Chapter 350: 18 Gifts!
Kobashi Yume blinked her curious eyes and tilted her head, asking, "So, exactly how many White Day gifts is Hikigaya-kun preparing?"
Hikigaya tapped his chin with his fingertip and frowned, thinking seriously for a moment: "Hmm~ let me count... at a conservative estimate, at least 18."
"HUH?! Eig-Eighteen?!
Are you sure you aren't just pulling a prank?"
Himeno Yuki's "dead fish eyes" went wide, her face written all over with disbelief.
"Ugh~ Besides Honami-chan, you've actually hooked up with so many other girls!"
Shiranami Chihiro clutched the corner of her shirt, gritting her teeth with the look of a girlfriend seeing her friend's husband cheating.
"The Great Demon King's level is simply too high; I'm starting to worry for Honami."
Amakura Mako sighed softly, her face full of worry and helplessness.
"It's not what you guys think!"
Hikigaya tried to argue: "Among these 18 gifts, a portion of them are return gifts for 'obligatory chocolates' (giri-choco)."
Himeno Yuki pursued relentlessly: "Then what is the ratio of those obligatory chocolates?"
A look of annoyance crossed Hikigaya's face: "Yuki-yuki, I'm finding that you're quite the stickler for details..."
"I told you, don't use that to call—... Forget it, there's no explaining things to a troublesome guy like you!"
Himeno Yuki gave up on correcting him halfway through.
"Alright, since we promised Hikigaya-kun, let's start making them now."
Kobashi Yume rolled up her sleeves, her eyes sparkling with eagerness.
"Thank you, Kobashi-san!"
Hikigaya offered his sincere thanks.
"Hmm~ Hikigaya-kun calls Himeno-san 'Yuki-yuki' but calls me 'Kobashi-san.' Isn't the difference in treatment a bit too obvious?"
Kobashi Yume pursed her lips, her eyes carrying a hint of reproach.
"Then should I call you Yume-chan?"
Hikigaya changed the address offhandedly.
"E-Eh..."
Kobashi Yume was momentarily stunned. She reached out to lightly brush the hair on her forehead, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.
She originally just wanted him to omit the "-san" and call her Kobashi, but since he had already said it, she felt too embarrassed to make him change it again and could only softly accept.
"What about me?"
Amakura Mako smiled and leaned in.
"Mako."
Hikigaya addressed her casually.
"Yes, Hachiman-kun."
Amakura Mako smiled slightly. She didn't think much of it; in the united, harmonious, and friendly Class B, calling each other by their first names was standard procedure.
"Hmph~ I won't allow you to call me 'Chihiro-chan' like Honami-chan does!"
Shiranami Chihiro turned her head away.
'This classic, textbook-style tsundere act is already outdated, you know!'
"Alright then, Shiranami-chan."
Hikigaya nodded with a straight face.
"...!"
Shiranami Chihiro was instantly choked up and speechless, her cheeks heating up uncontrollably.
"Yosh~"
Hikigaya clapped his hands and greeted them in a light tone: "Yuki-yuki, Yume-chan, Mako, Shiranami-chan—everyone, let's get to work!"
With that, he unceremoniously assigned tasks to the four girls: kneading flour, melting butter, whisking eggs, mixing icing...
Hikigaya planned to make a large batch of cookies to pack and send out uniformly.
Eighteen gifts was a significant workload.
If Hikigaya were alone, he probably wouldn't finish even after working for three days straight.
With the help of the four girls, the production efficiency instantly multiplied.
The group collaborated; they finished half the work on the first night and spent most of the next day on the rest. Finally, the task was complete.
As a reward, Hikigaya allowed the four to take the surplus ingredients.
In addition, he transferred an extra 10,000 Private Points to each of them.
"Hachiman-kun, why are you transferring points to us?"
Kobashi Yume hurriedly waved her hands in refusal.
"Yeah, we're friends. It's just a small favor, how could we be embarrassed enough to take your money?"
Amakura Mako echoed, her tone full of rejection.
"Friends are friends, but we should keep the accounts clear.
This is the compensation you deserve."
Hikigaya shook his head, his tone firm.
He didn't have the habit of freeloading off other people's labor.
Besides, he was well aware of the situation of these Class B girls.
Points were the thing they currently lacked most.
