The afternoon sun shines on the corridor floor, making the figures look slender and indifferent.
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji had just escaped from the chaotic noise of Class D's classroom. Before he could speed up his steps, a crisp and soft call came from behind him.
"Please wait, Ayanokoji."
He stopped and turned around.
Kikyou Kushida was standing at the corner of the corridor not far behind him. The sunlight poured in from the side window, casting a warm halo on her short, smooth light brown hair.
She clasped her hands in front of her, tilted her head slightly, with that iconic, sweet and friendly smile on her face - a smile that was extremely lethal in Class D and even in the entire grade.
But Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's heart is not as peaceful as it seems.
He had just escaped from the chain reaction caused by Karuizawa Kei in the classroom, and witnessed the farce between Hiro Ikechi, Haruki Yamauchi and Ken Sudō. At this moment, he just wanted to leave this place of right and wrong quickly.
"What's the matter, Kushida?"
He kept an expressionless and calm tone, "If it's what Yamauchi said just now... I can only say that it has nothing to do with me. I hope you won't take your anger out on me."
"No -"
Kikyou Kushida quickly waved his hand, with a smile on his face that showed a hint of helplessness and accustomed indifference, "I'm used to them always being like that. Just don't take their words to heart. If I get angry every time, I won't be able to get angry."
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji silently felt pity for the three living treasures who were still noisy in the classroom for a few tenths of a second in their hearts - the goddess they thought about and argued about endlessly, in fact, they didn't take their words to heart at all.
This one-sided fanaticism is somewhat of a farce.
"So--Kushida came to me, is there something wrong?"
He brought the topic back on track.
Kikyou Kushida's smile faded slightly, replaced by an expression that was somewhat pleading and expectant.
She took half a step forward and lowered her voice a bit. "It's still the same... I still want to make friends with little Suzune, but she still refuses to pay attention to me. So, I would like to ask you to help me set up a bridge again."
She lowered her head slightly, with just the right amount of softness and pleading in her tone. "After all, little Suzune doesn't communicate with other girls in the class, and the only boy who can say a few words to her is you. So... please, Ayanokoji, help me one more time."
She raised her head, with a moist light in her bright eyes, and coupled with her pitiful expression, it was full of lethality - if the person standing here was Hiro Ikechi or Haruki Yamauchi, I'm afraid she would have already agreed with her chest patted on her chest.
But Kiyotaka Ayanokouji is not them.
"But... I've tried it so many times before, but it still doesn't work."
His tone was still calm, with a hint of wanting to evade.
"The last time - I promise this will be the last time!"
Kikyou Kushida quickly raised a finger, his eyes serious and sincere, "If it still fails this time, I will never trouble you again, okay? Ayanokoji?"
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji looked at her eyes that were shining with earnestness, and involuntarily glanced at the classroom door with his peripheral vision.
Sure enough, Haruki Yamauchi and Hiro Ikechi were leaning half out of the classroom door, staring intensely at the scene where he was talking to Kikyou Kushida, with flames called "jealousy" and "curiosity" burning in their eyes.
He could almost imagine that if he rejected Kikyou Kushida here, those two people would immediately rush up and bother him with all kinds of questions until he doubted his life.
"... Okay."
He finally sighed, "Then I'll help you one last time."
"Great! Thank you, Ayanokoji!"
Kikyou Kushida's face immediately burst into a bright smile, as if the pitiful expression just now had never existed.
"This time I chose the newly opened cafe next to the school. The environment is very good and the atmosphere is very good. Please bring little Suzune there. I will pretend to meet you by chance and leave the rest to me."
"Okay, then I'll do as you say."
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji accepted this task, but had a vague premonition in his heart.
He always felt that with Suzune Horikita's keen and indifferent character, this kind of "accidental encounter" trick might not be so easy to fool.
Facts have proved that his hunch is never wrong.
The first half of the plan went really smoothly.
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji found Suzune Horikita and successfully persuaded Suzune Horikita to accompany him to that cafe with the lame-sounding but barely reasonable excuse of "The newly opened cafe seems to be very popular with girls. I feel a little embarrassed to go alone. I want to experience the feeling of youth but a grown man doesn't dare to go there."
Although Suzune Horikita still ignored him along the way, he did not refuse to go with him. This was already a sign of respect.
However - when the two of them sat down in the coffee shop, ordered drinks, and before they had a chance to take a sip, Kikyou Kushida "just happened to" open the door and walk in.
She happened to see them, waved her hand in surprise, and then walked towards their table.
Everything is arranged just right.
But Suzune Horikita's reaction completely exceeded Kikyou Kushida's expectations.
