Chapter 358: Arrival
After the holiday, school started again.
And today was the day Kitamura Yusaku had mentioned: Kawashima Ami's transfer date.
After arriving at class in the morning, Kitamura wasn't scheduled for duty at the school gate today, so he was currently in the classroom.
After putting down his bag, Kaede walked over to Kitamura and asked, "It's today, right?"
"Yes, she has already arrived. She should be in the office right now," Kitamura Yusaku nodded.
He looked around at his classmates and whispered, "But let's take things step by step."
"Don't worry, we all know our limits. Her situation is a bit different from Takasu's back then, after all, Takasu didn't have a personality problem."
Just then, Takasu Ryuji's voice came from behind: "I feel like I'm being insulted."
"Haha, you're here."
Kitamura Yusaku waved at Takasu Ryuji, and after he came over, Kitamura Yusaku said, "I just compared Ami's situation to when you first enrolled, and I found hers is much more troublesome."
"No, no matter how you look at it, I'm the more troublesome one, right?" Pointing at his eyes, Takasu Ryuji said, "My gaze follows me everywhere. Even if it's not a problem at school now, when I go outside, people still occasionally mistake me for a yakuza member. Oh, right, when we're third-years next year, and new students come in, it'll probably happen all over again. What a headache."
After observing Takasu Ryuji, Kaede smiled and said, "Actually, regarding your eyes, Takasu, I have a method."
"Huh? What is it?"
"Save up some money and go to a hospital."
"...Forget it. I don't want a knife on my face."
"Hahahaha, I'm just kidding. If you really did that, you wouldn't be Takasu anymore."
Soon, the class bell rang, and class began.
After the homeroom teacher came in, he gestured for everyone to quiet down, then said, "Well, starting today, we'll have a new classmate joining our class. Kawashima-san, please come in."
The classroom door opened, and Kawashima Ami, dressed in a Toyosaki school uniform, walked in with confident steps.
Aside from Asakura and the others who already knew, Uchimaki, Usami, and a few others had briefly mentioned it in their group chat after meeting her that day, so everyone was somewhat prepared for today's transfer student.
As for the students who didn't know, they all showed surprised expressions when Kawashima Ami entered. The boys were surprised because another beautiful girl had joined their class, while the girls felt a sense of familiarity.
Soon, someone privately remembered and realized that Kawashima Ami was a model active in fashion magazines.
After writing her name on the blackboard, Kawashima Ami smiled and said, "Hello everyone, my name is Kawashima Ami. Please take care of me. Please call me Ami!"
The new beautiful transfer student, just with her looks and smile, ignited everyone's enthusiasm.
Of course, except for the few who already knew Kawashima Ami's identity; they weren't that surprised.
There were only a few remaining seats in the classroom, and since Kawashima Ami was not short and had good eyesight, she was temporarily assigned to a back seat, right behind Takasu Ryuji.
After sitting down, Kawashima Ami whispered, "Takasu-kun, please take care of me~~~"
"Uh... Ah, please take care of me."
However, Takasu Ryuji, who knew Kawashima Ami's true nature, was now panicking. He didn't have Asakura's abilities and simply couldn't handle a girl with that kind of personality.
During the break, Kawashima Ami naturally became the center of conversation in the class. After class, she was immediately surrounded by many girls. After all, she was a rare model from a fashion magazine; anyone who had read a few fashion magazines would have seen her, and there were many topics to discuss.
Looking at Kawashima Ami surrounded by girls, Kaede quietly said to Kitamura Yusaku beside him, "She's very popular, what do you plan to do?"
"No need to rush. Ami wouldn't expose her true nature right from the start," Kitamura Yusaku pushed up his glasses with a smile and said, "My thoughts haven't changed. Even though Ami has that personality, I still don't dislike her, and I hope others can accept that side of Ami."
"Anyone who didn't know would think you like her."
"Hahahaha, it's not that serious. We're childhood friends, but Ami has never confided in me, or anyone else for that matter." Shrugging, Kitamura Yusaku said with a sigh, "But I think after transferring to Toyosaki, with you all as friends, each with distinct personalities, I'm sure it can bring about some change in her."
"It's still very difficult to change someone just by relying on the environment, especially someone who is used to hiding their true self."
Looking at Kawashima Ami, who was effortlessly interacting with a group of girls, Kaede said, "Many things need to be figured out by oneself. Otherwise, no matter how much help people around you give, it's all in vain. Oh, right, don't you have documents to submit to the Student Council? There's not much free time left."
"Ah, chatting with you almost made me forget the time!"
Realizing this, Kitamura Yusaku quickly took out a stack of documents from his drawer and rushed out of the classroom.
Kaede looked at the back door of the classroom, then at Kawashima Ami, who was still dealing with her classmates, shook his head, returned to his seat, and took out his textbook for the next math class.
"Kaede-kun, Kaede-kun."
At this moment, Eriri's voice came. Kaede turned his head. Eriri, sitting next to him, quietly asked, "Should we invite her to lunch?"
The "her" naturally referred to Kawashima Ami.
Kaede shook his head, leaned closer, and whispered, "We'll see. I didn't ask Kitamura just now, but he'll most likely pull Kawashima to join us, after all, that was his initial goal."
"Hmm~~~ I see."
Resting her chin on her hands, Eriri narrowed her eyes and said, "Then, Kaede-kun, let's call Utaha too. It's not good to have her, someone taller than us girls, just standing there. Only Utaha can put her in her place."
"If Utaha-senpai knew you were using her as a tool, she'd definitely be angry, wouldn't she?"
"It's fine, it's fine. She's not that petty. I'm just providing her with material." Eriri chuckled to herself, smiling brightly, "Think about it, her novel is still in the planning stages and needs a lot of ideas. How could she be angry with me? On the contrary, she should thank me."
...You little girl, you'll get hit sooner or later.
"Hehe, Kaede-kun, you'll definitely help me, right?"
"Begging won't work."
"Sigh~~~~~"