"But, ten thousand each is too much..."
Himeno Yuki interrupted their objections: "Hey! Why are you being polite with this guy?"
She rolled her eyes, her words full of cynical sarcasm: "He's taking the snacks we made with our own hands to go coax other girls! These extra points, just consider them our hush money!"
Hikigaya nodded composedly, not hiding it at all: "Yes, I hope you can keep this matter a secret."
Himeno Yuki's mouth twitched: "You're quite honest about that part."
"Scumbag!"
How many times had Shiranami Chihiro called him that now?
-
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March 14th, White Day arrived.
Hikigaya woke up early that day, carrying a bulging backpack that was heavy enough to strain his shoulders. He moved between the classrooms of various classes, stuffing wrapped cookies into the drawers of his target girls.
First were the seven from Class D...
Two for Class C...
One for Class B...
Two for Class A...
After finishing the first years, Hikigaya ran to the second-year classrooms without stopping.
"Where was Nazuna-senpai's seat again?"
Hikigaya caught a student from Second Year Class A at random to ask: "Senpai, could you tell me where Asahina Nazuna-senpai's seat is?"
The person was a boy with thick glasses who looked like a nerd.
"Asahina-san's seat?
Sorry, I didn't notice..."
'Well, as expected of a nerd-senpai.'
Being classmates for two years and still not knowing the seating arrangement.
"Hikigaya, what are you doing here?"
A familiar voice suddenly came from behind, carrying undisguised coldness.
Hikigaya turned around to see the visitor was none other than the Student Council President, Nagumo Miyabi.
Nagumo's gaze fell on the gift bag in his hand, and he understood instantly. His face darkened immediately, and a flash of intense displeasure flickered in his eyes.
"As you can see, President Nagumo."
Hikigaya lifted the gift bag in his hand and said unperturbedly: "I'm here to give something to Nazuna-senpai."
"What did you say?
Hikigaya, for a mere kouhai, aren't you being a bit too arrogant?"
The one speaking with ill intent was Mizuwaki, a member of the Student Council and a lackey under Nagumo Miyabi.
"Mizuwaki-senpai's words are confusing."
Hikigaya asked in return: "How is a kouhai giving a gift to a senpai 'arrogant'?"
"You clearly know that Asahina is Nagumo's childhood friend, yet you still dare..."
Hikigaya interrupted coldly: "What about being childhood friends? And this has nothing to do with Mizuwaki-senpai, right?"
Nagumo Miyabi suppressed the rage in his heart. His handsome face squeezed out a fake smile, his voice carrying a warning: "Hikigaya, being too fickle is not a good thing."
"Hearing those words from President Nagumo is rather humorous." Hikigaya sneered, and at the same time, he unceremoniously laughed out loud: "Hehe!"
"How is that the same?
Nagumo is the leader of our Class A and the Student Council President!
He only needs to crook a finger, and girls naturally throw themselves at him."
Mizuwaki sneered sarcastically: "Unlike a certain someone who uses tricks and deception to pick up girls!"
In his eyes, even if Hikigaya had some cleverness, he was ultimately just a defective student from Class D. Why should he get the favor of so many girls?
Therefore, he was certain that Hikigaya must have used some abnormal means.
It couldn't be that those girls actually liked Hikigaya, right?
Faced with this groundless slander, Hikigaya didn't even bother to argue.
He simply shifted his gaze to Nagumo Miyabi: "President Nagumo, I'm very disappointed in you. You can't even keep your own dog in check."
"Who are you calling a dog?!"
Mizuwaki's face turned bright red.
"See, it's barking again."
Hikigaya shrugged.
"Hikigaya, did you come here today just to provoke me?"
Nagumo's eyes were ice cold.
"Don't misunderstand, President Nagumo.
Today is a beautiful holiday; why would I do such an insignificant thing?"
After speaking, he ignored Nagumo's murderous gaze and swaggered into the Second Year Class A classroom.
He searched seat by seat carefully.
Finally, in the third row by the window, he found the seat with the name Asahina Nazuna written on the textbook.
Totally disregarding the strange looks from the surrounding students, Hikigaya bent over and placed the gift into the drawer of her seat.
Nagumo: "..."
Nagumo Miyabi's face was livid, his fists clenched tight.
