Chapter 368

"What's wrong?"

Miyuki blocked Hiyori from getting into the passenger seat and pointed at the back.

Hiyori asked after seeing her urgent expression.

"What do you mean, 'what's wrong'? I'm worried you're going to do something weird again."

"Something weird?"

"Are you seriously asking? Who goes around smelling someone else's boyfriend's clothes?"

"Oh... is that weird?"

"Of course it is! Do you do that to other people, too?"

"Yeah."

"..."

Miyuki fell silent, completely dumbfounded by Hiyori's shameless reply.

It was an obvious lie, but Miyuki had a bad habit of believing whatever people told her, even those she was wary of.

Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that Hiyori's acting was just that good.

"A-anyway, get in."

"I don't want the back seat. It's uncomfortable..."

"It's spacious! How is it uncomfortable? And don't you know the person getting dropped off first is supposed to sit in the back?"

"Nope."

"Well, now you know, so hurry up and get in!"

Drooping her shoulders as if she had lost all her energy, Hiyori opened the rear door and slipped inside.

Then she pulled out a lollipop I had bought for myself and left in the living room, popping it into her mouth.

Miyuki's eyebrows twitched at the sight.

It looked like she was about to scold Hiyori for taking it without permission.

I gently tugged on her arm and spoke quietly.

"I told her she could have it."

"...Really?"

"Yeah. Let's drop her off and go grab some ramen."

"But it's not raining."

"Do we only have to go when it rains? We can just go eat. It's chilly out, so isn't it perfect for ramen?"

"I guess... but I only want to go there when it rains."

"Then let's stop downtown and get some pasta instead. How does that sound?"

"Okay."

Miyuki nodded, her expression making it hard to tell if she was slightly sulking or not.

I lowered my hand and gave her rear a reassuring pat, then started the drive to Hiyori's house.

The atmosphere inside the car was incredibly solemn the entire way there.

That is, except for the intermittent sounds of Hiyori loudly and deliberately sucking on her lollipop.

"Matsuken sunbae-nim."

Hiyori finally broke the silence, apparently unable to stand the quiet ride any longer.

I looked at her through the rearview mirror and replied.

"Yeah."

"There's a cafe right before my neighborhood. Please pull over there."

"To get coffee?"

"Yeah."

"Just go straight home. You won't be able to sleep if you drink coffee this late."

"I'm immune to caffeine, you know."

"No one who says that is actually immune."

"Fine."

If she was going to back down that easily, why did she even ask me to pull over?

Was she just trying to provoke Miyuki by showing off how casually we bantered?

It wasn't the first time I'd thought this, but I really wanted to take a peek inside Hiyori's head to see how her mind worked.

When I pulled the car to a stop outside Hiyori's house, she climbed out of the back seat and tapped on the driver's side window.

I rolled the window down, and she spoke with a bright smile.

"Let's work out together again sometime."

"Sure."

"I'll contact you. Bye-bye!"

After saying her goodbyes, she turned on her heel and walked through the front door.

Miyuki watched her go with an intense, piercing stare.

Even though I could only see the back of Miyuki's head, she was radiating such a fierce aura that anyone could tell she was glaring daggers.

Hiyori's comment about contacting me had clearly struck a nerve.

"Should we look up a good place to eat? Or just walk into the first place we see?"

Miyuki only turned her head after hearing my voice, ignoring the question to offer her assessment of Hiyori instead.

"She's weird."

If she had been talking about anyone else, Miyuki would have praised them for being sociable, or having a bright personality...

She would have offered compliments like that.

For Miyuki, who almost never spoke ill of anyone, to outright call Hiyori weird...

It was proof of just how high Hiyori had climbed on Miyuki's radar as a potential threat.

"She's really fun once you get to know her... You don't like her?"

At my cautious question, Miyuki leaned back into her seat.

"I'm still not sure."

It was an incredibly mild response.

So mild, in fact, that I hadn't expected it at all.

