Chapter 28 — "That's how the ambiguous phase is, no one dares to confess first."
"Shinomiya-senpai! Fujiwara-senpai's grades aren't exactly outstanding either!"
(°□°)> („• ֊ •„✿)?
Ishigami Yuu pointed at Fujiwara Chika, raising his voice.
Right now, he was like a drowning man grasping at the last straw.
But he seemed to forget...
Compared to other student council members, Fujiwara Chika's academic performance might seem average, but in reality——
"No, Ishigami, Secretary Fujiwara's grades are actually solid, above average," Shirogane Miyuki listed the numbers: "In the third semester finals last year, Secretary Fujiwara ranked 93rd. The top 5 were me, Shinomiya, Sakurai, and…"
Sakurai Saki continued, "Fourth place was Shijo-san, and fifth was Kashiwagi-san."
"Exactly." Shirogane nodded while jotting down notes.
He was pondering whether to bring Sakurai Saki along to the upcoming Inter-Club union meeting.
Sakurai, in the role of... hmm, how to put it, a bodyguard? As a bodyguard, he was quite intimidating and could significantly reduce the risk of conflict.
Sakurai in Shirogane eyes: ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ
But lately, Sakurai had been very busy—just yesterday, he ran into issues with his tutoring job.
And also…
'There's the matter from this afternoon too.' Shirogane Miyuki thought silently.
He had heard about the commotion near the cafeteria. With only three grades and around 600 students total, Shuchiin Academy had a tightly knit network where news traveled fast.
From Shirogane Miyuki's perspective, there were many ways to handle conflicts. The simplest was for both parties to take one step back.
But that was just the outsider's point of view.
As Sakurai Saki's friend, once he learned what happened earlier, Shirogane Miyuki felt that reconciliation between the two was no longer possible—nor was it necessary.
'I'd better handle this one personally.'
'Still, tutoring after school… I've never done that before, and I'm not too confident.'
'Besides, those five sisters were even more difficult than Shinomiya.'
'Well, guess I'll just have to try.'
Shirogane Miyuki rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily.
"You hear that, Ishigami-kun? Your entrance exam score was at the very bottom, wasn't it?"
(¬`‸´¬)
Shinomiya Kaguya said with a mocking expression.
"Ishigami-kun really is such a idiot~ Baka baka~"
(๑˃́ꇴ˂̀๑)
"Ah! That's right! I am a idiot!" Ishigami Yuu responded calmly.
The Philosophy of Ishigami Yuu: As long as I know myself well enough, no one can hurt me. Umu.
（￣へ￣）
Shinomiya Kaguya turned to Fujiwara Chika and said coldly, "This is a man with neither goals nor dreams."
"Umu, it's Ishigami-kun after all. That's nothing out of the ordinary," Fujiwara Chika nodded in agreement.
╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭
Ishigami Yuu rolled his eyes in frustration and resumed organizing the student council's budget data.
What the hell? What's with that "xx is just xx" logic?
Don't go using "Ishigami Yuu" as a substitute for "useless," you two!
"I think if Ishigami actually put in effort, he could do well," Sakurai Saki offered a compliment.
In fact, just the fact that he had been absent from school for over half a year and still managed to pass the entrance exam to Shuchiin Academy was enough proof that the guy named Ishigami Yuu was clearly a genius.
"His math is great, and he can easily excel at treasurer work." Sakurai Saki was listing Ishigami's strengths. "Also, he's really good at video games, right?"
"And then what?" Shinomiya Kaguya crossed her arms.
"Accounting work is something any human can do, isn't it?"
That comment was just too harsh—this woman really…
Even Sakurai Saki felt she had gone too far.
"Also, Ishigami is very kind," Sakurai Saki nodded gently.
Hearing that, Shirogane Miyuki also looked up. "Yeah, he's incredibly kind. The type who quietly works hard for others."
Shinomiya Kaguya had no rebuttal to that.
Because that… was something she couldn't deny.
"Eh?! Why does everyone think Ishigami-kun is kind? He's not kind at all! He complains about me every day," Fujiwara Chika protested.
( ｡ •̀ ⤙ •́ ｡ )
After saying that, she quickly hid behind Sakurai.
(¬`‸´¬) ͜ʖ ͡°)
At first, Secretary Fujiwara thought Ishigami Yuu would talk back to her—but a few seconds passed, and he said nothing.
After a moment of silence, Ishigami Yuu spoke: "She's right. Fujiwara-senpai isn't wrong. I'm not kind at all. I say what I think without filtering, and that hurts people."
