My Classmate Yukino Definitely Has a Crush on Me

"For example?"

Yukino thought for a moment, " 'The sky is full of countless stars, so don't cry, because even the worst child can get a star that belongs to her.' "

This line was spoken by Naoto, the male protagonist, to Sayuka, the second female lead, in Love Metronome.

She said softly, "I still believe this sentence is true."

No matter how difficult life was now, she would one day get her own star.

The smile on Kasumigaoka's lips paused slightly.

Undeniably, when she wrote this book, she had indeed drawn a lot of courage and encouragement from Aki.

But she had never felt so keenly that the words she wrote could also give others courage and strength.

"What are you spacing out for?" Yukino tapped her textbook with her pen. "After gossiping, you need to speed up the lesson. I don't want to be sending you home late at night."

"Eh? Yukino, you're so heartless. What if I run into some bad people on my way back tonight~"

"You are the worst person."

[System has selected the best option to reverse your negative image: Send Kasumigaoka Utaha home]

Yukino twitched the corner of her mouth. If it really got late, she would send the girl home even without the System's quest.

"I'll ask Mr. Ito to take you back then, don't worry."

Mr. Ito was the driver who had worked for the Yukinoshita family for many years.

Kasumigaoka smiled and pushed her luck, leaning closer and acting spoiled, "But I'm not used to being with strangers. Could you send me home too, Yukino~"

Yukino quickly pushed her away, feeling goosebumps all over her body.

"...Fine, fine, fine, can I? Let's start the lesson quickly. I have an in-school mock exam next week."

Kasumigaoka then smiled gently.

After spending some time together, she understood Yukino quite well now. On the surface, Yukino appeared cold and difficult to get along with, but in reality, she had a very soft heart. As long as it didn't involve her principles, after a little persistence, she would sigh and reluctantly agree.

If she hadn't known that this Scum, a player, had coldly and heartlessly dumped Aki, Kasumigaoka felt that if she just spent more time with Yukino, she would also want to be friends with such a person.

As this thought crossed Kasumigaoka's mind, she was suddenly startled.

If Yukino hadn't brought it up by chance today, how long had it been since she thought of Aki?

Since the two days of tutoring had been compressed into one, it was indeed late when the lessons ended today.

Yukino kept her promise and had Mr. Ito drive her home.

Kasumigaoka could tell that Yukinoshita truly admired [Utako Kasumi-sensei].

In Yukinoshita's eyes, Utako Kasumi-sensei was an elegant lady in her thirties, gentle and firm in her heart, someone who clearly pursued and lived out her dreams.

She envied such a person greatly.

Utako Kasumi's image in Yukinoshita's mind was so heavily filtered that Kasumigaoka felt a little scared of her disguise being revealed.

Wouldn't she just kill herself for defiling her idol?

Kasumigaoka coughed lightly, "Yukinoshita, what kind of person do you think I am?"

Yukinoshita, sitting in the back seat with Kasumigaoka, glanced at her with confusion, then looked at Mr. Ito in the front, remaining silent.

Kasumigaoka immediately got angry, "Am I that terrible!"

Terrible to the point of being sharp-tongued and mean, the kind of terrible you wouldn't even say in front of outsiders???

Yukinoshita said with relief, "It's good that you have some self-awareness."

Kasumigaoka laughed in exasperation, "Have you ever considered that the Utako Kasumi-sensei you admire might be someone similar to me?"

Yukinoshita looked at her with pity, "I know who Utako Kasumi-sensei is much better than you do. It's her occasional blindness that she considers you a friend. You don't need to equate yourself with her to flatter yourself."

This person's words are truly vicious!

But because the person praised and the person insulted were both herself, she actually couldn't get angry!

Kasumigaoka, "I'm angry!"

"Oh."

"I curse that the novels you follow will either be canceled or left unfinished. The novels you like will all be by serial offenders who are masters of unfinished works. And the Utako Kasumi-sensei you admire is an eighteen-year-old, love-struck, vicious high school girl!"

Yukinoshita: "...How vicious of you!"

If I have truly sinned, the law will punish me, not let this eighteen-year-old vicious high school girl torment me!

The two of them were going at it fiercely in the back, while Ito, driving in the front, couldn't help but chuckle.

Kasumigaoka felt a little shy about embarrassing herself in front of him, "I'm sorry, for being rude in front of you."

Mr. Ito shook his head, "No, no, Miss rarely gets to be this happy. I must thank Miss Kasumigaoka for that."

Yukinoshita put on a stern face, "Mr. Ito!"

Happy?

Kasumigaoka turned and looked at Yukinoshita several times, but still felt that this person had an unmelting icy face, exuding an aura that kept people at a distance.

She didn't look happy at all.

Soon, they arrived downstairs at the apartment building where Kasumigaoka lived. It was clearly a stylish, modern apartment for singles.

Yukino Yukinoshita was a little curious and asked, "You live alone?"

Kasumigaoka nodded. "My parents don't live in this city, so I live here by myself."

On the surface, she remained composed, but inwardly, she hesitated.

In this situation, if they were friends, wouldn't she invite her friend upstairs for a cup of tea before leaving?

But could she and Yukino Yukinoshita be considered friends?

When they first met, Yukino Yukinoshita had cleanly snatched Aki Aki away from Aki Aki and then abandoned him. And after they met again, she herself had almost done something foolish like retaliating against her.

Logically speaking, the two of them could never be friends.

But Kasumigaoka couldn't deny that, regardless of how Yukino Yukinoshita was in the past, when interacting with the current Yukino Yukinoshita, she felt a long-lost sense of ease and happiness.

