Honami Ichinose Is So Easy to Placate. / Honami Ichinose Expresses What She Really Thinks.
The athletic, short-haired boy complained to Hashiba Hikaru, completely unprepared for the huge reaction to what had just happened. When the girls in Class A's tent fell silent, Shibata instantly realized something was wrong.
No rush.
"What did you say?"
Shibata looked Hashiba Hikaru up and down, observing her confident, smiling expression, and for a moment wondered what she was thinking.
"I told you there's no rush, I'll try to coax her, but not now."
"..."
The two spoke very softly, and the girls surrounding the other side of the tent did not hear their conversation.
All they could see was Hashiba Hikaru Shibata unscrewing the sports drink Shibata had brought over, and then actually leaning back comfortably in her chair, as if she had no intention of coming over to explain at all.
What's going on?
Himeno Yuki asked softly, "Ando, didn't you say that if we all ignored Classmate Hashiba, he would realize he should come over and explain to Ichinose?"
"Yes, I don't want to leave a bad impression on Classmate Hashiba. What should we do if he doesn't come?"
"Ichinose, what do you think?"
The girls began to whisper among themselves. This plan was proposed by Ando Sayo. Although Ichinose Honami initially disagreed, she inexplicably acquiesced to the arrangement after seeing Hashiba Hikaru and Kushida Kikyo together.
The unusual atmosphere in the classroom was created to force Hashiba Hikaru to come over and explain, but things aren't going according to plan, leaving the girls feeling uneasy.
"I..."
Although Ichinose Honami kept pretending to look at her phone, her eyes were constantly on Hashiba Hikaru. Seeing the other woman's calm and composed expression, she felt a mix of emotions.
"Ando?"
The girls then focused their attention on Ando Sayo, who had come up with the idea. Ando glanced at Hashiba Hikaru's calm profile and momentarily panicked.
"Could it be... that our ignoring him made Classmate Hashiba angry? Is that why he didn't react?"
Someone mentioned it, and that sentence instantly changed the girls' expressions.
"No, we can't continue like this, or there will be problems."
Class A has always been a very united group. The girls had just openly supported Ando and Ichinose because they wanted to see Hashiba Hikaru bow her head and explain. Now that they couldn't see that, they couldn't continue with that attitude.
"Let me go, I'll go and explain to Guang."
Ichinose Honami pursed her lips. What she had seen on the field had indeed made her very angry, but looking at Hashiba Hikaru's face, a sense of fear inexplicably arose in the girl's heart.
After taking a deep breath, the girl stood up abruptly from the chair.
A smile returned to her pretty face as she walked towards Hashiba Hikaru, a move that naturally drew the attention of everyone in the tent.
"Hikari, congratulations on winning the first match! I was just tallying everyone's scores and rankings, and I'm only just coming to my senses."
The girl apologized to Hashiba Hikaru, hoping to use this as a way to start a conversation.
"Yeah, I ran with all my might, but luckily I still managed to come in first place. I guess I was just lucky."
The boy smiled slightly, but the warmth in his eyes remained unchanged.
"..."
After exchanging a few words, the other person's gaze intensified Ichinose Honami's fear. Even though they were so close, the girl didn't feel that familiar warmth.
She now deeply regrets her acquiescence; she shouldn't have agreed to Ando's proposal in the first place, and she doesn't know how to explain it now.
He was clearly working hard for his class in the race, but after winning, he was met with a cold shoulder from the girls. Anyone would be unhappy in that situation.
Seeing Ichinose Honami's helpless expression, Ando, who was sitting in the chair, gritted her teeth, suddenly stood up, and said loudly, "Classmate Hashiba, I want to apologize to you!"
These words immediately broke the awkward atmosphere in the tent. Hashiba Hikaru simply smiled faintly, then looked at Ando and asked, "Why? Did you do something?"
"Because I was a little angry with your behavior, I contacted all the girls in the class to ignore you after your triumphant return. This was my mistake, please forgive me!"
Ando Sayo was a little nervous, but she still forced herself to say those words. After she finished speaking, she bowed very formally, hoping that the usually easy-going Hashiba Hikaru would accept her apology.
"Is that how it is?"
Hashiba Hikaru glanced at the girls' expressions and knew that the time was almost right.
He originally thought that all he needed to do was appease Ichinose Honami, but after seeing the strange attitude of all the girls, he immediately made a new choice.
It's fine to appease his girlfriend, and it's okay to lower his head a little, but Hashiba Hikaru doesn't intend to be influenced by other girls. He absolutely can't set such a bad precedent, otherwise it will only cause more trouble later.
We must make them understand their own identities.
"So that's why no one was paying attention to me."
The boy glanced at Ando, who had lowered his head, then looked at Ichinose Honami's face. "Does Ichinose also agree to Ando- san's plan?"
"I..."
Meeting Hashiba Hikaru's cold gaze, the pink-haired girl felt a chill run down her spine.
288
Chapter 288 Ichinose Honami is really easy to coax.
After coldly asking Ichinose Honami that question, Hashiba Hikaru noticed the unease on the girl's face, but he couldn't back down at this moment; he had to put pressure on the other girls.
"Please don't be angry with Ichinose -Classmate Hashiba- san. I was the one who proposed this plan!"
Although Ando had her head down, she could hear what was happening, so she looked up and hurriedly explained, "Ichinose was just trying to please me, please don't blame her!"
"I haven't said anything yet, why are you in such a hurry?"
