Hachiman Hikigaya, who returned from his studies after completing his training.

Page 38

After Horikita set off with the large group, who were even more cheerful knowing he wasn't going, only he and Shiina remained at the base.

"so quiet."

They found a large, old, lush tree outside the cave and sat down at its base, almost shoulder to shoulder.

"It's quiet now that everyone's gone out." Hikigaya opened the book and held it between the two of them, leaving Shiina to turn the pages.

The two have been book lovers for several months now, and in terms of reading speed, Bi Qigu is slightly better.

One page,

Two pages.

.......

As time passed, Hikigaya changed the hand holding the book several times, but Shiina's action of turning the pages was still delayed.

When Hikigaya tried to move to see what was wrong with Shiina, he felt a pressure on his shoulder; his arm, exposed under his short sleeve, was covered by soft silver hair.

Is this asleep?

Was it really that tiring to run around with Horikita yesterday?

When Hikigaya was wondering whether to wake Shiina, the feeling of pressure on his shoulder was gone, and the book he was holding was taken away by her delicate white hands and placed aside.

"Are you awake, Hiyori?" Hachiman asked softly.

However, he did not receive a reply.

With her eyelids drooping as if half asleep, Shiina slowly moved her body a little further away, then lay back on his thighs as a pillow and closed her eyes.

If you're sleepy, go back to your tent and sleep.

Trying to relax his thigh muscles, Hikigaya couldn't take his eyes off Shiina's soft and cute sleeping face after complaining.

Chapter 77 It's all Sakayanagi's fault

"Has something good happened, Totsuka? (Totsuka, Rei Kiyama)"

With his upper body bare, revealing his muscular physique, Katsuragi sat cross-legged by the river, staring at the floating buoys in the water.

Totsuka seemed much more lively than a few days ago, and would occasionally let out a silly grin.

"It's nothing, just a small matter." Totsuka looked a little embarrassed.

"That's it."

Knowing that Totsuka didn't want to talk about it, Katsuragi didn't press the matter, and Totsuka, who wasn't being questioned, glanced at his watch.

The time I made an appointment with someone is fast approaching; his rosy campus life is about to begin today.

After washing his face with the clear river water, Totsuka made an excuse to say goodbye to Katsuragi and hurried to a dense forest that few students visited.

After searching the surrounding area, Totsuka found Shiho Manabe from Class C in a relatively flat open space.

A cute girl who handed him a love note on her way to the restroom in Class D.

The note said that if he agreed, he should come here to find her.

"Manabe-kun, I'm here."

Taking three steps in two, Totsuka tried his best to keep from grinning and maintain a cool expression as he approached Manabe.

Her refreshing short hair, just past her ears, and cute hair clips held up her bangs, framed a charmingly adorable face.

Although she's a gyaru (a type of Japanese girl), Totsuka chose to accept this flaw of hers because she's so cute.

"Totsuka-kun, thank you for coming." Manabe forced a smile. "Could you walk with me for a bit?"

Looking at the cute girl who was about to become his girlfriend, who was smiling in front of him, how could Totsuka refuse?

"Of course, Manabe-kun."

After scratching the back of his head, Totsuka walked over to Manabe's side. As Manabe started moving, he followed her while stealing glances at her profile.

Should I ask her what she likes about me?

When did you start liking me?

Should I take her hand now?

Totsuka unconsciously started brainstorming, and the fresh air in the forest made him feel incredibly refreshed.

"Manabe-kun—"

Totsuka, who hadn't heard Manabe speak for a long time, wanted to start the conversation, but when he opened his mouth, Manabe next to him seemed to be startled and his body stopped uncontrollably and fell forward.

Unable to grab Manabe, Totsuka quickly bent down and reached out his hand to Manabe, who was lying on her back.

"Are you alright, Manabe?" Totsuka asked anxiously.

"Nothing's wrong—that's absurd!"

Grabbing Totsuka's outstretched hand and pulling hard, Manabe made a flustered expression as if he had been bullied.

Seeing Manabe's sudden change of expression, Totsuka, who was stunned, lost his balance and fell onto Manabe, who was covering her chest with one hand.

"That's a really good expression, Manabe."

While Totsuka was filled with doubts, a boy with a stern smile and an intense sense of oppression appeared in front of him.

The boy was holding a camera in his hand.

"Longyuan, you're framing me!!"

Now that things had come to this, even Totsuka's walnut-sized brain realized that Manabe had been deceiving him.

"Yes, it's a setup to frame you."

In a fit of rage, Totsuka was kicked hard in the waist, and his body rolled uncontrollably off Manabe's body.

Despite the pain, Totsuka looked at the boy who had suddenly appeared beside him; he was a frivolous and familiar student.

"Hashimoto, you traitor! Katsuragi-san will never let you get away with this!"

"Thank you for your hard work, Manabe-kun."

Hearing Totsuka's threat, Hashimoto didn't even glance at him, but simply squatted down and took the soft little hand that he had just held.

After pulling Manabe up, Hashimoto walked up to Totsuka and looked down at him, who was in a sorry state. "Katsuragi-san, Katsuragi-san, what else can you do besides bullying others?"

In Class A, where there are many good students, Totsuka is an outlier.

Not only were his academic grades at the bottom, but his physical abilities were also at the bottom. Hashimoto was very curious as to why he wasn't assigned to Class D or Class C.

