This sucks!
Sanada Minako squatted down to pick up a drink can, then kicked the vending machine as if to vent her anger.
Normally, the "gentle" Sanada Minako wouldn't do such a thing, but thinking of that Aiya Hiroshi who ignored her, Sanada Minako's anger flared.
Damn it, what is Mr. Hayashi anyway?!
Forget it.
She decided to change her mood and send a message to "Uncle."
"Uncle" was a pathetic office worker, ordinary and unremarkable.
After Nogami Izumi set him up, they obtained "evidence" related to his desire to sexually assault a high school girl—fabricated evidence should count, right?
Now they were extorting money from him at will.
Before she could send the message, she turned her head and crashed into a dark mass.
"Ouch—"
Her nose bridge felt like it hit something.
Sanada Minako stumbled back a few steps, then unexpectedly sat down with a thud.
Because she was so well-endowed and quite elastic, even Sanada Minako herself felt two "duang-duang" bounces.
Then her vision gradually cleared.
Sanada Minako hadn't yet clearly seen who the person in front of her was, but she first heard a voice as refreshing as a summer breeze.
"Ah, I'm sorry, are you alright?"
"How could I be alright—" Sanada Minako complained, and then she clearly saw the appearance of the person in front of her.
A young man, definitely a young man.
And the kind of young man with the most youthful aura.
He was backlit.
His white shirt was unbuttoned two buttons at the top, revealing a delicate yet somewhat fragile collarbone. His sleeves were slightly rolled up, and his wrists were fair.
The hand he extended to her was even more slender and well-defined.
The young man was very tall, much taller than the 1.62-meter Sanada Minako, at least 1.8 meters or more.
Thus, his leg length was quite excellent.
Sanada Minako appropriately looked at the young man's face.
First, a perfect jawline, thin lips, a high nose bridge, dark eyes, thick eyelashes, and a head of dark, medium-length hair tied into a short ponytail with a purple hair tie.
His profile was pale, yet beautiful.
"Excuse me—" The young man raised his wrist, "Can you stand up?"
"Y-yes."
Sanada Minako's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively took the young man's hand, feeling its coolness.
The next moment, Menako's heart began to pound.
This young man was very handsome, but the reason for her agitation wasn't just his looks. It should be said, it wasn't *only* his looks; his identity was also very important.
"Hayato"—the boy whom Izumi resented and whom they had been "targeting"—how could she meet him in this way?
And, he seemed to have forgotten their previous encounter in the hallway.
Sanada Minako thought to herself, but it was normal, after all, he hadn't even remembered Izumi.
The young man's right arm was strong. With a "heave-ho," he easily pulled Sanada Minako up.
In fact, because he used too much force, Sanada Minako accidentally stumbled into his embrace.
But only for a moment, Hayato apologized and took a step back. He smiled:
"Ah, I'm sorry, you're too slender. I accidentally used too much strength."
He smelled so good.
Even for just a fleeting moment, Sanada Minako caught his scent.
He even complimented her on being slender.
Sanada Minako felt slightly comforted. She had originally thought she had gained weight recently, which was why that scoundrel Aiya Hiroshi had ignored her.
She looked at Hayato again.
The latter's brows and eyes were full of sincere apology, his attitude very genuine, not at all overbearing as Izumi had described, and even had a "rather easy to bully" feeling.
A harmless herbivore man?
But the expression he showed in the hallway at that time was truly terrifying—he must have had that look because of Nanao Akane at the time.
Displaying a fierceness he didn't usually possess for his girlfriend. To be honest, it was quite cute.
So cute that it made one want to bully him even more.
Sanada Minako twirled a strand of hair with her finger, carefully yet boldly observing Hayato's actions.
"As an apology, I'll buy you a drink," Hayato said. He was about to press the vending machine, but after glancing at the can in Sanada Minako's hand, he could only smile helplessly: "Oh, you've already bought one."
"Yes," Sanada Minako said, her seemingly gentle eyes curving. She waited for Hayato's next move.
"Then, could we exchange contact information?" Hayato asked, pulling out his phone.
"Eh?" Sanada Minako was startled. Straight to the point?
The boy's eyes sparkled like tiny stars. Any ordinary girl would have been unable to resist him.
But fortunately, Sanada Minako was quite experienced; she suppressed the turmoil in her heart and maintained her feigned composure: "Why do you want my contact information?"
Hayato rubbed the back of his head, smiling a bit foolishly: "I was lucky enough to run into a beautiful girl today, and I think it would be a huge loss if I didn't ask for her contact information."
"Beautiful girl"—this title was rather bland, especially for Sanada Minako.
Her appearance was indeed very beautiful, meeting all the characteristics of a "beautiful girl," but she wouldn't be happy because of it.
However, Sanada Minako now felt a joyous elation.
This was because Hayato, who had called Izumi an "ugly woman," was now praising her beauty.
Sanada Minako and Nogami Izumi had always been like best friends; she never wanted to compete with Izumi.
But she also knew that Izumi was always the core member of their trio; if Izumi was the flower, then she and Sae were more like the green leaves.
Yet today, Mr. Hayashi was praising her as more beautiful than Izumi.
A small but wild sense of inflated confidence swelled in Sanada Minako's chest, which was rising and falling with her breaths.
She instinctively touched her heart, which was pounding wildly.
Then she twirled a strand of hair that hung over her shoulder and chuckled softly: "Since you've said so, it would seem a bit heartless if I didn't give it to you."
"Yatta!" Hayato cheered, his face beaming with joy.
Sanada Minako's confidence in her chest grew even stronger.
After they exchanged contact information, Hayato put his phone back into his pocket.
"Although I really want to treat you to a meal right now to apologize, I still have some things to do, so I can only say sorry for now. If I ask you out next time when I'm free, I hope I won't be rejected," he said with a light chuckle, winking and putting his hands together in a praying gesture, speaking somewhat mischievously.
"Hmm…" Sanada Minako smiled: "What should I do? I'll think about it…"
"Please, please don't refuse." Hayato raised his clasped hands above his head, then as if remembering something, "Sorry, time is really urgent, I'm leaving now, I'll text you later!"
He turned around and made a phone gesture: "And if you have anything unhappy, you can also tell me. Although I might not be able to solve the problem, I can be a very good listener."
"Eh?" Sanada Minako was surprised, wondering why he would say such a thing.
"Weren't you kicking the vending machine just now, looking unhappy?" Hayato ran a short distance, then turned around and smiled brightly: "I originally wanted to strike up a conversation with you and ask what was wrong, but I didn't expect to just run into you. This must be a heaven-sent 緣分, hahahaha."
Sanada Minako was speechless; she pursed her lips and smiled.
Then she looked at her phone.
She had managed to get… Hayato's phone number, after all.
Although there was a bit of an unexpected turn, the fish had still taken the bait.
…
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