Was she unsure whether Hiyori was actually making a pass at me or not?

No, Miyuki wasn't dense enough to miss that. There had to be another reason.

Perhaps she reacted this way because she knew how uncomfortable I had been around Tetsuya in the beginning, yet had put up with him entirely for her sake.

Miyuki was deeply thoughtful, so it was entirely possible her mind had gone there.

"Still, she's a little annoying."

Miyuki muttered her final verdict just as I was thinking that.

That wasn't just directed at Hiyori; it was a clear warning meant for me, too.

A warning not to let her get too close to me.

My conscience took a sharp hit, but as I had recently resolved, building a harem required a certain level of selfishness.

Still, it was undeniably true that Miyuki was suffering far more heartache in the process than any of the other heroines.

I needed to do my best to comfort her and keep things smooth.

"Come to think of it, she kind of reminds me of how you were when I first met you, Matsuda-kun."

"How are we alike?"

"Your vibe, your personality... things like that."

"Is that how it felt?"

"Yeah. Is that why you think so highly of Asahina, Matsuda-kun?"

"I guess I'm just worried she might go astray like I did... Ah!"

A sharp sting lanced through my side.

I cut my sentence short and glanced down to find Miyuki pinching my waist.

I got the strong impression she had plenty more to say, but was choosing to let it slide with just this pinch for today.

I gently peeled Miyuki's hand away, rested it on her lap, and looked around.

"There aren't any pasta places around here, but there is a steakhouse. Want to go there?"

"No, I want pasta."

Miyuki was indirectly expressing that she was upset.

I nodded obediently, flipped on the hazard lights, pulled over onto the shoulder, and picked up my Cell Phone.

"Let me look it up real quick, then."

"Let's look together. And I'm sleeping over tonight."

"Wasn't that why you came over in the first place?"

"I originally just came to grab a book I left behind."

How could I not find her adorable when she was making her jealousy so abundantly, albeit indirectly, clear?

Resting my hand on Miyuki's thigh as she searched for a restaurant on her phone, I spoke.

"But I told you to call me if you were coming over."

"I just walked to get some exercise after dinner."

She walked all that way?

Honestly, it wasn't an incredibly far distance, but it was still impressive.

So that was why Miyuki had been so exhausted during her workout.

I would have to give her a very thorough massage tonight.

"Make sure you call me next time. I don't even know how many times I've said this."

"Got it."

"You're quick to answer, even though you won't do it."

"I'll do it from now on."

"Didn't you say the exact same thing last time?"

"Did I?"

"You did. But you already ate dinner before coming—are you going to eat again?"

"I'm hungry from working out."

I slipped my hand under Miyuki's T-shirt and rested it against her bare stomach.

She didn't try to stop me. She only shot me a sidelong glance before going back to tapping away on her phone.

She was trying to maintain a stern expression, but it was adorable how she twitched and fought back a smile every time I lightly tickled her stomach with the tips of my fingernails.

"Shouldn't you be looking for a restaurant?"

Miyuki scolded me, the corners of her mouth twitching upward.

Hearing the unwavering affection in her voice, I let out a mental sigh of relief and quietly continued to stroke her soft skin.

The next day.

As soon as we stepped out into the Parking Lot, Miyuki didn't just interlock her fingers with mine—she pressed herself flush against my side as we walked toward the building.

Her mindset had definitely become much more open since we started dating.

Which meant that this level of physical affection had become a regular occurrence.

However, that was usually restricted to inside the classroom where everyone knew we were dating, or when there weren't many people around.

During the busy morning commute with students constantly passing by, she usually avoided physical affection as much as possible to maintain her dignity as a member of the Student Council.

But seeing her act so aggressively affectionate, almost like she was trying to broadcast our relationship to the entire Academy, made it clear that yesterday's events were still weighing heavily on her mind.

