In the living room, Yotsuba hugged the hundred test papers meant for her, feeling as if the sky had just collapsed!
Yotsuba: How am I supposed to survive this!? I'm out!
"Itsuki, why did you go and ask Mr. Shiratori for test papers on your own?"
"I had no choice. You all had them, and I couldn't be the only one without any. What if you all surpassed me next time?"
Holding a few test papers in her hand, Itsuki spoke helplessly.
Originally, Hakuto had only planned to give Itsuki a few test papers just for formality's sake, but she had approached him to ask for them herself.
This made Hakuto feel a little embarrassed.
"Speaking of which… who do you think got first place this time?" Ichika put down her test papers and looked toward Hakuto, who was grading their papers.
Since there was a reward system in place, the five sisters cared a lot about first place.
Though they acted indifferent on the surface, who knew how fiercely they were competing behind the scenes?
"Heh heh~" Yotsuba, when it came to first place, was no longer thinking about quitting.
"I made full preparations this time! I'm definitely number one!"
She crossed her arms and looked absolutely confident.
"Yotsuba, you should focus on finishing those hundred test papers first."
"I can't believe Shiratori actually prepared a hundred test papers…" Miku found it hard to believe.
After all, what kind of sane person keeps a hundred test papers at home just in case?
"Let me see… Elementary and middle school math tests…" Seeing those words, Itsuki couldn't help but burst into laughter.
After all, a high school student being made to do elementary and middle school tests by her tutor—it was undeniably funny no matter how you looked at it.
"Huh? Does Mr. Shiratori think I only have a middle school-level education…?" Yotsuba felt a little down. Sure, her grades were bad, but this was just cruel…
Meanwhile, Hakuto was grading the five sisters' test papers, nodding subconsciously as he worked.
It seemed the reward system was proving effective—their grades had all improved significantly compared to last time.
The scores were still ugly, but at least they were acceptable now. Of course, part of this was because Hakuto had tailored his tutoring methods for each of them.
But at the end of the day, it was their own effort that made the real difference.
As Hakuto graded the papers, Ginko leaned against him, flipping through the shogi records she always carried with her.
Unlike Hakuto, who relied on sheer analytical skill, Ginko depended more on strategies and tactics, making memorizing shogi records a daily habit.
But her casual reliance on Hakuto made Nino grind her teeth in frustration!
Of course, it wasn't the shogi records that annoyed her.
It was the way Ginko was leaning on Hakuto so naturally!
"Ugh! Where did this sneaky little cat come from!?" Nino wanted nothing more than to go over and pull Hakuto away, but her sisters held her back with all their might.
"Nino, calm down, calm down…"
"Calm down!? She's stealing my man!!"
Nino had no idea how she was supposed to stay calm!
How many times has someone tried to steal her man today!?
Sure, no one had actually succeeded, but she hadn't made any progress either!
Just thinking about it made her furious!
She had already envisioned a wonderful future with Hakuto.
No—she had even thought of their future child's name!
But reality hit her like a truck—she hadn't even lasted seventy moves! This was ridiculous!
And now… not only had she failed to claim Hakuto, but she had also gained ten extra test papers to complete! Talk about a backfire…
Ginko, still leaning against Hakuto, lazily lifted her eyelids and glanced at the fuming Nino in the distance.
She smirked in disdain before rubbing her head even closer against Hakuto's shoulder.
At this moment, Hakuto was too focused on grading the five sisters' test papers to notice the tension in the air.
Seeing Ginko's blatant display, the expressions on the other sisters' faces could make for an entire stage play.
Ichika: Σ(ﾟдﾟlll)? I even gave you a head start, and you're still fanning the flames!?
Miku: (＠￣ー￣＠)...Not happy…
Itsuki: ( ｰ̀εｰ́ ) This is about to get ugly…
Yotsuba: (๑•ี_เ•ี๑)?
Nino: (ﾉಥ益ಥ)!! Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!!
Never in her life—well, second time in her life—had Nino been humiliated like this!! If she just stood by and watched, she'd be a fool!
For reference, the first time was when Hakuto publicly rejected her…
But that didn't matter! What mattered now was—Nino was declaring war!
Nino: The battle begins!!
This time, no one stopped her—because everyone could see this fight was inevitable.
"Aren't we going to help?"
"This table sure is a fine table…"
Nino stormed over to where Hakuto was grading papers, while Ginko, still reviewing her shogi records, didn't even glance up.
At the same time, Hakuto suddenly felt an intense gaze on him…
He instinctively looked up and found Nino standing right in front of him, practically steaming with fury.
"Hmm?"
"Shiratori…" Nino had barely called his name when Hakuto suddenly extended his right hand toward her.
"Nino, wanna do a fist bump?"
"Huh? A fist bump?" Right now, Nino wanted to sink her teeth into Hakuto, not bump fists!
"Come on, come on~" Seeing her reluctance, Hakuto even added a bit of a playful tone.
Hearing this, Nino frowned, then glanced at Hakuto's outstretched fist. Reluctantly, she bumped it with her own.
"So, you…" Before she could finish speaking, Hakuto slowly opened his clenched fist.
A small plastic figurine, about the size of a thumb, dangled from a string looped around Hakuto's middle finger, swaying gently in front of Nino.
"Congratulations, Nino. You're first place this time. This is yours." Hakuto smiled warmly.
Nino stared blankly at the figurine in Hakuto's hand, momentarily forgetting what she had come here for.
It took her a long while before she carefully took the figurine from Hakuto's hand and examined it closely.
"What a narcissist… making a figure of yourself…" Nino muttered under her breath.
That's right—though a bit abstract, she immediately recognized that the figure was modeled after Hakuto.
"It even has a voice recorder inside. You can record something you want to hear, but it's only a few seconds long."
"Wh-Who needs that…" Nino muttered, but deep inside, she already had plans for it.
"By the way… why did you suddenly come over, Nino?" Hakuto chuckled. "Did you already guess you were first and come to claim your reward?"
"Well… I mean… first place isn't exactly a challenge for me…" Nino turned her head away, avoiding eye contact.
Hakuto didn't press the issue. Instead, he felt a sharp pinch from Ginko beside him.
He subtly furrowed his brows. Even though he had explained things to Ginko in advance, when the moment arrived, she was still unhappy.
But that was fine.
What was one little pinch?
Hakuto had been used to getting pinched ever since he was a kid.
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