My High School Nerd Rival - Chapter 76

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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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Episode 76
Someone else would probably come.
Thinking this, she glanced toward the door. In fact, she could hear footsteps drawing closer.
But the tightly closed door did not open.
Rustle.
The sound of a page turning in Cyrus’s hands came through unusually loud.
Pretending to check the dryer, she caught sight of him: the excellent nerd was apparently finding joy in that thick tome today as well.
So utterly at peace.
The fact that his eyes never once left the page was proof of it.
Why was he so infuriating?
She’d known this was how he was all along.
Ivy touched her phone again. Even the cute new photo of Emily’s Pickle the horse that had just been posted didn’t really catch her eye.
Beyond the rumble of the dryer, the sound of pages turning kept nagging at her ears.
The dryer still had three minutes left.
Finding nothing more interesting in her feed, she kept opening and closing her messages.
If only someone would reach out to her now.
But there was only silence.
“…….”
She set down her phone and checked the dryer. The numbers had just changed to two.
Habitually, she rubbed her arm.
The moment at the Equestrian Center’s stable came back to her—when Cyrus had been standing beside her. He hadn’t asked her anything then.
‘Maybe he didn’t see anything?’
At the time, he hadn’t even looked at her.
But he was standing right there next to her. Could he really not have known?
Still, she couldn’t ask him. There’d be no way to explain the situation.
Ivy glanced at Cyrus again. It seemed like he was taking his eyes off the book.
Or maybe not. Perhaps she was just imagining it.
Listen.
Her lips parted slightly, as if to say something.
But she couldn’t bring herself to speak.
The tangled, disorganized words all caught in her throat.
Beep, beep, beep…….
The time that had seemed like it would never pass came to an end—just then.
Perhaps it was for the best.
Ivy swallowed all the words she’d failed to say, taking the beep as her signal.
She hurried toward the dryer. Lifting her toes, she opened the door—and a gust of fabric softener scent rushed out.
Ivy reached her arm deep into the warm air. The heated laundry came tumbling into her arms in a single bundle.
Without bothering to sort it, she forced it all into the basket, pressing it down again and again.
Holding the now-heavy basket in both arms, she quickened her steps toward the exit.
Her one thought was to leave this suffocating place as quickly as possible.
Really, that was all she wanted.
“Ivy.”
If only he hadn’t called her name in front of the dryer.
That single short word sent goosebumps racing across her skin.
No, that couldn’t be. The Laundry Room was so warm.
“…….”
When she turned to face him, Ivy had to press tension into her lips—to keep herself from smiling involuntarily.
His call shouldn’t have been so welcome as all that.
“Why, what?”
But her goal of responding coolly failed immediately. Her trembling voice sounded like it was saying “I’m so awkward I’m going to die” for all to hear.
Cyrus stood in front of the dryer, though he still hadn’t put any laundry in.
He was simply staring at her intently.
Then he shook his head and reached his hand deep into the dryer’s interior. An ominous premonition swept over Ivy at once.
What emerged following his hand was…….
A Pajama Shirt.
Well, technically that was the polite term—to be honest, it was just a stretched-out T-shirt.
That famous character T-shirt Owen had brought her with the comment, “I hear most girls usually sleep in something like this.”
And now it was in Cyrus’s hands.
‘This time I really am firing Owen!’
Ivy experienced a shock that violated every labor law in existence.
Contrary to Ivy’s almost fainting state, Cyrus placed the fuzzy T-shirt atop her pile of laundry with an utterly unaffected expression.
Since her hands were full, he was offering his own kind of help.
She understood. She understood, but!
Ivy could endure no longer. She spun around abruptly and left the Laundry Room at a measured pace—careful not to look like she was fleeing.
She could feel his gaze on her back, though that was almost certainly just the embarrassment playing tricks on her.
Without confirming the truth of this illusion, Ivy slipped into the hallway and began running like someone possessed.
Everything’s ruined. Completely ruined.
* * *
Making her way back to her room, wallowing in despair,
Ivy spotted a male student loitering outside her door. He was from a different dormitory, though she’d seen him enough in shared classes to recognize his face.
More notably, she couldn’t help but see how often he orbited around Joy.
What he was doing here was obvious.
He’d come to ask Joy to go with him to the End-of-Semester Party.
She was about to ignore him and slip into her room when the student called out to her.
“Hey, Ivy.”
“Want me to get Joy?”
Turning while still holding the laundry basket, she saw him shake his head.
“No, it’s not that.”
Not that?
If not Joy, then why was he hanging around here?
Before she could ask, he suddenly thrust his phone toward her.
There was a photo of several boys gathered together—one taken last semester when a food truck came after exams, with a bunch of them posing.
Some faces she recognized, some she didn’t.
Why was he showing her this?
Did he need help with something?
