"Haha..."
Nishikata looked at the changing expressions of the three and suddenly realized he had asked a foolish question. His neck immediately felt hot, and he could only let out an awkward laugh:
"Pretend I didn't ask..."
"It's coming, it's coming!"
Just as Ajitani was about to continue speaking, Shouko, who had been watching Tanaka and Rinko, suddenly spoke up.
Tsuna and the others instinctively turned their heads, looking together at the male and female protagonists of the night.
"Sorry, I already like someone."
After saying that, Rinko turned to leave, but Tanaka instinctively reached out to stop her.
"What are you doing?" Rinko took a step back, her eyes wary.
"I... I..."
Ajitani, hidden in the dark, thought Tanaka was about to do something bad. Just as she was about to rush out to intervene, Tsuna pressed her shoulder.
Tsuna said nothing, only shook his head at her, his gaze still fixed on the two figures under the moonlight.
Seeing this, Ajitani could only swallow her words and quiet down.
"Can... can I ask who the person you like is?"
Tanaka saw the wariness in the Girl's eyes, withdrew the hand he had extended, gritted his teeth, and still asked.
"Ah? Is that all?"
"You seem a little... disappointed...?"
Rinko rolled her eyes at him, but the wariness in her eyes also receded. "You can guess. They're in our class."
"Our class?" x7
Everyone present, except for Tsuna who remained silent, spoke almost in unison.
Under the soft moonlight, Rinko smiled faintly and nodded, "Mm. Why don't... you try to guess?"
Her eyes reflected the moonlight, as if tiny specks of light were gently dancing.
"Is that okay?"
"What's not okay about it? You just say the name, and I'll nod." As she spoke, her gaze unconsciously glanced towards where Tsuna and the others were hiding.
"Wait... Rinko seems to know where we're hiding."
"Illusion, probably an illusion."
Takagi-san refuted Ajitani's statement without thinking.
"I also think it's an illusion. Class monitor, you probably saw wrong."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm more curious about who Rinko likes!"
...Shouko, who was unusually quiet tonight.
As Nishikata's words fell, everyone's attention returned to the two faces.
Tanaka thought for a while before slowly speaking: "Kitano?"
Rinko was speechless: "Please say the full name. There are so many people with the same surname in our class, how would I know which one you're talking about?"
Tanaka paused, then slowly stated the full name of Kitano, who was also hiding in the dark, watching intently.
"No," Rinko pursed her lips and shook her head.
The boy hiding in the dark suffered his second critical hit of the day.
"Then... Nishikata?"
She still shook her head the same way.
Tanaka listed names one by one, but all he got was Rinko's headshakes. In the end, only a few names remained, which he considered to be the most probable.
But what he got was still the Girl's headshake of denial.
"Still not?" Tanaka was surprised. He had just listed the names of boys in the class who didn't have girlfriends yet.
"There are still a few, why don't you continue listing them?" Rinko put her hands behind her back, a mischievous smile on her face as she stared at the young man in front of her.
"..."
...
...
...
One after another, until only the last two remained, which he considered to be the highest-rated overall in the class.
"Yasui Yu...?"
"Not him either."
Rinko shook her head again.
But it was this same denial that instantly stunned everyone hiding in the dark. Among the names Tanaka had mentioned, only Tsuna remained un-denied and un-eliminated.
"This... this..."
"No way!?"
Ajitani and Nishikata's shocked gazes kept shifting between Rinko and Tsuna's faces.
Perhaps because the surprises kept coming tonight, Takagi-san seemed unusually calm, simply holding her chest with one hand, resting her chin, her gaze firmly fixed on the two.
"Shouko, if you keep pinching, it might bleed."
Tsuna whispered to Shouko , but the pressure on his wrist was still gradually increasing.
Seeing that she had no reaction and was still staring intently at the two, Tsuna raised his hand and gently tapped her head, which earned him a look of grievance from her.
'Calm down, Rinko hasn't even finished speaking, okay?' He finished his sign language and then pinched her puffed-up cheeks.
And it proved his point, the conversation between the two under the moonlight was still ongoing.
"No way!? Miyamura???"
"Haha..." After enjoying Tanaka's surprised expression, Rinko continued to shake her head in denial: "Not him either."
She had just felt a clear murderous intent, but it quickly disappeared, leaving her no chance to break out in a cold sweat.
"Huh?" x4
This surprised exclamation included Tanaka, Kitano, Nishikata, and Ajitani.
"You... didn't you say the person you like is in our class?" Tanaka was too lazy to manage his expression, his surprised face still hanging.
"Yes, they are in our class," Rinko nodded, her face sincere.
"But that name...—"
"I never said it was a boy."
"Huh?" x7
Except for Shouko, who was lost in thought, everyone else almost simultaneously let out an exclamation.
And she was frowning, pondering in her mind whether Rinko had lied just now, not really paying much attention to the two under the moonlight.
"What's that noise?" Rinko looked around, east and west, hearing only vague sounds.
"It... it might be some small animal or something."
Tanaka wiped the sweat that hadn't yet beaded on his forehead, mentally making a note about the unreliable Kitano. As for the others? Who would be so idle as to hide in the dark and peek?
"Oh..."
Afraid she wouldn't believe him, Tanaka quickly continued to ask: "You mean you like Girl?"
"Yes."
Rinko didn't mind too much, she smiled and nodded.
"..."
The two instantly fell silent for several seconds. The surroundings were dead quiet, only the soft rustling of the wind through the bamboo leaves, "Sha...sha...sha..." was exceptionally clear.
Tanaka still didn't give up: "Can... can I continue to ask...?"
The Girl gently shook her head: "It's getting a bit late, I'm going back."
"Then... then fine—"
"But!" Rinko's voice suddenly rose, "As for the answer, I can tell you directly."
"Huh?" This question echoed like an echo in the air.
"Heh~"
Rinko chuckled softly, shaking the phone she had just pulled out. The screen glowed faintly in the darkness, displaying the time:
"Huh? What's the answer? Do you want to hear it or not? If not, I'm leaving."
"Hear it, hear it, hear it." Tanaka nodded like a chick pecking rice.
Rinko smiled, her gaze quickly sweeping over the surrounding shadows, finally landing precisely in the direction of Tsuna's group.
She cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone, her clear voice piercing the night:
"Ajitani-chan! Are you still there? Are you guys hiding nearby and peeking?"
"!?"
"What? We've been discovered?? Should we speak up?"
"At this time, pretending not to hear is the best way to handle it." Ajitani suppressed the surprise of being discovered and whispered.