The Girls of Class B

Weekend.

"Horikita Suzune: 'You there?'"

You En picked up his phone from the bedside, looked at the message Horikita Suzune had sent, and typed two characters.

"'Not here.'"

Then he buried his head, ready to go back to sleep, but the phone rang.

"Ah."

You En knew this would happen. He crawled out from under the covers, sat up on the bed, and replied with a hint of drowsiness.

"You En: 'Hello, miss me?'"

"Horikita Suzune: 'No. So, do you have time this morning?'"

"You En: 'I do, but I want to sleep.'"

You En replied.

Around three in the morning, someone had knocked on his door. He looked through the peephole and saw it was the senior, so he opened the door, and she dragged him off to the Kyudo Club's training hall to practice archery.

They practiced until almost seven before he got back. After catching an hour and a half of sleep, Horikita Suzune woke him up.

Horikita Suzune said, "Mako and the others asked me to see if you'd come along. If you don't want to, that's fine."

"Not going, not going."

When You En heard it was the girls going shopping together, he lost even more interest. Even though they were all good-natured, energetic, and pretty girls, for him right now, catching up on sleep was better.

It sounded like someone was talking near Horikita Suzune. She relayed, "They said they'll treat you to something to eat."

"Where? I'm coming."

You En got up to change clothes without a second's hesitation.

"You really are..."

Horikita Suzune didn't know what to say on the other end of the line. She looked at the girls from Class B beside her, who were covering their mouths and snickering.

"Forget it. We're at the café. Just come straight over."

In less than ten minutes, You En arrived at the café entrance. Through the glass window, he saw Horikita Suzune and the others.

Ando Sayo and Amikura Mako raised their hands and waved at him. Kobashi Yume and the others shyly extended their hands to greet him.

You En pushed open the door and walked over to where the girls were sitting.

"I saved a seat for you, you know."

Tsube Hitomi patted the spot to her left.

"Come on, You En-sensei."

Ando Sayo, sitting to her right, immediately got angry. "How sneaky! Hitomi, no wonder you were so eager—you had this planned all along!"

You En sat down and noticed there was already a cup of coffee in front of him.

Horikita Suzune reminded him, "They ordered that for you."

You En picked up the cup, took a somewhat solemn sip, and nodded.

"It's really good!"

Horikita Suzune watched the girls, who were now chattering excitedly and crowding around You En with questions, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. This guy really was popular.

Ando Sayo glanced at Kobashi Yume, who was sitting silently to You En's left, and shot Tsube Hitomi a look.

Tsube Hitomi caught on immediately. She stood up and said, "Let's start our date for today!"

You En finished his coffee. They really knew him—they understood he didn't like bitter things, so they'd added plenty of milk and sugar.

Hearing the girls talk about starting their date, he smiled. "Maybe I'm not really suited to be here?"

Ando Sayo and the others had planned today to help their good friend Kobashi Yume come up with a strategy and find the right moment to confess to You En. There was no way they were letting him off that easily.

"It's fine, You En-kun. Don't you usually hang out with us anyway?"

"Oh?"

You En looked around, his gaze landing on the downcast Kobashi Yume, and guessed what kind of scenario this was.

Fine, he'd play along with them.

First, he accompanied them to browse two women's clothing stores.

These stores on campus were supposedly opened specifically for students, but the big-name brands from outside were actually cheaper here, while the expensive ones were the unbranded custom pieces.

Still, the Class B girls weren't big spenders. They just browsed or tried things on. The sales assistants were also very enthusiastic, constantly recommending various outfits for the girls to try.

Since it didn't cost anything, trying them on was no big deal.

At the third clothing store, Horikita Suzune was finally persuaded and changed into a pale blue long dress. When she came out of the fitting room, her fair, slender shoulders and collarbone were clearly visible.

"How... does it look?" she asked.

You En met her gaze and said, "I'm looking. Haven't had my fill yet."

Horikita Suzune placed a hand on her shoulder, looking a little embarrassed, her head slightly lowered. "Oh."

"Hehe, come check this out!"

Tsube Hitomi rushed over and hooked her arm through You En's. She was the type who, once familiar, let herself go completely. You En didn't mind, and Horikita Suzune had grown used to it.

You En: "What's up?"

"Just come with me and you'll see."

Tsube Hitomi dragged You En over to the fitting mirror, where a few girls were gathered around Kobashi Yume, styling her.

Kobashi Yume had changed into a sweet-style outfit—a long knit dress with little leather shoes, her toes tapping up and down, looking rather nervous and uneasy.

Tsube Hitomi grinned. "Well? Isn't Yume cute?"

You En nodded. "Yeah, very cute."

Ando Sayo gave Kobashi Yume a thumbs-up, as if encouraging something.

Just as she seemed about to say something, You En swept his gaze over the store's outfits.

"But I think these school-style outfits suit you better. They might look even nicer."

"Oh?"

The girls huddled together, chattering away, then said a few words to the sales assistant nearby.

The sales assistant smiled, took out the clothes in the corresponding sizes, and had Kobashi Yume go into the fitting room to try them on.

When she pulled back the curtain and stepped out again, Kobashi Yume was wearing a light pea-green blazer-style mini skirt. Her petite, adorable vibe overflowed instantly.

The girls immediately swarmed around her, hugging, touching, and fussing.

Ando Sayo coughed. The girls knew it wasn't the right moment and scattered at once.

