The next day, Wednesday morning.
Shuchiin Academy, inside a classroom.
Most of the students had already arrived, but with a few minutes still to go before the morning class, everyone was mostly chatting with those around them.
Fumiya Jin was sitting at his desk, phone in hand, replying to a message.
Editor Andou: "Fumiya-san, are you there?"
Fumiya Jin: "I am. What's up?"
Editor Andou: "It's like this, your book is already on an expedited printing schedule, and the publishing house feels it's about time to start some promotional pre-heating for it."
Editor Andou: "Didn't we talk about this the day before yesterday? The fact that you and Miss Shiina are students, combined with your excellent looks, is all perfect promotional material. So the publisher would like to invite you both to come over for a photoshoot, to create promotional posters and online content."
Editor Andou: "Of course, rest assured, the shoot itself will be very simple. You'll pretty much just need to stand, sit, smile, things like that. Your outfits can be casual, though of course, dressing up a bit more stylishly would be even better."
Editor Andou: "So, I wanted to ask, are you free this afternoon?"
Fumiya Jin thought for a moment.
He didn't seem to have anything else going on.
Fumiya Jin: "I should be. What time?"
Editor Andou: "I remember you guys finish class around three, right? In that case, I can arrange for a car to pick you up at 4 o'clock, is that okay? Should it come to the school or your house?"
Fumiya Jin was quite happy with this arrangement, since the taxi fare from Nijika was quite expensive: "My house would be great, I can change my clothes then. Besides, Miss Shiina will be coming too, right... it'll be more convenient this way."
Editor Andou went silent for a few seconds, seemingly not understanding what "more convenient" was referring to.
But she then replied: "Okay, then I'll contact the other party. If Miss Shiina is also available, then we'll set it for this afternoon."
Fumiya Jin: "Sounds good."
"Hey, Fumiya?" a voice suddenly called out from his side.
Having just replied to the last message, Fumiya Jin looked up in the direction of the voice.
He saw Shouta Tanaka, along with two girls beside him, all looking at him with a sly, gossipy expression.
"What is it?" Fumiya Jin knew the three of them had been chatting, but he had been busy with his messages and hadn't paid attention to their conversation.
Shouta Tanaka leaned towards Fumiya Jin, cupped a hand over his mouth, and asked in a low voice, "Fumiya, is the rumor going around... that you and Miss Suou are already engaged, true?"
"Huh?"
Fumiya Jin was dumbfounded.
Engaged?
Him and Yuki Suou?
Since when?
"Where did you guys hear that?"
"It's all over the place... the entire grade knows," Shouta Tanaka said excitedly. "They're saying you and Miss Suou have been in a secret relationship for a while, but her family is extremely strict and doesn't allow her to date casually. So to hide it from them, you kept your romance underground. But a few days ago, Miss Suou finally couldn't take it anymore and had a showdown with her family, threatening them with her own life to force them to approve your relationship and finalize your engagement. That's why she was finally freed from her restraints. And that's why she came so boldly to our classroom to see you last week."
Fumiya Jin listened and nodded slowly. "So that's the rumor."
Seeing this, the eyes of Shouta Tanaka and the two girls began to light up.
"No way... is it actually true?"
"For real?"
"Whoa, you're really engaged?"
Facing their expectant gazes, Fumiya Jin nodded calmly. "Of course, it's... fake."
The trio, who had been leaning forward excitedly, nearly face-planted on their desks.
"Hey, if it's fake, why did you nod!!"
Shouta Tanaka propped his head up again, looking resentfully at Fumiya Jin.
"I was just a little impressed by whoever made up this rumor," Fumiya Jin said with a shrug. "A secret romance, I can maybe see... but threatening her family with her life? An engagement? Where does this stuff even come from."
"So it's not true?" one of the gossipy girls asked, staring nervously at Fumiya Jin.
"Of course not," Fumiya Jin shook his head. "Miss Suou and I have a normal friendship, and we've only known each other for a few days. My apologies for not being able to fulfill your fantasies."
"Whaaat???" Shouta Tanaka said, astonished. "You guys aren't even dating?"
"Which of your eyes saw me dating her?" Fumiya Jin shot him a glance.
"When she came to see you the other day, she had such a shy and cute demeanor... wasn't that enough?" Shouta Tanaka said. "That's the Miss Suou we're talking about! Go ask around and see what she's normally like with other people! No one in the entire school has ever seen her with that kind of expression before."
"Just that? Based on just that?" Fumiya Jin raised an eyebrow.
"What else?" Shouta Tanaka said with a look of utter conviction.
"Alright, then I can only say you guessed wrong," Fumiya Jin said with a shrug. "Miss Suou and I are just normal friends who met a few days ago. There's none of that complicated stuff you're imagining."
As soon as he said this, Shouta Tanaka and the girls were instantly disappointed, "Eeeeh..."
But at the same time, in a large circle around them, the eyes of many boys and girls who had been secretly paying attention suddenly lit up.
The boys were thinking: Does this mean we still have a chance?
The girls were also thinking: Does this mean we also still have a chance?
However, just as a glimmer of hope began to rise in everyone's eyes...
A figure far more dazzling than that glimmer of hope appeared at the front door of the classroom.
And unlike last time, she didn't stop at the door to ask for help.
This being her second visit, she knew the location of the person she was looking for.
So she only paused for a moment before striding confidently into the classroom, step by step, towards the person she had come to find.
But because her presence was so dazzling, from the moment she entered the classroom, more and more eyes were involuntarily drawn to her.
By the time she reached the person she was looking for, nearly every student in the classroom had their eyes fixed on her, some even letting out soft gasps.
"Is that..."
Because Fumiya Jin was talking to the trio, his body was turned towards the front left.
Besides, it was before the morning class; it was perfectly normal for students to be coming into the classroom, so he paid it no mind.
Therefore, it wasn't until the gasps of surprise grew more frequent, and until a faintly familiar, fragrant scent wafted past his face, that he realized she had arrived.
He turned his head to see a sweetly smiling Yuki Suou standing beside his desk, her standard-issue school uniform as immaculate and wrinkle-free as ever.
"My dear Fumiya, could you join me outside for a chat? There's something I want to talk to you about."
_____
🔥 Check out the new story releases! 🔥
🪦 A 25% discount is active on my P... support page!
✅ Unlock a 40-chapter backlog for ALL my series.
✅ Receive exclusive content and regular updates!
Help us reach these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 universal bonus chapter
🚀 80 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters for ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan