"Hmph!"
Seeing Hoshimi tactfully disappear, Yukinoshita snorted coldly, feeling her anger and resentment dissipate slightly.
By the evening, she had figured out why Hoshimi had given her the banana and hawthorn at lunch.
She was a bit annoyed at herself for not realizing it was part of Hoshimi's scheme at noon. If she had grabbed and eaten everything herself, nothing would have happened, and Hoshimi would have experienced the pain instead.
"Tsk~"
Yukinoshita clicked her tongue in frustration, also annoyed that this jerk had run away tonight.
She thought it might have been better to drag Hoshimi to jump off the building together; at least it would have relieved some of her anger. But now it was too late. In Hoshimi's dream, as long as he didn't want to appear, she couldn't find him.
She looked around, her mood improving slightly at the sight of the modern cityscape and endless blue sky.
Might as well explore... see what this city has to offer.
Since this is Hoshimi's dream, maybe she could find his weaknesses here.
Making up her mind, Yukinoshita climbed down the water tower ladder to the rooftop, then opened the rooftop door and entered the building.
She decided to start exploring from the building where Hoshimi often stayed...
...
After a long while, Yukinoshita walked out of the building.
Standing in the square in front of the building, she glanced back at it. It was just an ordinary office building, nothing special.
However, it was strange that most of the files in the office areas were blank, except for a few offices where the files had content. But even that content was elusive; as soon as she tried to read carefully, it vanished like a mirage.
"How bizarre..." Yukinoshita muttered.
She turned and walked forward with a slight frown.
The only useful information from exploring the building were the names of a few offices: "Director of Human Resources," "CEO's Office," "Chairman's Office," and "CFO's Office."
Just these four, all high-level executive offices. She wondered what use this information could be. Maybe these were the positions Hoshimi aspired to?
Thinking it over, she doubted it. Given Hoshimi's laid-back nature, living a carefree life seemed more reliable.
"Let's check out other places."
Mumbling to herself, Yukinoshita picked a random direction to explore.
Not far behind her, an invisible Hoshimi followed her with a smile.
The exploration continued until the dream shattered. Yukinoshita found no useful information and never realized that Hoshimi had been watching her the whole time.
...
In the morning, Yukinoshita woke up, calmly sat up, got out of bed, put on her slippers, and headed to the bathroom. A new day had begun, and she had to think about how to get back at Hoshimi again...
...
During the last period in the afternoon, Class 2J at Sobu High held a rare class meeting.
Shizuka Hiratsuka stood at the podium, scanning the students. Once she confirmed everyone was present, she began the meeting.
"Ahem~" She cleared her throat. "As usual, it's time for the annual Sports Festival, which is scheduled for next Thursday and Friday."
"Today is Wednesday. There's a whole week until next Thursday, which should be enough time for you to practice."
"Last year, our class performed poorly. Our total score was half that of the second-to-last class."
"Although our class has more girls, the performance shouldn't be that bad. Besides, sometimes having more girls can be an advantage."
"There are plenty of events for girls, so why didn't we score any points?"
"By the way, Class Rep, how many events did our class win points in last year?"
A timid girl with black hair stood up, nervously playing with her hair. "Three in total: first place in girls' badminton singles, third in girls' table tennis singles, and eighth in girls' tennis singles..."
"Right..." The black-haired girl continued, "All three were won by Yukinoshita..."
Hearing this, all the students turned to look at Yukinoshita, who sat by the window in the second-to-last row.
Some girls looked at the aloof Yukinoshita with admiration.
As expected of Yukinoshita-san, not only beautiful and smart but also athletic, with a gentle and devoted boyfriend. A perfect life winner...
"Sigh~~"
Hiratsuka sighed, remembering how Yukinoshita had shone in the Sports Festival when she first joined the school, only to be ostracized by girls from other classes for being too outstanding and aloof.
She didn't want to comment on being ostracized for excellence; she just hoped someone could share Yukinoshita's burden this year.
"Class Rep, come here." Hiratsuka beckoned.
"Oh..." The black-haired class rep obediently walked to Hiratsuka.
"Alright, listen up." Hiratsuka raised her voice. "This year, we must perform better than last year."
"We can't end up with less than half the points of the second-to-last class again!"
"Last year, I didn't force you to participate because you were new. This year, everyone must join at least one event, no upper limit."
"Now, we'll use this class meeting to decide who signs up for which events."
"Class Rep, you take charge!"
Hiratsuka placed the event list on the podium and stood by the window to support the class rep.
"Okay..." The class rep picked up the event list and began the meeting.
"Um... let's start with the boys' events..." The class rep glanced sympathetically at the four boys in the class.
Every event needed participants. The girls were fine; with thirty-six of them, they'd manage. But the four boys... there were nearly ten events for them.
The few boys, except for Hoshimi, looked a bit pale, realizing the problem.
As for Hoshimi... he was still half-asleep, unaware of what was happening...
"First, who wants to sign up for boys' badminton?" The class rep asked louder.
"""..."""
Silence. None of the three boys, excluding Hoshimi, volunteered.
Just then, Yukinoshita's lips curved into a smile as an idea struck her. She raised her hand and brightly said, "I'll sign Hoshimi up. He's very good at badminton and perfect for this event."
===
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