Time seemed to freeze in that moment.
Xiao Chun Miura’s mind went blank, only able to feel the warm touch on her arm—heat that belonged to someone else.
And the faint, clean scent of soap lingering at the tip of her nose.
“Eh……who……”
“Wow, what’s going on~——”
“Is she from another class?……”
It wasn’t until uneasy whispers began to spread around her that Xiao Chun Miura realized what she had done in her panic.
She…she really crashed into Kanzaki Sou?!
This posture…wasn’t it just like she had thrown herself into his arms on purpose!
She looked up instinctively, and under the tousled, clean hair of Kanzaki Sou, she saw a handsome face filled with confusion and surprise.
It was over.
How was she supposed to explain this now……
“Ugh……”
Just as Xiao Chun Miura was still frozen in shock, a mortified whimper sounded beside her.
She turned her head.
The girl who had been dragging Kanzaki Sou’s arm—her hair dyed a reddish chestnut and curled, wearing a loose, short-skirted dress—was glaring at her with wide, round eyes, her face turning red.
Kondo Haruka, completely unprepared for this scene, stared at Xiao Chun Miura—now almost pressed entirely against Kanzaki Sou—her eyes full of embarrassment, anger, and disbelief.
“Eh?! Who are you?! What business do you have with my Cang-kun?!”
It was practically a shout.
Kondo Haruka’s voice made even the hair beside Xiao Chun Miura’s temples tremble.
“Haruka, why are you saying that again? She just fell by accident.”
“——Ha?!”
A bright, youthful voice came from above—Kanzaki Sou’s. It was the first time Xiao Chun Miura had heard it.
…Well, after all, male protagonists in games don’t have voice acting.
But Kondo Haruka’s reaction was far less friendly.
“Cang-kun! She clearly threw herself at you!”
Kondo Haruka said, eyes wide, her tone exaggerated. Then she turned her gaze on Xiao Chun Miura.
“A wild girl who appeared out of nowhere—I…”
“Are you okay, classmate? Sorry, Haruka can be a bit too energetic sometimes.”
“Hey——!”
Ignoring Kondo Haruka’s protest, Kanzaki Sou supported Xiao Chun Miura’s shoulder, helping her up from his chest.
He had been facing sideways to the classroom door, so he hadn’t seen Xiao Chun Miura enter.
By the time he realized, a girl had already lunged at him from the side.
He instinctively steadied the unfamiliar girl who had crashed into his chest, preventing her from falling.
The girl’s slender arm and thin shoulder collided with him, and the scent of her soft, smooth hair filled his senses.
But Kanzaki Sou was an exceptional young man in almost every way.
He didn’t feel any unnecessary emotion at the sudden contact, simply and gentlemanly helping Xiao Chun Miura to her feet.
He didn’t blame her for falling into his arms, nor did he show hostility toward a stranger; instead, he even apologized for his friend’s excessive attitude.
“Sorry, so, so, so, so, so much!”
However, as she looked up and found herself caught in that gentle, gentlemanly gaze, Xiao Chun Miura suddenly felt as if she had been scalded.
She sprang out of Kanzaki Sou’s arms, retreating several steps, the words tumbling out in Japanese without thinking.
…What am I doing.
Why am I blushing so much?
It was just a helping hand.
It’s not like I’ve never been…
Okay, fine.
Looking back on her life, she really hadn’t had any close contact with boys.
Just blame it on being unaccustomed, and call it discomfort.
Xiao Chun Miura’s entire face turned bright red, her mind a tangled mess.
After standing still for a moment, she seemed to suddenly remember something, and bowed ninety degrees in apology, her voice shaking uncontrollably.
“I-I-I-I slipped! I’m terribly sorry! I crashed into you!”
She even used honorific language in her apology.
“Is an apology enough? Cang-kun is my…”
“Haruka, please wait.”
In this awkward atmosphere, everything around them fell silent.
Xiao Chun Miura felt her heart pounding like a drum inside her chest, ready to leap out.
The shame burned like a candle flame, scorching her from within.
She had never been good at handling socially fatal situations like this; as an Otaku, her social defenses were even thinner than her peers’.
To her, this felt less like an embarrassing incident and more like torture.
…It’s over, it’s over, it’s over!
Why did everyone suddenly stop talking!
Even though the goal was achieved, the method was just too humiliating!