Noticing the atmosphere had turned a little strange, Sakurai Saki spoke up:
"Let's end this topic here. Ishigami, don't forget what we talked about tonight."
Ishigami Yuu nodded, then returned to burying his head in work.
'Huh? Why is everyone so quiet all of a sudden?' Fujiwara Chika looked around at the others.
To bring the lively mood back, Fujiwara Chika decided she had to get everyone to play a game!
"Everyone! Let's play a game!"
ヾ( ˃ᴗ˂ )◞ • *✰
As soon as she said that, the four others reacted in unison——
Sakurai Saki: "I'm fine with anything."
Shirogane Miyuki: "Sorry, Secretary Fujiwara, I'm really busy right now."
Shinomiya Kaguya: "I'm about to make tea."
Ishigami Yuu: "Fujiwara-senpai, there's still a lot of budget data left to process."
Seeing this, Fujiwara Chika sat down next to Sakurai Saki. She lightly nudged his shoulder and scooted closer.
Then, she whispered into his ear:
"Sakurai-kun~ You two can't play games together anyway~"
Right after saying that, she gently blew a breath.
"Fuuu~"
( ꕤ● ₃● ) ~
'Is she trying to get me to call more people?' Sakurai Saki's ear tingled slightly.
Her breath carried a faint sweet scent, warm and moist against his ear, and her voice had turned as sweet and sticky as maple syrup.
Sakurai Saki turned to look at her and saw her face full of mischievous delight at having successfully teased him.
(˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)
Their eyes gradually met.
Just like that——
Fujiwara Chika and Sakurai Saki began staring into each other's eyes.
1 second.
3 seconds.
5 seconds.
"Secretary Fujiwara, I heard that if a man and a woman stare at each other for ten seconds, they'll fall in love," Sakurai Saki said gently.
Upon hearing that, Fujiwara Chika quickly looked away, her pale cheeks flushing bright red.
"I think... I did hear a rumor like that."
Teased again.
(,,¬﹏¬,,)
'Phew, good thing I reacted fast.' Sakurai Saki also turned his head, a faint blush on his cheeks.
This kind of surprise attack really caught people off guard.
Clearly, the one who usually did the teasing was him...
Shinomiya Kaguya finished brewing the black tea. As she brought a cup over, she saw the two awkwardly avoiding each other's eyes.
Curious, she asked:
"Why aren't you two dating yet?"
From the president's seat, Shirogane Miyuki looked up and gave Shinomiya Kaguya a look as if she were some strange creature.
This Shinomiya girl seriously had zero sense of timing...
Shinomiya Kaguya set the tea on the table, then sat down beside Ishigami Yuu.
Ishigami Yuu calmly said:
"That's how the ambiguous phase is. No one dares to confess first. They think the one who confesses first loses, without ever considering the other person's feelings. Not that I'm talking about Fujiwara-senpai or Sakurai-senpai—just speaking about manga."
Fujiwara Chika lowered her head, her face red as a tomato, fiddling with the strands of hair near her ear.
(,,>﹏<,,)
Sakurai Saki took a moment to compose himself before responding:
"Some shoujo manga really are like that. It takes dozens of chapters just for the main couple to confirm their feelings. And even after that, they still hesitate forever before confessing."
Ishigami Yuu nodded deeply:
"After finally becoming a couple, then comes the threat of a love triangle—it's so damn frustrating."
(๑•̀д•́๑)
Shinomiya Kaguya began pouring tea for everyone.
This was part of the "Shinomiya code of conduct"—occasionally showing gentleness was also important.
For example: preparing tea for everyone.
She carried Shirogane Miyuki's cup over, stood up, and placed it on his desk.
Then she returned to the sofa and sat down. Shinomiya Kaguya asked:
"Shoujo manga?"
"It's a genre of manga aimed at female readers, usually centered around romance," Sakurai explained.
Normally, tidbits like this were explained to her by Fujiwara Chika, but since the secretary was still in a "brain-dead" state, Sakurai had to step in this time.
--------------------------------------------
If you like this story, please leave me a comment, review, collection and power stones if you can, that really help me a lot
If you're looking for good fanfics, try reading my other books, you won't be disappointed, promise.
If you want to read 40 advanced chapters and support me to have more motivation to continue as a translator, here is my p.a.t.r.e.o.n pa treon.com/curse_heian_chef
ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧Thanks you, Have a nice day