If it weren't for him sticking to Katsuragi every day, Totsuka would have no standing at all in Class A.

"Stop talking about Katsuragi-san, Katsuragi-san, Katsuragi can't save you now." Ryuen squatted down and showed the photos he had taken to Totsuka.

In the photo, he is 'grabbing' Manabe's hand with one hand and pinning her to the ground, with Manabe's panicked face visible behind his head.

"Is Katsuragi in charge of this special exam now? If Class A loses its qualification because of you, his assistant, do you think Katsuragi will still be able to compete with Sakayanagi for the leadership of Class A?"

Rejected by the student council, the arrangement of having students with academic ability A mentor students with academic ability B failed, leaving Class A with no results at all in the final exams.

Katsuragi's position as leader was already precarious.

As someone close to Katsuragi, Totsuka fully understands this.

"What do you want me to do, Ryuen? Make it clear beforehand that I will never betray Katsuragi-san."

Knowing he had been caught red-handed, Totsuka's face showed resentment. If it was to protect Katsuragi's position, he would not hesitate to betray the interests of Class A.

Because protecting Katsuragi is protecting himself.

Without Katsuragi, he would just be a minor character.

"Take out your leadership card so I can take a picture." Totsuka Ryuen's face turned fierce as he looked at the defeated Totsuka Ryuen.

Totsuka was stunned when he heard Ryuen's words.

Even Sakayanagi didn't know that he was the leader of Class A, because Katsuragi didn't trust the Sakayanagi faction, so the appointment and attendance of the leader were all handled by students from Katsuragi's faction.

This is also why Hashimoto betrayed Class A and occupied three strongholds to desperately earn exam points.

"How did you know it was me? Could there be a traitor among Katsuragi's men? Hashimoto!" It was true that some students had switched sides to Sakayanagi's camp after Katsuragi's defeat, but Totsuka didn't expect there to be another one.

"I didn't expect it to really be him. Hachiman's information, whether it was speculation or not, seems to be quite accurate."

Hashimoto smiled upon receiving an affirmative answer and took out the light green leadership card from Totsuka's pocket.

The leader's card, illuminated by sunlight, bore the four characters "Totsuka Yahiko".

"Now we have another fifty class points, Ryuen-kun."

Manabe, standing to the side, couldn't help but laugh when she saw the leadership card with her 'boyfriend' on it.

This result will allow her to brag about it among the girls in Class C for quite some time, all thanks to her hard work, which has given Class C an extra fifty class points.

It wasn't just about bragging rights; Longyuan promised her a personal points bonus of 200,000 yuan for acting alongside this ugly man.

This is a win-win situation for her.

After taking a photo of the leader's card at Ryuen, Hashimoto took his place and spoke with Totsuka.

"Only we know about this. If you tell Katsuragi that you were exposed because you fell for a honey trap, then given his personality, he will definitely take the blame for you in front of everyone."

"Just pretend nothing happened, and when you get your exam points deducted, you can claim it was a traitor planted by Sakayanagi that caused your identity to be exposed."

"It's all Sakayanagi's fault, don't I agree, Totsuka-kun?"

Under Hashimoto's patient guidance, Totsuka nodded blankly.

"You're right, it's all Sakayanagi's fault."

Chapter 78 Shiina's Doubts

As Hashimoto patiently manipulates Totsuka, who is being held hostage, Shiina opens her hazy eyes.

I think I was sitting under a tree with Hachiman reading a book earlier.

As Shiina rubbed her eyes, her consciousness slowly returned. Hikigaya's sleeping face was right above her head.

Oh no! What did I do before?

The sensation from the back of her head clearly told her that she was enjoying Hachiman's lap pillow. Based on her understanding of Hachiman, he wouldn't do this willingly, so it was her own doing...

Despite her mind's desire to leave quietly as soon as possible, Shiina found herself unable to move, leaving her somewhat bewildered.

It was clearly a very embarrassing situation; judging from her flushed cheeks, she must have already blushed.

But why does it seem like I don't want to leave?

Could it be that she really has romantic feelings for Hachiman?

Shiina, who had never had a male friend before, didn't know what her feelings were, but one thing was certain: she didn't dislike Hikigaya at all, and she didn't feel unhappy when she spent time with him.

Looking back on every happy moment of entering this school, Hachiman's presence is always present.

We read books together, shopped together, went to karaoke together, went to the movies together, and finally watched the sunset together.

Although the sunset over the sea was truly beautiful, she also secretly glanced at the handsome profile of the boy beside her.

Thinking of the smile on the boy's profile, the sea view in front of me felt even more joyful.

Are boys' palms really warmer than girls'?

After the flashback ended, Shiina suddenly remembered a description in a certain book and couldn't help but look at Hikigaya's hand, which was hanging naturally at the ground.

If I move quietly, I shouldn't wake Hachiman, right?

Last time at the observation deck, I also pressed my hands against Hachiman's cheeks. What did Hachiman feel at that time?

While thinking about Shiina, he slowly grabbed Hikigaya's hand and pressed it against his cheek.

Hachiman's hands are so warm, and they give me a sense of security...

Shiina closed her eyes again.

----------

I did it anyway.

When Hikigaya woke up, he looked at Shiina's cute sleeping face and saw his own hand. The warm and delicate touch stimulated his brain.