We arrived at our classroom, chatting amicably while drawing the subtle stares of the other students. I left her inside to cheerfully greet the Vice Representative and stepped back out into the hall.

I was on my way to the School Store to buy some gummies to snack on secretly during class when I ran into Hiyori coming out of the building.

"Morning, Matsumatsuken."

"Yeah. Where are you going?"

"The School Store."

"Why?"

"To buy snacks."

It seemed she had the exact same idea as me.

I felt like I finally understood exactly why Miyuki had said Hiyori and I were similar.

"Then see you later. Bye-bye."

Hiyori tossed out the casual greeting and immediately tried to brush past me.

She started to stride away on her long legs, but I called out and stopped her in her tracks.

"Hey."

Hiyori glanced back at me over her shoulder and replied.

"What?"

"Come here."

I pointed a finger at the ground in front of me. Hiyori sauntered over with an arrogant, loose-limbed gait and stood before me.

She was wearing her dress shirt with the top two buttons completely undone.

I stared down at her exposed neckline and scowled in clear disapproval.

"Aren't you going to button your shirt?"

"It's hot."

"How is it hot? It's perfectly cool out."

"It's hooot."

Judging by the shameless look in her eyes, she was planning to play totally dumb.

"Button it."

"Don't want to."

"And stop dropping your honorifics."

"Don't wanna do that either."

What was her deal today?

She was leaning casually on one leg, and rattling off informal speech—which she usually only did occasionally—right from the start... It was utterly ridiculous.

I cocked my middle finger back, ready to flick her forehead, and she instantly slapped both hands over her brow to protect it.

"Ah, I hate it...! Don't hit me...!"

It was absurd how quickly she tried to act all innocent and fragile to wiggle out of the situation.

I scoffed. When Hiyori dropped the act, returned to normal, and began to massage her own thighs, I spoke.

"Are you sore?"

"Yeah. I guess I pushed myself too hard yesterday. But doesn't it look super soft?"

She hiked her skirt up halfway and pinched the flesh of her inner thigh, pulling it out to show me.

I casually watched her antics, noting that she was acting even bolder than she had yesterday, and replied.

"That's because you have zero muscle."

"Is Miyuki Hanazawa like this, too?"

"Why are you curious about that?"

"Do you want to compare them?"

She was basically inviting me to touch her.

Even though her face would explode into a blushing mess if I actually took her up on the offer.

I shifted my eyes and scanned our surroundings. With class about to start, the campus was completely deserted.

It was the perfect environment to teach the tail-wagging Hiyori a little lesson.

I scoffed and replied.

"Just button your shirt."

"Button it for me."

"Sure, why not."

"Huh...?"

I stepped right up to Hiyori, who looked flustered by my unexpected agreement, and reached out for the buttons on her shirt, right above where her cleavage was exposed.

Keeping my eyes locked on her as she swallowed nervously, I carefully fastened the buttons, making sure not to brush against her chest.

"Walk around a little more modestly, will you?"

"Why...?"

"Because people will look down on you."

"No one does that, though...?"

"They just don't show it on the outside."

"Why do you even care...!"

"I'm worrying about you, so stop acting up."

"...Okay..."

Just as I expected, Hiyori's face was bright red, looking like a volcano on the verge of erupting.

Acting all bold and open, when she was such a lightweight she couldn't even handle this much.

I clicked my tongue, grabbed the now completely deflated Hiyori by the shoulders, and spun her around to face the School Store.

"Let's go. I'll buy you that Suichu you like."

"What's with the sudden generosity? Are you buying it for me because you touched my chest?"

"Cut the cheap talk, too. It's fine if you do it in front of me, but don't say things like that around other people."

"Why? Why is it okay to do it in front of you, sunbae-nim?"

Her earlier embarrassment entirely gone, Hiyori's eyes sparkled as she pressed me for an answer.

I answered her with a light push to her back instead, leaving the implication hanging in the air, and walked alongside her toward the School Store as she started chattering away again.

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