I, who tortured the readers, was knocked to the ground by them!

The book hit Natsuto Murakami.

Hearing the commotion, the other students in the classroom also turned around and looked in this direction.

Meanwhile, Natsuto Mura stood there, somewhat bewildered.

I was speaking up for her, so why is she unhappy now?

He stared blankly at Hase Shion, who was glaring at him with a cold expression.

It's been almost a month since school started, and this is the first time he's seen her make such an expression.

Those who know Shion Hasegawa will only find her cute.

But to strangers, her features, which already looked somewhat unpleasant, became a little frightening when she glared at people.

Moreover, she was now filled with extreme anger.

I finally had a chance to go on a date with him alone, what's wrong with you to ruin my good time?
And how dare you say that about him! I've never even mocked him like that! What gives you the right!

Natsuto Mura picked up Shion Hase's book from the ground and then asked, "No, no, Hase-san, what's wrong?"

Hasegawa Shion only replied with two words: "Disgusting."

Hearing the commotion, they all turned around to observe what was happening.

Sakurai Itsuki knew that she had tried hard to make a good impression on the class, so she quickly said loudly, "It's okay, I don't care if my classmates talk bad about me."

After listening to Sakurai Itsuki's explanation, everyone nodded and showed expressions of understanding.

Natsuto Mura is the kind of person that people find quite annoying.

Seeing that all the students' eyes were on her, Natsuto Murakami felt as if she had been publicly executed, and her face immediately turned red.

"What do you mean by bad things? I'm just stating the facts! You'll be wasting your talent if you're paired with him, Hanase! He's just a bad student who sleeps all day in class."

Natsumi argued.

"What did you say? You think you're qualified?"

Just as Shion Hasegawa was about to lose her temper and argue with him, Itsuki Sakurai quickly grabbed her hand.

This time it wasn't her wrist, but rather her palm.

Shion Hasegawa felt the touch coming from his palm and immediately stopped, turning to look at him.

Sakurai Itsuki said, "Let's skip class. Summer is coming soon. Come with me to the mall and buy some clothes."

As he spoke, Sakurai Itsuki stood up from his seat, pulled her to her feet, and then, in full view of everyone, led her by the hand toward the classroom.

Hasegawa Shion immediately calmed down, her face flushed, and she nodded softly in response, "Mm."

Then she let him lead her down the path of skipping class, never to return.

Tokyo University of the Arts uses standard small-class teaching, with only about thirty people in the entire classroom.

Now, almost everyone's attention is focused on the two holding hands.

"Oh, so they're dating?"

"Ah, no wonder. I was wondering why Hase always seemed to sit over there. It turns out she wasn't just a classmate from high school."

"You know what, Sakurai is really good-looking. Handsome men and beautiful women should get along well."

"Is it true? Is it true? Are they dating?"

"Look at Hanase's expression, her face is all red, it's definitely true."

Even in college, gossip remains the main theme for everyone.

As Tokyo is the birthplace of idol dramas, everyone naturally discussed this scene with great excitement.

When Natsuto Mura saw the two holding hands and listened to everyone's discussion, he suddenly realized what was going on.

So, they're a couple!
Realizing he was just being delusional and had no hope whatsoever, he could only angrily shout, "You're skipping class? Professor, you'll fail if you skip class! I'm reporting you!"

The two completely ignored Natsuto's warning and left the classroom amidst the gossip of the others.

All that was left was Natsumi Murakami watching the two figures from behind, playing the role of a clown amidst the murmurs of the crowd.

Sakurai Itsuki and Hasegawa Shion held hands until they left the teaching building before slowly letting go of her hand.

Sakurai Itsuki let go, but that slender hand still held his tightly, unwilling to let go easily.

Sakurai Itsuki turned around helplessly and said, "Alright, stop holding on like that. Do you really like my hand that much?"

Hasegawa Shion pouted, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "You were the one who wanted to hold my hand first. If you have to say something, it's that you like my hand!"

She argued like that, but she didn't seem to have any intention of letting go.

Hase Shion is still that troublesome tsundere, but lately, ever since she secretly asked Sato Wakaba to take elective courses with her, she seems to have become increasingly bold.

Sakurai Itsuki couldn't resist teasing her again: "Of course I like your hands."

"Eh"

Hasegawa Shion's already flushed cheeks instantly turned bright red, spreading all the way to her ears.

Her gaze fell on the hand she was holding his, and she thought, "So he's a hand fetishist? I should have trimmed his nails properly today."

Sakurai Itsuki said, "You're my original illustrator. Without your hands to draw, it would be a real problem."

"That's it"

Hasegawa Shion lowered her head slightly and sighed softly. It turned out she was still talking about manga.

Do we have nothing else to talk about besides comics?
However, this is not bad; she does really like topics related to comics, but...
A long time ago, she thought that as long as she started serializing comics with him and talked about comics together, everything would go smoothly.

