My Classmate Yukino Definitely Has a Crush on Me

The jeering stopped abruptly. The girls turned around and saw a girl with pink hair.

"What is it, it's Yui..."

These girls looked utterly confused. "Yukino already snatched Hikigaya from Yui, whom Yui liked... Why is she still defending her?"

Hachiman Hikigaya, who was inexplicably brought up, looked up. His dead fish eyes were filled with speechless exasperation, thinking, 'No way, I'm getting dragged into this too?'

"I've clarified things between Hikigaya and me many times. Please don't use me as a weapon to release your malice anymore."

Yui Yuigahama sat at her seat and said with a smile, "Also, the reason Yukino-san studies so hard, and what her score and rank will be in the next mock exam, before anything is settled, it's not good to be so eager to mock her when we're classmates."

"And..."

Before these girls could retort, Yui continued, "Besides, Yukino didn't snatch anyone from you guys, right? If anyone has the right to condemn Yukino, it's definitely not you."

Her words were serious, heavy, and impactful, a stark contrast to Yui's usual kind and smiling demeanor towards everyone.

The classroom fell silent for a few seconds.

Just then, Yumiko, Ono, and Kamizawa returned to the classroom, chatting and laughing. Kamizawa was the first to sense the wrong atmosphere.

She smiled and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Yumiko immediately sensed something was off with Yui and, fearing she was being bullied, asked, "What's wrong, Yui?"

Yui sat down with a smile, her tone light, "Nothing's wrong, Yumiko. Everyone is just worried and discussing the upcoming mock exam."

"What? Isn't the exam super easy?"

Yumiko sat down. "Yui, you're free after school until a week before the exam, right? Come to my place, I'll tutor you."

Yui's expression immediately turned into a mask of pain. "Yumiko, but I..."

"Shut up, Yui. Your last mock exam score was about to plummet into the abyss!"

Although she was bossy and took charge of others as a matter of course, Yumiko was truly a good friend who cared deeply for her friends.

Yumiko was Yui's best friend whom she had met at Sobu High School.

Yui never wanted her to cry over Yukino one day.

The next class was a practical cooking lesson. According to the work distribution list on the schedule, it was Yukino's turn and another girl's turn to go to the storage room to bring the necessary tools for the class.

Yui smiled and patted Komatsu's shoulder. "Matsushita-san, aren't you busy with the school broadcast station? Yukino and I will go get the cooking class tools together later."

Komatsu, who was already dreading carrying the heavy basket of tools, was overjoyed at her suggestion.

Later, when Yukino returned to the classroom, Yui walked up to her with a smile. "Komatsu-san has something to do. Yukino and I will go get the tools together later."

[System has selected the best option to reverse your negative image: Move cooking class tools with Yui Yuigahama]

Yukino glanced at her, "Oh."

Putting down her own things, Yukino silently walked forward, tying her hair into a ponytail for ease of movement.

The aura of this person was truly peculiar. When her hair was down, she looked like an exquisite, fragile doll, but with her hair tied up in a ponytail, she instantly exuded a vibrant, heroic spirit.

She was completely different from before.

The storage room wasn't far from here. The empty storage room had no one else besides the two of them. Yukino went to a large crate and carefully placed some of the items listed on the checklist inside.

While she was diligently working, the door behind her was suddenly closed.

This warehouse had no other exit besides the main door, nor any other light source. Once the door was closed, it immediately became pitch black.

In the darkness, Yui's voice lost its usual sweetness.

"Yukino..."

Her voice was as low as a sigh.

"Scold me, curse me, make me suffer... anything is fine, it's all fine, just do it to me."

"And only to me, Yukino."

"Yumiko, I think our relationship is a bit strange right now~" Hayama said with a gentle smile.

Miura's face was full of question marks, "Huh?"

Miura moved her chair and sat next to Hayama's desk. She crossed her legs, revealing her two slender limbs, and lightly pinched her chin with one hand, appearing to be deep in thought.

She had been listening to Hayama talk about Yukino's childhood.

"Lately, so many people in class have been spreading gossip about us. Haven't you heard any, Yumiko?"

"...What gossip?"

"They're saying that you and Yukino are fighting fiercely over me, causing a huge commotion."

Miura was speechless, "...Where did such an outrageous rumor come from?"

She added indifferently, "It's not like this kind of rumor hasn't happened before. How can I possibly manage all of that? Let them say what they want."

Hayama chuckled, "Is Yukino okay with hearing these kinds of rumors?"

Miura was about to say what Yukino had to do with it, when she suddenly remembered what Yukino had said to her last weekend.

[Because most of the girls who like Hayama hate me, I don't want Miura to hate me either.]

Miura's expression immediately turned serious.

She abruptly stood up, quickly dragging her chair back to her seat, "Hayama, I think there's a difference between boys and girls, so let's try to keep our distance at school from now on!"

Hayama: "..."

Yumiko Miura counted on her fingers.

It had been almost a month since Yukino transferred to Class 2-F. A month passed so quickly, yet it also felt so long. It felt so fast that she felt like time had passed just by happily watching her. It felt so slow that it seemed like years had passed between her and Yukino, and at some point, their relationship had become so close.

