Yukino Yukinoshita Is Definitely Secretly in Love With Me

"Don't overthink it. It's just because Hiratsuka-sensei is someone who has shown me kindness up until now."

Hearing those words, Shizuka Hiratsuka felt a slight tug at her heart.

All the messy, random thoughts she had been harboring just a moment ago vanished into thin air.

Yukino Yukinoshita was, after all, just an ordinary child who could feel lonely and hurt.

She let out a laugh and patted Yukino Yukinoshita on the head. "If you have any troubles in the future, feel free to tell your teacher. I can't promise much else, but I've got plenty of ramen for you."

Yukino Yukinoshita gave a soft, affirmative hum.

Shizuka Hiratsuka wasn't quite used to seeing her act so well-behaved.

She thought for a moment and said, "If you have time, Yukino, try to mend your relationship with that girl Haruno. She doesn't say it, but she actually cares quite a bit about you, her little sister."

Setting aside the nauseating topic of Haruno and "caring."

Yukino Yukinoshita looked at her with confusion. "Sensei knows my sister?"

"Mmhmm. Haruno is, after all, one of the most troublesome students I've ever taught."

She glanced at Yukino Yukinoshita and immediately corrected herself, "The second most."

Yukino Yukinoshita: "..."

During the break at Sobu High School, the popular kids and the social outcasts remained clearly divided.

The social outcast Yukino Yukinoshita sat quietly at her desk, solving problems, drawing diagrams, and memorizing vocabulary. When she was focused, she truly couldn't see or hear anything else.

Whether it was other people's discussions or gossip, it didn't matter.

A few popular girls from Class 2-F were gathered around Yui Yuigahama's seat in the corner of the classroom. Although Yui Yuigahama was the one sitting, the others leaned or hovered around her, clearly centered on Yumiko Miura.

Yumiko Miura, whether sitting or standing, regardless of her posture, possessed an undeniable aura that made her the center of attention.

High school girls gathered together, and aside from fashion, they talked about nothing but campus gossip. Today, they were whispering about a private topic they had been obsessively digging into lately:

[Does Yukino Yukinoshita have a crush on Yumiko Miura?]

Yui Yuigahama hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help whispering, "Even though we're here guessing all day, it's all just based on our own intuition and wild speculation..."

As for the fact that Yukino Yukinoshita had been equally cold to both her classmates and Yumiko Miura lately, she was, of course, considerate enough not to mention it.

"Would someone like Yukino Yukinoshita really like anyone?"

If someone said Yukino Yukinoshita could pick a random stranger and successfully confess at light speed, if someone said she could go on dates with different boys every day, if someone said... Yui Yuigahama felt that even the most absurd rumors about Yukino Yukinoshita were likely to happen.

The only thing she couldn't imagine was her genuinely falling in love with someone.

After turning over a new leaf, Yukino Yukinoshita began to study diligently. That serious and upright posture made many people wait to see her make a fool of herself, though some remained half-skeptical.

Yui Yuigahama, however, never believed a single bit of it.

Whether it was turning over a new leaf or studying hard, it was all just a new trick that person had come up with to toy with other people's feelings.

Although Yumiko currently maintained a haughty attitude, acting as if she would never get on good terms with Yukino, she was actually naive, simple-minded, and possessed a bit of a meddlesome, "good-natured mother hen" personality.

A persona like Yukino's—someone secretly in love with her and wanting to return to the right path—was an absolute killer for Yumiko; she simply couldn't bring herself to be cold toward Yukino.

Furthermore, Yui Yuigahama felt that as long as the current long-haired, black-haired Yukino was willing, there wasn't a single person who wouldn't want to be her friend.

Even more, to be "friends" with an even closer relationship.

Yukino possessed exactly that kind of magic.

Although Yui was a follower by nature and disliked forcing others or herself, and despite the fact that she had only known Yumiko Miura for a year, she truly regarded Yumiko as an important friend.

Yui really didn't want to watch helplessly as her good friend Yumiko followed in her own footsteps, just as she had done before.

Junko Ueda tapped her lips lightly with her index finger. "Well, that is certainly something worth verifying."

She had originally been looking at her phone, listening half-heartedly and distractedly, but now she seemed to have spotted some interesting romantic tip, and she became full of interest.

