When they returned to Sakurasou, Kawasaki Saki was already preparing breakfast.
Su Yu went upstairs to wake up Yuigahama Yui, helped her change into her Sobu High uniform, and then walked downstairs with her.
As Yui descended, she let out a yawn, which immediately caught Hiratsuka Shizuka's attention.
Shizuka scrutinized Yui closely, as if trying to discern something.
Su Yu sat across from her.
"Shizuka-sensei, Yui just likes to sleep in. It's not because she was exhausted last night."
"Su Yu-kun…!"
Yui's face instantly turned bright red.
"As your student advisor, I hope you two don't engage in those kinds of things too early. Your focus right now should be on getting into university. Understand?" Hiratsuka's tone was strict.
"I… I understand," Yui lowered her head, her voice barely above a whisper.
Su Yu glanced at Yui beside him and gently took her small hand.
Yui stole a glance at him, then shyly squeezed his hand in return.
Seeing their expressions, Hiratsuka realized her words had been in vain.
Su Yu's simple action carried more weight than anything she could say.
The issue wasn't with Yui—it was whether or not Su Yu wanted it.
If he did, Yui would most likely not refuse him.
Realizing this, Hiratsuka shot Su Yu a cold glare.
Su Yu calmly chose to ignore it.
After breakfast, on the way to school.
The three of them walked together.
Kawasaki Saki led the way while Su Yu held Yui's hand as they walked behind her.
Yui glanced at Saki's back, recalling their conversation from the previous afternoon. Then, she hesitantly looked at Su Yu beside her.
"What is it?" Su Yu noticed her gaze and turned to look at her.
"Su Yu-kun, would you… ever make unreasonable demands of Kawasaki-san?" Yui asked cautiously.
"Do you want the truth or a lie?" Su Yu paused before answering.
"Of course, the truth," Yui stared at him intently.
"I wouldn't," Su Yu replied.
"Huh?" Yui was stunned.
Su Yu didn't explain further but instead looked ahead at Kawasaki Saki.
Yui opened her mouth, wanting to ask more but hesitating.
"I already have you and Yukino. If I were to involve another girl, you might accept it, but Yukino wouldn't so easily."
"I have confidence that I could convince Yukino to accept it, but that would still hurt her."
"Besides, Kawasaki-san doesn't like me. I could act irresponsibly, but with Shizuka-sensei and the Kawasaki family living in Sakurasou, if I truly did something like that, this place that finally became lively would be empty again, leaving me alone."
"If the Kawasaki family moved out, their lives would become even more difficult."
"If Shizuka-sensei left, my future child would lose a great teacher."
"If Yukino was hurt, you'd be sad as well, wouldn't you, Yui?"
Su Yu spoke each sentence calmly.
After listening, a warm smile appeared on Yui's face.
"Su Yu-kun, you're so gentle."
"I'm not some kind-hearted light novel protagonist. I'm just making realistic considerations that force me to refuse."
Su Yu looked at the cars passing by on the street as he spoke.
"Su Yu-kun, are you gentle because of me, Yukino, and Shizuka-sensei?" Yui giggled, hugging his arm.
"Maybe. Even I don't really understand. Humans are such complicated creatures." Su Yu gazed up at the sky.
"Su Yu-kun, is this chuunibyou?"
"You little dummy, this is second-year syndrome."
On Tuesday morning, they had a P.E. class.
The P.E. teacher had returned at some point, but class was still designated as free activity time.
Hayama Hayato walked toward Su Yu with a smile.
Without saying much, Su Yu headed toward the tennis courts.
Once again, their match drew a large audience, including the P.E. teacher.
Hayama tossed a tennis ball to Su Yu, his expression unusually serious.
"Su Yu-kun, I heard you joined the tennis club. I've been training as well. Let's settle things during this class!"
"Hayama, that line sounds like something out of a manga," Su Yu replied indifferently. "But I do want to test my skills."
He casually caught the ball, his tone calm and collected, as if everything was within his control.
Totsuka Saika and Hikigaya Hachiman watched from the sidelines.
Saika already knew Su Yu's skills had improved significantly.
Meanwhile, Hikigaya observed the reactions of the other students.
"A duel between normies is always popular," Hikigaya muttered.
"Hachiman, who do you think will win?" Saika asked with a smile.
"Him," Hikigaya answered without hesitation, looking at Su Yu.
"I think so too. Su Yu-kun doesn't seem like the type to take on a challenge without confidence," Saika said softly.
Their predictions weren't wrong.
Hayama had indeed trained hard.
But unfortunately, Su Yu hadn't just joined the tennis club—he had also absorbed techniques from Yukinoshita Yukino.
From the moment the match began, the skill gap between them was clear.
They weren't on the same level at all.
Hayama lost multiple rounds in a row but didn't show any intention of giving up. Instead, he kept facing Su Yu head-on.
Su Yu, conserving his stamina, used the techniques he had picked up from Yukino and didn't let Hayama win a single round.
It wasn't until the bell rang that Su Yu finally stopped, heading over to a nearby bench to sit down.
He had expended a lot of energy and was feeling the fatigue—perhaps partly due to the side effects of his memory enhancement ability.
"You're really strong," a voice said.
Su Yu looked up to see Hikigaya and Saika standing in front of him.
Hikigaya was holding a bottle of water—clearly meant for him.
Without hesitation, Su Yu took the bottle and drank half of it in one go.
"Su Yu-kun, can we talk?" Hayama's voice rang out.
He looked somewhat dejected.
But his disappointment didn't seem to be about losing to Su Yu—it was something else.
"What did she say to you?" Su Yu asked.
"You… how did you know?" Hayama looked genuinely surprised.
"She doesn't like you, but she's a kindhearted young lady. She probably told you to use me as a goal so you could find your own path and push yourself harder. There are other reasons too, but I won't go into them—since they also involve me," Su Yu explained calmly.
"Su Yu-kun… am I still far from catching up to you?" Hayama asked, his smile tinged with bitterness.
"You're a good person, but not a smart one," Su Yu replied, shaking his head.
"That's… an accurate assessment," Hayama admitted, looking stunned.
Saika and Hikigaya exchanged glances.
They had no idea what Su Yu and Hayama were really talking about.