Tsube Hitomi gently pushed Kobashi Yume forward.

"You En, what do you think?"

You En looked rather pleased with himself. "Yume looks great in it. As expected, my taste is pretty good too."

Horikita Suzune had already changed back into her own clothes. She walked over, saw his expression, and spat out two words: "Smug."

"Oh, right,"

You En saw Kobashi Yume about to say something again and quickly spoke up.

"Hey, I remember there's an eyeglass store over there. While you were changing, I went to check it out. They have a lot of decorative glasses too.

The clerk there said students can try them on. I think you girls should give it a shot—you might look really good."

Kobashi Yume, thrown off by the interruption, swallowed the words she was about to say.

Ando Sayo felt the timing wasn't right yet and replied, "Alright, let's go take a look."

At the eyeglass store, The last time You En had been to a place like this was in his past life.

In his previous life, he'd ended up with moderate myopia. In this life, he hadn't really applied himself to studying, nor did he have to work overtime staring at a computer. Plus, he made a point of resting and exercising, so he hadn't developed any nearsightedness. His eyesight was pretty good.

Horikita Suzune stared blankly at a large bin of glasses, seemingly at a loss for what to pick.

You En looked at her face shape. "Half-rim frames suit you."

Horikita Suzune glanced at him, said nothing, and continued searching.

The girls each found frames to try on—not just once, but kept at it until they were satisfied.

You En found a chair and sat down. The clerk even poured him a glass of water. He thanked her. She just smiled and said not to mention it, it was her pleasure.

The service attitude of the staff at this school really was good. No matter what you asked of them, they never complained. Here, students were treated like gods.

"You En-kun, how about this?"

Tsube Hitomi walked over wearing a pair of women's sunglasses.

"Not really your style."

You En felt it wasn't quite suitable. "But your eyes are already very beautiful. You don't need glasses."

"Hey, I think so too."

Several other girls stepped forward one by one to let You En share his opinion.

You En's answers were flawless. No matter what he said, everyone was happy.

Horikita Suzune stood off to the side, tilting her head, not asking anything. But she was wearing a pair of silver-rimmed half-frame glasses, which made her originally cool and aloof temperament even more unfathomable, carrying a hint of a strange, restrained allure.

You En complimented Kobashi Yume, then stood up and walked to the counter to pick out a pair of gold-rimmed half-frame glasses and put them on.

He walked over to Horikita Suzune, slightly lowering his head. "How is it?"

Horikita Suzune's gaze shifted upward, looking at the young man before her. Their eyes met, and for a moment, she couldn't find words. "...Not bad, I guess. What?"

"Ah, you really don't know how to compliment people."

You En acted a bit disappointed, which the other girls noticed.

Kobashi Yume's expression turned somewhat dejected. Ando Sayo whispered encouragement in her ear. Tsube Hitomi watched the two of them and declared she couldn't compete.

With that, the dress-up play session ended.

Afterward, they visited the school's aquarium, museum, dessert shop, accessory store... and even a lingerie shop. Of course, You En didn't go into the women's lingerie store.

Soon it was noon.

You En and the group found a decent restaurant and sat down.

Tsube Hitomi was very uncomfortable, lying on the table without any dignity. "I had a lot of fun this morning... Ah, but I have to start studying again this afternoon. It's really painful."

"Aren't students supposed to study?"

Ando Sayo didn't think it was a big deal. The treatment at this school was excellent, the teachers' teaching standards were high, and the classmates were so friendly.

Ichinose Honami had even found You En, who ranked first in both grades and looks, to tutor them.

If they still didn't study hard after all this, it would be letting everyone down, and themselves too.

"Um... You En-kun."

Kobashi Yume suddenly spoke, as if she had mustered up her courage.

You En looked up and fixed his gaze on her. "Yume, keep working hard on your studies this afternoon. I'll give you a few more practice problems. How about I make you a whole test paper?"

"Ah?"

Kobashi Yume was stunned speechless by these words, completely forgetting what she was about to say.

"Alright, I'm full. Thank you for treating me today."

You En thanked them very solemnly for the meal, then stood up and left.

Horikita Suzune also took her leave and followed behind him.

Once they were out of the restaurant and there were no familiar students around, she began to ask:

"Was Kobashi Yume about to confess to you?"

You En looked puzzled. "Was she? How would I know?"

Horikita Suzune crossed her arms. "You've been off all morning. If you really wanted to reject her, why didn't you just do it directly? Instead, you kept encouraging and caring for her. Aren't you just indulging her?"

You En smiled.

"Because truly kind people won't take advantage. The more kindness they receive, the more they consider the other person's feelings."

Horikita Suzune looked at him thoughtfully.

"What about me, then?"

You En took out his terminal and looked at the 5,000 points he had earned from his part-time job this week, now partially spent.

"Kindness to others is malice toward oneself. Don't overthink it. Just stay true to yourself."

At the restaurant, The girls discussed You En for a while.

Ando Sayo was about to go pay the bill first and split it later, but when she opened her terminal, she found someone had transferred a sum of points over.

It was from You En. The amount exactly matched what they had treated him to this morning plus the lunch cost split evenly...

Maybe she could try pursuing him too?

Ando Sayo had this thought, but quickly dismissed it. The gap between them was too great.

Even if she succeeded, it wouldn't necessarily be a good thing...