Mid-February 1991, Seika Academy High School Division.
The last morning class had just ended, and the students in the Class 3-A classroom had not yet completely dispersed.
Sugiura Sawako walked in holding a stack of thin papers.
She first glanced at the entire class, who were still sitting perfectly straight today, and sighed very softly in her heart.
Over the past few days, she had gradually grown accustomed to this abnormality.
"This is the future path survey." Sawako distributed the papers to the students in the front row, telling them to pass them back. "For those who have not finalized your plans for higher education, studying abroad, or other paths, please fill out a draft and turn it in today."
"Those who have already secured recommendations or study abroad arrangements must also clearly write down the university and faculty. There are many procedures to complete before graduation, and the career guidance office needs to organize them in advance."
The papers were passed back one by one through the classroom.
On the surface, everyone was looking down at their forms normally.
But standing by the podium, Sawako could tell at a glance that at least half the class was not paying attention to the papers in their own hands at all.
They were looking toward the window seat.
After Saionji Satsuki received her future path survey, she did not write immediately.
She first laid the form flat on her desk, looked down at the fields for name, class, first choice, second choice, and admission method, and then set her fountain pen aside as if in deep thought.
This action made the air in the classroom grow slightly quieter.
Yes, their main purpose today was to see Satsuki's destination.
In Japan, university social circles have always been an extremely important channel for networking.
For these children of political and business elites, one of the primary purposes of attending university was to acquire these networking resources.
And obviously, Saionji Satsuki was the most important connection among them—bar none, especially now with the Saionji family's influence at its absolute peak.
Some guessed she would go to Keio.
After all, Keio had deep ties with the business world, and the Saionji Group was currently at the center of attention in Tokyo's financial circles.
Some felt she could even go to Todai.
Given her grades, which had reached the top of the entire grade on quizzes just a week after returning to school, combined with the financial power and resources of the Saionji family, this was not hard to imagine.
Others guessed she would go abroad.
The name "America" had been appearing more and more frequently at Seika Academy lately.
Everyone had heard that the Saionji family had business over there.
Although no one could say exactly what it was, it did not stop them from associating "America," "Wall Street," and "Silicon Valley" with Saionji Satsuki.
To these students, if domestic universities were no longer enough to contain Saionji-san, it seemed perfectly reasonable for her to go to America to build her network early.
There were even bolder speculations.
Perhaps she would not attend university at all.
With Saionji Satsuki's status, academic credentials could hardly add anything more to her name.
Ordinary people need university to prove themselves, and elites need university to enter the circle, but she was already sitting at the very center of that circle, and even adults had to look to her for cues.
So it did not sound strange at all if she were to join the Saionji Group directly after graduating from high school.
Of course, no one dared to say these things out loud.
They merely watched out of the corners of their eyes.
The seats closest to Satsuki had already been naturally occupied by Yoshino Ayako and Isokawa Reiko.
These two were somewhat special in the class.
They were not like the ordinary classmates who had only recently started clustering around Satsuki, whose actions always carried a suspicion of flattery.
Because they had steadfastly remained by Satsuki's side from the very beginning, some well-informed students in the class even privately referred to them as the "founding members."
The title sounded a bit exaggerated, but when placed next to Satsuki, it did not seem so far-fetched—at least, the families behind them had already benefited immensely because of it.
Yoshino Ayako sat behind Satsuki, holding her own future path survey, but she had not written a single word.
Her fingers lightly pressed down on the edge of the form, which had clearly not been touched since it was handed out.
Isokawa Reiko sat on the right, her posture much more relaxed than Ayako's.
She tucked her future path survey inside her textbook, seemingly in no rush at all, but her eyes occasionally drifted toward the university brochures on Satsuki's desk.
Of course, they were not unprepared.
The Yoshino and Isokawa families had long been deeply bound to the Saionji family.
Their waiting for Satsuki to fill hers out first was not entirely due to a schoolgirl desire to attend the same university; it was more out of their families' calculated judgment—wherever Satsuki went, it was best for them to go as well.
Or at least stay close enough.
"Saionji-san, are you planning to go to Keio?" Ayako finally could not help but speak up. Looking at the open brochure on Satsuki's desk, she whispered, "The Faculty of Policy Management was just established last year, right? I heard my father mention that they seem to be promoting an integration of liberal arts and sciences."
Satsuki glanced down at the brochure.
The Shonan Fujisawa Campus shown in the brochure looked very new, and the layout had a bright feel typical of the early 1990s.
Words like policy management, environmental information, internationalization, and interdisciplinary were all very "fresh" and indeed aligned with many people's vision of the future.
But she merely shook her head gently and closed the brochure.
"No, their campus is in Kanagawa Prefecture. Commuting back and forth to Tokyo is too much of a hassle."
Ayako asked subconsciously, "Commuting to Tokyo? Why do you need to go back—"
Mid-sentence, she stopped herself.
Unlike ordinary students, and even unlike second-generation political and business heirs like themselves, Satsuki was one of the very few who had to participate in, or rather lead, family business operations during her student years.
Even for conglomerates that pushed for programs like the "Young Eagle Project," their training for core heirs at most involved letting them attend board meetings or sit in on business negotiations.
But Satsuki was different.
If Satsuki truly refrained from participating in group business for several years, Ayako felt that the Saionji Group might even go bankrupt.
"...Oh, sorry, Saionji-san, how rude of me." Ayako immediately bowed her head.
Reiko let out a chuckle from the side.
"So you see, you still have not changed your 'nouveau riche' mindset, Yoshino-san."
Ayako's face flushed red instantly.
"Isokawa-san!"
