Hearing Katsuragi Ren's words, Honami Ichinose, who had been following him and was hiding behind a tree, slowly stepped out. She kept her head down, afraid to look at him.
She had been at a karaoke party with her classmates. She had stepped outside for some fresh air and just happened to see Katsuragi Ren across the street, in a coffee shop, talking happily with a female senior. She even saw him affectionately mess up the senior's hair before he left.
Honami Ichinose sent a message to the new class group chat, saying she had to leave early. Then she followed Katsuragi Ren, wanting to see where he was sneaking off to instead of coming to the class party.
She thought she was being very sneaky, but she never imagined Katsuragi Ren had seen her. She blushed bright red. She was so embarrassed she wanted to dig a hole and hide.
"Lift your head. What did I teach you?" Katsuragi Ren's voice was no longer the gentle one he had used when they met at the classroom door.
It was fine that she followed him, and it was fine that she got caught. But lowering her head like this was a big problem. Even if she had just stayed hidden and refused to come out, he could have accepted that.
Not daring to defy his command, Honami Ichinose forced her stiff body to look up at him. She didn't say anything, but her eyes were a little red.
Only then did she realize that Katsuragi Ren was leaning against the railing, looking out at the endless ocean. He hadn't even turned around to look at her.
"Come here."
It was as if Katsuragi Ren had eyes in the back of his head; he knew exactly what she was doing. He gave another order without turning.
That mean Ren-kun... I'll... I'll... ugh. I really can't do anything about him.
Honami Ichinose's eyes were red, like a little rabbit that had been wronged, but she didn't dare to bite. She could only sulk. With her hands behind her back, she slowly shuffled over to his side.
When the girl finally reached him, Katsuragi Ren took an apple from his bag and tossed it to her.
Honami Ichinose fumbled to catch it. He took another apple for himself and took a small bite.
The crunch of the apple broke the silence. The fresh scent of the fruit filled Katsuragi Ren's mouth. "Why were you sneaking around?"
"Huh?" Honami Ichinose, who had been taking tiny bites of her apple, opened her eyes wide at his question. Her pretty blue eyes were filled with confusion. She had naively thought that him giving her the apple meant the matter was settled.
"Well... I saw you in the coffee shop, talking so happily with a senior, and I..."
"You were jealous." Katsuragi Ren stated her simple thoughts. His tone didn't change at all. This was too normal for him. He had dealt with similar things countless times growing up.
"Yes! I was jealous!" Her secret thoughts exposed, Honami Ichinose shut her eyes and blurted it out. That's right! I'm putting my cards on the table. I was jealous!
Hearing her words, which sounded like a declaration, Katsuragi Ren glanced at her with surprise. Has the weak little rabbit really grown up?
He didn't answer. He just took another bite of the crisp, sweet apple and chewed it slowly.
Honami Ichinose waited for a long time, but Katsuragi Ren didn't respond. She peeked through a tiny slit in her eyelids. She just saw him chewing the apple with no expression. Anger rose in her heart, and her voice became pouty. "Hey! Ren-kun, what's your answer!"
"Honami, you know I'm not a faithful person."
Katsuragi Ren turned his gaze from the ocean to the girl. His tone became serious. He wanted her to think clearly before she made a decision.
To put it bluntly: I am a player. To put it nicely: (Waiting to be filled).
As the sole heir of the Katsuragi main line, and with his parents having no plans to give him a brother or sister, the duty of continuing the family line fell to him. Katsuragi Ren knew he could never have just one wife, so he had to be clear with her.
It was better to lay out all the facts now. If she didn't mind, then he didn't mind. If she did... it would be better to cut things off cleanly. He understood that being indecisive would only lead to trouble.
Honami Ichinose's first reaction was to tell this jerk to get lost. But that thought stung her heart. She seemed to understand. This was probably her one and only chance to tell him how she felt.
The girl suddenly snatched the half-eaten apple from Katsuragi Ren's hand. She found the spot where his teeth had been and took a big bite. With her cheeks puffed out, she stared stubbornly at him.
Katsuragi Ren, being stared at by Honami Ichinose, smiled. He understood her choice.
He took the apple back from her, leaned down, and whispered close to her ear. "Good girl."
Stop. I'm not falling for that. Honami Ichinose swallowed the apple in her mouth and turned her head away, refusing to look at him.
Katsuragi Ren wasn't annoyed by her pouting. He pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head. He looked quietly at the sea and said, "Honami, what do you think of Class B?"
When it came to serious class matters, Honami Ichinose stopped pouting. She thought about his question seriously. After a moment, she spoke. "The atmosphere in Class B is good. Everyone is very nice. I think it's great, right?"
Her answer was what Katsuragi Ren expected. "And?"
"And... we'll work hard to get to Class A!"
"How? By winning them over with kindness? Or by cooperating? From the way things look, the other three classes are our rivals," Katsuragi Ren said calmly.
It seemed his appointed class "leader" still didn't understand how to compete. He needed to give her a firm goal.
"..." Honami Ichinose fell silent. She wasn't stupid. She knew that her attitude was not enough to get them promoted.
But! She had a plan.
She grabbed Katsuragi Ren's arm with both hands and shook it gently, causing his arm to sink deep into her full chest. She called his name in a pleading, cute voice.
"Ren-kuuuun~"
-----------------------------
Access more than 400 chapters across more than 7 different novels on Patreon!
For this novel, there are already over 100 chapters available, and we're only 3 subscribers away from unlocking up to chapter 150!
We're also already in the final chapters of the Bleach project!
And many more projects are in progress!
If you find any mistakes or inconsistencies, don't hesitate to leave a comment — your feedback helps me improve and fix them!