After deciding to give up, I became popular

"Ah... Ahahaha..."

Eriri's face was full of shame.

232. Crap, Another Idiot Added to the List

"N-No, I can't anymore... Kanade... let, let me rest for a bit..."

"No, you can't rest yet. Keep going until I'm satisfied..."

"W-Why... Ugh..."

When Kato Megumi appeared at Eriri's doorstep, she could hear such subtle, terrible conversation coming from the slightly ajar door.

It couldn't help but conjure up associations with a similar scene from a work called "Yosuga no Sora", where something that shouldn't be seen was seen because the door wasn't closed properly...

"Um... what are you doing?" Kato Megumi tilted her head, looking at both Summer River Kanade and Eriri—

The former was fine, looking like he was seriously teaching, occasionally looking up at Eriri before quickly returning to his desk, but the latter... putting aside her pitiful appearance as if she was about to cry, the fact that her forehead was covered with several embarrassing phrases like "(＞人＜;) I'm even worse than a middle schooler" and "o(╥﹏╥)o Please don't look at this wretch of a person" was a bit incomprehensible.

Is this... some kind of shame play?

"Oh, Kato, you're here..." Summer River Kanade looked up, just about to greet her to sit down, but Eriri suddenly cried out.

"Eek! Megumi! Why are you here... No, wait! Don't come any closer... and don't look at me!" She first reached out to signal her to stay there, then suddenly felt that one hand was not enough to cover herself, so she resorted to using both hands, but it was clear that this was already too late.

Moreover, the more she reacted, the more attention she attracted, especially from Kato, whose gaze was now completely focused on her.

"Eriri... um... um! I understand, everyone has their own unique hobbies, I can understand..."

"That's not it! This isn't my hobby at all!" Eriri let out a pitiful wail, "How could anyone like being subjected to this kind of embarrassing thing! Even an elementary school student couldn't handle it!"

"That's exactly because it's something that even elementary school students would find embarrassing, so it's just right for you," Summer River Kanade chimed in from the side.

As the saying goes, drastic medicine for drastic illnesses. For someone like Eriri, who is almost beyond saving, if he doesn't force her to take action, she might really end up being worse than an elementary school student!

Really, it was the first time he had seen a high school student whose English level was even worse than an average middle school student. This is English! Not math, physics, or chemistry. It's too much to be worse than a middle school student, right?!

So he remembered something he had seen in a book called "The Maiden Taming Manual". Although some of the statements in it were too outrageous for him to bear, other things were still very valuable, such as how to educate.

In essence, education refers to the process of training an object to become talented, but the ultimate goal here is not the same as that of general education students, but the methods in the process are similar.

For Eriri, there is probably no so-called "reward" that can motivate her to put in some effort in learning English, so he can only start with "punishment", let her truly feel the shame, and let this sense of shame drive her to take action.

As for how to create a sense of shame... like this, expose her embarrassing appearance in front of Kato, and then further remind her—it's only being exposed to Kato now that she can't stand it, what if others find out about your English level? Then you'll be even more embarrassed!

Eriri's eyes were watery, looking pitiful, she had given up trying to cover herself, anyway, she had already been seen, there was nothing to be afraid of!

"Guh... Megumi... you understand me, right?" Eriri tried to ask for help.

However, the object of her request didn't seem to want to pay attention to her, but instead naturally sat down on the other side of Summer River Kanade, handing the souvenir she brought to Eriri.

"These are handmade cookies. If you're feeling overwhelmed, you can try one?"

Eriri: "..."

She felt like she had been abandoned.

Then, very indignantly, she immediately opened the bag after receiving it and took out a cookie to munch on.

"Wuu, damn it... this time I must... pass... wuu..."

Kato Megumi blinked, seeing her eating so happily, she felt that there shouldn't be any problems.

"Summer River-kun, would you like to try one too? Because it's the first time I've made them, I need a little more feedback..."

"Okay, then I'll try one too," Summer River Kanade nodded.

Originally, he was a little disgusted by the way Eriri was starting to feast, thinking that she wanted to take the opportunity to slack off, but after all, Kato had come, so he couldn't say anything more, so he simply followed the atmosphere and gave her a little rest time.

He gently took one and tasted it, and after carefully savoring it, he gave a very pertinent evaluation: "It's delicious, it feels like it could be sold at a dessert shop."

He wasn't the kind of person who liked sweets, but the handmade cookies made by Kato were indeed quite to his taste, the sweetness wasn't too heavy, but it had a rich fragrance, and after chewing it carefully, you could taste a fleeting trace of bitterness, which he liked very much.

