Done showing off? My turn.

Nakano Itsuki blushed awkwardly. "Why would you suspect me?"

Nakano Nino said calmly, "Who else in this family is as passionate about food as you are?"

Nakano Itsuki blushed and tried to argue, but Fushimi Makoto cut in at just the right moment. "Actually, the thing Ichika's been keeping from you is connected to the club we started."

Both girls froze.

Nakano Nino unconsciously puffed out her chest and turned to stare at Itsuki. "So you knew about it all along?"

Nakano Itsuki looked utterly confused. "Knew about what?"

"Didn't you join Fushimi's club?"

"I did, but I don't know anything."

"..."

Nakano Nino was at a loss.

Itsuki's confused expression didn't look put on.

And Fushimi Makoto didn't look like he was lying, either.

So was Itsuki just too dense to notice?

Nakano Nino wondered.

The group first strolled along the shops by the roadside. The dazzling array of goods easily caught the girls' interest.

Nakano Nino and Itsuki were no exception.

After browsing for about fifteen minutes, Yumiko led everyone to a nearby park.

"This park has a lovely setting. Girls often come here to take photos."

As Yumiko spoke, her eyes stayed fixed on Fushimi Makoto.

Clearly, the professional photography skills he'd mentioned earlier had piqued her curiosity.

When Fushimi Makoto didn't answer, she simply asked, "You should be able to take some pictures of me, right?"

She didn't say anything like "Could you take some pictures for me?" Instead, she was much more direct.

Fushimi Makoto seemed not to notice. "Sure, but you have to follow my directions the whole time."

"Huh?"

Yumiko paused. That wasn't how she'd imagined this going.

Fushimi Makoto looked serious. "Photography is an art. We only have phones, not professional equipment, so we can't capture your charm as precisely. But I've always taken photography very seriously."

The words "capture your charm as precisely" instantly made Yumiko's heart soar.

He was talking about the limitations of their equipment, but still managed to compliment her along the way.

That felt great.

Yumiko agreed at once. "All right, I'll do as you say."

The two boys standing with Hayato Hayama had been playing on their phones, but now they were distracted. They murmured, "This guy seems to know what he's doing. I'm learning, I'm learning."

Hayato Hayama wasn't bothered. With his people skills, he could have come up with something similar in an instant.

He was more curious about whether it was appropriate for Fushimi Makoto to leave the two Nakano girls standing off to the side.

As a matter of fact, Nakano Nino was feeling a little annoyed.

But she wasn't annoyed with Fushimi Makoto. She was annoyed with Yumiko.

She'd ordered someone to take her picture without even asking nicely. Did she really think she was a queen?

Nakano Nino remembered what some classmates called Yumiko behind her back.

She was about to ask Itsuki what she thought, but saw her spacing out beside her.

"What are you thinking about?" Nakano Nino couldn't help asking.

Nakano Itsuki looked thoughtful. "No wonder he was so serious when he took our pictures last time. So that's what he was thinking. Photography is an art. That actually makes a lot of sense."

"Wait, you two took pictures together?" That was what Nakano Nino cared about more.

Nakano Itsuki picked up her phone. "He insisted on taking my picture last time. But he really did a great job. I especially like those photos. Oh, right..."

She remembered something and tapped her screen a few times. "I also saw a picture of Ichika and him online. Someone must have taken it at the bookstore that day."

Nakano Nino hurried over. In a post on a social media forum, there was a photo of Fushimi Makoto and Nakano Ichika.

In the picture, Nakano Ichika was smiling beautifully while Fushimi Makoto held up his phone, completely absorbed in taking her picture.

The caption read: A handsome guy and a beautiful girl have appeared at this popular bookstore.

Everyone online knew that taking photos of people without their permission was illegal, but every now and then, someone would upload a video or photo of someone else. Most of the time, they showed accidents or fights.

After reading the post, Nakano Nino happened to glance at the comment with the most likes.

Then she couldn't hold it together.

The comment said, "I don't know these two or whether they're dating, but I think they look great together. Does anyone else feel the same way?"

Nakano Nino knew the account very well.

Because it was clearly Nakano Ichika's secret account!

That was too much.

"Itsuki, screenshot this post and send it to me."

After saying that, Nakano Nino turned to look back at Fushimi Makoto.

Yumiko was already striking poses according to Fushimi Makoto's instructions.

Chapter 31: Done showing off? My turn.

At that moment, Yumiko was feeling a little strange.

In her usual popular friend group, everyone was willing to follow her lead. Even classmates outside the group treated her with a mixture of awe and admiration.

Ever since the start of the school year, she'd been surrounded by that "queen" aura.

