My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 216

"Oh... Oh oh."

I couldn't just run away, so I could only let out meaningless groans in response.

The girl tilted her head slightly, stopping at a distance where she could reach out and touch me. I really wanted to take two or three steps back, but I mustered the courage to restrain myself.

"I heard you haven't been in class much? Where have you been slacking off?"

"No... I won't tell you. I won't utter a single word to the ruling class."

"The ruling class, indeed."

Jie chuckled. "Is this the time to be all smiles and laughter with me? If you're busy, hurry up and go!"

"So, Mr. Rebel, since you're not interested in the sports festival, what brings you here?"

"N-nothing... I just happened to be strolling around here—"

"Oh, you wouldn't—"

The woman smiled faintly and looked up at my face, which was positioned higher than hers.

"—You've come to see me, haven't you?"

...Ughhhhhh!

I'm in a bad state right now and don't have time to play the Little Devil game with you!

"No! That's not true! I never intended to run into you!"

"what?"

"Well, anyway, I have something to do! That's all for now!"

"Ah, wait a minute—"

I abruptly ended the conversation and fled on the spot.

Damn it, Isana! See how you're going to make it up to me!

Irito Yume ◆ Weakest in defense when attacking

"Little Yuuko! Let's go eat—oh dear!"

During lunch break, Senior Sister Ya Shuang came to the preparation tent and made a walrus-like noise as soon as she saw my face.

I slowly raised my head and said:

"...What's wrong, senior...?"

"That's the question I should be asking! What's wrong with you, Yuuko?! You're giving off this vibe of someone who just walked out of the racetrack after a horse race!"

"No...it's nothing...it's not the first time, I'm used to that attitude...hahaha..."

Senior Sister Ya Shuang shook my shoulders violently. I'm fine... please stop paying attention to a woman like me that nobody wants to see...

"The illness seems quite serious."

President Hong suddenly appeared from behind Senior Sister Ya Shuang.

"Aisa, she looks exactly like you when you thought you confessed to Hoshino-senpai, but it turned out to be a complete failure."

"Please don't use casual, conversational language to dig into other people's psychological trauma!"

"At the time, I actually found it quite enjoyable, thinking to myself, 'Who taught you to act like a little devil and beat around the bush like that?'"

"This genius has a truly awful personality!"

...pretending to be a little devil...beating around the bush...

"...The president is absolutely right..."

"Little Jiezi?"

"Just like being tsundere... in real life, it just gets annoying... what a devilish thing to do, I shouldn't have gotten so cocky and done it so many times..."

"No, Jiezi? Everything you said was so sarcastic! Stop saying it—! There's no going back—!"

Irito Yume ◆ When the person she likes has a low self-esteem

I soon regained my composure, and we decided to continue our conversation while eating.

"It's all because of an empty stomach! You're most likely to become pessimistic when you're hungry, little Jiezi!"

"is that so……"

"Really! Just like when I'm hungry, I overthink things too! You agree, right, Rinri!"

"No, I think it's fine."

"Try to fit in!"

Senior Sister Ya Shuang rummaged through her backpack and said:

"Did you two bring lunchboxes? I brought one I made myself—wait, what?

As she spoke, the senior student took out a lunchbox wrapped in a handkerchief.

However, there are two.

Judging from the size, it's clearly a serving for two...?

"Uh... this is..."

Senior Sister Ya Shuang looked embarrassed and glanced at me several times.

"K-Kizuko, I'm sorry... It's a little difficult to say in this situation..."

The senior student gently lifted one of the lunch boxes to chest height and said:

"...Could I...take the bento box...to my senior?"

I almost suffocated to death.

"...Congratulations on your successful relationship..."

"His eyes! His eyes are dead!"

So dazzling... The bittersweetness of youth is so dazzling... How strange. I should be the one younger, so why is she the one having a pure and innocent romance?

Chairman Hong chuckled.

"That's fine then. Let's go watch Esa's incredibly shameless way of pursuing boys, and head over to the student council room while we're at it. It's a bit dusty here."

