Heh

Lunch break.

Since he last asked the girls in the class to get along with Horikita and even brought in Wang Meiyu to act as a mediator, Horikita was finally able to exchange a few words with the girls in the class normally.

Although she mostly just gave simple responses, that was enough.

Sometimes she didn't need to lower herself to chat with the surrounding classmates; even if she didn't speak and just gave a simple acknowledgment, it was enough to make the girls who admired her happy.

And this attitude, in turn, only highlighted her nobility.

Furthermore, because Horikita was now his girlfriend, and given his status as a Student Council member, absolutely no one in the class dared to be rude to him, except for those three idiots.

And that Koenji.

He actually knew Koenji; after all, they were both from wealthy families, and the two had met a few times when they were younger. The other party clearly recognized him, yet didn't show any sign of it.

He figured Koenji wouldn't be interested in him anyway.

Watching Horikita being surrounded by a few girls as she headed toward the cafeteria, he gazed at her for a moment before withdrawing his eyes.

"Jingu-kun, could we have lunch together?"

Kushida, who was in front, turned around and flashed him a friendly smile.

"No need. I have a girlfriend, and I'm afraid she might misunderstand."

"But she's walking with others right now, so is this really not okay?" Kushida looked at him with a pitiful expression, pouting her lips.

Anyone who didn't know better would think he was bullying Kushida.

"Fine, but not here. Let's go somewhere else." He whispered, then stood up and left his seat.

Kushida waited for a while, turned down several invitations from other girls, and followed him out.

On the rooftop, looking at the scenery in the distance, Bai Ye's eyes flickered slightly before he sighed and looked at Kushida beside him.

"You can stop the act now. Just say what you have to say."

"Fine." Kushida exhaled, looked at him coldly, and said with some annoyance, "Are you done playing house with that woman? When are you going to completely take her down?"

"Don't make it sound like I'm conspiring with you. Did I ever say I was acting?"

"If not, then what are you doing? Did you actually fall for her?"

Kushida wore an expression of disbelief and angrily stomped on his foot.

"Why are you stepping on me?"

"What do you think? You've been neglecting me all day; do you really think I have such a good temper?"

As if she didn't feel satisfied enough, Kushida stomped on him again.

"..."

"Hmph, now you know the consequences of making me angry. Aren't you going to apologize to me yet?"

"..."

He remained silent for a long time, then opened his phone:

"Tell me, how much do you want?"

"What?" Kushida widened her eyes, looking at him in confusion.

"Is 300,000 enough?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Kushida saw a transfer notification appear on her phone, clearly stating 300,000 points.

"You... what do you mean by this!" Kushida pointed at him, flushed with anger.

"Nothing. Just take it and spend it. If there's nothing else, I'll be going."

Bai Ye patted her shoulder and walked away dashingly, leaving her staring at him in utter bewilderment.

A flock of crows flew across the sky. Kushida froze for a moment, then looked at the remaining balance on her phone.

Then, she let out an exclamation:

"I--I think I've struck it rich!"

The departing Bai Ye took the opportunity to transfer 300,000 points to Horikita and Wang Meiyu as well.

One must be fair in doing things; the word 'fairness' was his favorite.

Leaving the rooftop, he went to the convenience store to buy a bento box, then leaned against a lamppost to eat.

Although the bento was nowhere near as delicious as what Horikita cooked, it was passable.

After finishing, he tossed it into a recycling bin in the distance.

He checked to make sure he had made the shot before turning to leave.

Just then, a beautiful girl with pink hair ran toward him.

"Could you wait a moment..."

Reaching him, the young girl was blushing and panting heavily. She bent over, bracing her hands on her knees, while her other hand reached out as if pointing at him.

Bai Ye looked at this strange posture and couldn't help but feel a bit dazed.

He subconsciously reached out, palm facing upward, and placed it beneath her slightly clenched small hand.

Woof?

If the girl had let out a sound like that, he would have immediately grabbed a rope and led her home.

However, the girl didn't seem to grasp his hidden meaning; she shyly retracted her hand and pressed her palms together:

"There's a favor I'd like to ask of Jingu-kun, could I please—"

"The favor you're talking about wouldn't happen to be someone wanting to confess to you, and you needing me to pretend to be your boyfriend, would it?"

Only then did he clearly see who the girl was; she was the same girl he had seen on the bench last time, none other than Ichinose Honami.

Ichinose was surprised by his words: "How could you... could it be that you can see through my heart?"

"That's exactly how it is." He nodded calmly.

He thought that since it was still early, he might as well tease this girl a little and, while he was at it, reject her request.

After all, he was a man with a girlfriend; how could he be unfaithful?

Seeing him actually admit it, Ichinose covered her mouth in shock: "You actually... mmph... don't... turn around quickly..."

"What's wrong?" he asked.

He stood there, motionless.

How could he possibly turn around? He wasn't going to.

"Wuu... don't look..."

Who would have thought that Ichinose would cover her face, crouch down, and start sobbing.

Bai Ye: "..."

What was going on?

Before long, Ichinose finally stood up, her eyes still red. She nervously tugged at her own hands and said coyly:

"So, what do you think?"

"What?"

"I mean... what are your thoughts on me..."

"..."

Bai Ye went through his entire family tree and still couldn't figure out what she was talking about.

Amidst the lingering, tense atmosphere, Bai Ye finally said:

"You need to go to the infirmary and get checked out."

Yes, get checked to see if her brain was still functioning normally.

However, Ichinose became even more bashful: "So soon... I... I'm not ready yet..."

"..."

"..."

"...Goodbye."

Bai Ye turned and walked away, rubbing his forehead.

He might have mistaken her for someone else; this girl wasn't Ichinose, but some lunatic who had escaped from who knows where.

It was a pity, though, given how cute she was.

Back where she stood, Ichinose stared blankly at his retreating figure, slowly puffing out her cheeks.

"I think I was... no, wait!"

The other party didn't seem to have rejected her, but had said 'goodbye' to her instead.

The meaning of goodbye is 'goodbye', meaning to meet again next time.

In that case, she still had a chance; she even boldly fantasized that he might have already agreed to it.

However, she also knew that Bai Ye seemed to have a girlfriend.

How could he...

Mmph... so perverted...

Ichinose walked back with a flushed face, her heart filled with nervousness and hesitation.