Ignoring everyone's shocked expressions.
Hoshino Jun yawned idly, one hand in his pocket, and walked in front of Takasaki Yusuke, who was now stunned.
He lost!
How could he have lost?
How could I possibly lose to someone who has basically never trained?
Takasaki Yusuke truly couldn't understand.
Hoshino Jun naturally wouldn't act like a talkative villain, explaining for ages why he was able to defeat him. He just said coldly:
"You lost. Fulfill your promise."
"Now, call me Big Brother!"
As he spoke, Hoshino Jun raised his chin, looking down at Takasaki Yusuke.
His height was about five centimeters taller than Takasaki Yusuke, naturally giving him an intimidating aura.
"Hoshino-kun, there's no need..."
Takasaki Yusuke's face darkened, trying to make Hoshino Jun, like last time, pretend nothing had happened.
But Hoshino Jun didn't even want to give him a chance to continue speaking, directly interrupting him:
"What do you mean, 'no need'?!"
"What, do you want to be a coward who goes back on his word, Takasaki-kun!"
It was Takasaki Yusuke who issued the challenge.
It was Takasaki Yusuke who wanted to bet.
And under everyone's watchful eyes, it was still Takasaki Yusuke who wanted to renege.
"How disgusting!"
"Can you not be so shameless? You set the rules, and you can't accept losing."
"So disappointing."
The criticism made Takasaki Yusuke's face flush crimson, especially since his excellent girlfriend was watching nearby. He felt even more embarrassed.
Takasaki Yusuke could ignore everyone else's gazes, but he couldn't bear for his childhood sweetheart, his girlfriend, to look down on him too.
"Big Brother Hoshino!"
After quickly shouting it out, Takasaki Yusuke gritted his teeth and left the tennis court without a word.
He thought that at least he was someone who dared to take responsibility, and a good girl like Nana shouldn't be angry with him because of this.
Little did he know, the moment he opened his mouth to fulfill the bet, a hint of disappointment flashed across Kato Nana's face.
Compared to accepting a loss, perhaps this excellent and lovely young girl would have preferred her boyfriend to forcefully renege on the agreement.
"Yusuke, wait for me." Takayanagi Castle, who had been bouncing around everywhere, also felt ashamed and quickly followed him, leaving together.
Watching them leave, Hoshino Jun clicked his tongue.
"Heh heh, consider this a small interest payment."
"My debt isn't that easy to repay, you know."
"Takasaki-kun."
Hoshino Jun looked up, gazing at the clear blue sky, his peripheral vision falling on Kato Nana, who was pretending to be unconcerned.
Kato Nana's gaze, he noticed, frequently drifted towards Hoshino Jun.
A gentle breeze brushed his face, his black short hair fluttering. The boy raised his hand to shield his eyes from the dazzling sunlight, a smile gracing his lips.
"Let the bullets fly a little longer."
Pink petals danced in the air, slowly drifting down with the gentle breeze.
The tennis match was nothing more than a small schoolyard drama.
The real dazzling sight was the lovely young girls in their miniskirts, revealing their smooth, fair, long legs, sparkling with vibrant colors as they exercised in the sunlight.
Unfortunately, Takasaki Yusuke and Takayanagi Castle couldn't enjoy this beautiful scene for now; they were even too embarrassed to loiter anywhere where there were classmates.
"Ding-a-ling-a-ling—"
At three in the afternoon, the dismissal bell rang.
Takasaki Yusuke felt even more depressed. Dismissal in Japan didn't truly mean dismissal; students were still required to participate in about two hours of club activities before they could leave school.
"Given how much the girls in the class gossip, the news of me losing to Hoshino has probably already reached the Tennis Club."
"So annoying!"
Now, Takasaki Yusuke wished he could travel back to noon and give Hoshino Jun a good beating.
He cursed frantically in his heart.
Damn Hoshino Jun, playing me, huh?
If you had this strength, why didn't you say so earlier?
If Hoshino Jun had said so earlier, why would I have bothered to challenge you for no reason?
Now I'm so humiliated, and I don't know if Nana is disappointed in me.
"Yusuke, it's time to go. I still have to attend the Kendo Club activity."
Suddenly, Takayanagi Castle bid farewell.
"So punctual."
Takasaki Yusuke stretched his neck and said, "You're really persistent, just to see Yamada-kun."
Hearing this, Takayanagi Castle lowered his gaze slightly and scratched his head, a little embarrassed.
"It's not entirely for Kaoru; I'm also very interested in Kendo myself."
As he spoke, Takayanagi Castle looked around, almost having "I'm lying" written all over his face.
"Alright, let's go, you hypocrite."
Takasaki Yusuke said no more and walked with Takayanagi Castle towards the school building.
Before heading to their club venues, they still needed to return to their classrooms to get their backpacks.
The two walked along, complaining about Hoshino Jun's shameless act of concealing his strength and pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger, and after a few minutes, they arrived at their classroom.
However, upon reaching the classroom, Takayanagi Castle froze.
He saw more than a dozen girls gathered around Hoshino Jun's seat, not only from Class B but also from the neighboring Classes A and C.
Among them, the most prominent was a tall, black-haired girl wearing black leather shoes and possessing a pair of slender, long, fair legs.
Seeing Takayanagi Castle and Takasaki Yusuke enter the classroom, they all showed disgust in unison.
"Takayanagi-kun, are you the one who slandered Hoshino-kun with this person?"
"You truly disappoint me."
The girl's soft pink lips parted slightly, emitting a clear, cold voice. Her gaze was as indifferent as if she were looking at a repulsive stranger.
After her words fell, Takayanagi Castle instantly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
Because the girl who spoke was Yamada Kaoru, the girl Takayanagi Castle had loved for six years.
The class president of Class 3-D, the head of the Kendo Club, known as the number one Kendo genius in Tokyo.
.
At the same time.
On the main path from the school building to the Swimming Club, Hoshino Jun leaned against a large willow tree on the left side of the road.
He was still dressed as he had been on the tennis court, in a blue and white tracksuit.
He occasionally twisted and moved his arms, looking bored, as if waiting for someone.
Finally, the charming young girl Kato Nana, dressed in a small suit jacket and black stockings, walked from afar.
Her suit jacket was very tight, and the bow tie at her collar seemed like a real butterfly, giving the impression it might fall off at any moment.
Kato Nana was probably the most "reasonable" young girl Hoshino Jun had ever seen.
Perhaps in a few years, she might even be qualified to compete with Mrs. Takayanagi.
If it weren't for her loli face and relatively petite figure, she would probably be very much to Hoshino Jun's liking.
Kato Nana's pace was neither fast nor slow, maintaining a steady, not too intense, sway. As she passed Hoshino Jun, she turned her head and greeted him.
"Hoshino-kun, what a coincidence."
"Not a coincidence at all. I was specifically waiting for you here."
Kato Nana was startled; for a moment, she didn't react, wondering if Hoshino Jun had misspoken.
But Hoshino Jun was telling the truth.
After the dismissal bell rang, Hoshino Jun didn't even return to the classroom to watch the drama; he was specifically waiting here for Kato Nana.
"Student, I helped you this morning, but when we played tennis just now, you actually cheered for my opponent."
"How do you think I should punish you?!"