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When Akira left the boxing club, Club President Sato suddenly remembered something he hadn't told him. His girlfriend had already arranged a date for the two of them, and the other person was First Year Class B's Ichinose Honami.
The club president's girlfriend also asked him when he was free, wanting to find a time convenient for both of them to go out together.
Akira thought about it. He wasn't actually that busy recently, so he replied that any time after school would be fine.
Club President Sato finally enthusiastically shared some dating tips: for example, always pay on a date, never be late on the day, and don't stare at the girl for too long.
As long as he acted naturally in other aspects, there might be a second date.
At the end, he didn't forget to add a warning. "Don't think that just because she agreed to go on a date with you, she likes you!"
Akira was actually well aware of this in his heart.
Why would a normal person immediately decide to be boyfriend and girlfriend after only going out once?
To put it bluntly, it was just two people who weren't very familiar with each other, had a good initial impression of one another, and were willing to go out together to see if their personalities, habits, and values aligned.
If the woman agreed to the date, as long as the man didn't perform too badly, and the other person wasn't the type of "sea girl" who deliberately strung people along, she'd usually subtly hint if she was willing to have a second meeting at the end of the date.
If she actively asked the man to meet again, it meant his performance was satisfactory, and there was potential for further development between them.
If there was no follow-up, then it could only be said that fate had not yet arrived.
Of course, this was never a one-sided affair.
In fact, the man could also use the date to observe the woman's daily actions and words, and judge whether she was truly suitable for him.
If he wasn't interested, he naturally wouldn't proactively suggest a second meeting. If he couldn't even tolerate certain behaviors of hers while just going out, then it'd be even harder to get along well in the future.
Speaking of which, a date is more like a "touchstone" before officially dating, somewhat akin to an arranged marriage meeting.
It's extremely rare for a relationship to be confirmed after just one date.
Typically, both parties need to go out several times, feel comfortable and compatible with each other each time, and both feel "this is the one" before they can truly get together.
By the time Akira returned to his dormitory, Club President Sato's message had already arrived. The date was set for tomorrow after school.
"It's Wednesday again! It's another date arranged by someone else! Why does this feel so familiar!"
This immediately reminded him of what happened last month.
He remembered very clearly that his last date with Kushida was also on a Wednesday.
He didn't expect that after only a month, the date would be with Ichinose.
Last time, Yamauchi and Ike connected them, and this time it was Club President Sato and his girlfriend.
There were indeed many kind people around him.
In that case, he'd also interacted with the two most popular beautiful girls in the first year.
Ichinose's popularity was undeniable. He occasionally heard classmates mention that she was publicly recognized as the "number one beautiful girl" in the first year.
As for Kushida, truthfully, her popularity was indeed slightly less than Ichinose's, but she was still very popular in other classes.
For example, even the students in Class C, who usually looked at everyone with thorns, would put on a fawning expression and talk to Kushida when they met her.
After all, they were all high school students. Who wouldn't want to have a cute girlfriend?
Even so, Akira didn't feel that these two girls were interested in him.
Again, Kushida had agreed to the date back then only to uphold her reputation for keeping promises, which was out of necessity. As for Ichinose, she was probably pestered by Club President Sato's girlfriend for too long. After all, this matter had been brought up last month, and with her personality, if she'd truly been willing, she wouldn't have dragged it out until now.
She'd clearly politely refused for a month, and probably couldn't save face in the end, so she reluctantly agreed.
However, Akira was very open-minded: no matter what, Ichinose's personality and appearance were top-notch, and being able to go out with her was inherently a happy thing.
So, it was best to keep a calm mindset.
Just treat it as going out with a normal friend.
At this moment, his phone "dinged" again. Akira thought it was Club President Sato sending more dating precautions, but when he picked it up, the name that popped up on the screen was Ichinose.
{Shimizu-kun, um... I seem to have received a text message from our senpai. Did you receive yours?}
Akira was a little surprised.
He'd just been thinking that she might not have proactively agreed to the date, and he didn't expect her to specifically send a confirmation message.
{Yes, I received it too.}
{You should be free after school tomorrow, right?}
{After dinner, it's probably 4:30 PM. How about we meet at 5:00 PM?}
{Um... can we not have dinner? I heard from some senpai girls about a conveyor belt sushi restaurant with excellent reviews and reputation. Can you eat sushi?}
Akira stared at the screen for two seconds.
He felt that she was quite enthusiastic. It didn't seem like she was forced to agree.
{Of course, I like sushi very much.}
The phone quickly vibrated again.
{That's great! Then, can we meet tomorrow at 4:00 PM by the flower bed at the school gate?}
{Also, let's split the cost of this date.}
{I'll pay with points. Club President Sato specifically told me that if he found out I didn't treat you, I'd definitely get extra training later.}
{Huh? Does Club President Sato often make you do extra training? How about... I mention this to his girlfriend?}
Akira couldn't help but laugh as he looked at the screen. He originally wanted to treat her, but he didn't expect her to think he was always being made to do extra training and being difficult.
This person is too considerate of others, isn't she? A normal person wouldn't care about such details.
{No, no, Club President Sato takes good care of me. He only shows up two or three times a week, so it's not strict.}
{Oh... I see. I'm really sorry, I misunderstood Club President Sato.}
{Um... won't discussing this privately make us seem a bit disrespectful to our senpai? They probably don't know that we already know each other.}
{I just feel like it's a bit strange for us to do this.}
Akira thought about it, and it was true.
In the eyes of those upperclassmen, they probably genuinely thought the two of them were strangers, which was why they specifically helped connect them.
But in reality, there was no need for the upperclassmen to bother setting them up. The two of them had already arranged the meeting place and the restaurant to go to.
But then again, last month Hoshinomiya had said that if he performed well, she'd arrange a date between him and Ichinose.
Now that he thought about it, events seemed to have unfolded completely differently from what she'd expected.
He hadn't done anything this month, yet someone had already arranged everything for him.