The Girl Who Saw Through Me

“I have something I want to ask you, Big Bro…”

I sighed before answering.

“Look, I’m neither a walking encyclopedia nor Doraemon who can do everything.”

I almost added, “Why don’t you just Baidu it?” but given how useless Baidu has become lately, I didn’t.

The kid jerked his head up.

“This is important, Big Bro! Please! Give me some advice!”

“Tell me what it is first.”

“Well, Big Bro, I realized I need to study to get stronger. But last night, when I tried, I got sleepy right away. What do I do?”

What? That’s it?

I let out another long sigh and rubbed my face in exasperation.

“Hah… Ask your homeroom teacher about that.”

The kid quickly waved his hands.

“No! That’s not it! If I ask her, she’ll just give me a lecture on study techniques. That’s not the problem. I just… can’t focus.”

“Oh, so you have concentration issues.”

The kid stiffened, looking uneasy.

“Um, Big Bro, are you saying I’m just naturally inferior?”

“Of course not. It’s your environment. Your parents don’t really supervise you, do they?”

He scratched his head.

“Well… no. They don’t force me or restrict me.”

“So your self-discipline is weak.”

“Huh?”

“In an environment with no supervision, no goals, and no restrictions, it’s easy for self-discipline to erode. Especially for students.”

They don’t worry about making a living. Food and clothes are provided.

So the saying ‘poor kids grow up faster’ isn’t without merit.

“Living in that environment for so long has made it hard for you to focus on studying. Everyone is lazy. That laziness is desire itself fighting against what you should be doing.”

“I-I see!”

Another expansion of his worldview. Seeing his expression, my drowsiness faded.

Changing people’s perspectives really is interesting.

“So, Big Bro, is there a way to change this behavior?”

Troublesome… Honestly, it feels like this kid will keep coming to me with questions.

I’m not a teacher. I have no interest in teaching. Getting bothered like this is annoying… Hmm?

Suddenly, an interesting idea came to mind.

I changed my approach.

I made a V sign and spoke mysteriously.

“There’s a roundabout way that’s a permanent fix, and a shortcut that’s only temporary. Which do you want?”

“Both! I want both! Just tell me, Big Bro!”

“Okay, the roundabout way first. You’ve probably heard it from your teachers. In short, build interest in studying.”

“But if I were interested in studying, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Exactly. Under the current system, the content, format, and standards of studying are uninteresting. No fun at all.”

“Right? Right? So I’m not the only one who hates studying?”

“Hence the roundabout way. Start looking now. Find your own ‘interest in studying.’ Once you find it, you’ll study on your own.”

Seeing how simple I made it sound, the kid slumped his shoulders.

“Does that kind of interest really exist?”

“Of course. Humans are curious creatures. The desire to know is a primal desire unique to intelligent beings, separate from the will to survive. It’s the desire for knowledge.”

“Desire for knowledge…”

“Yes. Why else would scientists become scientists? Were they forced as kids? Or were they born loving to study? No. They’re just humans with strong curiosity.”

Like how I want to understand human psychology by observing others.

People read gossip for the same curiosity.

The desire to understand the universe is curiosity.

The desire to know the inside story of gossip is also curiosity.

Everyone wants to know something.

Other creatures gather information to survive. But only humans actively seek information unrelated to survival.

Personally, I think the reason for human existence has gone beyond mere survival. It’s now at the level of ‘knowing why we live.’ Satisfying the desire for knowledge.

“No wonder it’s a roundabout way. Okay, Big Bro, I’ll try to find what I want to know. But that doesn’t help me now. The shortcut…”

The kid fidgeted, looking embarrassed.

I knew he’d ask about the shortcut. The roundabout way was just a lead-in.

“Heh, kid, what do you think is the biggest difference between an average high school and a top-tier one?”

“Huh?” He was caught off guard. Then he thought for a moment. “Uh… the teachers?”

“Wrong. It’s simply the environment.”

“Environment…”

“When you see everyone around you studying while you’re playing games or sleeping, don’t you feel like you shouldn’t be doing that?”

“Yeah, actually…”

“In a top-tier school, fewer people are sleeping or playing games, creating an environment that makes you think, ‘Maybe I should study too.'”

It’s herd mentality.

A social phenomenon where individuals unconsciously or involuntarily align their thoughts and actions with the majority due to group pressure.

In short, following the crowd.

“But I don’t go to a top-tier school. It’s a decent high school, but…”

“So you need to create that environment. Befriend the students with good grades. Specifically, female students. Ask them to study with you after school, on weekends. Create supervisors for yourself. Put yourself under restrictions.”

“I see!”

The kid’s eyes lit up. His chuunibyou spirit was rekindled.

“But Big Bro, why female students?”

Hehe. The kid noticed. Good thing I paused and emphasized it.

Then I patted his shoulder and spoke nonsense with a straight face.

“Because girls are more meticulous, more patient. Better at supervising each other’s studying.”

“Oh! I get it! That makes sense!”

Hehehe. Hook, line, and sinker.

The kid’s chuunibyou heart was focused on studying. His youthful fantasies were pushed aside.

He hadn’t even thought about getting a girlfriend. Naive kid.

I couldn’t let his youth be so boring.

I’d guide him a little.

Since he seemed likely to become a regular, I wanted to see real-life romantic comedy through him.

Now I’d given him the righteous goal of creating a study environment to approach female classmates. He had no ulterior motives.

But the girls might not be so simple.

Especially teenage girls. They’d probably think, ‘Does he like me?’

And girls with good grades tend to be the pure type.

Meaning, there’s a good chance they’d have their first crush on him.

Hehehehe…

Beautiful.

This is going to be interesting.

Would a real-life version of ‘We Can’t Study’ unfold?

I couldn’t wait to see.

My face lit up with a spring breeze. I patted his shoulder.

“Good luck, kid. Find a few female classmates. Form a study group. That’ll help you study.”

“Yes, Big Bro! I’ll do my best! Thank you for your guidance!”

I shrugged.

“Go on. Don’t be late.”

“Okay! Bye, Big Bro! I’ll be back!”

The kid bowed 90 degrees with the utmost respect and ran out of the store.

I noticed there were a few customers in the store. They’d been listening without interrupting. Now they came to the register.

They all smiled at me kindly.

One auntie even said, “What a shame you’re not a teacher.”

They all saw me as a good person helping a student. My reputation had risen.

I don’t care what others think of me. But I enjoyed that no one saw my true intention.

Using a facade to hide my real thoughts, fooling the onlookers, gave me a sense of intellectual superiority.

Thud.

A can of Monster.

Placed on the counter with a thud.

Carbonated energy drink. Do people actually like this?

I grumbled internally. When I reached for the can to scan it, the customer pressed their hand on top of it.

Huh? Looking for trouble?

I looked up. Didn’t have to look far. Unexpectedly short.

They wore a cap and a baseball jacket.

They were half a head shorter than me and kept their head down. I couldn’t see their face or expression.

So I couldn’t read their intention.

I politely asked, as any clerk would.

“Um… do you want a straw?”

The reply was barely a reply.

“You’re disgusting.”

A neutral, hoarse voice. Unidentifiable as male or female.

“…Excuse me?”

They looked up. Their eyes were fierce. Their features, delicate. A stark contrast.

A woman.

“Playing with people’s hearts. Is it fun?”