Chapter 157: Shiina, I'm Leaving!
After sitting at the café for a while, Yuto temporarily said goodbye to Kei and Kikyo.
Carrying the classic novel he had borrowed, he headed for the library to return it and choose something else to read.
Yuto wasn't sure whether Hiyori had influenced him, but he had actually started enjoying classic novels.
He used to only like manga and anime.
There were almost no students inside the library, making it exceptionally quiet.
Even Yuto's footsteps echoed faintly through the building.
Normally, many students came here to study because of the midterm.
But today was the day the exams ended, so everyone had gone to entertainment facilities to spend some points and relax.
Hiyori was different.
The only thing that truly interested her was books.
She was also poor at socializing and enjoyed being alone, so even after the midterm ended, she did not go out to celebrate.
Instead, she came to the library by herself as usual.
Immersed in her book, Hiyori suddenly caught a familiar scent that immediately put her at ease.
It was faintly reminiscent of vanilla—light, sweet, and pleasant.
And Hiyori knew exactly who it belonged to.
Her only friend and fellow book lover, Shimizu Yuto.
Recognizing his presence, Hiyori raised her head in surprise.
She stared at Yuto, who had somehow taken the seat beside her without her noticing.
"Shimizu?"
Yuto smiled at the gentle girl.
"Good afternoon, Shiina."
"Good afternoon."
Hiyori instinctively showed a soft smile.
Then she remembered something and quietly shifted to the left, creating more distance between them.
Yuto raised an eyebrow at the small movement and moved slightly closer.
Hiyori shifted away again.
The current scene almost felt like—
She ran.
He chased.
There was nowhere for her to escape.
Ever since Hiyori concluded that she had caused trouble for Yuto, she had deliberately kept her distance from him.
If she did that, Ryuen would no longer be able to use her against Yuto.
That was why she kept moving away now.
Unfortunately, Hiyori was so focused on increasing the distance that she failed to notice she had reached the end of the seat.
If she moved any farther left, she would fall.
As she shifted her full hips slightly, Hiyori gasped in alarm. Half of her backside was now dangling in mid-air, and she began to tilt precariously to the left.
Yuto's quick reflexes kicked in. He shot out an arm, wrapped it around her slender waist, and yanked her back.
The force of the pull sent Hiyori stumbling directly into his embrace, pressing her soft, full body against him. He was instantly enveloped by her sweet scent and the plush warmth of her form.
Hiyori's hands landed flat against his chest as she was pulled into his arms.
In that moment, as she breathed in Yuto's scent and felt his body heat, her purple eyes glazed over with a hazy, dreamy longing.
Hiyori's hands, which had been pressed against Yuto's chest, silently shifted to clutch the fabric of his school uniform.
Yuto looked at her somewhat strangely.
He had expected this marshmallow-like girl to move away almost immediately.
Instead, Hiyori remained there as if she had completely frozen.
"Shiina, are you okay?"
"I'm okay," Hiyori softly replied.
She released his uniform and moved back into her own seat.
Yuto glanced at her expression.
Her fair cheeks were faintly pink, while her violet eyes wandered uncertainly.
She looked almost as though she had only just awakened from a dream.
Once properly seated, Hiyori gave Yuto a slightly aggrieved look.
"Shimizu... Didn't we agree that we wouldn't talk anymore?"
"Actually, there's something I need your help with. That's why I had no choice but to come find you," Yuto replied with a smile.
"What do you need my help with?" Hiyori asked curiously.
Yuto pointed toward the classic novel he had brought back.
"I finished this book, but I don't know what I should read next."
"So I wanted you to recommend something."
Hearing that, Hiyori's violet eyes immediately brightened.
Her favorite thing was sitting with Yuto and talking about books!
The gentle girl immediately became enthusiastic.
With a soft smile, she said, "Yuto, I recently read a mystery novel. I thought the plot and details were wonderful."
"Would you like me to recommend a mystery novel?"
"Mystery is fine. If it earned that much praise from you, it must be pretty good."
"Mm~"
"It's called Whose Body? It's the first novel in Dorothy L. Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey series."
"Once you read one, you'll definitely want to finish the entire series."
Dorothy L. Sayers was often mentioned alongside Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh as one of the great queens of detective fiction.
Hiyori, now fully enthusiastic, pushed the book she had been reading toward Yuto.
"This one is The Five Red Herrings. It's the sixth Lord Peter Wimsey novel."
"Take a look, Yuto! See whether you like the writing style."
"I'd rather start from the first book."
"So, Shiina, where does the library keep Whose Body??"
"Over here. Shimizu, come with me."
Hiyori placed a bookmark inside her book and closed it.
Then she took Yuto's hand and led him toward one of the shelves in the mystery section.
Hiyori's hand was incredibly soft, matching her own light and fluffy aura—so soft it felt as if she had no bones. This must be what they meant by "soft as boneless."
With Hiyori enthusiastically recommending books, Yuto selected the first novel, Whose Body?, and the second, Clouds of Witness.
Holding the two mystery novels, Yuto turned toward the softly smiling Hiyori.
"Shiina, I'm leaving."
"Ah..."
Hiyori froze slightly.
The smile on her fair face gradually faded.
Looking deeply disappointed, she softly nodded.
"Take care, Shimizu."
