After deciding to give up, I became popular

For Eriri, this was actually a good thing, because it meant she could stick to Xia Chuanzou's side without restraint, and without worrying about creating scandals for him.

Although, deep down, she was actually quite looking forward to a scandal…

“Ugh… Why don't we go for a walk by the lake? It'll be nice and cool in the evening.” Eriri suggested.

“By the lake?” Xia Chuanzou asked, puzzled.

“It's the place where you chased after me the other day.”

“Oh, that place…” Xia Chuanzou recalled, and then nodded.

He didn't really care where they went.

“I remember there being a bench there, right? We can sit down and rest if we get tired.”

“……”

Couldn't he think of something a little more romantic? Eriri pouted.

But she also understood that it was impossible to make him romantic again, and she even had to worry about whether that romance would be applied to someone else in the future.

After leaving the venue, they ran into quite a few people along the way, mostly in pairs, sticking together in various inconspicuous corners and whispering sweet nothings.

Some were even afraid that the other person couldn't hear them clearly, and even stuck their tongues into each other's mouths, hoping to convey their feelings in this way.

“……”

“……”

The two of them subconsciously looked at each other, and then looked away at the same time.

This is really a race against time, Xia Chuanzou thought.

As the student council president and the main organizer of this event, he naturally knew some things, but even though he had arranged for discipline committee members to patrol everywhere, and had clearly written the punishment for being caught in the announcements, some people still couldn't help but express their love… Did they think it was more exciting this way?

Xia Chuanzou had reason to suspect whether the student council had also become part of their play.

As for Eriri, she thought about it more simply—if Zou also wanted to… should she decline first and then accept, or be reserved and remain silent?

So she couldn't help but swallow.

As if to avoid suspicion, the two of them didn't say anything after that, but the surrounding atmosphere remained unchanged, and they even encountered more and more couples as they walked, and the atmosphere became more and more intense.

So Xia Chuanzou decisively made a decision—take the small path.

He definitely couldn't manage so many people on the main road, he could only leave it to the discipline committee, but he wanted to avoid being disturbed, but he couldn't just walk with his eyes closed, right? So he simply turned a blind eye and found a secluded path.

But what he didn't expect was that just as the two of them were passing a corner, they suddenly heard a rustling sound beside them, so he subconsciously glanced over there, and the next second he ran into a scene of people expressing their love…

To be honest, he was dumbfounded at the time, and subconsciously stopped, thinking that someone was really so bold, but then the voice coming from in front of him made him realize that something was wrong.

Although he had promptly said “Don't turn around,” Eriri still saw the scene of the two people fighting in confusion.

So, as he expected, Teacher Kashiwagi Eri, who was very knowledgeable in theory, completely froze just by seeing the preparatory actions of others, her eyes kept circling, her face was terribly red, and she instantly transformed into a steam princess.

Xia Chuanzou quickly tugged at her clothes, but the other party didn't respond at all. Seeing this situation, he had no choice but to take responsibility and take her away.

As the two left the scene, Eriri finally slowly came back to her senses, but she didn't dare to look up at people, she only dared to look down at her toes, following Xia Chuanzou step by step.

Before long, the two finally reached their destination.

“E, everyone is really… really enthusiastic…” Xia Chuanzou said with a flickering gaze.

If it was just him alone, he definitely wouldn't be so embarrassed, mainly because he was worried about Eriri's mental state, so he took the initiative to speak to ease the atmosphere.

“Ah… um…”

Eriri's reply was muffled, but at least there was a response.

“Cough cough… Anyway, let's sit down for a while, we've been walking for so long, we should take a rest.” Xia Chuanzou suggested.

Then, seeing Eriri gently nod her head, he pulled her to sit on the bench.

This was the third time the two of them had come here.

Because the location was remote enough, no one usually came, so it became a place where the two could “date” with peace of mind.

The previous two times were because there was something going on, so they didn't feel anything at all, and they could always get the conversation back on track, but this time the two of them just wanted to take a walk and cool off, but after experiencing what happened just now, they didn't feel like it at all.

