Seeing the Yukinoshita family's car gradually leave the parking lot and completely disappear from view, Miura Yumiko finally relaxed. She took her phone out of her small handbag and began contacting her driver.
Haruno put too much pressure on her. She was so focused on matching wits with her that she forgot to contact her driver in advance, almost letting Shinra be abducted by that bad woman.
After tonight's confrontation, Yukinoshita Yukino was no longer Miura Yumiko's number one enemy. After all, compared to her sister, Yumiko felt Yukino could even be considered cute.
"Yumiko?"
Just as Miura Yumiko was calling her driver on her phone, a girl who had just arrived at the parking lot called out to her in an uncertain tone.
Miura Yumiko looked up immediately upon hearing this, and a smile that was awkward yet polite appeared on her face.
"Minami."
The person who stopped Miura Yumiko was none other than Sagami Minami, the friend who had invited her to the fireworks festival today.
Besides Sagami Minami, two other followers were with her: Yuko and Haruka.
Shinra recognized these people because they were also his classmates. Moreover, these three seemed to be Yuigahama's friends; Shinra had seen them chatting together in the classroom several times.
It is worth mentioning that although these three often chatted with Hayama and the others, they were not members of the riajuu (normie) group. Or rather, they should be the second-largest riajuu group in the class, with Sagami Minami as the core.
Of course, although called the second-largest riajuu group, there were actually only a few people. The gap between them and Hayama's group was still quite large, and their influence was limited to the class.
Seeing Yumiko respond, Sagami Minami immediately showed a surprised expression. It really is Yumiko. Then the person beside her is...
"You are Mori Shinra-kun, right?" Yuko, standing beside Sagami Minami, spoke up as if she recognized Shinra.
"It's me. Hello." Shinra nodded, but he didn't call out their names. Mainly because he only knew their first names, not their surnames.
In Japan, calling someone by their first name without a certain level of closeness is actually quite rude, especially between opposite sexes; it would be considered creepy.
To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, Shinra felt it was better to say less.
"Are you... going back?" Sagami Minami asked, her tone somewhat subtle.
She knew there was someone named Mori Shinra in the class. Although Shinra rarely talked to anyone in class and had a low presence, due to his outstanding looks and decent conversation and manners, his popularity among the girls in class was actually not low.
Sagami Minami had considered whether to pull him into her small group. After all, Yumiko's riajuu group had Hayama. Shouldn't she have an existence comparable to Hayama on her side?
But she didn't expect Yumiko to know him, and... they seemed very familiar.
Suddenly, Sagami Minami seemed to understand something, and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"Oh, I see... Yumiko, the 'sudden matter' you mentioned must be running into Mori-kun on the way, right?"
She wondered why Yumiko suddenly stood them up. So it was because she ran into Mori Shinra.
Compared to plastic sisters, obviously, a man is more important.
It's just that what puzzled Sagami Minami was, wasn't Yumiko's target Hayama Hayato before? Why did it suddenly switch to Mori Shinra?
Could it be... a change of heart?
Thinking of this, a strong curiosity flashed in Sagami Minami's eyes, along with unspeakable secret delight.
In their class, if you asked who attracted the most attention, naturally, you couldn't bypass Hayama. This core leader of the riajuu group had extraordinary popularity both in class and on campus. He was from a wealthy family, had outstanding looks, and was polite to others—truly a campus idol-like existence.
Therefore, Hayama had no shortage of suitors. Even some girls from other schools had ideas about him.
Sagami Minami was one of them.
However, to pursue Hayama, they had to face an unavoidable mountain—Miura Yumiko.
As Hayama's friend, Miura Yumiko firmly held the position of the second core of the riajuu group with her extremely outstanding appearance and extraordinary efforts. It was no exaggeration to say she was the pinnacle of female riajuu in the school; no one could compare to her.
According to rumors, she also seemed to have ideas about Hayama.
Although this news had never been confirmed by Miura Yumiko herself, all the girls, including Sagami Minami, believed it wasn't fake news.
