Could It Be Her Boyfriend? / "A Good Feng Shui Spot"

Their arms were linked, and an air of illicit collusion emanated from them.

"Hey, Haruki, I need to talk to you about something." Ike glanced around and whispered, "Didn't you say before that Sakura confessed to you? If you don't want her, how about introducing her to me?"

Two months have passed, and he still hasn't achieved his goal of getting a girlfriend in high school. He even experienced the ups and downs of getting a zero in class and being expelled. Recently, Kanji Ike, who has become increasingly impatient, has started to lose his mind and tries to rely on Yamauchi to achieve his goal of dating girls.

"Ha, when did I--" Just as he was about to retort with a bewildered expression, Yamauchi Haruki suddenly remembered that he seemed to have actually said such nonsense.

Around the time when he still had 100,000 points at the beginning of the semester, in order to boast about his charm, he randomly found a girl who wasn't present at the time to show off to his 'friend'.

At the time, he said, "If it's not someone like Kushida or Hasebe, I won't take it."

Oops, isn't this a bit of an overstatement?

"Ah, I think there was something like that..." Yamauchi Haruki chuckled and scratched his head, "But I've almost forgotten about that kind of thing. Who would bother remembering such a rustic guy?"

"Even if you really want a girlfriend, you wouldn't go for Sakura, would you?"

"Her breasts are huge!" Kanji Ike couldn't control his voice, exclaiming, "Big breasts are the best sexual attribute, right?!"

Although Sakura usually keeps her head down and hunches her back so that nothing can be seen, the curves of her body are still quite obvious.

These kinds of plain, unwanted girls are actually easier to win over.

After much deliberation, Chi Cai, who had decided to lower his standards a bit in order to find a girlfriend, quietly began to consider changing his target.

"... Gurgle." A barely perceptible sound escaped his lips. Yamauchi Haruki waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, that won't do."

He lowered his body slightly and said in a low voice, "Think about it carefully. That thing is just fat. No matter how big it is, it's still fat. What kind of woman has a lot of fat?"

"Only fat women look big; it's because they have a lot of excess fat that they appear large."

"Besides, she's already confessed to me, what kind of image would it make to still be pursuing her?" he said. "I think people really need to have some goals."

"Target: Kushida!"

Yamauchi Haruki clenched his fist.

Sakura Airi: "..."

Ugh, so disgusting.

Sakura Airi, who was shrinking her head and pretending not to hear anything, felt a chill.

Who would confess their feelings to someone like Yamauchi?

... If she had a little more courage, she would have stood up and refuted Yamauchi at that moment.

But she didn't have the courage.

Let alone standing up and shouting, she finds it difficult to even make eye contact with someone.

However... even though they were speaking in hushed tones, the whole class could probably hear them clearly.

If this isn't corrected, people might actually start to believe it...

"Yamauchi-- " Just as Sakura Airi was feeling a little anxious, Kushida Kikyo, who had finished talking to the other girls, quietly stood in front of Yamauchi Haruki's desk.

"K- Kushida?!" Startled, Yamauchi shrank back. "W-what's wrong?"

I just said I was going to try and win over Kushida, and now the person in question has contacted me.

Honestly, it's kind of scary.

"Don't make up rumors that will bother your classmates, okay? Sakura will be very upset."

With an incredibly kind expression, Kushida Kikyo softly offered her words of advice.

Chapter 153 Could it be her boyfriend?

"Yes, I'm sorry..."

Despite his kind smile, Yamauchi Haruki didn't exude the usual warm and approachable feeling he usually did.

Instead, what enveloped me at that moment was pressure.

Kushida, how scary...

No, that's not right. Kushida is Angel. It's not because Kushida is scary, but because everyone is watching her, that's why she's acting this way.

Having convinced himself of this, Yamauchi Haruki stammered out his apology:

"I... I remembered wrong, no, I mixed it up. Anyway, it wasn't Sakura who confessed to me, it was actually a girl from the next class. Anyway, is that alright...?"

"I don't know." Kushida Kikyo's expression remained unchanged. "You should ask Sakura, okay?"

She's not someone who needs an apology; explaining things to her won't help.

"Um, Sakura, I'm sorry..." In front of everyone, feeling extremely humiliated, Yamauchi Haruki bowed his head to Sakura Airi once again.

Sakura Airi: "..."

He lowered his head.

So, should I forgive him...?

"...Hmm." She made a barely audible sound.

After all, Sakura Airi wasn't the type to relentlessly pursue or pressure someone. Now that she'd apologized, she would choose to let the matter drop.

... Although, if Kushida hadn't stood up for her, she would have just lowered her head in utter humiliation, silently brooding and suffering inwardly.

Well, I guess I should thank Kushida after all... right?

Thinking this, she suddenly stood up and bowed in front of Kushida Kikyo.

