Chapter 16: I Came Here for You

"Sho-sensei, you’ve been Fuitsu’s homeroom teacher for three years. How was Fuitsu’s performance in class?" Shin Garei asked my teacher.

Hearing Shin Garei’s question, an awkward flush crept onto my face. Sho-sensei looked equally helpless, shot a glance at me, and said, "To be honest, Fuitsu’s overall performance over these three years was actually quite solid. He was just a bit eccentric at times—he didn’t like showing off, yet he never shirked his responsibilities. He’s very caring and quite well-liked by his classmates. Most admirably, he has a strong sense of collective pride; he represented our class in the school sports meet multiple times. He’s truly a well-rounded student with excellent morals, intellect, and physical fitness!"

Hearing Sho-sensei’s words, my face burned even hotter. I couldn’t help but curse mentally: Damn, what a load of nonsense! How come I never knew I was this awesome? But no matter how much they praised me, my attention remained completely fixed on Shin Garei.

"Bureau Chief Sugiyama, what are your thoughts on student Fuitsu achieving such an extraordinary result in this year’s entrance exams?" Shin Garei asked.

Bureau Chief Sugiyama cleared his throat and said unhurriedly, "This year’s exams have concluded successfully, and every candidate has submitted a satisfying answer sheet. Student Fuitsu took the number one spot in both Tokyo and nationwide for the humanities track with a staggering score of 997. In recognition of such outstanding achievements, the leadership team of our Education Bureau has decided to award student Fuitsu a scholarship of 2,000,000 yen!" Bureau Chief Sugiyama announced like a formal report, standing up to hand me an envelope from his pocket. The sound engineer played a celebratory cue right on cue, and I smiled and accepted the envelope with a nod.

Right then, Manager Watanabe sitting beside him stood up as well: "On behalf of NTT’s Tokyo branch, I would also like to award student Fuitsu a scholarship of 3,000,000 yen!" With that, he handed another envelope into my hands.

It was surreal—making 5,000,000 yen in just a few minutes. That was more than my dad made in a whole year! If Mom found out, Dad would probably never hear the end of it. I hastily accepted it, offering repeated thanks. This was basically the first money I had ever earned myself; free money is free money, no way I’m turning it down! The audience below chimed in with a warm round of applause.

Shin Garei nodded in satisfaction and turned to the audience: "You might find it hard to believe, but during the exam period, student Fuitsu turned in every single paper in under half an hour. Who could accomplish such a feat without an extraordinary foundation? On the final day of exams, we actually interviewed student Fuitsu outside the testing center. Let’s take a look!"

With that, the big screen began playing the footage from that day’s interview. This time, it wasn’t just a brief 10-second clip, but the full, unedited interview! As it ended, enthusiastic applause erupted once more.

Shin Garei smiled at me and said, "I really had no idea student Fuitsu was this academic! To be honest, when I interviewed him that day, I actually thought he was just one of those students who performed poorly and gave up early! Student Fuitsu, with scores like yours, do you have any special study tips? I’m sure I’m not the only one dying to know!"

Here it came—the exact question I feared most! I quickly shook my head and said, "There are no tricks; there are no shortcuts on the path of learning. In truth, I’m actually a pretty slow learner. What I accomplished, many people can do as long as they put in the effort!"

"We can all imagine how much hard work student Fuitsu poured in to achieve today’s results. Let’s give student Fuitsu another round of applause!" Shin Garei stood up, smiling as she led the applause. Turning to the audience, she added, "I’ve invited several guests today, but if I do all the asking, the parents and students who arrived early might have some objections! If anyone in the audience has questions, feel free to ask!"

The moment she finished speaking, countless hands shot into the air.

The microphone was passed to a parent, who said, "My child is graduating middle school this year and we’re deciding on a high school. Principal Jou, could you introduce Seisei High School to us parents? Thank you!"

Principal Jou replied with a grin, "Seisei High School has been established for over eighty years, featuring state-of-the-art infrastructure and a formidable faculty. Over 90% of our teaching staff hold senior professional titles, and last year we were awarded the title of Tokyo Model High School. This year’s exam topper and third-place scorer both came from our school. We warmly welcome all students to enroll!" Principal Jou seized the chance to run a shameless advertisement!

The mic was then passed to a student around 17 or 18 years old. Looking at me with utter disdain, he asked, "I have a question for Fuitsu. The newspapers reported that reporters have been camped outside your house all day ever since you were named top scorer, yet you refused all interviews. Is the only reason you came to Education Online today because of the 500,000 yen scholarship?"

Asking a question like that in an environment like this was a blatant attempt to put me on the spot!

Shin Garei, Principal Jou, the floor director, and Producer Yamashita all stood up, breaking into a cold sweat. I felt a bit flustered myself. Right at that moment, Venus suddenly materialized in front of my eyes, urging anxiously: "Now’s your chance! Confess right now! Tell her you came here for Shin Garei!"

