Would You Believe Me?

"Don't joke around!"

Horikita's tone grew even more aggressive. "Do you know what you're doing? If you still choose to ignore this, they'll face expulsion.

Why? Why do you know the truth, yet still not dare to step forward?"

Sakura bit her lip. Horikita's questioning brought a mist of tears to her eyes.

Timid by nature, she had no idea how to handle Horikita's expectations right now.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry!"

Sakura stood up and desperately fled the scene.

Two teardrops drifted through the air with the breeze, falling onto the warm floor and vanishing in an instant.

Horikita did not stop her from leaving. Powerlessly, she leaned against the bench, tilted her head back, and gazed at the evening glow in the distance.

A few seconds later, Horikita suddenly gritted her teeth and rose from the bench, viciously smashing the drink bottle in her hand against the ground.

The drink splashed everywhere, even splattering onto her cheeks, but she did not react.

It was so frustrating. The answer was right before her eyes, yet she could not grasp it, could not prove their innocence.

It was unbearably frustrating!

"Hey, hey, littering like that isn't good. They might even deduct class points."

A familiar voice sounded behind her, and a profile she had been looking at for over two months entered her sight.

Hachiman Hikigaya crouched down, picked up the drink bottle Horikita had thrown away, and walked over to toss it into a trash can.

A cold sensation touched her cheek, and Horikita instinctively flinched away.

When she turned her head, Hachiman was holding a newly bought drink with a mischievous grin.

"Here, have a drink."

"Thank you."

Horikita absentmindedly accepted the drink as Hachiman's voice rang beside her.

"Don't always wear such a stiff expression. Try smiling a little. You're actually really cute when you smile."

Horikita frowned and sighed. "I truly don't understand where you get your ability to relax. Disaster is practically upon us."

"Even if you're going to die, you have to die smiling. Otherwise, how ugly would that be?"

He opened the drink in his hand and took a sip, savoring it along with the surrounding warmth. An inexplicable sense of refreshment welled up inside him.

Sure enough, cold drinks were a necessity in summer.

"Sakura is very introverted, you know. If you keep pressuring her like that, it'll put a lot of stress on her."

At those words, Horikita instantly exploded.

"What? I don't think I did anything wrong. She's currently our only witness. Other than that, I truly can't think of any other way.

I really did my best to find other evidence that could keep you... all of you from being expelled."

"It doesn't matter even if there's no evidence."

"Are you an idiot? If it doesn't matter, then you'll be expelled."

Horikita clenched her teeth as she said this.

Hachiman let out a soft laugh.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Horikita cares about me more than I expected. Don't tell me you can't bear to see me expelled? In that case... ah, Horikita must have fallen for me, right?"

Her hand chop landed in its usual spot, making Hachiman bare his teeth in pain.

"Please stop making jokes like that. They aren't funny at all."

Horikita stood up, unwilling to show any more weakness in front of Hachiman.

"What a dishonest woman!"

He calmly looked toward the distant horizon. The last streak of sunset hovered at the edge of the sky, about to fade away and give way to the final darkness of night.

The next afternoon, the classroom was filled with a deathly silence. Aside from a few carefree students, everyone else was working hard over the matter involving Hachiman and Sudo.

As the final bell of the afternoon rang, Class D reached a dead end.

They had very little time left.

The calmest people in the entire class were undoubtedly Ayanokoji, Koenji, and Hachiman.

As far as the first two were concerned, it had nothing to do with them no matter who got expelled.

Although Ayanokoji had helped investigate the matter, everyone was merely a chess piece in his heart. There was no need to panic and lose one's composure over chess pieces.

Koenji had ignored the matter from beginning to end. The moment school ended, he left the classroom to ask an upperclassman out on a date.

Hachiman was calm as well. The backup plan he had set in motion had already begun to sprout. All he needed to do was wait quietly.

Besides that, he had great faith in Ayanokoji. He believed Ayanokoji would definitely think of a way to help them get through this crisis.

As usual, he returned to the Dormitory, only to find a female classmate he had not seen in quite some time standing outside his room.

Wang Meiyu, an international student from China.

"Did you need something from me?"

Hachiman's voice echoed through the silent hallway, startling Wang Meiyu, who had been lost in thought.

Her gaze toward Hachiman carried a hint of disappointment. She nodded gently but said nothing.

Seeing this, Hachiman opened the door.

"Come in."

Wang Meiyu lowered her head and walked into Hachiman's room. He poured two glasses of water and sat down beside her.

"All right, can you tell me now? What did you come to see me about?"

Wang Meiyu held her cup in both hands, her face looking terribly pale.

"Hikigaya, you're innocent, right?"

"Hard to say. After all, there's no evidence proving that I'm innocent."

Hachiman did not defend himself and said it with complete calm.

"No... it definitely isn't like that."

"Would you believe me?"

"I do! I believed from the very beginning that Hikigaya was innocent!"

Wang Meiyu said excitedly, patting her chest as tears welled in her eyes.

After all that effort, the distance between her and the boy she liked had finally grown closer, only for them to face something like this.

She was heartbroken. Whenever the image of Hachiman being expelled surfaced in her mind, she felt unbearably unwilling to accept it.

She wanted things to continue—wanted to keep teaching Hachiman English in a room where the two of them were alone.

Looking back on the memories of these past days, those had probably been some of the few moments when she had felt truly happy.

"But... I worked so hard to find evidence, and I still couldn't help you, Hikigaya."

She desperately wiped at her tears with both hands, only to find that she could not wipe them away no matter what she did.

Tears dripped onto her skirt. She gave up struggling and let them fall.

Just like in the face of this incident, she was trying desperately yet could do nothing.

"That's not true."

Hachiman spoke as one hand reached out and gently rested atop Wang Meiyu's head.

She froze slightly, then raised her head to meet Hachiman's eyes.

Hachiman showed a lovely smile and gently rubbed her head, messing up her beautiful hair a little.

"Xiao Mei being willing to believe me already counts as helping me. So you don't need to feel guilty. For Xiao Mei's sake, I won't be expelled."

Hachiman's eyes were filled with confidence and gentleness.

"Would you believe me?"

Would the same question receive a different answer?

The answer was...

Wang Meiyu wiped away her tears and nodded firmly.

"I believe you. I believe you."

I'll always believe in you, Hikigaya. No matter what happens, I'm willing to believe you.

Thank you for your gentleness. Thank you...

I'll work hard. I'll work hard to become stronger, so I can become someone who can ease your worries and solve your troubles.

Someone who can stand by your side.