"Buzz—!"
In the dim room, the sudden glare of the incandescent light made Imamura Kouhei instinctively look down, and he saw the hot pork cutlet rice placed in front of him.
Honestly, if he didn't have handcuffs on his wrists, he would be screaming his innocence right now. What was with this strong sense of an interrogation scene!
"Yuu, what the hell are you doing?"
"Nothing, I just felt that giving Kouhei green pepper pork cutlet last night was a bit excessive, and now I want to make amends…"
Gently shaking his head with a look of a loving father watching his child, Miyazawa Yuu's smile, reflected by the light like a father in candlelight, didn't change in the face of the suspicion.
He pushed the pork cutlet rice closer. It is said that to win a man's heart, you must first win his stomach!
Although that sounded a bit strange, for the sake of life guidance, he desperately needed to use food to build a bridge of communication between the two.
However, judging by Imamura Kouhei's disgusted and slightly nauseated expression, this was not only not having a positive effect, but he was lucky it wasn't having a negative one!
"Make amends my foot! The pork cutlet rice isn't the point at all!"
He stood up speechlessly and rushed to the window, pulling the curtains open. The bright noon sun instantly streamed into the club room, completely destroying the atmosphere of a dark little police station room!
Turning around, he looked at Miyazawa Yuu with vigilance mixed with suspicion, both of Imamura Kouhei's hands were gripping the window frame, and one foot was likewise placed, ready to bolt at any moment!
Offering courtesy for no reason is a sign of ill intent. Although he didn't know what quality Yuu was after, given the nature of mutual antagonism in the Pab Club, refusing was definitely the safest bet!
"You're definitely planning some unspeakable secret! Could you be coveting my Larako!?"
"Who would want that kind of thing…"
Did the food tactic fail as well…?
Seeing Kouhei so tense, as if he was about to force a man-lock-man situation, Miyazawa Yuu closed his eyes in confusion and looked up in distress—
It shouldn't be like this, by all logic, the bond between him and Kouhei is so deep, his favorability shouldn't be low. Why is he still triggering a Bad Ending?
It's truly baffling…
"Quack! I surrender… Yuu, you bastard, don't use man-lock-man!"
"Eh? Kouhei, why are you lying on the floor?"
Miyazawa Yuu, confused, released him from the naked choke, and gently helped Kouhei brush the dust off his butt, completely unaware that he had used violence.
"So, you won't try to run away now, right?"
"If you would just give me back my underwear…"
Sitting back in his original spot helplessly, Imamura Kouhei only regretted being so handsome and handsome, yet running into a brute like the muscle bodybuilder, it was a complete natural counter!
And he had his dignity; directly cosplaying the Attack on Titan outside like the seniors was too avant-garde for him.
Since things had come to this, he might as well eat first…
"Awoo, it tastes good! So, what exactly do you want to say, Yuu, stop being so secretive…"
"…Kouhei, what do you think of Aina?"
"???"
His mouth was full, and Imamura Kouhei's chewing motion froze, while half a piece of pork cutlet dropped back into his bowl from outside his lips.
But this stiffness only lasted for half a second. He quickly returned to normal, stuffing the half-piece of pork cutlet into his mouth and chewing even harder, seemingly trying to cover up the tension in his voice this way.
"The cakey, huh… She's usually very quiet, but she's always too loud when drinking, but overall, she's a very good friend?"
"A very good friend?"
Miyazawa Yuu faced the window, taking the keyword and repeatedly contemplating it, yet showing no signs of turning around, which drastically increased the psychological pressure on Imamura Kouhei, who had been observing him from the corner of his eye.
If the usually expressive Yuu and Iori were idiots, then the two of them with their backs turned and their expressions hidden suddenly became normal people.
This god-and-ghost duality, similar to Homo erectus and modern humans, existed in every member of the Pab Club, but it was the seemingly most cynical Yuu and Iori that made him break out in the most cold sweat.
"That's right, why are you asking?"
"Nothing, I just thought Kouhei looked at Aina through the eyes of a lover."
"Pfft!"
He almost spat out everything he had just eaten!
One sentence instantly broke through his defenses. Imamura Kouhei's pupils dilated in shock, and his body trembled with embarrassment, but his mouth was as stubborn as ever.
"Huh? What are you talking about, Yuu! Are you kidding? How could I possibly like the cakey!"
"Really? But not only me, even the seniors and Chisa can see it, you know~"
Suddenly turning around and fixating his eyes on Imamura Kouhei with a look full of mockery, Miyazawa Yuu spoke the latter half of the sentence with a flippant tone, emphasizing each word: "The fact that Kouhei likes Aina~"
"...Is it that obvious?"
Suddenly suffering a mental critical hit, Imamura Kouhei slumped his head, his eyes filled with disbelief.
He had thought he was hiding it quite well. Now, looking back, it turned out that not only Yuu knew, but even the seniors and Chisa were fully aware.
His so-called secrecy was nothing but a pretense. What difference was there between him and grinding his butt naked in a circle right now!
Most importantly…
"Does Aina… know?"
"Uwah, finally, we have solid evidence, Kouhei, you really do have feelings for Aina! Even rabbits know not to eat the grass around their own burrows, for heaven's sake…"
"Eh?"
