I do not know how to put it into words, but it just feels strangely off.

It really was that much of a coincidence? Jiang Yu clicked his tongue in amazement.

After hearing Nan Qinli explain the current situation at Otonokizaka Academy in the maid cafe that day, and especially after learning that there was only one first-year class, Jiang Yu had already begun to suspect as much.

After all, the odds of two girls in the same class at the same school both being skilled at piano were indeed not very high.

So when he saw, in Nan Qinli’s message, that the junior she had asked about was the same girl recommended by Nishikino Maki and the one she and Nanqinli called “Kou,” he was merely a little surprised, and felt nothing else in particular.

Still... could an amateur really learn a dance routine matched to a song in just one week?

Although he did not know much about school idols and the like, Jiang Yu at least understood that groups resembling those idol teams usually had carefully designed choreography to accompany their songs upon debut.

As for Nan Qinli’s invitation, after a moment’s thought, Jiang Yu could not find any reason to refuse it. Besides, he was not completely uninterested in so-called school idols either.

More importantly... his impression of Nan Qinli was quite good.

Thus Jiang Yu tapped at his phone screen and replied: “No problem, I’ll be there! But will one week be enough to master the choreography?”

Very quickly, Nan Qinli sent back a reply.

“Thank you for your concern! It’s no problem. Kou, Umi, and I have all been practicing hard all along! [smiley face]”

“Then I wish you a successful performance in advance! [go for it]”

After thinking it over, Jiang Yu sent his congratulations, then put away his phone and headed to the nearest convenience store to buy the latest issue of Jump that his little sister needed.

Come to think of it, had he ever once refused Tsumami Urumi’s requests?

Suddenly, this thought arose in Jiang Yu’s mind. But on second thought, wasn’t it only natural for an older brother to satisfy all of his little sister’s demands?

Then you really are a complete little-sister fool, aren’t you~

None of your business...

Carrying the new issue of Jump and a few snacks, Jiang Yu had just stepped through the door when he had not even had time to set his things down before an unidentified object came flying at him.

“Big brother~ where’s the thing I asked for!” Then Jiang Yu heard a sweet voice coming from above him.

Jiang Yu, suddenly plunged into darkness, did not panic. He braced his back against the door to keep from falling, then, relying on memory, set down the things in his hands. Only then did he free himself from Tsumami Urumi’s clinging embrace and look at the excited girl before him with a helpless expression. “Here, that bag...”

“Aha! Thanks, Onee-chan~” Snatching up the bag Jiang Yu pointed to, Tsumami Urumi interrupted him and dashed straight into the living room.

Jiang Yu shook his head and smiled. He had long since grown used to Urumi’s behavior, and had no intention of scolding her.

Still... why doesn’t Urumi buy these things herself?

After putting everything in order and going into the living room, Jiang Yu asked naturally what was on his mind. Urumi, however, wore a subtle expression as she said, “That isn’t really what Urumi wanted either...”

“It’s just that Urumi really can’t control how fast rumors spread... Everyone says that when she’s home, Urumi is always in the study reading poetry collections and things like that.”

“...Setting aside the fact that our house does have a study, but it’s filled with light novels, aren’t you usually playing games?”

Hearing Urumi say that, Jiang Yu was both amused and exasperated.

“So, it’s all kinds of awkward for me too... Hmm, big brother, what do you mean by that?” At the end, Urumi suddenly pouted, sounding rather displeased.

Smiling, Jiang Yu waved a hand to show he meant nothing by it. Then, as if something had just occurred to him, he smacked his forehead and said, “But you could always buy one yourself on your way to school tomorrow, couldn’t you? There’s no need for me to take a detour to bring it back... though it isn’t all that far.”

“But Urumi’s school setting is, ‘My family won’t let me read manga, so I don’t know what you’re talking about... But this reindeer character is so cute,’ isn’t it?”

“Who told you to come up with such a strange setting for yourself... You’re clearly an otaku. And public opinion toward otaku isn’t as bad as it was when we were children.”

“But plenty of people still look at otaku through colored glasses, don’t they? By the way, big brother, you and Senior Aki, who show your otaku nature at school, do you really have many friends?”

“...Fine, let’s end this topic.”

“Hmph~”

Having won a decisive victory, Urumi looked at Jiang Yu’s expression, which clearly showed he did not wish to remember the subject, and happily put an end to the conversation.

...

After bathing, Jiang Yu decided to be lazy for the rest of the day and did not take out any work. He soon climbed into bed and idly scrolled through Twitter, passing the time the same way he once had by hunting for jokes on Weibo when he was bored.

“Hm?” Seeing a message all of a sudden, Jiang Yu let out a startled sound.

It was a post from the official account of a software company, one of the few accounts followed by his predecessor.

River Software: “Congratulations to the Matrix development team for successfully overcoming the first major hurdle in virtual reality technology! Further progress will be announced in due course~ [image], [image].”

Was the technology tree in this world advancing that quickly in this area? Even in his previous life, Japan and the United States, which had long been at the forefront in that field, had not produced mature VR technology by the time Jiang Yu crossed over...

And now this company was already announcing its progress in advanced virtual reality development? Perhaps in the not-too-distant future, he might really see someone lying in bed shouting something like “LINK START”~

Lost in such faint imaginings for a while, Jiang Yu was soon overcome by sleepiness and drifted into a deep slumber.

Early the next morning, though he complained a little about the schedule of a high school student, Jiang Yu still got up obediently. After washing up and eating breakfast, he left for school together with Tsumami Urumi.

Seeing the faint dark circles beneath Urumi’s eyes and the way she kept yawning, Jiang Yu sighed softly and said, “Try not to stay up too late when you have school, all right~”

“Who told big brother to buy the new issue of Jump back~ After I finished reading it and then cleared my daily game quests, of course it got late...”

So who do you think was the one who told me to buy it?

Jiang Yu muttered inwardly, but he had no desire to dwell on the matter with his little sister, so he only smiled helplessly and said no more.

Because he had not gotten up especially early today, Jiang Yu arrived in the classroom just as the bell rang. With nothing else to do, he could only spend the entire morning listening to class half earnestly and half absentmindedly.

Come to think of it, asking a pseudo-high-schooler who had experienced university life and still carried a phone on him to listen attentively for a whole day like before was practically a hell-level challenge...

During lunch break, Jiang Yu suddenly received a message summoning him to assemble. He picked up the lunch he had just bought and headed toward the audiovisual classroom.

As soon as he stepped into the room, he heard Aki Tomoya’s voice, full of confusion and helplessness, say, “Huh... I don’t really know how to put it, but in any case, it just feels weird...”