Chapter 68: Another Love Rival Appears!!! Or... Maybe Not???
After finishing one self-criticism form,
Hayasaka Ai dragged her heavy steps out of the prep room.
Honestly, she had never imagined there would come a day when she'd get caught by Iino Miko.
After all, since the start of the semester, she had transformed into the "Yellow Flash of Shuchiin" who zipped past Miko-chan countless times; even when she was caught walking the halls without the proper uniform, Hayasaka Ai had never been stopped by her.
[Sorry~ Miko-chan, lunchtime's almost over! I'm heading off now~ (๑>•̀๑)] — she would usually playfully laugh it off like that and slip away.
But only when she was in her gyaru form could Hayasaka Ai laugh like that.
For Hayasaka Ai, even though she had the ability to change appearances, she couldn't switch back and forth freely — otherwise, even she might end up with a personality disorder. So, when dressed in a male uniform, to stay consistent with her "character setting," she didn't resist when being dragged to the prep room to write the self-criticism.
And the consequence of doing that was: today's entire plan was completely ruined!
"Beep beep~"
Hayasaka Ai took out her phone to check.
Her face almost darkened on the spot.
[Hayasaka, I have bad news for you. Sakurai-san might not like you.]
( •̀_•́ )???
Huh!?
No way!!!
Hold on!!! How did Kaguya-sama come to that conclusion!?
[He said it outright in the student council room.]
She was only on the second line.
Hayasaka Ai felt a stomachache coming on.
Oh no, this was seriously upsetting~
It wasn't until she continued scrolling that the situation improved a little.
[I told him you were going to meet the person confessing to you, someone asked if he wanted to go, and he said no.]
"..." Upon seeing this message, Hayasaka Ai finally let out a sigh of relief.
If Sakurai Saki had directly rushed out to the sports field, then this game would've basically been over.
Just at the stage of being confessed to, if the other side immediately showed up — that level of jealousy was practically a public declaration of "I like you."
But he didn't go!
So, the current situation could be divided into two possibilities.
First possibility: Sakurai Saki's level of affection toward her wasn't high enough — at least, not to the point where he'd feel jealous seeing her get confessed to by someone else.
Second possibility: Sakurai Saki was too familiar with her and knew she wasn't the type of girl who'd easily accept a confession from some "random weed by the roadside," so he didn't bother worrying.
Hayasaka Ai leaned more toward the second possibility. After all, when Sakurai Saki was confessed to by someone in the past, she hadn't thought for a second that he'd say yes.
This love game, from start to finish, had only three players.
Herself, Sakurai Saki and Fujiwara Chika.
(❀ˆᴗˆ) Σ(°ロ°) (•́ᴗ•̀✿)
'This damn love triangle is such a pain!'
So twisted, so exhausting!
Inside, Hayasaka Ai was starting to feel a bit helpless when it came to Sakurai Saki.
Couldn't he realize something sooner? And then just pick — her, or Fujiwara Chika!?
…Wait, could it be he wanted both!?
Nah, probably not. He was the type of dense log who had zero concept of romance, how could he possibly think about "two-timing"?
That possibility — temporarily ruled out!
"Since he's not even planning to go, there's no point going to the sports field now." Hayasaka Ai murmured.
Shinomiya Kaguya had just said the plan was canceled.
She'd even told Hayasaka to just wait by the school gate — the student council work today wasn't heavy, and Kaguya was planning to leave early too. Even though she was technically a member of the archery club, in reality, she rarely attended club activities.
Still dressed in the male uniform, Hayasaka Ai picked up the love letter and her school bag, preparing to leave.
She headed toward the school gate.
Crossing the garden in front of the main school building, glancing at the fountain in the center of the courtyard, Hayasaka Ai raised the love letter in front of her eyes.
'If only he could come meet me, that would be so nice.'
As soon as she heard that Sakurai Saki had no intention of going near the sports field, honestly, Hayasaka Ai had felt a bit disappointed inside.
If he had just shown a little jealousy, Hayasaka Ai would've been so happy.
But sadly, he didn't — he didn't even bother sneaking a glance. That result left Hayasaka Ai feeling unsatisfied.
...
...
When Hayasaka Ai stood dazedly next to the fountain,
Sakurai Saki also stepped out of the school building.
He was about to head off to his tutoring job.
