"It's here, it's here! The legendary love drama is here!"
"How strange. One is Mutsumi, the daughter of a celebrity artist who just transferred here yesterday, and the other is Anon, the popular cutie on campus. Why are they taking the initiative to bring drinks to Kitahara?"
"You're seriously asking why...? Would you bring drinks to a guy you don't like?"
"Of course not."
"Then there you go! This is clearly two girls fighting over one guy!"
"Still, it's so weird. Even though Kitahara is really handsome, he shouldn't be fought over by popular cuties like this, right?"
"Don't overthink it. I'm more curious about who Kitahara will choose."
"Definitely Mutsumi. I've never seen such a cute girl—even as a girl myself, my heart races when I look at her."
"I choose Anon. Although Mutsumi is very pretty, her personality is too cold. Anon is not only cute, but her personality is super great, and the emotional value she provides is completely off the charts."
"..."
Facing the sudden drama, the girls in the gymnasium gossiped endlessly, expressing their own opinions and quickly splitting into two camps. Their eyes darted back and forth among Kitahara, Mutsumi, and Anon as they happily enjoyed the drama.
In contrast, the guys at the scene belonged to only one camp.
"Explode! This looks-obsessed world better explode right now!"
"Did Kitahara save the world in his past life? On what grounds do two cuties actively bring him drinks?"
"That guy Kitahara deserves to die! I curse him to never have seasoning packets in his cup noodles, to cough every time he drinks water, and to always have his phone battery at one percent whenever he goes out!"
"..."
Hearing the evil curses filled with resentment from the surrounding guys, Kita couldn't help but lean into Hitori's ear and whisper-complain:
"Boyfriend actually did save the world, though."
If Kitahara hadn't burned everything to the ground in the end to reverse time, not just Tokyo, but the entire world would have already been destroyed.
"Hitori, should we go bring him drinks too?"
Kita's eyes twinkled as she proposed the idea with great enthusiasm.
If everyone went up to give him drinks together at a time like this, it would definitely be super fun, right?
"N-No way!"
Hearing this, Hitori widened her eyes, her little head shaking back and forth like a pellet drum.
(In front of so many people in the gymnasium, bringing drinks to Kitahara-san would definitely make everyone stare at us, right?)
(Ahhhh! Thinking about it is way too scary!)
(A water flea like me just needs to hide quietly in a corner...)
"Forget it then," Kita said, just teasing without actually intending to act. "Boyfriend's expression looks really uncomfortable right now."
"..."
"Looks like fun," Soyo said, standing next to Sakiko, the corners of her lips curling up slightly. "Sakiko, should we go up and bring Kitahara-kun some water too?"
"No," Sakiko shook her head lightly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Doing that will only cause trouble for Kitahara-kun."
Soyo twirled a strand of hair resting on her chest with her finger, saying with great amusement:
"With the drinks brought by Mutsumi and Anon, will Kitahara-kun choose to take both?"
"Probably... not," Sakiko said with a bit of hesitation, lightly pursing her lips. "Kitahara-kun is actually very afraid of trouble, and since everyone only 'just' met, Kitahara-kun isn't that shameless yet."
"..."
Looking at the two bottles of drinks handed to him from his left and right, the corner of Kitahara's eye twitched slightly. He really didn't want either of them.
"What are you guys trying to pull?"
The countless gossiping gazes around him made him feel like needles were sticking into his back—the feeling of a massive social death was super uncomfortable.
If he had a choice, Kitahara just wanted to quietly watch the drama, not be the person involved in it.
Most importantly, one is Mutsumi, who just transferred here yesterday, and the other is Anon, whom he also hasn't known for very long. Do you girls really not know what bringing water to a boy in broad daylight represents?
Don't deliberately cause trouble!
"After intense exercise, you need to replenish water properly," Anon, who didn't have social anxiety at all, faced the surrounding gossiping eyes with her usual composed look, her voice crisp and pleasant. "Yesterday when we walked home together, I promised to treat Kitahara-san to a drink as a thank-you gift. I happened to have a bottle of water on hand, so I brought it over."
Couldn't you choose another occasion to treat someone to a drink?
You're clearly roasting me over an open fire!
By contrast, Mutsumi's words were much more concise and direct:
"Makoto-kun, drink water."
"..."
"Thanks, but you guys can drink it yourselves," Kitahara sighed softly, deciding to treat everyone equally by rejecting them all. "I have drinks in my backpack."
"..."
"Kitahara-san..."
"Farewell."