The next class was cooking. As Miura tidied her things and walked towards the cooking room, she sighed to her two best friends, "I'm so worried about Yukino and Yui's upcoming school mock exams..."

"I helped Yui cram for a week, highlighting key points for each subject and the knowledge points most likely to yield big scores. She's doing okay, but Yukino this time..."

Miura had seen Yukino's efforts over the past month, but she was still very worried about her, fearing that any mistake in this exam would lead to poor results and damage her confidence. She had also wanted to tutor Yukino, but Yukino said she had already found a tutor. What a joke, where did she find an unreliable tutor! In terms of consistent school curriculum knowledge and understanding of this school's teachers' questions, could that tutor from who-knows-where compare to herself?

While she was muttering this to herself, she turned her head and saw Kaho laughing and clinging to Kamizawa's back. Miura couldn't help but laugh too, "Hey, hey, hey, you two, stop fooling around in the hallway. I'm the disciplinary committee member, after all."

The three of them had been close friends since childhood. Ono and Kamizawa were particularly close friends who were used to joking around with each other casually. As for herself, due to her innate queenly aura and image concerns, she had never been so unrestrained, even with friends she had known since childhood.

She then remembered the pink hairband Yukino had given her. She kept the pink hairband carefully in her bag. Things that didn't fit her image, things that didn't meet others' expectations but that she liked... Miura thought to herself that perhaps she could try it out in the future. Even if it was only in front of Yukino.

Upon entering the cooking classroom, Miura found the scene a bit chaotic. She stepped forward without hesitation, "Quiet, what happened?"

"Yukino and Yui went to get the cooking class equipment and haven't returned yet..."

Miura was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Everyone, please sit down. Hayama, you can help the class representative distribute the tools in the classroom first. I'll go check the warehouse for the remaining tools."

Hayato Hayama, who was about to head to the warehouse, paused his steps and nodded with a gentle smile.

Miura laughed again, "Yukino and Yui are probably delayed by something. It's not unheard of for teachers to ask for help carrying materials last minute."

After Miura left, Hayama and the class representative distributed classroom props and checked the ingredients each student brought. He heard people whispering behind him.

"Yui and Yukino... aren't they rivals in love?"

"They went to move things together this time. I bet they'll fight in the warehouse, hehe..."

"Didn't Yui say the thing about rivals in love was fake?"

"Tch, you believe that... Yui is too much of a pushover."

Hayama coughed lightly and smiled, "Everyone, self-check the tools in your hands, or you'll be making hellish cuisine later."

It had been like this for a long time, and it was still like this now.

People only saw what they wanted to see, and they believed that what they wanted to see was the truth.

This world was neither kind nor correct, which was why it was so disappointing.

Yukino.

Miura had been walking quickly when she first left the classroom, but after a few steps, she gave up on her image and started to run.

She ran into Teacher Hiratsuka in the hallway. Hiratsuka rolled her eyes and was about to hit her with her lesson plan book, "No running in the hallway!"

Miura ran past, holding her head and hunched over, "Sorry, Teacher Hiratsuka, I'm in a hurry. Just this once!"

Shizuka Hiratsuka put one hand in her pocket and watched her go, then sighed with a smile, "Young people..."

So lively and motivated.

Damn it, I'm so jealous!

She walked into her office, sat down lazily, took out her phone, read a few emails, typed a few words on the screen, rubbed her temples, and sent them.

[Sorry Mom, I don't really want to go to the blind date this afternoon.]

[It's not that I'm busy, I just don't want to go.]

Miura, who was sprinting through the hallway and down the school building, felt as if she had returned to that aquarium. The world had instantly turned into an underwater world, and she had become a single fish swimming from the dark seabed towards the bright surface.

Swimming towards her was another fish.

She certainly didn't think Yui and Yukino would fight.

Whether it was Yui or Yukino, even if the worst happened, they would only remain silent, despite denying being gentle and restrained.

But silence wouldn't solve anything.

As a friend, Miura felt it was necessary to resolve the knot between the two of them.

Pushing open the tightly shut warehouse door, Miura felt like a brave fish breaking the surface of the water, creating brilliant splashes!

With a radiant smile on her face, "Yukino..."

Her smile froze.

Not far away in the warehouse, Yui Yuigahama, held tightly by a trembling Yukino, turned her head.

Miura: "..."

The brave fish flopped onto dry land.

She froze for a moment, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Kasumigaoka... Kasumigaoka-senpai?"

The girl with blonde twin tails, angry and puffing her cheeks, entered Toyogasaki Academy's third-year Class C right after class, only to find her seat empty.

The male classmate sitting next to Kasumigaoka immediately looked away the moment the girl looked up at him. He then used a textbook to pretend to shield his head.

Eriri offered a gentle smile, "Hirata-senpai~"

Her golden hair, meticulously arranged like a work of art, her clear blue eyes, her porcelain-like skin – any man meeting her for the first time would instantly be captivated.

This was an almost flawlessly beautiful girl.

She was the second-year student Eriri Sawamura, who was very popular throughout Toyogasaki Academy.