Yukino, this former school delinquent turned school iceberg, had further piqued her thirst for knowledge.

Looking at Yumiko Miura, Junko Ueda smiled teasingly. "Are you interested in verifying this, Yumiko?"

"Who would be interested in something like that!"

"So, Yumiko, are you afraid?"

"Ha? Would I be afraid?"

Miura almost disdainfully grabbed a book at random and swatted it toward Junko Ueda's head.

The Queen of Sobu High School, beyond any doubt!

(The Queen of Sobu High School is super easy to trick.)

"Say whatever you want; the word 'afraid' doesn't exist in my, Miura's, dictionary."

Yukino felt deeply pained for her increasingly scarce conscience.

Two days ago during P.E. class, Yumiko Miura, who had always been proficient at sports, was acting strangely. Like a complete klutz, she had actually sprained her ankle just doing warm-up exercises—it was truly bizarre.

And at that time, this System, which was fast becoming molded into the shape of Miura, had reacted immediately the moment it saw Miura get into trouble.

[System has selected an option with an 88% success rate for reversing your negative image: Carry Yumiko Miura bridal-style to the infirmary with an absolutely dashing posture.]

Are you kidding me!

Who is Yumiko Miura? She is the class queen who always looks at me with disdain, the goddamn pinnacle of school normies, the darling of the class, and the natural enemy standing on the opposite side of a social reject like me.

I, Yukinoshita, have just rebuilt my ice-queen persona on the ruins of my scumbag reputation. I poured my heart and soul into this, so how could a mere Miura make me destroy my own progress?

Go away, you damn rewards, just go away.

Even if I, Yukinoshita, were to be cursed to death here, die out there, or jump off the school building, I would never carry Yumiko Miura bridal-style!

Alright—

To be honest, it's actually because my physical stamina is truly terrible.

Yukinoshita's base stamina is abysmal. To avoid being pushed around and to have some self-defense capability, she even learned Aikido, but her stamina is still pathetic.

If I were to try and carry Yumiko Miura bridal-style, not only would the posture be anything but dashing, but I would also likely trip and fall flat on my face dozens of times before ever reaching the infirmary.

Yukinoshita, feeling both conflicted and heartbroken, gave up on this mission.

As the start of class approached, Yukinoshita, who was sitting quietly at her desk, vaguely heard Miura and her group returning to their seats, talking noisily about something like umbrellas.

Yukinoshita's ears, hidden by her hair, were actually wearing Bluetooth earbuds to listen to English vocabulary. She silently despised how normies were always so loud and annoying, and she turned up the volume on her phone.

How nice, I can't hear the clamor of the outside world anymore.

And this good mood ended quickly near the end of the school day. During the last period before dismissal, the sky suddenly turned gloomy, endless dark clouds rolled in, and then, without any warning, a torrential rain poured down.

Some students in the classroom were whispering, clearly panicking because they hadn't brought umbrellas, while Yukinoshita remained as steady as a mountain.

Yukinoshita gave herself a mental thumbs-up. As expected, a mature, steady, careful, and considerate girl is just this excellent.

Fine, it's just because she's been isolated for so long that she's used to carrying everything she might need in her bag.

When she left the house today, the weather forecast said there might be rain. "Might"—for a persecution-complex-ridden Yukinoshita, that was already something that had to be accounted for.

After school today, as per her routine, she spent ten minutes in the classroom reviewing the day's lesson points before Yukinoshita finally walked out of the thinning crowd of students, ready to open her umbrella and leave.

At this moment, the System moved again, and again, and again.

[System has selected the current best option: Place your umbrella on the public umbrella rack before leaving the school.]

Yukinoshita: "..."

Are you kidding me, are you kidding me? Why would this kind of action have the effect of reversing a negative image?

Because students carrying wet umbrellas into the classroom during the rainy season would dirty the room, Sobu High School specifically set up public umbrella racks outside each classroom.

Have the students of Sobu High School become so malicious that they can only find peace of mind by watching her turn into a drowned rat?

You people are even more detestable than that blonde Yukino Yukinoshita.

Although she complained like this in her heart, Yukino Yukinoshita still resentfully shoved her umbrella into the public umbrella stand. Shielding her head with her school bag, she dashed out into the heavy rain and ran away.

After she left, several figures cautiously approached.

