"strangeness......"

Kaito frowned, and spun the pen in his hand even faster.

Something's not right.

Something is very wrong.

Ever since that day at the Ryoma Exhibition, Aoko's attitude has become very strange.

In the past, Qingzi would definitely have sat next to him, either glaring at him angrily or nagging him about his "crimes" such as sleeping in class, not handing in his homework, and peeking at girls' skirts.

But now...

Now, when Qingzi sees him, she only smiles politely, just like she would with any other classmate.

Even the seats have been changed.

In the past, Aoko would always try to sit next to him, and even if the teacher moved them apart, she would find all sorts of reasons to move back. But now she took the initiative to move to the other end of the classroom and became Koizumi Akako's deskmate.

"Hey, Kaito!" The student sitting in front of him suddenly turned around, "Do you know how to do this problem?"

Kaito finally snapped out of his daze, his eyes looking somewhat blank as he glanced at the question: "Huh? Oh, this one..."

He explained absentmindedly, his thoughts drifting involuntarily back to the day before yesterday—

"Aoko, are you still angry?" On the way home from school, Kaito stopped Aoko, who was walking home alone, and scratched his head apologetically: "That day, Mom really did suddenly call me home..."

“I’m not angry.” Aoko looked at him calmly, her eyes devoid of their usual anger and intimacy, a polite smile on her lips. “Kuroba-kun, you don’t need to apologize.”

Kuroba... classmate?

This title left Kaito stunned.

From childhood to adulthood, Aoko has always called him either "Kaito" or angrily called him "Idiot Kaito." When has she ever been so distant?

"Um..." Kaito wanted to say something, but Aoko had already walked past him and continued walking forward. "See you tomorrow, Kuroba-kun."

That concludes the recollection.