My Classmate Yukino Is Definitely Crushing On Me

Yukino withdrew her gaze from Maki Shijo. As she looked up, she saw Haruno's smile, as calm as a lake in autumn, watching her.

Looking at Haruno like this, Yukino's heart trembled.

She finally understood where the sense of discrepancy from Haruno came from.

Haruno was an excellent and capable person. No matter who she faced, she could put on a friendly smile, quickly build rapport, and was practically a born diplomat.

Yukino had always known that Haruno wore many masks, and even the occasional glimpse of her true self was part of her mask-making.

But in the past, she never turned these masks towards Yukino.

In front of Yukino, she was always the malicious, terrible, boring older sister who could drive Yukino crazy with anger in minutes.

Not the current Haruno Yukinoshita, smiling kindly and gently.

Let's rewind time to the morning, and shift our perspective to the Hachiwahara Shrine in the Higashiyama district of the city.

Hachiwahara Shrine was a private shrine passed down through a family in this city, and it was only moderately famous throughout the city.

It was a little past seven in the morning, and there were hardly any tourists or worshippers at the shrine yet. Only an elderly shrine maiden was busy at the ema hanging area.

Ema were a unique product born from Japanese Shinto culture. They were wooden plaques, about 15 centimeters long and 10 centimeters high, on which one wrote their wishes, offered them before the gods, and hung them on the ema rack, praying for divine protection.

Miko Maeda, a high school student and part-time shrine maiden, climbed the stone steps with a clatter. After passing through the torii gate and washing her hands at the purification fountain, she finally slowed her pace.

"Grandma Hachiwahara, I'm back."

Hachiwahara Shrine was the ancestral shrine of the Hachiwahara Family. Miko was the part-time shrine maiden for this generation. This job should have fallen to the current Mrs. Hachiwahara, but that lady had gotten pregnant out of wedlock early on and chased after love and freedom, having no time to bother with these feudal remnants.

In ancient Japan, the standard for selecting shrine maidens was "pure and unsullied," meaning a virgin who hadn't... well, you know. Although modern standards had relaxed to allow shrine maidens to have boyfriends, no matter how low the bar was lowered, married women couldn't serve the gods.

The daughter had to get married, and the shrine had to continue. To prevent the shrine from being abolished, they had no choice but to recruit shrine maidens from outside.

Room and board provided, plus a salary.

This shrine maiden job was quite capitalist.

The old shrine maiden, without turning her head, said, "Miko, tidy up the ema over there."

Miko scoffed inwardly, secretly despising the retired old shrine maiden's morals that shifted infinitely in the face of money. "Got it. Is it the ema rack that the beautiful big sister sponsored?"

About four or five months ago, a beautiful, wealthy young lady had come to the shrine where Miko worked part-time.

She arrived in a luxury car, accompanied by a driver and secretary, clearly a top-tier rich girl.

Even though Miko Maeda had been working part-time at this shrine for over two years and had seen countless worshippers and tourists, she had never seen anyone so beautiful. She immediately became flustered.

But this Eldest Miss was not only beautiful, but also had a bright smile and kind words. In just over ten minutes, Miko Maeda felt that this Eldest Miss was incredibly amiable, beautiful, gentle, kind, and considerate. She was simply the gentlest person she had ever met.

The Eldest Miss said she wanted to monopolize the ema here, so that only her ema could be hung.

Miko thought that such an absurd request would never be agreed to by the old witch, a devout believer in the gods. She might even feel insulted by the money, thinking it was an insult to her firm faith in the gods, and would chase away the elegant and beautiful Eldest Miss with a broom.

After hearing Miko's persuasion, the Eldest Miss just smiled, "Miko, just inform the master of the shrine."

She smiled and winked again, "Don't worry, Lord Hachiwahara is old, even if he wants to hit me, he won't be able to catch me."

Ah, she's so beautiful when she smiles!

Lord Hachiwahara, who was highly respected and dignified, did not get angry after hearing the Eldest Miss's financial insult. "Hachiwahara Shrine is not well-known and probably has no advertising effect. Why do you want to monopolize the ema hanging at the shrine?" The Eldest Miss smiled and said, "I've always wondered, don't believers constantly chatter in the gods' ears? One million? Ten million? Or more?"

