"You seem to have been yelled at?" Kobayashi Ayaka walked over, arms crossed, with a cold expression.
Good thing she ran fast, otherwise, she'd definitely get a few big slaps. Ayaka thought to herself.
"Sort of, an argument?" Hayato said with a wry smile.
"Heh, I think you got rejected trying to pick someone up." Kobayashi Ayaka sneered.
What kind of stinking bitch is so unappreciative? If he came to pick me up, I'd already have my clothes off. Ayaka thought to herself.
"No." Hayato didn't seem too sad. While answering Kobayashi Ayaka fluently, he typed effortlessly on his phone with one hand. "It's about that guy from before, the beef brisket noodle shop incident."
"I've pretty much forgotten, after all, I have a lot of things to do every day... But now that you mention it, I do have a slight impression." Kobayashi Ayaka said indifferently.
Spoon, spoon, spoon, spoon, spoon, spoon. It's a pity that after being used too many times, it's lost its flavor. Ayaka thought to herself.
Then Kobayashi Ayaka mocked him again.
"What? PUA failed?" she asked indifferently.
I really don't know what kind of accomplishment those PUA bitches get... If you've got guts, come at me! Ayaka thought to herself.
"No, this is part of the plan." Hayato said with a smile.
"Tsk, I just saw someone pointing their finger at you and yelling." Kobayashi Ayaka said mockingly.
"Everything is under control." Hayato said, "If Ayaka-senpai doesn't believe me, I can bet something with you."
Life! If you lose, give me half your life. If you win, I'll give you half my life! Ayaka thought to herself.
"Childish, who wants to play such a game with you." Kobayashi Ayaka said disdainfully.
Hayato could only shrug.
Then Kobayashi Ayaka left.
But after taking three steps, she turned her head.
Seeing that Hayato had no reaction, she continued walking.
She walked three more steps, then turned her head again.
Damn it, don't you know how to persevere? If you just persevered, I'd be willing to bet anything with you!! Ayaka thought to herself.
"Ah, Ayaka-senpai." Hayato called out.
Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes, here it comes, here it comes, here it comes, here it comes, here it comes, here it comes! What do you want? My body or my virginity? Ayaka thought to herself.
Then, almost pink hot air shot out from her nose, as if this air had transformed into '?' symbols.
What a pity...
"Miyajima-senpai... Is something wrong?" Hayato asked.
It didn't go as expected.
From his position, he could see Miyajima Sakura talking to her club members, and she seemed to be physically demonstrating Kendo moves—this wasn't something that should typically be done during morning physical training, but Miyajima Sakura was extremely serious; when it came to Kendo, she was willing to teach everything she knew at any time, anywhere.
But even with such a serious Miyajima Sakura, Hayato could still perceive a slight sense of incongruity.
"Something seems to have happened at home." Kobayashi Ayaka said, "I'm not entirely sure about the specifics, but it seems to be a historical issue left over from the older generation."
....
The quarrel that happened yesterday created a lot of distance between Nogami Izumi and Sanada Minako. As for the latter and Hinata Sae, they were like fire and water.
Throughout the entire morning today, the trio, who were originally inseparable, never gathered together even once.
By midday, Hinata Sae couldn't stand it anymore. She called the two of them to meet in the Line group, still at their usual spot in the tiered classroom.
She and Nogami Izumi currently had no conflict, so she believed Izumi wouldn't be an issue.
The key was Menako...
But, unexpectedly.
Menako arrived even earlier than Izumi.
By the time Izumi entered the classroom, Menako was already delicately chewing rice from her bento box.
"So, what is it?" Nogami Izumi asked rudely.
She didn't look at Sanada Minako.
The latter, however, seemed oblivious to this and continued to chew slowly.
"It's about Hayato—"
Hinata Sae got straight to the point.
Just hearing that name gave Nogami Izumi a headache. She even began to regret provoking that guy... He had actually caused their little group to start falling apart.
Sanada Minako didn't speak; she just smiled.
Hinata Sae, however, didn't stop and continued:
"I've figured it out. That bastard Hayato approaching me really did have an ulterior motive."
Nogami Izumi was surprised, and then her eyes brightened a little.
Yes, it should have been like this all along.
