Chapter 531: But, I Care

Chapter 531: But, I Care

“I’m happy!”

Hearing that answer, Yukinoshita slightly furrowed her brows. She gazed at Himekoji, her eyes shifting several times, until finally, seemingly resigned, she made a decision.

She turned and strode purposefully towards the two girls. Her long legs moved with a crisp rhythm, radiating an imposing aura reminiscent of the Ice Queen.

Himekoji didn’t know what Yukinoshita was about to do, but seeing the bus doors beginning to close, he hastily raised his hand and called out,

“Yukinoshita, where are you going? The bus…”

If we don’t board now, the bus is going to leave!

Before he could finish speaking, Himekoji let his hand drop sheepishly. The bus they had waited so long for had already driven away…

He looked towards Yukinoshita and discovered she was now standing firmly before the two girls.

Yukinoshita was speaking seriously to them. At first, the girls appeared indifferent, but as they listened, their dismissive, scornful expressions gradually faded. Instead, they began to look ashamed, their cheeks burning red. They hung their heads low, eyes downcast, looking deeply embarrassed. Eventually, small glistening tears even welled up in the corners of their eyes.

Himekoji watched, dumbstruck. What on earth did Yukinoshita say to them? In the blink of an eye, she’d managed to discipline these two feisty characters into such meek submission. They looked like they genuinely wished they could change and become better people.

While Himekoji was still processing his astonishment, Yukinoshita was already leading the two girls back towards him. Trailing behind Yukinoshita, the girls wiped their tears, not daring to lift their heads, looking like children who had done wrong and were sincerely repentant.

“Apologize.”

Yukinoshita uttered the single word coolly. Immediately, the two girls scrambled to apologize to Himekoji –

“Sorry! So sorry! We didn’t mean it!”

“We didn’t realize our behavior was so bad! We just didn’t think that much! Sorry!”

“We misunderstood you! We caused you a lot of trouble!”

“We’ll never do it again!”

…

The massive shift in the girls’ attitude completely stunned Himekoji. His mind went blank, taking a long moment to react, only managing to nod instinctively and mumble,

“It’s fine. It’s fine.”

But the girls, seemingly deaf to his words, were utterly absorbed in a fervent cycle of self-criticism and regret.

Only when Yukinoshita gave a slight wave did they finally stop their tearful sniffling. Supporting each other and wiping their eyes, they walked off together.

“W-What did you actually do to them…?”

Himekoji stared at their retreating figures, still unable to quite believe it.

Yukinoshita merely brushed it off with a serene response,

“I just did some trivial work. Rebuilt their mindset a little.”

Trivial work?

They’d cried like that, seeming almost brainwashed, and it was just ‘trivial work’?! Yukinoshita really is Yukinoshita. It seemed she’d stayed quiet earlier simply because she couldn’t be bothered to argue with them.

But why intervene now?

Himekoji sighed, mimicking Yukinoshita’s earlier mannerism, and said,

“Hey, there really wasn’t a need to drag them over here to apologize to me anyway.”

“They were over there calling you a pervert, a creep. They also took photos and planned to post them online.”

“I don’t care.”

After all, he’d used underhanded methods first, Himekoji thought. But in the next moment, he heard Yukinoshita’s words, spoken quietly yet carrying the cold weight of ice and the piercing warmth of a midday sun –

“I care.”

Yukinoshita said this.

Without a hint of hesitation.

It reached Himekoji’s ears, leaving him momentarily speechless. He opened his mouth dumbly. It was the first time he’d heard such words from Yukinoshita. Inside, his heart felt as sweet as if he’d eaten honey, but remembering something, a bitter smile soon appeared on his face,

“But… because of this delay, the bus drove away too.”

“Hmm.”

Yukinoshita nodded, appearing unconcerned by this fact.

It was Himekoji who felt anxious on her behalf –

“Then wasn’t the whole time you waited completely wasted? Standing there so long for nothing? Who knows when the next bus will even come?”

“It’s fine.”

“You! You…”

Seeing Himekoji was about to start lecturing her, Yukinoshita imitated his earlier gesture. Her delicate chin lifted slightly, she gracefully shot him a cool sideways glance, and stated flatly,

“I’m happy!”