"I am not wrong," Reiko said, propping her chin on her hand and looking at her casually. "What you just said sounded like, 'University life must center around the campus, of course.'"
"But how could Saionji-san spend every day just revolving around school?"
Satsuki covered her mouth and giggled.
"You have no idea, the amount of work I have to handle every day is absolutely overwhelming, even though I am still just a high schooler."
"Uncle Saionji is really something, exploiting our Saionji-san like this," Reiko said with a laugh.
Ayako lowered her head and whispered, "Thank you for your hard work."
Reiko suppressed her laughter and stopped teasing her.
Just then, Satsuki pulled another brochure out of her schoolbag.
Gakushuin University.
"I still plan to go to Gakushuin," Satsuki said.
Ayako froze for a moment.
"Gakushuin University?"
Reiko, however, was the first to react, her eyes lighting up slightly.
"Ah, when it comes to Saionji-san, it feels like it should be just like that."
Several students nearby who had been eavesdropping finally could not help but chime in.
"Exactly, only Gakushuin University truly suits Saionji-san."
"I thought it would be Keio just now, but hearing it now, Gakushuin indeed feels more like Saionji-san."
"Is it the Faculty of Economics? Or the Faculty of Law?"
Satsuki opened the brochure and slowly began writing on her future path survey.
First choice.
Gakushuin University, Faculty of Economics, Department of Economics.
Her handwriting was neat and elegant as it marked the ordinary school form, and was subsequently caught by countless "casual" glances.
The news spread quickly.
At first, it was just whispered discussions within Class 3-A.
Then, students from neighboring classes passed by the doorway under the pretense of finding a teacher, returning a reference book, or asking for career path materials.
By the time the lunch bell rang, the entire third-year class already knew that Saionji Satsuki was going to the Faculty of Economics at Gakushuin University.
This in itself was not that surprising.
Upon hearing it, almost everyone had an "ah, of course" realization.
The eldest daughter of the Saionji family going to Gakushuin.
It made perfect sense.
Where else would a daughter of the old Kazoku go?
Satsuki had written down Gakushuin, but Ayako and Reiko had not yet written theirs.
Ayako glanced at Satsuki's form, then at her own future path survey, and quickly lowered her head to write "Gakushuin University, Faculty of Economics, Department of Economics."
This choice was not difficult for her.
The Yoshino family originally had a banking background.
With her following Satsuki to the Faculty of Economics, her family would have no objections whatsoever.
Reiko did not write immediately.
She spun the fountain pen between her fingers, her eyes falling on the "Faculty" column.
She was definitely going to Gakushuin—wherever Satsuki went, she would go—but which faculty should she choose?
The Faculty of Economics was certainly an option.
But that was the direction Satsuki and Ayako were taking.
She was a child of the Isokawa family.
If she wanted to continue standing by Satsuki's side in the future, choosing the Faculty of Law would allow her to differentiate her niche from Ayako's.
So she filled in "Gakushuin University, Faculty of Law, Department of Political Studies."
When lunchtime arrived, the atmosphere in the classroom finally loosened up slightly from the tension of the future path surveys.
Satsuki had intentionally not brought a bento today.
She packed up her schoolbag. "I want to go check out the cafeteria."
Ayako was at her seat, putting away her own form.
"Does Saionji-san want to eat at the cafeteria?"
"Yes," Satsuki nodded. "I have not been there even once. Seika Academy's cafeteria should not be too bad, right?"
This question left Ayako momentarily unsure of how to answer.
Seika Academy's cafeteria was certainly not bad.
Even the standard set meals were better than the best food options provided at many other schools.
But when applied to Saionji Satsuki, it became somewhat delicate.
Her usual lunches were mostly prepared by her household, and even when she ate at school, a maid or driver would deliver her bento.
Her sudden desire to experience the cafeteria sounded like a foreign royal wanting to ride the subway on a whim.
Reiko, however, quickly burst into laughter.
"Let us go then. It is the perfect chance for Saionji-san to see what ordinary high school students eat for lunch."
Satsuki looked at her.
"Reiko, when you say that, you had better first consider whether you count as an ordinary high school student yourself."
Reiko choked on her words for a moment, then simply shrugged.
"I suppose... at least I have eaten at the cafeteria before."
The three of them left the classroom together.
There were noticeably more people in the hallway than usual.
Some stood by the windows holding documents, some walked slowly past the staircase landing, and others, who had been heading toward the cafeteria, naturally slowed their pace upon hearing Satsuki and the others come out, suddenly taking a deep interest in the school announcements on the wall.
Satsuki paid no attention to these glances.
With Ayako walking on her left and Reiko on her right, the three had just turned past the corridor leading to the cafeteria when a second-year student ran over in a hurry and stopped in front of Reiko.
"Senior Isokawa."
Reiko glanced at her.
"What is it?"
The student lowered her voice.
"Someone asked me to pass a message to you. They said they have something very important to tell you regarding your future path."
Reiko frowned slightly.
"Who?"
"She said you would know once you got there," the second-year student added with some hesitation. "It seems to be someone you have known for a long time."
Reiko glanced at the future path survey in her hand.
Satsuki turned her head.
"Reiko?"
Reiko smiled, her tone sounding reasonably relaxed.
"It is probably some acquaintance who heard I am applying to Gakushuin and wants to ask some questions about future paths."
Ayako was slightly worried.
"Should we go with you?"
"No need," Reiko waved her hand. "You two go ahead and grab a table at the cafeteria first. It is Saionji-san's first time going there; we cannot have her waiting in line for too long."
Satsuki looked at Reiko for a moment but did not press further.
"We will head over first, then."
Reiko nodded and followed the second-year student toward the old school building.