Whether Hayato truly had a problem wasn't important, but it was very important to Nogami Izumi that Hayato had a problem.
Even if there was no problem, she was considering fabricating a 'problematic' narrative to pull these two obsessed people out of the quagmire, so they wouldn't sink deeper.
"He just wanted to gain my favor, and then suddenly ignore me, to make me sad." Hinata Sae stated the conclusion she had reached during her confrontation with Hayato on the sports field. "I suspect he knew about our relationship with Izumi from the beginning."
"Indeed." Nogami Izumi quickly responded, "...So, it seems he used the same trick when he approached Menako, right, Menako?"
This was the first time she had spoken to Sanada Minako today, and the usually strong Nogami Izumi even forced out a stiff, feigned smile.
Sanada Minako smiled gently: "How naive."
"Yes, he's truly a naive and disgusting man." Hinata Sae chimed in, "He probably doesn't realize that from the very beginning, all of this was our trap."
"I was talking about Sae." Sanada Minako said, changing the subject.
Hinata Sae froze: "Wh-what?"
"What Lin did to you, was it ignoring your greeting and then talking to other girls? And when he introduced you, he just blandly said, 'This is my junior sister'... like that?" Sanada Minako asked indifferently.
...How did you know?
Strange. Menako only came to school after morning training, how could she know such details?
"And then you cursed Lin out because of that, right?" Sanada Minako's lips gradually began to curl upwards. "'Male dog' or something... 'fodder' or something... 'idiot' or something... How should I put it, very much in your style, Sae."
Hinata Sae had a bad feeling: "Sanada Minako, you damn—"
"That's right, Lin told me what happened afterward." Sanada Minako replied calmly, "As for what he did, it was under my guidance."
Hinata Sae's eyes widened instantly, and the black pupils in her yellowish eyes became vertical.
"Lin, he actually always thought you were very cute, extremely cute, probably the cutest in the world. It makes me very jealous, you know." Sanada Minako chuckled, "Then I said, 'Don't look at Sae like that, she's actually just treating you like a ****.' Lin didn't believe it and said your relationship was actually pretty good, so I said, 'Maybe you can test Sae, and her true nature will be revealed.'... And then, I told Lin those steps for testing... Sae, you truly have no guile at all, you exposed everything all at once, hahahahaha. When people say 'no valleys in the chest,' it turns out they mean 'flat-chested women have no wisdom at all.'"
A 'boom' seemed to echo in Hinata Sae's ears.
She... had fallen into Sanada Minako's trap?
The next moment, she reacted.
"Sanada! Minako!" Hinata Sae bared her sharp canines, seemingly wanting to bite Sanada Minako to death.
"Brainless people are always brainless. Even with a perfect starting hand, you manage to mess it up like this." Sanada Minako said with a smile, her eyes curved. "A brainless paramecium like you probably can't handle the task of 'seducing Lin.' Izumi, don't worry, just leave that matter to me."
I'm not worried about a damn thing. Nogami Izumi grew increasingly annoyed. Your goals have completely diverged from the original plan, haven't they?
"I'll kill you!" Hinata Sae said, then lunged forward.
Nogami Izumi quickly stopped her: "Sae, calm down, don't let Lin trick you again—and you too, Menako—"
"Shut up! You female dog who was eliminated first!!" Hinata Sae cursed.
Then she knocked over Sanada Minako's bento box, spilling all the contents onto her slippery brown hair.
When it came to physical action, Sanada Minako truly was no match for Hinata Sae.
But what did that matter?
Hinata Sae was, at most, just a talking monkey; she posed absolutely no threat to her anymore.
After overturning the bento box, Hinata Sae immediately jumped up and bolted out of the tiered classroom.
She couldn't lose.
She could lose to Shigen Ryouka, she could lose to Miyajima Sakura.
How could she lose to Sanada Minako, that bitch dog!?
Sanada Minako nonchalantly took out a tissue and wiped her wet hair—Lin probably didn't even want to see that bitch anymore, right?
Then, she smiled gently at Nogami Izumi:
"Don't worry, Izumi, the advantage is still on our side. I can handle Lin by myself. When the time comes, I'll... 'avenge' you."
Nogami Izumi shivered.
She didn't know, didn't remember, and wasn't clear... when things had started to turn out this way.
....
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