“Nozomi-senpai… just five more minutes of sleep, please…” You rubbed your eyes. The moment Tojo Nozomi threw off your blanket, cherry blossom petals outside the window were scattered by the morning breeze. Today, she had tied her long hair into a playful side ponytail, and her school uniform’s ribbon was changed to cherry blossom pink. The tarot cards she twirled on her fingertips shimmered. “No can do, if you drag it out any longer, you’ll be late.” She smiled, gently tapping your forehead with the back of a card.
Last night, Jiang Chen couldn’t sleep from excitement, just thinking about how he was about to become a Super. As a result, he was in this state in the morning, sporting two prominent dark circles under his eyes, his head heavy and his steps as light as if he were walking on cotton.
Dragging his tired body, Jiang Chen quickly finished his morning routine under his senpai’s teasing.
Jiang Chen rubbed his still slightly dry eyes, barely managing to fasten the last button. Tojo Nozomi-senpai leaned against the doorframe, a familiar, enigmatic smile playing on her lips, twirling a strand of purple hair around her fingertip. “Chen Jun looks so listless today as well.”
She chuckled, her voice like the morning breeze rustling wind chimes, “Do you want Senpai to tie your tie into a bow tie for you?”
“…No thanks.” Jiang Chen mumbled his protest, yet subconsciously straightened his collar again. Seeing this, Tojo Nozomi suddenly reached out to smooth down his unruly bangs. The warmth of her fingertips came through his hair, carrying a hint of the coolness of mint toothpaste.
“Let’s go, if we dally any longer, we’ll really be late.” As she turned, her uniform skirt swished in a sharp arc, as if splitting the morning light in two. Jiang Chen shuffled along, following her, hearing his own footsteps mixing with his senpai’s, a light and heavy rhythm echoing in the empty corridor.
On the way to school, the streets were filled with students in Private Comprehensive Academy uniforms. Jiang Chen and Tojo Nozomi walked on the cherry blossom-covered pavement, surrounded by cheerful laughter and greetings from friends.
“Xiao Chen, why didn’t you rest a few more days at home?”
This voice, there’s no mistaking it.
Jiang Yang turned his head, “I think I’d recover faster if Yuigahama-classmate didn’t call me that.”
“Eh~, Xiao Chen is so mean, I was just showing concern.” Yui Yuigahama puffed out her cheeks, like a squirrel whose chips had been snatched away.
“Chen Jun, you shouldn’t talk to girls like that.” Nozomi-senpai gently tapped Jiang Chen’s head.
Then Tojo Nozomi greeted Yui Yuigahama: “Hello, Kohai, my name is Tojo Nozomi, and I’m a second-year student from Class A.”
“Tojo-senpai, hello, my name is Yui Yuigahama, and I’m a first-year student from Class F,” Yui Yuigahama clasped her hands in front of her and bowed slightly, her pink dumpling hair ornament swaying gently with the movement. When she looked up, her eyes curved into crescents, revealing her characteristic cheerful smile: “Are Senpai and Xiao Chen a couple?”
Jiang Chen said helplessly: “Yuigahama-classmate, Senpai and I are not a couple.”
Tojo Nozomi looked at the pink-haired kohai in front of her, who exuded a “normie” aura, and suddenly chuckled: “No, Yuigahama-classmate.”
“Eh~, it’s my first time seeing Xiao Chen walking with another girl, so I thought you were a couple. Xiao Chen, Senpai, I’m sorry.” Yuihama apologized hurriedly.
“It’s okay, it’s not a big deal.”
Tojo Nozomi gently waved her hand, her purple hair swaying slightly with the movement, a consistently gentle curve on her lips: “It really is okay~ In fact, seeing Xiao Chen being misunderstood is quite amusing.”
She turned her head to look at the young man beside her, a hint of mischief in her eyes: “But, Chen Jun is surprisingly popular with girls, isn’t he? Even Yuigahama-classmate was startled—”
Upon hearing this, Yuihama’s face suddenly turned red, and she quickly explained: “Senpai, it’s not like that, I was just a little curious just now, I didn’t mean anything else.”
Watching Yui Yuigahama continuously explain to Tojo Nozomi, Jiang Chen couldn’t help but say: “Senpai, stop teasing her, Yuigahama-classmate is almost turning into a steam engine.”
Tojo Nozomi immediately stopped upon hearing this. “Alright, alright, Yuigahama-classmate, I was just teasing you, no need to explain anymore.”
“Senpai is so mean,”
Yui Yuigahama gently stomped her foot, a faint blush still on her face, but her eyes held a hint of playful cuteness after her feigned annoyance. “Senpai, you can’t do that again.” She protested in a low voice.
“Alright, if you two keep chatting, you’ll be late.” With that, Jiang Chen started walking quickly towards the school. The two of them looked at each other and instantly followed him.
“Hey, Xiao Chen, wait!” Yuihama panted, jogging, “Don’t walk so fast.”
Tojo Nozomi-senpai said, “That’s right, Chen Jun, you didn’t even wait for us, that’s not very gentlemanly.” Jiang Chen didn’t look back, his voice carried back by the wind: “Any slower, and Little Shizuka’s ‘Iron Fist’ will activate.”
Yuihama and Tojo Nozomi couldn’t help but laugh: “You actually call Hiratsuka Sensei Little Shizuka, be careful, I’ll tell Hiratsuka Sensei.” Yuihama said huffily.
Just then, the security guard uncle was shouting into a megaphone: “Last five minutes! Anyone not in school by then will be considered late!” The three quickly sped up.
The three of them jogged all the way and finally rushed into the campus just before the security guard uncle announced the deadline.
Tojo Nozomi panted, patting her chest in relief: “Phew, that was close, we almost got late. Otherwise, we’d be called out by name again.”
Yuihama also nodded, playfully sticking out her tongue: “Exactly, exactly, good thing we ran fast. If Hiratsuka Sensei found out we were late, that would be terrible.” Speaking of Hiratsuka Sensei, she seemed to suddenly remember something, gently nudging the person next to her with her elbow, and said with a giggle: “Hey, you just called Hiratsuka Sensei Little Shizuka. If that gets out, Hiratsuka Sensei might go berserk.”
Jiang Chen, being teased, gave a helpless smile: “It just slipped out, you absolutely must not tell Hiratsuka Sensei, otherwise my small frame can’t handle her scolding.”
The three walked towards the teaching building, chatting and laughing. The cherry blossom trees on campus swayed gently in the breeze, and pink petals fell like snow, adding a romantic touch to the campus.
Passing by the sports field, they saw the physical education teacher leading a group of students in running practice, with uniform shouts echoing through the campus. “One, two, one, one, two, one…” That vibrant sound seemed to inject energy into everything around them.
When they entered the teaching building, the hallway was already bustling with students. Everyone was either discussing homework with books in hand or sharing interesting morning stories. The three also followed the crowd to their respective classrooms.