Chapter 177 – My heart is quite delicate…

Ichinose was indeed hopeless, but that didn't mean she was thoughtless. After the initial shock, she realized something was wrong: "Nagumo-senpai told you?"

That didn't seem possible. After Yukio humiliated Nagumo publicly at the sports festival, it was hard to believe that Nagumo would voluntarily tell Yukio anything. No matter how she looked at it, it didn't make sense.

Even though Ichinose was kind-hearted and tried to see the good in everyone, she understood that Nagumo and Yukio were unlikely to reconcile.

"Of course not," Yukio admitted honestly. A sudden bluff like that was fine, but continuing to lie would not only be a moral issue—something Yukio had little of—but it could also hurt Ichinose more given her current mental state. So he decided to be straightforward: "I just thought, given your upright nature, you wouldn't be bothered by a slander letter and would just laugh it off. But since you care so much, it indicates that there's some truth to it. It's difficult for people to tell their friends about their past mistakes due to psychological barriers."

"Excluding friends, the only ones in the entire school who are likely to know about your past are the school authorities and Nagumo, who helped you join the student council."

"The school wouldn't leak your information since they admitted you, so that leaves only Nagumo."

Ichinose's expression darkened again. Even though she understood that Yukio had been bluffing her, she didn't show much emotional reaction: "Yukio-kun, it's not slander... it's the truth."

"Stealing, no matter how small, is an indefensible crime."

"But you're not that kind of person." Yukio gently lifted his hand and placed it on Ichinose's hair, lightly stroking the golden strands and feeling the silky smoothness slip through his fingers.

"Can you tell me what really happened? The Ichinose I know would never act selfishly."

Ichinose kept her head down, resting it on her knees, allowing Yukio's warm hand to gently stroke her head, but she remained silent.

She could only think subconsciously, ah, Yukio-kun's hand is as warm as ever.

She didn't want to pursue how Yukio knew about this matter right now; she just hoped he would continue to warm her head for a little longer and then leave quickly so she could be alone in peace.

"I'm jealous," Yukio said, his hand still resting on her head. The kind of words typically exchanged between couples were delivered so plainly.

Ichinose was quite surprised. She slightly turned her head, glancing at Yukio without shaking off his hand.

What did Yukio-kun just say? Jealous? It was hard to imagine Yukio-kun saying such a word...

The emotion of shock still filled Ichinose's eyes as she stared blankly at Yukio, her mind unable to process why he would say such a thing.

"To be more precise," Yukio continued, as if he were a psychologist, analyzing his own feelings rather than treating a patient: "I feel unbalanced inside."

"Ichinose, you're willing to tell someone like Nagumo about your past but not me? My heart is quite delicate."

"?" Ichinose couldn't help but laugh. Delicate? Yukio, saying he had a delicate heart? That didn't match at all!

In Ichinose's impression, Yukio was always so strong, able to handle any unexpected situation with finesse. Although his methods might be somewhat unconventional and harsh, he always managed to resolve issues.

For Ichinose, someone like Yukio must have a strong and resilient heart. Yet now, Yukio claimed his heart was delicate?

This made Ichinose suddenly want to laugh. Her gloomy heart was instantly pierced by Yukio's words, letting in a small ray of light, brightening her gray little world.

Her darkened expression slightly regained some of its former brightness: "No, it's not that. The reason I told Nagumo-senpai was because I wanted to join the student council at that time."

"Senpai said that I was rejected the student council president, because although I had good abilities and a decent character, I was placed in Class B instead of Class A. He assumed it was because of some past mistake I made, so I..."

At this point, Ichinose couldn't continue speaking. She had trusted someone and confessed her past mistakes, only for that person to spread it around, making it known to the entire school.

"That's it?" Yukio's face showed disdain. "He only helped you join the student council. At the end of the summer break by the pool, I even said I wanted you to be the vice president."

Ichinose's lips naturally curled into a slight, yet noticeable smile. She had never seen Yukio-kun so competitive.

Yukio could do anything with ease. No matter who he faced, even President Horikita, he was always calm and composed. He had a competitive spirit, but it wasn't intense.

It seemed that no matter who Yukio faced, he didn't need a strong sense of competition. His confident demeanor, as if he could easily win before the competition even began, was quite impressive to Ichinose.

But now, Yukio's strong competitive spirit, trying to outdo Nagumo, was like a lion king protecting its lioness and driving away other male lions.

It was incredibly intense.

Thinking of this, Ichinose quickly turned her head, burying her face in her knees again, not daring to look at Yukio. Why did she think of a lion king and a lioness? Wasn't that... What was she thinking? Why did her mind go there? But it wasn't wrong; just now, Yukio-kun really did seem like a lion king protecting a lioness. Oh no, she's thinking about it again.

Her knees felt a bit warm. No, it wasn't her knees that were warm; it was her face. Ichinose's mind was in a state of continuous chaos.

Yukio, with his hand on Ichinose's head, could feel a bit of warmth, as if an invisible steam was rising.

It should be enough, right? Yukio glanced at Ichinose, trying to gauge her mood. Saying sentimental things out of nowhere was too difficult for him.

If it wasn't to help Ichinose relax, there were some things he would never say.

In Yukio's view, the whole thing wasn't a big deal, but Ichinose couldn't get over it herself.

Saying that stealing, no matter how small, is a crime—her strong sense of morality was both admirable and problematic.

Even if everyone said it was fine, that they forgave Ichinose, as long as she believed it was a problem and couldn't forgive herself, she would never get past it.

To break this psychological barrier, at the very least, Ichinose needed to open up and not stay so gloomily self-isolated. This was the minimum requirement.

***

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