A new message from Yanami Anna was sitting quietly at the top of the chat interface.
[I found an awesome secret base! It's at the Fire Escape on the Old School Building's Rooftop! Let's eat lunch together there today! (＾▽＾)]
Secret base?
Imaizumi Keita looked at the message, then looked up at Yanami.
Yanami really was always able to find strange places.
But...
It seemed quite interesting.
He nodded, accepting the invitation for the lunch break.
...
After the lunch bell rang, students took out their lunch boxes or made plans to go to the cafeteria together.
Carrying his simple convenience store lunch, Imaizumi Keita unhurriedly walked out of the classroom and headed toward the Old School Building.
On the way to the Old School Building, there was a restroom, where Imaizumi Keita unexpectedly found a few girls gathered, chatting noisily.
Imaizumi Keita intended to just walk past, but just as he was about to, a familiar name drifted into his ears.
"...Seriously, isn't Yanami a bit too much?"
"When she was chasing Hakamada before, she gave so many hints and signals. But in the end, she was easily intercepted by that transfer student who came back from England."
"Exactly," another girl with freckles chimed in. "If it were me, I'd have been too ashamed to come to school. But she seems perfectly fine. I really don't get it."
"More than just being too ashamed to come to school," the first girl sneered, "she used to hang around those two looking like she was about to cry. It was so pitiful. But now, she's suddenly..."
"You can't really say that."
A girl with a relatively gentle voice interrupted her. "I actually think she's doing well now. Look at her lately; she hasn't gone looking for Hakamada and the others at all. It seems like she's really moved on."
"Moved on? I think she's just found a new target!"
The girl with the bob cut sneered again. She scanned her surroundings, then lowered her voice, speaking in a tone full of gossip.
"Haven't you noticed? Lately, she's been getting really close to that Imaizumi in our class."
"Imaizumi? You mean the super handsome one who's always alone?"
"Yes! Him!" The bob-cut girl's voice was filled with sour jealousy. "I think she just got lucky. Right after being dumped, she immediately hooked up with a cool, handsome guy."
"And she always acts like 'we're just ordinary friends.' Who is she trying to fool? I've seen her sneaking glances at Imaizumi several times during class. Her gaze is so lingering!"
Listening to their uninhibited discussion, Imaizumi Keita's steps paused in the shadows of the stairs.
He leaned against the cold wall, his brow furrowing involuntarily.
"...She just got lucky. Right after being dumped, she immediately hooked up with a cool, handsome guy."
"Yeah! I think so too! I bet Yanami used that pitiful act to gain sympathy and trick Imaizumi-kun!"
Imaizumi Keita slowly turned around in the shadows.
A sense of irritation at being disturbed slowly emerged from within him.
He didn't care how others judged him; it was fine even if they called him a Scumbag or a scumbag.
But hearing these malicious speculations about Yanami Anna... it felt like someone was trying to touch his things with dirty hands...
Even though Anna was still an independent girl in his heart and didn't belong to him yet...
He adjusted his collar, a calm and indifferent expression appearing on his face as he walked unhurriedly toward the girls.
The sudden appearance of his figure made the noisy gossip vanish instantly.
The girls who were discussing were startled.
When they realized the person who had appeared was the very Imaizumi Keita they were discussing, their faces turned pale, and their eyes filled with panic.
Two of them had just told their friends about their admiration for the handsome guy and the things they wanted to do with him...
Now, they looked like they were about to faint on the spot.
"I-Imaizumi-kun..."
The girl with the bob cut stammered, trying to explain something.
Imaizumi Keita ignored her.
His gaze calmly swept across their panicked faces; there wasn't even a hint of anger on his face.
He first let out a light sigh, then spoke as if to himself.
"Hmm... so you were talking about her."
Imaizumi Keita tilted his head slightly as he looked at them, a curious expression appearing on his face.
"But besides these things from unknown sources... do you know any exclusive secrets?"
The girls looked at each other, unsure of what Imaizumi Keita meant.
Seeing their bewildered expressions, a look of slight disdain and contempt appeared on Imaizumi Keita's face.
"So, stop talking about it."
"It's boring."
"And if you don't want your own gossip to spread, you'd better behave yourselves."
"...Yes!"
"S-Sorry!"
Receiving a verbal threat from Imaizumi Keita, the girls nodded repeatedly out of instinct, feeling a sense of relief in their hearts.
Imaizumi Keita looked once more at the now-obedient girls and continued walking toward the Old School Building.
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