The heavy clouds rolled, pouring water down as slanting rain pelted against the classroom window.
A ballpoint pen spun between slender fingers.
An arm propped up a face.
Blood-red eyes stared out at the gray city beyond.
The last class before school ended on Monday had run into such a dreary weather.
So ill-timed.
So ill-timed~
Legs wrapped in white over-knee socks intertwined, and loafers gently tapped the chair leg of the boy in front whose name she’d forgotten.
So peaceful…
Jiang Jian Yue tried to blink, but ultimately couldn’t resist the invasion of sleep.
Boom——
Suddenly, a deafening thunderclap startled Jiang Jian Yue awake.
She jerked her head around.
All the desks and chairs had been tidied up, and she was the only one left in the classroom.
The rain outside fell even harder, like a thin mist separating the classroom from the entire world.
In her ears, only the sound of rain through the window remained.
The haze of sleep faded away, leaving behind a faint, abandoned feeling, as if the whole world had left her behind.
What the heck.
She’d just closed her eyes for a moment.
Maybe staying up late watching videos to study how to be a streamer was a bad idea.
She definitely shouldn’t do it again.
Jiang Jian Yue grabbed her bag and left the classroom.
Raindrops poured into the Corridor, and the lingering dampness seemed to cling to everything.
She’d planned to message Koji Hattori and then leave school from the Main Hall.
But at the fork in the path, her indoor shoes left a mark on the floor as she forcefully turned.
It wasn’t until she stood in front of the Club Activity Room that Jiang Jian Yue’s brain seemed to finally wake up.
She gave a self-deprecating laugh.
“What am I doing?”
Hadn’t she decided to give those two some space alone?
Better leave.
“Senpai?”
The door to the Club Activity Room slid open, and Kaori Onishi’s head peeked through the gap, asking in confusion, “Aren’t you coming in?”
Ears sharp as always.
And the brain not so much—not like I was giving you two space or anything, right?
Jiang Jian Yue sighed inwardly.
But after entering the Club Activity Room, she realized it wasn’t just the two of them.
“Ah! Wh-why are you here…”
A purple-haired girl with a ponytail clasped her book, looking at Jiang Jian Yue in surprise.
Who was this again?
It wasn’t until she saw the blond boy sitting next to her that Jiang Jian Yue vaguely remembered.
Wasn’t this the girl who spread rumors that she stole someone’s boyfriend?
“Let me introduce—this is my brother Ohnishi Akirayama, and this is Song Wei Yuka. They’re childhood friends~”
Kaori Onishi said, introducing them to Jiang Jian Yue.
Brother?
Your hair colors aren’t even from the same palette…
Is this the result of two-dimensional genetics?
Ohnishi Akirayama greeted awkwardly, while Song Wei Yuka, after her initial shock, realized she’d overreacted and quickly lowered her head to read her book.
“They’re new members of our Nature Club~”
Kaori Onishi waved.
“Hey! Kaori, we never said we were quitting the other club!”
Ohnishi Akirayama hurriedly stopped his sister’s nonsense.
“It’s just that because of the rain, Soccer Club had a break today, so we came to check it out.”
“Song Wei doesn’t have a club, though.”
Ohnishi Akirayama seemed to talk a lot, explanations firing off like a machine gun… obviously a bit nervous.
Why are you explaining to me?
Doesn’t concern me anyway.
Jiang Jian Yue’s gaze drifted to the corner, where Yuki Asahi—Chunan—was doing homework, his ears standing upright.
Was he really that curious?
Sitting at the Conference Table, Jiang Jian Yue took out her homework, planning to finish it at school.
“Eh…”
Kaori Onishi looked at her brother, then at his childhood friend beside him, and finally at Jiang Jian Yue.
Kaori Onishi could sense it precisely—there was a scent of forbidden love!
As soon as Senpai arrived, her brother got all tense, and why was Yuka reacting that way…
Could it be?!
She suddenly realized that, in this small Activity Room, two love triangles now existed.
And Jiang Jian Yue was at the center, connecting both triangles.
What a sinful woman!
“Um, about last time…”
Ohnishi Akirayama began hesitantly, and beside him, Song Wei Yuka trembled.
Pa——
“Sorry! I’m leaving.”
Song Wei Yuka clenched her teeth, slammed her book shut, stuffed it into her tote bag, and stood up.
“Wait!”
“Kaori, bring my things back for me.”
Ohnishi Akirayama rushed after her, not forgetting to remind his sister as he left.
Ahh…this is just what adolescence is like.
Kaori Onishi pulled back her curious gaze and looked at Jiang Jian Yue’s eternally indifferent face, sighing, “Senpai, you’re so unshakable.”
You young people have a lot to learn.
***
The rain soaked through clothes, making the uniform feel like a heavy burden.
Emerald hair stuck to the scalp, wet and limp.
Ikeda Sachi licked his lips with a dry tongue, unable to look away from the scene inside the binoculars.
He stood on the slightly elevated Grandstand, binoculars trained on the window of an Activity Room on the first floor of the Second Hall.
Inside the binoculars, a gray-haired, red-eyed girl—charming yet cold—was staring intently at her test paper.
Beside her, a voluptuous girl pushed her textbook over, seemingly asking a question, kneeling on her chair and leaning forward to block her face.
“Tch.”
Ikeda Sachi clicked his tongue in irritation.
Below the Grandstand, Koji Hattori walked by holding an umbrella and a Bento in his hand, glancing at the student with a slightly strange look.
“Hey! Don’t get drenched!”
Trying to maintain the dignity of school staff, Koji Hattori shouted loudly.
Students are the future of the country, after all.
Ikeda Sachi didn’t react, just stared blankly at the view through the binoculars.
Suddenly, a low growl escaped his throat.
His grip on the binoculars tightened, starting to tremble.
Within the binoculars’ view, a black-haired, golden-eyed boy appeared from nowhere.
He seemed to be asking a question as well, and the two of them were so close their bodies almost touched.
The two of them…almost pressed together…
This had to be an illusion, right?
It had to be.
Whether by accident or on purpose, the black-haired, golden-eyed boy even touched the girl’s hand!
Ikeda Sachi felt a suffocating tightness in his chest, grinding his teeth until they almost cracked.
Even though…even though he’d been watching obediently, not even touching her while she slept…
But this guy!
This guy actually—
Boom——
A Thunder Dragon tore through the clouds, illuminating Ikeda Sachi’s twisted face for an instant.
Koji Hattori flinched; it was the first time he’d seen such a contorted expression in real life.
It was like…a demon.
“Hey!”
Koji Hattori climbed the steps to the Grandstand, wanting to ask what was going on.
Bang——
The moment he got close, Ikeda Sachi shoved him aside without warning.
Koji barely managed to hang onto the plastic bag handle and keep the Bento from flying out of his hand.
“Get lost!”
Ikeda Sachi’s eyes were bloodshot, staring at Koji Hattori’s black hair with a nearly insane hatred.
Eh, eh, eh? What the heck is going on?
Oh Ikeda is the person infront of her desk, I forgot