As he passed by the fountain, the short-haired black-haired boy standing nearby immediately caught Sakurai Saki's attention — this was the first time he had seen this face at school.
Probably a first-year student?
"..." Sakurai Saki's gaze was drawn to something in the other boy's hand.
This love letter...
Isn't this the letter that was in Ai-chan's jacket pocket? How did it end up in this person's hands?
He activated his X-ray ability and glanced — inside, the confession was already written, and the signature at the end was: [Herthaka].
A foreigner? Sakurai Saki stole a glance at the handsome boy.
Indeed, he looked a bit Western, quite similar to Ai-chan — after all, Hayasaka Ai was also a mixed-blood, with sharp and captivating features.
So… he's someone pursuing Ai-chan? And since Saki had never seen him before last year, he was probably a new student?
After a few seconds of thought, Sakurai Saki decided to strike up a conversation.
It wasn't because he was worried Ai-chan might fall for this guy, but simply because it seemed like this boy had just experienced a failed confession, probably feeling down and needing some comfort. As the General Affairs officer of Shuchiin Academy, Saki felt it was his duty to comfort a heartbroken underclassman.
Umu, Sakurai Saki convinced himself of this.
"Hello, fellow student! Is something bothering you?"
Hayasaka Ai heard the familiar voice, turned her head to look, and after a few seconds of daze, she greeted: "Hello, General Affairs Officer Sakurai!"
"Sorry if I'm being a bit sudden. I saw you holding a letter just now, and you looked kind of lost, so I was a bit worried," Sakurai Saki explained with a gentle smile.
At this moment, he had switched into General Affairs Officer Sakurai mode!
That is: the radiant, sunshine boy!
Kind, gentle! Top student, also great at sports! Nearly the dream model of every girl at school. In the ranking of "the boy I most want to date," he was always in the top 3!
Sakurai Saki: (˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧
Ramdom JK: (∩˃ω˂∩) ♡
Facing this Sakurai Saki —
Hayasaka Ai began to think about how to reasonably use her bullshit-no-jutsu.
A few seconds later.
She said: "Sakurai-senpai, actually, earlier I confessed to the person I like. But she didn't accept… so now I'm wondering if I should give up."
As she said this, her voice lowered: "After all… she's pretty popular, a lot of boys like her. At first, I planned to wait a bit longer, but then I thought… if I don't confess quickly, someone else might beat me to it."
In Hayasaka Ai's words, there was a hidden message:
[I'm quite popular myself]
[I've been confessed to before]
[If you don't act fast, you might miss your chance]
"Can you tell me, who is the person you like? And why do you like her?"
Sakurai Saki gently asked.
Even though he had already guessed about 70–80% in his mind, he still wanted to confirm.
It seemed the information from Shinomiya Kaguya wasn't accurate; the confession didn't happen at the sports field but somewhere else he didn't know about.
"Well… Sakurai-senpai, my name is Herthaka, I'm a new first-year student."
Hayasaka Ai smiled happily: "The reason I like her is actually very simple."
"At the start of the term, because I wasn't familiar with the high school section, I got lost."
"But, at that moment, there was someone who reached out a helping hand to me. From that moment, I liked her — that passionate, kind, beautiful, generous, gentle, and lovely girl."
Shamelessly, Hayasaka Ai boasted about herself.
(๑>•̀๑)
"And the name of that person, I'm sure Sakurai-senpai knows very well."
Sakurai Saki looked at the "innocent, naïve" face of the boy and didn't even know where to start replying.
This plotline, it's way too classic!?
But what shocked him even more was — that story actually happened!
Yes, even up to this moment, Sakurai Saki still hadn't realized that Herthaka was actually Hayasaka Ai in disguise.
He wasn't the type to be curious and use his ability to scan others' bodies, so naturally, he hadn't seen through Ai-chan's disguise.
After Hayasaka Ai recounted in detail the "encounter between herself and herself" — she pressed the love letter to her chest:
"So, I want to be with Hayasaka-senpai. I want her to know my feelings."
"Even if I get rejected no matter how many times, I won't give up!"
"I like her, I like her so much!"
After finishing speaking, Ai-chan looked deeply at Sakurai Saki.
All those confessions just now — honestly, you could swap the name of the one being confessed to with Sakurai Saki.
