Chapter 86: Breaking Through Like Blossoms in Spring

In the gaze of the entire crowd, Kondo Haruka, who had returned from the track, swept past Xiao Chun Miura, slammed to a stop in front of Kanzaki Sou, and then—she grabbed Kanzaki Sou’s wrist.

She raised their joined hands high, turned around, and ran toward the finish line.

With her back to Xiao Chun Miura, Kondo Haruka’s face bloomed with a victorious smile, more dazzling than the sun in the sky.

“Gotcha!”

She shouted, her voice full of endless pride and triumph.

“I’m borrowing the ‘most important friend’!”

!!!

For a moment, the sports field fell into a deathly silence.

A few seconds later—so long it felt like centuries—Xiao Chun Miura stood frozen in place, eyes wide, helplessly enduring the thunderous screams of the approaching crowd.

Kanzaki Sou’s feet followed Kondo Haruka as she ran, but his expression remained shocked and incredulous from the moment Kondo Haruka grabbed his hand.

Xiao Chun Miura stood at the starting point of the track, clutching the slip of paper that demanded her to borrow the “most important person” tightly, unmoving, as if turned to stone by the sudden turn of events.

Her mind was desperately trying to understand what had just happened.

Because her form was more standard, Kondo Haruka reached for the slip earlier than she did; but at the time, she hadn’t checked its content and just ran out.

Perhaps to save time, she had planned to confirm the content on the way, then search for a suitable item on the sides of the track?

…As a result, after confirming the slip’s content, Kondo Haruka doubled back from where she’d already run and “borrowed” Kanzaki Sou.

Xiao Chun Miura’s gaze drifted past the crowd near the starting line, bustling to borrow items, and looked toward Kondo Haruka’s receding figure.

Kanzaki Sou…was running with her.

And on Kondo Haruka’s face was a smile of absolute confidence.

To Xiao Chun Miura at that moment, it was the cruelest expression.

Since she only turned back after running out, it meant Kondo Haruka was also learning the slip’s content for the first time.

But then she immediately seized the opportunity, and took Kanzaki Sou from her, who was also participating in the event.

At that moment, in Xiao Chun Miura’s eyes, Kondo Haruka turned her head.

She was still smiling, and now the smile was even deeper.

As if declaring victory, Kondo Haruka had simply competed properly, and yet it seemed she had perfectly fulfilled her declaration to “definitely make Xiao Chun Miura look foolish.”

She hadn’t sent anyone to interfere with her, nor played any small tricks.

In front of the entire school, she boldly took Kanzaki Sou’s hand, while she herself could only freeze in place, powerless, becoming the biggest joke.

The cold anxiety that had lingered since morning finally found an outlet at that moment and exploded.

The ominous premonition had come true.

This wasn’t a hurdle she could overcome with effort or patience.

It was a dead end—

Xiao Chun Miura’s body went cold, her blood as if frozen.

Now…what should she do?

“–Xiao Chun! Don’t just stand there, run!”

A familiar voice called out in her ear.

Following the sound, Xiao Chun Miura saw Yui Hori and the others shouting anxiously by the trackside.

“Run! What are you supposed to borrow?!”

“Don’t give up, Xiao Chun!”

“Do your best!!”

The cheers were nearly drowned out by the crowd’s screams.

But Xiao Chun Miura still heard them.

…The surrounding competitors had already begun running one after another.

…Yes, she had to finish the race.

She couldn’t let her friends’ goodwill go to waste.

Xiao Chun Miura steadied herself slightly.

But now the problem was—who should she “borrow”?

Even if she randomly pulled someone, she would have to explain at the finish line why that person was her “most cherished.”

Xiao Chun Miura’s gaze swept across her friends standing at the edge of the field.

Yui Hori with her neat short hair, Mio Sato with a single ponytail, Yuzuki Yasuda with fluffy bangs.

……. Generally speaking, when asked, most people would choose family members as their most important person.

If someone had already built their own family, mature adults with close relationships, they might choose their partner.

But.

Not to mention that family in this world—she’d only talked to them a few times on the phone and never met in person.

At this time and place, on a high school sports field, there was no way to find someone who wasn’t here.

Compared to the pair of parents who seemed to always be at concerts and band performances…

The figures of her three friends were reflected in the girl’s eyes.

–It was more reasonable for them to be more important to her at this moment.

If she could choose, Xiao Chun Miura would shamelessly grab Kanzaki Sou’s wrist right now.

Whether using the excuse of a partner or the shield of finishing the race, even if she had to weave her feelings into a lie, she would try to coax Kanzaki Sou into her grasp.

Just like her friends had said.

Borrowed Item Relay events like this might actually be perfect opportunities to deepen bonds.

Her chance had come quietly when she saw the content on the slip.

–And was lost just as quickly when Kondo Haruka took Kanzaki Sou away.

Xiao Chun Miura’s lips tightened.

No wonder the system said that if things continued like this, after the sports festival, the favorability between Kondo Haruka and Kanzaki Sou would reach a high point.

She might have seized the initiative, and the crowd bore witness to her actions.

But.

She couldn’t just admit defeat.

No matter what, she would never give up.

–She’d originally thought it didn’t matter if Kondo Haruka won the event; her athletic ability was so overwhelming that she never considered winning herself.

What she wanted to win was the balance in Kanzaki Sou’s heart.

So losing the race didn’t matter.

–That was what she had thought.

But now it was different.

Because Kanzaki Sou had said—

“We’re partners. When you invited me, you said you hoped not to care too much about the results…”

“But since we’re partners, I have the duty to win for you.”

“So for the rest of the competition, I’ll give it my all.”

The boy’s words echoed in her mind.

Standing in the center of the track, the girl lowered her head slightly, then lifted it from the shadows to face the dazzling sunlight once more.

“…… We…are partners.”

Xiao Chun Miura lifted her foot and swung her arm to drive her body.

She twisted her upper body and turned her direction, running toward the edge of the field.

“Eh?”

The friends at the edge of the field, seeing the one they’d been cheering for suddenly running toward them, were stunned.

The expression on Xiao Chun Miura’s face at that moment was one they’d never seen before.

For Kanzaki Sou, being a partner meant winning for the other person.

If he saw her as a partner, then she had to do the same for him…!

That was the kind of relationship built on mutual respect and value!

She’d thought that as long as she acted weak, she could turn the situation to her advantage and lower Kondo Haruka’s favorability in Kanzaki Sou’s heart.

But that was just a coward’s strategy.

If she had counted on Kanzaki Sou’s sense of “restraint” and “sincerity,” believing he couldn’t accept a childhood friend acting out of jealousy to commit bullying—and thus decided to go along with Kondo Haruka’s bullying—

Then how could she ignore the flaws in her own plan that violated the “effort” and “responsibility” Kanzaki Sou valued and intended to accept defeat by going along with the bullying?

–It was undeniable and obvious.

If she gave up here, the glow of “effort” and “responsibility” radiating from Kondo Haruka would surely envelop Kanzaki Sou.

He wanted to win, too.

So, just as he did for her, she wanted to bring him victory!

“–Mio, please, come with me!!”

So, before even reaching her friends, she shouted as she ran toward the edge of the field.

“I want to win!!”

“To win against Kondo Haruka!!!”