Chapter 44: You Have Been Accepted!

Chapter 44: You Have Been Accepted!

Normally, she was the goddess of the class, a flawless beautiful girl in the eyes of all her classmates, with a cute and charming personality and practically no faults to pick out.

Yet in this study room wrapped in gloomy weather, she had become a little dog hoping for comfort from her owner.

What sort of wonderful contrast was this?

Yatsuno Gen could swear that he had never thought about PUA-ing this girl, nor had he used any special means to control this girl and subtly guide her into such a state.

Nothing like that had happened.

But now, looking at her flushed face and the obvious longing in her eyes.

He gradually realized.

Just as stray dogs searched for shelter, and carp always tried to leap over the Dragon Gate.

This girl who possessed another side had not developed this contrast because of his influence. Perhaps it had existed deep in her heart long ago.

And now, she had simply found him, encountered him, and so she gradually wanted to release the real other her.

Would an M find her own S?

Such a thought seemed like it would make people instinctively excited, because it was as though he had easily obtained the power to control the beautiful girl before him.

But what Yatsuno Gen thought of was this. What kind of upbringing and experiences had made her hide such a contrasting personality deep within her with so much effort?

The boy, who did not like pitying the world and did not think of himself as some saviour, reached out with a faint ache in his heart.

Just as she wished, he gently placed his hand on her head.

He crossed the distance of the table, and it was as though he had also shattered the restless, tottering barrier inside her.

Yet at this moment, he did not say anything shameful or humiliating to her. Instead, he said softly,

“You aren’t a homeless little dog. You’re the cutest girl.”

His hand was on top of her head. Though his touch was very gentle, as if he were only brushing her hair, Kazama Sakura clearly felt a warmth from it. Her cheeks were rosy as she lightly raised her head to look at him.

Her misty gaze became much clearer.

In her shining pupils, the base colour was the boy’s warm smile.

“Mm...”

She nodded lightly, seeming obedient and docile.

When Yatsuno Gen withdrew his hand, they seemed to resume normal study tutoring, as if nothing had happened during that time.

They still laughed and joked, and their eyes still met occasionally.

But even Yatsuno Gen himself seemed not to notice that when this girl occasionally stole glances at him, a strange persistence appeared in her eyes.

Even if it was Asagiri Rin...

She would not yield.

The gloomy weather ultimately brewed into a heavy rain.

The summer downpour seemed to bring unusual freshness to many students.

The rain washed the earth, dispelling much of the summer heat.

However, with such unpredictable weather, many students had still forgotten to bring umbrellas.

Kazama Sakura was one of them.

After changing her shoes and arriving beneath the eaves of the school building, she saw the torrential rain filling the sky.

The raindrops were clearly visible, like bullets falling to the ground one after another, splashing up distinct sprays of water and shattering into countless mirror-like fragments.

It really did look beautiful.

In this kind of weather, on a youthful campus, there seemed to be a different sort of atmosphere.

But how was she supposed to get home?

It was hard to imagine what kind of soaked chicken she would become if she rushed through such rain.

At that moment, a figure walked to Kazama Sakura’s side.

“Did you not bring an umbrella?”

When Kazama Sakura turned her head, she saw that the person standing beside her was Watanabe Ga.

She instinctively moved one step to the side.

People were coming and going, and everyone who passed by maintained some distance from her, more or less. Yet she seemed to feel that even this distance was not enough.

This tiny movement made the corner of Watanabe Ga’s eye twitch.

He took a deep breath.

Seeing her silence, he said softly,

“I brought an umbrella. If you feel that isn’t appropriate, I can walk you to the station. Or I can take you to a convenience store to buy an umbrella. If that still doesn’t work, you can take my umbrella home. You don’t have to return it.”

After Watanabe Ga had embarrassed himself to a certain degree at KTV last time, he had actually not appeared in front of Kazama Sakura for several days, and none of the messages he sent had received a reply.

This seemed like a rather obvious signal.

But Watanabe Ga was unwilling to accept it.

No matter how he looked at it, he was more outstanding than Yatsuno Gen.

Although in terms of appearance, Yatsuno Gen seemed more stunning, what about his family background and abilities? Which of them did he not have over that orphan?

He felt that Kazama Sakura had simply been deceived by appearances.

How could a beautiful and adorable girl like Kazama Sakura, who should have a bright future, be deceived by a scumbag who looked like he would trick women?

He had a responsibility to pull her out of the abyss.

It did not matter who had given him this responsibility.

If a man could not protect the girl he liked, what kind of man was he?

But over the past few days, there had been no good opportunity to approach this girl. Her current behaviour also seemed full of wariness toward him, even coldness.

The situation was bad.

So he could only choose to say something that made him seem this humble, hoping she could feel that he genuinely wanted to treat her well.

But Kazama Sakura only shook her head.

“No need.”

Watanabe Ga sighed and said softly,

“I don’t mean anything else. An umbrella doesn’t represent anything. Or are you waiting for him?”

Those words made Kazama Sakura pause.

She actually had not been thinking about waiting for anyone.

To be honest, she had even been worried about how Yatsuno Gen would get home in this weather.

But just as she was about to speak.

Another figure appeared beside her.

The familiar presence made her sense it immediately, and she turned her head.

Yatsuno Gen calmly looked ahead, as though he had not heard what the two of them had been saying at all.

“What heavy rain.”

He sighed emotionally.

Kazama Sakura looked at him.

