Chiaki Matsushita's Request

"Excuse me, sorry to bother you."

Suddenly.

Amidst the noisy chatter.

A girl with light brown hair walked up to Xu Nuo's seat, leaned forward, and pressed her palms together in a plea.

"Xu Nuo, could you come with me for a moment?"

"..."

Xu Nuo looked up, feeling instantly surprised.

It was, Chiaki Matsushita?

He instinctively glanced toward Kei Karuizawa's direction, only to find her seat completely empty.

"Kei went to the restroom~"

Seeming to notice Xu Nuo's confusion, Chiaki Matsushita explained, while her mind began to race.

As expected.

That reaction.

There was definitely something between Kei and Xu Nuo.

"Chabashira-sensei asked me to find someone to help move some teaching materials. Please, among the boys, I just feel like you're the most reliable one, Xu Nuo."

As she spoke.

Chiaki Matsushita stuck out her pink tongue in a cute gesture.

The excuse was flawless.

She even added a compliment that made it impossible to refuse, though her claim about him being reliable felt a bit fake.

After all.

If it were just about this task.

Hirata would undoubtedly be a better choice than Xu Nuo.

However.

Matsushita didn't care.

She just wanted to talk to him alone about Kei Karuizawa. Kei had been acting strange these past few days, appearing absent-minded even during their chats.

Clearly.

It had something to do with the guy in front of her.

"Sure."

Xu Nuo pondered for a moment before agreeing.

He naturally saw that her true intentions lay elsewhere, though he wasn't quite sure what her goal was.

But there was no harm in going to see.

Immediately.

Xu Nuo stood up. His tall, upright frame towered over the girl, his gaze calm as he looked down at her.

In an instant.

Chiaki Matsushita froze, momentarily dazed.

Up close.

Truly up close.

At a distance of less than fifty centimeters, the lethality of that face was devastating, enough to make one want to sink into it.

Although she had felt amazed before and had participated in the discussions among the girls, those were all from a distance, with several rows of desks and chairs between them.

But.

It was different now.

He was standing right in front of her.

A faint, subtle fragrance drifted from him.

Sunlight slanted in from the window, landing perfectly on his profile, outlining those near-perfect features. His skin was as fair as porcelain, his nose bridge was high and straight, and the curve of his lips was just right.

The most lethal part, Were those eyes—bewitching peach-blossom eyes.

Deep and pitch-black, like a bottomless vortex, even though he was just quietly watching her.

Yet inexplicably.

It made her heart race.

Calm down.

Chiaki Matsushita, you've seen plenty of handsome guys before; there's no need to act like those lovesick girls.

The young girl told herself in her heart.

However, her body's instincts were impossible to control.

Damn it!

Chiaki Matsushita's cheeks burned, and she gritted her teeth. To hide this unusual nervousness, she quickly turned around, keeping her voice as natural as possible.

"Let's go, then."

Soon.

The two left the classroom.

One following the other, they didn't attract much attention.

Airi Sakura was the exception; after all, she had been secretly watching Xu Nuo ever since she arrived in the classroom.

"..."

The girl lay on her desk, her pink hair covering most of her face, leaving only a pair of azure eyes visible as she peeked through her non-prescription glasses.

She saw it.

Chiaki Matsushita walked over to Xu Nuo's side to talk.

And then.

They left the classroom together.

Does Matsushita-san like Xu Nuo-kun...

Are they...

Dating?

As soon as this thought emerged.

Airi Sakura felt a sharp pang in her heart.

Immediately after.

The images from last night flooded her mind: in the dark room, she lay on her bed and began her saintly chanting.

"Ngh..."

Airi Sakura let out a faint whimper, her entire face turning bright red in an instant. She hurriedly buried her face in her arms, her body acting strangely once again.

Shame.

Guilt.

And a hint of possessiveness.

Don't... don't let anyone else take him away...

The girl prayed softly in her heart, her eyes misting over as her thighs instinctively pressed together.

The hallway was quiet.

With class about to start, most students were in their classrooms, with only a few idle students passing by occasionally.

Their gazes couldn't help but fall on Xu Nuo.

Especially the girls.

Their eyes held undisguised awe.

Chiaki Matsushita naturally noticed this, and she quietly observed the guy beside her from the corner of her eye.

His posture while walking was very relaxed, his pace steady and unhurried. He exuded a lazy, casual air, completely unaffected by these stares.

Or rather, he was long accustomed to being watched.

How interesting~

Chiaki Matsushita analyzed silently in her heart.

Top-tier appearance, yet his behavioral patterns were deliberately low-key. Although his self-introduction sounded quite chuunibyou, it was impossible for him not to know that it would be mocked...

So, was this intentional?

Was he deliberately using such an absurd performance to mask his outstanding looks and discourage people from hitting on him?

This, This is simply.

It's just like me!

Thinking of this, the corners of the girl's mouth curled up slightly.

She began to develop a genuine interest in this classmate, and not just because of that face.

"Matsushita-san."

At this moment.

Xu Nuo suddenly spoke, interrupting her train of thought.

"You called me out here,"

"May I ask what for?"

He was straightforward, staring at the girl before him.

Chiaki Matsushita.

Among the girls in Class D, she was the type who knew how to dress well and was quite popular.

Her soft, light-brown hair had a slight natural curl at the ends, and her bangs hung gently over her forehead, framing the delicate contours of her oval face.

Her skin was fair and smooth, with barely a blemish in sight.

Hearing this.

Chiaki Matsushita was slightly taken aback.

She hadn't expected him to be so blunt, skipping the pleasantries entirely, which caught her off guard.

Furthermore.

He had seen right through her before she could even state her purpose.

This made her feel somewhat uneasy.

But soon.

Chiaki Matsushita took a deep breath, quickly adjusted her expression, and put on a troubled look.

"Um,"

"Actually, I wanted to ask."

"Kei's state these past few days seems a bit off; she always looks a little distracted."

"She'll suddenly zone out while chatting, and sometimes she doesn't even hear me when I call her name..."

"So—"

Chiaki Matsushita's tone was filled with concern as she cautiously asked, "I wanted to know if something unpleasant happened between you and her?"

However.

She didn't mention why she thought that.

The air remained silent for a few seconds.

"..."

Xu Nuo pondered for a moment, not answering immediately.

After a long while.

He finally spoke.

"I can't answer that."

"What?"

Chiaki Matsushita was stunned.

After such a long silence, she had expected him to make up an excuse, change the subject, or even flat-out refuse to answer, but the words "I can't"...

What did that mean?

"Do me a favor."

Xu Nuo spoke slowly, feeling it was time to have a proper talk with his childhood friend who had suddenly reappeared in his life.

"What favor?"

The girl asked instinctively.

"After school, please help me get Kei to the rooftop, but please be careful not to mention my name."

Xu Nuo said.