Meiyu puffed out her cheeks, her face still bearing the red mark from hitting the electric pole.
Ryunosuke, feeling bad, immediately took off his jacket and draped it over the girl's head to cover the red mark on her face. Meiyu gripped that clothing tightly, covering her entire head so others wouldn't see.
Today was truly embarrassing for her. Hitting an electric pole... if anyone else found out, she felt like jumping into a river.
Ryunosuke guided her with her head still covered by the jacket until they reached the front door of her dormitory. Meiyu awkwardly removed the jacket, folded it neatly, and said full of regret.
"Sorry for today, I've troubled you. This jacket... how about I wash it first?"
Ryunosuke waved his hand, stating he didn't mind and besides the jacket wasn't dirty.
Wang Meiyu looked at him with "dead fish eyes".
"Akasaka-kun's EQ is so low. I mean, I want to wash my remaining scent from this clothing."
She said it bluntly. Seeing that man's reaction, she was really afraid Ryunosuke would directly wear it without thinking.
Ryunosuke fell silent.
(Women are indeed troublesome)
Before finally agreeing to leave the jacket at Meiyu's place to be washed first before being taken back. Because of this, the two of them exchanged contacts.
At that moment, Meiyu asked full of curiosity. "Can you speak Mandarin?"
Earlier when Ryunosuke called her, he used Mandarin. In Mandarin, the words "dear" (xiaoxingan) and "watch out for the pole" (xiaoxingan) are homophones (sound similar), this was what caused her misunderstanding. If that man had used Japanese, this misunderstanding wouldn't have happened because the pronunciation is very different.
Remembering that, Meiyu felt annoyed. She suspected maybe this man deliberately played with her.
Why use that ambiguous word to warn her?
Ryunosuke scratched his nose awkwardly, not knowing what to answer. He had indeed wanted to tease a little, but didn't expect Meiyu would directly crash without looking.
After chatting for a moment, Meiyu felt very happy knowing the other party could indeed speak Mandarin. Being in a foreign environment without fellow countrymen felt very lonely. With Ryunosuke's presence, now she had a friend to chat with in her native language.
Meiyu waved in front of her door with a cheerful face. Ryunosuke also returned the wave while facing away from her, signaling see you tomorrow.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
The next day.
After class hours ended, around 3 PM, everyone gathered again at the Service Club to continue tutoring.
Meiyu came with Ryunosuke as usual, including the quintuplets who followed behind because they were all in the same class and going the same direction.
Everyone sat down and started their study routine. Five "teachers" taught five students, exactly one-on-one. After finishing with one subject, they exchanged students so all subjects were covered. These five "little teachers" really worked hard.
Ryunosuke felt somewhat guilty, because they were helping his classmates study voluntarily. Besides Meiyu who was a classmate and Hiyori who was currently his girlfriend, the other three had absolutely no obligation to help—they were working for free.
To provide compensation, he again gave a limited edition Pan-san doll to Yukino.
Yukino's mouth said she didn't want it, but the force of her hand pushing it away became weaker, until finally she secretly hugged Pan-san with a facial expression that looked very "healed".
Ryunosuke couldn't understand what was so good about that arrogant-looking panda doll? To make Yukino so obsessed.
Without much talk, Ryunosuke then provided special one-on-one tutoring to Fumino and Rizu.
As far as he remembered, these two girls had unique problems: one wanted to enter a science university but was skilled in literature, while the other wanted to enter a literature university but all her talent was in science.
As compensation for helping his team, Ryunosuke used the "Exchange Tutoring" method. He had them teach each other in the fields they mastered so they could understand faster.
His role here was as a "mediator". For example, if Rizu explained a science problem and Fumino didn't understand, Ryunosuke would simplify that explanation to make it easier to digest. And vice versa.
Although his own academic ability wasn't extraordinary, he was quite skilled at simplifying a concept so others would understand.
The two girls initially didn't have high expectations, but after being taught by Ryunosuke, they were shocked because they suddenly could understand the subject they hated most.
They glanced at each other, then looked at him with eyes full of admiration. Initially they had almost given up on their dreams, but Ryunosuke gave new hope. They even felt like worshipping him like a god!
There's a saying: Admiration is the shortest distance to love.
Hiyori, who noticed the adoring gazes from both girls, began to feel uneasy. She really didn't want Ryunosuke to look so brilliant and popular in other girls' eyes. But, wasn't she herself also attracted because of that brilliance?
Hiyori let out a long sigh. She tried to calm herself. After all, she had already "won" (become the girlfriend). Even if both these girls really liked Ryunosuke, as newcomers they wouldn't be able to catch up with her. There was nothing to worry about because she was the "legal wife".
In prominent family circles, having multiple relationships might not be strange. As a branch family member of the Shiina clan—one of the four major conglomerates—Hiyori understood that reality. She didn't mind too much, as long as the position of "legal wife" remained hers.
Of course, if she could have him alone, that was far better. As long as there was still an advantage on her side, she wouldn't be willing to share Ryunosuke's love with anyone.