Chapter 32: The Stolen Kiss

Haruka Himuro was still sobbing. In fact, she had wanted to cry for a long time—ever since her father went missing and the debt collectors came to kick her out of her home, Haruka Himuro had desperately wanted to break down and cry!

But at the time, thinking of her mother in heaven always watching over her, Haruka Himuro had held on and refused to cry.

Because she believed her mother’s spirit would surely protect her in secret and help her through this crisis. Later, when Haruka Himuro faced danger and even despair, the first person she thought of was still her deceased mother.

Then later, Quillan appeared in time, allowing Haruka Himuro to continue her life. So she regarded Quillan as her savior and her star of hope, and even... deep in her heart, she had a feeling that Quillan was the one her mother in heaven had found for her—the person who could protect her!

But now, the boy she had decided she could entrust her whole life to had his kiss stolen by someone before her—and that person was none other than her good friend, Ruri Hosokawa!

A young lady born into a conglomerate family, who had never wanted for anything since childhood and was the center of attention in every way, was now competing with her—Haruka Himuro, a pitiful and insignificant person—for a man. This made Haruka Himuro furious.

But angry as she was, she was also so powerless. Lashing out at Ruri Hosokawa in her emotional breakdown—perhaps Haruka Himuro was also a girl with courage, but only she herself knew that this was actually a display of cowardice!

Because while Haruka Himuro was accusing Ruri Hosokawa, she was also worried she would lose this friend forever because of it.

But if she didn’t accuse Ruri Hosokawa, Haruka Himuro was afraid the boy she liked but hadn’t yet won would be stolen away by Ruri Hosokawa!

Heaven knows, Ruri Hosokawa had no such intention.

At this moment, Ruri Hosokawa looked at the crying Haruka Himuro and couldn’t get a single word out for the longest time. She never would have imagined that Haruka Himuro’s family had gone through something so terrible, that Haruka Himuro had become Quillan’s maid, and that she herself would be misunderstood by her good friend Haruka Himuro as having ill intentions—wanting to steal her master!

Ruri Hosokawa felt both wronged and unjustly accused. But none of that mattered most. What mattered most was that Quillan was not only detestable, but he’d also made Haruka Himuro his maid—and he’d stolen her first kiss!

So in Ruri Hosokawa’s heart, there was also a trace of anger!

The way she looked at Quillan, her eyes could practically spit fire!

Quillan stayed behind, stepping between Ruri Hosokawa and Haruka Himuro. He first glanced at Haruka Himuro, who had gradually stopped crying, giving her a comforting look, then turned to Ruri Hosokawa and asked: "Hey, Class President-san, why are you staring at me like that?"

Ruri Hosokawa looked at Quillan with hatred and said: "You jerk, why haven’t you said anything this whole time? Don’t you think you’re responsible for Haruka-chan misunderstanding me?"

"Responsible for what?" Quillan touched his lip, where a surge of pain made him frown involuntarily.

This girl—she bit down really hard!

The more Quillan thought about it, the angrier he got. Ruri Hosokawa was actually blaming him for not helping explain things to Haruka Himuro. This girl really was something else!

If it were up to Quillan, the fact that he wasn’t adding fuel to the fire by bad-mouthing Ruri Hosokawa to Haruka Himuro was already the height of magnanimity!

So Quillan looked at Ruri Hosokawa mockingly and said: "Class President-san, have you spent your whole life surrounded by people’s envy and flattery, so brainwashed by all that praise that you’ve gone stupid? Or do you think everyone in this world has to help you and revolve around you? No, let me tell you—no one in this world has any obligation to revolve around you, because..."

Here, Quillan leaned close to Ruri Hosokawa’s ear and said softly: "A young lady like you only ever sees herself. You never think about others. Even your good friend Haruka Himuro—you never truly cared about her. Otherwise, how could your friendship be so fragile? So wake up, Class President-san. The world doesn’t stop without you. Without you, the Earth still turns, everyone’s lives still go on, and maybe they’d even be happier than with you around!"

On that last sentence, Quillan’s tone grew heavier, and he even used a lecturing tone!

After saying this, Quillan turned around casually. By now Haruka Himuro had stopped crying, and seeing Quillan turn, she quickly wiped the corners of her eyes, afraid there might still be tears left for Quillan to see.

"Let’s go!" Quillan saw that Haruka Himuro’s emotions had stabilized, and after thinking it over, decided not to say anything more.

Because for Haruka Himuro, the most important thing right now was to keep her emotions stable—as long as nothing else went wrong, that was enough!

Quillan and Haruka Himuro left too, leaving only Ruri Hosokawa standing there frozen like a wooden statue, staring blankly at Quillan’s retreating figure.

Ruri Hosokawa wasn’t the type who could take any words to heart—otherwise she wouldn’t be so tsundere and rebellious that even her mother, Board Chairman Rumiko Hosokawa, worried about her future!

But this time, Quillan’s words left Ruri Hosokawa unable to calm down for a long time.

Although in Ruri Hosokawa’s view, she had never asked anyone to revolve around her, nor had she asked others to do anything for her—it was just that the environment she’d grown up in made her take many things for granted.

For example, her friendship with Haruka Himuro. Thinking about it now, many times she, as the friend, really hadn’t done her part. For instance, when Haruka Himuro was unhappy, Ruri Hosokawa found it hard to notice. But whenever Ruri Hosokawa herself was upset, Haruka Himuro would always be the first to notice and come comfort her!

No wonder Quillan said I never truly cared about Haruka Himuro. Thinking about it now, wasn’t that exactly the case?

Ruri Hosokawa let out a long sigh. On the street corner in the evening light, she stood there for a long time—worrying about her friendship with Haruka Himuro on one hand, and on the other, feeling terribly lonely because of another of Quillan’s words!

Without you, the Earth still turns, and maybe everyone would even be happier...

Was that really true?

Looking at the street where traffic had resumed, cars flowing like water and horses like dragons, then raising her head to the vast sky, Ruri Hosokawa felt lost!