My Shizuku is actually an introverted girl?

Uesugi Hara slipped back into the classroom just as the final bell for class rang.

Half the reason was to avoid Morishita Ai—who knew what bizarre games she might come up with if she got her hands on that hair tie again? The other half was genuine embarrassment; thinking back on being chased out of the classroom earlier, Uesugi Hara still felt awkward.

Uesugi Hara glanced toward Morishita Ai in the front. She was hunched over, flipping through a book, her hair tips swaying gently with her movements. She looked no different than usual—it seemed her anger over the cheering incident yesterday had completely dissipated.

He let out a sigh of relief and opened his own textbook.

This period was an English class taught by their homeroom teacher, Mashima Tomoya. Uesugi Hara tapped his desk: in terms of English proficiency, he didn't really need to listen, but then again, a student should act like a student, so he still had to attend the class properly.

However, anyone who has been a student knows that once you have no intention of listening from the bottom of your heart, a dozen ways to kill time will always pop up.

His fingertips tapped the desk unconsciously, his gaze fixed on the textbook but unfocused. He drifted into a daze, much like Kamuro Masumi sitting next to him.

The only difference was that he was thinking about going to Class D later, while there was no telling what Kamuro Masumi was thinking about.

Before the bell for the end of class had even finished ringing, Mashima Tomoya had already picked up his lesson plan and walked out of the classroom, completely ignoring the half-finished grammar point still on the blackboard.

The teachers at this school really are something else!

Uesugi Hara thought to himself. If it were his high school teachers, and they hadn't finished the content before a meal break, they would force the knowledge down the students' throats even if it was time to eat before letting them go.

Since Mashima Tomoya had already left, it was time for Uesugi Hara to head out.

At the entrance of the Class D classroom.

Uesugi Hara leaned halfway against the doorframe, craning his neck to look inside, his eyes scanning the room as if searching for someone.

The students of Class D were drawn to this sudden "outsider," and their reactions varied.

The most nervous was Kushida Kikyo. The moment she saw Uesugi Hara, her back stiffened, and her fingers gripping her pen tightened.

They had been in the same class in high school, and Uesugi Hara had seen the true face behind her sweet mask clearly. She had always feared that he might be loose-lipped one day and spill her secrets.

She had intended to talk to him last weekend, but a friend had dragged her away, and she had been planning to find an opportunity this week. She hadn't expected him to come looking for her first.

Her heart was in her throat, but Uesugi Hara only gave her a faint glance. He wasn't here to see her, and besides, he had zero interest in her convoluted little dramas.

On the other side, a few girls huddled together were already whispering, "Is that Uesugi Hara from Class A? He's so handsome..."

Comments like these clearly didn't sit well with some of the boys.

"Tch, if I had that face, I wouldn't have to worry about girls not handing me love letters," one boy muttered, his tone laced with sour, grinding teeth.

Someone next to him immediately chimed in, raising his voice: "What's the use of being handsome? Can you eat it? Unlike me, I made it to the national tournament in table tennis in elementary school, and I was the ace pitcher for the baseball club in middle school, jersey number four! If I hadn't injured my leg during the high school league, I'd still be shining on the field! I'm that good, and I don't go around showing off, do I?"

As he spoke, he nudged Sudo Ken next to him: "Sudo, say something too? Don't just stare!"

Sudo Ken frowned and clicked his tongue. His eyes were fixed blankly on Uesugi Hara at the door, and after a long while, he muttered, "...So noisy." It seemed he felt that the group's discussion was truly meaningless.

"Ayanokoji... Ayanokoji..." Uesugi Hara's gaze scanned the Class D classroom, not paying any mind to the curious or awkward stares around him. "Found him—his seat is actually in about the same spot as mine in Class A."

He shifted his gaze to the other side of the room: "The girl with red hair... she's over there." But seeing the girl hunched over in a self-deprecating posture, he frowned again. "She doesn't look much like the photos Shizuku-chan sent..."

Just as he was about to call out for Ayanokoji, someone spoke up from the side: "Hello there, I'm Hirata Yosuke from Class D. Who are you looking for?"

Uesugi Hara looked toward the voice and saw a boy with yellow hair wearing a perfectly friendly smile, looking like a warm-hearted, good-natured person. He abandoned the idea of shouting and replied politely: "Hello, I'm Uesugi Hara from Class A. I'm here to see Ayanokoji."

