Why wasn't I the one who got the male lead's script?

Hoshimi read the hidden anger in Kato's eyes, smiled and gave her a reassuring look, then put the cushion on her side to indicate that the seat had been cleared.

"I understand. This tactic might have worked before, but now it will only have the opposite effect."

The boy rested his hands on the table, his wandering eyes not looking at the TV screen that had just been turned on.

——If doing so would make the people who care about him sad and cry, then he would never try to do it.

"So what you saw was actually a scrapped case. A scrapped case—don't worry, don't worry. I'll be obedient this time and stay home to recuperate."

After realizing that Hoshimi really thought so and had no intention of hiding it, Kato's expression, which had originally been a little dissatisfied, eased a little.

"But I'm still very curious to this day, why did you choose to trust me, Kato? I did something that betrayed your trust once."

"Hmm? What's going on?"

"It was that time at Tomoya Aki's house. I was the one who brought you there, but I thought you would leave when the time came, so I tried to run away early. I still feel a little scared when I think about it now."

At that time, Hoshimi had no idea what kind of person Tomoya Aki was at heart. Looking back now, if she had made a different choice, something might have happened.

"Ah, that matter, I didn't care about it."

Kato did not sit down, but turned around and stood in front of the desk, silently and lightly tidying up the somewhat messy desk.

"Because I believe in Hoshimi-kun."

She used her body to cover up her movements as much as possible, and just quietly packed up the boy's things.

"Besides, Amami-kun wouldn't do anything out of the ordinary. Well, although he's a bit hard to describe... he probably wouldn't do anything out of the ordinary, huh?"

Hey, is what Ms. Kato said another polite way of explaining "having the desire but not the courage"?

"Back to the issue of plagiarism, I also believe that you, Xingjian-kun, were slandered. After all, you have no reason to do so."

Kato expressed his views in a very natural tone, as if chatting about family matters, which made the tired-looking boy Hoshimi raise his eyebrows slightly.

"As a fan of Kasumi Shiko-sensei, what good can you gain by plagiarizing her work? Ultimately, it all comes down to that 'puberty syndrome' you mentioned to me a while ago."

"...Your speed of accepting this paranormal phenomenon is beyond my imagination, Kato."

"Well, it's okay. Besides, these things are actually no different from the urban legends circulating among girls."

"However—there's a key point in what you just said that concerns me."

Xingjian changed the subject, swept away his previous depressed and tired look, sat up straight and looked at Kato's cheek.

"I clearly haven't mentioned to you, Kato, that I'm Kasumi Shiko's reader... How did you know?"

----

The promised update is here!!

After tomorrow's class, I can start returning everyone's extra chapters (*≧▽≦)ノシ))

Hoshimi Haru can't be alone again: Chapter 6: What the girl wants to convey & What the girl wants to hide (I)

——Hoshimi has always been a little confused about Kato Megumi's attitude.

In fact, this was the feeling that had remained in his heart since their last meeting in the library.

In any case, as an ordinary girl, Kato Megumi's understanding of the abnormal phenomenon of puberty syndrome is too fast.

Moreover, unlike Eriri and Shiyu who had guessed the general idea later, she did not repeatedly confirm it in disbelief, but quickly accepted the fact.

This inevitably made Xingjian suddenly have a somewhat unrealistic idea - that is, could Kato Megumi's nonchalant attitude be an indirect proof that she has long been accustomed to it?

Forget it. If there is no evidence to support it, just treat it as a possible guess. There is no need to take it seriously.

However, the only question that could be asked had already been raised by Xingjian.

——Why did he never mention to Kato that he was a loyal reader of Kasumi Shiko, but the other party still said this.

Kato's body shook slightly when he raised the question, and then quickly returned to its original state.

Kato Megumi, who had silently tidied up the table, turned around slowly and met the puzzled gaze of Hoshimi who had been waiting for her response.

"There's no need to dig deep into this kind of thing."

"...?"

"Because, Hoshimi-kun's house is full of Kasumi Shiko's—that is, Kasumigaoka-senpai's—works, right?"

Kato casually pointed at the bookshelf where the books were arranged in an extremely messy manner. Among them was a light novel that was not neatly arranged. It turned sideways, revealing the five big words "Love Metronome" on the cover.

"With so many works in your collection, it's reasonable for me to assume that you, Hoshimi-kun, are a fan of Kasumi Shiko-sensei."

Kato's response seemed very reasonable, and her expression was so calm that it seemed as if she was just narrating a very ordinary little thing.

——However, the more natural her expression became, the more Xingjian felt something was wrong.

Kato's statement, after all, is just using the results to prove the reason why she did so. This method of putting the cart before the horse cannot explain the reason for this.

"Besides, even if I don't notice it, I can still feel it."

Perhaps guessing what Hoshimi was thinking at the moment, Kato quickly gave his own supplement, his tone fluent and natural.

"……oh?"

"Because it can be seen from time to time that Hoshimi-kun's attitude towards Kasumigaoka-senpai is different from his attitude towards others."

After Kato cleaned up the clutter on the table, he came to the table and sat down quietly.

"You maintain a normal social distance between classmates, both towards me and Sawamura-san—but with Kasumigaoka-senpai, you stay even further away and are even colder towards her."

