"So that's how it is. I thought maybe Hayama had been badmouthing Yukino in front of you," Mori Shinra nodded.
"How could that happen?"
"True, his whole persona is being the nice guy, after all."
"Huh?"
Mori Shinra's words made Miura Yumiko pause for a moment.
When she came to and thought about it carefully, she found that there didn't seem to be anything wrong with that statement.
A persona... previously, because she was looking through a filter, Yumiko didn't think much of it.
Looking back now, Hayama really did fit the "nice guy" role perfectly.
He didn't offend anyone, didn't favor anyone, and was always impartial—everyone's Hayama.
"But speaking of which, you and Yukino are quite similar, Yumiko," Mori Shinra changed the subject.
Hearing this, Yumiko's brows furrowed, and she immediately retorted, "How is that possible? How am I anything like that girl?"
"You're both super beautiful girls, have very strong personalities, and are equally lacking in common sense when it comes to social interactions."
"Lacking common sense in social interactions? Me?" Yumiko almost laughed out loud at Mori Shinra's words. "I'm not like her. I have a lot of friends."
If it had been anyone else but Mori Shinra saying this, Yumiko would have, at the very least, shown them the art of a verbal beatdown.
She might not be able to out-argue Yukinoshita, but she could definitely out-argue anyone else.
"Well, that's true, but that's what I'm talking about. You and Yukino are like two extremes. Yukino is the type who doesn't know how to make friends normally, while you, Yumiko, are so good at making friends that you can't understand why others don't have any, so you often say things along the lines of 'let them eat cake'."
Mori Shinra didn't need to elaborate on the former; anyone could see Yukinoshita wasn't skilled at socializing.
The latter was perfectly demonstrated in Yumiko's frustration with Yuigahama Yui's inability to improve.
And that wasn't the only example; her inability to understand why Kawasaki Saki would refuse her invitation and her complete disregard for Hikigaya also showed hints of it.
In summary, although Miura Yumiko was the core of the popular clique, it wasn't necessarily true that she had a profound understanding of interpersonal relationships.
She had mostly just figured out the logic of interaction among the popular crowd and developed her own playbook for it.
It was like Superman, with his face, telling you: 'If you like a girl, just ask her out directly. This move has never failed me.'
It's highly dependent on one's character model and stats.
Although Yukinoshita had both the model and the stats, she either didn't know how to use them or disdained to do so.
"Hmm..." Although Yumiko still didn't quite understand, she didn't refute Mori Shinra's words, only thinking about what Yukinoshita's situation had to do with her.
She had no intention of becoming friends with Yukinoshita.
In the future, they might even be enemies!
This time, it was a real enemy.
Unlike with Hayama before, based on Yumiko's observations during this period, combined with the information about Yukinoshita from Yuigahama, she was about seventy percent sure that Yukinoshita definitely had improper thoughts about Mori Shinra.
She was absolutely going to try and steal her man!
Mori Shinra was a bit baffled as he sensed the strong feeling of alertness emanating from Yumiko.
Wait, he could understand resistance, opposition, or even annoyance, but what did alertness mean?
It's over, it seems he's also becoming bad at socializing.
At this moment, Mori Shinra realized that his Emotion Perception ability still had its limits when it came to social situations, unlike actual mind-reading.
Sometimes, you really can't guess what a person is thinking based on their emotions alone.
...
The afternoon was mostly spent on tennis training, and the results were obvious.
In the second half, Mori Shinra and Miura Yumiko switched from the practice wall to a standard court and did some practical training.
To put it simply, Mori Shinra could now handle a normal, slow-paced rally, but he was still no match for Yumiko's offensive rhythm.
The only reason he could rally with Yumiko at all was because she was holding back and because of his powerful stamina.
Especially his powerful stamina.
Miura Yumiko couldn't understand why Mori Shinra, after an afternoon of high-intensity training, still looked completely fine while playing against her.
He was simply inhuman, like a monster.
If they were to get together in the future...
Ahem, Yumiko quickly shook some un-broadcastable images from her mind.
Panting heavily, she asked Mori Shinra to help her get some water.
In truth, Yumiko still had the strength to get water herself, but her mother had said that occasionally showing a girl's delicate side is a plus in a relationship.
Although her 'accidental encounter' with Mori Shinra had taught Yumiko that her mother wasn't always right, she felt that on some details, listening to the experience of a veteran was quite necessary.
After all... at home, her mom had her dad wrapped around her little finger.
However, what Yumiko didn't know was that her mother knew her daughter's personality would make it impossible to pull off a perfect accidental encounter that Mori Shinra wouldn't see through, which was why she deliberately suggested such a suboptimal plan.
Sometimes, certain things only have meaning if the other person knows about them.
There are far too many examples in love of silent, unrewarded devotion leading to defeat.
Didn't her dad have a childhood friend back in the day? In the end, wasn't he won over by her, the girl who descended from the heavens?
Besides, what man would really hate a beautiful girl who uses a few little tricks to create an encounter just to get close to him, and who purely wants to date him with no other motives?
It's safe to say that the vast majority of men, even those already in relationships, would not reject such a girl.
Saints, after all, are mostly just found on the internet.
Mori Shinra was very real.
He didn't pretend; this was exactly his type.
"Let's have dinner together later. My treat, as payment for being my tennis coach today," Mori Shinra said.
After all, he couldn't let the girl take the initiative every single time.
Wouldn't that make him a freeloader?
"Okay." Miura Yumiko had no intention of being polite with Mori Shinra.
Isn't this what she had spent so much effort on today for?
She had originally planned to practice a little, then go eat and shop to build up affection points.
She never thought the practice would last all afternoon.
Forget building affection; she had practically burned off tomorrow's calories already.
After a wonderful dinner, as soon as Yumiko got home, she found her mother looking at her with an expression that screamed, 'Quick, tell me what happened today'.
Her gossipy heart was plain to see.
"Yumiko, you're back~ Are you tired? Quick, tell me how the date went today?"
"Well, it was okay~"
Even so, an unconscious smile graced Yumiko's face.
Seeing this expression, Yumiko's mother got even more excited and pressed on, "What kind of 'okay'? Hmm... let's start with the most memorable part."
"If I had to say... his stamina is just ridiculously good."
"That is indeed very important."
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