Xiao Chun Miura always thought her plans were quite clever.
But where there are smooth things, there are also things that don’t go well.
The unlucky event happened during the break before lunch.
There were no teachers in the Classroom, and students freely chatted about their own topics during the break.
With two periods left until lunchtime, Xiao Chun Miura was taking advantage of the rest time to think about what she needed to prepare before noon.
She had to prepare suitable questions to ask, otherwise, whether they were too simple or too complicated, Kanzaki Sou might notice something was off…
If it was too simple, he’d see she was acting just to get close to him; if it was too complicated, she’d lose the chance to ask him to explain.
Just as she was staring at the textbook—which felt a bit unfamiliar at the moment—searching hard for appropriate questions——
“Xiao Chun Miura!”
Along with that obviously unfriendly shout, an uninvited guest arrived.
As Xiao Chun Miura turned toward the voice, a figure stormed up to her desk.
The newcomer slammed a hand down on her desk with a loud “bang,” startling the surrounding Classmates to look over.
Auburn curly hair, a casual jacket over a sweater, a rolled-up school skirt, and a whole ensemble of little trendy details…
It was the last person Xiao Chun Miura wanted to see these days—Kondo Haruka.
What made Xiao Chun Miura even more distressed was that Kondo Haruka looked absolutely furious… the girl’s eyes were wide open, glaring at Xiao Chun Miura, and her auburn curls seemed even fluffier from anger.
“Come with me!!”
She practically gritted her teeth, yelling at Xiao Chun Miura in a near-roar.
The previously noisy Classroom instantly fell silent, the air freezing in a moment.
All the curious, probing, and eager-to-watch eyes focused on the stunned Xiao Chun Miura and Kondo Haruka standing beside her desk.
Xiao Chun Miura’s heart sank.
The pressure was overwhelming—far beyond what she’d mentally prepared herself for just seconds ago.
She’d thought Kondo Haruka came looking for her because someone in their class had told her about the morning incident.
…But getting this angry was a bit much, wasn’t it?
As she followed Kondo Haruka past the other desks toward the back door of the Classroom, Xiao Chun Miura’s anxiety only grew.
——And then, the thing she feared most truly happened.
“Last Friday! Did you go home with Sou-kun?!”
After exiting the back door, Kondo Haruka blocked Xiao Chun Miura in the Corridor, shouting the question without a hint of restraint.
Her voice wasn’t suppressed at all, so the whole Corridor could hear.
Xiao Chun Miura didn’t even have the composure to think about that.
Her mind was a mess.
How did Kondo Haruka know about her going home with Kanzaki Sou?
Did Kanzaki Sou tell her?
Impossible.
Kanzaki Sou wouldn’t do such a thing—even after these past few days of interaction, he wasn’t the type to cross the line.
He’d actually try to help her out, using his childhood friend knowledge of Kondo Haruka, to defuse the situation.
Since he knew Kondo Haruka and herself didn’t get along, why would he cause trouble?
…Then, was it another Classmate who saw them?
“I… we were just going the same way…”
Even though knowing the reason she was exposed didn’t matter anymore, Xiao Chun Miura forced herself to calm down and tried to offer Kondo Haruka an explanation she could accept.
Of course, with that unconfident voice and such a weak excuse… there was no way Kondo Haruka would buy it.
“Same way?! Hah? Same way?!”
Kondo Haruka raised her voice.
“The Library work ends at the same time! Why is it only the day I didn’t go home with Sou-kun that you just happened to be ‘going the same way’?!”
“Don’t tell me Sou-kun invited you first! He’d never do that!!”
“You invited Sou-kun to go home with you, didn’t you? Hm? Just happened to find out from Sou-kun that he wouldn’t be going home with me that day?!”
“Ugh…”
Xiao Chun Miura bit her lip instantly.
Everything Kondo Haruka said was true; she couldn’t even refute a word.
“It’s because… there was some Work-related matter I wanted to discuss… so I…”
Xiao Chun Miura could only continue her powerless defense.
“Work? Hah!”
Kondo Haruka sneered, crossing her arms.
Even though they were the same height, her attitude made her seem above it all.
“What kind of Work has to be discussed after school? Couldn’t you talk in the Library?”
“You did it on purpose!”
“You’re something else, saying to me you’d ‘keep your distance,’ and then immediately looking for an excuse to get close to Sou-kun!”
“You seem so honest, but you’re so fake!”
The sharp accusations stabbed like knives.
Xiao Chun Miura’s cheeks burned, embarrassment, shame, and panic at having her intentions exposed mixing together, leaving her nowhere to hide.
The whispers of other Classmates in the Corridor only made the public humiliation worse.
“I didn’t… it’s not like that…”
Her denial was so feeble it couldn’t even convince herself.
“I’m warning you, Xiao Chun Miura!”
Kondo Haruka stepped closer, her finger almost poking Xiao Chun Miura’s nose.
“Stay away from Sou-kun! Don’t think these little tricks will get you anywhere!”
“Sou-kun is just a nice person—he only puts up with gloomy people like you because he feels bad! Don’t get carried away!”
“I’m done! Just talking to you ruins my mood!”
With that, she glared at Xiao Chun Miura, snorted, and strode away.
Leaving behind a Corridor full of strangers’ strange looks—and Xiao Chun Miura, frozen in place and pale-faced.
For the rest of the morning, Xiao Chun Miura felt like she was in an ice cellar.
She could feel all sorts of gazes—sympathy, curiosity, contempt, schadenfreude—turned her way… Kondo Haruka’s outburst had completely pushed this “transparent” girl into the spotlight.
She tried to focus on class, but couldn’t process a single word.
Kondo Haruka’s accusations and everyone’s stares replayed endlessly in her mind, the shame and pressure almost suffocating her.
When lunchtime started, she almost ran out of the Classroom, head down, trying to avoid everyone’s eyes, fleeing to the Library—the only place she could feel a little safe.
But even today, the Library couldn’t be her refuge.
She’d barely arrived when Kanzaki Sou showed up too.
His expression seemed more serious than usual, and when he saw Xiao Chun Miura, his eyes were a bit complicated.
“Good afternoon, Miura-san.”
His greeting was still polite, but less warm than usual.
“Good afternoon…”
Xiao Chun Miura’s voice was barely a whisper.
She didn’t dare look at Kanzaki Sou, her mind a tangled mess.
He must know too… What does he think?
That she’s troublesome?
Or like Kondo Haruka, that she has ulterior motives?
Kanzaki Sou didn’t help her with questions like they’d arranged that morning—since Xiao Chun Miura didn’t bring it up, he didn’t ask what she didn’t understand either.
Their conversation was limited to necessary Work topics, and most of the time was silent.
The entire Work period, the atmosphere was so suffocating it was hard to breathe.
Plan A: Failure
Start Plan B: Kill Them All
Just kidding🥀🥀