"Whoa!"
"Hey! What are you guys doing?!"
Yunyi had barely entered the classroom when he was ambushed, leaving him somewhat bewildered.
"Tatsuya, come stop them!"
Seeing that Erika Chiba and the others refused to stop, Yunyi called for help.
But Tatsuya Shiba merely stood there in silence, showing no intention of coming to his aid.
"Hey! Tatsuya, what are you doing?!" Yunyi called again.
"Sorry, Yunyi. The truth is, I'm a little curious too," Tatsuya Shiba said softly.
"Curious? What are you curious about?" Yunyi stared blankly at Tatsuya Shiba.
Leo, who had been chasing him, seized the chance to grab Yunyi. Mikihiko, looking awkward, came over and lent a hand.
"I give up, I give up! What's gotten into you guys this early in the morning?!" Yunyi irritably patted the arm Leo had around his neck. Although Leo wasn't using much force, having an outsider hold him like that was making it hard for Yunyi to suppress his instinct to strike back.
"Confess and we'll go easy on you. Come on, what's going on between you and President Saegusa?" Erika Chiba stood in front of Yunyi with her arms crossed, posing her question with an air of superiority. Unfortunately, because of their height difference, she still had to look up at him.
"Mayumi? What does she have to do with this?!" Yunyi stared for a moment. Clearly, he still hadn't fully settled into his role as her pretend boyfriend.
"Wow, you seriously don't know? News that you and the president came to school together has already spread through the whole school!" Erika Chiba exclaimed dramatically.
Yunyi could only smile helplessly when he heard that. After weighing the matter for ages last night, he had still forgotten to account for Mayumi Saegusa's popularity at First High School.
But he couldn't readily admit it now. After all, their commotion had already attracted the attention of many people in the class, and those classmates were gradually gathering around. If he admitted it, they would probably all gang up on him.
So Yunyi could only force a smile and say, "That was just a coincidence!"
"What? It was just a coincidence?" Erika Chiba muttered. Clearly, she didn't much like that answer.
"So it was a coincidence."
"That's what I thought. Why would President Saegusa ever fall for a Course 2 Student?"
Hearing the other classmates' discussion, Yunyi let out a deep sigh.
"What a hassle."
Only after their classmates dispersed did Yunyi turn to Mikihiko Yoshida, who was standing nearby. "And you are?"
"Ah, sorry. I'm Mikihiko Yoshida. Just call me Mikihiko. What just happened was all Erika's fault. I'm really sorry," Mikihiko Yoshida explained in a fluster.
"Oh, it's fine, it's fine. I don't mind." Seeing how flustered he was, Yunyi hurried to reassure him.
"Hey, you could at least remember your classmates' names, couldn't you?" Erika Chiba remarked from the side, teasing Yunyi.
"Sorry. I spent most of my time sleeping before, so I haven't had much contact with everyone." Yunyi scratched his head, looking a little awkward.
Mikihiko Yoshida didn't mind. After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Yunyi, he returned to his seat. Yunyi traded a few barbs with Erika Chiba, then left her to Leo and returned to his own seat.
As soon as he sat down, Tatsuya Shiba spoke from beside him. "Yunyi, I've finished adjusting your CAD for you. I'll give it back when we go to the Student Council room at noon. But those Activation Sequences stored in your CAD..."
Tatsuya Shiba paused there. He wasn't quite sure how to continue.
Seeing that, Yunyi asked, "You saw them?"
"Yeah, sorry. But it was unavoidable. I promise I won't tell anyone, though," Tatsuya Shiba said.
"Uh, Tatsuya, I think you've got the wrong idea! You saw those Activation Sequences, but I don't mind." Yunyi wasn't surprised at all. His CAD contained Activation Sequences for several spells he frequently used, and someone at Tatsuya Shiba's level would naturally spot the issue at a glance.
"Then, even though you have that kind of..."
Tatsuya Shiba had just been about to ask something when he stopped himself. Since Yunyi was deliberately keeping it hidden, he thought it probably wouldn't be right to blurt it out.
"Anyway, there are a lot of reasons," Yunyi said, putting on a helpless expression.
"But I don't think I can keep it hidden much longer."
With that, Yunyi shrugged.
Just as Tatsuya Shiba was wondering what he meant, the class bell rang. Hearing it, Yunyi immediately slumped over his desk and began sleeping the morning away.
"Good grief."
Leonhart, who sat in front of Tatsuya Shiba, heard their conversation and turned to look at them. When he saw Yunyi going back to sleep, he too let out a helpless sigh.
The morning classes soon ended, and Yunyi headed to the Student Council room with Tatsuya Shiba.
This time, Mayumi Saegusa hadn't sent him an invitation through Tatsuya Shiba. Instead, she had messaged him directly. But the only thing in her message was a beckoning-finger emoji, which made Yunyi so annoyed he wanted to laugh when he saw it!
Yunyi and Tatsuya Shiba first went to meet up with Miyuki Shiba. When Miyuki Shiba saw Yunyi, she actually started exchanging pleasantries with him for once.
"Good afternoon, Yunyi."
"Ah, oh. Good afternoon, Shiba."
Yunyi was startled for a moment, then hurriedly responded. He was somewhat puzzled, though. He hardly seemed to have interacted with Miyuki Shiba, so why had she struck up a conversation with him?
"Um, there's a somewhat impolite question I'd like to ask you. Um, what is your relationship with President Saegusa?" Seemingly afraid that Yunyi would refuse, Miyuki Shiba asked without waiting for him to respond.
"Hey, Miyuki! That really is impolite!" Even Tatsuya Shiba thought his sister's sudden question was a little inappropriate, and he hurriedly spoke up to cover for her.
"It's fine, Tatsuya. You'll all find out in a little while anyway." Yunyi chuckled and waved a hand.
"I knew it?" Miyuki Shiba tilted her head, as though hoping for a definite answer.
"I think your guess is probably close?" Yunyi didn't directly admit it, giving her only an ambiguous answer.
"Wow, congratulations." A delighted expression immediately appeared on Miyuki Shiba's face, and she even clapped her hands as she congratulated Yunyi.
"What are you two talking about?!" Tatsuya Shiba looked blankly at Yunyi and his sister. His clever brain clearly couldn't make sense of the "coded communication" between them!
"Brother, you really are a blockhead!"
"Tatsuya, you're hopeless!"
Their simultaneous remarks left Tatsuya Shiba even more bewildered.