After all, if she didn't have ideas about Hayama, why did Miura Yumiko always revolve around him?
But now it seemed... this news might be debatable?
Sagami Minami's gaze shifted back and forth between Shinra and Miura Yumiko. Especially after noticing the makeup on Miura Yumiko's face was even more exquisite than when she arrived, she became more certain of some thoughts in her heart.
Miura Yumiko, this girl, might really have had a change of heart... Or maybe she never had any ideas about Hayama from the start?
"You can understand it that way if you want." Miura Yumiko admitted it straightforwardly. Although there were some discrepancies, she indeed chose to stand up the Sagami trio because of Shinra.
"Eh~ That's so nice. Speaking of which, when did Yumiko become so familiar with Mori-kun? I never see you two chatting in class. Is it a secret romance?"
Sagami Minami didn't seem annoyed at all about being stood up. Instead, she acted very interested in the relationship between Shinra and Miura Yumiko, curiously probing into their relationship.
She wanted to nail down the relationship between Miura Yumiko and Shinra, thereby cutting off the possibility of her competing for Hayama Hayato in the future.
Unfortunately, Shinra was quite outstanding. Apart from his excellent looks, his grades were also excellent, ranking first in the grade. In this aspect, even Hayama was inferior. Moreover, judging from his attire today, his family conditions should also be quite good. Although she couldn't tell the specific brand, judging from the fabric and design, she knew it wasn't simple.
Except for Shinra himself looking a bit cold and hard to communicate with, he could be said to have almost no shortcomings.
Actually, if Shinra weren't so outstanding, Sagami Minami might have been happier.
After all, among girls, the male companion accompanying them also symbolized their status in a sense. Like the brand-name clothes they wore and the luxury bags they carried, it could measure a person's value.
If Shinra looked plain and had no outstanding features, Sagami Minami and the others could find a sense of superiority from this aspect to gain psychological pleasure.
Miura Yumiko saw through Sagami Minami's thoughts at a glance. She knew exactly what schemes the other party was playing; she had simply seen too much of it.
"Secret romance or whatever, that's a bit of an exaggeration." Miura Yumiko put on a business smile. She brushed her hair back with her hand, glanced at Shinra inadvertently with her beautiful eyes, and then said:
"We should be considered good friends."
"Like with Hayama?" Sagami Minami was a bit aggressive. Yuko and Haruka beside her looked a bit scared. They knew Miura Yumiko's personality.
Our boss dares to talk to the Queen like this? Does she have a death wish?
The two wanted to pull back their boss, but due to the atmosphere on the scene, they ultimately chose to give up. However, they still looked at Miura Yumiko nervously, afraid that blood would splatter on them later.
Yumiko raised her eyebrows upon hearing this. She obviously didn't expect Sagami Minami to be so bold as to use comparison tactics on her.
Although somewhat dissatisfied in her heart, the question was right in front of her, and she couldn't be vague on such an issue.
Absolute loyalty, or absolutely not loyal.
Faced with the classic either-or question, Miura Yumiko just answered lightly: "Probably a bit better than with Hayato."
She also made a note of this against the other party in her heart.
Sagami Minami also noticed the dissatisfaction in Yumiko's tone. But since her goal had been achieved, it didn't matter even if she offended her.
Of course, Miura Yumiko still had a lot of deterrence. To avoid further provoking her, Sagami Minami quit while she was ahead and asked, "How are you going back? Want to go together?"
"No need, the driver has arrived." Miura Yumiko answered, lifting her chin slightly.
As if to verify Miura Yumiko's words, a Mercedes-Maybach S-Class with elegant lines soon stopped on the road beside her.
The driver got out and called Yumiko "Young Miss", then saw Shinra, and his expression became even more respectful. He immediately opened the car door for him.
"Mr. Mori, please."
"Thank you." Shinra wasn't very familiar with Sagami Minami and the others, plus the atmosphere on the scene didn't look so wonderful, so he simply got into the car directly, leaving the scene for Miura Yumiko to handle.