"--Thank you, thank you!" came an unexpectedly loud voice.

"..."

Her apology caused a brief silence in the class.

But the silence erupted into loud laughter the next moment.

"Hahahaha, hahahaha, hahahaha."

"Was she serious about bowing and apologizing?"

"Wow, Little Kikyo is definitely the best!"

"Hey, stop laughing, Sakura's ears are all red."

The noise instantly drowned out Sakura Airi, and a surge of regret overwhelmed her as she impulsively shouted her thanks.

Her rapidly spinning brain buzzed, and Sakura Airi's body was incredibly stiff.

However, as she bent down and closed the distance, she faintly caught a whiff of a slightly different scent emanating from Kushida Kikyo.

"..."

She had a hard time describing the smell—was it shampoo? Sweat? Or did it come from somewhere else?

I'm not entirely sure, but this flavor probably, perhaps, possibly... doesn't come from the Kushida Kikyo itself.

This is a scent different from that of Kushida Kikyo herself.

"Yes, you're welcome. It's what I should do." With a smile, Kushida Kikyo reached out and helped Sakura Airi up.

She had long disliked Yamauchi, and this was just an opportunity to give him a little warning.

Without Hirata's restraint, this guy starts jumping around wildly again, which is annoying to watch.

Although she didn't know how long this would keep him in line, the final exams were just around the corner, and Hirata would take care of things without her having to do anything.

"Um, really, thank you so much." As soon as Kushida Kikyo spoke, the noisy laughter gradually faded away, and Sakura Airi as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

With a gentle smile Kushida Kikyo nodded slightly.

"Okay, if you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can tell me."

After saying that, she let go of Sakura's hand and returned to her seat.

The school bell rang, Sakura Airi returned to her seat.

The moment Kushida Kikyo took her hand, the previously somewhat indistinct breath seemed to become clearer.

But if it doesn't taste like Kushida Kikyo's, then whose is it...?

Incredibly audacious, a conjecture that even she herself didn't believe popped into Sakura Airi's mind.

Could it be... her 'boyfriend'?

Thinking about it carefully, it's not impossible. After all, Kushida Kikyo is so popular, it wouldn't be surprising if she were secretly dating someone.

If you're a boy, probably no one could resist Kushida...

Unlike me, apart from people like Yamauchi, no one else will visit me, no one will take the initiative to contact me, and no one... will be able to connect with me on a deeper level.

Yes, Sakura Airi is afraid of contact with people, afraid of eye contact, and afraid of crowded places.

I've always longed for someone with whom I can connect on a deeper level.

But to this day, the one who understands her best is the one everyone loves, the one who belongs to everyone: Kushida Kikyo.

"..."

I suddenly feel like wearing a mask.

She thought.

Sakura Airi doesn't know when she started to become like this.

But by the time they realized it, they were already starting to feel alone.

They don't initiate conversations, don't make contact, find it difficult to make eye contact, and are unable to speak.

Huddled in its own corner, hiding in its own small space, waiting for someone who can discover this treasure to take the initiative to contact and communicate with it.

However, if one is not careful, they will hide away, become speechless, and unable to speak.

Apart from Kushida Kikyo, who is loved by everyone and whom anyone can approach with great enthusiasm, no one can become her friend.

But precisely because it's a positive angle, and precisely because everyone likes it, it can't possibly belong to her alone.

Therefore, Sakura Airi understood that she was destined to Loneliness.

But at the same time, she also understood that 'humans cannot survive alone'.

Even though she subconsciously and instinctively tends towards Loneliness, she still yearns for companionship deep down.

Even though her body's instincts might resist gathering in crowds, deep down she longed to shine on stage like her idol.

So, Sakura Airi put on the mask.

As long as you hypnotize yourself, as long as you repeatedly convince yourself in your mind, put on makeup, put on clothes, and imitate the idols on TV with energetic expressions.

She could fantasize about whether she, like that, would be liked by everyone.

"..."

Cautious, looking ahead and behind, tiptoeing.

Avoiding the gaze of passersby, as if in a stealth game, carrying her camera and beautiful clothes, Sakura Airi gently pushed open the unpowered electromagnetic door on the rooftop.

Chapter 154 'Auspicious Land'

Sakura Airi has a secret she can't tell anyone.

She is actually a photo idol.

The moment I clearly realized that I could never Loneliness again, the moment I fantasized that I could be loved by everyone if I could become different, the moment I watched my idol on TV shining brightly.

A sense of longing quietly arose in Sakura Airi's heart.

So, having mustered up the rare courage, she began trying to debut in her second year of junior high school.

Take photos, take photos, take photos.

Put the camera down and set the timer.

As long as she wears glamorous clothes and strikes a cute pose, the shutter sound will capture her fake yet glamorous appearance when the camera's timer expires.