The next morning at the Shuchiin gate, Yukinoshita and Uchiha Ryo entered the campus one after the other as usual.
Yukinoshita: "Is Enyun-chan doing well lately?"
Uchiha Ryo: "She's doing great... (addicted to games, yelling 'Game Start!' all day, her purity is maxed out.)"
And this scene, in the eyes of the other students:
Student A: "Ahhh, has the unattainable flower, Yukinoshita-san, been captured? I don't believe it!"
Student B: "I'm so envious, but if it's Uchiha-kun... it's not impossible."
Student C: "But isn't Uchiha-kun dating Hayasaka-san?"
Student D: "It's probably just a rumor. After all, neither of them have admitted it."
Just as Yukinoshita left for her classroom, Hayasaka Ai, the subject of their conversation, suddenly ran over.
"Uchiha-kun... are you free this weekend! Can you come to my house?"
Your house? Isn't that the Shinomiya residence? Hayasaka Ai wouldn't be so proactive as to invite me over. Does that mean Shinomiya Kaguya is looking for me?
Uchiha Ryo: "Of course. Just make sure your young lady entertains me well."
Hayasaka Ai was surprised. What's going on? You haven't figured something out, have you? Forget it... it's Lady Kaguya's plan anyway. It has nothing to do with me.
Walking into the classroom, Shirogane Miyuki immediately greeted him, then pulled Uchiha Ryo over sneakily.
"Uchiha! The whole school is talking about you and Hayasaka. Is it true?"
Uchiha Ryo: "Don't believe rumors, don't spread rumors, don't visit rumor sites. Be a good student, starting with me."
Shirogane Miyuki was a little unconvinced. "Then what were you two talking about downstairs just now?"
"She invited me to her house this weekend, and I agreed."
Shirogane Miyuki froze in place. Go to her house... agreed... those six words echoed in his ears.
Growing up, because of his family's situation, Shirogane Miyuki had never had the time or the mood for romance, so his rank was probably not even Bronze yet.
As everyone knows: Iron-tier love is [Persecuted-level], Bronze-tier love is [Unrequited-level], Silver-tier is [Mutual-attraction-but-afraid-to-confess-level].
Gold-tier is [Confirmed-relationship-level], Diamond-tier is [Honeymoon-phase-level], God-tier is [If-you-know-you-know-level].
Shirogane Miyuki sighed, then looked at Uchiha Ryo again.
"Um, Uchiha. I have a friend who wants to become more popular recently. What do you think he should do?"
Uchiha Ryo nodded. "It's simple for you to become popular."
Shirogane Miyuki quickly waved his hands. "No, no, it's my friend who wants to be popular. I'm focused on studying right now and have no time for anything else."
"...."
Uchiha Ryo: "I know all your friends. Who is it? I'll just go find him."
Shirogane Miyuki: "No, actually, it's my friend's friend."
Seeing Uchiha Ryo fall silent, Shirogane Miyuki continued.
"This friend of my friend, he wants to be as popular as you. No! Just being able to talk to girls normally would be enough."
Uchiha Ryo sighed. "Alright, Shirogane. If you want to be popular, you might need to work on your eyes."
"No, no, no, it's my friend's friend. And, why my eyes?"
Uchiha Ryo: "Just look in the mirror yourself. Because you don't get enough rest, your eyes look very fierce to others, so girls probably find you hard to approach."
The problem with his eyes... Shirogane Miyuki lowered his head in thought. Speaking of which, isn't this just a matter of looks!
After dealing with Shirogane Miyuki, Uchiha Ryo planned to take a short nap in the morning. Then he was called up by Yokoshima Naruko and summoned to the office.
In the teachers' office, only Yokoshima Naruko and Hiratsuka Shizuka were present. Uchiha Ryo stood there with a yawn and asked in confusion.
"What do you need me for, Sensei?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka: "You and Yukinoshita seem to be getting along well lately. Can you tell me about the time a few weeks ago when you and Yukinoshita both took a day off?"
Uchiha Ryo threw up his hands. "I just took a normal sick day. Huh? Yukinoshita-san took a day off that day too? I had no idea."
Hiratsuka Shizuka clenched her fists. "You think I'll believe you? Tell me the truth."
Yokoshima Naruko cleared her throat. "Uchiha, did you two take a fatigue day because you played too hard, right?"
Uchiha Ryo: "Ah... yes, yes, yes."
"Nonsense!" Hiratsuka Shizuka glared at Yokoshima Naruko. "What are you saying as a teacher? And you, Uchiha Ryo, is that really what happened?"
Uchiha Ryo: "I think you can ask Yukinoshita. No matter what I say, Hiratsuka-sensei probably won't believe me easily anyway."
Yokoshima Naruko laughed. "I told you this kid Uchiha was hard to handle. Hiratsuka, you should just go call your class's Yukinoshita over."
Hiratsuka Shizuka took a deep breath and looked at Uchiha Ryo. ".....Do you have some problem with me?"
Uchiha Ryo rolled his Sharingan. "No. I'm leaving."
Hiratsuka Shizuka nodded and then looked at Yokoshima Naruko.
"Do you have some problem?"
Yokoshima Naruko: "Uh, I want to..."
Hiratsuka Shizuka: "Shut up! Uchiha... eh? Where did he go!"
In the teachers' office, Uchiha Ryo's figure was long gone. Hiratsuka Shizuka wondered if she was hallucinating. When did Uchiha Ryo leave!
"Since I'm already skipping class, I might as well wander around. Yo! That junior over there who's also skipping class, long time no see."
Uchiha Ryo spotted Ishigami Yu playing a game on the sports field.
"Senpai, I'm not skipping class. I'm just slacking off during P.E."
Ishigami Yu took out his phone again. He had thought it was a teacher walking over just now, which had given him a scare.
"What are you playing?"
Ishigami Yu: "Want to try, senpai? It's a very good open-world game."
Uchiha Ryo: "Is that so? Let me see."
A class period passed—
Ishigami Yu: "Hahaha, you're amazing, senpai! I actually have a lot of other games, but unfortunately, there's no computer here."
After making plans to play again with Ishigami Yu, who was in the middle of P.E. class, Uchiha Ryo walked up to the rooftop of Shuchiin, bored.
Just as he walked onto the rooftop, Uchiha Ryo saw Chang Wei beating Lai Fu! No, wait... a silver-haired girl was stepping on Kojima Souji, who was lying on the ground.
"Ryuju Momo! If you've got the guts, let me go! A good man doesn't fight with a woman. It's not that I can't beat you."
The silver-haired girl lifted her foot disdainfully, then stepped down again.
"Remember, Kojima. The rooftop is my territory. If you come up here again, I'll beat you every time I see you!"
Kojima Souji looked up and suddenly looked at Uchiha Ryo as if he had seen a savior.
"Uchiha! Hurry up and help me get this woman's foot off me!"
Ryuju Momo: "Hmm? Are you this guy's helper!"
[System has detected a capturable target]
[Capturable Target's Name: Ryuju Momo]
[Current Ryuju Momo Affinity: 0]
Is there still a surprise I haven't discovered at Shuchiin? But just as Uchiha Ryo was sizing up Ryuju Momo, the girl's whip kick was already coming at him.
"Wow! It's white!"