My High School Nerd Rival - Chapter 48

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 48
Hell, why did I end up sitting here?
Ibi arriving late to class was the problem.
And Cyrus’s seat beside him was usually empty, but today it happened to be the last remaining desk.
Even as he had these thoughts, Ibi’s head drooped toward the desk again, and startled, she opened her eyes for a moment.
He thought the anxious tension might finally be over—but.
Ibi couldn’t overcome the fatigue of running through the Corridor all morning and began dozing off again.
‘Don’t worry about it.’
Whether Ibi Underwood slept through class or not.
Whether it cost her points for behavior or not.
Whether her forehead buried itself in the desk and swelled red—it had nothing to do with him whatsoever.
“…!”
But the moment Ibi’s head began to fall toward the desk unobstructed, he rushed to slip the back of his hand underneath where her forehead would land.
Thud.
Her forehead landed safely on his hand.
It was warmer than expected. The heat from running around all day lingered intact on her skin, and a few strands of hair slipped through his fingers.
Relief at the near-miss was short-lived; clarity returned just as quickly.
Was he insane? What business did he have helping her like this?
“Hey.”
He tried waking her with a quiet voice, careful the teacher wouldn’t notice.
His hand still wedged between her forehead and the desk.
“Underwood.”
Ibi didn’t stir, her forehead still pressed against his palm.
In fact, something else was happening.
Her breathing, flowing between his fingers, was becoming steadily more rhythmic.
That even respiration tickled the tips of his fingers.
“…You’re not going to move?”
Knowing no answer would come, he asked anyway, then sighed.
She must have been exhausted.
Thinking that, he felt a twinge of something uncomfortable.
Always pushing herself to be a good class representative—he didn’t understand why she’d go to such lengths.
Ibi had said she’d do anything to beat him, but was a school ranking system really worth such desperation?
It was hard to comprehend. Even accounting for her competitive nature, it seemed excessive.
“Mm…”
At the faint murmur from beside him, one corner of Cyrus’s mouth quirked up.
Now she’s talking in her sleep? Using his hand as a pillow—quite comfortable, weren’t we.
Someone in the row ahead seemed to glance back. Cyrus quickly smoothed his expression into one of indifference.
Whether it worked, he couldn’t say.
Even in this situation, Ibi wore a contented smile.
What was she dreaming about?
Fine. Sleep then.
He gave up and turned his eyes forward again.
Lending a hand to a scrawny girl wasn’t going to stop him from taking notes or concentrating on the lesson.
“….”
It shouldn’t have.
Yet less than a minute later, he’d turned his head toward her again.
Her furrowed brow, her eyelashes trembling faintly. Restless even in sleep.
She really was infuriating.
* * *
“…!”
Ibi woke after class ended and the room erupted into noise.
She was shocked to realize she’d fallen asleep during the lesson, but that shock soon faded.
Because something else was far more shocking.
She’d slept on Cyrus’s hand!
She stole a glance to the side and saw him flexing his hand with his brow furrowed—the hand that had been pinned beneath her.
That sharp-eyed look made it clear he was annoyed.
If he minded so much, why not have just let her hit the desk?!
The thought flashed through her mind, but she swallowed the words. She couldn’t say such a thing after receiving his help.
She ought to apologize.
“I’m sor—”
Just as Ibi began offering her apology, he spoke first.
“How much is left?”
“Of what?”
“That.”
He gestured with a glance toward the Delivery File sitting on one corner of her desk.
“Oh, almost done. Just one more room left—yours.”
Ibi answered, then added clarification so he wouldn’t misunderstand.
“I mean Logan Blake.”
“I figured. So where are the flowers?”
“In the Biology Laboratory.”
“Right. Got it.”
He grabbed his bag and left the Classroom immediately, heading toward the Science Building with long, steady strides.
Ibi followed a few steps behind.
He actually went to the Biology Laboratory and asked the senior managing the flowers if they had Logan Blake’s arrangement.
Presently, a massive Flower Basket easily containing twenty or more blooms was placed in his hands.