But now, she was acting like an obedient robot, following Fushimi Makoto's instructions and posing exactly as he told her.

She felt that with her looks and figure, she'd look beautiful in any picture, as long as he didn't deliberately snap an ugly candid shot.

But Fushimi Makoto hadn't liked her taking the initiative at the start.

She should have said something, but whether it was the friendly air around Fushimi Makoto or the way he looked so serious and focused, in the end she hadn't had the nerve to interrupt him.

Hmph, let's see if you're really as good as you think.

Without realizing it, Yumiko had started to feel the kind of competitive urge only a girl could have.

"Miura, your smile's too confident. You need to soften it a little, give it a gentler feel. You understand?"

After Fushimi Makoto worked so seriously, he finally finished taking Yumiko's pictures.

She let out a long breath, as if she'd just finished a long-distance race.

At that very moment, Fushimi Makoto raised his phone again and snapped a candid shot.

"Huh? Weren't we done?" Yumiko looked up at the shutter sound.

Fushimi Makoto beckoned her over. "Come take a look."

Yumiko walked over with her arms deliberately crossed. "If you made me look bad, I'll tell you straight out."

Fushimi Makoto replied, "Fear not, General. Behold this picture."

Yumiko approached, full of questions. But the moment she glanced at the photo on his phone, she was delighted.

He made me look so good!

And every picture had the feel of a gentle young woman.

The lighting and angle in this one were perfect. It felt completely different from taking a selfie.

Yumiko's eyes sparkled as a smile slowly curved her lips. "No wonder you had me find the right angles and pay attention to my micro-expressions. So that's how you take pictures?"

"Are you satisfied?"

"Mm, very satisfied!"

Yumiko put extra emphasis on her words, her smile growing wider.

She really loved these pictures.

Usually, her selfies all had the same kind of confident smile, but Fushimi Makoto had captured her in a completely different style.

Girls who cared about their looks were always happy to get a beautiful picture of themselves.

Especially when it gave them a look they'd never seen before.

"I picked them over carefully. Four of the pictures turned out well," Fushimi Makoto said.

Yumiko was taken aback. "Four? But I like all seven."

"The other three didn't meet my standards." Fushimi Makoto suddenly became serious. "You remember what I said, right? Photography is an art."

"Oh, oh... I understand."

Seeing him turn serious all of a sudden, Yumiko found herself nodding along.

She couldn't help it. He'd made her look so good that she had every reason to trust him.

Yumiko naturally wanted the photos, but it was only now that she remembered he'd taken them with his own phone.

The blonde girl proactively raised her phone. "Let's exchange contact information, and then you can send me those four pictures."

Fushimi Makoto said, "I'll send you two first."

Yumiko was confused. "Why only two?"

"I think I can still do more with the other two. I'll touch them up and send them to you afterward."

"You can do that, too?" Yumiko was delighted.

Fushimi Makoto kept a straight face. That way, she'll keep thinking about me.

Yumiko thought to herself, He's so considerate.

Among the people she knew, only Hayato Hayama was that considerate.

But Hayato Hayama couldn't take pictures nearly as well!

Like most boys, he thought that as long as a photo showed a "human shape," he'd done the job.

A girl like Yumiko, who cared about her looks, obviously wouldn't be satisfied with pictures that merely showed "the basic outline of a person."

Girls sometimes compared boys in their minds after meeting someone new.

It wasn't malicious; it just happened unconsciously.

So after comparing Fushimi Makoto with the boys she knew, Yumiko immediately realized that he was the one who'd surprised her the most.

Hayato Hayama was a good guy, too, but there was one glaring issue with him.

Whenever they were around their classmates, he belonged to everyone. He was always everyone's Hayato Hayama, never someone's alone.

That way of acting, so overwhelmingly warm and kind, could easily leave people feeling a subtle sense of disappointment.

It wasn't only girls who felt that way. Boys who admired Hayato Hayama and wanted to become his closest friend could feel it, too.

For instance, when Hayato Hayama saw that everyone else was distracted, he led his classmates off to wander around the park.

"Thank you, Fushimi." Yumiko sounded utterly sincere.

"It was nothing," Fushimi Makoto said.

Yumiko gazed at his handsome face and smiled. "You can call me Yumiko from now on. Oh, and what do your friends usually call you?"

Fushimi Makoto said, "They all respect me enough to call me Brother Makoto."

Yumiko: "???"

The girl shot him an annoyed look and continued on her own. "Then I'll call you Makoto. We're friends now, so there's no need to be so formal."

Nakano Nino, who'd been watching from behind the whole time, had her pretty face set in a tight frown.