Chapter 15: Live Broadcast Begins

Upon my mental call, Venus appeared before me once again, though this time her entrance lacked the flash and extravagance of before. Looking at me playfully, Venus said, "Hey there, little brother! What do you need big sister for?" The moment the words left her mouth, before I could even react, she clutched her stomach and burst into giggles at her own use of "little brother."

Annoyed, I thought back, What else would I be calling you for? My eyes subtly darted toward Shin Garei, who was sitting next to me, completely absorbed in her script.

Venus stepped softly toward Shin Garei’s side and scrutinized her closely, whispering incoherent gibberish under her breath. After a moment, she looked up and said to me with a cheerful grin, "Hmm, her looks are just so-so, but her aura is quite nice. Best of all, she has a kind heart!"

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes internally. Talk about picky—to my eyes, she looks almost as good as you!

Venus looked at me and asked, "Does she recognize you right now?"

"I’m guessing probably not."

"Alright then, let’s start with the simplest step: getting acquainted. Above all, make sure you don’t make it seem like you’re intentionally hitting on her!" Venus instructed from the side.

"How should I greet her then?" I asked.

"The simplest method is the most effective: just treat it like a casual greeting between regular friends," Venus advised.

I stole a glance at Shin Garei, summoned all my courage, and softly stammered, "H-Hello!"

My voice was too low to break her deep concentration. Helpless, I turned back toward Venus.

Venus hissed, "Can’t you speak up a bit? Stop humming like a mosquito and act natural!"

Summoning my courage once more, I raised my voice and said, "Hello, Shin Garei-san."

This time, I finally caught her attention. She turned her head, her dark eyes looking at me with a touch of curiosity. After a second, she smiled and asked, "Hello! You’re Fuitsu, right? Haha."

Hearing her speak to me, I nodded hastily: "Yes, I’m Fuitsu. It’s really wonderful to see you again!"

"It’s a pleasure to meet our Tokyo top scorer as well!" Shin Garei smiled and nodded, before adding with a puzzled frown, "Wait... see me again? Have we met before?"

"Of course we have, don’t you remember? On the day the entrance exams ended, outside the testing center—you interviewed me!" I quickly explained.

Shin Garei knitted her brows as she thought back carefully. Suddenly, she let out an exclamation: "Right! I remember now! You were that candidate who was the very first to walk out of the exam hall! I had no idea you were so incredible!"

She immediately stood up and called out to the hallway: "Editor, quickly pull up the news segment from the evening of June 10th, I need it!" Turning back to me, she added, "I’ll be right back to chat with you in a moment!" Without even waiting for her makeup to be finished, she hurried out of the dressing room.

"Little brother, you’re quite a failure—she didn’t even remember you. Still, you didn’t do too bad just now. I reckon she has a decent impression of you now!" Venus remarked beside me, sounding like a seasoned veteran.

I said happily, "That’s already great! My school bus driver couldn’t remember me after three whole years!"

Venus sighed helplessly, "You really know how to stay optimistic!" With that, she stopped paying attention to me and devoted herself to exploring everything in the dressing room.

The girl who had been doing Shin Garei’s makeup shifted over to help Principal Jou and the others with quick touch-ups. While getting my makeup done, I flipped through the script. The questions were truly all over the place.

After a short while, Shin Garei returned, taking her seat beside me with a smile: "I really had no idea you were so amazing. If I knew back then, I would’ve given you way more camera time during that interview!"

I quickly replied, "It was really just luck!"

Shin Garei let out an amused smile and said, "We’re starting in a bit. Have you looked through all the questions?"

I nodded. Shin Garei creased her brows slightly and instructed, "Once we start, you can’t be so stingy with your words like that. Make sure to talk more, got it?"

Feeling embarrassed, I replied, "Yeah, I understand. I’ll cooperate fully!"

"Good, just relax. Treat it like a casual chat between friends," Shin Garei continued to guide me.

