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

The two walked to the classroom together, whispering to each other about whether they should make some changes to the original storyboard.

I spotted the blonde girl at a glance.

Hasegawa Shion, who was in a great mood, immediately panicked and let go of Sato Wakaba's hand when she saw him.

Even though Hase Shion had told herself countless times that Sakurai Itsuki and she weren't dating, it wouldn't matter even if she did anything with him.

Yet, even in such situations, I would still sheepishly lower my head in front of her.

Sakurai Itsuki never expected that Sato Wakaba would be here today.

During the half-day they were taking the elective course, Sato Wakaba had no classes, so she should have stayed at home.

As Sakurai Itsuki was pondering how to explain, Sato Wakaba waved and smiled at the two of them, saying, "Hi! Aren't you surprised?"

She smiled with her eyes narrowed, as if she hadn't seen the overly intimate way the two of them had just been.

Sakurai Itsuki didn't answer immediately. Instead, he observed Sato Wakaba, who was acting strangely, while frantically working on his own internals.

Just as she was thinking about how to explain and handle the situation, Hase Shion, dressed like a girl next door, stammered and greeted her, "Waka, Wakaba, what brings you here?"

"Oh, I won a huge voucher for a barbecue restaurant in a supermarket promotion while I was grocery shopping today! The weather's nice too! So, let's go get some barbecue together!"

Sato Wakaba pulled a voucher from her skirt pocket, grinned, and proudly waved her prize.

"Just because of this, you came all the way to school to wait for the two of us?"

Sakurai Itsuki was suspicious of Sato Wakaba's true intentions, always feeling that she had ulterior motives.

"Otherwise what! This is just good luck! Don't you think it's a pleasant surprise? I'm sharing this with you all! Life should be full of surprises! Shion, aren't you right?"

As she spoke, Sato Wakaba leaned over and affectionately took Hase Shion's arm.

Hase Shion, whose arm was being held, quickly tapped her head and said, "Ah, um, it's really a surprise, haha."

However, judging from the stiff expression she forced onto her face, it would be more accurate to describe it as shock rather than surprise.

Looking at Sato Wakaba smiling at her, Hase Shion felt like she was about to break out in a cold sweat.

Sakurai Itsuki looked at Sato Wakaba with great confusion. She should have seen him holding hands with her when they came out. It shouldn't be like this.

"By the way, what are you guys talking about? You seem to be having a great time?"

Finally, Sato Wakaba asked the question that made both of them nervous.

"That, that."

Hasegawa Shion was somewhat at a loss, and in the end, she could only raise her head and cast a pleading look at Sakurai Itsuki.

That pitiful look was rarely seen on ordinary days, and with her rather innocent attire today, she was even more endearing.

Sakurai Itsuki said, "We were just talking about work."

Sato Wakaba nodded: "Ah, it's work!"

Hasegawa Shion nodded quickly, echoing Sakurai Itsuki: "Yeah, that's right, it's work."

After speaking, he watched Sato Wakaba's movements with trepidation.

For some reason, she seemed like a timid and indecisive young wife.

Sato Wakaba strangely ended the conversation, waving the voucher energetically: "Let's go! Let's eat barbecue! Oh right, it's still a bit early, I drove here! How about we go to Ikebukuro first!"

Sakurai Itsuki retorted, "Can you be a little more discreet? It's like you want the whole world to know you're going to have a barbecue."

The people around inevitably turned their attention to the loud, boisterous girl.

"So what? This is something to brag about! Mind your own business! *sigh*"

As usual, Sato Wakaba stuck her tongue out at Sakurai Itsuki in a mischievous way.

He then glanced at Hase Shion and murmured meaningfully, "You guys are no less low-key than me. Many people and things are slowly changing."

Upon hearing this, Hasegawa Shion and Sakurai Itsuki looked at Sato Wakaba with a puzzled expression.

Before she could even remember what to say, Sato Wakaba smiled brightly and started complaining about other things: "Oh right, I wanted to invite Yukiko over too! But she said she was busy! Being a big star is really tough, I feel like I haven't seen her much lately!"

Sakurai Itsuki hesitated for a moment, then swallowed what she wanted to say and answered, "She's been under a lot of work pressure lately. Even if she has time, she probably wants to make time to be alone for a while."

"Hmm, let's invite her to go on a picnic together next time we have some free time. Our car may be small, but it's just right for four people."

The three of them continued on their way as usual, chatting and laughing, following Sato Wakaba's plan.

Hasegawa Shion didn't know whether she should be happy or not, while Sato Wakaba seemed indifferent to her holding hands with Sakurai Itsuki.

Sakurai Itsuki was a little worried.

