The chapter opens with a flashback to the beginning of the novel, in which Hiroshi and his friend, Natsuo, are preparing for their senior year of high school. The narrator tells us that Hiroshi is preparing to become a novelist, and that he hopes to be accepted into a university with liberal arts programs. He tells the narrator that if he has to choose between a wife and a university, he would choose the university with the best liberal arts program. He also says that he would like to be married to a woman of his own choosing. The chapter ends with a discussion between the two of them about the upcoming midterm exams. The two men discuss the importance of studying, and the narrator tells the young man that he should try to focus more on his studies and less on his relationship with Hiroshi.