Shortly after, we met Manager Watanabe, who sported a noticeable beer belly. Producer Yamashita walked us through the segment layout. Half an hour later, the live broadcast was about to begin.

Principal Jou, Sho-sensei, Manager Watanabe, Bureau Chief Sugiyama, and I all took our seats inside the studio. Shin Garei sat directly across from us. The audience seating below was packed with students and parents.

The floor director counted down: "Studio ready, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... action!"

The opening intro theme for Education Online echoed through the studio. Simultaneously, the camera zoomed in on Shin Garei. She stood up facing the lens, and as the music faded, she smiled warmly into the camera: "Hello, viewers, and welcome to today’s episode of Education Online. I’m your host, Shin Garei. Today is a special feature: Pioneers of Education."

"I believe all of Tokyo has been buzzing over a single event over the past few days. In this year’s college entrance exams, our Tokyo produced an unprecedented, legendary score—997 points! Taking the number one spot across the entire nation, leading the national runner-up by over 30 points!"

"I’m sure everyone knows his name by now—yes, student Fuitsu! Today, we have invited him directly into our studio. Let’s give him a warm welcome!"

With that, she led the applause, and the camera cut right to a close-up of my face! Feeling a bit shy, I stood up, bowed slightly, and greeted the audience of parents and students.

"Joining us today as well, we have Bureau Chief Sugiyama from the Tokyo Education Bureau, Principal Jou of Seisei High School, Fuitsu’s homeroom teacher Sho-sensei, and Manager Watanabe from NTT’s Tokyo branch. Let’s welcome our distinguished guests with equally warm applause!" Shin Garei introduced with a smile, prompting another round of enthusiastic applause from the audience.

Shin Garei sat down and turned to me: "I’m sure many of us are deeply curious about student Fuitsu, though we’ve caught glimpses from newspaper reports. We’d love to know—when you first found out your exam score, what went through your mind and your family’s minds? Could you share that with us?"

I let out a slight smile and said, "When I dialed the number and entered my exam registration ID, the line fell dead silent. Just as I was losing patience, an manager from NTT came on the line. He confirmed my ID number, then informed me of my score and that I was the top scorer nationwide. I completely froze on the spot; my mind went entirely blank. In the end, it was the manager on the phone who snapped me out of it. My parents, of course, were thrilled!"

"We can all imagine the excitement of that moment! Moving on, Principal Jou, when you first heard about Fuitsu’s score, what was your initial thought?" Shin Garei turned the question toward Principal Jou.

Principal Jou nodded and said, "When I first heard his score, my immediate thought was that it was only natural, though I was immensely happy for him at the same time!"

"According to our sources, Fuitsu’s grades over his three years of high school weren’t particularly high—in fact, he often ranked near the bottom. Principal Jou, why did you have so much confidence in him?" Shin Garei pressed further.

"Haha! Shortly before the exams, I happened to pass by his classroom and saw him solving a math problem on the blackboard. That problem was the hardest final question from the math exam two years ago—a problem straight out of the Mathematical Olympiad. He solved it exceptionally fast. If it were just that, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. But he actually produced 22 different methods to solve it—7 or 8 of which even I, someone who has researched mathematics for years, hadn’t seen before!"

"From that moment on, I knew what Fuitsu was capable of! In my view, Fuitsu’s math level at that time had fully reached the standard of a professor specializing in mathematics. With such high mathematical proficiency, he could have been directly recommended for admission to the University of Tokyo even without taking the exams!" Principal Jou explained with a laugh.

Hearing Principal Jou’s words, the audience erupted into another round of applause. Shin Garei gave me an astonished look before asking, "Student Fuitsu registered as a humanities candidate, didn’t he? How is his math so exceptional?"

"Haha, that’s precisely what makes him so extraordinary!" Principal Jou laughed heartily.

The cameraman conveniently gave me another close-up shot. Principal Jou’s words made my face flush red, and in my heart, I thanked Athena all over again!