On the Romantic Fantasies of Teenage Boys and Girls in High School

"Chiba, about that..." It wasn't until Kanzaki and the others had left that Hirata slowly walked over to Chiba Yu. He stood before Chiba, stammering and unable to get his words out, his face etched with dejection and hesitation.

Seeing this, Chiba Yu sighed and spoke in a tone meant to comfort him: "Don't overthink it. I'm not transferring classes. Besides, I think Class D suits someone like me quite well. If I really did transfer, it would definitely cause a lot of trouble, and you know how much I hate trouble."

Upon hearing Chiba Yu's words, Hirata's expression improved significantly; at the very least, he no longer looked as crestfallen as he had moments ago.

He recovered his usual healing smile and looked at Chiba Yu earnestly. "Yes, I've always believed in you, Chiba. Of course, we will definitely make it to Class A in the future, as long as we all work hard together."

As soon as Hirata said this, the group of girls nearby seemed invigorated, raising their hands one after another in response. "That goes without saying!"

"Exactly! As long as Hirata-kun is here, we can definitely do it!"

"Of course, and the same goes for Chiba-kun."

Heh, that last part was probably just a casual addition. Flattery like that isn't enough to make me bleed or exert myself for you all!

However, Chiba Yu could hardly voice his rebuttal, so he simply remained quietly in his seat.

"Oh, Chiba-kun, let's exchange contact information." Just as Chiba Yu's thoughts were drifting, Mori Nene suddenly pulled out her phone and waved it in front of him.

"Uh... sure."

Watching Mori Nene's contact information appear on his phone terminal, Chiba Yu couldn't help but fall into silence.

This seems to be... the first contact information from a girl in class that I've ever received, right? Thinking about it that way, I really am a failure.

As for Horikita Suzune? Sorry, Chiba Yu still hadn't added her; perhaps Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had it.

"Me too! Thanks for your help today, Chiba-kun. Can I come to you for advice if I have questions in the future?"

Seeing this, Sato Maya, Matsushita, and the others also crowded around Chiba Yu.

Gradually, as he watched the number of girls' contacts on his phone grow, Chiba Yu couldn't help but feel a bit dazed.

By the end, Chiba Yu counted them up and realized there seemed to be one person left.

He looked up, and for a moment, their gazes met in the air.

"What? Don't tell me you want my contact info too?" Karuizawa Kei stood with her hands on her hips, wearing an expression like a kitten guarding its food, as if to say she wouldn't give her contact info to any boy other than Hirata.

"That's not it at all." Chiba Yu shook his head, indicating he had no such intention.

Karuizawa Kei dislikes me—that was the conclusion Chiba Yu had reached after spending this time together.

But the next second, as if to shatter Chiba Yu's judgment, Karuizawa Kei turned her head away and, with an air of haughtiness, held out her phone for him to see.

"Hmm... fine, whatever. I might run into problems I can't solve later, and it would be a hassle if Hirata-kun isn't free, so I'll reluctantly add you."

"..."

The air fell silent for a moment. Chiba Yu looked at the girl before him, the words that had been on the tip of his tongue unable to come out. In the end, he could only manage: "Tell me, Karuizawa-san, are you... perhaps a tsundere?"

"Ts-tsundere?! Ha?! What is that supposed to mean? I'm only reluctantly adding you because I feel sorry for you, and you have the nerve to say that to me!"

"Hmm... now you look even more like one."

!!!

"Hmph! Add me or don't, I don't care!" With that, Karuizawa gripped her phone tightly in a huff and walked straight toward Hirata without looking back.

"Pfft!" Mori Nene and the other two, who had been watching the scene from the start, finally couldn't help but burst into laughter once Karuizawa had left.

"Chiba-kun, you're really something. This is the first time I've seen Karuizawa look that angry."

"Yeah, yeah! Kei looks even cuter like this. Compared to her usual bossy self, she feels more like a normal girl next door right now."

"Right, right? I think so too!"

The three of them chatted back and forth, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Chiba Yu was still standing there.

Finally, halfway through their discussion, they remembered Chiba Yu's presence and hurriedly said, "Sorry, Chiba-kun, we got a bit carried away. Oh, I'll give you Karuizawa's contact info."

After saying that, Matsushita opened her phone and read Karuizawa's contact info to Chiba Yu. As he typed it in, Chiba Yu asked, "If you act on your own like this, won't Karuizawa be angry later?"

Facing Chiba Yu's question, Matsushita chuckled and replied confidently, "It's fine, don't worry about it. Besides, since Karuizawa-san said what she did just now, it means she doesn't mind you having her contact info. If you can't even see that, Chiba-kun, your 'boyfriend power' still needs some work."

"Is that so..." Chiba Yu nodded, half-understanding. Come to think of it, why did we get back to 'boyfriend power' again?

"Come to think of it, Chiba-kun is the only boy other than Hirata-kun that Karuizawa has added," Mori Nene said, as if she had discovered a new continent.

"Hmm... speaking of which, are Karuizawa-san and Hirata dating right now?"

To make the atmosphere more relaxed, Chiba Yu decided to steer the conversation in a different direction, so he began to chat about the gossip girls usually liked.

But the next second, as he said this, the remaining three girls looked at him with gossipy expressions, and the atmosphere instantly turned strange.

"Uh... is there a problem?" I asked, confused, but was met only with even more curious stares from the three girls.

"Could it be that Chiba-kun has his eye on Karuizawa-san?"

"Eh? Why would you say that?" Chiba Yu was even more bewildered. He had just asked a casual question; how did it develop into him liking Karuizawa Kei? Wasn't that a bit of a leap?

"Because it's really strange."

"Yeah, exactly. Because hearing that from you, Chiba-kun, is just really weird."

Hey, hey, hey! What kind of strange filter do you all have for me?!

Chiba Yu curled his lip; he didn't want to discuss this any further.

Seemingly sensing Chiba Yu's speechlessness, the three girls smiled and stopped teasing him. "Actually, if you really want to know, they aren't dating right now. But looking at it, Karuizawa-san clearly has feelings for Hirata-kun."

"That's right, that's right. So, Chiba-kun, if you really are interested, you'd better act fast."

"So, why on earth do you all think I like Karuizawa..."