novel-bin Page 60
Page 60
The students from the east end and the onlookers all stared wide-eyed.
Could it be that he noticed? Noticed the way the boy in the east was dressed!
Moreover, that unusual action just now was clearly an attempt to cover up embarrassment!
Mizuto continued reading his book nonchalantly, while Higashito, bewildered and flustered, looked around aimlessly for a while… Finally, she held her bangs in her hand and said:
"You...you're bullying me. You're bullying me..."
"Maybe."
"Then...in that case..."
Dongtou rummaged through his schoolbag, pulled out a comb, and said:
"You'd be willing... to be bullied with me, Mizuto-kun?"
After saying that, she timidly handed the comb to the water basin.
Xiaoyue and I didn't understand why she responded in that way.
But Mizuto looked up from his book at the comb she had given him.
"...I just can't do anything with you."
He smiled faintly as if surrendering, took the comb, and told the student in the east to turn his back to him.
Shuidou carefully combed his messy hair. Dongtou looked like a dog being groomed, comfortably surrendering himself to him.
"(...Eh, Yui-onna.)"
As Xiaoyue looked at them, she said:
"(I think it's time to confess, right?)"
I can't find any words to refute it.
"It's impossible."
the next day.
At the family restaurant where students gather after school, Dongtou kept shaking his head.
"Not yet, I can't do it. You expect me to confess so soon...!"
"No, no, don't worry."
"I'm so uneasy! Absolutely impossible—! Impossible, impossible, impossible—I can't—can't—!"
Dongtou lay on the table, shaking her head in refusal. Although she was acting like a spoiled child, I understood how she felt.
"Xiaoyue, I think we should wait a bit longer. She needs to prepare herself mentally..."
"Y-yes! I'm not mentally prepared yet!"
"If you're going to do it, do it now."
"Eek!"
"Let me tell you, mental preparation is something you can never do if you can't do it now! Don't have too high expectations for your future self! Finish today's work today!"
Xiaoyue tilted her head back and gulped down a large mouthful of cantaloupe soda.
"The longer you wait to confess your feelings, the harder it becomes. It's more like the relationship is already established. If you've only ever considered this girl a friend, suddenly declaring you want to be her boyfriend will confuse her. So, confessing sooner rather than later increases your chances of success."
"But of course I can't confess my feelings as soon as we meet," Xiaoyue said.
This is probably the most somber statement she has made so far.
Perhaps she had prior experience. She had once tried to change a long-standing relationship…
"In that respect, Dongtou, you still have time. You've only known each other for two or three weeks, right? You still have time to make amends. Besides... mental preparation isn't something that can be done naturally by spending more time. You know, if you don't dare to confess now, you might never dare to."
...Thinking about what would have happened if I hadn't confessed during the first month of my second year of junior high school, I realized that Xiaoyue was right—sigh, I think I'll never do something as earth-shattering as confessing my feelings in my entire life.
The first month.
I would never have thought of confessing my feelings if I hadn't taken advantage of that period of excitement, restlessness, and irrational thinking.
Because love, once you calm down, bursts and disappears like a bubble.
"Hmm...hmm hmm hmm...indeed, I might not have the courage to ramble on and on like in romantic comedies before finally confessing my feelings..."
"Right? Real-life relationships don't last for years like in comics—"
"...Uh, it sounds like you're telling me that even if we're a good match, we'll break up immediately."
"I didn't say that—"
"It definitely exists! ...T-Teacher! That kind of thing doesn't happen, right? And some relationships can last for years, right!"
"...Yes, yes."
"His gaze is wandering!"
Don't ask me, someone who can't even last a year!
"In short, let's set aside for now how many months their relationship can last..."
"A few months! Did you say a few months? Not a few years!"
"I think we had a very good chance of winning from the start, because Irito-san has no reason to refuse. Higashi-san is so cute, you two get along well, and Irito-san is single. It's definitely a good idea!"
"No, I didn't..."
Dongtou straightened his bangs with his fingertips and hunched his shoulders.
"...I'm gloomy...and difficult...I'm just a woman whose only redeeming quality is her breasts..."
"Your confidence in this area is truly unshakable, aren't you?"
Xiaoyue, with a smile on her face but radiating anger, said:
"What do you think, Jie Nu? How much of a chance do you think Dongtou has?"
I stared at the surface of the table and thought it over again.
Think about that guy.
The time spent with him.
The expression on his face when he was with me.
Speech and behavior.
"...That guy doesn't use a bunch of evaluation criteria to judge girls."
Then, I remembered the water bucket I used to use with my classmate Dongtou.
"He seemed very happy when he was with his classmates from Dongtou... so if you said you wanted to spend more time with him... I don't think he could refuse."
If Dongtou is really exactly the same as I was before, then it's uncertain.
But she's different from me.
She genuinely shared the same interests and got along well with that man, to the point that there was no one else suitable. Therefore, she didn't need to hide anything or have any concerns.
Honestly, he's so different from me, who pretends to be compatible but actually has to consider things from his perspective in many ways.
Although she lacked self-confidence, she was sure the man would cooperate with her—after all, this was the only area where he had actually done it.
Within the scope of what I can consider...
Apart from Isana Higashito, no one is worthy of being Mizuto Irito's girlfriend.
It even makes me feel that my existence is some kind of mistake.
"……Really……?"
Dongtou murmured in a soft voice, a mixture of unease and anticipation.
"Could I...be Mizuto's girlfriend...?"
Her expression, which seemed ready to give up at any moment but desperately tried to look forward, reminded me of my past self.
But she is not the person I used to be.
She's not the stupid Yui Ayai who messed everything up by talking too much.
She reminds me of...
I am someone who has not yet failed—someone who still has the potential to be happy in the end.
"You can do it."
So, I couldn't help but want to give her a push.
Because if it were her, she might be able to see things that I would never have the chance to see.
The sharp pain deep in my chest was insignificant compared to this hope.
"—I promise you, my ex-girlfriend."
Later, we discussed specific ways to confess our feelings.
"Should I... write a love letter or something?"
"What—? Isn't that too old-fashioned? What if the other person sees this article I wrote late at night in a fit of madness, with zero calmness, that sounds like I'm writing poetry? If it were me, I'd rather commit suicide—"
"Ugh...!"
It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing... just a mistake of youth... I never intended to write such an embarrassing letter...
Despite this little incident, we decided to use the simple method of arranging to meet her behind the school building and confess our feelings.
Then came the confession practice provided by Instructor Nan Xiaoyue.
Repeat after me: "I like you, please go out with me!"
"I...I like you! Wake up...please come with me...Awoo..."
"Pronounce your words clearly! Don't be shy! Your voice should be loud, clear, and easy to understand! But you can also have a slight hesitation!"
"You're asking the impossible!"
And that's how a day was wasted—
I was writing a love letter, so I suffered a double blow of nausea and stomachache while he was reading it in front of me. But I felt that running to the toilet at that moment would destroy my tiny glimmer of hope, so I held it in.
Dongtou was probably too nervous; he not only sent a short message, but he didn't even type the text properly.
Seeing her like this, even I started to get nervous.
After Xiaoyue posted a few videos, Dongtou sent a fixed phrase like "thank you" and then fell silent.
I just hope she doesn't go confessing her feelings with dark circles under her eyes...
Just as I was putting myself in her shoes and worrying about her, my phone suddenly rang.
It was Xiaoyue. I answered the phone and put it to my ear.
"Hello?"