The colorful light ball rotates slowly, and the light shines through the small holes, sweeping across the faces of the two people in the corner.
"I thought there would be the kind of waiters who carry many wine glasses on plates and wander around at parties." Morimi suddenly said, "It turned out not to be the case."
"How could there be such a waiter at the Christmas party in school..."
Naruse paused for a moment before reacting, "What do you want to drink?"
"Whatever."
"Then let's drink something hot."
He went and asked for two cups of hot milk.
"Thank you." Morimi took a sip, pursed his lips, and finally showed a smile, "I feel much warmer."
"How can you not be cold if you stay in a corner like this?" Even so, Naruse did not leave, but still stood next to her.
"I want to be alone for a while."
"Then why come to the party?"
"Quietness amidst the hustle and bustle can help people understand themselves more deeply."
"Are you confirming the value of the 'second in grade' you got?"
"..."
She looked over, took a deep breath, and then spoke after a while.
"I almost threw this glass of milk on your face just now."
Naruse stood aside.
After his emotions calmed down a little, Morimi asked: "What score did Naruse get?"
Before the so-called "Top 50" results are released, there is no way to know the scores of other students except by asking directly.
Naruse pondered for a moment.
"Don't remember?"
"No, you finish the milk first."
Sen's eyes widened, "How many points?"
Naruse had no choice but to report his score.
"..."
She opened her mouth, and the expression on her face suddenly disappeared.
I hold the remaining half cup of hot milk in my hand, but I can't feel the temperature at all. All that echoes in my mind is the number just now.
"How on earth is this kind of score... achieved?"
"This exam is relatively easy, and I am more serious about it."
When she heard about seriousness, she couldn't help but sigh deeply: "I'm very serious too..."
Naruse didn't answer, looked ahead, raised the cup and took a sip.
Darkness enveloped the party venue, and the crowd was swaying around in the buzzing noise, as if night had fallen.
As he glanced around, he suddenly saw Naoko staying with the Takigawa sisters.
The venue is dark, but a few people are standing under the light, which is quite conspicuous. Reading 溺
"I've been there... Morimi?"
She grabbed his uniform.
"What's the specific score?"
Morimi looked at him, "You should still remember the scores for each subject."
"..."
Naruse was a little helpless, "Is there any point in asking this now?"
"I want to know." she insisted.
He had no choice but to tell her the specific scores of each subject.
"Full marks in mathematics, perfect marks in English, perfect marks in biology..."
Morimi couldn't help but let go of his hand and murmured, "Although it's relatively simple, it's not that simple..."
Naruse looked at her, "I just said that I take this exam seriously."
She pursed her lips tightly, frowned, and didn't say anything she wanted to say.
Seeing her state, Naruse wanted to find Naoko, but he didn't take the step after all.
"Where's Morimi's score?" he asked.
She glanced at him and moved her lips several times before speaking.
"The gap is not that big."
Her expression softened a little, but her brows were still worried.
"Isn't there a big difference? Yes, the feeling when looking from top to bottom is completely different from that from bottom to top.
At this level, it is very difficult to improve even a few points, let alone... more than twenty points."
Naruse looked at her and said, "If you feel that it's too much pressure to keep looking up, Morimi can occasionally turn around and look at the people below."
She looked at him and said, "I will only look up and will not seek satisfaction from people lower than myself."
Naruse suddenly laughed, "Did Mori feel the same way when he saw that he came first in the exam?"
"..."
She pursed her lower lip.
"I don't deny Morimi's ambition, but always being tense will affect the efficiency of learning, won't it?"
"But if you relax a little, you will be caught up by the people below..."
"——How can you be so nervous?"
Naruse couldn't help but interrupt her. When it came to studying, she was so stubborn that it gave him a headache.
"And what if we are caught up? This is not the most important exam.
Mori saw that he fell to ninth place last time, but this time he passed the test again... so what, is he the first in the grade besides me?"
She pursed her lower lip, seemed to smile, and then quickly looked away.
After a brief silence, she sighed softly.
"Who is the first in the grade besides you? Don't you feel embarrassed to use such a strange term?"
"...This is what Morimi said just now."
"Forget it quickly."
Naruse rolled his eyes and said, "I forgot."
Morimi squeezed the disposable paper cup in his hand.
The tide comes, the tide goes out, and it keeps rising.
The many annoyances that she couldn't tell the origin of and were tangled together made her uneasy. However, most of them suddenly disappeared. She took a deep breath and looked away.
The party in the venue is still going on without any impact.
Her problem has not been solved, but she has also lost the sense of oppression that was pressing in her heart.
——What he just said had some effect after all.
Although he was also the one who made her suddenly feel anxious.
"It's all because of Naruse..." She didn't look at him, "That's why I become so strange."
"Don't use such strange expressions."
She took a half step back and leaned against the wall, losing focus.
"When I saw that I was second in grade, I thought I wouldn't care... Now I can't tell what I'm anxious about, and I don't know if it's right for me to relax without permission at this time.
."
Naruse glanced at her and drank all the milk in the cup.
"Morimi's real problem is that he thinks too much."
"But I can't help but think about it. This is always the thing I care about the most...especially now that I just got my results."
"Isn't it just to come to the party to let go of these things temporarily?"
"I told you that the starfish brought me here."
Naruse looked at her, "If Mori doesn't want to do it, can Haixing pull you?"
"..."
A brief silence is the preparation for an explosion.
"So...it's all because Naruse suddenly came over to talk to me, which made me think wildly for such a long time - don't suddenly create pressure on people, it's obviously an occasion like this, isn't it here to relax? You have to learn to read the air. I think
You just want to come here and show off that you are the first in grade again. Ah, I understand. To be first in grade is to show off in front of the second grade in order to have the highest sense of satisfaction. Anyway, you must be thinking..."
"Yes, yes..."
Naruse didn't bother to refute, and he also understood that she had accumulated a lot of pressure and accepted everything she said.
After venting for a while, Morimi stopped.
"...That's it."
"What you taught me is."
After hearing his score, it was impossible to relax completely, but she didn't want to be immersed in the anxiety caused by the gap, so she decided to enjoy the party in front of her temporarily.
After all, we have come.
And today is the last day of this semester.
"Did Naruse see a starfish just now?"
"No. Shangzi and Guang are over there."
Morimi glanced at the place he was pointing at, and realized one thing: "Shangzi would actually let you run around in such an occasion."
"So I'm going to find her now."
"Are you going to leave me behind?"
"Can't you come together?"
She didn't move, she looked there in confusion for a while, and then suddenly handed the cup to him.
"One more drink."
Naruse took the cup and asked for another cup of hot milk.
"Thank you."
She took a sip with an undisguised smile on her face.
Not only because of the hot milk that warmed the cold body again, but also because of the indescribable sense of satisfaction brought by his obedience.
Although he won't always listen to her...
She looked at the girl under the light over there.
"Speaking of which, how did Shangzi do in the exam this time?"