Snapping his head up, Imamura Kouhei was horrified to find that Yuu had suddenly changed his attitude, his face full of disdain.
Not only that, this guy was actually recording the conversation on his phone! If he wasn't mistaken, the entire conversation just now must have been recorded!
"Wait! You said everyone knew…"
His mind was completely muddled. Imamura Kouhei was instantly interrupted by Miyazawa Yuu right after he started to speak: "Ah~ That was a bluff, because if it was just me, you definitely wouldn't tell the truth…"
Saying this, he shook the phone in his hand twice, a wicked smile spreading across his lips, "But if you dare to retract your statement now, this recording will appear in the Pab Club's main group chat!"
"You bastard!!!"
Stunned for two seconds, his emotions instantly erupted like a volcano. Looking at the devil in front of him, who was playing with his emotions without any apology, Imamura Kouhei charged forward aggressively!
However, although the trope that "blackening increases strength tenfold" truly exists, a two-dimensional blond scumbag, even if ten times stronger, is still a little brother that can be suppressed with just one hand!
Having easily subdued Kouhei, Miyazawa Yuu patted his butt and asked, looking up: "Kouhei, you were helping Aina test Iori's feelings, right?"
"Mhm…"
A muffled response came from under his butt. Imamura Kouhei's face was pressed against the cold floor. Although he was reluctant, he honestly admitted it.
To be honest, he didn't know why he did it; he just couldn't help but feel soft-hearted when he saw Aina crying hysterically.
Although he eventually changed the topic, diverting Chisa's "fake sister" problem onto Shiori-chan, and messing things up…
"Apologize!"
"Huh?"
"Apologize for what? Of course, you should apologize to all the blond senior scumbags, you bastard! Don't you know that blond scumbags are part of the F4, alongside eyeless neighborhood kids, tanned sports students, and bloated old men!"
Good-looking and with a head of blond hair, Miyazawa Yuu honestly thought this guy was the absolute protagonist when he first met Kouhei!
Indeed, adding the wrong tag is deadly. If he didn't have the two-dimensional label, how could Kouhei have fallen to the scum group? Enjoying a perfect life of fighting over a harem should have been the normal script!
And even if he didn't have a harem, he should at least take on an aggressive protagonist role. What is he doing, acting like a nice guy protagonist with blond hair!
"Yuu, H-anime is all lies…"
"Urusai! You pathetic guy, snap out of it!"
Pressing Kouhei back down onto the stool, Miyazawa Yuu angrily dragged over the blackboard that the seniors usually used for meetings, and wrote the names of Kouhei, Aina, Iori, and Chisa in sequence.
"The situation is like this! Get it?"
"Um, Iori and Chisa…"
Frowning, Imamura Kouhei raised a finger to ask a question, but the next second, he was so intimidated by Yuu's menacing expression that he choked back the rest of his words.
"Yes, whatever you say is right."
"In short, Iori and Chisa are childhood friends and are fake siblings! So…"
Drawing a double-headed arrow between the two names, Miyazawa Yuu seriously patted the small blackboard, providing friendly instruction: "They definitely have feelings for each other. Iori is slightly aware, and Chisa is the same!"
"I see… so?"
"Ha! How dare you ask me, 'so'! So, the result is that this idiot named Kouhei goes after Aina! It absolutely won't be stealing from your friend, got it!"
Indeed, interfering with the feelings of close friends is a disaster. Explicitly urging Kouhei to actively pursue Aina, Miyazawa Yuu almost screamed the words out in frustration.
There was nothing he could do; from Kouhei's perspective, this matter was indeed fine.
But the key was that Aina was trying to deepen her relationship with Iori, so it was all very complicated!
"Sigh… It must be Rin-chan's fault, I'm absolutely never this eager to teach people normally."
Massaging his temples, Miyazawa Yuu had completely lost all his strength and means after finally speaking his mind.
"I will only say what I just said once! Whether Kouhei takes it to heart or not, in any case, the path ahead is up to you to choose…"
"…"
"No, my head hurts… Kanou!"
His eyes vacant, by the time Imamura Kouhei regained his senses, the room was empty, and the pork cutlet rice on the table had completely hardened.
However, picking up another piece of the hard rice with his chopsticks and putting it into his mouth, he ate comfortably—that bastard Yuu, he occasionally says something sensible after all!
On the other side, although Kouhei hadn't returned, the post-meal game continued, only ending with Aina tearing Chisa's clothes in a drunken frenzy.
"I'm back…"
Finally finishing her errands and returning to Grand Blue, Kotegawa Nanaka walked in the door and saw amidst the chaos, her little boyfriend slumped on the sofa like a squeezed orange peel.
"Yuu, what's wrong with you? You look so listless?"
"Ah, Nanaka-nee, do you think it's really okay to interfere with a friend's emotional life?"
"Eh? Is Yuu's intention benevolent?"
Closing his eyes and pondering for a long while, Miyazawa Yuu nodded hesitantly: "It's what I think might be the best possible ending."
"Then it's fine~"
Putting her backpack down on the counter, Kotegawa Nanaka sat down next to Yuu, closed her eyes, and comforted him gently: "I believe Yuu can handle everything, just like us now~"
"Mhm! Thank you, Nanaka-nee, we're exactly the same in that we both interfered with a friend's emotional life and became the bad guy!"