“Hmm hmm…”
“?”
Looking at Sakura Akiba as she hummed a little tune with the corners of her mouth curled up, Aoi Momoka felt a bit surprised.
“I feel like Sakura’s been in a great mood all day!”
“Is that so? Do you really think so?”
Sakura looked at Aoi with a smile, two cute dimples appearing faintly on her cheeks.
“Mm-hmm!”
Aoi nodded, then pinched her chin as she looked at Sakura seriously.
“It’s actually quite obvious! After all, the old Sakura wouldn’t just keep giggling like that… and…”
Aoi’s mind flashed back to when she had asked Sakura to go to the vending machine for drinks.
As they walked up the stairs, Sakura had frequently let out a low, strange cackle: Kekekeke.
“Well… maybe!”
By now, Sakura and Aoi had reached the open area in front of the vending machines under the school building.
“Heave-ho…”
Aoi bent down to operate the vending machine, selecting a strawberry soda and a lemon tea.
“Here you go, Sakura. This is your lemon tea — “
Aoi held out Sakura’s lemon tea, only to turn around and see Sakura still giggling to herself.
“Kekekeke…”
‘Again — ‘
Aoi shook her head with a wry smile.
As an old classmate and best friend, Aoi could tell at a glance that Sakura was having another “mental orgasm.”
‘Wonderful, wonderful! This is definitely a massive step toward my success!’
Sakura’s breathing grew heavy, and the blush on her face became increasingly evident.
‘Last night, I not only obtained the key item [Tsugumu’s Room Spare Key], but I also successfully pushed Tsugumu one step closer to becoming the [Perfect Male Lead]!’
“Kekekeke…”
‘And that guy was so much more obedient yesterday. Having his spare key really is like holding his life in the palm of my hand! As expected of me!’
“Kekekeke…”
“I say… Sakura…”
‘This was all thanks to Aunt Riko’s help. I don’t know why she suddenly gave me the spare key to Tsugumu’s room, but since I have it, I’m going to make the most of it!’
“Kekekeke…”
“Sakura… people are already staring. You…”
‘The next step is to properly train Tsugumu every night after class. I’ll make him even more obedient, bringing me closer and closer to the fruit of victory I desire. Hehehe…’
“SAKURA!!!!!!!!!”
Just as Sakura was giggling while imagining her success in cuckolding Yuuma Tsugumu, a clear and pleasant voice suddenly rang out in her right ear.
“Ah, ah! I’m here!”
Sakura’s train of thought was instantly broken.
Shaking herself out of it, she hurriedly looked at Aoi.
“Aoi, what’s wrong? What happened?”
“You’re asking me what happened…”
Aoi sighed, leaning her head against her hand in exasperation.
“You’ve been giggling like an idiot for a while now. A few upperclassmen were looking over here out of curiosity…”
“Huh? Oh! I was just… thinking of something happy…”
“Honestly! I can see right through you. Let’s just get back to the classroom! You might be cute, Sakura, but when you act stupid, you’re really…”
Aoi grabbed Sakura’s arm, not letting her say another word as she dragged her toward the school building.
“Eh? Stupid? Me? How am I stupid — “
***
“Whew… lemon tea is so good~”
Back in the classroom, Sakura took a deep swig of the lemon tea she had just bought, a blissful smile on her face.
“So happy~”
“Hey, Sakura…”
“Mmph?”
Sakura looked at a cautious Aoi with a bewildered expression.
“What is it, Aoi?”
“Don’t speak so loudly! Come closer, turn this way a bit!”
“Huh?”
Seeing Aoi’s mysterious behavior, Sakura’s interest was instantly piqued.
She leaned her body slightly toward Aoi.
Seeing this, Aoi leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Sakura, did something happen between you and Yuuma…?”
“Hmm? Why… would you say that, Aoi?”
Sakura was stunned for a moment when she heard this.
Then, she asked back with a guilty conscience, her eyes wandering toward Yuuma Tsugumu, who was sitting nearby.
It was during this stealthy glance that Sakura suddenly realized Tsugumu was also stealing glances at her.
Although the movement of his head was subtle, it didn’t escape Sakura, who had been a master of emotions in her past life.
As if sensing Sakura’s gaze, Tsugumu quickly looked out the window, pretending as if nothing had happened.
“Because… Yuuma has been glancing over here intentionally or unintentionally since class ended… Did you guys have a fight?”
“A fight? Pfft… of course not — “
Sakura let out a soft smile upon hearing Aoi’s guess.
Originally, she had been worried that her behavior was so obvious that Aoi had figured out what happened between her and Tsugumu yesterday.
It turned out to be a false alarm.
“But…”
“All right, all right!”
Sakura suddenly raised her volume.
She slowly stood up and looked at Tsugumu with a beaming smile.
“Sakura, you…”
Aoi wanted to tell Sakura not to be so loud, but she saw her walk straight toward Tsugumu.
Sakura placed the lemon tea on Tsugumu’s desk.
“Tsugumu, are you thirsty because you don’t have a girl to buy you soda? You poor thing — “
The corners of Sakura’s mouth curled up into a mischievous smirk.
“But don’t worry. I’ll always take care of you~ So, have some lemon water on me~”
“… I don’t want it… it has your spit in it.”
“Oh my~ Tsugumu actually noticed that? I wasn’t even thinking that way myself~”
Sakura first flashed a smile full of malice, then crossed her arms over her chest and took a step back, her expression shifting to one of mock distress.
“It turns out Tsugumu has a crush on me. But how unfortunate~ I don’t like guys like you~ So you should learn to give up. Don’t get hung up on just one person~”
“…”
“What’s with that? This reaction is so boring…”
Just as Sakura wanted to continue teasing Tsugumu, the school bell rang.
“Seeing that you didn’t fight, I’m relieved!”
Aoi also heard the bell.
She left Sakura’s side and returned to her own seat.
As soon as she sat down, she looked at Sakura and Tsugumu with a sigh of relief.
“I really thought you guys had a fight just now…”
“I told you it wasn’t like that~”
Sakura responded to Aoi with a smile.
Just as she was about to turn around and return to her seat, Tsugumu’s voice suddenly came from behind her.
“Hey, you… come to the school rooftop after class. I have something to say to you.”
“Hmm?”
Sakura whipped her head around to look at Tsugumu.
After meeting his gaze, she confirmed that those words were indeed meant for her.
“What did you… just say?”
“The bell has already rung. Why are you all still wandering around? Get back to your seats immediately!”
At that moment, their homeroom teacher stepped into the room.