Amane and the two others found their seats and sat down.
Kushida had bought consecutive seats when she purchased the tickets.
The three of them sat in a row.
The ticket for Amane was exactly in the middle.
Now she could embrace both sides... ahem.
Now she could get along well with everyone.
Hmm.
What Amane didn't know was.
Horikita's ticket was exactly two rows behind Amane.
This height allowed her to take in Amane's every move.
The movie started quickly.
It had to be said that the cinema was very good at understanding high school students' preferences in terms of material selection or something.
They didn't choose some stomach-churning movies.
Even for anime romance movies.
They had deliberately filtered out a certain master's stomach-churning romance masterpiece.
What Amane was watching now could almost be called a 'dog food' movie, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration.
The movie was full of 'dog food'.
Amane was eating popcorn by the mouthful.
It fit perfectly.
Just as Amane was wondering why the female lead had just lain on the bed, and before the male lead could get on, the scene was cut.
Her gaze fell on the popcorn in Wang Meiyu's hand.
It was pink!!!
So delicious... no, it looked so good.
Amane, who had originally intended to ask, looked around at everyone quietly watching the movie.
So she leaned close to Wang Meiyu's ear and whispered, "Xiao Yu, why is your popcorn pink?"
This action seemed perfectly normal to both Amane and Wang Meiyu.
But to Horikita Suzune in the back row.
It looked as if Amane had kissed Wang Meiyu's cheek.
Crack.
The popcorn box was directly crushed.
The popcorn inside was also squeezed into a shriveled mess.
The people around, hearing the sound, looked at Horikita with some displeasure.
But when they saw that she had actually crushed the popcorn box, along with the popcorn inside, into a ball.
One by one, they generously forgave Horikita.
They were just following their hearts.
Wang Meiyu blinked when she heard Amane-san's question.
She was initially confused why Amane-san would ask such a question.
But then she remembered that Amane-san's family didn't even allow her to eat popcorn.
It was understandable that she wouldn't know about such things.
So, Wang Meiyu leaned close to Amane-san's ear and whispered,
"Because mine is strawberry flavored, it's especially delicious. Do you want to try one?"
Squeak, squeak... It sounded like grinding teeth.
It must have been an illusion.
"Mmm, mmm, I want to eat, ah~"
Amane-san opened her mouth cutely.
Wang Meiyu's small face was slightly flushed.
She carefully picked up a piece of popcorn and fed it to Amane-san.
"So sweet~ Xiaoyu is the best!"
Amane-san hugged Wang Meiyu and nuzzled her affectionately.
"Eh, eh, eh, A-Amane-san... aren't we... a bit too close...?"
Wang Meiyu's face turned red from her cheeks to the tips of her ears.
She seemed like a very shy girl.
For her, who had no dating experience whatsoever,
Amane-san's behavior was a bit... too intimate.
However, being praised felt really good, and Amane-san smelled so nice... No! Wang Meiyu, you cannot succumb to Amane-san's charm!
She is a girl!
Girls can't... If it were a girl, what kind of name would be good? Yumiko or Yui sound nice.
Miyako Yui?
That's a great name!!!
Wait!
What am I thinking!
To calm herself down, Wang Meiyu began to continuously pat her small face.
"Xiaoyu, a-are you alright?"
Amane-san was startled.
"I-I'm fine..."
Wang Meiyu lowered her head shyly.
Kushida, who was nearby, also heard the strange sound.
She slightly turned her head and glanced at Wang Meiyu, whose face was red and who wished she could bury her head in her chest.
She couldn't help but tilt her head in curiosity.
She didn't know what had happened to Wang Meiyu.
But she looked exactly like a shy girl in love.
Kushida looked at Amane-san's popcorn, then at Wang Meiyu, who had placed her popcorn between herself and Amane-san.
After a moment's thought,
She probably understood what they were discussing.
Then Kushida also leaned close to Amane-san's ear and whispered,
"Mine is caramel flavored popcorn~ Amane-san, would you like to try some? It's very sweet."
Caramel flavor!!!
Amane-san's eyes lit up.
She immediately opened her mouth.
Kushida, with great unspoken understanding, made an aiming and then a throwing motion.
She completed the feeding of the girl named Miyako Amane.
Crunch.
It sounded a bit like a plastic soda cup being crushed.
But who would crush a soda cup for no reason?
So, it was probably an illusion again.
The cold drink spilled onto Horikita's lap.
Stimulated by the cold drink, Horikita finally calmed down a bit.
She hadn't expected... these people around Amane-san.
Before, they were just ordinary friends with Amane-san.
Now that she and Amane-san were estranged,
They were already having such intimate contact.
They had no shame whatsoever!!!
One must know, even she,
Had only kissed her twice!
And one of those times was Amane-san faking an injury.
Originally, Horikita came here to see if Amane-san would feel uncomfortable watching a romance movie.
For example... she meant, for example, feeling that someone was missing to watch it with her.
But now Amane-san was being embraced on both sides,
With kisses on the cheek and being fed.
This girl didn't show any sign of longing!
She had even planned to comfort Amane-san... Now it seemed,
It wasn't Amane-san who needed comforting.
Should she go and have a good talk with Amane-san tonight?
Horikita bit her fingertip.
She had never yielded to anyone.
But at this moment, she had a deep sense of crisis.
If things continued like this,
It wouldn't be long before
That girl would forget her.
She would truly become "Horikita-san" as Amane-san called her.
She absolutely could not let that happen.
She had to act!
Whether it was out of her feelings for Amane-san... friendship,
Or wanting to refute her brother's opinion of her,
She had to act.
She already understood.
Horikita Suzune could not go back.
She couldn't go back to the time when she could endure loneliness alone.
If she had never experienced what laughter was, she probably wouldn't miss it so much now... The movie ended without her realizing it amidst Horikita's recollections.
Amane-san was happily discussing the movie's plot with Wang Meiyu and Kushida.
And she, Horikita Suzune,
Could only follow far behind them, alone.
Since everyone lived in the same dormitory building,
Horikita could only watch as Amane-san, who used to constantly make noise around her and annoy her,
Was now laughing and chatting with Kushida.
She finally managed to endure until they reached the dormitory building.
Kushida and Wang Meiyu seemed to be going to the convenience store to buy something.
Amane-san was left alone!
The opportunity had arrived.
If she ran over and took the elevator with her now,
Perhaps they could get closer... "Miyako-san, please wait for me."
Shiina Hiyori, carrying several books, saw Amane-san about to close the elevator door and quickly called out to stop her.
"Eh? It's Hiyori, long time no see. I didn't expect Hiyori to love books so much, you borrowed so many..."
Horikita, hiding by the vending machine,
Felt her heart grow cold.
Hiyori?
Had her relationship with girls from other classes already become so good that they called each other by their first names?
Where did all these girls who were close to Amane-san come from?