When the Hypocritical Mask Shatters

Over the following period, Shinomiya Ju Fan constantly tested the limits of Sakura Airi. He played the bad cop, while Kikyo took charge of the psychological counseling afterward. To prevent any new mental health issues arising from excessive stress, she played the good cop.

Facts proved that Shinomiya Ju Fan's theory was correct; Sakura's cowardly personality had already seen significant improvement. She had also become the only person who knew that Shinomiya Ju Fan and Kikyo shared an unusually intimate relationship.

"Sakura, go buy me a cup of coffee."

"No way. You aren't busy anyway, so why don't you go buy it yourself? It would be a good way to treat that nasty personality of yours."

"Aren't you afraid I'll tell everyone about you working as a gravure model?"

"If you do, I'll just tell Kikyo-san."

Just like that, Sakura was no longer afraid of Shinomiya Ju Fan's threats. In other words, this matter no longer held much importance in her heart. Habit became second nature, and because Shinomiya Ju Fan had constantly used this matter to threaten her, she had developed a resistance to it. Humans are creatures with incredibly strong adaptability.

Moreover, she had grasped Shinomiya Ju Fan's weak point and had learned how to fight back. When conversing with Shinomiya Ju Fan and Kikyo, she no longer stuttered. Her personality had also become closer to the persona she performed as, Shizuku. In a sense, she had truly made great progress. The only pity was that Shinomiya Ju Fan had lost a useful tool.

"Spare me, then. How are your studies coming along?"

At this moment, there was only one week left until the midterm exams. During this period, Sudo and Ike had already completed their study tasks, so they no longer needed to attend the study sessions. Therefore, only Shinomiya Ju Fan and Sakura were in the library at this time.

"Mm, it's fine. I've basically memorized the content of that test paper. I've also caught up on the study progress I missed. This is all thanks to Shinomiya-kun's careful guidance."

From the very beginning, Sakura had been unable to sense any malice from Shinomiya Ju Fan. However, the things he did were even more detestable than the actions of those who radiated malice. That was why Sakura had hated him at first.

But for some reason, she was unable to resist his commands; she would often suddenly lose consciousness, only to find herself appearing in a strange place afterward. This had once made her feel fear. However, the instances of suddenly losing consciousness had become increasingly rare.

Although she couldn't find the reason, Sakura knew it must have something to do with Shinomiya-kun. It was just that she had no evidence. Compared to what she had gained, these things had instead become irrelevant.

Originally, she was afraid of interacting with people, afraid of looking into others' eyes when speaking, and afraid of staying in crowded places. Why exactly did it become like this? She couldn't remember when it started. But the only thing she could be certain of was that humans cannot survive alone.

Thus, she found a way: living with a hypocritical mask, hiding her true self. Only then could she live as herself. She could survive in this pitch-black, lonely world.

However, she still hoped that someone could break this dark prison and lead her into a world of light. Was everyone living with a hypocritical mask? She wanted to know the answer to this question.

Yet, such a person never appeared; her life remained dull and boring, and she remained lonely. Unchanging. Until that day arrived, and her ordinary daily life was shattered. But it didn't lead her to the light; instead, she fell into an even deeper darkness. She even once thought she had arrived in hell.

Now, she knew that was merely the darkness before the dawn. Shinomiya Ju Fan was a person she couldn't understand. His personality was nasty, and he liked to threaten her with things she desperately wanted to hide at every turn. But he was the only one who looked at her squarely. Even after seeing her appearance without her glasses, his attitude remained unchanged from before. This gave her a sense of being acknowledged.

Mm, she believed her appearance was quite cute. She knew this from the number of fans she had online. Even so, he remained indifferent, to the point that Sakura even suspected he might be impotent.

It wasn't until she asked Kikyo-san that she received an unexpected answer: [That person just has the heart for it but lacks the guts.] She vaguely remembered that when Kikyo-san said this, she had a look of disgust on her face. From that point on, she felt that this person, Shinomiya Ju Fan, didn't seem so detestable after all.

Karaoke, cafes, amusement parks, movie theaters—the places she had fantasized about going to once she had friends—they had experienced them all together. She even started to feel that it wouldn't be bad if this life continued. Even though she was the one being threatened. It was truly a bit strange.

And at this moment, she heard the words that would have originally made her ecstatic.

"Is that so? Then this study session is officially over. It's hard to imagine you would grow so quickly; it seems there's nothing to worry about. From now on, you don't need to worry about being threatened by me. My goal has been achieved. I won't use that matter to threaten you again. Congratulations, Sakura-san, you are free."

"Eh? ...What? Did I do something wrong?"

She didn't need to be threatened anymore; originally, upon hearing these words, she should have felt happy. But now, she felt as if a crack had opened in her heart. It seemed as if something was sliding down before her eyes.

"Hm? Why do you ask... But, so Sakura, you really hated being threatened that much. To think you'd be moved to tears of joy upon knowing you don't need to be threatened anymore—I really did do something excessive. My apologies, Sakura-san."

No, you don't need to apologize, Shinomiya-kun. To the current me, that was a salvation.

Watching Shinomiya Ju Fan's apologetic demeanor, Sakura felt a tightness in her chest; it shouldn't be like this. But she knew there was one sentence she had to say right now, otherwise, she would surely never have this courage again.

"Then, can I still be friends with Kikyo-san and you, Shinomiya-kun?"

"What's this? So you actually considered me a friend, Sakura. You really are a kind person. Of course, you're welcome anytime, but don't just come to my room whenever you want. It's not a good influence for a girl to be coming and going from a boys' dormitory as she pleases. It would be hard to explain if someone saw you."

"Ha? You're saying that now? That's not something someone who used threats to drag me to his dorm on the very first day should say. But, I'll be counting on you from now on, Ju Fan-kun!"

Whether it was Shinomiya Ju Fan's imagination or not, something about Sakura seemed to have changed. It was as if the things that had originally bound her had vanished. What Shinomiya Ju Fan didn't know was that, at the same time, within the Friend System, Sakura Airi's favorability was skyrocketing at a rocket-like speed, rising from 40 to 80 (Close Friend?) in an instant, only 20 points away from the maxed-out Kikyo.

In a sense, it was truly terrifying; Shinomiya Ju Fan seemed to have awakened something incredible...