"So if I can make the gods only hear my prayers, will that make the gods only grant my wishes?" She smiled and said, "I'm curious about this."

Hey, hey, hey, you're blaspheming!

And whether gods exist or not is another matter!

You might as well throw money into the water, at least you can hear a splash!!!

The old witch will definitely beat you, run!

And as expected of a rich young lady, she even wants to monopolize prayers, what a capitalist...

Lord Hachiwahara still didn't get angry, "The shrine is a place open to all believers, and it's impossible to hang only your ema."

Although she was a little surprised that the old witch wasn't angry, as expected, people with faith wouldn't be swayed by money...

"If you are willing to pay, we can build more ema hanging spots. Although it won't achieve your theoretical wish fulfillment rate of 100%, as long as the total number of samples is large enough, it can be infinitely close to 100%."

The Eldest Miss nodded, "I am also in contact with other shrines and temples."

Miko Maeda: "..."

After the eternal merit machine, the omnipotent wish holy grail has also been achieved [x

The Eldest Miss and the old witch reached a cooperation. One achieved the feat of blaspheming the gods with mortal means, and the other obtained a considerable amount of money. They both have a bright future.

Only Miko Maeda's worldview collapsed and she doubted life.

While complaining in her heart, she quickly walked towards the four ema hanging spots of the Eldest Miss. They were densely packed with ema wooden plaques, and the prayer wishes on each one were written by the Eldest Miss herself.

[May the gods bless Yukino to return soon]

[I want to have a snowball fight with Yukino again]

[No one has been so angry that they cried this year, I'm so lonely]

[Last year, little Yukino and I had a fight and she almost cried. She still hasn't come to find me to win a match. She's such a naughty girl.]

These lines, more like idle chatter than wishes, started out plain and sad, then gradually became shrouded in despair and darkness.

[God, will my sister really come back?]

[Even if that person might truly be innocent, I still wish she were dead every moment... God, I have sinned.]

[No one noticed Yukino was gone, nor would they believe such a thing... It's fine if only I hold on.]

[So I alone cannot forget Yukino. If even I give up, then Yukino will truly disappear from this world...]

After taking down the last ema plaque, Miko couldn't help but recall a time when that Eldest Miss visited, and she couldn't resist asking her a question.

"Miss Yukinoshita said before that she was doing all this just to prove her guess, but that's a lie, isn't it?"

Seeing the Eldest Miss smile blankly, then nod in agreement, Miko couldn't help but ask, "Why not find a more reliable method?"

Yes, this part-time shrine maiden was an atheist.

Praying to gods and buddhas was simply too unreliable.

How desperate and helpless must one be to place such great hope in the gods?

The Eldest Miss looked into the distance, and the smile that always seemed like mist on her face dissipated at this moment.

"Because the possibility of my wish coming true is even more illusory than the possibility of gods existing..."

Countless Japanese celebrities mingled at this banquet. Acquaintances gathered in twos and threes, inevitably starting to gossip.

Not only was Haruno gossiped about by a group of good sisters regarding several handsome men she dated, but Miss Maki Shijo was also teased by those around her about her relationship with that Tanuma-kun.

Indeed, gossip and people-watching are humanity's primal driving forces!

As this topic came up, Haruno saw her friend Hananomiya pat Yukino's shoulder and wink, "It's about that boy Tanuma~"

The young master of the Tanuma family, Tsubasa Tanuma.

Rumored to be someone Miss Shijo once liked, and one of Yukino Yukinoshita's ex-boyfriends whom she snatched away.

Although they broke up the very next day, and after some time, Tsubasa Tanuma started dating a new girlfriend, Nagisa Kashiwagi.

And Nagisa Kashiwagi was a good friend of Maki Shijo.

Emmmm... well, your circle is really messy.

But it's okay, the socialite circle is much messier than this anyway.

However, Miss Shijo clearly had no intention of falling into this rotten swamp. She gently lifted her chin, and though still smiling, her eyes were sharp, "Please do not mention such ridiculous rumors in the future."