Especially Eriri, who still had all sorts of messy things in her mind at the moment, and couldn't relax at all.

Xia Chuanzou was a little better, and quickly returned to his normal state of mind, but he was no longer the same as before who would try to please girls, so he didn't take the initiative to start a topic.

“……”

“……”

So there was another long silence.

In the end, Xia Chuanzou felt that the atmosphere was really not right, and worried that it would drag on for a long time before he took the initiative to speak.

“Is Eriri's recent study situation okay?”

“……” Eriri raised her head and gave him a strange look, thinking, do you really want to talk about these things at this time?

“Well… so-so.”

Seeing her looking indifferent, Xia Chuanzou raised his eyebrows, feeling that he had asked the right question.

“Don't say I didn't remind you, the midterm test is in a few days, even if you fail one subject, you have to come to tutoring on the weekend.” Xia Chuanzou reminded, especially emphasizing the word “one”.

He wasn't worried about anyone around him, only Eriri.

It's not that her grades are bad, on the contrary, Eriri's grades in all subjects are pretty good, only English—which can be described as a mess.

But the key is that this girl is clearly a British-Japanese mixed race, which is very puzzling.

“Ah, this… probably not…” Eriri stammered.

She also knew her situation, she was clearly a second-year high school student, but her English level was only at the level of a junior high school student, but she just couldn't learn it, what could she do if she was born with bad English!

In the past, she completely relied on luck to take the exam, but later she met Xia Chuanzou, and after his tutoring, she never failed again, until after she rejected his confession and returned to her original state…

That's right! She can ask him to tutor her again?! Just like before!

The more Eriri thought about it, the more she felt that this method was good, not only could it solve her crisis of failing, but it could also occupy Zou's time, isn't this killing two birds with one stone?!

Moreover, today is different from the past, she doesn't need to always divide her attention to guard against the other party, she can completely devote herself to tutoring, and even be bolder… seduce… no, it should be said to lure… not either… in short—isn't it common for something pleasant to happen in a small room with a single man and a single woman?!

At least she herself has drawn such and such plots!

Eriri thought happily.

178. President is Kind-Hearted

“Then what should I do?” Eriri put on a weak look, “You also know, my English has always been bad…”

She already had an idea in her mind, but rashly proposing it might be rejected, so naturally she had to pretend to be pitiful first.

“If I have to go to school every day to participate in tutoring, I won't have any time left to complete the manuscript.” Saying this, Eriri turned to look at Xia Chuanzou, saying pitifully.

“Zou, you won't just stand by and watch, right?”

“……” Xia Chuanzou sighed, not knowing what to say, “Even if you say that, I can't take the exam for you, right?”

Of course, it's not that he doesn't care about her at all, but he hopes to use a stern tone to remind her to remember.

“Can't you put the manuscript aside for a while? Find a reason to take a break from publishing?” Xia Chuanzou suggested.

However, Eriri shook her head decisively: “No, this work is for the upcoming comic exhibition… to be honest, I have used almost all my free time on it, but the progress is just barely enough to meet the deadline.”

In order to catch up with the progress, she also brought her drawing board and other things to this forest school activity, but the school's time arrangement was also very tight, and when she was in the dormitory, she didn't dare to take it out because she was afraid of being discovered by her roommates, which resulted in a lot of time being wasted in vain.

Hearing her say this, Xia Chuanzou frowned and thought.

The best way is definitely to weigh both sides and choose one, but Eriri obviously doesn't want to give up participating in the upcoming comic exhibition, but she can't give up studying hard, and honestly go to tutoring after failing, because this will waste a lot of her time, and she still won't be able to catch up with the progress of the manuscript, so she has to “want both”.

“……”

After thinking for a long time, Xia Chuanzou still couldn't think of a good way, and finally sighed and said: “Hey, I guess this is the only way…”

Of course, there is no problem in helping to tutor her homework, but he still hopes that Eriri can develop a good habit of being conscious, and can't always rely on him to help her every time she takes an exam, right?