“You didn’t bring an umbrella?”

“You didn’t bring one either?”

Yatsuno Gen asked.

Kazama Sakura nodded once, then said softly,

“How about you wait here for a bit? I’ll go buy an umbrella.”

Watanabe Ga nearly stared his eyes out.

What kind of statement was that?

How was that even more humble than him?

No, wait. A girl was going to run through the rain to buy an umbrella for a boy?

When had the world become like this?

Yatsuno Gen ignored Watanabe Ga’s exaggerated expression and smiled.

“Are you crazy? If you go buy me an umbrella, won’t you get soaked all the same? With those little arms and legs, you’ll probably catch a cold and fever from a bit of chill. I’ll go instead.”

After Yatsuno Gen finished speaking, he stepped forward.

He walked directly into the rain.

Just as Watanabe Ga was about to say something, he saw Kazama Sakura walk into the rain without the slightest hesitation.

“Wait, we’ll go together.”

“No, why are you coming too? You’ll catch a cold.”

“A little rain won’t hurt. We just need to walk faster.”

“Give me your bag. Walk in front of me.”

“Okay.”

One figure ahead and one behind, they braved the pouring rain and hurried toward the school gate.

Soon, they vanished into the dense curtain of rain.

Watanabe Ga opened his mouth.

He realized he could not say anything at all.

In his hand, he was still holding the unopened umbrella.

After thinking for a moment, he suddenly felt somewhat powerless.

A relieved yet self-mocking smile appeared on his face.

“If she doesn’t like me, she doesn’t like me. Even if I were Superman, it wouldn’t help, would it?”

Also within the curtain of rain.

There was a black car with its windows tightly shut, as if the car could even isolate the sound of rain outside.

It was quiet and still, like a completely different world.

Inside this world, Asagiri Rin could coldly watch those boys and girls outside, some braving the rain, others holding umbrellas yet still getting their shoulders wet.

Her eyes were cold and calm, as though nothing could stir her emotions.

Until two figures entered her field of vision.

One boy and one girl, one ahead and one behind.

The girl walked slightly ahead. Although her hair was somewhat messy and her steps looked rather awkward and rushed, her pretty appearance and lively youthful air were still visible.

The boy behind her looked somewhat thin but tall.

He was holding a schoolbag above the girl’s head.

He seemed completely unconcerned about being drenched by the heavy rain himself.

In that instant, Asagiri Rin’s eyes inside the car seemed to sting.

She watched those two figures quickly enter the convenience store.

“Stop.”

The driver in front quickly stopped the car and looked into the rearview mirror with slight confusion.

But she only saw the expression on Asagiri Rin’s face.

It was like dark clouds gathering over the sea before a storm.

She did not dare speak at this moment.

The car stopped by the roadside for about five minutes before Asagiri Rin finally saw the two of them emerge from the convenience store again.

The two of them opened two umbrellas.

They stood right at the entrance, one umbrella high and one low.

The two people beneath the umbrellas looked at each other, seeming to smile.

Asagiri Rin could not hear what they were saying.

Nor could she see that below the car window, she had at some point already clenched the door handle, as though she might abandon everything and rush into the curtain of rain at any moment.

“Go.”

The black car sped away.

Many people by the roadside noticed it.

At a glance, a car passing along the road was perfectly normal.

But why was this car driving so quickly?

It seemed to conceal anger, like a beast sprinting wildly through the rain.

Only after safely sending Kazama Sakura home had Yatsuno Gen just finished taking a shower.

Then he received a call from Sakuraba Yuki.

She got straight to the point.

“How was today? Did you join the club?”

Yatsuno Gen thought for a moment before answering,

“No. Her acceptance conditions were a little harsh, so I didn’t agree.”

As for the content itself, he did not tell Sakuraba Yuki, because it was too strange.

Yatsuno Gen also did not know whether Sakuraba Yuki knew about his true relationship with Asagiri Rin, so he did not intend to complicate matters further.

After hearing that, Sakuraba Yuki fell silent for a moment.

“You couldn’t have done it on purpose, could you? Were you actually the one making things difficult for her?”

“Teacher Sakuraba, at least have some faith in my character. Would I play a prank like that? I’m a good student.”

“What good student says he’s a good student every day? Besides, grades don’t represent everything. But since this place doesn’t work, we’ll switch to another one. I’ll take you again tomorrow.”

Yatsuno Gen froze for a moment.

“We’re still going? Is this really such an important matter?”

“Of course. Since we’ve met again, I will definitely take responsibility for your high school life. I know you’re mature and sensible, but I won’t let you look as though you’re in this world while drifting outside of everyone else. I won’t give up on you.”

After hanging up the phone, Yatsuno Gen looked at his phone.

In disbelief, he touched his own cheek.

“Do I look like some kind of problem student? Being too normal is abnormal too, huh?”

Forget it.

He would go earn some money first.

Then he went to buy ten scratch cards. In the end, among all ten, only one won anything, and it was the most basic prize.

Why did it feel like nothing was going smoothly today?

Sure enough, did he have no choice but to storm a mahjong parlour and become the Mahjong God for once?

The only problem was that he had already won almost everywhere in the nearby mahjong parlours.

It seemed he would have to go farther away.

Just as he was hesitating.

His phone rang.

It was a number without a saved name, but Yatsuno Gen, who had an excellent memory, immediately recognized it.

He opened the message and saw only one simple sentence.

“You have been accepted. Attend club activities on time tomorrow.”