My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 217

But—there's one strange thing about it.

For some reason, Dongtou was swaying unsteadily.

"Ooh...it still stings a little..."

"The friction was quite intense...should we go to the infirmary?"

"That's too embarrassing..."

The student in the east corner was hunched over, hugging his chest, and his legs were slightly turned inward.

Moreover—the body will occasionally twitch.

"Ugh!"

"What's wrong?"

"It's become a little sensitive... um, it might rub against..."

"Oh...oh, I see..."

What was that atmosphere like?

What does this unique atmosphere, which is both a little awkward and yet seems to express concern, mean?

When my emotions suddenly cooled down, Senior Sister Ya Shuang gave me an expression that said, "Oh, oh."

"Judging from the look... you just did it, didn't you?"

The Red Cross president nodded.

"No mistakes after it was done."

A surge of anxiety welled up deep in my chest, and I waved my hands aimlessly, saying:

"No! But it can't be during the sports festival..."

"Isn't the school building deserted during the sports festival? There's no better place than this, right?"

"This is truly indecent. They may think they are very clever, but they can't fool our discerning eyes."

"They even said it would sting."

"And you said you've become more sensitive."

"It's hard to say! Maybe it's just that the nipples became sensitive from the intense friction during the tug-of-war!"

"That's impossible. Do you think she's not wearing a bra?"

"Everyone knows that sports festivals involve intense physical activity, so how could any girl participate without a bra?"

"Waaaaah... Waaaahh ...

I can't refute that...! I can't refute it...!

I know perfectly well that those two people are like that…! It must just be some kind of misunderstanding—!

"Oh well, maybe Xiaojie doesn't understand those kinds of things yet."

"One day, you, Jie, will also understand the subtle relationship between men and women."

"...You have the nerve to say that when you've never even kissed someone."

"What did you say?"

We almost got into an argument.

Irito Yume ◆ Righteous and stern words are most effective

"Who said I've never kissed anyone! Oh right, with my senior... not yet. But I never said I've never kissed anyone in my life!"

"This is what you call a fallacy. Just because you don't have a specific example doesn't mean you have no experience with it, right? As the student council secretary, please be mindful of your words."

"Yes, yes, I'm so sorry."

I let the endless excuses of the two difficult senior girls go in one ear and out the other, and it took me ages to finally reach the student council room.

This road feels so long... I just wanted to have lunch, so why did I end up so tired?

"Oh, by the way, is it alright if we don't invite Asuhain-kun along?"

"Hmm—? She's probably eating with her classmates right now, isn't she?"

"I think I'll ask them."

"But she really dislikes talking about this kind of thing..."

Indeed, what we're about to talk about is the usual topic of romance. Asuhain, who's against romance, might not like to hear this... Besides, we still need to figure out how to hide the relationship between President Kurenai and Senior Haba from her.

"But that's okay, let's contact her first and see—"

As she spoke, Senior Sister Ya Shuang opened the door to the student council room.

Then, I saw Asuhain sitting alone at the conference table eating his lunchbox.

"ah."

"ah."

Asahi-no-in turned around and dropped the tamagoyaki she was holding with her chopsticks.

The student council room wasn't even lit. In the dimly lit room, illuminated only by sunlight streaming in through the windows, a petite girl ate her lunchbox alone.

The president of the Red Association peeked into the room and discovered the presence of Asuha-in.

"So you were here. That's perfect."

Huh? ...President, didn't you notice? The situation we're in right now is actually quite awkward, isn't it?

President Hong snapped on the light and walked into the student council room.

"We were just about to have lunch too. May we eat together?"

"Okay... sure. Of course..."

When Asuka-in-law answered somewhat awkwardly, I leaned my shoulder towards Asahi-senpai and asked in a low voice:

"(Does Asuhain-san have no friends in class...?)"

"(N-no, I don't know...? I don't know much about her class...)"

I thought she just disliked boys, but she still had female friends... But the fact that she deliberately didn't turn on the lights means she's hiding here, right...?

Could it be that, unlike the willful and reckless classmates like Shuidou or Dongtou who ended up being out of place in the class, she was simply an outsider who couldn't fit in...? This reminded me of my past self, and my chest began to ache.

