"I was caught by the homeroom teacher when I came… Out of nervousness, I boasted that I would get good grades on the exam."
During lunchtime, Lin Yi told Ran and Sonoko about the interesting things that had happened to him during this period.
Note that it was "interesting things," not "romantic affairs." Adding one word made it two completely different meanings.
"You haven't been to school for so many days, are you really okay?"
Ran began to worry about whether Lin Yi could fulfill his promise to the teacher.
"How is that possible?"
Sonoko waved her hand. She wouldn't be as gentle as Ran in comforting him. She said impolitely, "The exam will start the day after tomorrow. Including today, you only have two days to study several subjects! It's impossible!"
Lin Yi glanced at Sonoko and smiled slyly, "How about we make a bet, Sonoko?"
"If my exam results are better than yours, you have to do whatever I tell you to do within one day."
"If you score better than me, then within a day… no, within three days. You can order me around as you please."
"How about it? This condition is very favorable to you."
This girl Sonoko has a strong sense of self-esteem!
Lin Yi had tried every possible way but failed to get her to serve him in bed with Kana.
Apart from Ran, she was unwilling to play "three black" with him and other girls.
Lin Yi felt that he could use the exam as a great opportunity to make Sonoko abandon her pride.
Otherwise, the 'Four Blacks' would be difficult to carry out, and Lin Yi's ideal of sleeping with everyone would have no way to be realized.
"Score better than me?"
Sonoko was a little tempted when she heard this.
She and Ran were both honor student types of girls.
Moreover, because her family was well-off and she didn't lack educational resources at all, she had already started to come into contact with university courses.
Honestly, she had a great grasp of winning this bet.
But!
As she spent more time with him, she already knew that Lin Yi wasn't such an ordinary boy.
According to normal logic, it was impossible for him to score better than her.
But he insisted on proposing a bet that she would most likely lose.
The clever Sonoko frowned and immediately realized it wasn't simple!
However, if she refused just like that, it would make her seem too timid. Sonoko thought for a while and said, "It's impossible for you to score better than me. My study state hasn't been very good recently... How about this, change it to you getting into the top ten in the grade!"
"Top ten in the grade?"
Lin Yi raised his eyebrows, looking like he was "having some difficulty": "Isn't the condition too harsh? I only have two days to review."
"Hmm... Then it'll be top twenty in the grade!"
Sonoko thought for a while, realizing that the request she made was indeed a bit excessive, so she lowered the requirement.
"Top twenty in the grade isn't easy either."
Ran chimed in from the side, "I can only barely get into the top fifty in the grade..."
Sonoko patted Ran's butt, signaling her to not talk too much since she was big-chested.
"How is it? Top twenty in the grade, this is the lowest the requirement can be," Sonoko said.
Lin Yi frowned and pondered for a long time, then nodded: "Okay, it's settled then... I think I can do it!"
"Heh heh heh... One of the four great illusions of life is, 'I think I can do it.'"
Sonoko spared no effort in hitting Lin Yi: "There are many honor students in our school, you know. Their deviation values are all around 75!"
A deviation value of around 75 is already at the level where you can casually apply to the University of Tokyo, Waseda University, or Kyoto University.
By the way, applying only means you have the qualification to take the exam. If you don't pass the university entrance exam, you'll still fail.
"They are honor students, I am a god of learning."
Lin Yi patted his chest and said.
It just so happened that he had saved up a lot of memory bread during this time, so it was time to use up some of his stock.
"Ran, do you want to bet too?"
After tricking Sonoko, Lin Yi continued to trick Ran: "The conditions are the same as Sonoko's."
"This..."
Ran was still thinking about whether this was another trick by Lin Yi.
But Sonoko quickly made a decision for her, also dragging her into the water: "Of course, no problem!"
Ran was just about to say something, but Lin Yi preemptively said: "Okay, it's settled so happily!"
"Let's move on to the next topic!" Sonoko immediately ended the topic.
Lin Yi and Sonoko had a very strong tacit understanding when it came to bullying Ran.
"You guys... really, you only know how to bully me!"
Ran said angrily.
Sonoko happily grabbed Ran's hand, stuffed it into her chest, and said: "Don't be angry, come, let you touch it and calm down."
"Who wants to touch it!"
Ran pulled her hand out with a red face.
Lin Yi and Sonoko laughed in unison, and the classroom was filled with a lively atmosphere.
Before Ran became angry out of embarrassment, Lin Yi immediately started the next topic.
"By the way, a super cute little girl has moved into my house these past two days."
As Lin Yi spoke, he took out his phone and showed Ran and Sonoko a photo of Ai.
When Ran and Sonoko took a look at Ai's photo, they immediately exclaimed:
"This is too cute!"
"She's just like a doll... Is her hair color natural?"
"I really want to pinch her cheeks..."
"..."
After a burst of fancy praise, Sonoko asked curiously: "Yi, how did this child end up living in your house?"
"Her sister has to go abroad for a period of time due to work reasons, so she entrusted me to take care of her," Lin Yi said.
"Hmm? Her sister..." Sonoko grasped the key point: "Are you and her sister on good terms? Why did she specifically ask you to take care of her sister? Doesn't she have any other female friends in Japan? If all else fails, she could hire a nanny, right?"
Oops, she was caught off guard.
Faced with this situation, Lin Yi did not choose to explain, because he was originally in the wrong.
Without saying a word, Lin Yi grabbed Sonoko's wrist and pulled her in front of him.
Sonoko hurriedly pulled back: "Stop, stop, stop... Don't mess around, I won't ask. What's the girl's name?"
Sonoko knew that Lin Yi would definitely mess around!
He couldn't wait for everyone in the school to know about their relationship!!
Only then did Lin Yi release Sonoko's hand, saying, "Her name is Ai Haibara... but she's a bit shy and doesn't seem to like me much. She keeps to herself all day and doesn't talk. I'm a little worried about her. After school, would you come back with me to cheer her up?"
Sonoko smelled a conspiracy. Why go back with you? Can't you take her outside? She subconsciously wanted to refuse.
However—
"Okay."
As soon as Ran heard that help was needed, she agreed without hesitation, "Sonoko, we won't go shopping this afternoon! Let's go see that child!"
"..."
What a useless teammate.
She couldn't even find an excuse.
Sonoko nodded with a headache: "Okay..."
Note:
Dear readers,
The Lunar New Year is approaching, and I wish you all a new year filled with success, good fortune, and prosperity!
Holiday Announcement:
I'm writing this to announce that I will be taking a short break from posting to celebrate the holiday from February 15th to February 22nd, 2026. I will officially return to work on February 23rd.
Don't worry though! During this break, I'll be busy prepping a bunch of new chapters so I can post them consistently once I'm back. I promise the upcoming parts will be even more exciting, so please stay tuned!
Thank you so much for your understanding and for always being such a supportive community.
Happy Lunar New Year!