[Miura Yumiko has requested to add you as a friend]
Miura lowered her phone and looked up at the sky, guiltily saying, "Um, as a member of the disciplinary committee, I naturally have to know everyone in class, so I've added everyone's LINE account..."
Yukinoshita: "..."
Was being a disciplinary committee member really this exhausting?
Recently, Yukinoshita's reputation at Sobu High had gradually improved. The average opinion of her across the school had gone from hostile to indifferent, and even close to neutral.
But Yukinoshita was used to people keeping their distance or treating her with outright malice, so she still carefully maintained her daily routine.
For example, she always locked the box where she kept her indoor shoes. For example, she checked inside every time before putting them on, in case someone had hidden thumbtacks there.
For example, she rarely left the classroom unless she had to. If she did leave, she always took her schoolbag with her. And she always made sure she had everything she needed in it.
For example, if some stranger she didn't know called her outside, she had to sound the alarm in her mind at once and stay ready for them to throw a glass of water—or something worse—at her.
For example, right now—
"Yukinoshita, someone's looking for you downstairs~"
Yukinoshita poked her head out of the stairwell and saw a few boys gathered downstairs. The moment they noticed her looking, they started hooting and laughing at the boy in the middle.
The boy they'd pushed to the front had red hair and a sunny, handsome face. He was the popular sporty-and-trendy type of pretty boy.
"Don't chicken out, Matsumoto!"
"Come on, come on, get ready! She's looking over!"
"Quick, check my hair for me. Is it even a little messy?"
"Nope, you look ridiculously handsome from head to toe!"
Yukinoshita glanced downstairs, her expression turning serious.
Were these guys looking for a fight?
There were so many of them... Though she'd studied aikido, her physical strength was poor, and there was no way she could beat that many people bare-handed.
After a moment's thought, Yukinoshita picked up her extra-thick English dictionary and walked downstairs with the grim resolve of a warrior marching to battle.
Several of her classmates saw this and immediately looked up, on alert, afraid this might turn into another incident with the girl who'd thrown water on her.
But they watched for a while and realized that the atmosphere didn't really seem like a fight. If anything, it looked a little more like...
"Yumiko!"
Onozawa Kana slapped Miura's desk. "Yumiko, someone's going to confess to Yukinoshita!!!"
Yumiko had been slumped over her desk, listlessly doing problems. At that, she jolted upright. "Who? Who dares confess to Yukinoshita?!"
Uezawa Junko stroked her chin and smiled. "Matsumoto Kazuya from Class 2-H. I hear he's a regular on the school soccer team. Pretty handsome, too."
Yuigahama added with a smile, "I heard there are girls in our class who like him... He's pretty much Yukinoshita's type, so maybe she'll say yes."
There was no way Miura could stand for that. She angrily rolled up her sleeves and started to get up.
"Those guys are going to confess to Yukinoshita? Have they got a death wish???"
Uezawa quickly held her down and whispered, "Yumiko, if you rush out there like that, are you planning to confess to Yukinoshita too?"
Miura instantly switched into an indignant, embarrassed rage. "What do you mean, I'm going to confess to her?! She's the one who has a crush on me. If anyone's confessing, she can do it!!"
Still, Uezawa and Onozawa weren't wrong. Charging out there in a fury wouldn't help anyone. It would only add fuel to the fire of Yukinoshita's already precarious reputation.
Miura was the kind of school queen no one dared mess with, so she'd be fine. But Yukinoshita would probably end up being mocked even more.
A plan flashed through Miura's mind. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. "Committee Chairman Musashi? Yes, there's a serious violation of school rules in the hallway outside Class 2-F. It's attracted a lot of onlookers and is causing a very bad scene. I hope you can deal with it right away."
She'd called Musashi-senpai, the school's head disciplinary committee member. His top priority was keeping Sobu High's rules and discipline in order. There was no way that big, burly, imposing bachelor would put up with a scene like this.
After she hung up, she saw everyone staring at her, dumbfounded.
She slapped the desk and declared righteously, "I'm not just the disciplinary committee member for our class. I'm also the school's much-anticipated next head disciplinary committee member. Of course I can't just ignore something that violates school rules and discipline!"
Yuigahama: "...Yumiko, wake up. Our school rules don't forbid dating."
Aside from a few extremely strict religious schools, most Japanese schools didn't have rules forbidding romance. Even if two little kids in kindergarten held hands and said they wanted to get married, nobody would stop them.
Japan was an old hand at sexual liberation.
Miura looked thoroughly righteous. "I'm not talking about dating. I'm talking about Matsumoto. He dyed his hair and wears earrings, and he doesn't even wear his uniform properly!"
Uezawa rubbed her forehead in exasperation. "...Yumiko, you're the last person who has any right to say that."
Yuigahama, meanwhile, glanced downstairs as though it had just happened to catch her eye.
The long-haired girl with black hair walked over, her expression calm. Neither the boys cheering her on nor her classmates watching her with all sorts of expressions drew so much as a lingering glance from her.
Most of the time, her face barely showed any emotion. She was as still as a deep, dark well.
But her looks were so striking that even this cool, aloof demeanor—which people who disliked her called affected and falsely haughty—had a uniquely clear, dignified beauty.
Yuigahama rested her chin in her hands and gazed downstairs. It seemed to her that anyone confessing to Yukinoshita was a perfectly ordinary thing.
The scumbag sea king had leveled up.
Yukinoshita walked over, holding a book in one hand. Her gaze was calm but wary. "What do you want?"