"Mm."
Yuto nodded before smiling at her.
"I'll call you in a few days and tell you what I thought about these two books."
Hiyori raised her eyes toward him, then shook her head.
"No. We can't contact each other."
"What are you worried about, Shiina? Here."
Yuto handed the two books to her.
Confused, Hiyori accepted them.
With his hands free, Yuto affectionately pinched and rubbed her soft cheeks.
"As long as we're careful, who would know we're talking privately?"
Hiyori almost stopped processing his words.
Her attention was entirely focused on his hands holding her cheeks.
Yuto smiled at her increasingly red face before finally letting go.
"So that settles it. We'll keep talking privately."
"O-Okay..."
Still dazed, Hiyori unconsciously agreed.
Looking at the marshmallow-like girl in front of him, Yuto felt that someone could probably sell her and she would still help count the money.
Under Yuto's amused gaze, Hiyori finally recovered.
Embarrassed and flustered, she pushed the two books back into his arms and hurried away.
However, after leaving, Hiyori poked her head around the edge of the bookshelf again.
A cute blush still lingered on her cheeks.
"Shimizu... Remember to contact me at night."
"Don't contact me at other times. Someone might notice."
"Okay." Yuto smiled and nodded.
"Mm..."
Only after reminding him did Hiyori finally leave.
She returned to her previous seat and secretly glanced toward the bookshelves.
When she saw that Yuto had not followed her, a trace of disappointment appeared in her violet eyes.
She really wanted to sit beside Yuto and talk freely about the books they liked...
But Hiyori quickly cheered herself up.
She and Yuto had already agreed that they could talk through phone calls and Line at night!
"As long as we avoid everyone else... I shouldn't cause Shimizu any trouble, right?" Hiyori murmured.
Hiyori did not want to lose her relationship with Yuto.
But she also did not want to cause him trouble.
So the girl who desperately wanted to keep talking with him was searching for excuses and trying hard to convince herself.
In truth, Yuto did not think Hiyori caused him trouble at all.
Hiyori herself was the one who believed that.
That was why Yuto had temporarily stopped interacting with her before.
He planned to resume their friendship once Ryuen was expelled.
What Yuto had not expected was that Ryuen would successfully beg the principal and Chairman Sakayanagi for leniency.
Even while suspended, he had been permitted to take the midterm.
Still, that did not guarantee Ryuen would remain at school.
Who knew whether he had passed every subject?
Failing even one subject meant mandatory expulsion.
And where was Ryuen right now?
He was on his way to settle things with Nagumo!
The examination papers Nagumo had provided were completely useless!
Bang!
Ryuen kicked open the door to Nagumo's clubroom and stormed inside with a dark expression.
However, Nagumo was nowhere to be seen.
Two students were playing cards inside.
Anyone allowed to stay in this room was obviously one of Nagumo's lackeys.
The two second-years glared angrily at Ryuen after he kicked the door open.
"Ryuen Kakeru! What the hell are you doing?!"
"Get lost!"
Ryuen fiercely glared at the upperclassman questioning him.
"Call Nagumo Miyabi and tell him to get his ass over here."
"Otherwise, I'll kill every last one of you!"
"..."
Ryuen's vicious expression genuinely frightened Nagumo's lackeys.
One of them tried to sound tough despite his fear.
"Don't cause trouble! You're still suspended!"
"If you do anything now, the school could expel you immediately!"
"Hehehe..."
Ryuen gave a vicious laugh.
Mentioning expulsion was the worst possible choice.
It immediately reminded him of the useless papers Nagumo had given him.
Anger surged through Ryuen.
He rushed forward and kicked the second-year student, knocking him onto the floor.
Ryuen glared down at him fiercely.
"Expulsion, huh?"
"Let me tell you something. That bastard Nagumo gave me useless examination papers!"
"Because of him, I couldn't properly answer the midterm!"
"I don't even know whether I'm going to fail and get expelled!"
"So don't mention the word 'expulsion' in front of me!"
As the saying went, the aggressive feared the reckless, and the reckless feared those with nothing left to lose.
Ryuen, who had no idea whether he would soon be expelled, currently belonged to that final category.
The two students were terrified he might beat them up.
They hurriedly contacted Nagumo and explained the situation.
After hearing the report, Nagumo sneered.
"Tell Ryuen I'm not a member of the school administration."
"There was no way I could guarantee one hundred percent that this year's midterm would be identical to previous years."
"And I gave him those papers for free."
"They turned out to be useless, but he should still get on his knees and thank me."
"..."
The student holding the phone went pale.
He secretly glanced toward the furious Ryuen.
How could he possibly relay those words?!
If Ryuen became even angrier, Nagumo would not be the one getting beaten.
The two of them would!
"That's all. Don't call me over something this trivial again."
Nagumo ended the call.
He now knew the papers he had given Ryuen were useless and that Ryuen might be expelled for failing the midterm.
In that case, why would the petty Nagumo continue humoring him?
Would comforting Ryuen somehow make him pass every subject?
Would it somehow keep him at school so he could continue targeting Shimizu Yuto?
In short, Nagumo had concluded that Ryuen was probably finished.
So he had completely abandoned him.
Ryuen stared coldly at the nervous student lowering his phone.
"What did Nagumo say?"
…
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