Does she really not care?

After finishing their barbecue, the two first dropped Hase Shion off at her apartment building, and then went home together.

Everything is as usual.

But can things really stay the same as always?

Sato Wakaba, supporting her back, exclaimed, "Ah, what a wonderful and joyful day! There's simply nothing more satisfying in the world than eating barbecue!"

Sakurai Itsuki asked doubtfully, "Is it really perfect?"

Sato Wakaba raised an eyebrow and asked, "What are you trying to say?"

Sakurai Itsuki paused for a moment and then said, "Are you just a good actor, or are you really not upset?"

Sakurai Itsuki found it strange that Sato Wakaba, who had already gone home, hadn't complained to him at all.

Sato Wakaba asked knowingly, "Why should I be unhappy?"

Sakurai Itsuki: "Oh, I thought you were jealous because you saw me and her in class!"

Sato Wakaba: "Seriously! Okay, okay, you're a good person, enough already."

She waved her hand, attempting to fool Sakurai Itsuki with an extremely perfunctory hair clip.

Sakurai Itsuki rebuked Sato Wakaba for her perfunctory response to their unique interests: "You're too lazy to even make up words now?"

Sato Wakaba: "Well, I've reached the point where I sometimes get tired of you! Let's go upstairs, let's go upstairs!"

Sato Wakaba waved her hand, then went upstairs in her slippers.

Both of them knew very well that Sato Wakaba's "getting tired of it" was just a perfunctory excuse.

Everyone knows that Sato Wakaba, who appeared as sunny and cheerful as ever today, was just putting on an act.

Even if the acting is flawless, everyone already knows each other too well.

Even Shion Hase couldn't fool Wakaba Sato.

But what can we do?

After going up to the third floor and closing the door to her room, Sato Wakaba collapsed onto the bed as if all her strength had left her.

She pulled the oversized teddy bear over and wrapped it in her arms.

She named the doll Ashu.

The experiences the two of them had in England and the stories they had learned from their uncle kept flashing through their minds.

Sato Wakaba rested her chin on the head of "Aki" and stroked it affectionately.

It's bound to be hard to sleep tonight.

Sakurai Itsuki downstairs let out a long sigh.

He went to the kitchen as if possessed and gently pulled out the kitchen knife that Sato Wakaba often used.

He flicked the blade.

If I were to get stabbed by this thing, it would probably hurt like hell. Yuna Eguchi's long-winded explanations flashed through my mind.

It wasn't that he thought Sato Wakaba would one day turn evil like in the hatchet ending of a visual novel and stab him a couple of times.

But now he feels that Eguchi Yuna was right about some things.

Sato Wakaba has been silently accumulating dark emotions, and perhaps one day they will really explode.

However, Sakurai Itsuki doesn't want to break the status quo for the time being.
That might turn our current comfortable life into a complete mess.

Moreover, Sakurai Itsuki didn't know which side he should choose.

Damn it, I shouldn't have copied from those white photo albums in the first place. Copying from one album to another has really trapped me in this mess.

Sakurai Itsuki cursed under his breath.

"It's okay, no one cares about your bet about dropping out of school."

In the blink of an eye, it's July, and the end of the semester is approaching.

Natsuto Murakami stared at the results of the storyboard design competition on the screen, his face ashen.

He didn't find their team's storyboard in the final list of award winners.

In contrast, the gold prize, symbolizing first place, is named after Sakurai Itsuki and Hase Shion.

He lost, he lost miserably.

"Inside information, inside information, it must be!"

Natsuto Murakami refused to accept reality and quickly clicked on it, but when he saw that every single manuscript exuded the skill and experience of a seasoned professional, he shut his mouth.

The gap is enormous, visible to the naked eye.

For freshmen like Natsumi and her team, their manuscript was quite good.

However, the sheets of paper projected on the screen are certainly not at the level of a freshman, and should not even be at the level that students should have.

Even by professional standards, this should be considered an excellent level.

Why? He's a visual novel writer who spends all his time in class sleeping or showing off his relationship, so how come he can draw storyboards at this level?
Even Natsuto's teammates exclaimed, "Ah, he's a true genius!"

"Ah, it's so unfair. Talent is such a cruel thing."

"So, those three born with extraordinary talent really didn't earn their nicknames for nothing. Even though he doesn't have many works, he's undoubtedly a super genius who leaves people speechless, just like those two!"

"This kind of person deserves an award! He just happened to become famous because he made a visual novel. People like him could become famous easily even if they did something else."

Listening to everyone's discussion, Natsuto Murakami felt as if every comment was slapping him hard in the face, and his face was so ugly it could drip water.

