Menako's expression wasn't very good today.
Izumi observed her all morning and finally couldn't help but ask at noon:
"Menako, what's wrong?"
During lunchtime, these three usually gathered to eat their bento boxes.
Whether in the courtyard or elsewhere, they always attracted the attention of a group of boys.
However, this time they chose the second-floor tiered classroom in the experimental building, reasoning that there were fewer people here, and it didn't matter if others found them.
But if Murae saw them, it might jeopardize Menako's "carefully planned" strategy of these past few days.
Although Izumi always felt something was a bit strange, she eventually acquiesced to Menako's plan to seduce Murae with her charms, and then find a way to control him or deliver a fatal blow.
However, after so much time had passed, except for the first few days, Izumi hadn't heard any so-called good news from Menako's mouth.
In fact, Menako's expression had become absent-minded these past few days, often feeling anxious and uncertain.
She would inadvertently take out her phone to check messages, then sigh as if she hadn't received the desired result.
Izumi had just finished her thoughts, and Menako didn't give her an answer.
The latter, as she had expected, took out her phone, stared intently at the screen, and then her brows furrowed into an anxious inverted V-shape.
"Sigh…"
"What exactly is wrong?" Izumi demanded.
Menako's situation was really worrying…
"No… nothing."
Menako finally reacted.
She smiled and shook her head.
Her smile was somewhat forced… She had originally thought that by lending her computer to Hayato, their distance would instantly close, and she would sweep away her previous slump—in fact, ever since they went out to eat, Mr. Hayashi had become increasingly cold towards her, so Menako had been thinking of a solution—but it didn't happen.
Instead, Hayato seemed to ignore her even more; even the good morning text she sent this morning had not been replied to yet.
To say that he hadn't looked at his phone all morning… Menako would never believe that.
However, she obviously couldn't tell Izumi about this.
She had boasted to Izumi as a victor, claiming she could easily take down Mr. Hayashi.
If she admitted defeat after only a few days, she would appear too much like a loser.
"Smack, smack," came the sound of someone smacking their lips while eating.
It came from Sae, who had been listening silently until now.
Menako, who was already irritated, became even more agitated when she heard this sound, biting her lip.
"…Sae, can you please eat a little more quietly!?"
Sae smiled, then continued to "smack, smack" as if she hadn't heard anything.
Menako was thoroughly enraged.
She considered herself a "lady"—at least, that was the persona she believed others saw.
And while Izumi might be spoiled, she had the temperament of a young lady; not noble, but certainly not vulgar.
Only this athletic girl often did things that didn't fit their trio's identity as beautiful girls.
Menako's anger flared, and she couldn't help but exclaim:
"It's because you always don't listen, Sae, that the boys in third year of middle school didn't like you!"
After saying that, Menako felt a little regretful.
That matter had always been a sore point for Sae; even if it was mentioned accidentally, it would make her feel depressed for days, let alone with Menako's provocative stance now.
But if it could make her realize her mistake, it wouldn't be bad.
Menako thought.
This time, Sae didn't get angry as Menako had expected.
After swallowing the food in her mouth, she actually smiled.
A brilliant smile that revealed her characteristic cute fangs… This charming point attracted many boys to Sae.
But cute is cute, and cuteness is ultimately worthless in the face of sexiness.
This was the conclusion Menako had drawn over the years, and the "third-year middle school boy" who rejected Sae's affection and directly stated he liked her was the best proof.
"Menako, you're just exasperated because Murae hasn't been paying much attention to you lately, aren't you?" Sae said.
Menako was stunned, "How did you know…"
She almost blurted out what was on her mind, but luckily she reacted quickly and twisted her words around in time.
"What are you guessing about? Everything is under control," Menako said.
"Oh?"
Sae narrowed her eyes, her yellow, cat-like pupils curving into a comical and sarcastic shape.
"But Murae hasn't replied to your message, hasn't he?"
"He, he's just busy right now," Menako made an excuse.
"It's fine if you lie to us, but don't lie to yourself," Sae said pointedly.
"What do you mean?" Menako's face fell.
She confronted Sae.
Although this trio appeared to be friends, their pecking order was actually very strict.