"Who are you calling shameless? This young lady has such a thick skin!"

The president ignored her and strode out of the preparation tent. Senior Sister Ya Shuang and I followed her.

I walked up to the president and said:

"President, you...don't you have anything to do?"

"What's the meaning?"

"How should I put it? Well... what about you and Haba-senpai?"

Upon hearing this, the school's top student and student council president, Hong Lingli, immediately pouted like a child.

"...He got away."

"what?"

Saying things like "having dinner with me will damage your reputation"...don't you think that's going too far?!

"Wow—Ah Zhang really underestimates himself."

Senior Sister Ya Shuang looked dumbfounded.

The president quickened his pace as he spoke:

"It's not just self-deprecation, it's downright insane. He doesn't realize that the more he belittles himself, the more he's denying the young man's judgment that he values ​​him and keeps him by his side."

"It does feel anxious... But only I know how outstanding he is, so don't I feel secretly happy?"

"........."

President Hong still looked like she was sulking, and glared at me sideways.

"...Yui-kun, your words are like the whispers of a demon."

"Huh! Really...?"

"I really want to have Joe all to myself! But I also want to brag to everyone about how great he is! Suzuri really has a lot of desires."

"You don't need to say anything more."

President Hong quickly looked away, pretending to lift her bangs to hide her ears.

"I'm just a little quick-witted than others... but I'm just an ordinary woman."

"And it was Joe who made you realize this, right?"

"You really talk too much!"

"it hurts!"

The president stomped hard on Senior Sister Ya Shuang's foot.

Seeing this pure violence devoid of any genius, I couldn't help but laugh.

Irito Yui ◆ After intense treatment of sensitive areas

"Senior—♪ I brought you a bento box—!"

"Oh, thank you for your hard work."

"What a senior who bosses his juniors around. Getting up so early to do this isn't an easy task."

"You were the one who said you'd do it... But actually, it really helped me a lot. After all, your cooking is delicious."

"Compared to my senior, of course—"

"I'd be willing to eat it every day."

"—Hoo-hoo!"

"Oh no, that would mean I'd be bothered by you every day... It's better to just eat it occasionally."

"Ugh... Mmm... I'll come back to collect the lunchboxes later! I'm off!"

Senior Sister Ya Shuang blushed and fled Senior Brother Xing Bian's class.

I stood at a distance and watched, then spoke to Chairman Hong, who was also observing from the sidelines:

"How come her aggressive style never gets annoying...?"

"That's because the other person is Senior Xingbian."

"I think so..."

Everyone saw how the senior retaliated with his natural air of naivety. It's precisely because he can be so independent that he wasn't overwhelmed by Senior Ya Shuang's imposing presence.

As an observer, I felt that given her aggressive approach, the other person would either misunderstand her or keep their distance... People in Hoshino's class, especially the girls, all looked at Asou with disdain. She's definitely the type to be disliked by other women...

When Senior Sister Ya Shuang returned to our side, her face was still a little flushed. She put on a slightly twitching smug look and puffed out her chest, which was covered by her sportswear.

"Well, little Jiezi! Did you see your master's heroic performance?!"

"Yes. It must have been really hard on you, senior."

"...That's strange, my apprentice. What's wrong with you? Why are you speaking so condescendingly?"

"I think it's already quite remarkable that you didn't react to 'your cooking is delicious'."

"No comments allowed!"

In conclusion, now that Senior Sister Ya Shuang has taken care of her business, we should head to the Student Council office.

We left the playground and headed towards the school building. At that moment—

"Um?"

President Hong was the first to see those two people.

To me, those figures were all too familiar. One was my stepson and ex-boyfriend, Mizuto Irito. The other was his best friend, and also my friend, Izana Higashigoto. Higashigoto had probably been in the tug-of-war earlier; her gym clothes were covered in dust.

If that's all there is to it, then it's not a big deal.

The two of them being together is as natural as a book needing to be sealed.