Until the very last sentence completely shattered his mental defenses.

"No wonder, seeing such a beautiful young lady like Hase always sticking to him! Ah, that makes sense."

"What do you mean?!" Natsuto Murakami asked the man, somewhat exasperated.

The man quickly explained, "It doesn't mean anything. You're not still bothered by that, are you? You can't possibly be. Why would you have such thoughts?"

Even if you think about it with your ass, there's absolutely no chance for Natsuto Murakami.

To put it bluntly, he doesn't even have the right to compare himself to Sakurai Itsuki.

"Heh, you think I'd be interested in her again? Does she even deserve her?"

Natsumi Mura made a sarcastic remark.

The others fell silent, only looking at Natsuto Mura with strange eyes.

Unable to withstand the scrutinizing gazes of everyone, which made him feel like a clown, Natsuto Mura had no choice but to get up and leave.

At that moment, Hase Shion, who always took the initiative to be affectionate with Sakurai Itsuki in elective classes, also pulled Sakurai Itsuki up from his seat.

As Natsuto brushed past the two, she said to Sakurai Itsuki with some resentment, "You win this time, but..."

Sakurai Itsuki didn't even glance at him, and directly pulled Hase Shion away into the distance.

Ignored, Natsuto Mura clenched his fists. That bastard, how dare he ignore me!

It's just that they won a trivial tournament! What are they so arrogant about!
But after taking only a couple of steps, Hasegawa Shion stopped and whispered to Sakurai Itsuki, "I have something to tell him. Wait for me."

He then let go of her hand and turned to walk towards Mura Natsuto, who was cursing the two of them in his heart.

Seeing Hanase Shion walk towards him after letting Sakurai Itsuki pass by, Mura Natsuto was startled and felt a sliver of relief.

When Shion Hasegawa was two steps away from Natsuto Mura, she stopped and said, "Natsuto Mura, the professor asked me to tell you that you failed the course. You don't need to take the final exam. You should prepare to retake it."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Natsuto Murakami immediately panicked and followed after him: "What reconstruction? What do you mean? Explain yourself."

Hasegawa Shion turned around with a look of disgust and said coldly, "I'm just relaying the professor's words. Don't talk to me. I'm busy going to the mall with Itsuki. Don't waste my time."

Sakurai Itsuki gently pulled Hase Shion closer to him, then stepped forward to block Mura Natsuto's path.

He shielded her behind him.

Seeing the two interacting so affectionately, Natsuto Murakami immediately broke down and yelled, "Heh, what do you mean by this? Do you think I'd even look at your girlfriend? Heh, you two are a perfect match, one of you doesn't follow the rules in class and the other is shameless in public! You two are such a pair of scoundrels!"

Upon hearing this, Hasegawa Shion affectionately took Sakurai Itsuki's arm and smiled brightly.

It was a completely different expression from when he looked at Natsumi Mura just now.

Because she knew he was protecting her.

As for the insults from Natsuto Mura, she wasn't angry.

Because she captured two key words.

Girlfriend, we're a good match.

This disgusting guy finally said something that she could agree with.

Looking at Hase Shion, who suddenly became cheerful, Sakurai Itsuki understood what she was probably thinking.

With a hint of helplessness, he said, "Let's go, don't waste time. We agreed to go pick out a gift for Ruoye."

The two then turned and left without looking back.

Natsuto Murakami never expected that her angry outburst would not only fail to anger the two, but would instead become a tool for them to show off their affection.

He clenched his fists, gritting his teeth in anger.

The other students in the class kept their distance when they heard him cursing.

I vowed to myself that once the elective course was completely over, I would never have anything to do with this guy again.

Sakurai Itsuki and Hasegawa Shion left the classroom, but there was no surprise from Sato Wakaba today.

This made Hasegawa Shion feel much more at ease.

Hasegawa Shion asked, "Um, we won an award today, shall we celebrate?"

Sakurai Itsuki nodded and then asked, "Yes, that's fine. Should we call Wakaba over?"

Hasegawa Shion lowered her head and said softly, "But, isn't today supposed to be about choosing a birthday present for Wakaba? She always loves surprises."

Her reasoning sounded so legitimate, yet her voice still trembled as she spoke it.

Sakurai Itsuki paused slightly and nodded: "Alright, then it'll be just the two of us. This is a prize for both of us."

Hasegawa Shion swallowed hard, feeling like she was about to do something naughty again: "By the way, what if Sato Wakaba asks me why I'm back so late? Won't I be found out?"

Sakurai Itsuki waved her hand and said, "It's okay, just say we're talking about work, she won't ask any questions." (End of Chapter)