"Well... I usually have cram school, so I'm afraid I won't have much time for club activities..."
He declined politely.
However, Tsukinoki Koto seemed to have anticipated he would say that.
She walked quickly to Shioyaki Lemon's side, a bright smile on her face as she invited Shioyaki Lemon as well.
"The cute girlfriend here should join too. That way, you can do club activities together."
Shioyaki Lemon, suddenly mentioned by Tsukinoki Koto, couldn't help but feel shy, her answer becoming stuttered.
"Eh?! Girlfriend, are you talking about me?! Oh boy... how troublesome..."
"How about it? Do you want to join?"
Tsukinoki Koto asked again, seeing that Shioyaki Lemon seemed a bit tempted.
"Ah, er... Actually, I've already joined the track team, so it might be a bit difficult..."
"After joining the club, if you don't want to go to track practice, you can use the Literature Club as an escape. What do you think?"
Dealing with the overly enthusiastic Senior Tsukinoki, Shioyaki Lemon glanced at Kouki beside her, seemingly seeking his opinion.
Sitting to the side, Yanami Anna took all of this in.
She watched Shioyaki Lemon's contradictory expression—wanting to deny it but reluctant to let go—and then looked at Tsukinoki Koto, who thought she had hit the nail on the head.
Ah...
The Senior really looks like she's doing this on purpose...
Yanami Anna quietly leaned toward Imaizumi Keita beside her and whispered her commentary:
"Hey, Keita."
...
"Hmm?"
Imaizumi Keita continued looking at the notebook in front of him, responding without raising his head.
"Senior Tsukinoki has really stepped into Lemon's minefield."
Yanami Anna's gaze shifted back and forth between Shioyaki Lemon's bright red ears and Ayano Mitsuki's somewhat troubled expression, her voice full of the pleasure of watching a show.
"I'm talking to you, why don't you have any reaction? Just watching like this without stopping it. You couldn't possibly... actually enjoy watching these loser scenes, right?"
Just as she finished speaking, she felt her left hand, resting under the table, being enveloped by a warm, dry hand that brook no argument.
Imaizumi Keita still didn't look up, but he used the hand holding hers to squeeze her palm firmly.
This intimate gesture, tinged with a sense of punishment, made Yanami Anna's breath hitch.
A familiar warm current, a mix of panic and heart-pounding excitement, instantly spread from their joined palms to her entire body.
"Whether or not I like loser scenes,"
Imaizumi Keita's voice was extremely low, like a lover's whisper, "Don't you know that best, Anna-chan?"
"Don't say such nonsense again in the future, hear me?"
Anna-chan...
This nickname that made her so embarrassed she wanted to run away, combined with his doting yet overbearing command, made Yanami Anna feel like she was about to faint.
Even though Senior Tsukinoki and the others were not far away, he dared to make such a bold move in this place.
This feeling...
It was like having a secret date that couldn't be discovered.
It was t-too stimulating.
"I-I get it already..."
Yanami Anna felt her cheeks burning intensely. She tried to pull her hand back, but he held it even tighter.
She could only plead in a small voice, using an almost begging, coquettish tone:
"Ke-Keita... let go quickly... we'll be seen..."
Hearing her beg for mercy using his special name, Imaizumi Keita finally let go of her hand, a look of regret on his face.
On the other side, after Senior Tsukinoki finished introducing things to Shioyaki Lemon, she began explaining the benefits of joining the club to Ayano Mitsuki again.
"What do you think, Ayano-san? You should be quite happy to increase the time you spend with your girlfriend."
"Eh, Kouki, what do you think?"
Shioyaki Lemon had already given up on trying to clear up Senior Tsukinoki's misunderstanding and followed her lead in asking Ayano Mitsuki.
"Haha, Senior, you'll make Lemon feel awkward saying that. We're not dating."
Ayano Mitsuki's voice echoed clearly in the quiet activity room. He calmly put the book in his hand into his bag.
The excited and shy expression on Shioyaki Lemon's face began to slowly fade where Ayano Mitsuki couldn't see.
"Eh? You're not?"
The surprise on Tsukinoki Koto's face didn't seem faked. "But you two seem so close..."
"Lemon has always been popular with boys. Someone like me isn't good enough for her. Please don't make those kinds of jokes, Senior."
He paused, seemingly feeling it was necessary to clear things up completely to avoid any further misunderstandings.
"What's more,"
Ayano Mitsuki's gaze moved past Tsukinoki's shoulder, looking toward the door, a soft smile appearing on his face.
"I already have a girlfriend I'm dating."
The air in the activity room froze at that moment.
The last bit of color drained from Shioyaki Lemon's face after those words were spoken.
Girlfriend...
Kouki... has a girlfriend?
A familiar figure uncontrollably surfaced in her mind.
Is it her...?
It must be her.
The one who always goes to and from school with Kouki, goes to cram school together, and discusses problems she doesn't understand at all... Asagumo Chihaya.
Shioyaki Lemon opened her mouth, wanting to ask, but found she couldn't say a single word.
She didn't dare ask.
Just as she was at a loss, she saw Imaizumi Keita sitting not far away, looking at her with a complex gaze.
Imaizumi Keita looked at Shioyaki Lemon's pitiful appearance, as if she were about to break, and sighed helplessly in his heart.
Both were childhood sweethearts, and both were intercepted by the "heaven-sent" type.
He didn't want to meddle, but if the current frozen atmosphere wasn't broken, it would only make the person involved even more embarrassed.
So, he took the initiative to speak, asking the question for Shioyaki Lemon.
"Ayano-san, congratulations."
Imaizumi Keita's tone sounded calm. "If I may ask, is your girlfriend Classmate Asagumo from Class D? How long have you two been dating?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a surge of pain in his waist.
Yanami Anna gently pinched the soft flesh at his waist with her fingers, her eyes full of resentment as if saying, "Why are you helping another girl again?"
Imaizumi Keita pretended as if nothing had happened, calmly enduring the punishment from his "official girlfriend."
"Eh? Classmate Imaizumi, you know about it too."
Ayano Mitsuki didn't seem surprised by this; he nodded frankly, with the shyness of a boy in the honeymoon phase on his face.
"It's Chihaya, indeed. We've been... dating for about half a month now."
He glanced at the petrified Shioyaki Lemon beside him, a hint of belated apology appearing on his face.
"Sorry, Lemon. I haven't found a good opportunity to tell you about this. Next time, when there's a chance, I'll introduce Chihaya to you."
This belated addition declared the end of Shioyaki Lemon's unrequited love.
Ayano Mitsuki didn't seem to notice the lethality of his words; he looked at his watch and urged Shioyaki Lemon:
"Alright, it's getting late. Didn't you say you wanted me to accompany you to buy something? There's still some time before cram school starts. Lemon, let's go."
Go?
Where to?
To watch him leave with Asagumo Chihaya in the end?
Shioyaki Lemon's body trembled; she turned her head sluggishly and refused Ayano Mitsuki's invitation.
"Um, I just remembered I have other things to do, and I think joining the Literature Club is quite nice too. Kouki, you go ahead."
"I see, then I'll be going first."
Ayano Mitsuki nodded, greeted everyone in the activity room, and left, leaving behind a despondent Shioyaki Lemon.
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Rexlent
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"