“The teacher was just summarizing an essay from the collection ‘Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk,’ written around 1926. She recounted the lives of ‘Qing Dynasty students’ in Tokyo, their journey from Tokyo to Sendai, and their living conditions there.”
“She also touched upon the discrimination they faced from students with narrow nationalistic views in Japan at the time, and the profound impact of watching a film. The core of the discussion, however, centered on Mr. Fujino’s admirable qualities, with the teacher, driven by personal sentiment, imparting the wisdom that ‘Heaven bestows talent, and it will surely find its use.'”
Shiratama Manatsu responded, his voice utterly devoid of inflection. Not only that, but his hands never paused their movements, as if such a minor disruption couldn’t possibly divert his attention from the computer screen.
Shiratama Manatsu clicked the mouse twice more.
“Judging by the teacher’s reluctant tone, it’s clear she must have encountered difficulties in her work. I presume her original ambition was to become a doctor, but perhaps due to certain ‘personality’ traits, no hospital, not even a private clinic, would accept her, likely compounded by her lack of life experience…”
“You! You, how do you know all this?!”
From the podium, the distinct sound of a folding fan clattering to the floor echoed.
The Ancient Chinese teacher’s comical face was etched with pure panic, as though she had been jabbed by something impossibly sharp.
‘Oh? It seems he truly struck a nerve,’ I thought. ‘This person named Shiratama Manatsu… he’s certainly intriguing.’
I watched Shiratama Manatsu intently, only to notice that the teacher’s flustered words seemed to fuel his “confidence.” Yet, to call it “confidence” felt inaccurate; it was more akin to… “arrogance,” perhaps?
With no intention of stopping, and despite no one prompting him further, Shiratama Manatsu continued his explanation.
“Your attire.”
Shiratama Manatsu’s tone was calm and unhurried. His right hand, which had been steadily typing on the computer, finally came to a halt.
“Uh… is this Shiratama-kun’s… detective… method?”
“Not quite,” Shiratama Manatsu replied. “After all, to be over thirty yet still possess the sartorial modesty of a teenager, much like the teacher, is rather telling.”
“Coupled with the way the teacher grips the colored pen, pressing her thumb against the gap of her two fingers… while it seems normal, the teacher is undeniably overly tense. This behavior clearly stems from a fear of scratching her fingers by pressing too hard.”
“Teacher, you graduated from a medical school in the United States, didn’t you?”
“After all, if one is from Europe or America, that’s naturally where most people would choose to study.”
“Moreover, medical schools there are among the rare few that require nearly a decade of isolation from the outside world to complete.”
Click.
Shiratama Manatsu gave a faint smile and pressed down the heavy display of his laptop.
Clack, clack, clack…
The Ancient Chinese teacher, her face twitching uncontrollably, struck her fingers against the fan, producing a series of sharp clacking sounds.
Snap.
The fan broke.
“Oh ho ho~ That was truly… perfect, Shiratama~ No wonder the school’s chairman personally informed me… to go easy on you…”
‘Even if you want to praise someone, shouldn’t you hide the broken fan in your hand first?!’
“Oh, Youli… don’t you think it’s amazing how Chinese can express the fact that someone has been isolated from the world for ten years, become a complete social outcast, and possesses such a strong-on-the-outside-but-weak-on-the-inside personality, all with such a nuanced tone?”
“Little Qi, could you perhaps let go of my hand first?”
“I told you already, don’t worry about the small details~”
****
English Class.
Scratch, scratch…
The teacher wrote a sentence on the blackboard: Bob and Alice want to go to the supermarket to buy chicken.
“Shiratama-kun, please translate this sentence.”
“Although I’m not sure why, according to the textbook’s explanation, this sentence should be translated as ‘Xiao Ming and Xiao Hong want to go to the supermarket to buy chicken.'”
“However… Teacher, I, Shiratama Manatsu, have truly never encountered such a shameless official translation in my entire life.”
“…..”
****
Social Studies Class.
“Tomorrow, tomorrow is hope. Everything we do as humans should be a struggle for the goals of tomorrow…”
“Shiratama-kun, you seemed to have pursed your lips just now. Do you have an opinion?”
Clack, clack, clack…
“Teacher, I mean no disrespect, but I believe humanity’s tomorrow and future are actually not important.”
‘Then stop typing on that keyboard first!’
“But Shiratama-kun, if we don’t care about the future, how can we develop human society?”
“Firstly, the development and evolution of society are merely normal, natural phenomena. I said the future isn’t important, but that doesn’t mean everyone shares my perspective.”
“Even if I alone disagree, there are still millions upon millions of people who will spontaneously develop society.”
“However, just hypothetically, Shiratama-kun, imagine if no one in this world cared about the future…”
“I apologize, Teacher, I truly don’t mean to disrespect you, but I genuinely struggle to imagine such a phenomenon occurring within a collective of over eight billion humans.”
“It would be something so infinitesimally small, even smaller than a quantum, that it couldn’t even be described by humanity’s known mathematical methods…”
For once, Shiratama Manatsu scratched his head in distress, pulling down the deerstalker hat he wore.
“…I’m sorry, Teacher, I truly cannot comprehend the impact of a gluon plasma from the perspective of Canis Major…”
“Shiratama-ku—”
“Teacher! I… live in the present!”
“…..”
****
History Class.
“Shiratama-kun, please explain the difference between official history and unofficial history.”
“Official history—that is, what is widely accepted by most people, compiled by the authorities, and written by the victors—aims to provide an objective understanding and consolidate political sovereignty.”
“However, it actually holds little reference value for true history. While the general course of events may not differ significantly, for archaeological purposes, it is far too simplistic. Here, we can apply the case of Li Shi—”
“Shir—Shiratama-kun, please stop…”
“……”
****
Art Class.
“Shiratama-kun, we just discussed European and contemporary American art. Please briefly explain the differences in artistic style between the European painter Van Gogh and the American painter Mark Rothko.”
“Style? Similarities… both suffered from mental illness, both died by suicide?”
“We’re discussing differences.”
“If we’re talking differences… Vincent Willem van Gogh was thirty-seven when he died by drowning. Mark Rothko suffered from depression, and his cause of death was wrist-slashing in a locked room…”
“…..”
****
Geography Class.
“Shiratama-kun, what is the highest mountain peak in the solar system?”
“Teacher, have we humans already entered the galactic era?”
“…………”
****
Health Class.
“Shiratama-kun, please describe the differences between the male and female sexes.”
“!”
“Th-that! That kind of thing! H-how could there be any difference?! Teacher, your thinking is problematic! That’s gender discrimination…!”
“……”
****
Self-study Class.
“Report from the Disciplinary Office: Shiratama Manatsu of Class 2-B, please report to the Disciplinary Office immediately.”
“Repeating: Shiratama Manatsu of Class 2-B, please report to the Disciplinary Office immediately.”
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