Chapter 85 Host, you can actually doubt yourself?
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Rin was chatting with Hirata and Ayanokoji, while nearby, a group of girls was encouraging Karuizawa.
"Kei, go ahead. You've had a crush on Matsuoka-san for a while now, so ask him for his Line account. I'm cheering for you!" Shinohara said encouragingly.
"Yeah, and it seems like Kushida is interested in Matsuoka-san too. You can't let her win!" Mori added with a playful smile.
"Alright! Just wait, I'll ask Matsuoka-san for his Line account right now!" Karuizawa declared, her voice full of determination.
In truth, Karuizawa had been planning to ask Rin for his Line account for quite some time. Now, with her friends pushing her, she had the perfect excuse.
Summoning her courage, Karuizawa stepped forward, her slender legs in bubble socks propelling her as she slipped between Matsuoka and Ayanokoji.
Sensing her approach, Ayanokoji, perhaps guided by his sharp instincts, quickly moved two steps to the right, making room for Karuizawa before she reached them.
"Matsuoka-san~ I've been meaning to ask for a while. Would you exchange Line accounts with me?" Karuizawa asked, trying to keep her voice steady and casual.
With a composed expression, she managed to deliver her line smoothly, exactly as she had practiced it hundreds of times alone in her dorm room.
Yes, hundreds of times!
Rin Matsuoka turned to the girl standing beside him. Her golden, honey-colored hair shimmered as she gazed up at him, her eyes filled with determination yet slightly trembling. Beneath her confident exterior, Rin could sense her unease, nervousness, and a hint of shyness.
"Of course," Rin replied with a warm smile.
He pulled out his phone, and they exchanged Line accounts. Karuizawa quietly sighed in relief as they followed each other on the app.
After their exchange, Karuizawa didn't leave Rin's side. Instead, she stayed close, talking and laughing with him as they continued to chat.
While engaging with Karuizawa, Rin activated the narration system in his mind.
"Okay, enough of this. Why do I feel something strange about this girl, Karuizawa?" Rin pondered.
'Is there something wrong with how you're perceiving her?' the system shot back, sarcastic as usual.
Rin had only been at school for two days, but already, a sense of unease surrounded him whenever he encountered certain people: Kushida, Hirata, Ayanokoji, Karuizawa, and even teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie.
In just forty-eight hours, he had felt a strange disconnect with these five individuals, making him question whether there was something wrong with his own senses.
[Host, don't worry. Your perception is perfectly fine.]
[In fact, instead of doubting the system's amplification of your perception, maybe you should question your mental stability.]
"..."
That sharp-tongued narration again.
The system had explained before that it was embedded in Rin's soul. As a result, his perception of the world around him was passively heightened and amplified.
This heightened perception was the main reason Rin frequently sensed something off about Ayanokouji and the others.
As Karuizawa moved closer to Matsuoka's right side, Kushida noticed and quickly excused herself from the group of girls nearby, hastening her steps.
With her hands clasped in front of her, Kikyo approached, looking playful and adorable. She turned to Hirata and asked, "Hirata-san, could you let me sit here?"
"Of course," Hirata replied, smiling warmly as he took two steps to the left to make room for her.
Kushida immediately took the position on Rin's left side. She smiled sweetly at both Rin and Karuizawa.
"What are you two talking about? I think I heard Line mentioned just now?"
"Yes," Karuizawa replied with a slight air of triumph, shaking her phone proudly. "I just exchanged Line accounts with Matsuoka-san. Kushida-san, I bet you don't have Matsuoka-san's Line account yet."
"Oh? So, Karuizawa-san is the one who asked Matsuoka-san for his Line account just now? I actually exchanged Line accounts with him yesterday."
"…"
Karuizawa's cheek twitched. This big-breasted woman was really quick!
"Is... is that so? I thought Kushida-san was with other students yesterday. How did you manage to get Matsuoka-san's Line account?"
"Hmm." Kushida Kikyo tilted her head slightly, flashing Rin Matsuoka a shy smile. "We met by chance while walking. It seems that Matsuoka and I were really fated to meet~"
Rin Matsuoka resisted the urge to complain. Fate? Seriously? With a look like that, you were clearly waiting for him!
The tense atmosphere between Kushida and Karuizawa soon dissipated as they arrived at the student cafeteria.
It was lunchtime, and the cafeteria was crowded with students, but there weren't many queuing at the ticket machine. It was soon Rin and his friends' turn.
Rin Matsuoka ordered a fried shrimp tamagoyaki set meal, which cost four hundred points.
Noticing Rin's choice, Karuizawa, who had been watching him closely, followed his lead and also ordered the fried shrimp tamagoyaki set meal.
Kushida ordered the same.
Chiaki ordered it as well.
Shinohara ordered it too.
Hirata also joined in.
Even Ayanokoji ordered it.
——In the end, everyone had ordered the same fried shrimp tamagoyaki set meal as Rin Matsuoka, depleting all the set meals in the student cafeteria!
Rin took his receipt and headed to collect his meal. He spotted an empty table in the corner of the cafeteria.
"There's an empty table over there, let's sit there," he suggested.
"Okay~" they all agreed.
Rin Matsuoka sat down at the table in the corner. Karuizawa Kei and Kushida Kikyo, walking faster than the others, took the seats on either side of him, effectively sandwiching him between them.
The rest of the girls noticed this "two girls fighting over one boy" situation and exchanged strange smiles before finding their own seats.
The girls who had come along with Karuizawa and Kushida had no intention of competing for Rin. After all, if there was no room next to the most handsome guy, there was always the second-most handsome one.
Even if the second-most handsome boy, Hirata, had his left and right seats taken, there was still Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
Though Ayanokoji had a somewhat cold demeanor, at least he was still a good-looking guy.
Everyone from Class D sat down with their respective meals. When Rin Matsuoka glanced at the table full of identical meal sets, he couldn't help but feel speechless.
"You all like fried shrimp tamagoyaki?"