Just as she was thinking about whether to invite her in, she saw Yukino Yukinoshita's gaze fixed on a certain spot.

Kasumigaoka followed her gaze and saw a small cardboard box. Inside, a calico kitten was clinging to the edge of the box, looking towards them.

"Meow~"

"Huh? There's a kitten? It must have been abandoned. Honestly, what kind of owner is this..."

In Japan, people often abandon small animals by putting them in a box and leaving them in a conspicuous place by the roadside, hoping someone kind will adopt them.

Kasumigaoka was about to say something else when her gaze suddenly fell on Yukino Yukinoshita's face, who remained silent. "...Yukino Yukinoshita, do you like cats?"

Yukino Yukinoshita immediately turned her head. "What nonsense are you talking about!"

So, it seemed that was correct.

Kasumigaoka walked over, finding it a bit amusing. "Liking kittens isn't something to be ashamed of... Come here and pet it."

Kasumigaoka tentatively reached out and petted the kitten's head. Although the kitten was a bit shy, it still rubbed its head against her palm after being touched.

"Wow, it's so well-behaved..."

This time, she directly picked up the kitten. Without regard for whether it might dirty her coat, she gently stroked its back a few times to comfort it, then held the little one up in front of Yukino Yukinoshita.

"It's very well-behaved. Do you want to pet it?"

Yukino Yukinoshita instinctively took a step back, her lips pressed together. She stared intently at the kitten, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

She clearly looked incredibly smitten, yet she forcefully averted her gaze.

"Forget it, they don't like me."

This was indeed true.

Yukino Yukinoshita had always seemed to be disliked by cats since childhood. For example, this kitten here, it affectionately rubbed Kasumigaoka's hand with its head, but the moment it saw Yukino Yukinoshita approach, its fur stood on end, ready for battle.

Kasumigaoka quickly grabbed its paws, "That's okay, hurry, hurry, hurry! I've got its front and back paws, it can't resist anymore, quickly take this chance to pet it hard!"

Yukino Yukinoshita: "...Never mind."

She wasn't one to force things.

Kasumigaoka got angry, "Yukino Yukinoshita is too by-the-book! If you don't try to force it once, how will you know if it will like you!"

Yukino Yukinoshita was clearly moved by this statement. She hesitated for a moment, then cautiously reached out her hand, her fingers gently touching the kitten's head.

The kitten glared at her fiercely, "Meow!"

She lowered her head and leaned closer, her face slightly flushed as if trying to soothe it, "Meow~"

The person who was usually so aloof and assertive was now showing such a flustered, childish side in front of the kitten.

Although Yukino Yukinoshita was "meowing" at the kitten, Kasumigaoka felt as if a restless cat had landed in her heart.

They were so close, separated only by a tiny cat, and the faint scent of her perfume reached her so clearly.

In that instant, Kasumigaoka felt as if this girl, who resided on the peak of a cold, isolated snow mountain, had fallen from the summit into this bustling, worldly realm.

She couldn't help but speak, "Yukino Yukinoshita, do you..."

Do you want to come to my place for a bit? I'll make you some tea. You can drink tea or feed the cat at my place, whatever you like.

Yukino Yukinoshita, do you want to be friends with me?

Before the words could leave her mouth, Kasumigaoka heard a familiar voice from behind her.

"Kasumigaoka and... Yukino Yukinoshita...?"

Kasumigaoka turned her head and saw Eriri Sawamura's stunned face, looking at them in disbelief.

The atmosphere at Sobu High School had been a bit tense lately, as the monthly mock exam was scheduled for the following week.

Yukino Yukinoshita had, after all, been the "Sobu Tumor" in the past, attracting countless admirers and making innumerable enemies within the school. Those who disliked her were countless.

Although Yukino Yukinoshita had changed classes now and was under the unrecognized protection of a certain unknown blonde disciplinary committee member, there were few people who directly confronted her or bullied her at school or in class.

Of course, Yukino Yukinoshita's reputation within the class and school was currently only neutral. There were still many people who would occasionally make snide remarks about her in private.

This was especially true when targeting Yukino Yukinoshita and the topic of the mock exam.

After all, she was a former school scumbag, so she had a lot of clout.

"The school mock exam is next week. Yukino should move up a few places this time, hehe."

As East Asian neighbors, Japan, while not entirely infected by the exam-obsessed, score-first learning atmosphere next door, isn't so anti-intellectual as students in Western public schools, who despise academic achievers and champion "happy education."

Among the many character traits of the perfect male and female leads in manga—beautiful appearance, excellent grades, outstanding athletic ability, all-around talent, superior family background—academic excellence is quite important.

It's clear that Japanese high school students still admire academic elites.

"Yukino has been studying hard for over three weeks. Saying she'll only move up a few places is looking down on her... I predict she'll move up, hmm, 10 places this time, haha...?"

A few girls gathered together. While Yumiko Miura and her friends went to the restroom, and Yukino was called to the teacher's office by Teacher Hiratsuka, they chatted and laughed sarcastically in the classroom.

They wouldn't dare say such things in front of Yukino because her gloomy gaze was truly terrifying.

They also wouldn't dare say such things in front of Yumiko Miura because her gaze was even more terrifying when she heard such remarks.

"Come on, I still suspect Yukino is trying to hit on Ito from class 2-G. Ito is handsome and has good grades. Yukino is just trying a new tactic to catch a man this time."

"Doesn't Ito already have a girlfriend?"

"Hehe, wouldn't that be even better for Yukino? Isn't she the type of scum who likes to snatch other people's things?"

"There are indeed such nasty people who think that anything, whether it's an object or a person, is better when snatched~"

"Please don't say things like that anymore."

Someone in the class suddenly spoke up.