"Among those still in the classroom, only Yumiko didn't bring an umbrella. She definitely left it for Yumiko, no doubt about it!"

"She'd rather get soaked herself than leave Yumiko without an umbrella..."

Even Junko Ueda, who had proposed the verification method, found it hard to believe now.

She had seen the weather forecast earlier today and made a bet with Miura and the others, thinking that the forecast was a coin toss anyway.

During the break earlier, they had deliberately spoken loudly in the classroom: "It might rain later, and Yumiko didn't bring an umbrella today, how troublesome!"

If it rained today, they would see if Yukino Yukinoshita had been paying attention to Yumiko, and see how Yukino Yukinoshita, who was coldly indifferent to everyone, would react to Yumiko.

If it didn't rain, then everything would be null and void.

But perhaps even the heavens wanted to help Yumiko; during the last period, the heavy rain started without rhyme or reason.

None of them had expected that Yukino Yukinoshita—who used to be extremely malicious and was now extremely cold, and in short, could never learn to treat others with kindness—would actually rather get drenched herself than leave Yumiko without an umbrella!

Tell me loudly, if this isn't love, then what is!

Of course, Yumiko really hadn't brought an umbrella today, but in the past, such situations usually meant walking home under a friend's umbrella; it wasn't something that would have troubled her much.

However, Yukino Yukinoshita, blinded by love, clearly hadn't thought of that.

Onozawa Kaho looked even more exaggerated, "Yumiko, Yukino Yukinoshita actually likes you this much..."

Yui Yuigahama watched the direction where Yukino Yukinoshita had disappeared into the heavy rain and fell silent.

Ono grinned and wanted to open the umbrella Yukino Yukinoshita had left behind to take a look, but Miura reached out and blocked her.

Miura gazed at the figure of Yukino Yukinoshita rapidly disappearing into the downpour. She wanted to call her back, but felt she couldn't bring herself to open her mouth.

She hugged the umbrella to her chest, the tips of her ears turning bright red, her eyes darting around, before she became embarrassed and angry.

"Use, use your own umbrellas!"

At Sobu High School, Yukino Yukinoshita was an exceptionally famous name; if not known to everyone, it was close enough.

In the past, she was loathed by everyone, from her original class to the entire school. Ever since she successfully achieved a record of cheating on a hundred people, she had successfully transitioned from being hated only by girls to being an enemy of everyone.

The original Class 2-J of the International Liberal Arts course could be described as chaotic every single day. Every day, there were boys she had broken up with and girls whose boyfriends she had stolen coming to confront Yukino Yukinoshita or bully her one-sidedly.

However, Sobu High is a prestigious school in the region after all. While there is talk of bullying, it amounts to nothing more than scribbling on desks, writing "Yukino is a bitch" on the blackboard, or tossing her schoolbag into the trash.

The desk and blackboard can be wiped clean, the jeers and sarcastic remarks are easily ignored, and the schoolbag can be wiped down and used again.

For the blonde Yukino, this is nothing but a drizzle; it only serves to fuel her arrogance.

And now, although there are still plenty of people who hate Yukino, everyone is more interested in the gossip than in hating her.

[Yukino Yukinoshita, who is the girl you actually like?]

The number of boys she dated for a day before cheating on is countless, but there has truly never been any word of her being particularly close to any girl. On the contrary, she has a mountain of rivals who hate her to the bone.

The only one who could be considered her former friend is Yui Yuigahama.

However, a few months ago, Yui Yuigahama also had her crush snatched away by her, and she was unceremoniously berated as "big-breasted and brainless."

Yui Yuigahama [smiling]: Whoever says this is love, I'll fight them!

Is it Kaoru Kawamura from Class 2-D? After all, ever since Kaoru Kawamura started serving as a school disciplinary committee member a few days ago, Yukino has completely turned over a new leaf!

A playgirl turning over a new leaf for love—who could say this isn't love? Sob sob.

What? You say Kaoru is no longer on disciplinary duty this week, yet Yukino still hasn't reverted to her old self?

Ah, this, this is persistence for the sake of love.

Or is it the third-year senior, Mizuno? Even though they seem to have no connection, they nodded at each other when they met yesterday.

With Yukino's prickly personality—arrogant and domineering in the past, cold as ice now—no one has ever seen her nod in greeting to anyone.