The thick, hardback dictionary in her hand was ready to be thrown from any angle for maximum impact.
The boy they'd pushed forward scratched his head and looked at her, embarrassed. "Um..."
"Matsumoto, don't chicken out!"
"Hey, you're already here. Don't hesitate now!"
Yukinoshita looked at them in confusion.
Did people hesitate even when they were about to fight?
At last, the boy gathered his courage and looked at Yukinoshita.
"Yukinoshita!"
"Um...I like you. Please go out with me!"
Miura watched anxiously from the window, her heart in her throat. She couldn't hear what they were saying very well. She only sensed that after the boy called Matsumoto-something said something, the crowd grew even more raucous.
"Say yes!"
"Say yes, Yukinoshita!"
"Matsumoto really likes you!"
As if I'd say yes to any of you!
Miura gripped the window frame and stared down, wishing she could throw something at them and hit every last one.
Then she saw Yukinoshita say something. The boy froze, and his face visibly fell.
Miura instantly sprang back to life, glowing with joy. She shook Onozawa Kana by the shoulders. "Kana, Kana, did you see? She turned him down!"
Yukinoshita had rejected every single one of those pesky suitors for my sake.
Did she like me that much?
Honestly, what was I supposed to do with her? Hehe~ [Overjoyed]
Yukinoshita's reputation at school really had improved a lot. Even she could feel it.
Three weeks ago, when she'd first opened her eyes and found herself in this strange timeline, the whole school had been hostile toward her. Back when she'd gone to elementary school in Japan, the girls had been indifferent to her, while the boys had been wary of getting too close because of how the girls treated her.
But now someone had actually dared to confess to her, risking the wrath of the whole school!
Unbelievable. She was the former school menace who had publicly announced that she actually liked girls.
And he'd confessed anyway. He must really like her.
So even though she barely remembered the boy and didn't feel anything for him, Yukinoshita tried to turn him down as gently as she could.
But it probably didn't help. The moment "I'm sorry" left her lips, the lively mood around them turned awkward and subdued.
If the school's head disciplinary committee member hadn't come storming down to grab the boys, Yukinoshita might have felt a little bad about simply turning around and leaving.
When she returned to the classroom, she found every pair of eyes fixed on her.
Yukinoshita: ?
Hikigaya-kun, who hadn't yet grown out of his second-year syndrome and saw everyone as a fish-eyed loser who needed a beating, rested his chin on his hand and glanced at Yukinoshita. A flicker of confusion crossed his face.
After all, given Yukinoshita's usual ways of attracting admirers and flirting with people, she'd always accepted anyone who confessed to her, then pursued several people at once.
She was the kind of girl who could have eighty boyfriends and still stay as steady as a chain of iron ships. That was Yukinoshita for you!
Yukinoshita had gone back to black hair, washed off her makeup, and started studying hard without talking too much. But plenty of people at school still thought she was just trying to win someone over again, and that this was all part of her plan.
Yukinoshita was always serious when it came to pursuing people.
But now she'd even turned down a handsome young guy who'd practically delivered himself to her door.
You could say that Yukinoshita rejecting Matsumoto hit everyone harder than her change in appearance and serious approach to studying.
The peak, popular, extroverted king of the class, Hayama-kun, looked at Yukinoshita as though he wanted to say something. But when she passed his desk, he only shifted aside and stayed silent.
Yukinoshita returned to her seat.
Her deskmate, Miura, stared straight ahead, trying her best to look serious. She didn't say a word, as if to say, "It's not like I'm paying attention to Yukinoshita."
Seeing that this silly girl was no use once again, Uezawa Junko sighed inwardly but smiled as she spoke. "Yukinoshita, why did you turn Matsumoto down?"
She didn't keep her voice down. Plenty of people in the classroom heard her, and their attention immediately shifted over.
Yukinoshita was a little puzzled. Was Uezawa that curious?
She answered matter-of-factly, "I've fallen behind in my studies. I don't have the time or energy for a relationship."
Miura wasn't satisfied with that answer. She desperately tried to signal to Uezawa.
Uezawa rolled her eyes at her, then turned back to Yukinoshita. "So, you don't like Matsumoto even a little?"
Yukinoshita shook her head. "Matsumoto isn't my type?"
Onozawa asked, "Oh...then what kind of person do you like, Yukinoshita?"
Miura didn't say a word. She kept staring straight ahead, but her face was smug.
[Obviously, it's me!]
[Yukinoshita has had a crush on me since we started high school!]
[It must have been on a spring day at the start of term, in some corner of the school beneath fluttering cherry blossoms, that she fell in love with me at first sight~]
Yukinoshita thought it over. Although the blonde Yukinoshita had seen more than her share of men, the real Yukinoshita had never been in a relationship and had no experience with romance at all.
She sighed. "The school's mock exams are next week. I just want to study hard right now. I don't want to think about any of that."
Miura was disappointed, but still thought: I get it!
Girls were shy and never said what they really meant. They also thought the person they liked could never possibly return their feelings.
So they kept that deep, secret crush in their hearts and didn't plan to tell anyone.
Yumiko sat at her desk, resting her chin on her hand and grinning foolishly. Her mind was full of one thought.
[Yukinoshita's saving herself for me!]
Good grief, Yukinoshita liked her so much.
Wait!
If she didn't do something, wouldn't Yukinoshita end up alone, spending the rest of her life in solitude?
Guilt washed over Miura.
No, she had to teach Yukinoshita to open up, connect with people, and make friends.
During the break, Uezawa Junko and Yuigahama Yui happened to head to the restroom together.
Before you continue