My High School Nerd Rival - Chapter 74

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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 74
It was Cyrus.
‘What if the instructor notices?’
The worry flickered through her mind, but Cyrus wasn’t looking at Ivy. He simply stood with his body turned, as if reading the nameplate hanging beside the door frame.
There was no way to know why he was standing here.
But one thing was certain: his back had become a wall between the students’ stares and Ivy.
Ivy turned back to Nyx.
There had been a moment of hesitation, but she couldn’t hold back any longer. Her hand reached out.
Soft, slightly damp muzzle. The scent of hay drifted through her fingertips. Warm breath tickled her palm.
Her hand moved slowly upward, brushing the silky bridge of the horse’s nose.
The moment Nyx’s eyes half-closed.
The shirt that had been held taut all along slipped free.
Ivy stroked Nyx a little longer.
Even if it was only a few seconds.
‘I’ll come back.’
A promise she couldn’t speak aloud was conveyed in her eyes.
Beyond Cyrus’s back, the students’ voices were gradually fading into the distance.
She couldn’t linger any longer.
Ivy withdrew her hand, and Nyx tilted his head gently—as if searching for where her touch had been.
“Go.”
Cyrus tilted his chin toward the corridor from right beside her. Ivy lowered her head and hurried to fall in line behind the other students.
She could feel Nyx watching her from behind.
The urge to turn around swelled in her chest, but she forced it down.
The lesson took place in the Indoor Riding Arena.
Teams were divided by experience level, and Ivy naturally stood with the Beginners.
Cyrus did the same.
The horse assigned to her was a mild chestnut mare. Docile and patient, there was no real difficulty.
The only problem, if it could be called that, was that Nyx’s dark eyes kept hovering in her vision.
“Your grip on the reins is too low, Underwood.”
“Ah, yes.”
It wasn’t entirely bad. At least she was succeeding at looking like a genuine beginner.
Meanwhile, Cyrus quietly followed the instructor’s directions from a distance. Despite being in the Beginner group, he received no corrections from the instructor.
From Ivy’s perspective, his posture was excellent. Annoyingly so.
‘What exactly can’t this guy do?’
Without realizing it, she’d thought it and turned her head sharply.
‘Forget it. Focus.’
And when the lesson ended.
Ivy felt as though her thighs didn’t belong to her. It was a sensation she hadn’t felt in a long time.
In the Changing Room, she struggled to change clothes with a body that barely obeyed her commands.
But the moment she let down her gathered hair and let it fall across her face again, she felt a little relief wash over her.
She shoved the Riding Suit carelessly into her bag, grabbed her Boots, and wrung out the last of her endurance to walk to the bus.
Once she’d thrown herself into an empty window seat, she pulled out her Earphones and plugged her ears.
Soon, students who appeared to be in a similar state to Ivy boarded the vehicle with exhausted expressions.
Groans of fatigue drifted through beyond her Earphones as they collapsed into various seats.
Probably everyone would fall asleep on the bus like the dead before they even got back to school.
Ivy felt her own eyes beginning to droop.
They opened again moments later—at the sensation of a presence beside her.
Someone was about to sit in the seat next to her.
“…….”
She froze briefly because that someone was Cyrus.
Why was he sitting here?
The answer came from the teacher boarding last.
“Is everyone aboard?”
All the students had boarded. This was the only empty seat left.
“Looks like everyone’s here. Quinton, go ahead and sit down.”
At the teacher’s word, he took the seat beside her.
This bus was an old relic befitting the Royal School’s traditions.
Which meant the seats were cramped.
Rustle.
Their white shirts brushed against each other.
Below the elbow, body heat transferred between them. Whether it was the warmth from Equestrian Riding that hadn’t yet faded or something else, it felt hotter than usual.
Ivy shifted her body a little closer to the window.
A sidelong glance showed that Cyrus too had subtly tilted his body toward the aisle.
