Tokyo: Oreimo

It feels completely different when someone brings it up to my face now.

"Ayumi-senpai." She put down her pencil, her voice as casual as possible, "What are they talking about outside? It sounds quite lively."

Ayumi looked up from her drawing, listened to the sounds outside, and then smiled knowingly.

"Oh, I've heard about the rumors about the entrance ceremony too."

Did you see that?

"No, I was busy recruiting new members for the club that day, and I only heard about it from someone else."

Ayumi tucked the pencil behind her ear. "They say she's a very tall girl, and she's really pretty. A lot of people were talking about her back then."

Ling Nai gave a soft hum.

The reaction was so subtle it was almost imperceptible, but Ayumi noticed it and couldn't help but glance at Ling Nai again.

The blonde girl's expression remained unchanged.

The giantess really knows how to show off; she came right to the school.

She mentally made a deep grudge against Saori.

You came to assert your dominance on the day of the enrollment ceremony, huh? As if you're afraid others won't know your boyfriend studies here, huh?

Honestly, was it really necessary to make such a big deal out of it and let the whole school know about it?

And that guy, he's probably secretly overjoyed.

Ling Nai couldn't resist trying to observe Ryosuke's expression through the crack in the door, but because his back was to her, she couldn't see his face at all.

Ayumi was unaware that Ling Nai had already mentally listed out all the rumored male and female protagonists. She just found the topic quite interesting, put down her pen, and rested her chin on her hand.

"But it's so nice to be in love." She moved the drawing aside, her tone tinged with a touch of wistfulness. "Love on a college campus, just hearing about it makes me feel so young and vibrant."

"Envious?" Ling Nai raised her eyes.

“Of course,” Ayumi said with a hint of self-deprecation. “Someone like me is probably just not cut out for that kind of thing.”

Ayumi looked down at herself and spread her hands. "I'm just average-looking. I spend all my time in the activity room drawing comics. All I talk about are new anime series and doujinshi conventions. Most guys would run away if they heard that."

Ling Nai remained silent for a moment.

She found herself unable to refute that statement.

Because she herself had never had this kind of trouble.

It wasn't because of her drawing skills, but because she had been the type of person who would frequently turn around and look at you when you walked down the hallway since middle school.

Even if she deliberately doesn't dress up, her blonde hair and black eyes alone are enough to make many girls whisper behind her back.

However, Ling Nai felt that it was a bit of an exaggeration to say that they were not destined to be together. At least in her opinion, it seemed that the other party was not unnoticed.

"Isn't your senior a good person? Besides, don't you and that Tanaka-senpai have that kind of relationship?"

"what?"

Ayumi's hand hovered in mid-air, and she paused for a moment.

"You and Tanaka-senpai," Ling Nai said with a matter-of-fact expression, "aren't you dating?"

Ayumi's face turned red at a visible speed.

"Wait, wait a minute! How could you... no, me and the president? be dating?"

"Because he doesn't use honorifics when he calls you." Ling Nai tilted her head, her tone flat. "'Bu Mei' is called by her first name, isn't that generally only people who are very close to each other?"

Tian Zhongxue called her "Bumi" so naturally that Ling Nai always thought there must be something between the two of them.

Ayumi opened her mouth, then closed it again.

She opened and closed her mouth three times before finally managing to utter a complete sentence.

"That's because we've known each other since high school, and I've always called him that since I became the student council president. It's never changed."

"Oh."

Ling Nai responded, but she noticed a small red patch behind Ayumi's ear.

"Moreover, that person only has doujinshi and Aniplex's new work on their mind, and they are completely clueless about romance."

Ayumi lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twirling the pencil that had fallen on the table. "So I really don't know. We're definitely closer than ordinary friends, but as for whether I like someone, I don't even know myself."

Ayumi opened her mouth, lowered her eyes, and spoke much softer.

"That idiot probably never even thought about it that way." Her fingers tightened slightly as she held the eraser. "Anyway, the manga club is fine as it is now. I won't talk about my own situation for now."

She took a deep breath, raised her head, and refocused her gaze on Ling Nai's face, a meaningful smile appearing on her lips.

"As for you, Ling Nai, you sounded so confident when you asked me just now. You must be an experienced person, right?"

Ling Nai's movements froze for a moment.