The timid Hayasaka Ai could only use this kind of cute, roundabout confession to indirectly express her feelings.
But faced with this subtle confession, Sakurai Saki of course understood nothing — at this moment, he was truly no different from a block of wood.
"Sakurai-senpai, it seems like Hayasaka-senpai likes you."
Seeing that he wasn't reacting, Hayasaka Ai spoke up again.
"Where did you hear that?" Sakurai Saki asked back.
"Everyone at school says so."
Hayasaka Ai tried to look sad: "If that's true, then Hayasaka-senpai will probably never accept me!"
"If you don't like her, I still have a chance. But it seems like you like her too…"
"Then I can only stand aside and wish you two happiness."
As Ai-chan spoke, she put on the face of a "secretly in love but unrequited" lovesick puppy.
Even Sakurai Saki was touched by her.
In this day and age, a genuine "lovesick puppy" like this was truly rare and hard to find.
After finishing, Hayasaka Ai delivered the finishing blow — she lifted her head and looked straight into Sakurai Saki's eyes:
"So… Sakurai-senpai, do you like Hayasaka-senpai?"
"I…" Sakurai Saki was caught off guard, unable to react for a moment.
Do I like Ai-chan?
There was no need to think — Sakurai Saki wasn't the kind of person so dense he'd deny his own feelings.
The reason he hadn't taken the initiative to confess was just because he hated making decisions, not because he lacked feelings.
"Probably…"
Sakurai Saki softly said: "I like her."
His answer made Ai-chan lower her head slightly.
Ai-chan's fair face was now flushed red, and the corners of her lips unconsciously curved into a faint smile — a bit silly, but incredibly cute.
Inside her head, everything was in chaos.
'What… what is this!? He really… really likes me!? And even said it out loud like that! Last time when I confessed, I didn't get any response at all!'
Oh no, my heart's beating like crazy! I can't stop it…
I'm so happy! Extremely happy!
(∩˃o˂∩)♡
Hayasaka Ai felt her legs go weak, almost completely losing strength.
So excited her legs turned to jelly — this was honestly too embarrassing!!
She slowly sat down on the ground.
"Phew~ ha~" — Ai-chan gasped for breath.
Even breathing had become difficult.
So, knowing the person you like also likes you back… feels like this, huh?
In Hayasaka Ai's heart rose the urge to take off the wig and confess to him honestly.
Kabedon him and kissed him until both of them were breathless.
But just at that moment, Sakurai Saki suddenly spoke:
"Herthaka-kun, If you really like her, then I think… you should give up early."
"That person, though she seems gentle on the outside, she's actually really dark inside. She laughs weirdly when playing games, doesn't like black coffee, and even after benefiting she pretends to be innocent — she's a really troublesome type."
Hayasaka Ai braced against her knee to stand up, but she didn't dare lift her head.
Because she knew — her face was definitely red as a tomato right now.
She had been able to control her emotions. But the moment she heard Sakurai Saki awkwardly talking bad about her to his "love rival" — which was actually just accusing her to herself — she was so happy she didn't know where to hide her face.
'This is even more embarrassing than I imagined!!'
"…That…"
Hayasaka Ai stammered: "You don't have to say anymore…"
I get it, you know me this well — that's enough… so please don't say more, it's seriously too embarrassing!!
( //>///
How is this any different from a direct confession!! You Baka!!
"I'll give up."
After saying that, Hayasaka Ai bowed deeply, then hurried away.
Sakurai Saki watched the back of the "boy" leaving, and for some reason, he felt relieved inside.
"Herthaka-kun…"
He probably wouldn't go spreading those words just now, right?
And thus, the battle revolving around the love letter came to an end.
[Today's victory: Iino Miko wins! (Revenge accomplished — P.S: even though she herself was completely unaware)]
...
In the disciplinary committee office, Miko-chan looked at the written apology Hayasaka Ai had left earlier, and she smiled in satisfaction!
Today too was a day of upholding strict discipline!
Wonderful!!
✧◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜✧*｡
If tomorrow I can catch Hayasaka-senpai again, that would be even better! Hayasaka-senpai, you're so hateful! Every day you come to school without properly wearing your uniform, and you love tying your jacket around your waist!
Next time, I definitely won't let you off!
ᕙ( ᗒᗣᗕ )ᕗ