Toru Hasegawa's Favorite Thing to Do

Naturally, as the one who proposed the meal, Arisu Sakayanagi conscientiously covered the cost of dinner.

Just as Toru Hasegawa thought the meal would end as uneventfully as usual, Arisu Sakayanagi suddenly said:

"Do you mind if I take a photo with you?"

"I do mind, very much so." Toru Hasegawa shot a sidelong glance at Arisu Sakayanagi. "Isn't your motive a bit too obvious? I'm not interested in you, thanks."

Having already experienced the flat board, the last shred of curiosity was gone.

"Oh my, was I found out?" Arisu Sakayanagi showed none of the embarrassment one would expect when their intentions were exposed. "But the fact that we've been eating in the Student Cafeteria together for two days in a row must have been seen by many people already."

Toru Hasegawa: "???"

Wait, let him sort out the current situation for a moment.

He and Arisu Sakayanagi had indeed been eating together for the past two days, excluding today's lunch.

And then there was the fact that he had introduced Arisu Sakayanagi and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to everyone this afternoon...

No way...?

Was he about to shoot himself in the foot?

"Finally realized it? From the moment you stepped into the Student Cafeteria with me, you had no choice left."

Arisu Sakayanagi smiled, leisurely feeding a bite into her small mouth.

Rumors are unreasonable things; even a castle in the air can cause quite a stir, let alone one supported by actual facts.

With just a little embellishment, a story tear-jerking enough to move people would be trending on the school's social feed by tomorrow.

And the title would be—<Shocking! The Untold Story Between Hasegawa and Sakayanagi>

The content would detail how Sakayanagi pursued Hasegawa but was unrequited, eventually leading to her rejection, and perhaps even featuring a role for Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

And Toru Hasegawa's actions this afternoon would serve as the fuel for this rumor.

"...You aren't actually going to use such a trashy soap-opera tactic, are you?"

Toru Hasegawa was shocked. If she really did that, it wouldn't just be him—even Arisu Sakayanagi's own reputation would be affected!

"I don't mind. You still have time to consider; I'm going to start crying in a little while."

"Aren't you afraid I have a recording?"

To this, Arisu Sakayanagi didn't answer, merely smiling as she looked at Toru Hasegawa.

In truth, Toru Hasegawa had long understood that in the face of rumors, all explanations are futile, even if he possessed absolute evidence.

People only believe what they want to believe.

In a sense, this statement is a platitude, yet at this moment, Toru Hasegawa was suffering deeply from it.

He shouldn't have stepped headlong into the trap Arisu Sakayanagi had prepared for him.

However...

"Daga, kotowaru!"

<img src="https://e1.kuangxiangit./uplos/chaptersnew/964/264132/250327/1743075298-100434764-113160358.jpg" alt='But, I refuse!'>

Toru Hasegawa didn't want to let the other party continue to exploit his kindness. He rejected the path Arisu Sakayanagi had laid out for him. "Exploiting others' goodwill again and again, Sakayanagi, you have disappointed me!"

He left the Student Cafeteria without looking back, leaving Arisu Sakayanagi behind.

As it turned out, by the next morning, no suspicious rumors had surfaced in the class group chats or the school forum, which made Toru Hasegawa breathe a massive sigh of relief.

Don't let his resolute departure last night fool you; in reality, he had been quite anxious.

After all, that move by Arisu Sakayanagi was truly vicious. If she had actually gone through with it, his plans to find a girlfriend would have definitely gone down the drain.

After this incident, the image of Arisu Sakayanagi in his mind had deepened even further.

"Still, the things being said in the group chat that Ike pulled me into are quite interesting."

To be honest, Toru Hasegawa quite admired Ike.

He was a man who was the same inside and out; whether in reality or online, he unreservedly declared his determination to find a girlfriend.

Perhaps there might even be girls who unexpectedly like his type.

After finishing breakfast at the Student Cafeteria, Toru Hasegawa arrived at the classroom for Class A of the first year.

"Good morning, Kamuro."

He greeted Masumi Kamuro, but she ignored him as if she hadn't heard a thing.

"I know I owe you an apology, so feel free to scold me."

When you're in the wrong, you have to stand tall and take it; Toru Hasegawa lowered his posture toward Masumi Kamuro.

Hearing these words, Masumi Kamuro finally cast her gaze toward him:

"That matter was my fault from the very beginning. I have no intention of blaming you anymore."

Was she intentionally ignoring him without meaning to blame him? Toru Hasegawa knew she was lying.

However, as long as they could continue communicating, that was enough; he breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think we have a swimming class today," Toru Hasegawa tossed out as a topic.

To his surprise, Kamuro Masumi shot him a look of utter disbelief: "You wouldn't happen to be the same type as those other boys, would you?"

"No, that's quite a leap in logic. I just wanted to discuss the swimming class with you."

"I see." Kamuro Masumi didn't seem sure whether to believe his explanation, "I'm actually quite confident in my swimming ability. If they split us by gender, I should be able to take first place."

Despite never having seen anyone else's skill level, Kamuro Masumi asserted that she could take first place.

Toru Hasegawa nodded thoughtfully: "I don't have much confidence in my swimming; I'm only at the level of just knowing how to stay afloat. I hope to change that here."

"Do you want me to teach you?"

Out of the blue, Kamuro Masumi said this.

Toru Hasegawa: "???"

"Was that too abrupt? I suppose it was." Kamuro Masumi muttered to herself, yet Toru Hasegawa heard every word.

"Let me guess, this must be an order from Sakayanagi, right?"

"Huh? Of course not."

While flatly denying it, Kamuro Masumi winked at Toru Hasegawa.

Toru Hasegawa: "..."

Fine, he understood; Sakayanagi Arisu was just a bratty little girl.

The morning passed quickly. Because of what Sakayanagi Arisu had said yesterday, everyone in Class A was maintaining the demeanor of model students.

During the lunch break, Toru Hasegawa saw Sakayanagi Arisu stand up and walk toward him.

"What do you want?"

Things hadn't gotten worse, but they hadn't gotten better either. Toru Hasegawa was already losing patience with the silver-haired girl standing before him, whose height was barely different from his own while he was seated.

"This is an apology for my behavior yesterday. I'm sorry."

For the first time ever, Sakayanagi Arisu apologized to Toru Hasegawa, while simultaneously handing him a pink bento box.

"...It's fine. You didn't actually go through with it, did you?"

After a moment of silence, Toru Hasegawa realized he didn't really have any other choice.

He still had to spend the next three years with her, so what else could he do?

Naturally, he chose to forgive her!

Taking the bento box from Sakayanagi Arisu, Toru Hasegawa opened it and it looked decent enough.

Glancing slightly at Sakayanagi Arisu standing beside him, Toru Hasegawa took a bite of a small sausage inside.

"..."

"When did you make this bento?" he asked in a low voice.

"Last night. Is it good?"

"Don't you know that bento shouldn't be left overnight! It's already gone bad! Besides, this probably didn't taste good to begin with!"