"What experience? I don't understand what you're saying."

"Someone you like?" Ayumi leaned closer and lowered her voice. "Is there someone?"

A very faint pink blush rose to the base of Ling Nai's ears.

She didn't say anything, but her reaction alone said it all.

"So, are you a classmate from school?" Ayumi asked, resting her chin on her hand, her curiosity piqued. "Or... a senior who has already graduated?"

“Not a classmate,” Ling Nai blurted out, then immediately bit her lip.

I was tricked into saying those things.

Ling Nai looked away, her voice low, as if afraid of being overheard by the person outside the door.

"Who is that?" Ayumi asked, her eyes lighting up.

Why are you asking so many questions?

"Because it's very interesting."

Ayumi rested her chin on her hand, her smile growing wider. "You were quite assertive when you were asking me and the president earlier, but now that it's your turn, you're saying 'I don't understand what you're saying'? To be fair, you should also give an explanation."

Ling Nai's ears turned even redder. She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

It's not that I don't want to talk about it, it's that I simply don't know how to say it.

What did you say? That the person I like is my sworn brother?

Although the Giantess made it clear that anyone could come and take it, she still felt ashamed to talk about it in front of outsiders.

Moreover, from a common sense perspective, if others knew about this relationship, wouldn't they have a bad opinion of that guy?

How could I possibly say such a thing?

"Is it someone from outside the school?"

Ling Nai did not answer.

"That means it's the default."

Ayumi tapped the table lightly with her pencil, as if she were reasoning something. "If they're not classmates, then we met somewhere else. Are they older or younger?"

"...older than the older one."

"Oh?" Ayumi raised an eyebrow. "How much older?"

"...one year old."

"He's about the same age as me," Ayumi chuckled. "What does he look like? Handsome?"

Ling Nai's face turned completely red. She turned her head sharply, her ponytail whipping through the air in a golden arc.

"Ayumi-senpai, when did you become so gossipy?"

“I’m just curious,” Ayumi said casually, “what kind of person could make Ling Nai blush like this?”

Ling Nai bit her lower lip and didn't say anything more. Looking at her like this, Bu Mei suddenly felt a little incredulous.

She had seen Ling Nai drawing that day at the electronics district festival.

The control that emanated from the tip of her pen, the ease with which she could arrange the composition of the picture, made her feel that this blonde girl possessed a maturity beyond her years.

But the person sitting in front of him now is blushing, fidgeting with his hair, and can't even speak properly when asked about the person he likes.

She's just an ordinary girl who's at a loss in love.

"Stop making fun of me, Ayumi-senpai. We're getting off-topic. Drawing is the real business!"

"Okay, okay!" Ayumi covered her mouth with her hand, but she couldn't hide the smile in her eyes. However, she didn't ask any more questions.

......

Outside the private room, the tea party continued.

"So who is it? The rumored male protagonist from the entrance ceremony?"

Shota Okubo looked around, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces before finally settling on Ryosuke. "Takashiro, you're a freshman too, you really don't know anything?"

Ryosuke remained expressionless, picked up the oolong tea on the table, and took a sip.

"I haven't seen it, so I'm not sure."

He didn't want to admit it in this situation.

The commotion caused by Saori's arrival at the school was much greater than he had anticipated, and for several days afterward, people were discussing the "tall beauty" on the school forum.

If he were to admit it now, given Okubo's personality, he would definitely dig deep and ask until he revealed everything about the company.

Although this information will eventually be made public, he prefers to remain an ordinary member of the manga club for now.

"Yeah, you don't seem like the kind of person who would care about this kind of gossip."

Okubo had no doubts, then changed the subject and said with a sigh, "But seriously, that freshman is really enviable. On the first day of school, he was walking hand in hand with a girl of that caliber on campus. He's the epitome of a successful socialite."

"Okubo, that sounds really sarcastic," Yosuke Kobayashi said, adjusting his glasses.

"Why am I being sarcastic! I'm just stating an objective fact!"

Okubo spoke righteously and sternly, then laughed out loud, "Okay, it is a bit sour, but honestly, aren't you envious?"

Asakura Misaki held a strawberry milk and said softly, "I think it's a wonderful thing to meet someone you like at the best age."

"Asakura-kun is right."