So he slightly raised his head and subconsciously glanced at the bag of cookies.

"..."

Forget it... I still shouldn't fight with Eriri for food, I won't do anything embarrassing.

But what he didn't expect was that Kato Megumi seemed to see through his thoughts and actually encouraged him: "Would you like to try another one? How about tasting it a little slower this time..."

"..."

Since the author has said so...

So Summer River Kanade reached out again, took one, put it in his mouth, and began to chew slowly.

He usually eats in a big bite, so just now he stuffed the whole cookie in, and it was small enough, but after Kato's reminder, he changed his approach, first biting off half and tasting it.

Then there was a completely different experience—first, what permeated his taste buds was a fragrant bitterness, but then a light sweetness rushed to his face but immediately dissipated. To describe it more accurately, it was like the bitter faction that had just occupied the hilltop, discovering that the sweet party was actually spying on their territory, so after painstakingly driving them out, they began to recklessly leave traces on the territory.

The main thing is to show off the arrogance after gaining an advantage.

"How did you do this?" Summer River Kanade couldn't help but ask.

It was the first time he had seen someone make cookies with this kind of flavor, not only was the original taste different, but the way to eat it actually changed.

Are you a pastry master from somewhere, Miss Kato?

"I added some ground coffee beans to the cookies, so that the flavor can seep in," Kato explained softly, and although it was a "rebellious" act, when she said it lightly, it seemed to have become an innovative way.

"Because it's the first time I've tried this, I'm a little unsure, it would be great if you like it."

"Indeed, no wonder I always felt that the taste was a little different, although it's also delicious..." Eriri nodded repeatedly.

She was the kind of person who liked sweets, basically no sweets, no joy, but occasionally tasting this kind of dessert also felt quite interesting, of course, the most important thing was—since they started talking about dessert topics, she could rest for a while longer! It's great not to continue serving time studying English!

"..."

Summer River Kanade didn't make any more comments, after all, he really liked it, and both ways of eating it felt good, the only drawback was that eating only two pieces was a little unsatisfying, but he couldn't be shameless enough to snatch Eriri's.

"If Summer River-kun likes it, I'll send you another copy later?" Kato Megumi circled her hair with one hand, and seemed to show a shy look on her face, "Because it's the first time I've tried it, I accidentally made too much, there are still a lot left at home."

"Uh..." Summer River Kanade was stunned, a little surprised, but he nodded and agreed, "Okay, then thank you, Kato."

"You're welcome, after all, Summer River-kun has also helped me a lot."

Summer River Kanade: "..."

That being said, he really couldn't remember what he had helped Kato with?! On the contrary, he seemed to have been receiving favors from her all the time.

"For example, today, if it weren't for Summer River-kun, I might have failed the math test this time."

"..."

So it's paying the reward in advance! Summer River Kanade complained in his heart, but in this way, he was also a little more relaxed and wouldn't feel like he was receiving unmerited rewards.

"Okay, leave it to me! I will definitely let you pass safely!" Summer River Kanade patted his chest and assured.

"Eh eh eh?" Eriri on the side was a little unbalanced, "Why doesn't Megumi need to work so hard? The goal you set for me is to reach B!"

"Can that be the same? Math and English, the difficulty is not the same level, okay!" Summer River Kanade explained, "Math is like this, if you know it, it doesn't mean you really know it, but English is different, if you know it, then you definitely know it."

"What is all this..." Eriri listened and was already confused, her eyes seemed to be circling, and her head began to feel dizzy, "Anyway, you're always right..."

"It's better to ask why you never have a reason to argue with people," Summer River Kanade sighed, but he also knew better than to mention Senior Kasumigaoka, otherwise this little blonde would definitely explode.

After all, looking at the battles between the two, Eriri was almost unilaterally suppressed in the quarrel, and there was only a very small chance of a counterattack, and even then she had to rely on the help of others to complete it, which really highlighted that she was both bad and liked to play.

"Okay, don't always change the subject, you've rested for so long, continue to memorize your words for me, I'll have to check you later, if you continue to make outrageous mistakes... you may not be able to sleep well tonight," Summer River Kanade threatened.

For idiots, only heavy punishment can have an effect. Although he doesn't necessarily want to kill her, he still has to pretend.

So Eriri immediately shut up, subconsciously touched the sticker on her forehead, and then continued to memorize.

Seeing that she was obedient, Summer River Kanade turned to Kato Megumi and said, "Kato, what part of math is the problem? Is it equations, inequalities, or geometry and various functions?"

