A reversal of fortune and victory in a world hated by all girls!

"Yes, it's also a happy thing to run into you here. I know you're probably getting hit on by a lot of guys these days, but if you really want to chat, you can always text me. We're still friends, after all."

"No, no." Hayakawa Keiko felt her head was in a mess. She wanted to explain but didn't know where to start, so she could only stammer and slowly cobble it out.

"I didn't add any other guys, I, I..."

Ding ding ding.

The bell rang for morning self-study; it was time to rush back to the classroom.

But Natsuki Aoi remained standing, quietly waiting to hear her finish speaking.

Countless students ran past them on either side, but the two remained motionless.

His eyes were fixed on her.

Keiko Hayakawa blushed deeply. She thought the morning study bell would interrupt the conversation, but to her surprise, Natsuki Aoi was still waiting for her to finish speaking.

This respect immediately eased her initial tension, and she nodded emphatically.

"Yes! I will definitely contact you again!"

After hearing this, Natsuki Aoi looked relieved and said, "Thank you. I look forward to your message."

Chapter 31 Is she really Anne Sakurajima?

"it is good……"

"Then hurry back to your morning self-study session, it won't be good if you get caught." Only then did Aoi Natsuki hurriedly say goodbye to her and run upstairs to the second floor.

Back in the classroom, seeing that the teacher hadn't arrived yet, I breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down in my seat.

Yusuke at the table in front of me seemed to be rummaging through his bag, then tilted his head back and said, "Want some breakfast? I bought some seaweed rice rolls."

"No need, you can eat it yourself."

“I’ve noticed you’ve been making your own lunchboxes lately, and you haven’t eaten with me in the cafeteria for ages,” Yusuke said weakly, taking a bite of his seaweed rice roll.

“Yes, making your own bento is cheap and healthy, and you can choose what you want to eat, which is great.” Aoi Natsuki wasn’t a blabbermouth; she couldn’t just tell everyone about Rina.

"You look so listless, didn't you sleep well last night?"

"Don't even mention it. The basketball team has been training every day for the past few days. We're about to play against another school. I feel like my youth is about to burn out."

"Haha, you must be really tired." Aoi Natsuki patted his shoulder, and could indeed see the fatigue in his expression. "But you can also think about it from another perspective. With more opportunities to appear in public, maybe you'll have more little fans."

"Ha, woman." Yusuke remained unmoved after hearing this, then turned his head back, placed his hands on the table with his arms crossed, and rested them on his arms. "Then I'll take a nap too. Remember to wake me when the teacher comes."

"Oh."

Aoi Natsuki then chuckled softly. The teacher didn't come until the end of morning self-study, and Yusuke had a wonderful sleep.

During the break, Natsuki Aoi went to the corridor, intending to lean against the railing and enjoy the breeze, when she heard a quarrel.

He shifted his gaze over there.

It was a girl with braided pigtails arguing with three boys, apparently bumping into them while turning a corner.

"I'm sorry," the girl with the braided hair said, bowing her head in apology.

"Be careful when you walk next time!" Three boys then walked past her, muttering something as they went.

Seeing that nothing had happened, the people around them went back to what they were doing.

Aoi Natsuki looked at her, her eyes initially calm, then turning to shock.

A dazzling "S" grade mark appeared on the top of the girl's braided hair.

Is this... this... is this the third S-class girl?!

He initially thought that was the case, but then he noticed the name, which shocked him immensely.

Anne Sakurajima.

Lies...

Aoi Natsuki's eyes widened in disbelief. Although she knew about Sakurajima Anne's ugly act before, she didn't expect the difference to be so huge!

Nowadays, Anne Sakurajima wears high-powered glasses that almost completely cover the upper half of her face, and her simple braids look a bit rustic. No wonder Hayakawa and Takahashi hesitated to speak when they mentioned her before.

This is... this is going too far with the ugly act!

He stared at her blankly.

As Sakurajima Anne, who was holding a book in her arms, looked up, she also sensed his focused gaze.

The next second, she met Aoi Natsuki's gaze.

Immediately afterwards, she raised her right hand in a friendly manner and waved it to him from side to side.

……

"You gave me quite a fright! Aoi-kun, you recognized me at a glance. That's amazing."

"Hey, hey, hey, who's scaring whom? You're the one who's changed so much, it's like you're a completely different person."

Sitting on the bench, Aoi Natsuki subconsciously glanced at Sakurajima Anne, who was dressed like this... This...

Another speechless day.

"Hmph, don't you think it would be more interesting to hide your true self and only show it to a few interesting people?" Sakurajima An smiled, her eyes narrowed.