The Sagami trio was shocked by the sudden appearance of the luxury car. Although they didn't know the specific price of the car, seeing the classic three-pointed star logo standing on the hood and the driver who looked quite professional, they clearly realized what class disparity meant.
Miura Yumiko was very satisfied with the reaction of Sagami Minami and the others, and her dissatisfaction dissipated a bit. She said to the three: "Sorry, the space in this car is limited. It can only seat three people, so I can't send you back."
"It's, it's okay. We can go back by ourselves."
Yuko hurriedly spoke before Sagami Minami.
"That's right, that's right. Yumiko, you go back first."
Haruka also quickly followed up, afraid that her boss would be stupid again and provoke the dissatisfaction of this young lady in front of them.
They only knew that Yumiko's family conditions were good, but they didn't expect them to be this good.
Luxury car pick-up and drop-off, and a dedicated driver. This was completely a scene that would only appear in TV dramas.
Although they were still in school, they still had some understanding of some rules in society. For an existence like Yumiko, it was better not to offend her if possible.
It's just that what puzzled them was, why did Yumiko's driver seem to respect Shinra more than Yumiko?
Was it their illusion?
"Mm, then I'll leave first." Without waiting for Sagami Minami to speak, Miura Yumiko followed Shinra's footsteps and got into the car.
As the vehicle started, soon only the trio with uncertain expressions remained on the roadside.
...
In the car, Shinra asked Miura Yumiko beside him:
"Is it okay?"
"What?"
"I mean them. After school starts, there should be some rumors spreading. Is it okay?"
Shinra knew without thinking that what happened today would definitely be spread by them. Especially Miura Yumiko's sentence that her relationship with him was a bit better than with Hayama would be greatly exaggerated.
"Do you mind?" Miura Yumiko didn't answer directly but asked back.
"I certainly don't mind. After all, I'm the one taking advantage." Shinra didn't panic at all. Rumors or whatever... anyway, they wouldn't reach Yukino's ears.
Even if they reached Yukino's ears, Shinra didn't think she would believe them.
"Is that so." Hearing Shinra's answer, Miura Yumiko's mood, which had been spoiled by Sagami Minami, inexplicably improved again.
What does Shinra not minding the rumors mean?
It means he has me in his heart!
Plus, when she introduced her relationship with Shinra to Sagami Minami and the others earlier, Shinra didn't refute the title of 'good friend', which further proved that her relationship with Shinra had officially entered a new stage.
Win!
Winning big!
Sure enough, you have to give something up to get something. Standing them up tonight wasn't a loss.
As for the rumors after school starts... Miura Yumiko felt that this would be a good opportunity, an opportunity to introduce Shinra's existence to those around her.
When participating in the gathering organized by Hiratsuka Shizuka-sensei before, Miura Yumiko had actually realized that she had been too hesitant, so much so that she missed many opportunities to get closer to Shinra.
To talk to him, she had to rely on Yui as a springboard. Otherwise, she could only watch Yukinoshita Yukino being affectionate with him, which was incredibly uncomfortable.
Sigh, people just can't be too reserved. You have to learn to take the initiative!
Thinking of this, Miura Yumiko said to Shinra: "Do you want to come to my house for a while later?"
"Isn't it bad since it's so late?"
"It's okay. Dad should be very happy to see you."
Happy?
Probably not.
Shinra didn't think encountering his direct boss at the boss's home during non-work hours was a good thing, especially when the boss came back with his young and beautiful daughter...
What kind of classic Japanese plot is this?
"It's too late. Let's do it next time."
Thinking of this, Shinra ultimately declined Miura Yumiko's invitation. After all, it was indeed late. Visiting at this hour wasn't appropriate no matter how you looked at it.
It wasn't like Miura Yumiko was home alone.
"Is that so... alright then." Miura Yumiko thought about it and felt it was indeed a bit late, so she didn't insist.
Of course, she didn't give up but changed the topic and said: "Speaking of which, it's always you visiting my house. I haven't visited your house yet..."