and drowned his sorrows in alcohol.
So, it wouldn't be someone from their own company.
And it was someone from the entertainment industry.
When watching the plot, the names of the twins were:
Hoshino Aquamarine and Hoshino Ruby.
The eyes of the two perfectly corresponded to the respective colors.
Hiko frowned, biting his pen, and continued to recall more details from the plot.
[1] Book by Daniel Arijon