“……”

Well then. It mirrored his own earlier “I’m happy” almost perfectly.

Somehow… does this feel a bit like flirting?

Once this thought struck Himekoji, how could he stop himself from fantasizing?

Lost in romantic notions, his heart fluttered uncontrollably, making his whole body feel three pounds lighter.

It feels like the sprout of revolutionary success has emerged!

Yukinoshita saw that all-too-familiar perverted expression surface on Himekoji’s face again – and it definitely wasn’t an act this time…

“Seriously a pervert!” She cursed silently in her heart, though her cheeks warmed uncontrollably. She shot him a fierce glare, then gracefully retreated two steps and sat back down on the waiting bench.

After all, it was the seat Himekoji had helped reclaim for her. Sitting on it for just one second felt too wasteful, like letting down his kindness.

So, she would just wait for the next bus.

……

Yukinoshita had been avoiding Himekoji lately. But for her, it wasn’t intentional. It’s just that every time she saw him now, she couldn’t help it…

Probably starting last week? No, maybe even earlier, she’d been plagued by absurd and mystifying dreams.

To sum it up in two words? Well… calling them “embarrassing dreams” wouldn’t be entirely wrong.

Alright, what girl doesn’t have her romantic fantasies? Yukinoshita wasn’t so aloof as to consider having an embarrassing dream as terribly wanton or shameful. At first, she viewed the matter quite rationally.

Until –

She realized the dreams just wouldn’t stop!

And the male lead in these dreams was always that pervert Himekoji!

What’s more, in the dreams, he was even more perverted than in real life!

And because it was a dream, many things were beyond her control. She’d tried resisting and struggling initially, but found her dream self completely unresponsive to her waking will. Backed into a corner after several attempts, a helpless Yukinoshita could only endure the shame and resign herself to the pervert’s wild antics…

She started noticing something truly wrong a few days ago.

She sensed that the dreams were gradually becoming more real. She could actively control her dream self’s speech and actions.

So, the first thing she attempted was turning this embarrassing dream back into a normal one.

Alas, a solid week of… that… had created an unstoppable momentum. Sometimes, all it took was that pervert touching her a few times for Yukinoshita to find her willpower crumbling terrifyingly fast. Then followed the thought: It’s just a dream anyway, and I’ve already gone along with it so many times before, so what harm is one more?

Once thoughts like that arose, her resistance grew increasingly flimsy, as fragile as paper.

Later, there was even a hint of… enjoyment?

Ah, but anyway, it’s just a dream!

Yukinoshita felt she might be letting loose in her dreams.

Except, waking up always brought back all the embarrassing details. It’s nothing major, just dreams, she’d tell herself. Yet, she had to see the other main character in those dreams every single day at school. They were constantly bumping into each other. And one glance at him would instantly bring hot cheeks and weak knees – practically a conditioned reflex already! How was she supposed to face Himekoji?

Thus, naturally, she gave him a wide berth.

If these absurd dreams continued, she honestly didn’t know what she would do!

The Himekoji in her dreams was still that Himekoji: perverted, disgusting, detestable!

But the Yukinoshita in her dreams… was starting to look less and less like the real Yukinoshita…

Her persona was collapsing! No wonder he had even asked in her dream just who she was the other night.

The memory made Yukinoshita grit her teeth angrily. That bastard, not even knowing who the girl was, just drew his weapon?

What a pig-headed idiot ruled by his lower half!

Still, Yukinoshita knew it was just a dream, not reality.

Her biggest fear now was that one day, she wouldn’t be able to distinguish between reality and the dreamscape.

Actually, a tendency to confuse the two was already budding…

One look at Himekoji, and awful scenes instantly flooded her mind –

Fierce and tight embraces, kisses falling like torrential rain, passionate, suffocating intimacy…

Yukinoshita patted her cheeks, trying to banish the thoughts and pull herself together.

Feeling too afraid last night, she had stubbornly stayed awake the entire time.

Of course, Yukinoshita remained unaware that this very act had finally allowed Himekoji to get a proper night’s sleep too.

Waking up this morning, Himekoji felt remarkably refreshed: no soreness in his back, no weakness in his legs, full of vitality. How else could he have mustered so much energy to play football with Hayama and Tobe today?

……

……