But as things stand now, that's not the case, so...
She wanted to be different from before; besides painting, she wanted to do more things with him.
Sakurai Itsuki watched her sigh softly and then stare blankly into space, seemingly lost in thought, and chuckled gently.

It was indeed a very fun thing to tease her.

Then he asked, "Aren't you hot?"

Hasegawa Shion snapped out of her reverie and shook her head: "No? Why do you ask that?"

Sakurai Itsuki said, "Because your palms are sweaty!"

"what!"

Upon hearing this, Hasegawa Shion gasped and immediately released the hand that had been holding his for a long time.

I was so shameless, holding her hand so tightly, that I got so nervous my palms started sweating!
This is too embarrassing!

Oh no! Does he think I'm disgusting?

Ugh, I just want to smash my head against a wall and die.

She hurriedly withdrew her hand, then stared at her palm and examined it carefully.

Wait, that's not right, my palms don't seem to be sweating!
Seeing her reaction, Sakurai Itsuki burst out laughing: "Hahaha, I was just kidding."

Hasegawa Shion glared at Sakurai Itsuki: "Annoying!"

This guy is just bullying people. Is he really that unwilling to hold hands with me?
Sakurai Itsuki yawned and asked, "Alright, speaking of which, this is the first time you've ever skipped class, right? Where are you planning to go to commemorate it?"

After skipping class, he felt refreshed and his mood improved considerably.

Hasegawa Shion, however, couldn't appreciate the pleasure of skipping class at all.

She frowned and sighed, "Ugh, I messed up again, skipped class again, and lost my temper in public."

She clearly wanted to use this opportunity to prove herself to him.

This proves that Hase Shion is no longer the troublesome girl who always messes things up.

This proves that Shion Hase has grown into a mature woman, like her mother, capable of handling all sorts of things.

This proves that Shion Hasegawa is also capable of being a good wife who takes good care of her family.

All the effort of the past month has been wasted.

"Ugh, that person is so annoying! We're not even close, and I didn't do anything to him! He's so irritating!"

Hasegawa Shion said fiercely.

It's all that guy's fault for ruining all her good time. If she hadn't already "run away from home," she really wanted her dad's friend in Tokyo to teach him a lesson.

Sakurai Itsuki said, "Isn't that simple? It's because he wants to get close to you. You're so pretty and beautiful, and you look like a rich girl. Isn't that normal?"

Upon hearing this, Hasegawa Shion exclaimed, "Ugh, how disgusting! Is he out of his mind? How is this normal? There's never been anyone like this before." Sakurai Itsuki comforted her, "Just keep your distance from him in the future. Don't worry, I'll be by your side when we come to class from now on."

"Mm." Hasegawa Shion nodded.

Sakurai Itsuki said, "In the end, you're still not experienced enough. This kind of person isn't worth getting angry with at all."

Hasegawa Shion explained, "I'm not usually that easily angered, but today is an exception. He was talking about you."

She tried to control her emotions, but she just got really angry!
Who gave him permission to say those things about her, Ah Shu?
Sakurai Itsuki suddenly recalled the past: "Speaking of which, you've said a lot about me too. When we first met, you even threw a cup at me!"

"That's different! I didn't know you were a comic artist. Of course I was angry when you talked about the profession of comic artist like that. Back then, I considered comics the most important thing in my life."

Hasegawa Shion thought of her embarrassing past and scratched her face awkwardly.

Back then, the two of them certainly never imagined that one day they would walk out of the classroom hand in hand, amidst the cheers of the crowd.

Sakurai Itsuki paused for a moment and asked, "What? Back then, wasn't manga the most important thing in your life? Or was I just as important to you as manga was back then?"

Now it was Hase Shion's turn to be stunned. After a brief silence, she cursed, "Idiot. You're deluding yourself!"

"By the way, have you never been pursued before? You seem to be quite bad at handling these kinds of things. Speaking of which, Sato Wakaba was often confessed to in high school."

"."

"Oh, by the way, I also had a lot of girls confessing their feelings to me in high school."

Hasegawa Shion was happy for only a few seconds before she got angry again and started walking forward, saying, "Oh, I see. It's just that no one is willing to confess to me. I'm not as good-looking as the two of you. Forget it."

"It's not about being good-looking. It's that everyone thought you were aloof back then, like a flower on a high mountain, unapproachable. They all felt they were definitely not good enough for you and that it was impossible for them to be with you."

Sakurai Itsuki followed behind her, explaining.

Hasegawa Shion asked, "Is that a compliment?"

Sakurai Itsuki said, "I'm just saying that you don't have to change. Just be a little more indifferent, a little more willful, a little less approachable, and that's fine."

"You've become too approachable lately, which is why some people are having unrealistic fantasies about you."

Hasegawa Shion turned around: "But wouldn't it be annoying and troublesome if I acted like that in high school?"

Sakurai Itsuki said, "I'm already used to your troubles. Compared to this, I would be more annoyed if those kinds of guys came to my door every day."