Understanding Venus’s intent, I cleared my throat and said, "I think this fellow student might have misunderstood. If I were here for the money, I wouldn’t have turned down so many commercial endorsement deals. Those sponsorship fees pay far more than this scholarship. As for why I’m here today, I can tell you!"

At this point, I turned my head, locked eyes with Shin Garei, and paused for three whole seconds: "I came here entirely for Miss Shin!"

Seeing that, Venus gave me a huge thumbs-up. The floor director, producer, and principal all let out a massive sigh of relief. Shin Garei, hearing my response, stared at me with wide eyes before gracefully breaking the ice with a happy laugh: "Haha, I had no idea I had that much pulling power!"

She then turned back to the boy who asked the question: "I trust Fuitsu’s answer satisfies you! Anyone else with questions? Opportunities like this are rare, don’t miss out!"

Following that, all sorts of wild questions came flying in. Parents directed their inquiries toward Principal Jou and Bureau Chief Sugiyama, while many students directed theirs at me. Thankfully, we managed to handle them all.

An hour flew by quickly, and the mic returned to Shin Garei: "Student Fuitsu, can you reveal how many acceptance letters you’ve received so far, and which university you plan to attend?"

"I’ve received nearly 20 acceptance letters by now, but after discussing it with my parents, I’ve ultimately decided on the University of Tokyo!" I answered.

"Wonderful! We wish Fuitsu continued brilliant achievements at higher institutions of learning! Dear viewers, that concludes today’s special feature of Education Online. Thank you for watching, until next time!"

The moment Shin Garei finished her closing line, a crowd of students rushed forward, holding out small notebooks for my autograph. Phew! I finally got a taste of what it felt like to be a celebrity. After satisfying their requests, I headed backstage to take off my makeup.

Pushing open the dressing room door, I saw everyone chatting and laughing. Seeing me enter, the floor director came over, patted my shoulder, and said, "Exam topper, your performance today was top-notch—totally calm under pressure. We really didn’t anticipate those surprise questions from the audience, but you handled them brilliantly!"

I replied bashfully, "I was just telling the truth, nothing was prepared!"

"Oh? Including the part about coming here just for our Garei?" the young floor director teased.

Teased by him, I lowered my head in embarrassment, while Shin Garei laughed and chided him, "Alright, can’t you be serious for once? Hurry up and get back to work!"

Principal Jou said to me, "We’re heading back now, Fuitsu. Are you coming with us?"

Venus appeared silently beside me and urged, "Why are you leaving?! Now is the perfect chance! Ask Shin Garei out for dinner to build some rapport!"

Hearing Venus’s words, I said to the principal, "No thanks, Principal, you guys go ahead. I can head back on my own!"

Seeing me say that, the principal didn’t insist. He told me to stay safe and left with the others. Sitting in the chair, as the makeup artist removed my makeup, I noticed Shin Garei packing up her things to head out too!

Venus prompted me again: "What are you standing there like an idiot for? Hurry up and ask her out for dinner!"

I hesitated mentally: Is it really appropriate to just jump at her like this? Won’t she think it’s way too sudden? What if she says no?

Venus was so exasperated by my overthinking that her cute nose practically fumed: "If you don’t ask, how do you know she’ll say no? Go on, show some confidence! Remember to be charismatic! There’s no such thing as appropriate or inappropriate, go!"

Driven by Venus’s relentless pushing, I slowly walked over to Shin Garei, who was packing her bags. Glancing back, I saw Venus constantly signaling me with her eyes to hurry up!

Standing frozen for a moment, I finally summoned the courage to speak: "Miss Shin, have you had dinner yet?"

Hearing my words, Shin Garei raised her head and looked at me with confusion. I quickly explained, "I mean... if you haven’t had dinner yet, I’d like to treat you to a meal!"

My explanation didn’t get her to speak right away. Instead, she kept staring at me, inspecting me with keen interest. Her gorgeous eyes scanned me up and down, making me lower my head lower and lower. Finally, defeated, I said, "Alright, if you don’t have time, forget I asked!" With that, I turned around, intending to leave.

"Can you give me a reason to let you buy me dinner?" Shin Garei’s voice called from behind.

Hearing her words, I turned around to see Shin Garei crossing her arms, her expressive eyes locked onto me, waiting for my answer.

Nervous, I stammered a bit: "No special reason... just for the cash I earned today. What do you say, shall we go together?" As I spoke, I pulled the two envelopes out of my pocket and waved them in my hand.

I looked at her expectantly. After a brief pause, Shin Garei smiled and said, "When our top scorer himself invites me, how could I dare decline? Though I’ve actually already eaten dinner... how about we grab a drink instead?"

I nodded joyfully, and together, the two of us stepped out of the dressing room.