บท 189: Monday Morning
A new day starts in the morning.
A new week starts on Monday morning.
For the vast majority of workers and students, "Monday morning" is not a phrase that brings joy.
At least, after Sasaki left home, entered school, and then the classroom, few students showed smiles like, "Ah~ today is Monday, the start of another beautiful week."
After all, for most students, high school life isn't a rosy affair.
Sasaki was among the small minority who were not included in that majority.
After parting ways with Rinka at the entrance of the school building, he waved goodbye to Otome at the corner of the stairs on the second floor of their teaching building.
Carrying his bag, he entered the classroom from the back door.
This time, he didn't arrive too early.
By the time he entered the classroom, it was already half full.
After a week of adjustment, although he hadn't integrated into the group or formed his own circle, his handsome appearance and slender figure were still very popular among the girls.
As a result, the moment he stepped into the classroom, most of the eyes fixed on him were those of girls, excluding the few glances from boys that quickly looked away.
Among the gazes from the front and back of the class, three stood out as more special.
Sasaki knew who the owner of the complex gaze from the front of the class was, even without turning to look.
But to maintain his "heartbroken and sad" persona in her eyes, he had no intention of making eye contact with her.
As for the other gaze from the front...
Glancing at the two black-haired girls sitting behind Shinomiya, who had already turned their heads away, Sasaki nonchalantly retracted his gaze.
'Could she have developed feelings for me just because I complimented her a couple of times?'
This wasn't Sasaki's narcissism.
The girl named Yoshida, since being complimented by him last time, had always been sneaking glances at him, like a timid little animal hiding in the deep forest, curiously peering out at the roadside.
Her shy posture and eyes filled with a longing curiosity for the new world almost overflowed.
Given her reclusive personality and being excluded from the girls' group, it wasn't impossible for her to develop feelings for someone who showed her just a little kindness.
Thinking about her cute face hidden under her bangs and wide glasses, Sasaki thought he could find some time to get to know her better.
This wasn't out of lust.
Well.. it was a bit, but mostly, it was out of concern.
Because looking at this naive girl,
Sasaki felt that if he didn't do something, her personality might lead her to be deceived by some scoundrels until there was nothing left.
Someone just slightly compliments her, and she doesn't even consider whether it's a polite remark before becoming deeply interested.
If someone with ill intentions treated her well, what then?
Keeping this in mind, Sasaki maintained his steady steps and natural smile without any guilty conscience as he looked at the idiot Chifuyu.
Then he stuffed the gym clothes from his bag into his locker at the back of the class.
Sitting down at his seat, he placed his bag down and started chatting with Chifuyu in the same casual tone as before:
"Yesterday on LINE, you said Takagi has a test today, right?"
On Saturday, she had to tutor Takagi, and he had gone to the Miyajima family, so they hadn't chatted much.
But on Sunday, they had exchanged simple messages on LINE.
Most of their conversation was about daily life, not much about studying.
Sasaki hadn't asked much about the tutoring, only inquired about Takagi's test schedule.
His goal now was to maintain his position in Chifuyu's heart and ask about things he should know when appropriate.
Other topics, as long as Chifuyu didn't bring them up, he wouldn't mention them either.
Because tutoring and matters about Otome were definite minefields.
Bringing them up would affect Chifuyu's attitude toward him.
So, such topics were best avoided.
Chifuyu also didn't want to bring up those topics, of course.
Sasaki called her an idiot because idiots react slowly or tend to deceive themselves.
But no matter how much she deceived herself, she should have noticed her special feelings for Sasaki by now.
And her natural tendency to avoid would never let her actively touch on those minefields, exposing her hidden feelings.
So, they both tacitly didn't mention Sasaki's confession from the previous Friday.
"Yes, yes! Their test is on Monday, and the results come out on Wednesday."
Sitting sideways with her charming and voluptuous body, Chifuyu wore a high-quality pure white shirt issued by the school, wrapping around the proud peaks above her narrow shoulders.
A blue and black plaid bow tie was tied under her slender neck.
Combined with neatly buttoned shirt and straight, supple back, and her sweet, cute face, all these elements together gave a sense of wanting to hold her close and take good care of her.
However, beneath her red plaid skirt, her white, silky legs and her incredibly elastic body, combined with her youthful vigor, gave a different kind of temptation, making one want to bully her and see her blushing face.
Tsk~
Indeed, what's unattainable is always desirable!
Be patient!
After two days apart, feeling like he was rediscovering Chifuyu's charm, Sasaki lightly observed her as she spoke and then asked:
"I haven't asked you yet, how did the tutoring with Takagi go on Saturday? How much progress do you think he made for this test?"
As his most trusted good friend, Tsukimi Chifuyu didn't feel the need to hide anything from him, and honestly spoke about her boyfriend's performance during the Saturday tutoring session.