Temporary cramming is only a last resort.

“Right after the forest school is the weekend, I'll give you a crash course these two days, you have to be mentally prepared.” Xia Chuanzou put on a very serious expression.

“Oh, oh…” Eriri shrank her head, and a bad feeling suddenly arose in her heart.

She was quite happy at first, Zou agreed without her even taking the initiative, but seeing the other party's appearance, she realized that things might not be as she thought… she can only hope that Zou can be merciful.

“When is the comic exhibition?” Xia Chuanzou asked again.

“The weekend after next, it will be held in Akihabara.”

Xia Chuanzou nodded, no wonder Eriri didn't want to give up, probably also wanting to take this opportunity to make Teacher Kashiwagi Eri's reputation even higher.

“Can you make it in time for the deadline?”

“Should… be no problem, right?” Eriri hesitated a little.

If Zou helps her tutor, there will definitely be no problem with the midterm test, but after spending the good time on the weekend, she doesn't know if she can catch up with the subsequent comic exhibition, maybe something else will happen in the middle.

“……” Seeing her looking unconfident, Xia Chuanzou said helplessly, “Forget it, I'll help with the manuscript as well.”

Of course, he is not a good person, but based on past experience, if he doesn't help, Eriri might not be able to handle it, maybe she will stay up all night to rush the manuscript, complete the plan at the expense of ruining her body, and then get a fever or get sick because of it, which is really worrying.

If he didn't know it from the beginning, it would be fine, but since he knew it, he definitely couldn't sit idly by.

“You can leave the coloring part to me, although I can only do this…” Xia Chuanzou paused, and then said in a warning tone, “Of course, this doesn't mean you can be lazy, if you drag it to the deadline again for some strange reason, I will never stay up all night with you again.”

“Yes, yes, yes, I know.” Eriri nodded frantically, her whole heart filled with happy emotions.

She really didn't expect Zou to be so considerate, and even willing to help with the manuscript.

“Thank you, Zou…” Eriri looked at him with a smile in her eyes.

“The best thanks you can give me is to not get carried away.” Xia Chuanzou glanced at her lightly, saying helplessly.

He is still too kind-hearted, and can't bear to see his friends get into trouble.

“What, it's rare for me to thank you…” Eriri pouted, feeling underestimated.

But she doesn't hate this kind of interaction, it has a fresh feeling.

As the worries were resolved, the two chatted casually about what happened in their daily lives for a while, and then Xia Chuanzou said goodbye to Eriri on the pretext that the student council still had affairs to deal with.

His next action was naturally to go to his appointment with Shiina Mahiru, but unexpectedly, he ran into a student council handyman who was in a hurry on the way there.

“A student is missing in the venue?” Xia Chuanzou repeated the other party's words with a frown.

“Yes, President.”

“How do you know? How do you determine that they are missing and not sneaking off somewhere else?” Xia Chuanzou asked, puzzled.

Similar things have happened in previous years, but in the end it was confirmed that it was just a false alarm, a misunderstanding caused by someone leaving the venue without registering, so Xia Chuanzou wanted to ask clearly first.

“It's true, President, their partner came to tell us, and we checked, there is no record of this person leaving on the registration list, and the dormitory also found that no one has returned, and the people who went into the venue to search said that they couldn't find their partner.”

“This… take me to see the other party's partner, I want to understand the whole story first.” Xia Chuanzou then felt the seriousness of the matter.

If someone is really missing, even if they find the other party after dawn tomorrow, they will suffer mental trauma for spending a night alone in the deep forest, and even think of the worst, if they accidentally encounter a highly aggressive creature like the wild cat before, it would be really troublesome.

“This way, President, follow me.”

Xia Chuanzou nodded and followed.

Due to the urgency of the situation, the two simply ran to get there, and arrived at their destination in no time.

"This is the missing classmate's partner."

Following the direction the member beside him pointed, Kanade Natsukawa was surprised to find a familiar face – Megumi Kato.

"Kato?"

The always calm and collected saintly classmate now wore an extremely serious expression.