Chapter 13 This is... Nekono-kun? ...

The morning sunlight streamed through the classroom windows, casting bright patches of light on the newly wiped floor.

Yesterday's experience was like a bizarre, illogical dream, flashing repeatedly in his mind. Every detail was examined individually, yet he still couldn't piece together any reasonable explanation.

Rei Furuya barely slept a wink all night. Every time he closed his eyes, he couldn't help but sit up abruptly, staring wide-eyed into the darkness, silently questioning the void—

Why is that?

Unfortunately, the void could not provide him with an answer, so Rei Furuya arrived at the classroom even earlier than the day before, with feelings far more complicated than the previous day.

There weren't many people in the classroom yet. Instead of sitting down in the window seat he had chosen yesterday, Furuya Rei wandered around the classroom, pretending to be relaxed or busy. He temporarily put his schoolbag in the corner.

Secretly, he scanned each student who stepped into the classroom with his sharp eyes, trying to identify the 'legendary Nekono' among them.

As the students arrived one after another, their eyes lit up when they saw him, and they all cast friendly, inquisitive, and excited glances at him.

The students with a strong sense of boundaries just whispered things like, "Nekono-kun is still blonde and dark-skinned today!", "This setting continues!", "Blonde and dark skin is the best!" and other things he didn't want to hear.

Students with a weak sense of boundaries beamed with joy upon seeing him and naturally raised their hands to greet him:

"You've come at the perfect time, Nekono-kun."

Good morning, Nekono-kun!

"As expected, you were incredibly impressive today!"

"You look great today, Nekono-kun."

Rei Furuya kept a straight face and ignored everything.

As they dawdled until only three minutes remained before the bell rang, and almost everyone was already seated, but the legendary Nekono-kun still hadn't appeared in the classroom, Furuya Rei's heart finally sank.

Did Nekono take another day off today? Or... is this really a continuous, collective prank targeting him?

With no other option, Furuya Rei reluctantly picked up his backpack from the corner and sat down in his seat from yesterday.

Time ticked by, and the moment the school bell rang drew ever closer.

The students in the classroom were chatting and laughing in small groups, but Furuya Rei's face grew increasingly tense.

Just as the pre-class bell rang sharply, and Rei Furuya was almost convinced that this was a malicious prank targeting transfer students—

The light at the doorway dimmed slightly, and then he appeared.

At that moment, time seemed to slow down. A figure walked in unhurriedly against the light, following the tail end of the bell's ringing.

The boy who walked in was similar in build to Rei Furuya, wearing a crisp uniform with his backpack strap casually draped over his shoulder.

He had soft, slightly messy black hair, with two strands sticking up a little. His pupils were pure black, and his skin was clean and fair. His features were delicate, his gaze calm, carrying a slightly serene detachment.

From any angle, this is undoubtedly the most classic Asian face.

Yet this seemingly ordinary boy, the moment he stepped into the classroom, drew everyone's attention like a magnet.

He possesses a unique charm that defies description, almost dazzling.

Rei Furuya was stunned.

The black-haired boy seemed used to the gazes fixed on him, his eyes calmly sweeping across the classroom. Then, they slowly settled on Furuya Rei.

He first glanced at the seat where Rei Furuya was sitting, a very faint, almost imperceptible look of doubt on his face. It was like a small pebble suddenly being thrown into a calm lake, quickly creating ripples of surprise.

He then carefully examined Shiratani Zero with his black eyes, lingering for a moment on his striking blond hair and dark skin, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, like an artist spotting a striking color combination that intrigued him.

Black-haired boy: 'Oh? This color scheme is nice.'

But eventually, these subtle emotions subsided, and the black lake returned to its calm state.

The black-haired boy walked steadily towards Rei Furuya, stopping in front of Rei's desk. Everyone's eyes involuntarily followed the black-haired boy's figure.

The quiet chatter in the classroom gradually subsided, and an inexplicable silence spread.

The black-haired boy lowered his head slightly and stared at Furuya Rei. Furuya Rei felt the gaze and raised his head to meet a pair of calm black eyes.

Their eyes met in mid-air.

Time seemed to freeze. For some reason, everyone's attention was focused on the two of them, but no one made a sound.

The surrounding classmates were quiet, intimidated by the invisible aura of the black-haired boy; only their eyes were moving.

Classmates: Although I don't know why, I feel like I should hold my breath!

Rei Furuya paused slightly, staring at the black-haired boy standing quietly in front of his desk.

The other person's gaze was calm and collected, showing no surprise or rejection, only a quiet, unhurried observation that made one feel no discomfort whatsoever.

This is... Nekono-kun?

"Huh—!" Someone gasped and suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

The sound, like a thunderclap, shattered the brief silence in the classroom, and the surrounding area instantly erupted in chaos.

"Two, two?! Two Nekono-kun?!" A student leaned back abruptly, knocking over the pencil case on the back seat, his voice cracking with shock.