“Look, is there anyone in this photo you like? Or if they’re not in the picture, is there anyone you’re interested in……?”
But the question that came back was far too absurd.
Anyone she liked? There was no way that could be true.
Her left arm seemed to be heating up again for some reason.
“I-I don’t have anyone like that!”
Ivy practically shrieked before rushing back into her dormitory room in a panic.
What on earth was that about? Why did he have to ask her something like that?
Ivy irritably laid out the laundry on her bed and began sorting through it.
“This is ridiculous.”
Her hands were rough as she folded. She muttered while folding a towel in half, then in half again.
“Why would he even ask me something like that?”
“Did something happen?”
Joy, who had been sprawled on the bed watching a drama, pulled out her earbuds and looked over.
“Oh, sorry. Was I being loud?”
“No, it’s fine. Just wondered if something was wrong.”
Ivy let out a sigh first. There had been far too much today.
For one thing, she’d been alone with Cyrus in the Laundry Room, and he’d even taken out her Pajama Shirt for her.
But if she mentioned that, Joy would definitely interpret it in some strange way.
She decided to leave that part out.
“I thought someone came to find you at the door.”
“Me?”
Joy’s eyes narrowed subtly.
“But it wasn’t. He just thrust his phone at me and said, ‘Is there anyone in this picture you like?'”
“What?”
“Like, he showed me all these photos of his dormitory friends and basically asked me to pick one, right?”
Ivy tossed down the towel she’d been folding.
“I never asked him to introduce me to anyone!”
Honestly, Ivy had expected Joy to burst out laughing.
Not out of any ill intent—the situation really was pretty funny when you thought about it.
Out of nowhere, he’d asked her to pick a guy.
Not that anything would happen even if she did pick someone.
“Ah…….”
But Joy’s reaction was oddly different from what she’d expected.
She screwed her eyes shut so tightly it looked painful, even dropping her head.
“……Already at that point?”
“What do you mean?”
Joy weakly got up from the bed and swiped to a different screen, replacing the drama she’d been watching.
“Ivy, I think you need to see this.”
Third Dormitory Anonymous Bulletin Board
[HOT]
Feels like everyone has a Partner except me
Posted by: Anonymous | 18:32
Everyone keeps saying they’re not dating, but Partners? That’s happening. I hope all those couples crash and burn.
[Anonymous 1]
I’m actually feeling deprived……
[Anonymous 2]
Can they just stop this anachronistic event already?
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[Anonymous 1]
Agree 22222
[Anonymous 3]
They should make a loser zone
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[Anonymous 4]
ㅋㅋㅋㅋ like any loser would actually go to the loser zone lol
[Anonymous 5]
Why can’t everyone just go together?
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[Anonymous 6]
Already bought a dress lol
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[Anonymous 5]
Stop being a show-off
[Anonymous 7]
Joy still doesn’t have a Partner, right? Honestly dying of anxiety
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[Anonymous 8]
There’s a whole truck of guys who got rejected by Joy lol Is it because of the class rep? They’re always together
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[Anonymous 6]
I’ve always said it—we need to separate Joy from the class rep
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[Anonymous 9]
How do you even separate the class rep?
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[Anonymous 6]
Just get the class rep a guy, right?
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[Anonymous 3]
Genius?
[Anonymous 10]
But the class rep doesn’t care about guys
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[Anonymous 8]
Seriously, is there really no one to go with the class rep?ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
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[Anonymous 11]
The class rep’s actually pretty cute. Why isn’t anyone interested?
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[Anonymous 4]
Why don’t you go?
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[Anonymous 11]
Sorry
[Anonymous 12]
I think the class rep’s really cute sometimes. She’d probably be pretty if she took off her Glasses?
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[Anonymous 13]
She’s cute with the Glasses on too?
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[Anonymous 4]
Why don’t you two go?
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[Anonymous 13]
I’ll defer to 12
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[Anonymous 12]
I’ll defer to the comment above
[Anonymous 14]
Okay, being serious here. The class rep doesn’t lack interest in guys. It’s just that she has no guys around her—only class rep duties. Sports Day is keeping her swamped.
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[Anonymous 11]
Makes sense. Sports Day’s got her looking busy
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[Anonymous 9]
Wait, isn’t there Logan?
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[Anonymous 14]
Yeah, I’ve seen the three of them together a lot—Joy, the class rep, and Logan
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[Anonymous 8]
Oh right. Joy’s always making a face about it lol
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[Anonymous 6]
The problem is Logan goes crazy for any girl
[Anonymous 9]
What about Cyrus? I saw him going around with the class rep before
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[Anonymous 8]
ㅋㅋㅋㅋ That guy at a party?
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[Anonymous 12]
He’d probably go with a book instead.
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[Anonymous 13]
Textbook: Is it me? Or is it you?

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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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