"Really?" Natsuki Aoi frowned. "What kind of twisted sense of humor is that?"

"Hey~ Only you, Aoi-kun, are the only boy who has seen my true face. Think about it, doesn't your heart race?"

Sakurajima Anne leaned her face closer.

The tone was exactly the same; the person in front of me was indeed Sakurajima An herself, not Sakurajima An whose soul was possessing someone else's body.

Not at all.

"Is that so? It seems you boys really are visual creatures." Sakurajima An shook her head slightly, then took off her black-rimmed glasses and slowly untied her braid with her right hand.

A minute later, she tossed her head, and the original Sakurajima An was back.

That extremely aggressive gaze.

"Isn't this much better?"

Aoi Natsuki was still shocked. It was like a complete makeover. She hadn't even put on any makeup. Her appearance was just too amazing.

"That's not what I meant. I was just shocked by the difference between your behavior before and after."

"Oh ho, but even so, Aoi, you still recognized me at a glance. Isn't that even more impressive?" Sakurajima An's gaze then moved down, as if observing him from his jaw to his collarbone, chest, ribs, pelvis, all the way to the bento box he was holding.

Aoi Natsuki noticed her gaze, glanced at the bento box in her hand, and asked, "Would you like some?"

Sakurajima An smiled, her eyes narrowing, and said, "Mm!"

He handed over his lunchbox; he'd already eaten too much for breakfast and wasn't hungry yet.

The midday sun hung in the sky, weakly bringing a trace of warmth to the world. Aoi Natsuki wrapped her thick school uniform jacket tighter and sat on a bench on the rooftop with Sakurajima Anne, breathing in the cold air together.

Sakurajima An picked up a piece of omelet, took a bite, and exclaimed with delight, "It's so delicious! Did you make this yourself?"

"Yeah, I'm used to it."

"Making my own bento...that's so nice." Sakurajima Anne continued eating her bento with a smile on her face.

Aoi Natsuki looked at the top of her head, and sure enough, her favorability rating was still -1.

Maybe this girl really is a bug.

"Sakurajima, I have a question for you."

"You asked."

"Since you're so beautiful, why don't you show your true face and promote your Exploration Club more? There should be quite a few people willing to join, right?"

Sakurajima Anne stopped what she was doing, turned her head with a puzzled look, and said, "Wasn't I dressed like this during the club recruitment last time?"

"Location, location! You chose such a remote corner spot back then, hardly anyone went there, what kind of effect could it have?"

“I see.” Sakurajima An smiled slightly, a strange light flashing in her eyes. “But that’s fine too. Compared to those guys who only know how to pick up girls all day, some interesting guys are more likely to pique my interest.”

After saying that, she stared at Aoi Natsuki by the bench with a smile on her face, making him feel a little uneasy.

But even after saying all that, why is the affection level still -1? It feels like we can never reach zero affection...

Are you also part of Golden Requiem?

Chapter 32 Ordinary is the perfect match!

……

One evening.

In an ordinary apartment in a residential community.

Keiko Hayakawa was helping her mother wash vegetables and cook. Outside the kitchen, the cries of her youngest brother, who was not yet two years old, could be heard. After a while, it was inevitable that she would find it annoying.

"Koizumi! Koizumi! Stop watching TV! Go check on your little brother!" Mom shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Yes……"

Koizumi is Keiko Hayakawa's second younger brother; her family consists of five people.

This busy activity continued for thirty minutes until plates of home-style dishes were served, and only then did the family of five sit down.

With a beer belly and wearing a tie, the father had a cigarette in his mouth and a newspaper in his hand as usual. He calmly picked up the beer that had already been poured and gulped down more than half of it.

Meanwhile, the mother continued to watch over her youngest brother as he ate.

Hayakawa Koizumi was still engrossed in her video game, completely oblivious to the table full of food in front of her.

This is Keiko Hayakawa's most ordinary home.

She held the rice bowl in her hands, her gaze gradually falling on the broken corner of the table. She had used it for so long without ever thinking of replacing it.

"Work has been really tough lately. More and more outstanding young people are joining, and the old seniority system is about to be phased out," Dad sighed and murmured.

The mother comforted her crying younger brother, her tone not very friendly: "Then why don't you try harder? You're so old and you're only a deputy section chief. I think the president only promoted you because you're loyal. Sigh, luckily our Huizi has good grades. We really can't count on you."

Dad didn't argue, but instead downed his beer in one gulp, then turned to Huizi: "Huizi? What's wrong? You haven't said anything, are you in a bad mood?"