Chapter 91: Only Two Days, and the Boyfriend Belongs to Someone Else
After his initial confusion, it was Takasu Ryuji, his reliable friend, who explained the situation to him.
It turned out that on Friday after school, the sight of the two of them leaving the school together was seen by someone, and the story snowballed through word-of-mouth, becoming increasingly exaggerated until it reached its current state today.
Scratching his head, Kaede said with a bewildered look, "What is this nonsense? Are high school students today really this bored? If they have time to gossip about this, why don't they go find a relationship themselves, or does that mean their grades are already stable enough to consistently rank in the top ten of the year?"
"Your expectations seem a bit high..."
After speaking, Takasu Ryuji quickly shook his head: "Wait, why am I complaining now? The focus of your question seems wrong, doesn't it? This matter seems to have spread quite widely. At least, I heard from others that everyone in the first year knows about it, and the second year is probably similar."
Just then, two more boys walked over. One of them looked at Kaede and said, "Asakura, tell us honestly, is it true? Others also saw you walking with Senior Kasumigaoka last Friday. Ah, she's one of the most popular seniors in the second year, and she has an amazing figure!"
"Exactly, exactly!" The other boy nodded too, his eyes revealing envy as he looked at Kaede.
Kaede punched both of them lightly in the stomach without thinking and said, "It's barely worth hearing as a joke. Although the Senpai and I certainly know each other and have a good relationship, it's not the kind of relationship you guys are thinking of. Stop spreading these rumors, especially since it's not good for the Senpai, who is a girl."
"Huh? It's really not true? Isn't that a shame?"
No, only people who judge purely by appearance would think Utaha is a perfect goddess, right?
Although Utaha behaved quite well during normal interactions, Kaede clearly remembered her occasional shocking remarks and her tendency to set traps for people.
Hmph, she can only fool these naive young guys whose minds are filled only with boobs and thighs.
Thinking of the gap between himself and these guys, Kaede couldn't help but feel a sense of superiority.
Fortunately, he didn't completely ignore the matter. After sending the two boys away, he prepared to contact Utaha to ask about the situation on her end.
Just as he was about to open Line, Eriri immediately sent him a message.
He had a bad feeling... Takasu Ryuji, who had safely survived and hadn't gone back to his seat, also saw Eriri's name pop up on Kaede's phone screen and flashed a slightly gleeful smile.
"Asakura, things are looking bad. What are you going to do?"
"I don't think you find this situation bad at all; you look quite happy, actually." Kaede gave Takasu Ryuji a speechless look, then turned his back so he couldn't see Eriri's message on his phone.
Eriri: [As soon as I entered the classroom, I heard people discussing something.]
Kaede: [Don't say it, I already know. Stay calm, it's just a rumor spread through word-of-mouth.]
Then Eriri sent an angry emoji to express her displeasure.
Eriri: [What the heck? We've only been dating for two days, and something like this happens as soon as we get back to school?]
Kaede could only laugh wryly and patiently began to explain to Eriri.
Kaede: [I'm not sure either. I guess it must have been because the Senpai and I were seen leaving the school gate together last Friday. And then, well, bored high school students started gossiping.]
Eriri: [Then tell me what we should do!]
It was obvious that Eriri was truly anxious. She wasn't mad at Kaede, but she was very annoyed that her boyfriend, after only two days, had supposedly become someone else's before she even had a chance to enjoy the relationship properly.
Pushing away Takasu Ryuji's face as he tried to lean in, Kaede quickly replied to Eriri with one hand.
Kaede: [If you want to solve it, there are two ways. One is to just leave it alone. In a few days, those gossips will quiet down when they realize there's no more drama to consume.]
Eriri: [No way, that will make me even more upset! Try another way!]
Kaede: [Then there's only one way left. I can come to your classroom right now and publicly confess to you again. That way, the previous rumor will fall apart on its own, or even be completely overwritten by the new one. How about it? If you agree, I'll come over immediately.]
Then, there was no reply from Eriri.
After waiting for half a minute and realizing there was still no message, Kaede figured out what was going on. He also sent a message to Utaha, asking if she had been affected, and then put his phone back in his pocket.
Looking at Takasu Ryuji, who was still gossiping beside him, Kaede calmly said, "Stop staring and go sit down."
"Did you explain it properly?"
Too lazy to deal with this guy, Kaede simply mouthed the name Kushieda Minori silently, and Takasu Ryuji immediately obediently returned to his seat.
However, Kaede hadn't forgotten that there was another troublemaker in his class: Kitamura Yusaku, who returned two minutes later after finishing up his Student Council duties.
"Hey, Asakura, I heard an interesting piece of news... Ah, my glasses!"
Holding Kitamura Yusaku's "true self" in one hand, Kaede looked at him leisurely and said, "You just got back from being busy, do you really have to be so restless? Wouldn't it be better to just sit down and rest quietly?"
"Big Brother, I was wrong, please give me back my glasses!"
Kitamura Yusaku, whose vision was terribly blurry without his glasses, had no chance of getting them back from Kaede's hand and could only concede defeat.
Once he behaved, Kaede didn't make things difficult for him and handed the glasses back immediately.
"Phew, the world is finally clear again."
After putting on his glasses, Kitamura Yusaku said fearfully, "I wouldn't have teased you if I had known. Don't worry, I knew that was a rumor and didn't believe it at all. I also explained it to the Student Council members when they discussed it."
Trouble-making aside, Kitamura Yusaku was still relatively reliable.
However, the only thing that made Kaede feel puzzled was why Utaha hadn't replied to his message yet.
It wasn't until the break before the last class preceding lunchtime that Kaede finally received a message from Utaha.
Utaha: [Asakura-kun, when I woke up, I noticed everyone around me was looking at me strangely. Some people even came to ask me how to pursue a younger student. What do you think I should do?]
"..."
After a moment of silence, Kaede replied to Utaha.
Kaede: [Right now, I only want to know if you, Senpai, have an effective way to make this rumor disappear.]
Honestly, with this news constantly circulating, Kaede was quite stressed out too.