She put down the untouched cup of latte in her hand, raised her cold eyes without any warmth, and her sharp gaze was like a scalpel, scanning back and forth on the faces of Kikyou Kushida and Kiyotaka Ayanokouji.
"It's really upsetting."
Her voice was cold and clear, like ice water in winter, falling on the table word by word.
"What on earth do you want to do? Don't tell me any excuses like 'coincidence' - I noticed when I came in just now that the tables nearby are all classmates from our class. As for you, Kushida, as soon as you came over, they all left - as if they were specially trying to make room for you."
She narrowed her eyes slightly and her gaze became sharper. "What do you two want to do?"
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's hand holding the coffee cup paused slightly, and said to himself, "It's true."
With Suzune Horikita's powers of observation and alertness, it would be impossible for this level of "accidental encounter" strategy to deceive her eyes.
The smile on Kikyou Kushida's face froze slightly for a moment, but soon returned to its gentle and friendly expression.
She also seemed to realize that there was no point in continuing to hide it.
"Horikita classmate--please be friends with me!"
She said straight to the point, with an almost persistent sincerity in her eyes.
"I think I've said it several times - I want you to leave me alone."
Suzune Horikita's tone remained cold and unwavering, "I don't intend to cause any trouble to the class. Isn't this okay?"
"But... the solitary student life is too lonely..."
There was an almost imperceptible tremor in Kikyou Kushida's voice, "I want to become friends with everyone in the class. I don't want to see anyone isolated or left out."
"I'm not going to deny what you want to do."
Suzune Horikita looked directly into her eyes, and his tone was calm but with a force that could not be ignored, "But it is wrong for you to involve other people. Because I don't think there is anything lonely about being alone."
"B-but--"
"Besides--"
Suzune Horikita didn't give her a chance to finish, and continued, "Suppose we become friends reluctantly, do you think I will be happy? Do you think this kind of forced relationship can produce true friendship or trust?"
Kikyou Kushida's lips moved slightly, but no words came out.
She fell into a delicate and heavy silence.
Suzune Horikita Looking at her expression, it seemed that she didn't want to continue to pester her.
She exhaled softly, with a hint of rare patience in her tone. "I haven't made it clear to you until now. This is because I have made mistakes. So I won't blame you for this matter. But - if you do the same thing next time, I won't be polite. Remember it well."
After saying this, she picked up the cup of latte on the table that she had not even taken a sip of, and stood up. "Anything more is just a waste of time. To me, all your speeches are very unpleasant."
As soon as she finished speaking, she walked towards the door of the coffee shop without looking back, her pace was calm and firm, without any hesitation or nostalgia.
Kikyou Kushida stood there, watching Suzune Horikita's leaving figure, but in the end the words that came to his lips were not uttered.
The atmosphere in the coffee shop suddenly cooled down, and there was an indescribable embarrassment and heaviness in the air.
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji sat where he was, silent for a moment, and finally spoke to break the silence.
"... Why are you working so hard? You have made more friends than anyone else, right? There are people you know in the entire grade. But there is only one Horikita missing. There is no need to be so aggressive, right?"
He paused and then added, "Becoming friends with the whole class... is it such a desperate thing?"
Kikyou Kushida lowered his eyes, his eyelashes casting a light shadow on his cheeks.
She was silent for a few seconds, and then said softly, "Because I plan to get along well with everyone... Because of this, the target is not only Class D's classmates, but also students from other classes."
"But--if I can't even become friends with the only girl in my class who hasn't been friends with me, then this goal... can't be achieved."
Her voice was very soft, but it carried a stubbornness that could not be ignored.
"Do you have to insist on doing this?"
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji asked, "I thought you said you wanted to have a good relationship with everyone when you introduced yourself, and you just said it casually Matoba in person."
"Yes--"
Kikyou Kushida raised his head, with a serious look in his eyes that was completely different from what he usually saw, "This is what I have to do."
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji looked at her eyes and was silent for a moment, feeling an intuition in his heart - if he continued to delve deeper, things might become more complicated and troublesome. This was not in line with his principle of keeping a low profile.
"... Then, I can only wish you good luck."
He stood up and drank the remaining coffee in the cup. "You don't need my help in the future, right?"
"Well, I'm sorry to trouble you during this time, Ayanokoji."
Kikyou Kushida nodded slightly, and that familiar gentle smile reappeared on his face, as if the heavy conversation just now had never happened.
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji nodded, turned and walked towards the door of the coffee shop.
The afternoon sun slanted on his back, stretching his shadow very long on the floor.
He suddenly felt that everyone in this school seemed to have some unknown story.