Izumi was naturally ranked first.
Menako was often ranked second.
Sae occasionally managed to climb to second place, but more often than not, she was relegated to third.
So Menako, in second place, had to be wary of the one at the bottom climbing up and replacing her.
Sae decided it was time.
She took out her phone, tapped a few keys, and seemed to send something.
Almost instantly, she received a reply.
Then Sae shook her phone,
"He replied, Murae did."
"What—" Izumi was confused at first.
They had agreed that Menako would infiltrate the enemy lines, so why was Sae joining in?
Izumi was about to take the phone Sae offered, but her body was violently bumped by Menako.
"What are you doing—" Izumi, who almost fell, reprimanded Menako.
But at this moment, Menako's eyes were completely devoid of Izumi.
She snatched Sae's phone and stared intently at the screen.
There were two messages, very simple.
The first one was from Sae.
"Have you eaten?"
The second one was… Murae.
Menako took out her own phone to compare; the number was indeed the same.
That is to say, it was real.
"I'm eating… Why is Hinata-san caring about me today? Do you want to have lunch together? If so, I can come over and find you. What did Hinata-san eat? I have fried…"
Then this message was cut off as if it had reached a character limit, but in fact, this chat software would not prevent you from sending it just because it was less than a hundred words.
But that wasn't the key.
The key was that Murae was indeed using his phone and could even reply to Sae's messages; he was deliberately ignoring her!
The moment Menako snatched the phone, another message came through, still from Hayato.
"Chicken drumsticks, does Hinata-san want some?… Sorry, I accidentally pressed the send button just now."
Moreover, Sae only sent a casual greeting, and he gave her so many replies.
This formed a stark contrast with Menako's desolate chat interface.
A burning sensation ignited in Menako's chest.
"You!" Menako wished she could break the phone in half.
"When did you get his contact information!? Did you go through my phone when I wasn't around!?"
"Ha!?" Sae said disdainfully, "Why would I do something like that? He asked me for it himself, okay?"
Menako raged, "You clearly know I'm executing a 'plan,' so why are you trying to mess things up!? Do you know how easily he can find a flaw because of you!?"
"Tsk," Sae clicked her tongue, "Please look at your current situation, how could you possibly succeed? Don't you understand yet?"
"Absurd!" Menako still wanted to say something.
Sae then sneered, "Menako, not every boy will prefer you.
Besides, you misunderstood Murae's intentions from the very beginning.
He! Has! No! Good! Feelings! For! You! At! All!"
The dark-skinned girl said each word distinctly, then thought for a moment, and made a gesture with her pinky finger.
"Maybe a little, but only a tiny bit… As for what you said before about him 'hitting on you,' 'liking you,' 'insisting on treating you to a meal,' those were all just your illusions."
"Illu-illusions?" Menako's eyes widened.
She couldn't accept it.
"It was just an apology after he bumped into you.
You also said he took you to a beef noodle shop for dinner, right?
Why would someone take a girl they like on a date to a place like that?"
Sae narrowed her cat-like eyes and smiled again.
"I've been to a Western restaurant with him, you know.
Well, it wasn't very luxurious, but at least it was much more formal than a so-called fast-food beef noodle shop."
"Wha… what?" Menako's pupils trembled violently.
"I didn't know about this…"
"I originally wanted to tell you earlier, but seeing Minako-chan enjoying herself so much, I didn't say anything," Sae smiled.
This "thoughtful gentleness" was clearly ill-intentioned.
She paused, then spoke softly, as if delivering a victory speech, "Menako, you're too self-conscious."
"Too self-conscious"—Menako had once said this to Sae in Chapter 161.
And now Sae used it to retort, causing Menako's heart to feel a piercing pain.
"As for the reason he's been cold to you lately, it's probably because he realized you were clinging to him and didn't know how to deal with it, so he handled it coldly, right?" Sae said softly.
"Recently, he complained to me about 'a friend of his who seems to be pursued by a girl but doesn't know how to reject her.'"
"He, he wasn't talking about himself!" Menako was still trying to comfort herself.
"Please," Sae rolled her eyes, "How could any of his friends be pursued by girls? You've seen them."
...
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