"As for Tsubasa Tanuma, putting aside the fact that he's my good friend's boyfriend, I wouldn't even spare him a second glance even if he wasn't Kashiwagi's boyfriend."

"Foolish and impulsive, cowardly, indecisive, and opinionated. There's no way I, Maki Shijo, could ever like someone like that."

With words that could even be called harsh, she mercilessly commented on her friend's boyfriend. "Such foolish rumors will not only affect my friendship with Kashiwagi, but even make others doubt the taste of the Shijo Family."

Beneath her decisive words, the entire room fell silent for a moment.

Miss Yagyu raised an eyebrow. "Oh ho, it seems this Miss Shijo truly detests that boy Tanuma."

Hananomiya rested her elbow lightly on Yukino's shoulder and said with a casual smile, "Perhaps she really doesn't want to be associated with such a boring rumor about liking her friend's boyfriend."

Haruno had known from before that Hananomiya was a person with very few boundaries. Anyone who fit her aesthetic, she couldn't help but want to get close to and hug.

Since that person wasn't the real "Yukino," it didn't matter to her.

It should have been like this.

But her gaze, suppressing annoyance, couldn't help but drift towards Hananomiya. "...I say, Hananomiya, can't you tell Yukino isn't accustomed to overly intimate physical contact?"

Hananomiya made a face at her and, upon hearing this, directly hugged Yukino's waist with both hands. "She just dislikes the physical contact from you, her terrible older sister!"

Haruno: "..."

Hey, "Yukinoshita," can't you refuse at least a little!

What kind of behavior is this!

Miss Suzuki nodded vigorously. "Well said! I wish I had a sister as beautiful as Yukino, I'd dress her up in pretty clothes every day!"

Miss Yagyu shot her a sidelong glance. "Is this why you're trying to trick your brother into cross-dressing?"

Everyone chatted and laughed, the atmosphere harmonious and lively.

But Haruno soon felt that the atmosphere around the girl beside her had become somewhat strange, starting from some unknown point.

Haruno was always so sensitive to Yukino's moods.

But she hated this sensitivity of hers now.

Although she shared the same "ice queen, black long straight, flat-chested beautiful girl" persona as the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya Family, they were completely different people.

The ice surrounding Yukino Yukinoshita seemed to be only for admiration from afar, giving the impression of someone not to be trifled with. But in reality, she was only covered in a thin shell of superficial bravado, which would shatter with a gentle touch.

Yukino was actually a stubborn but kind child.

The eldest daughter of the Shinomiya Family was the true walking iceberg, scattering ice blades.

When she looked up at someone, even the air seemed to be cut by the sharpness and frost in her eyes.

And now, Haruno Yukinoshita felt as if she had seen that rather difficult Miss Shinomiya.

Yukino lowered her eyes, "Sorry, I'm going to the restroom first..."

She, who once thought she could become Yukino in front of her older sister, once again became Yukinoshita at this moment.

She walked straight out of the lively and brightly lit banquet hall, not going to any restroom, and went directly to the third floor.

As a seasoned loner, besides having good psychological qualities and being able to face the isolation and ostracism of countless people without changing her expression, the most important thing is to be able to identify the most suitable place for solitude in an area at first glance.

If there were a subject called "loneliness" in the world, Yukino felt she could get an A+.

She walked with a calm expression and steady steps, politely refusing the waiter's inquiry in a soft voice, and no one knew how much emotion was gathering and shattering in her heart at this moment.

This emotion could be described as furious embarrassment.

She had been taciturn since childhood, even controlling her emotions, and rarely had such near-out-of-control emotions.

But only in front of her older sister Haruno, she never had to restrain herself or pretend to be strong; she could be like a small cat, baring its teeth and claws, repeatedly defeated.

She could do anything embarrassing in front of Haruno.

This was the awkward yet pleasant way they interacted as sisters.

Although she would never admit it, Yukino Yukinoshita actually knew in her heart that Haruno was very special to her.

If one day the soul within Haruno's body were replaced by a different core, Yukino was very confident that she would be able to detect it quickly.

But she was too confident, so confident that she actually harbored the same unrealistic hope for Haruno—that when she was possessed, Haruno could also see that something was wrong with her at first glance.