Without another word, Kitahara turned around and walked away.
"..."
In the blink of an eye, it was dismissal time.
Kitahara left the gymnasium calmly.
The shuraba seemed to have ended, but the storm clearly hadn't subsided. Walking on the road, he could clearly feel the gossiping glances thrown from around him, which made him quite helpless.
"Time to head back, still gotta go to work tonight..."
Arriving at the shoe locker area of the school building, Kitahara was just about to change his shoes and leave when a gentle and pleasant voice suddenly entered his ears.
"Excuse me, Kitahara-san, could I ask you for a favor?"
Kitahara looked up and saw a girl walking over to him—it was none other than Soyo, the gentle girl who transferred here today.
"Nagasaki-san, is something the matter?"
"The teacher asked me to hand in some documents to the student council after school, but I just transferred here and don't know how to get to the student council office," Soyo put her hands together in a pleading gesture, looking over pitifully. "Could I trouble Kitahara-san to take me to the student council?"
Kitahara looked at her speechlessly: "If I remember correctly, Nagasaki-san has friends in this school, right?"
"I already asked Tomori-chan," Soyo held up her phone and presented it to Kitahara. "See, Tomori-chan said she has already left school, so there's no choice but to trouble Kitahara-san."
Kitahara fell silent for two seconds:
"Wouldn't it be more suitable for Nagasaki-san to ask a girl for help?"
"That's true..." Soyo bit her lower lip gently with her pearly teeth. "But since I just transferred here, bothering other people makes me feel bad."
You feel bad bothering other people, but bothering me is fine?
We only just met, okay!
"Let's go, I'll take you to the student council office."
Kitahara helplessly turned around to lead the way.
It was just a small favor—not like helping up a fallen old man—so it wasn't a big deal anyway.
"Thank you, Kitahara-san."
A bright smile bloomed on Soyo's pretty face as she thanked him gently.
Silence along the way.
Leading Soyo, Kitahara quickly arrived at the student council office.
"We're here," Kitahara stopped in his tracks. "Nagasaki-san, you can go in by yourself. I'll be off now."
"Please wait a moment."
Soyo hurriedly spoke up, opening her backpack as she talked:
"The other day at the school gate I asked Kitahara-san for directions, and today I troubled Kitahara-san again. I really feel bad about it, so please accept this gift..."
While speaking, Soyo quickly pulled out a physical game disc box from her backpack.
"Black Myth: Wukong?"
Looking at the cover content of the packaging box, Kitahara raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"This morning when I was buying things at the supermarket, I happened to encounter a lucky draw event. My luck was pretty good and I happened to win this game disc," Soyo explained softly in a gentle voice. "Kitahara-san is a boy, so you must really like playing video games, right? So I'm giving it to you."
Kitahara naturally wouldn't accept it, shaking his head in refusal:
"Sorry, this gift is too valuable."
Physical game discs were quite expensive, and Kitahara was only helping lead the way, so he couldn't possibly accept the gift.
"But I don't know how to play games anyway, so leaving it at home will just gather dust," Soyo said gently. "Kitahara-kun, please accept it, otherwise it feels like such a waste."
Kitahara said softly:
"Nagasaki-san can give it to your family members to play."
"My parents divorced long ago, so it's just me and my mom at home. Mom is busy with work every day, leaving early and returning late, so she won't play video games either," Soyo shook her head lightly. "I really don't know how to play games, so it's better to give it to Kitahara-san."
Kitahara reminded her:
"If you don't play it, you can take it to a second-hand shop to trade it in."
"Mom gives me allowance every week, so reselling things feels like a hassle," Soyo extended a slender, delicate finger and said in a gentle voice, "If Kitahara-san feels bad about it, why don't you treat me to a bowl of ramen then?"
"..."
Kitahara hesitated for two seconds, but ultimately agreed.
Taking someone's game disc for free was definitely out of the question, but a mutual exchange was fine.
"Then how about today?" Soyo pursed her pretty lips, her voice becoming cheerful. "I'll submit the form to the office first, and then we'll go eat ramen together."
The corner of Kitahara's mouth twitched slightly:
"It's still early."
Soyo covered her lower belly, looking over pitifully:
"But after P.E. class, I'm so hungry..."
"Say no more," Kitahara helplessly agreed. "Today it is."
"Mmm-hmm~"
Soyo hummed happily:
"Wait for me, wait for me! Kitahara-kun is not allowed to sneak away~"
"..."
After Soyo came out of the student council office, the two left the school together.
