The next morning, at the base of the apartment building, Hoshimi and Yukino walked hand in hand towards school.
As they walked, Yukino suddenly looked at Hoshimi's profile and asked, "Hoshimi, where's your bicycle?"
Hoshimi was momentarily stunned before he realized, "It seems like the bicycle is still at school..."
Earlier, after Yukino had sprained her ankle during training, he had bought a bicycle to take her to and from school.
The bicycle had been used up until the sports event, and then it had mysteriously been abandoned after Kotoko appeared at Sobu High that day.
If Yukino hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't have remembered that he still had a bicycle parked at the school bike shed.
"Come and get the bicycle this afternoon. Don't waste money like this every day," Yukino said coldly.
"Alright, I understand," Hoshimi replied with a smile.
There was always a reason behind everything. Yukino's sudden mention of the bicycle might indicate that she wanted to continue being driven to and from school by him?
No, no, no, one must look beyond the surface to understand the essence. Yukino's mention of the bicycle probably meant she wanted to go to and from school together without being disturbed by unrelated parties.
It became clear that Yukino was unhappy with Kotoko interrupting their private time every morning since Kotoko had been waiting for them on the road every day since her appearance.
"Good morning, Hoshimi-senpai, and good morning to you too, Yukinoshita-senpai," Kotoko greeted them from across the street, waving.
Speak of the devil!
As soon as Hoshimi and Yukino turned a corner, they saw Kotoko waving at them from across the street.
Hoshimi raised his hand and responded from a distance, "Good morning, Kotoko."
Yukino simply nodded coldly, giving a brief and indifferent response to Kotoko's greeting.
Then, the two crossed the street and joined Kotoko, who naturally took Hoshimi's empty arm.
"Hoshimi-senpai~ You're so slow today~" Kotoko said sweetly, shaking Hoshimi's arm.
"..." Hoshimi's eye twitched, and he pulled his hand away, rubbing Kotoko's head roughly. "Don't drag out the ending like that."
Also, did Kotoko not realize why he was so late today? If she hadn't been clinging to him, he wouldn't have gotten up so late!
He didn't say this last part out loud, as Yukino was still next to him. Mentioning it might stir up jealousy.
"Kotoko-senpai, you messed up my hair~" Kotoko said, moving Hoshimi's hand away and taking out a small mirror to fix her disheveled hair.
Yukino's expression grew colder, her ice-blue eyes reflecting the usual chill.
She remained silent, but her grip on Hoshimi's hand tightened.
Noticing this, Hoshimi's mouth twitched. He withdrew his hand from Kotoko's face and quietly stood by, observing.
"Beep-- Beep--"
At that moment, his phone in his pocket vibrated twice.
At this time, there was no other person besides Kasumigaoka who would send him a message.
Fortunately, the phone was on silent, and the faint vibrations could only be felt by him. Otherwise, it might have caused some trouble.
Faintly, Hoshimi sensed that his situation seemed to be getting more precarious...
In terms of handling interpersonal relationships, his previous experience in society had given him some insight.
But being a "player" juggling multiple relationships was a first for him.
It seemed he needed to be a bit more cautious in the future...
"Hoshimi-senpai, let's go."
Kotoko, having fixed her hair, reattached herself to Hoshimi's arm.
"Yes." Hoshimi lost in thought, maintained his usual expression and continued toward the school.
...
Upon arriving at Sobu High, as they passed through the school's front yard, Hoshimi, Yukino, and Kotoko all stopped in front of a display board at the same time.
The display board showcased exciting moments from last week's sports event, including students helping each other, students winning championships, and shining moments from group events.
The school's official photographer had done an excellent job, capturing the sweat, effort, positivity, and harmonious spirit of the youth in the displayed photos.
However, among all the displayed photos, one in the upper center stood out as somewhat out of place.
This photo was of Hoshimi and Yukino receiving their mixed doubles tennis championship award.
In the photo, Hoshimi and Yukino, supporting each other, were standing on the podium with gold medals around their necks.
Yukino was smiling faintly at the camera, but her gaze seemed to be directed at something else from the corner of her eye.
Following Yukino's gaze, one could see Kotoko, dressed in a white dress and holding a reddish-brown cane, looking dazed, confused, and somewhat sorrowful as she stared at someone on the podium.
Following Kotoko's gaze, it was clear that she was staring at Hoshimi, who was on the podium, supporting Yukino!
In the photo, Hoshimi's expression was slightly stiff, and he was looking at Kotoko with a look of astonishment.
The three people in the photo, with their three different expressions and poses, suggested a love triangle that could easily inspire a novel of at least 200,000 words.
"""..."""
Looking at the photo on the display board, Hoshimi, Yukino, and Kotoko all fell into silence.
After a long while, Hoshimi, with a twitching eye, asked, "Yukino, was this display board updated yesterday?"
Yukino replied expressionlessly, "Yes, it was updated yesterday afternoon. I saw the student council members putting up the photos when I left school."
"Ah haha~" Kotoko forced a dry laugh and said with a troubled expression, "The school's photographer really has great candid shot skills. I didn't realize I looked like this at that moment…"
After saying this, Kotoko's smile began to waver.
Why did they have to display this photo! Was the school photographer insane? If they had to put one up, it should have been the one with Hoshimi falling on her!
This photo made her look like a loser!
She was not a loser!
"..." Hoshimi remained silent, thinking about the same issue as Kotoko.
Was the school photographer insane? Why did they develop and display such a photo?!
Also, what about the student council?! How could they put up such an out-of-place photo?!
"Hey? This is a photo from the sports event. Did they update it so soon?"
"Moe-chan, come and look, isn't that you?"
As Hoshimi was still lost in thought, students passing by also noticed the new photo on the display board.
In an instant, a group of students crowded around, effectively blocking Hoshimi and the others inside.
"Hey? Isn't that Hoshimi-kun? And that's Yukinoshita-san. And the person next to them is..."
Listening to the excited, gossiping voices of the girls, Hoshimi's eyes twitched involuntarily.
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