But under the watchful eyes of the crowd, there was nothing he could do to the other party.
He felt a belly full of pent-up rage!
After doing all this, Hikigaya turned and left the Second Year Class A classroom.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to add a reminder: "By the way, President Nagumo.
Don't steal the gift out of a moment of jealousy.
Nazuna-senpai is quite looking after my return gift!"
Nagumo was so angry that he couldn't help but curse: "Baka-yarou! Who's jealous of you? You nonsensical guy!
Hikigaya, do you really think you can pick up Asahina?"
Regarding this beautiful childhood friend he had known since they were young, Nagumo Miyabi certainly had feelings.
It was just that her personality was lively and she was very independent; despite several attempts to show favor and get close, he had never been able to take their relationship a step further.
Therefore, Nagumo did not believe that Hikigaya could actually win over Asahina Nazuna.
Just then, a hurried sound of footsteps came from the classroom door.
"Ah...!"
Asahina Nazuna had rushed to the classroom the moment she received the news.
Having run all the way, her breathing was a bit short.
"Good morning, Nazuna-senpai."
After a simple greeting, Hikigaya explained the situation: "The return gift is already in your drawer."
"Oh my~ On Valentine's Day, I only dared to sneakily put chocolate in your shoe locker."
Asahina Nazuna's eyes curved into crescents; she looked very happy. She leaned in and lightly poked his chest with her finger: "I didn't expect Hachiman-kouhai to be so bold, running directly into someone's classroom."
Hearing this, everyone finally realized that Asahina Nazuna had already taken the initiative to give chocolate.
This was clearly a mutual attraction!
Thinking of this, the looks everyone gave Nagumo Miyabi suddenly became strange.
Even if they aren't a couple, they seem to have a very good relationship. What right does a 'childhood friend' have to make comments?
Nagumo Miyabi never expected the "face-slapping" to come so quickly. His face instantly turned red!
Asahina Nazuna's gaze fixed, and she seemed to sense the wrong atmosphere between the two.
After thinking for a moment, she said seriously: "Nagumo, you aren't allowed to bully Hachiman-kouhai."
"I bullied him...?"
Nagumo almost coughed up blood.
This bastard with the dead fish eyes was practically riding on his head and taking a dump!
After chatting happily with Asahina Nazuna for a while, Hikigaya patted the backpack on his back and said sincerely: "Next, I have to deliver an obligatory return gift to Kiryuin-senpai."
"Mhm~ go on, go on~~"
Asahina Nazuna covered her mouth and laughed: "If it's Kiryuin-san, she's already getting impatient waiting in the classroom."
Hearing this, Hikigaya had to hurriedly bid farewell to Nazuna-senpai and walked quickly toward the Second Year Class B classroom.
Before he could look around, a cold, low shout pulled his gaze over!
"Too slow! To actually rank me last, what an arrogant kouhai!"
There sat Kiryuin Fuka, leaning against her chair with her legs crossed, looking displeased.
"Well... the most important person has to be saved for last, right?"
Hikigaya twitched the corner of his mouth and walked into the classroom under the surprised gazes of Second Year Class B.
"The most important person?
Hmm~ that is indeed true."
Kiryuin Fuka's eyes lit up, and her expression softened slightly.
'No, Senpai?
That was clearly just a polite remark, and you took it seriously?'
Hikigaya's expression almost buckled.
"Are you shy?"
Kiryuin Fuka's lips curled up, and she naturally reached out her hand toward him: "The gift, hand it over!"
'This person... forget it, I can't be bothered to complain.'
Hikigaya handed over the gift bag.
"Oho~~"
After receiving the gift, Kiryuin Fuka unceremoniously opened it: "Handmade cookies!
They are more delicate than expected. Could they have been made by a girl?"
Hikigaya was shocked to hear this: "How did you know?"
"I guessed."
Kiryuuin Fuka narrowed her eyes and said meaningfully: "I knew a kouhai wouldn't be able to handle it alone.
But asking girls to help make gifts to give to girls...
That is truly an intriguing operation!"
Hikigaya was suddenly breaking out in a cold sweat, yet he argued stubbornly: "The production process isn't important... the intention is what matters!"
"The kouhai's intention is certainly felt.
Unfortunately, your intentions are 'split'—three parts heart, six parts divided!"
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