Considering all of it had come from other people, the quantity was truly remarkable.
Even after delivering several batches before this.
Cyrus did complain a bit about the basket, but he accepted it and left the laboratory.
“Quinton, give that here.”
“Don’t need to.”
The Corridor they passed through was still chaotic with Valentine’s Day lingering in the air.
Boys were getting into scuffles with each other, and couples who didn’t care about embarrassment continued kissing shamelessly.
Seeing Ibi looked ready to scream, Cyrus warned her quietly.
“Give up.”
“But still…”
“Even the teachers can’t do anything about it.”
When she thought about it, that was true.
Once they stepped outside, the suffocating sweetness of Valentine’s atmosphere dissolved, and Ibi finally felt like she could breathe.
‘Now that I think about it.’
She still hadn’t apologized to Cyrus. And she hadn’t bought him anything besides Chocolate.
Time was already moving toward evening. If she delayed any longer, apologizing would become even harder.
“Hey, you know…”
Ibi turned to look at him and spoke with sincerity.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. Your head wasn’t that heavy, and my hand didn’t get hurt.”
Apparently he’d understood her apology to be about letting her use his hand as a cushion.
Which was certainly something to apologize for, but…
“No, that’s not—I mean, yes, I’m sorry about that too.”
Ibi hesitated a moment before finally adding her explanation.
“I’m apologizing for the things you had to hear after the Debate Competition ended. Those… unpleasant comments.”
Ibi didn’t elaborate on the specifics. It was clearly the sort of thing that would spoil his mood.
Quinton had no immediate response.
But it would have been strange for Ibi to elaborate further, so silence settled between them.
After a long pause, he finally answered.
“The only thing that warranted ‘unpleasant’ would be the scene we passed in the Corridor just now.”
Did that mean those comments weren’t at that level of unpleasantness? More like mildly displeasing?
Not that the distinction mattered much.
Ibi lifted her head toward Cyrus standing beside her. He was looking down at her too, having turned his gaze toward her.
Their steps halted of their own accord—though who stopped first, she couldn’t say.
The late afternoon light slanted across them, making his teal eyes, usually hidden behind his glasses, seem unusually vivid.
Ibi felt somewhat overwhelmed.
They were simply holding each other’s gaze, yet the density of the air between them suddenly intensified, making even breathing feel labored.
The pulse thrumming to the inner reaches of her ears was probably just the aftermath of running through the Corridor all morning. Yes, that modern ailment—sedentary lifestyle.
There was no other explanation for it.
This mounting tension threatened to swallow her whole. She needed to do something.
Ibi remembered and fumbled in her pocket for the Chocolate she’d stuffed there.
“W-would you like some of this?!”
But she regretted it immediately.
Not just because she remembered Cyrus had called Chocolate “horrible” before.
The Chocolate she was offering actually looked horrible.
Having tumbled around in her pocket all day, the wrapper was crumpled and the confection itself was misshapen.
“If you don’t like sweet things, forget it.”
Just as Ibi tried to withdraw the Chocolate, he quickly took it from her.
“I don’t dislike it.”
“What?”
“I’ll eat it.”
“But you hate Chocolate?”
“Why would I dislike an energy source that works effectively on the brain?”
To prove his point, he unwrapped the Chocolate she’d given him and put it directly in his mouth.
‘Ah. Glucose.’
At the unexpected answer, Ibi burst out laughing.
The suffocating tension she’d felt when their eyes met moments before had completely vanished.
“But you called it horrible before? When Logan asked you to have some.”
“I’m uncomfortable eating from someone I don’t know well.”
That’s right. She’d forgotten he had some fastidious tendencies.
Even when taking books from the Library, he’d wrap his hands in a handkerchief first.
And when Ibi had once sat on his bed, he’d glared at her like he’d kill her.
‘But just now…’
Was it really okay for him to eat Chocolate from a crumpled wrapper?
And in the Classroom just now, his hand had been pressed against her forehead.
The moment that doubt surfaced, something else came back to her—

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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