บท 44: Chapter 44 – The first meeting of two people with communication barriers
"This is a good shot, isn't it? Sakura, what are you dissatisfied with?" Yukio couldn't find any fault with it. The lighting and composition were fine.
If one were to nitpick, the only thing to mention might be that the main subject, Sakura, was looking away from the camera. But what's the problem with that? Looking at the camera has its own beauty, and not looking has its own focus and naturalness.
"!" Sakura couldn't quite articulate her feelings. She couldn't exactly say it was because Yukio was there, causing her to be distracted and unable to smile as freely as when she was alone.
She had tried, but she just couldn't overcome it. The thought of Yukio watching her during the shoot made it impossible for her to smile as brightly and sunnily as she usually did when alone.
Instead, she became even more nervous, or to be more precise, more shy!
Eventually, Sakura could only stammer in agreement with Yukio, indicating that the photoshoot was fine. Then she continued taking photos for a while before escaping back to the changing room like she was running away, changing back into her school uniform.
When Sakura came out, she noticed that a literary-looking girl had arrived at some point.
"You're out," Yukio motioned for Sakura to come over. "Let me introduce you. This is Hiyori Shiina from my class, the person I mentioned before who you should get along with well."
Shiina quietly observed Sakura for a moment. Noticing Sakura's subconscious attempt to avoid eye contact, Shiina felt a sense of affinity. Indeed, as Yukio-kun had said, she was a classmate with slight communication barriers like herself: "Hello, I'm glad to meet you, Sakura-san."
"Hello!" Sakura was a bit flustered and hesitated to look at Shiina, greeting her with her head lowered: "I'm Airi Sakura from Class D of the first year, nice to meet you."
"The types are different, aren't they?" Shiina's light words, like clouds drifting with the wind, were elusive but strangely comforting, reminiscent of the cotton candy bought on the streets during childhood playtimes, pleasant just to look at.
Sakura, a bit puzzled, wondered what she meant by 'different types'.
Sensing Sakura's confusion, Shiina carefully explained: "I'm not afraid of others' gazes or contact with people; I'm just not good at communicating with them."
"But you're different from me, right, Sakura-san? It seems you're very uncomfortable with eye contact and even less comfortable with physical contact."
For a rare moment, Sakura looked up and met Shiina's eyes, feeling as though this girl had touched something deep inside her.
There was a subtle and beautiful resonance of finding someone alike, wrapping gently around both of them. This instantly allowed Sakura to lower her guard and become more natural.
Noticing this subtle change, Shiina showed a faint smile: "But now, I've changed a bit~."
"Probably because Yukio-kun often came to talk to me, seeing me all alone. He asked me to tutor a few classmates in their studies."
"Gradually, even someone like me, who only knew about studying, made quite a few friends. Though they don't read much and can't share the joy of books, we still find other things to talk about."
"Like mid-term exams, the difficulty of homework, complaining about the school's harsh competitive system, and so on. I believe you, too, Sakura-san, will surely make good friends like I did."
Shiina's words, though spoken lightly, magically conveyed a convincing power, prompting Sakura to nod in agreement: "Yes, Yukio-kun has been a great help to me too. He's really kind."
Yukio, standing beside them, was not surprised. The only common acquaintance the two girls had was him, and it was natural that the conversation would involve him.
He picked up the three cups of coffee Shiina had bought, one for himself and the other two for the girls. He already knew Sakura's preference from their LINE chats and had asked Shiina to buy accordingly. "Let's sit over there and chat," he suggested.
"Because you still have the responsibility of gathering information, Sakura, we can't just casually sit in a café outside. We wouldn't want the rest of your classmates in D to find out."
"Okay," Sakura nodded timidly, realizing something – Yukio had a lot of trust in Shiina. His remark was essentially revealing to Shiina that Sakura was an undercover agent from Class C, gathering intel in Class D.
Sakura then covertly observed Shiina – her flowing silver hair, bright amethyst eyes, and an ethereal beauty like an otherworldly elf. Sakura couldn't help but think that Yukio must prefer someone like Shiina, hence his trust in her. This realization made Sakura feel a bit downhearted.
However, she concealed these feelings well, especially when wearing her glasses, often keeping her head down and back hunched, preventing others from reading her full range of subtle expressions.
"By the way, I hope it's not inconvenient to ask," Shiina began, not rushing to sip her coffee but focusing on her newly made friend. "May I ask why you are afraid of interacting with people?"
"I'll go first. Since I was a child, I've always loved reading books. But unfortunately, when I excitedly went to school to share this with my classmates, I realized no one was interested."
"The topics they talked about were all alien to me, and the books I mentioned were unknown to them. Over time, I just got used to being alone. It only changed after coming to this school."
Shiina briefly explained her past before taking a sip of her coffee: "Of course, if you don't want to talk about it, Sakura, you can keep it a secret. There's no need to feel obliged to share just because I did. That kind of moral coercion isn't something anyone would appreciate."
Faced with Shiina's gentle approach, Sakura showed no resistance and shook her head lightly, indicating that she didn't feel coerced.
It was purely due to the resonance in her heart that she wanted to communicate openly with Shiina: "As for me, I've forgotten why."
"It's like, suddenly, I became really scared of everyone's gaze because they often looked at me in a strange way."
"Both boys and girls did that. Whenever I caught those looks, I'd feel scared, and I wouldn't dare to face them anymore. I just got used to keeping my head down and hunching my back, avoiding eye contact with anyone."
"…" Yukio and Shiina exchanged a knowing look, then simultaneously turned their heads to look at Sakura's bust, an attribute that could surpass all the female high school students in the Advanced Nurturing School.
'Sakura/Sakura-san, do you really not know the specific reason?' Both Yukio and Shiina doubted this point.
Of course, since Sakura had been troubled by this for years, neither of them would be tactless enough to ask directly. They silently acknowledged it and started discussing other topics.
Shiina loved reading, and Sakura was passionate about photography. Though their hobbies didn't intersect, they complemented each other well. When Shiina talked, Sakura often became curious and decided she would read some of the works Shiina mentioned when she had time.
When Sakura talked about her interests, Shiina showed genuine interest and hoped Sakura would take some nice photos of her sometime, as Shiina also liked photography but had no experience in taking selfies.
Watching the two of them chat enthusiastically, Yukio contentedly sipped his coffee, silently congratulating himself on his successful plan.
Introducing the two was partly to fulfill a promise to Sakura and partly to avoid being busy every night!
Who knew how exhausting it was to have nightly phone conversations with Shiina about books and chat on Line with Sakura and Karuizawa?
By fostering a good relationship between Shiina and Sakura, they would have each other to chat with, hopefully freeing up more leisure time for Yukio.
***
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