Anyway, we went inside and sat down in our usual seats. Only President Kurenai didn't sit in the usual main seat, but instead sat diagonally in front of me—next to Asuha-in, and directly in front of Asou-senpai—where she placed her lunchbox.

"I think Lan should be in Class 6. How did the competition go?"

"Well... this should be alright..."

Why are we talking about class topics?

I remember President Kurenai herself saying something like that... Now that I see it, she really doesn't understand people's hearts very well. If only Haba-senpai were here too!

"Ah—...Let's not talk about that now!"

As if trying to change the atmosphere, Senior Sister Ya Shuang spoke up in a cheerful tone.

"Hey, Jiezi! Didn't you want to hear everyone's opinions on something? That's why we're all gathered here!"

"Ah, ah...that's right."

It's true! But honestly, I really hope she doesn't turn the conversation to me now!

Asahi-no-Yuan looked at me calmly and said:

"If you're worried about me, please don't take it to heart. I'll pretend I didn't hear you."

Waaah... It's so heartbreaking... That's what people say when they see everyone else having a great time except themselves...

"No!...Since this opportunity is so rare, I hope that Asuha-in-san...can also offer his opinion."

"...Okay. I just don't know if I can be of any help..."

I won't exclude you...! It's fate that we joined the student council together! I'm determined to get you involved in the discussions! If, like in the water fight, you seem unwilling... then we'll see.

After a moment's thought, I reorganized what I originally wanted to say and said:

"...This is the situation of a friend of mine."

"Pfft..." Senior Sister Ya Shuang chuckled softly. Oh right, I'm talking about myself! Don't laugh!

Fortunately, it seemed that the students at Asahi no Ue didn't have any questions, so I continued to tell them what had happened between me and Mizuto. I told them that I had teased him in a flirtatious manner, which resulted in a complete rejection, and he even ran away...

"I thought I was getting more into relationships lately—I heard that's what happened—but then this happened, so my friend seems to be confused about what's going on either..."

"Hmm—" Senior Sister Ya Shuang pondered for a moment.

"Perhaps there's some hidden reason? Like there's an emergency or something."

"is that so……"

Then Chairman Hong snorted through his nose.

"I can't believe there are such oblivious people who completely ignore such an obvious offensive. When you encounter someone like this, all you can do is keep making statements until they respond."

Do you think so too?

I thought Shuidou was a fairly meticulous person, but sometimes he misunderstands things for a long time... To overcome this, perhaps the only solution is to keep attacking. Although seeing the two of us attacking for a whole year without getting any response makes me somewhat uneasy...

The last one—Asuhain—sounded something and tilted his head in surprise.

"Excuse me... but honestly, isn't it rude to mock others?"

We were all frozen solid.

"Doing that would simply be ignoring the other person's wishes and imposing your own needs on them; forgive my rudeness, but isn't your friend lacking in common sense?"

Cracks burst from our frozen bodies.

"If you have feelings for someone, you shouldn't try to overpower them, right? I think it's only natural to be disliked."

Our fragile hearts are shattered.

"...How rude..."

"...lacking common sense..."

"...Being disliked..."

Is that right?

Is that so?

Am I... always doing things that deserve to be hated?

"Um, did I say something wrong?"

Tomorrow Ye Yuan tilted his head in confusion.

No…you’re right. Absolutely right. Completely correct, flawless. It’s just that my fragile heart can’t withstand the force of your accurate statement…

"……Oh."

The aftereffects of this correct and powerful critique were truly remarkable; the first to weather the storm was Chairman Hong.

"That's an extremely calm and logical viewpoint. It perfectly reflects Lan's personality."

"Thank you, senior!"

"I hope you cherish this quality. Never let momentary emotions—ooh—make you forget to look at things objectively."

I even got hurt talking about it!

As for Asahi-in-chan receiving praise from the idolized student council president, he said with shining eyes:

"Yes! In order to live up to the name of the student council, I will pay attention to how others perceive me in everything I do!"

"...Ugh..."

Just last time, in the adjacent archives, the student council president, who had acted out of momentary emotion and disgraced the student council, was quietly defeated.

"...By the way, could you ask?"

I hid the hurt in my heart and mustered up the courage to ask Asuhain-san.

"According to Asuhain-kun's opinion... what do you think is the right thing to do? Uh, I mean, my friend."