"I see." Hirata Yosuke nodded with a smile and turned to call toward the back of the classroom, "Ayanokoji-kun, someone is looking for you."

"Got it." A faint response came from Ayanokoji in the back.

In fact, he had spotted Uesugi Hara at the door a while ago, but he couldn't figure out why this guy had suddenly come to Class D. Hearing that he was looking for him, his brows furrowed imperceptibly.

On the other side, when Kushida Kikyo heard "looking for Ayanokoji," her heart dropped back into her chest. She quietly let out a sigh of relief and, in her mind, moved the plan to "talk to Uesugi Hara this week" further up her schedule.

As soon as Ayanokoji stepped out of the classroom, Uesugi Hara grabbed him and pulled him toward a corner of the hallway without a word, giving him no chance to speak.

"What's this about? Being so mysterious," Ayanokoji asked, puzzled.

"It's just... I have a friend." Uesugi Hara distanced himself; after all, he really couldn't talk about looking at a girl's gravure photos. He rubbed his hands together and said vaguely, "He found something out and asked me if I knew anyone in Class D to help him check. So, you were the first person I thought of."

A faint trace of doubt flickered in Ayanokoji's calm eyes: "Something related to our class? I might not necessarily know about it."

"It doesn't have to be related to your class, I just want you to take a look for me." Uesugi Hara took out his terminal, performed a few operations, pulled up the picture from yesterday, and handed it to Ayanokoji. "Take a look, is this person the red-haired girl in your class?"

Is he looking for Sakura-san?

The thought crossed Ayanokoji's mind, and he lowered his eyes to look at the terminal screen Uesugi Hara was holding.

This is Sakura-san?

He stared at the picture for a few seconds and said slowly: "Although her personality doesn't seem quite like it, the face shape and the size of her chest... it should be Sakura-san."

Uesugi Hara's mouth hung open, and a string of crooked question marks flashed through his brain (tilted, upside down, upright, mixed: ?ذ؟¿?ذ؟¿). He only asked him to identify the person! Who told him to identify the size of her chest?!

Ayanokoji waited for a moment without hearing a response, looked up, and met Uesugi Hara's complex gaze, which was a mix of shock, confusion, a bit of disgust, and understanding.

"Ayanokoji," Uesugi Hara cleared his throat, patted him on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "Stop staring at people's chests in the future; it's easy to be mistaken for a pervert."

Now it was Ayanokoji's turn to be silent.

Yabai!

How could he have said something like that? Could it be that he had been corrupted by those two guys, Yamauchi and Ike, recently?

Uesugi Hara ignored his momentary daze and pressed on: "So, you're saying the girl in the photo is definitely from your class?"

"Yeah." Ayanokoji nodded and added, "Her name is Sakura Airi."

"So Shizuku-chan's name is Sakura Airi..." Uesugi Hara muttered subconsciously.

Shizuku-chan?

Ayanokoji glanced up at him. "That 'friend' of yours, wouldn't happen to be yourself, would it?" His tone was flat, as if stating a fact.

"Cough, cough--how could it be." Uesugi Hara choked slightly, quickly waving his hands to smooth things over. "I'm just asking on behalf of someone else. By the way," he quickly changed the subject, "what is Sakura-san's... personality like?"

A flicker of realization crossed Ayanokoji's eyes, but he didn't call him out, following the lead instead. "Introverted, shy, and very timid. She's afraid of interacting with people and hates being stared at. She doesn't have any friends in Class D."

"I see..." Uesugi Hara nodded thoughtfully, tucking his terminal into his pocket. "Got it, I'll tell my friend later. Thanks, Ayanokoji, I'll treat you to a meal next time." With that, he waved his hand. "I'm heading off."

"Yeah." Ayanokoji watched Uesugi Hara's retreating back, lost in thought.

As Uesugi Hara passed by the Class D classroom, he subconsciously glanced inside. In the corner, Sakura Airi was hunched over in her seat, her head buried so low it was almost touching the desk, her hair hanging down to shield her face. She looked even more timid than Ayanokoji had described.

Huh--

I never expected my Shizuku-chan to be a socially anxious girl in reality.

This might be a bit difficult to approach.

With these thoughts swirling in his mind, he didn't stop his pace, quickly walking away down the hallway.