The high school math textbooks in Neon are unified nationwide. The first year of high school is a thing of the past, so let's not mention it for the time being. The math content of the first semester of the second year of high school is all the above things, and it also includes simple derivative applications of calculus. It's been almost two months since school started, and it's about time to learn about trigonometric functions, and this thing... is a disaster area in any region.

"That..."

Kato seemed to be a little troubled. Combining her situation with Eriri's, Summer River Kanade subconsciously began to suspect her. Could it be that she hasn't even figured out where she's not good at?

Fortunately, Eriri's situation was only a minority. Kato was still relatively motivated, and soon took out a workbook and pushed it over.

Summer River Kanade followed the book and quickly found some scribbles on it, which should be the questions that Kato couldn't solve.

"Let me see... um, this question can be done like this."

As a good student like him, he had basically self-studied all the high school courses before the summer vacation of his second year of high school. The content after that was basically review, consolidation, and comprehensive application. And before, in order to facilitate his pursuit of Kaguya Shinomiya, he had accelerated this process early, so dealing with the current math problems was simply a small case. He knew how to solve the problem at a glance.

After explaining the solution, Summer River Kanade turned to Kato Megumi and asked her, "Is there anything I didn't explain clearly?"

Rather than the so-called "Did you understand?", he preferred to use this "Is there anything I didn't explain clearly?" way, after all, do not do to others what you do not want to be done to yourself, he himself would feel that the latter was more acceptable.

"Um, I understand, Summer River-kun." The saint student said in a calm voice, thanking him gently.

"Okay, let's look at this question again." After scanning the question, he thought of the solution, but after explaining it to Kato this time, he found that she didn't have the same reaction as just now, but instead tapped the eraser lightly with one hand, looking hesitant.

"That..."

Summer River Kanade instantly understood that she obviously didn't understand.

So he opened his mouth and said, "Where didn't I explain clearly?"

"Ugh... here." The saint student stretched out a white jade finger and gently tapped the beginning of the manuscript paper.

"..."

Didn't she not understand from the beginning!

Summer River Kanade was immediately ashamed and felt a sense of unease.

233. "Eriri is Studying (Part 1)"

"If I remember correctly, we shouldn't have learned the knowledge of equations and inequalities not long ago..." Summer River Kanade asked tentatively, looking at Kato Megumi with a complicated look.

Although they are not in the same class, theoretically, the progress of their courses shouldn't be too different. The key is that the questions she presented weren't that complex, just a simple combination of the two subjects' knowledge. Not being able to do them clearly shows she's not paying enough attention in class!

Kato seemed a little embarrassed, tilting her head slightly, not looking directly at him, and said in a very soft voice, "Um... actually, there were some parts I didn't understand during class, so I was a little confused when I reviewed at home..."

Then she tilted her head to look at him, whispering, "Eh... 'not seeking complete understanding'?"

"..."

Isn't it shameful to act cute, Kato-san?! And the meaning of 'not seeking complete understanding' should refer to grasping the main points when mastering knowledge, not being overly pedantic, but you're clearly just confused!

If I remember correctly, Kato's grades are the kind that are neither good nor bad, neither top students nor poor students. In short, she's one of the students most easily overlooked in the class. Now it seems there are some reasons for this—

She feels that asking others for help would be a nuisance, she doesn't have any close friends, and she can't even form a study group. Plus, she has a naturally indifferent personality where she doesn't care much about anything, so she lets the knowledge flow over the smooth surface of her brain, hence 'not seeking complete understanding'.

But the fact that she joined their study group this time proves that Kato isn't someone who doesn't care at all. Clearly, the core problem is that she doesn't have any good channels.

"Since you didn't understand in class, why didn't you ask the teacher?" Summer River Melody asked curiously.

"Um..." Kato Megumi seemed a little embarrassed, twirling her hair不停地打圈不停地打圈不停地打圈, and slowly replied after a long while, "Wouldn't it leave a bad impression on the teacher? And everyone else asks very impressive questions, so I'd be a little embarrassed to go over."

"..." Summer River Melody was speechless. It turned out that the problem was still about face.

But this won't do. It is said that in learning, one should not be ashamed to ask. If you are too concerned about face, you will not be able to make progress. And judging from Kato's situation, her foundation is clearly not solid at all. If she insists on learning further, it will become even more torturous.

As one of the beneficial friends he recognizes, Summer River Melody doesn't want to see her struggling in the ocean of mathematics and naturally wants to lend her a hand.

"Let's put the questions aside for a while. I'll tutor you on the basic knowledge points first," Summer River Melody said seriously, with no intention of looking down on her.

To make it easier to explain the derivations of the knowledge points to her, Summer River Melody simply sat down on the same side as Kato Megumi, who also cooperated by making room for him.