After she finished speaking, she seemed to realize something, and a hint of anticipation flashed in her bright eyes.
She looked at Imaizumi Keita's expressionless face and tentatively asked:
"What's wrong? Kin-chan, are you... trying to ask me out?"
This question was direct and bold, full of Shioyaki Lemon's characteristic style.
However, Imaizumi Keita's face did not show the surprise or flusteredness she had expected from being found out.
Imaizumi merely looked at her quietly, and then, under Shioyaki Lemon's increasingly nervous gaze, slowly nodded.
Eh?
Eh eh eh eh?!
He actually... nodded?!
Shioyaki Lemon's brain completely crashed at this moment.
She had only asked half-jokingly, half-tentatively, mentally prepared to be brushed off with various excuses.
But she never expected that Imaizumi Keita would... admit it so straightforwardly.
For a moment, her cheeks rapidly flushed at an uncontrollable speed, and her heart began to pound erratically.
No, that's not right...
Doesn't Kin-chan like Anna?
He had a fight with Anna, so he immediately asked me out?
Am I... being used as a backup?!
All sorts of chaotic thoughts flooded her mind, leaving her momentarily unsure how to react.
Fortunately, Imaizumi Keita had already anticipated Yakishio's reaction and directly stated his purpose.
彡"So, after school, want to go to the Literature Club together?"
Literature Club?
Shioyaki Lemon was stunned for a moment.
She looked at Imaizumi Keita's somewhat familiar smile and belatedly understood.
叁This guy...
He didn't want to ask her out to play at all.
He just wanted to drag her to a club activity!
"Pfft... Hahahahahahaha!"
Having figured this out, Shioyaki Lemon finally couldn't hold back and burst into hearty laughter.
As she laughed, she raised her hand and lightly, yet with a mix of relief and annoyance, punched Imaizumi Keita's chest.
"Seriously! You scared me to death!"
Her face still bore a lingering blush, but her tone was full of the familiarity and closeness of friends.
"If you wanted me to join a club activity, Kin-chan, you should have just said so! Making it so formal..."
"I even thought... you were trying to move on because you had a spat with Anna!"
By the end of her sentence, her voice carried a sense of relief she hadn't even noticed herself.
Imaizumi Keita looked at her like this, at Yakishio's increasingly vibrant and lively face, and the vexation he felt because of Yanami Anna also quietly dissipated somewhat.
He couldn't help but laugh along with Shioyaki Lemon.
Yes.
Being with Shioyaki Lemon was like returning to a time before he awakened his abilities, when he didn't need to carry emotional burdens and only needed to manage himself.
"It's really relaxing..."
Imaizumi Keita suddenly felt that he wasn't as good as he imagined; he was very greedy, hypocritical, bad, arrogant, and a bit inflated...
But he wasn't so bad as to disregard Yanami's feelings and selfishly possess her to that extent...
He must have been disliked by Yanami all at once because of this...
If he really couldn't grasp Anna's feelings and worried about being stuck on one person, it would be better to give up frankly sooner rather than later.
Imaizumi Keita couldn't help but think somewhat self-deprecatingly.
Main text: Chapter 80 Imaizumi, are you a narcissist?
The dismissal bell rang.
Imaizumi Keita and Shioyaki Lemon walked one after another down the corridor leading to the West School Building Three li.＠≮
Shioyaki Lemon walked half a step behind Imaizumi Keita. She looked at his back, which was no different from usual, and her curiosity finally overcame that inexplicable nervousness.
"Hey, Kin-chan."
"Hmm?"
Imaizumi Keita didn't turn around, but merely slowed his pace to walk alongside her.
"The way we are now... Anna, will she really not get angry?"
Shioyaki Lemon didn't know why she asked that, her voice tinged with hesitation and uncertainty. "When I left earlier, I saw her chatting happily with her friends, not looking our way at all."
"Maybe." Imaizumi Keita's answer was ambiguous.
Shioyaki Lemon frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the answer.
Imaizumi Keita turned his head to look at Yakishio's somewhat puzzled expression and explained, "What she's doing now is probably to make me see my own heart clearly. However, from another perspective, doing this might also make her realize some things more clearly."
"Realize some things?"
"Yes," Imaizumi Keita nodded, then, as if realizing something, quickly added.
"However, I certainly don't mean to use you, Yakishio, as a tool to provoke her. I just feel that you might also need a place to clear your head."
"Pfft."
Listening to his somewhat clumsy explanation, Shioyaki Lemon finally couldn't help but chuckle softly.
She took two quick steps, circled in front of him, and then began walking backward with a bright and relieved smile on her face.
"Haha, Kin-chan, you don't need to go out of your way to explain! Even if you really were just using me as a tool, I wouldn't mind at all!"
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