Finally, some space had opened between them.
Ivy closed both eyes.
When the bus started, vibrations began from the floor and traveled through her entire body.
She’d thought she’d fall asleep the moment the bus pulled away, but sleep had somehow completely vanished.
* * *
The return journey was quiet, unlike the ride from school.
Most were probably asleep, and the rest were resting quietly, drained of energy.
Ivy kept her eyes tightly closed, arms crossed.
It would be more comfortable for Cyrus that way too.
But within minutes, she realized this was torture.
Sleep wouldn’t come, yet she had to keep her eyes shut.
Ivy opened her eyes and checked the time on her phone. Remarkably, not even a minute had passed since they’d left.
How was she supposed to endure forty minutes like this?
She set her phone down on her lap and closed her eyes again.
‘Maybe I’ll fall asleep if I relax my body.’
With that hope, she sat still for a moment. It did seem to feel a little more at ease…….
No.
Ivy immediately regretted that decision. The instant the bus took a curve.
Following the laws of physics with cruel precision, her body tilted toward Cyrus. Her arm touched his again.
No—she was practically pressing against him.
“…….”
She pulled away quickly, but she couldn’t stop her face from flushing hot.
Why on earth had she come up with that stupid idea to relax her body?
Ivy hastily pressed herself back against the window. When she glanced over, Cyrus kept his gaze fixed on his book without moving a muscle.
“…….”
Looking at that serene face, something welled up inside her chest.
Was this happening only to her?
Now that she thought about it, it felt somewhat unfair.
Here on this cramped bus, did a little brush of arms really warrant this kind of fuss?
‘Leaning against him isn’t what’s happening—a little contact like this is nothing, right?’
Ivy decided to just sit comfortably.
Absolutely refusing to be conscious of Cyrus.
Right on cue, the bus lurched and took another curve.
After the brief weightlessness passed, her shoulder lightly touched his arm.
She wanted to pull away.
But turning her body toward the window again would paradoxically make it obvious that she was very much aware of him.
‘No, I’m not aware of him—I’m not.’
Ivy tried to suppress the confusing thoughts.
It didn’t seem to help much.
“…….”
One arm and shoulder touching softly. One minute. Probably.
It felt much longer subjectively.
After that, every time the bus swayed or navigated a curve, that sensation deepened slightly before returning to this state.
She couldn’t tell what song was playing through her Earphones. Her ears were covered, yet the warmth at her shoulder was oddly vivid.
From the corner of her eye, she could see Cyrus’s book.
Wasn’t he on that same page before?
His finger rested at the page’s edge, but there was no sign of him turning it.
Even the great Cyrus must get drowsy after Equestrian Riding.
More importantly, how much longer until they reached school?
She could check her phone on her lap, but she couldn’t move her hand.
Afraid their arms would press together more. Or afraid they’d separate.
She didn’t want to break this strange balance.
Probably…….
Cyrus had no thoughts about it at all.
The bus began to slow. It navigated the last curve and turned into the school’s front gates.
‘We’re already here.’
With that thought, commotion began around her.
Even in the bus filled with groaning sounds, the distance between the two of them didn’t change.
Before the thought could become a misunderstanding, Ivy stood up the moment the bus stopped.
She heard the teacher’s voice from the front telling them to get off in order, but the students weren’t following instructions.
Everyone was desperate to get their exhausted bodies to the dormitory as quickly as possible.
Ivy also got off the bus, hugging her bag and Boots to her chest.
She saw Cyrus, who had gotten off before her, turn back briefly with his book in hand to look at her.
Ivy looked at Cyrus too.
Over the past few days, whenever their eyes met like this, one of them would look away. But not now.
Amid the chaotic students, the two of them stood still.
A breeze lifted Ivy’s loose hair gently.
The closeness from before came back to her. On one arm that now touched nothing, a strange warmth lingered.
Without thinking, Ivy wrapped her left arm with her other hand.

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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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