She stopped the boy from getting up, bent down slightly, picked up the teapot beside her, and poured the still slightly steaming hot tea into the cup.

"This must be the manifestation of admiring someone. That's what I guessed at the time."

Kato Megumi smiled lightly and gently brought the warm cup of tea to Xingmen, leaving the boy no chance to do it himself.

"........."

Xingjian, who had no way to refute it, could only purse his lips and helplessly picked up the teacup and took a sip of green tea.

After all, Kato really hit the nail on the head.

"Besides, I know that too."

The short-haired black girl sitting at the table held her chin with her cute little hands and stared at the boy until he drank the tea in the cup, then a smile gradually appeared on her face.

"When Hoshimi-kun is in the library, he often goes to the light novel section."

"……Eh?"

The boy put the empty teacup back on the table and looked up in surprise.

"I know. Hoshimi-kun likes to read alone in the corner of the study room on the second floor. Sometimes he'll read for the whole afternoon."

But Kato completely ignored the surprised expression on his face and continued to speak with a smile on his face.

"Xingjian-kun likes to go to the library to look for books at the beginning of lunch break, and sometimes he will squat in a corner of the library after school to read quietly."

——You got it right.

They all came true.

But why…?

"There's no need to look so surprised, Hoshimi-kun. I've said that before, haven't I?"

The girl with short black hair sitting next to him smiled slightly with her eyes narrowed. Her chubby pink cheeks were slightly puffed up, making her look very cute.

“Because we are the same kind of people.”

Therefore, they know best where their kind live.

"Kato, you..."

"I've said so much, but in fact, I just hope that you can understand a very simple truth."

Kato, who has always been considerate, interrupted someone in the middle of a sentence for the first time. She sat up slightly and looked seriously at the black-haired boy who wanted to say something.

"It's not just me, Sawamura-san, Kasumigaoka-senpai, everyone... is watching you without you knowing, Hoshimi-kun."

Kato's voice is like a sheep, giving people a gentle and docile feeling.

But at this moment, it is obvious that the little lamb is giving a serious and earnest admonition.

"So at least from now on... try to rely on the people who are watching you."

Kato smiled lightly, but did not move any closer to the boy, and just sat there as usual.

She sat in a position that was neither close nor far, not intimate but definitely not distant either.

In a relationship that was neither close nor distant, they spoke words of concern that were neither enthusiastic nor cold.

"If you can't accept the kindness of others because you've been hurt before, you'll miss out on a lot of people and things that you wouldn't have missed otherwise."

"—"

Originally, Xingjian was used to disguising himself with a cold mask in front of others - commonly known as "acting pretentiously".

After all, no one can empathize with your own experiences and thoughts, so there is not much point in expressing them - you may not only fail to seek comfort but also be ridiculed as being sentimental.

Closing his heart was a common thing for him.

but.

"Of course, no matter what others do, my attitude remains the same as I said before."

The short-haired girl, with her hands on the table, picked up the teacup and exhaled lightly. While staring at the tea surface, she spoke some very weighty words in a very normal tone.

"This time, just take a good rest and leave the rest to us."

The girl's eyes were filled with tenderness, but this was exactly what made Xingjian most confused.

Could it be that Kato has teamed up with Hayasaka and the others... and is planning to do something?

----

It’s the same old thing, but I’ll give you another update before 12 o’clock!

Hoshimi Haru can't be alone again: Chapter 6: What the girl wants to convey & What the girl wants to hide (Part 2)

"…I say, Kato."

After hesitating for a moment, Xingjian half-doubtfully told Kato about his doubts.

"Could it be that...the friend my sister mentioned coming to my house to play with me is...you?"

"—"

Miss Kato was stunned for a moment, and the corners of her lips, which were originally showing a gentle smile, froze slightly, and it took about two or three seconds for them to return to normal.

"Hmm... can't you and Hoshimi-kun be considered friends?"

She gave an ambiguous answer in a soft tone, neither denying nor agreeing - but she successfully fought back and kicked the ball back to Xingjian.

"Uh……"

Xingjian, who was originally in an advantageous position, was choked by these words for a while. After a long time, he supported his chin with his hands and mumbled out the truth.

"If I'm the only one who considers someone a friend, but they don't think so at all, I just know that I'll look self-indulgent, stupid and pathetic."

The rest doesn't matter, he doesn't want to be considered a pitiful being.

We are all people who are working hard to make a living. Sometimes other people's pity and sympathy will only make us feel looked down upon.

"Then, this worry is unnecessary."

Ms. Kato, who seemed to be countering the opponent's moves but actually seemed to have seen through everything, tilted her head and gave a brief but extremely effective response.

"Because I consider Hoshimi-kun my friend."

This unexpected straight ball caused the hand that was supporting the boy's cheek to slip violently. The burning pain from his face made the side of his face turn a little unnatural red.

"Now, Hoshimi-kun has more friends than just Futaba-san, right?"

"Ah, um..."

"Then you won't feel lonely anymore."

"………Um."

"This way, Hoshimi-kun is no longer one-sided."

Kato Megumi smiled slightly, and after saying this, she stood up and walked to the bookshelf - she seemed to have just taken a short break and was going to continue tidying up Hoshimi's room.

"Kato—I can handle this myself."