Another classmate covered his mouth in surprise, his eyes wide with disbelief. "What's going on? How can there be two Nekono-kuns!"

"Could it be—Nekono-san has finally mastered the Shadow Clone Technique? The legendary Shadow Clone Technique?!" Some students even had wild imaginations, thinking that Nekono-san had finally mastered mitosis.

The student with the wildly imaginative idea was refuted by the more level-headed student: "Hey~ I already said shadow clones are fake! They're completely unscientific!"

"But that's the magical Nekoyaki! Although shadow clones are unscientific, they're very Nekoyaki!" The student who had previously objected was immediately refuted by a confident rebuttal.

"Y-yes! That's really cat-like!" Oh no, the student who was being refuted was actually convinced.

Rei Furuya immediately turned his head in shock, instantly looking in the direction from which the words came.

No, he really wanted to know what kind of image Nekono-kun had in other people's minds!

Of course, many more students simply sat quietly in their seats, wondering if they were still half asleep, their faces filled with existential doubt.

In any case, the entire classroom was plunged into an indescribable emotional shock, and everyone's brains were experiencing a kind of information overload.

It was Nekono Ikuya who broke the deadlock first. He seemed to have a peculiar ability to adapt to this kind of situation. He looked at Furuya Rei, who was staring at him for a while, and then suddenly turned his head in surprise, attracted by the shocking remarks of other classmates. He sighed slightly and felt a little helpless.

'Knock knock knock'

He ignored the gasps of the other students, tapped the table lightly with his knuckles a few times, and then looked into Rei Furuya's eyes and pointed to his chair.

"New student, you're sitting in my seat." His tone was calm, without accusation or dissatisfaction, simply stating a fact.

It was a tone that could be described as gentle, but it also carried an undeniable certainty, leaving no room for doubt, which strangely silenced the surrounding chatter.

After saying this, Nekono Yuuya paused, turned her head and gestured with her eyes to the empty seat directly behind her, her tone still revealing no emotion.

"There's no one in the back seat, you can sit there."

Furuya Rei followed Nekono Ikuya's gaze blankly to look behind him, and sure enough, he saw an empty seat right behind him.

When? It wasn't here just now!

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been debating whether to continue sitting in that potentially occupied seat this morning.

Rei Furuya stared wide-eyed, utterly perplexed.

Then he noticed two classmates next to him in the empty back seat, clapping their hands with a slightly smug look on their faces.

Clearly, it was these two clever kids who, while the other students were still in shock, quietly got up and moved a new set of desks and chairs from somewhere else to place here.

Rei Furuya clearly remembered not seeing Ikuya Nekono signal anything to anyone else. Did these two students anticipate their needs in advance?

Their initiative is just too strong.

They are quite fast and have a high level of execution.

Rei Furuya was immediately shocked.

Does this mean that, aside from the ridiculous misunderstandings caused by unforeseen circumstances, his classmates were still quite friendly towards him?

...Or perhaps they just wanted to get rid of the trouble for Nekono Ikuya?

The students around them finally received and processed the information in Nekono Ikuya's words, their consciousness continuing to be shaken.

"Huh?!?!" They erupted in another round of exclamations, their reactions even more exaggerated than before.

"So—so yesterday's Furuya-san wasn't actually Nekono-san in disguise? She was the real transfer student?!"

"Oh my god, we made a mistake!"

"Really? But... but he clearly admitted it yesterday... oh no, he did seem to deny it... He said his name is Furuya Rei..."

"I was wondering why something felt off yesterday, since Nekono-kun always had black hair before!"

"I also felt strange, but I thought this was the surprise that Nekono-kun was talking about."

"So what is the real surprise?"

"Ugh, so embarrassing! What did we do yesterday?!"

"Huh, is that so? But to be honest, even though I made a mistake by accident, this kind of novel experience is actually quite interesting!"

"What are you saying?!"

...

Ignoring the frantic reactions of his classmates, Furuya Rei had his own predicament.

He snapped back to his senses amidst the chaos, jumped up as if burned, his cheeks burning hot.

In the end, I couldn't escape this fate.

Rei Furuya quickly apologized: "I'm so sorry! I didn't know this was your seat! I saw it was empty yesterday..."

His voice carried a sincere apology, but also a sense of relief.

See, the misunderstanding is finally cleared up. I told you I'm not some Nekono-kun!

As Nekono Yuuya watched him frantically packing his things, the corners of her mouth seemed to curve upwards almost imperceptibly, but she quickly regained her composure.

He waved his hand generously, "It's alright, ignorance is no excuse."

After saying that, he naturally sat down in his seat and took out his textbook from his bag as if nothing had happened. He was completely at ease, as if the commotion around him had nothing to do with him.

Rei Furuya scrambled to the back seat as if fleeing. Even after he sat down, his heart was still pounding. Half of it was embarrassment, and the other half was a deeper sense of bewilderment.

This is... Nekono-kun?

A note from the author:

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