“Sakura?”
Momoka Aoi blinked her round eyes as she leaned in, her small hand gently tugging on Akiba Sakura’s sleeve.
“You’ve been listless since morning, and your eyes are all red. Did you not sleep well?”
“Uh…”
Akiba Sakura jolted, instinctively straightening her back, trying to put on her usual energetic appearance.
But right now, her head felt heavy and muddled, and her eyelids were so heavy she could barely lift them.
Last night, after being checkmated by that guy Yuuma Tsugumu, Akiba Sakura was both furious and embarrassed.
She tossed and turned at home until late at night before finally falling asleep.
The consequence was exhaustion and poor rest, earning her a pair of faint dark circles.
Yuuma Tsugumu, hearing their conversation, also looked over.
His gaze fell on her tired face, carrying obvious concern.
‘Oh crap, why is he looking at me?’
Noticing Yuuma Tsugumu’s gaze, Akiba Sakura’s heart skipped a beat.
‘Could it be… he noticed something?’
‘I absolutely cannot let them know I’m currently working part-time at a maid cafe, and I especially can’t let this guy connect it to yesterday’s events!’
Thinking this, Akiba Sakura hurriedly turned her face away, raising her hand to rub her eyes haphazardly, forcing out a strained smile.
“It’s… it’s nothing… I just stayed up late last night doing homework. The math problems were really hard, and I lost track of time while working on them.”
“Homework?”
Momoka Aoi tilted her head.
“But yesterday’s homework was very light… and that level of difficulty is simple for you, Sakura, isn’t it?”
“Ah… Ah, is that so?”
Akiba Sakura instantly froze, then hurriedly changed her words in a fluster—
“It was mainly… also club stuff! I was asked to sort out materials at the last minute, and it took until very late, so I didn’t sleep well!”
The more she spoke, the guiltier she felt.
She could only deliberately yawn, pretending to be extremely sleepy, trying to muddle through.
At the neighboring desk, Yuuma Tsugumu just quietly watched her flustered attempts to cover up.
He tapped his fingertip on the desk, a flicker of confusion passing through his eyes.
He could tell Akiba Sakura was lying, but he didn’t know the reason, so he didn’t expose her, simply withdrawing his gaze silently.
“The club… That makes sense. The school sports meet is coming up soon, and many clubs have started organizing registration forms and related materials. I thought you, as the ‘Club Flower,’ wouldn’t be assigned such tasks~”
Momoka Aoi smiled at Akiba Sakura.
Akiba Sakura mainly participates in two clubs:
The Tennis Club and the Anime Club.
As a ‘National Treasure’ level existence within the clubs, Akiba Sakura would not actually be assigned such work by the club presidents.
“Ah—”
Upon hearing ‘school sports meet,’ Akiba Sakura suddenly perked up—
‘Whoa, the school sports meet! Isn’t this the perfect opportunity to conquer Yuuma Tsugumu?’
Her little schemes started clicking away in her mind, and the corner of her mouth unconsciously hooked into a secretive, wicked smile.
“Kekekekekekekekekekeke…”
‘Opportunity… I smell an excellent opportunity!’
She maintained a calm surface, but her mind was already clattering away with calculations, her gaze subtly stealing glances in Yuuma Tsugumu’s direction.
‘The school sports meet… the whole school’s attention, everyone will let down their guard and relax from studying. This is precisely the perfect time to get close to him and secretly raise his affection!’
Following the failures of her previous plans at the coffee shop, amusement park, etc.,
Akiba Sakura now tightly clenched her small pink fist, cheering herself on.
‘Those were all accidents before… This time, I will definitely successfully conquer this guy Yuuma Tsugumu!’
Akiba Sakura’s eyes shifted, already settling on the first step—
‘There are so many events at the sports meet. I just need to quietly find out what events that guy signed up for, then sign up for the same ones right after him. Whether it’s tennis, sprinting, relay races, anything goes. Then, under the pretense of ‘training together,’ I can get close to him, naturally breaking through that icy shell of his… hehe… No matter how cold he is to me, that heart of his will eventually warm up one day!’
The more that guy Yuuma Tsugumu ignored her, the more she would deliberately hover in front of him, smile at him, occasionally show weakness to him.
‘Max out his affection, make him fall for me again, make him devoted to me, ehehe…’
Thinking this, the corner of Akiba Sakura’s mouth curved into a small, mischievous arc.
Even the tips of her ears grew slightly warm from excitement.
Akiba Sakura swore in her heart that she would make this guy who suddenly distanced himself from her gradually let down his guard, then gradually start caring about her again, until he considered her a unique existence, then seriously confess, and finally logically end up with her—
By then, the more sincere feelings he invested, the harder he would fall later.
‘Once he’s completely in love with me, I’ll find some yellow-haired guy to deliberately get close to me in front of him, turn and leave right before his eyes, thoroughly cuckold him!’
Just imagining Yuuma Tsugumu’s usually calm and composed mask completely shattering, the eyes beneath his brim swirling with disbelief, pain, and despair, Akiba Sakura was already so excited her heart pounded wildly.
The sense of pleasure from having her kink satisfied was almost overflowing.
‘This time, I absolutely cannot fail again!’
She shouted at herself in her heart, attributing all her previous failures to accidents.
This battle at the school sports meet—she must win.
Akiba Sakura pretended to casually look around, but the corner of her eye was still secretly observing Yuuma Tsugumu’s every move.
She had even already started calculating in her mind how to ask him what events he had signed up for.
Meanwhile, Momoka Aoi looked at Akiba Sakura beside her, who was exuding a strange sense of determination, and tilted her head in confusion.
‘Is Sakura laughing like that because she thought of something happy again?’
But soon she shook her head, and the corner of her mouth also began to curve up slightly.
‘Well, never mind. The point isn’t there. The point is the school sports meet… That’s good~ Isn’t this the perfect opportunity to help Sakura and Yuuma-kun nurture their feelings?’
Her little brain worked quickly, already quietly starting to plan her ‘Wingwoman Plan.’
‘First, signing up for the sports meet is definitely the first breakthrough point!’
Momoka Aoi planned to later find an excuse to secretly inquire about what events Yuuma Tsugumu had signed up for, then intended to subtly remind or guide Akiba Sakura.
Plus, she could use her privilege as a ‘Sports Meet Executive Committee Member’ a little to ensure these two logically ended up in the same group.
Then, training, warm-ups, waiting for matches—all would be good opportunities for them to be alone together!
‘As long as Sakura persists, the reserved Yuuma-kun will definitely slowly fall for her!’
The more Momoka Aoi thought about it, the more excited she became.
Her cheeks flushed slightly pink, and the smile on her lips couldn’t be hidden.
‘No no~ You two, don’t show off your affection in front of me~ No no no~’
She had even already started fantasizing—after the sports meet ended, Akiba Sakura and Yuuma Tsugumu smoothly got together, the two returning to their previous intimate state, walking side by side sweetly on campus.
‘My plan cannot fail!’ x2
Akiba Sakura and Momoka Aoi simultaneously resolved in their hearts.
“Achoo!”
At the same time, Yuuma Tsugumu also inexplicably felt his nose itch, and subsequently sneezed a big sneeze.
‘Who’s thinking about me?’
Yuuma Tsugumu frowned, pulling a tissue from his drawer to wipe his nose.
‘Tonight… go to the ‘Soft Cat Cafe’ again?’