Beihai's eyes lit up. This was a perfect opportunity. He immediately stood and took a couple of steps forward. This was exactly when Sakura Airisu's usefulness came into play.
"Oh? Sakura, aren't you coming downstairs to play with us?"
Sakura Airisu raised her head. Seeing Beihai get to his feet, she instinctively stood up too.
Then Beihai took a couple of steps forward, and she naturally followed behind him. She had no idea what they were going to do, but following along was the right choice.
That was just the sort of person she was. She might have been a little shy, but she didn't seem to know how to refuse people. Even now, despite having no idea what they were going to do, she still followed Beihai.
Kiyotaka Kiyotaka saw his buddy head off first. He lowered his head and blinked, then stood up as well—only for someone in front of him to block his way.
Suzune Horikita stood before him. The ice queen facing off against a poker-faced guy—it was practically a sniper duel in the middle lane.
Kiyotaka Kiyotaka's mind was busy, and he started complaining too.
This wasn't how things were supposed to go. Why was he the one getting stopped? Did this girl have no sense of personal boundaries?
For the first time, he hated someone for having no sense of boundaries.
Meanwhile, Beihai made a clean getaway, taking Sakura Airisu to the convenience store. They used their free time to buy some snacks.
In the end, the two found a place to sit and shared their snacks. They no longer had to worry about the swimming pool.
"Mmm, mmm, Beihai, this candy tastes so weird. It's got a peppery flavor, and it's a little spicy."
"Is that so? The snacks at this store really are something else."
Beihai said this without a shred of sympathy, though he was in a great mood. But that happy feeling didn't last long.
After swimming class, they changed and headed to the classroom to gather. Then, when class ended, they were dismissed and went to eat.
By lunchtime, the class's sense of crisis had begun to kick in. Most of them started borrowing points from one another, and the game consoles they'd bought for tens of thousands of points were now being sold off cheap for just twenty thousand.
Beihai didn't care about any of that. He only cared about that expressionless guy, who had come over again. He hated people with no sense of boundaries.
And he'd scared his adorable Sakura away, too.
"Want to go eat together?"
Beihai flat-out rejected his friendly invitation.
"Sorry, that's not really possible. You've still got some trouble to deal with."
As soon as Beihai finished speaking, the trouble in question came walking over. Sure enough, it was the same Black Long Hair, Suzune Horikita.
"Do you have time? If you do, how about we go have lunch together?"
Kiyotaka Kiyotaka: "..."
She was a beautiful girl, and she was inviting him to lunch. That was part of the high school experience, but he had to admit he kind of hated people with no sense of boundaries.
Faced with her suggestion, Kiyotaka thought it over. Should he let his little head take control of his big head, or should he make a friend and have a proper talk with his first close friend to grow closer?
It didn't take him long to decide. This girl was obviously trouble.
"No thanks. I don't have time. I already made plans with a friend."
Kiyotaka Kiyotaka tried out the "friend circle" strategy. Everyone had their own friends, and those friends formed a social circle that outsiders couldn't break into.
Suzune Horikita frowned and looked at the two standing together. No matter how she looked at them, they didn't seem like the sort who would get along.
"Is that your excuse? It's painfully flimsy. And I'm not going to say it a second time."
With a quick motion, she pulled something out. It gleamed in the light. It looked like a compass!
Kiyotaka Kiyotaka remained calm and refused her again.
"I don't..."
A sudden stab of pain shot through his shoulder. Kiyotaka Kiyotaka clutched it and cried out.
Beihai instinctively took two steps back. The guy beside him seemed like a total masochist.
Damn it, those two are treating me like I'm part of their little play! How infuriating. If my Sakura were here, how could I let the two of you get away with this?
After complaining to himself, Beihai turned and walked away.
For the first time, Kiyotaka Kiyotaka's expression wavered. He might not have understood a lot of things, but he knew he couldn't let his friend think he was a pervert. Otherwise, there'd be no clearing his name.
What if she took things even further, and his friend stopped coming to help him?
He couldn't worry about the aloof beauty anymore. He hurried after Beihai and grabbed his arm when he got close, afraid of being misunderstood. If he ended up branded a pervert, that would be even more terrifying than having no social life.
If the label stuck, he could kiss his chances of dating anyone goodbye for the next three years—and lose those three years of school life, too. By the end of it, people would greet him with a humiliating nickname.
"Beihai, she came to see me because she wants to get into Class A, but I'm not interested. Still, she's clearly got her eye on me and wants me to help her.
"To put it more accurately, she wants to take me on as her underling."
Beihai didn't slow down. If anything, he walked faster.
"You don't need to explain yourself to me. You're making me a little scared, and I don't believe she could tell at a glance that you're talented."
Beihai knew Kiyotaka Kiyotaka was the sort of character who was expressionless and didn't come across well when he spoke. In class, he could only be described as a weirdo.
There was no doubt he'd have trouble fitting into a social circle. And if he had any talent, most people would overlook it.
First impressions mattered far too much. People even paid attention to how someone looked.
As for Suzune Horikita, Beihai hadn't interacted with her and didn't know her well. But her way of handling things was absolutely outrageous. Just the fact that she'd stabbed someone with a compass was hard to describe.
"It was because of that exam last time. The teacher called me into the office, and I made a mistake with my disguise.
"By chance, the homeroom teacher called Suzune Horikita in at the same time. She wants to get into Class A, and the homeroom teacher put me forward. That's why she's clinging to me."
Beihai didn't stop walking. He only asked,
"How did you handle that exam?"
"I went with the middle ground. I got fifty on every subject. I didn't expect my disguise to be so perfect and still get seen through. I should've done what you did: finish one subject, then lie down and sleep."
Kiyotaka Kiyotaka answered honestly. He took advice well, after all. Close friends could naturally talk about things like this.
And once he'd said it all out loud, he felt much better.
Having an outlet to vent could change a person's state of mind. After all, a therapist's job was to guide people and serve as an outlet for their emotions. You could tell a therapist all the things weighing on your mind.
Kiyotaka was feeling better, but Beihai wasn't.
"Was I trying to sleep? But hearing you say all that, I almost feel sorry for you. Still, there's not much I can do to help.
"Do you even hear yourself? You went for the middle ground and scored exactly fifty on everything. You were practically begging people to notice you were holding back, you hidden master!"
The two still ended up at the cafeteria. Beihai didn't say anything; he just ordered himself a regular meal.
Before you continue