Hashiba Hikaru responded, then whispered to Ichinose Honami, "I have something I want to say to Ichinose. Shall we go somewhere quiet first?"
These words startled all the students present, because combined with Hashiba Hikaru's cold expression and tone, it was easy to imagine something bad.
Could it be...?
Not only did the girls quickly become worried, but even the boys were caught off guard. As a couple recognized by everyone as the perfect pair, no one wanted anything to actually happen.
Upon hearing Ando Sayo's words, Hashiba Hikaru's face turned deathly pale. She had never expected that a plan she devised simply to help Ichinose Honami would have such serious consequences. If their relationship were to really break down, wouldn't she become a sinner?
"Classmate Hashiba!"
Ando cried out urgently, gazing at the boy's handsome face, and pleaded, "Please don't take your anger out on Ichinose, she really doesn't know anything..."
"Ando -kun, stop talking now!"
Seeing her friend's near-breakdown expression, Ichinose Honami interrupted her, turning to her boyfriend and forcing a nonchalant tone, saying, "Sure, where are you going to say that?"
"Let's go over there, it won't take too long."
Hashiba Hikaru pointed to a corner of a teaching building on campus. Since students from all three grades were on the playground, there shouldn't be many people on campus.
"Sure."
Ichinose Honami followed Hashiba Hikaru. Although she was apprehensive, she couldn't change her mind now that things had come to this point, since she had genuinely agreed to it.
As the students in Class A watched the two figures disappear, their hearts sank. The girls looked at Ando, who was on the verge of tears, and their expressions turned bitter.
"This is really troublesome."
"Yeah, we shouldn't have done that. What if Classmate Hashiba really got angry?"
"Why..."
Hearing everyone's complaints, Ando Sayo felt even worse. If she could go back in time, she would rather have said nothing at all than end up in this situation.
"Really, I..."
--
On the other side, after leading Ichinose Honami to the quiet corner of the school building, Hashiba Hikaru stopped.
"What does he want to say? I'm very curious."
The pink-haired girl forced herself to stay calm; although she still had a smile on her lips, it was clear that she was actually very uneasy inside.
"It's just a small matter."
Hashiba Hikaru looked around to make sure no one was there, and then a gentle smile returned to his face. Noticing this, Ichinose Honami's expression changed slightly, and the next second, she was pulled into his arms.
"I want to say sorry to Honami, that's all I wanted to say."
Hashiba Hikaru pulled the girl's soft body into her arms and whispered in her ear, "Honami agreed to Ando's plan because she saw me holding hands with another girl, right?"
"!"
Feeling that familiar warmth envelop her again, Ichinose Honami could no longer control her emotions. She hugged his waist tightly and buried her face in his chest.
"You don't need to apologize to me, I should be the one apologizing."
"I wasn't actually angry just now, I just said that on purpose."
Hashiba Hikaru patted the other person's back gently and said softly, "I did these things for other reasons."
What's the reason?
The girl's eyes were a little moist. She looked up and stared intently at her boyfriend.
"Because I don't want other people to interfere in our relationship. If Honami really feels uncomfortable, you can just tell me directly. There's no need to do this to force me to make a statement."
"If you're angry because of me, I'll do anything to make you happy."
Hashiba Hikaru stroked the girl's pretty face and smiled, "But I don't want anyone else to change your decision, as that would affect our relationship."
"So light..."
Ichinose Honami reacted quickly, immediately connecting all the boy's actions together.
"Ando- san certainly didn't mean any harm; her intention was to help you, so I didn't blame her. I just wanted to use this incident to express my attitude."
"No matter what, our relationship is between the two of us and has nothing to do with anyone else. Do you understand what I mean, Honami?"
"Hmm... I'll take care of this when we get back."
The girl looked into Hashiba Hikaru's eyes and, understanding her deeper thoughts, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The other party's meaning was clear: first, they didn't want anyone else involved in this relationship that belonged solely to the two of them; second, they were dissatisfied with the attitude the girls had just displayed.
"That's good. As expected, my Honami is a kind and understanding girl."
Hashiba Hikaru held the girl's soft waist, feeling her warm body as he mentally reviewed his actions. He was certain that his choice was correct; only by getting Ichinose to accept this line of thinking could things be easier in the future.
"Um..."
Feeling her boyfriend's tenderness, Ichinose Honami's heart was filled with an overwhelming love, and a thought suddenly occupied her mind.
"Didn't you just say that if you made me angry, you'd do anything to make me happy?"
The girl raised her head, her eyes glistening with tears and misty.
"Certainly."
"That..."
Ichinose Honami brought her mouth close to Hashiba Hikaru's ear and whispered a few words, "Is this okay?"
"... Do we really want to do it here?"
"Hmm... Anyway, Guang always bullies me, so let me bully you this time."
"Oh well."
Then, Ichinose Honami and Hashiba Hikaru entered a secluded spare classroom together. After closing the door, a rustling sound came out, followed by the boy's soft murmur.
"Let's hurry, we need to get back before the first match ends."
"Um..."
He was answered by a girl's light, airy voice, as if she were floating on clouds, filled with sweet, delightful joy.
289
In Ichinose Honami expressed her thoughts.
When the wind and rain stopped, Hashiba Hikaru helped the pink-haired girl put on her clothes. Her pretty face was still flushed, and her beautiful eyes were still moist.
"How is it? Does it feel comfortable?"
The girl rested her head on Hashiba Hikaru and gently drew circles on his chest with her fingers.