"Stare—"
Several girls were standing in the hallway, observing in secret.
Anon: "No wonder we couldn't find Kitahara-san, turns out Soyo beat us to it."
Mutsumi: "I was clearly first."
Kita: "I wanted to stage a chance encounter with Kitahara-san, but lost the chance again. We barely said a few words yesterday."
Hitori: "It's okay, we still get to work together tonight..."
"..."
On the other side.
Kitahara and Soyo left the school together, took the train to a ramen shop recommended by Soyo, and he treated her to ramen.
During the meal, Soyo naturally pulled out her phone:
"Kitahara-kun, let's exchange contact info!"
"...Sure."
Kitahara agreed.
Taking gifts obligates you; eating someone's food softens your stance.
Having accepted the gift from her, he naturally couldn't refuse exchanging contact info.
After finishing the ramen, Soyo didn't continue her pursuit, but instead smiled and waved goodbye:
"I had a lot of fun today. See you tomorrow, Kitahara-san."
Kitahara nodded lightly: "See you tomorrow."
Stepping onto the train, Soyo looked at the contact info on her phone, the corners of her lips curving up slightly:
"Now I can finally message him openly and legitimately."
"The correct way to pursue a boy really has to start from his hobbies and interests."
The train started up quietly.
Soyo twirled a strand of hair on her chest with her finger, turning her head to look out the window at Kitahara waiting for his train, smiling happily:
"It's decided. In a few days, I'll gift Kitahara-kun an RTX 5090 graphics card."
"..."
Returning home, Kitahara carefully washed his hands clean, and immediately unboxed the game to play.
Unfortuantely, before he could play for long, it was time for work. Kitahara could only reluctantly turn off the TV and head out to Shimokitazawa.
"Good evening, Kitahara-san."
Just as he stepped into the live house, the girl's crisp and bright greeting rang out.
Kitahara looked at Nijika and nodded gently:
"Good evening, Nijika-senpai."
"Hey hey~" Nijika held her hands behind her back, looking up with her cute face, her eyes shining bright. "Around eight o'clock, we'll have to trouble Kitahara-san to work hard."
Kitahara was curious: "What happened?"
"The band scheduled to perform tonight had a member suddenly fall ill and get hospitalized, so they can't make it," Nijika's voice was clear and pleasant, her golden side-ponytail swaying gently as she spoke, full of youthful and energetic vibes. "So, sis is letting us perform tonight!"
"That's right." A red-haired girl walked over—it was Kita. "Me, Nijika-senpai, Ryo-senpai, and Hitori-chan, the four of us formed a band named 'Kessoku Band'. Even though tonight is our first performance, we definitely won't disappoint Kitahara-san."
When saying this, Kita rested her hands on her hips, full of confidence.
Running away right before the performance?
That kind of thing will absolutely never happen again!
After the life restart, although her body had been 'formatted', the performance experience and skills hadn't vanished; they were all perfectly preserved. A mere performance could be handled with ease.
"Good evening, Kitahara."
Ryo, with her blue short hair, walked over and held up her phone:
"Surfing the net just now, I suddenly saw a piece of news that everyone should be very interested in."
"Huh?" Nijika looked over curiously and quickly widened her eyes. "Registration for the Rock Music Festival is starting?!"
Rock Music Festival, as the name implies, is a grand event for rock bands across the country. The participating bands go through layers of selection to ultimately compete for the annual national championship—it's one of the top music competitions.
"Let me see," Kita looked over expectantly. "Huh? The championship showdown venue for this year is actually Budokan?"
"Ah... Budokan?!"
Pricking up her ears to listen quietly, Hitori, upon hearing 'Budokan', couldn't help but raise her face, her peach-blossom eyes quietly brightening up before she secretly glanced at Kitahara.
(Kitahara-san said before that he wanted to see everyone stand on the Budokan stage...)
"Kitahara, do you want to join our band and enter the competition together?"
Trashy Ryo crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head over.
"That's right, we can form a team together with Kitahara-san!"
Hearing Ryo's words, all the girls' eyes lit up.
If they could stand on the Budokan stage together with Kitahara, it would definitely be a super, super happy thing.
"Me?" Kitahara was slightly surprised, but quickly shook his head. "I'll pass, I don't know the first thing about music."
"What a pity..." Ryo let out a regretful sigh and said nonchalantly, "The grand championship prize money is a whole five million yen. Even split equally, everyone gets to take home one million yen."
"How much?"
Kitahara silently raised his right hand:
"By the way... is it still in time for me to practice now?"