Hasegawa Shion was stunned, and her face immediately lit up with joy that she couldn't hide even though she tried hard to suppress it: "Oh, that's true."

He never liked other men trying to get close to me!
Hehe
Sakurai Itsuki continued, "However, besides this method, there is another way. Do you know why no one confesses to you in high school, besides the fact that you're not easy to approach?"

Hasegawa Shion shook her head, puzzled.

"Because everyone misunderstands that you like me and are my girlfriend."

As Sakurai Itsuki spoke, he took her hand in one swift motion.

"The people in our class must be misunderstanding us now, thinking we're a couple. If we just walk around campus hand in hand, we won't have this problem anymore."

"Oh, oh." Hasegawa Shion's brain had almost stopped thinking, and she couldn't even come up with a tsundere excuse.

All I could do in response was to hold his hand tightly.

Sakurai Itsuki said, "By the way, I might have sweaty hands? It's pretty hot today."

"That's disgusting."

"If you don't like it, then let go."

"Hmph, to avoid trouble later, I'll just put up with you today."

As Shion Hatsune spoke, she gripped Sakurai Itsuki's hand even tighter.

She refuses to let go!

At the same time, the professor stood on the podium and casually threw his textbook on it.

"Has everyone arrived today?"

"Report, two people just left," Natsumi reported.

"This is outrageous! I told you no one is allowed to skip this class!"

The professor slammed his fist on the table; his notoriously bad temper was now raging.

"They just left. Isn't this a blatant provocation? Were those two the ones?"

Hearing the professor's angry speech, everyone lowered their heads, thinking to themselves, "Those two are really finished."

However, everyone secretly thought that it was best not to have any contact with Mura Natsu in the future.

“Haze Shion, Sakurai Itsuki.” Mura Natsu revealed a triumphant smile.

"Hase Shion? Oh."

That popular, bestselling cartoonist, right?

Sakurai Itsuki. Is that the monster? He recently started a company to work on copyright adaptations, his own studio. I'm currently preparing to discuss a project with him.

The professor's anger vanished completely.

"Ahem, Hanase-san and Sakurai-san must have something important to do. It's alright, just tell them to be more careful next time."

"But even if something comes up, it shouldn't affect your studies, right? Classes should proceed as usual, didn't you say that yourself, teacher?"

At that moment, Natsuto Mura felt that his speech was so noble and righteous.

The professor looked displeased, but continued to try to salvage the situation: "Sakurai Itsuki is doing things related to his major, so it doesn't affect his studies. I guess he's been too busy lately and forgot to ask me for leave. I'll have him make it up to me later."

"But how did you know? I clearly heard them say that they were going to buy clothes."

Natsuto Murakami couldn't understand why he had been severely punished by Natsuto whenever he tried to ask for leave, but this "bad student" could skip class openly and not only was he fine, but Natsuto even protected him.

"Can't I just buy clothes and design costumes for the characters?"

The professor, being a seasoned veteran, spoke nonsense without batting an eye, explaining things on their behalf.

"Besides, people with this level of skill really don't need to take these basic courses. Let's talk about it again when you can create a blockbuster commercial work like 'White Album'!"

The audience below the stage were all stunned; it was a white photo album.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "No wonder the name Sakurai Itsuki sounds so familiar. He's that beast from a couple of years ago... ah, no, that genius scriptwriter."

Most people who study film and television in Japan have some connection to anime and manga.

Many people have played visual novels like "White Album".

Those who have played "White Album" will naturally know about the "three beasts" that shocked the industry in the past.

However, two years have passed, and compared to the other two beasts who have shone brightly in both creation and hype.

Sakurai Itsuki kept a low profile throughout his career, and apart from the second chapter of White Album, he didn't produce many works.

This person didn't even publish their social media account.

Therefore, he almost disappeared from public view.

To everyone's surprise, he actually came to Tokyo University of the Arts, and even studied animation, a major that seems to have little to do with making games.

So, even though it's been a month since Sakurai Itsuki started school, no one has yet connected him with that scriptwriter.

"Yes, it's him. My studio has been talking to him about collaborating on an animation project recently, so I know he's very busy. Do you understand now?"

The teacher tapped on the desk and asked again.

Everyone gasped in surprise.

That guy who's always sleeping is actually a hidden master!
As everyone gasped in amazement, many eyes also drifted toward Natsuto Mura, who had just publicly mocked Sakurai Itsuki.

His actions were utterly clownish.

Natsuto Mura was dumbfounded. What? This is Sakurai Itsuki himself?
It's ironic that he seems to have even played one of the games he made.

Thinking back to the mocking words I had just said to him, I felt a slapping sound on my cheeks.

The professor immediately pulled him back to reality, patted the table, and quieted the noisy crowd.

"Class is now in session. I'm going to ask questions now, and you'll lose points if you can't answer them. Mura Natsu, you're the one to answer."

"Huh?" (End of Chapter)