"Sooner or later you'll meet, why don't you go say hello?" Yuna asked with a smile: "Takumi, you're going to Osaka's N.º 1 High School, right?"
Takumi was surprised: "How did you know?"
The word hadn't gotten out yet. In all of Saitama Prefecture, only he and Aika should know the specific school. 'Did Aika tell Yuna? Impossible...!'
"My family and Shiori's are neighbors. Her mother told me!"
Yuna sat next to Takumi. Suddenly, a fragrance wafted through the air. Kenta-kun, on the other side, couldn't help but take a deep breath.
'Look at you, you're so ugly...' Takumi wanted to hit himself on the head, but he was more concerned about the meaning of Yuna's words: "Did Shiori's mother tell you? But how did she know I was going to Osaka's N.º 1 High School?"
"Shiori is a special student at Osaka's N.º 1 High School. The school notified her family."
Yuna didn't find it strange. Osaka's N.º 1 High School admitted the two best students from Saitama Prefecture, and only those two. Now, many well-informed teachers also knew about it. It was no secret.
"I, I know too..."
Kenta-kun whispered to the side: "My dad said your record was transferred there."
'His father works at the Board of Education, and this guy is actually the son of an official.'
Takumi was surprised. 'It turned out that what he thought was a secret was no longer one, but he also understood why Yuna asked him to say hello to Shiori. When two people of the same age go out, they always have to look out for each other.'
"Forget it, I'm going to stop her!"
Seeing that Takumi didn't react much, Yuna decided to stop Shiori. At first, she hadn't planned to let the two of them interact. Takumi used to be a solitary person, and she felt that she wouldn't be able to help Shiori if she went out.
But this time, Takumi conveyed a very different feeling to her: confidence and optimism, with a greater sense of security.
A minute later, Yuna entered the room with a girl.
As soon as she saw her, the whole room fell silent. As for her appearance, this girl was so beautiful and pure. Takumi thought to himself: 'Damn it, a loli version of Ran?!'
This girl looked very much like a Japanese female star. Yuna, the class beauty, was already very beautiful, but she became a discreet green leaf next to the girl.
'Is that Shiori? Wasn't the supposed academic bully a plain-looking girl with black-rimmed glasses?'
Just as everyone was shocked by her appearance, the girl's eyes fell on Takumi. She showed a very strange expression and recoiled: "Yuna, I'd better go."
Her dry voice...
"It's you."
Takumi couldn't help but say it aloud. He remembered that voice. 'Wasn't she the girl he'd bumped into several times while wearing a hat?'
"It's me..." The girl smiled bitterly: "Takumi, how is it that I see you everywhere?"
Shiori felt quite unlucky. She was born with a celebrity-like face and was watched when she went out. This made her usually stay at home, and she only wore a hat to buy books. But 'it seems she had run into a demon during this time. Every time she went out, she met the same person. She finally went to a party to relax, but she didn't expect to meet this boy again.'
"I was about to ask!"
Takumi covered his forehead. 'It turned out to be Shiori, a monster four points away from a perfect score.'
"Do you know each other?"
Yuna looked at them in surprise and then laughed: "You're right, so there's no need for me to introduce you!"
She pulled Shiori to sit next to Takumi and then pulled Kenta-kun away: "Takumi, chat with Shiori."
"Are you Takumi?" After Yuna left, Shiori looked at him with wide eyes: "Second place in the high school entrance exam?"
"Yes, first place in the high school entrance exam."
Takumi took the drink and shook his head: "Now I understand why I can't beat you every time I go to the bookstore, because you're always ahead of me!"
Of course, it was just a joke.
Shiori saw that Takumi didn't care about those small accidents and felt relieved: "We are truly destined to be together."
She looked at Takumi and saw a pile of magazines on the sofa. Although the karaoke lights were a little dim, that didn't prevent her from confirming the identity of the magazines.
"Weekly Shōnen?" Shiori asked, surprised: "How did you get it?"
'Didn't she buy the last one?'
"This isn't mine; it's the chubby guy's over there." Takumi pointed to Kenta-kun and asked curiously: "I'm still wondering, why would a girl like you buy Weekly Shōnen magazine?"
Shiori was stunned: "You don't know Detective Conan?"
She showed an expression of disbelief, as if Takumi's question was foolish: "The most popular manga among girls now is Detective Conan. At least half of the Weekly Shōnen magazine in the prefecture's bookstore is bought by girls."
"Takumi, you don't even know that? No wonder you can't beat me!"
Shiori's eyes fluttered: "I'm a fan of Detective Conan. It would be very embarrassing if I lost to you."
Takumi broke into a cold sweat again: "I've met another fan, how popular is his manga! And isn't this girl an academic bully four points away from a perfect score? Why is the academic bully also obsessed with manga? Is she even more impressive than Takumi, who has a photographic memory?"
At that moment, a sad voice suddenly resonated: "Let Takumi, Takumi sing first!"
Takumi looked up and saw Yuna forcing Kenta-kun to choose a song. Kenta-kun hastily escaped the song ordering system, ran towards Takumi with the microphone, and put it in his hand: "Takumi, you sing!"
Takumi looked at the screen. The song was "Starry Wish." Yuna approached with another microphone, looking displeased: "Kenta-kun, why are you so shy!"
"Okay... But 'Starry Wish' is a song with double meanings; if it has a chorus, it'll put too much psychological pressure on Kenta-kun. Why did Yuna choose this song? Does she also have a good impression of him?"
Takumi looked at her in surprise. 'What could he say about her expression? Although she seemed displeased, there was a mocking smile deep in her eyes...'
He heard Shiori murmur: "Yuna's playing a prank again."
"So that's it."
Takumi understood that Yuna must know Kenta-kun is secretly in love with her and is playing a prank on him.
'Do you want to help?' Takumi looked at the microphone in his hand and an inexplicable urge swept over him. He thought he heard a beautiful song, "Starry Wish," as if he could sing it as soon as he opened his mouth.
"Let me do it, pass me the microphone!"
Cold hands suddenly grabbed the microphone, and the illusion in Takumi's mind shattered instantly.
He woke up with cold sweat running down his face. Seeing Shiori standing beside him with a microphone, he was in a daze...
'It was a flash of inspiration, no doubt, but it was interrupted!'
Takumi was slightly stunned. He felt a kind of gas in his mind, like a clean and fresh spring for his heart. 'What was that?'