After deciding to give up, I became popular

And the most important thing is... after the confession, this innocent maid of hers will no longer need to be called over every day to be some kind of love advisor!

"Miss, I can assure you that young master Xia Chuan definitely likes you now. You don't need to consider any other situations."

"E-Even so! If I take the initiative to confess... won't I never be able to hold my head up for the rest of my life?!"

"..."

But if you don't confess, you won't even have a second to hold your head up!

Hayasaka sighed, feeling that her young lady's strong-willed personality was really troublesome.

What "holding your head up" or "who's on top and who's on bottom" is all nonsense! Grasp it firmly in your hand first! Can't you just leave the adjustments for later?

Really... if it were her, the child could already be buying soy sauce! Who cares who's first or last!

But the good news is, although Kaguya-sama always looks like a small fry, at least she has admitted that she likes young master Xia Chuan. Otherwise, if there was no progress after so long, she would really collapse.

"In other words, as long as you hear young master Xia Chuan say the words 'I like Kaguya-sama' with his own mouth, you will be able to face your own heart and accept young master Xia Chuan?" Hayasaka Ai rested her chin on one hand and began to think about how to formulate a plan.

"Eh? That... this... if, the president, says that with his own mouth... it's not like I can't consider it..." On Kaguya Shinomiya's head, a small flower of love seemed to grow, and she fell into her own fantasy.

"Shinomiya, I like you..."

"President..."

"Shinomiya..."

"President!"

"Miss! Please listen to me seriously!" Hayasaka Ai shook Kaguya Shinomiya's shoulders frantically, pulling her back to reality.

They were discussing a strategy to capture him, how did she suddenly start acting crazy?

"Ugh, I was so close..."

"Miss, do you still want to hear my plan?"

"Y-Yes, tell me..."

"In short, we'll do this first, then that..."

"Oh, oh, oh..." Kaguya Shinomiya nodded frequently, her eyes shining brightly.

She felt that her future with the president was bright.

039. A Mere Black-Haired Female Passerby...

The next day.

Shuchiin Academy.

The time of dismissal.

In the last row by the window of class 2-3, a sexy girl wearing black pantyhose was lying on the desk, panting slightly...

Kasumigaoka Utaha, the best-selling light novelist under the pen name Kasumi Utako, is considered by some in the industry to be a talented author capable of handling contemporary traditional literature, but somehow went astray.

Regarding such an evaluation, Kasumigaoka herself held this attitude—what's it to me?

Tedious, boring... this world is full of superficial, boring things and people. It is impossible for her to accept the transformation of reality. She has ideals, ambitions, and will only be herself, no matter what.

"Kasumigaoka, someone is looking for you."

"..." Kasumigaoka Utaha rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned.

After having a great time with her junior the day before yesterday, her inspiration couldn't be suppressed. She stayed up until midnight yesterday to turn all her thoughts into words, and she was very sleepy at the moment.

Anyone who dares to disturb her rest, no matter who it is, she will treat them well...

"Yukinoshita... Yukino?" Kasumigaoka was slightly stunned.

She thought it was some reckless male beast who wanted to explain obscene words, but it turned out to be a black-haired female passerby.

"It's me, senpai."

"What's the matter?" Kasumigaoka said indifferently.

It was impossible for her to return a smile. Not to mention disturbing her rest, she couldn't be kind to the other party just because she was one of the people who had taken away her treasure.

"Regarding... Xia Chuan, I want to talk to you, senpai."

"My junior? ...Come with me."

The two found a relatively hidden place before starting a formal conversation.

"Make it quick, I'm busy."

"I won't take up much of your time, senpai." Yukinoshita shook her head. "Regarding Xia Chuan... I want to know what kind of person he is."

"What kind of person?" Kasumigaoka was a little surprised, but soon chuckled, hinting at something, "Shouldn't you know my junior's character very well, junior?"

"..." Yukinoshita was silent. If she really knew, she wouldn't have come to ask Kasumigaoka.

"Senpai, do you remember deceiving me back then? How about using that as an exchange."

"Deceiving you?"

Kasumigaoka was slightly stunned, but soon remembered what Yukinoshita was referring to.

"I didn't lie to you. I just said 'My junior made an excessive request to me and stopped bothering me after being rejected.' Perhaps you misunderstood at the time, but you should be able to understand my words now, right?"

She is the proud Kasumigaoka, so she disdains using deceptive means to hinder other people's love. At most, it's just verbal seduction. If it really has any influence... it's just because of a lack of trust in her junior.

Just like Eriri, the Yukinoshita in front of her... and the former her.

"Is senpai trying to shirk responsibility?"

"..." Kasumigaoka frowned, wanting to just leave and ignore her.

"Forget it, I'll just take it as an act of kindness. Ask me quickly if there's anything you want to know, junior."

"Okay." Yukinoshita nodded, thought for a while, and decided to change to a way of speaking that Kasumigaoka could accept.

She might not be willing to simply reveal information, but if it's related to herself, she will probably can't help but show off, right?

"When Xia Chuan was pursuing senpai, did he do anything for you? You don't need to say much, just the most impressive thing."

"Does that have anything to do with what you want to know?"

"Is it difficult?"