And Kondo Haruka’s look just now was terrifying!
Would she come looking for trouble later?!
In the silence, Xiao Chun Miura remained bowed, the corners of her mouth trembling, her legs shaking as she tried to keep herself upright.
…Too scary.
Ever since she had passionately introduced herself as a hardcore Otaku at the Welcome Ceremony, she hadn’t experienced this kind of public silence in a long time.
Eh, isn’t this too silent?
Is this bullying?
…Can I just leave now.
Honestly, turning and running shouldn’t be a problem.
It’s not like anyone could actually catch her.
—Yes, run.
Just as Xiao Chun Miura made up her mind to turn and flee, Kanzaki Sou’s voice reached her ears.
“It’s all right. Please don’t worry. As long as you’re okay.”
“Did you come to our class for something?”
Xiao Chun Miura looked up.
Kanzaki Sou was smiling gently, his eyes behind his glasses focused on her, but the gaze felt like a spring breeze.
That warm smile and polite tone—
—It was pure heavenly music to Xiao Chun Miura!
Those clear eyes looked at her, filled with just the right amount of concern and nothing more.
“N-no! I’m fine! Thank you!”
Xiao Chun Miura shook her head, then felt wrong and nodded, then shook it twice more.
“I, I came… I came because—because…”
But she still hadn’t thought of an excuse to explain her fall, so she could only stammer.
“Hey!”
Kondo Haruka finally couldn’t take it anymore.
She stepped between them, her reddish-brown curls cutting off Kanzaki Sou’s line of sight.
The childhood friend’s dead-fish eyes openly expressed her displeasure, staring straight at Xiao Chun Miura, who lowered her head reflexively.
“Which class are you from? And what did you come for? If you walk so carelessly and hurt Cang-kun, what then?”
She deliberately emphasized “Cang-kun,” as if declaring ownership.
“Haruka.”
Kanzaki Sou tugged gently at Kondo Haruka’s collar, signaling her to stop.
“This classmate didn’t do it on purpose. Without me, she would have hurt herself falling.”
“But…”
“Ding-ling-ling~——Class is about to start. Please return to your seats immediately……”
Kondo Haruka still wanted to say something, but the broadcast from the classroom ceiling cut her off, forcing her to swallow the words “She was obviously on purpose.”
Unable to come up with an excuse, Xiao Chun Miura now just wanted to dig a hole and disappear.
Thankfully, the warning bell saved her.
Wearing round glasses, the plain-looking long-haired girl bowed hurriedly again.
“I’m very sorry! Sorry to disturb you! I-I’ll leave now!”
She finished in a jumble, turned stiffly, and then darted through the crowd of students—each with a different but equally vivid expression—fleeing from Class 1-1’s classroom.
Her long hair fluttered behind her, her retreat as frantic as a black rabbit running for its life.
“……”
“Cang-kun~! Class is starting, let’s go back to our seats!”
Nearly dragging Kanzaki Sou, Kondo Haruka laughed, pulling the boy away from the door and back toward their seats side by side.
***
It was only after Xiao Chun Miura ran back to her own classroom and sat at her desk that she dared to breathe deeply.
“Ha…ha… I survived…”
…Social death is even scarier than physical death.
—And I just had to choose between the two.
Xiao Chun Miura buried her face in her hands in despair.
The students around her didn’t seem to care about her movements at all, so she hid her face behind her book and summoned the handy feature the System had generated for her earlier.
Seeing the blue number “50” between Kanzaki Sou and Kondo Haruka’s Avatars was still unchanged, Xiao Chun Miura let out a huge sigh of relief.
At least, social death wasn’t enough to make her disappear.
She wasn’t sure if what she had done was the right thing, but as long as it worked, maybe there was no better way.
Having confirmed the result, Xiao Chun Miura calmed down a little and began to think.
…I need an excuse.
I need an excuse to meet Kanzaki Sou again—not just to explain my actions just now, but also to create more chances to get close to him in the future.
She was just an unfamiliar girl from the same grade; in normal circumstances, there was no way she’d have so many opportunities to interfere with the kind of school romance events that happened between him and other girls.
…Just thinking of places like the School Festival, the Café where they worked, Club Activity, or the Sports Day—all the hotspots for school romance events—Xiao Chun Miura shivered at the thought she might never get near Kanzaki Sou.
“Ugh~——”
The chill made her shudder.