Chapter 13: The Trick of Passing Notes with the Beautiful Girl

"Alright, I'm the one who was late, so next time, Mr. Haruka, you have to tell me in advance if you haven't had lunch!"

Mikoto Tamamo wore a face full of self-reproach, as if it were her own fault for Haruka's missed meal,

She stretched out her hand to lightly comb her hair by her ears, letting others see the glistening tears by her eyes all the more clearly,

Her actions were skilled; not one was superfluous.

The pitiful look of the young girl made the surrounding boys wish they could hold her in their arms and cherish her,

"Tamamo Student, actually, I also haven't had lunch. Since Haruka is not eating, could you give the bread to me..."

Suddenly, a male student who believed he had a good relationship with Mikoto Tamamo, stood up and spoke,

If it weren't for the fact that at noon he was seen walking out the classroom door with an oversized lunchbox, his words might carry more credibility. Clearly, he was trying to relieve the awkwardness for Mikoto Tamamo.

However, this just made Tamamo Student even more embarrassed. She cursed the guy silently in her heart, but her face still showed a touching smile,

"Thank you, Yamaguchi. I just remembered I should save the half-piece of bread for dinner tonight. I'm dieting lately, so I can only eat half a piece of bread..."

"Is that so." The student named Yamaguchi also breathed a sigh of relief, as he wasn't keen on eating another piece of bread after having a full lunch.

"Yes... Yamaguchi, you're really nice!"

Receiving the compliment, Yamaguchi was even more self-congratulatory for his quick wit.

"Actually, Tamamo Student, you're not fat at all, there's no need for you to diet..."

....

Haruka Yuzan pinched his nose, a thick scent of green tea lingering all around,

If he hadn't overheard Tamamo Student betting with a friend a few days ago that she would conquer this campus heartthrob within a week, he probably wouldn't have turned down her kindness.

Miss Chiba's figure from behind was a bit more pleasant to the eye instead.

The class bell rang not long after, bringing an end to their conversation as well. Yamaguchi happily returned to his seat,

And Mikoto Tamamo breathed a sigh of relief. Sometimes, being a green tea girl or a sea king isn't easy either.

For the fish in the pond, they can refuse anything, but they just can't refuse to talk with them.

A conversation they wished to end, but just couldn't seem to bring to a close.

Watching this scene, Haruka Yuzan couldn't help but find it a bit funny. Indeed, there seems to be no profession in the world that doesn't involve worries.

Well, landlords too, always struggling to find tenants!

As for Otome Mizuko, she was never even a consideration for Haruka. If he let this yandere girl move into his villa, he might as well forget about having a single day of peace.

During class, he was initially struggling with English reading comprehension when suddenly, Chiba Shimizu, who had been sitting silently in front, shifted slightly,

Then Haruka Yuzan saw two slender fingers passing a note over, landing precisely on his desk,

A note?

Long-forgotten memories surged in his heart. At Kanagawa High School, teachers didn't bother with students playing on their phones during class. As long as it wasn't too blatant, sending messages was allowed.

So, Haruka hadn't received a note passed to him by someone else for quite a while.

All the more peculiar when it was from the law-abiding and refined Miss Chiba — a truly rare occurrence.

But why not send a message? Using such a traditional method, was she searching for a taste of childhood?

Could it be that not playing with her phone during class was the last line Miss Chiba refused to cross? How stubborn and rigid...

Speaking of playing with phones, Haruka Yuzan suddenly remembered why today seemed so quiet,

His good buddy, Heisuke Yonchu, had called in sick at home, apparently caught a cold.

Shaking his head, he said a silent prayer for his friend and then put it out of his mind,

Picking up the note, he unfolded it to reveal a line of neat handwriting,

"Why didn't you have lunch today?"

It was an unexpectedly caring message,

Haruka Yuzan initially thought that he might have just made some movement that disturbed the class discipline, which was why the class president was passing him a note as a reminder.

He braced himself to make an excuse, but to his surprise, it turned out to be a daily... concern?

After thinking it over, he wrote his reply at the bottom of the note, "Didn't eat, been troubled by club matters..."

Refolding the note along the original creases, his finger lightly touched the girl's shoulder, feeling the soft skin through the white shirt.

It wasn't long before a small hand reached back, and Chiba Shimizu continued to look straight ahead at the blackboard.

Haruka Yuzan found it rather amusing; the normally aloof class president also did things that didn't fit her usual demeanor. It was really... adorably out of bounds.

He passed the note into the palm of her hand, and the pristine hand quickly disappeared from sight.

Birds perched on the branches, tilting their heads curiously at the scene. The breeze made the branches rustle,

The afternoon lessons should have been drowsy, but Haruka Yuzan suddenly found that reading comprehension was less interesting than observing the cool and beautiful girl.

Chiba Shimizu clutched the note in her hand, her gaze fixed on the teacher at the front, her eyes showing no emotion.

Suddenly, Miss Chiba sitting in front moved, took out a pencil, and seemed to be writing something. Before long,

the note appeared in front of Haruka again.

"Then why refuse Tamamo Student's kindness? You can't be full just from one piece of bread, can you?"

"Why is the Class President suddenly so concerned about me? It's quite rare."

Haruka Yuzan chose not to answer, but instead questioned Chiba Shimizu.

It took a long time to get a response this time,

"Just curious, as far as I know, boys should find it difficult to reject a girl like Mikoto Tamamo."

Seeing this, Haruka Yuzan immediately engaged in a debate,

"Please differentiate me from those boys... and also, I don't think boys are..."

However, after he passed the note back this time, he received no reply. It seemed the girl had already guessed what Haruka would say, and didn't even look at the note.

Haruka Yuzan didn't take it to heart,

In this windy season, naive students used the most primal methods to discuss what kind of girls boys should like. Regrettably, this proposal didn't go any further.

One party forfeited, and it was unilaterally declared that Classmate Haruka won the victory. This was his first win against Class President Chiba.

While the students below were up to small antics during class, the teacher on stage saw everything.

So much so that after school, the teacher kept Haruka behind alone,

"Was there a problem with the English passage I translated just now?" asked English Teacher Mizutani Nozomi, dressed fashionably and looking beautiful.

"Teacher, why would you have such a question?" Haruka Yuzan was taken aback,

"During class, I saw you and Chiba Student passing notes," said Mizutani Nozomi sitting on a chair with her lush legs crossed, a touch of worry on her beautiful face.

Caught in the act? Was it that obvious? But Mizutani Nozomi-sensei remembered was a gentle, lovely, and considerate... young housewife.

She shouldn't have kept Haruka behind for such a trivial matter, should she?

Just as he thought to say something to conceal the truth, Mizutani Nozomi suddenly spoke up,

"So, Teacher must have mistranslated a sentence, right?"

"No, why would you think that?"

Suddenly, Mizutani Nozomi started to look a bit embarrassed but still voiced her reasoning,

"If it were just Classmate Haruka passing notes, it wouldn't be a big deal. But with Chiba Student passing them too, it must be because of the teacher herself, right..."

???

Felt offended.