After finishing, she lowered her head, twisting her slender fingers placed between her soft thighs, and said softly:
"It won't work like this, Fuyumi, do you have any other ideas?"
Meeting Chifuyu's gaze, which was as beautiful and dazzling as a sky full of stars, Sasaki smiled and said:
"There are ways, but there's no need to use them now."
"He didn't perform well during the tutoring session... but it's also possible he's trying to surprise you."
"Is that so?"
Thinking about Takagi's performance on Saturday, Tsukimi Chifuyu murmured doubtfully.
Hearing her subconscious doubts, Sasaki reminded her teasingly,
"Hey, hey, he's your boyfriend, give him some confidence. You can't just judge him by his outward performance."
Awakened, Tsukimi Chifuyu blinked rapidly and, for some reason, felt a bit flustered.
She nodded vigorously, like a banana leaf being pounded by heavy rain, affirming his words.
"Mm, mm, I believe in him!"
'Believe, believe, it doesn't matter, he will disappoint you.'
Seeing her flustered expression, Sasaki laughed inwardly but encouraged her out loud:
"He's taking the test today, you should believe in him.
Otherwise, if you, the tutor, have no confidence, how can he do well?"
"So should I send him a message to cheer him on?"
"Sure, this is probably when he's the most nervous."
"Mm, mm."
Nodding, Tsukimi Chifuyu took out her phone from her pleated skirt pocket, turned around, and started typing encouraging messages to Takagi.
Sasaki didn't care, he just looked away and casually flipped through his book.
Not long after, Haruno Ayato, who had just entered the classroom and sat down, turned around and asked:
"Sasaki-kun, how was your weekend?"
Recalling the past two days, Sasaki's fingers paused on the book pages, his expression becoming slightly strange as he said:
"Well... it was very fulfilling."
An engagement, eating a plump peach, carrying Sister Yuuka, massaging Aunt Kyouka...well it was indeed fulfilling.
Noticing his odd expression, Ayato, thinking he had a tough time with tutoring, frowned and complained:
"Yes, tutoring is quite fulfilling, but it's also torturous."
"Kasumi-nee is about to drive me crazy. She gave me so many test papers, saying that students overseas also keep doing exercises, but who can do three papers a day?"
What? Three papers a day? You're not putting in enough effort!
Without responding directly, knowing what he was implying, Sasaki directly addressed his underlying question:
"Kasumi-nee also said she wanted to tutor me sometime."
Knowing his sister would make such a suggestion after learning about Sasaki's grades, Haruno Ayato wasn't surprised and asked:
"So, what did Sasaki-kun say?"
"Of course, I refused."
"Eh? Why? Sasaki-kun's grades really need tutoring."
"Why? Kasumi-nee is in her third year of high school, right? She needs a lot of time to study herself, where would she find the time to tutor me?"
Although his reasoning was good, but Ayato, who was trying to pair up his sister with Sasaki, eagerly offered an idea:
"We could have her tutor both of us together."
"That sounds nice, but tutoring one person and tutoring two require different amounts of effort. I have people at home who can tutor me; there's no need to trouble Kasumi-nee."
Hearing his words and then remembering his sister's exasperated expression when tutoring him, Ayato scratched his head, unsure of what to say.
However, he didn't dwell on this for long.
After all, he was somewhat afraid that Sasaki might be overwhelmed by his sister's intense tutoring.
After all, if he got scared off and stopped interacting with Kasumi-nee, that would ruin everything...
So, he didn't continue this topic and began chatting idly with Sasaki before class.
...
Elsewhere,
In the underground parking lot of "White Lily" cosmetics company.
Having just arrived at the company, Kyouka closed the car door and took out a delicate gold-rimmed pair of glasses from her black shoulder bag, gently placing them on her nose.
Wearing the glasses, she lost some of her gentle, homely aura and gained a more intellectual and stern demeanor.
After tidying up her attire, she walked towards the elevator in her low-heeled high heels, which echoed in the empty parking lot.
Taking the elevator to the first floor of the company, Kyouka greeted the employees who greeted her with a gentle smile and walked towards the elevator that led directly to her office.
Arriving at her office on the top floor of the company, she found the door unlocked as she inserted the key and turned the handle.
However, she was only slightly surprised and showed no extra emotion.
Apart from herself, the only other person with a key to her office was her business partner and best friend.
Click~
Turning the handle and pushing the door open, she was greeted by a room that felt more like a living room than a formal office.
In the room, a blonde woman in a wine-red suit sat on the sofa, crossing her chocolate-colored legs encased in black silk stockings, casually holding a fine white porcelain cup and reading documents on a laptop.
Not surprised to see her in her office, Kyouka closed the door and greeted her warmly:
"Good morning, Reika."
Kurashiki Reika maintained her elegant posture, without looking up, and slid her right hand on the touchpad and responded:
"Good morning, Kyouka."
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