A Young Girl's Thoughts

Having just won a major battle, Hasebe was in an exceptionally good mood, looking at Bai Ye with a smile in her eyes:

"You won't blame me for scaring off the person you like just now, will you?"

"Since when did I like her..."

"She treats you like that, yet you still go along with her, and you say you don't like her!" Hasebe pouted.

"..."

In all fairness, he held no ill will toward Horikita, because he knew what kind of person she was.

But her usual coldness toward him still made him somewhat annoyed, which was why he had let Hasebe pull him away—it was just to take Horikita down a peg.

Moreover, he had selfish motives for pursuing Horikita, and since he couldn't tell Hasebe the reason, he could only tacitly accept her words.

"Nothing to say, right? But I still think she isn't good enough for you. If you're going to find a girlfriend, you should look for someone with a good personality who is also pretty."

"Like... you?"

"W-what... I didn't say it was me!" Hasebe puffed out her slightly flushed cheeks and punched his chest.

Thinking back to her actions just now, didn't it make it look like she was really fighting over a man...

It was clearly for his own good.

But why did she care about him so much...

Recalling what happened last night, her eyes grew a bit hazy again.

"Hey... Little Yeye, could you call me 'big sister' again?"

"Did I ever call you that?" he feigned ignorance.

"Yesterday... hmm, never mind." Hasebe said, feeling dejected.

She couldn't exactly admit that she had been pretending to be asleep. Pretending to be asleep in a boy's room in the middle of the night—she wouldn't be able to explain that clearly even if she tried.

Now, she didn't even have the appetite to eat.

After school in the afternoon, Horikita didn't speak to him again.

He couldn't be bothered to be warm to someone who gave him the cold shoulder, so the top priority was to improve his relationship with Hasebe; he would just leave Horikita alone for a while.

With Horikita no longer pestering him, Hasebe had no rivals left, and she dragged him out to go shopping in the afternoon.

Arriving at a boutique, her mood soared for no reason. Not only was she picking things out happily, but she also kept holding hats, scarves, and similar items up against him to compare.

To a third party, this intimate state between the two of them probably looked like a couple... no, it looked more like an older sister and younger brother.

Anyone could see the reluctant expression on his face, but Hasebe seemed completely oblivious.

"Let's take a break first."

After visiting several shops, Hasebe pulled him onto a bench to sit down and thoughtfully bought him a milk tea.

"This is a thank-you gift. Sorry, I've almost never had the experience of shopping with a good friend like this, so I got a little excited."

"Don't lie to me, I've seen you shopping with girls from the class before."

"That doesn't count, I was just invited, and I couldn't really let loose..."

"So doing it with me doesn't matter, is that it?"

He feigned an angry expression.

"Is that not allowed?"

Hasebe retorted, then muttered under her breath: "Besides, you were hugging and holding me yesterday anyway..."

With his hearing twice as sharp as an adult's, he naturally heard it clearly, and his face flushed slightly, but he pretended not to hear.

"I don't mind accompanying you shopping, but could you stop holding those random things up to me next time? There was even... women's clothing?"

"I can't help it, who told Little Yeye to be so cute? You'd definitely look good in women's clothes." Hasebe's eyes sparkled.

"I will never wear them in this lifetime, so give up on that idea." he said coldly.

"Ah~ what a pity..."

"Acting pitiful won't work on me."

"Oh." Hasebe pouted.

But the next second, she smiled: "I've shopped enough. Is there anywhere you want to go, Little Yeye?"

"Not really. How about we go to the place where we usually sleep?"

"Going there again? Do you like sleeping that much? Do you think shopping with me is boring?"

"No, I just think it's quieter there, which makes it easier for us to talk."

"Then let's go."

Since Bai Ye said it like that, she stopped being moody, and she even felt a little happy.

After all, this could be considered an important place where their relationship began, and it could even be called their "secret base."

However, when they arrived, they found the spot already occupied; a group of people was having a picnic on the flat grass below.

The most eye-catching among them was a beautiful girl with cherry-pink hair, wearing a gentle, adorable, and inclusive smile. Her figure was slightly curvaceous, and just sitting there, she seemed to be the center of the world. Judging by how the others surrounded her, she was clearly the absolute core of the group.

Seeing this person, Hasebe felt a slight pang of envy. She knew who this was: Ichinose Honami from Class 1-B. Not long after school started, she had gained the goodwill of her entire class, and her reputation in other classes was also very high, even faintly surpassing that of Kushida Kikyou.

This ability to make friends with others without any effort was something she lacked, and the other girl's figure was not much worse than her own, so why didn't the other girl have her worries?

Was it that Ichinose simply didn't care, or was she being too self-conscious?

Watching Hasebe's distracted and dejected expression, Bai Ye waved his hand in front of her eyes: "Taken a liking to that girl?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? I was just... never mind..."

Hasebe shook her head and said seriously, "Now that the spot is taken, where should we go?"

"It's not taken. They aren't lying there; they're just having a picnic below. We don't need to worry about them."

Without waiting for Hasebe to react, he grabbed her wrist and walked over.

Being pulled along, Hasebe fidgeted a few times before letting him be.

Meanwhile, in the distance.

Just as Ichinose was about to speak, Shironami Chihiro beside her tapped her hand and pointed in the direction where Bai Ye had lain down: "Honami, there are people over there."

Ichinose followed her finger and saw that somewhat familiar figure. She felt a flash of joy at first, but when she saw a pretty girl beside him, she frowned slightly.

"Honami, what's wrong?" Shironami Chihiro asked in confusion, "Why do you look unhappy? Do you feel like they're disturbing us?"

"Eh, did I look unhappy?" Ichinose touched her pretty face, looking dazed, "Chihiro must have misread it. How could I..."

That's right, why would she be unhappy? Could it be because he has a... girlfriend?

But what did that have to do with her? The two of them weren't even close.

Although he had once complimented her on being cute...

But that must have been something he said casually, it didn't mean anything...

Even so, Ichinose still felt a faint sense of loss in her heart.

Just then, a girl from Class B nearby said: "Come to think of it, Ichinose seemed very happy the day she came back from the student council. Did something good happen?"

"That day was..." Ichinose suddenly recalled the events of that day, her pretty face slowly turning red, and she stammered, "Was I that happy? It was quite ordinary."

"No, no, it was different from usual. I even thought Ichinose-san had fallen in love."

"..."

Ichinose remained silent for a long time before saying, "I was just encouraged by someone, that's all."

She recalled herself that day; she was indeed a bit different from usual.

But there was nothing she could do about that.

At her lowest point, a very pleasing boy had walked over and complimented her, saying she was cute or something.

How could she not be happy?

Although she had been very rude and ran away.

She had wanted to find him to apologize afterward, but she never had the time. And now, since he had a girlfriend, there was no need for her to bother him.

It wouldn't be good if his girlfriend misunderstood.

She shook her head, casting these strange thoughts aside.

"Let's not talk about this. Let's talk about something happy." A gentle smile appeared on Ichinose's face again, and the other girls laughed along with her.

The conversation was steered back on track.

However, Shironami Chihiro, who had been paying close attention to Ichinose, noticed that Ichinose kept glancing toward Bai Ye, only to quickly look away again.

This abnormal behavior made her frown.

A sense of crisis rose inexplicably in her heart.

She shifted her focus toward Bai Ye, her gaze lingering especially on him, and the more she looked, the deeper her sense of crisis grew.

Finally, she took a deep breath and made a decision.

"I can't wait any longer."

She was going to confess to Ichinose.