"...You're really troublesome." Kasumigaoka sighed.

It was okay to tell her, after all, it was a very proud thing for her.

As the memories of the past flooded into her heart, her eyes gradually became filled with affection.

"If I had to say, it would be arguing with countless people for me..."

It doesn't matter if it was purposeful from the beginning. In fact, Kasumigaoka was very clear that her junior didn't like her book 'Love Metronome' as much as she imagined. It was just because he liked her and loved her so much that he was willing to speak up for her.

That was enough.

After all... how many people can participate in rebuttals online for the person they like at all times, without sleeping or resting for a day and a night?

Even if it was ulterior motives, it made her very happy.

"..." Yukinoshita nodded.

Kasumigaoka's expression couldn't be faked, so things were very clear. Kasumigaoka misled her at the time—because she liked Xia Chuan.

Out of jealousy or unwillingness, when she came to her, Kasumigaoka misled her, making her feel that Xia Chuan was an incurable scumbag, the kind of womanizer.

But in reality, she really didn't care about this.

If he was just a womanizer, she wouldn't care at all, because she believed that she could change him. What she cared about was—whether he had love for her...

Yukinoshita Yukino had never experienced love.

Although she can get a glimpse of it from literary works, it is not her own feeling after all. To determine the true intention, she still has to rely on her own heart.

She could naturally feel Xia Chuan's special treatment of her, but she didn't know whether that meant liking her.

Recognition, or camaraderie? It seems more accurate to say comrades; trust, a united front? If that's the case, why is he more willing to believe in Hachiman Hikigaya?

Xia Chuan gave her a very strange feeling, like he was pleasing a superior, or trying to gain recognition, more like... craving to be needed and expected.

But no matter which one, he put himself in the lowest position... just like she once longed for her mother's approval.

Therefore, she couldn't be sure whether Xia Chuan's feelings for her were love or closeness because of the similarity between the two? At the same time, she herself was very confused and unable to determine whether her feelings were sympathy or something else.

Therefore, she rejected the other party's confession, "I'm sorry, I'm not ready to date..."

Because she wasn't ready, she couldn't make a judgment.

But after that, Xia Chuan withdrew from the club.

She wanted to blame him for leaving without saying goodbye and his cowardly behavior, but when she thought about it carefully, wasn't she the same? Because she was never able to get her mother's approval, she chose to escape and moved out alone.

The depression in her heart was difficult to let go of, so she focused all her energy on club activities, as if that would allow her worries to be relieved, but the result was that it affected innocent club members.

She didn't want to do that, but she realized she had done something wrong after she came back to her senses...

Thoughts return to the present.

"Second question, have you ever dated Xia Chuan, senpai?"

"That depends on what the definition of dating is..."

"So, no..." Yukinoshita nodded and bowed slightly. "Thank you, senpai. That's all I wanted to know. Sorry for bothering you."

"..."

Watching Yukinoshita Yukino's back disappear into the stairwell, Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't speak for a long time.

Only the constantly shaking legs showed the owner's inner unease.

"You womanizing idiot junior, how many girls have you provoked!"

Perhaps she could still comfort herself before, thinking that Eriri was nothing to worry about, but now there's another black-haired female passerby who clashes with her attributes, and I don't know how many other sly foxes are hiding in the dark and like her junior... there are too many enemies, right?

The only thing to be thankful for is that, including that black-haired female passerby, she hasn't seen anyone who can compete with her in this regard. Kasumigaoka Utaha pressed her hand on her heart, looking slightly relieved.

040. Where Did This Passerby Character Come From?

In a bookstore, at a seat in the coffee area, holding the latest popular light novel and flipping through it page by page, but she couldn't bring herself to read it carefully.

Not to mention reading it carefully, she didn't even remember a single sentence.

Originally, she wanted to come to the bookstore after school to change her mood, but she didn't expect her mood to get worse.

Now, Xia Chuan's mind is full of the image of the angel crying last night.

The reason for the tears... he could vaguely feel it, as for the deeper reason... perhaps it was because the angel really cared about him as a friend and didn't want him to evaluate himself like that? Or, was she feeling guilty for her past slip of the tongue?

Perhaps it was both, but for Xia Chuan now, he didn't really care how Shiina viewed him. He just hoped to get along with her naturally as an "equal friend."

So he said, "You also thought I was a good-for-nothing back then, right?" He originally just thought that maybe it could defuse the situation and ease the conflict, but it led things to another extreme...

He definitely regretted it, but he was more thinking about how to salvage the friendship.

Don't look at Shiina apologizing to him yesterday, as if he was the one in charge, but in fact, he knew very well that the more this was the case, the more he had to take the initiative to contact Shiina.

To embrace her, to let her let go, to let her know that he was not hurt by her past words, otherwise he wouldn't even be able to notice that she might have fallen into emotions like autism...

So why wasn't his brain so clear last night?

Hindsight? But he doesn't want such abilities at all!

"..."

Xia Chuan, who was caught in self-blame, couldn't find the two sneaky black shadows observing him not far behind him.

It was Kaguya Shinomiya and Ai Hayasaka who had been following Xia Chuan all the way.

"Hayasaka, are you sure this method will work?" Kaguya Shinomiya looked a little worried.