Crossing over, and then being blocked by a rich JK.

What are they talking about in Chapter 492?
Jingle Bell.

When the school's final closing bell rang, it was exactly six o'clock in the evening.

"Watanabe-kun, how long are we going to stay up tonight?"

Inside the activity room, Akane Eda, holding a heated lunchbox, sat down next to Yu Watanabe and looked at him expectantly.

This was the first time she had ever stayed overnight on campus in a compliant manner.

"At most eleven o'clock."

Watanabe Yu, who was also sitting on the floor, opened his bento box, took out chopsticks, and then pressed the ends of the chopsticks with his palm to flatten them.

Eleven o'clock?

Jiang Tianqian blinked, a hint of disappointment barely perceptible appearing between her brows.

"Because all that's left is to wrap things up." Watanabe Yu picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of spicy chicken from the bento box and put it in his mouth. "After we finish wrapping things up, it'll be time for everyone to chat."

For group overnight stays like this, staying up all night is simply unrealistic, not to mention there's no need for it in the first place.

Furthermore, the school festival is tomorrow. If we really stay up all night, the students in charge of selling tickets will be fine, at most they might forget to collect the tickets. But the students inside who are dressed as demons and ghosts will have a big problem. With the air conditioning on and staying up all night, they'll be sleepy right away.
If someone falls asleep inside, that would be a real problem.

"Similar to girls talking late at night?"

Eda Akane followed suit and picked up her chopsticks, but instead of immediately taking any food, she tilted her head and looked at Watanabe Yu with anticipation.

"Cough cough, this analogy is totally wrong." Watanabe Yu almost choked. "There are so many boys in the classroom!"

Seongnam Private High School isn't an all-girls school. Besides, during free time, everyone will definitely sit together. They'll only separate during breaks.

"I mean similar, you know." Jiang Tianqian stuck out her tongue and acted cute. "Just grasp the essence."

Perhaps she was a little uncomfortable with acting cute in front of others before, but as she spent more time with Watanabe Yu and got to know him better, she became more and more comfortable and at ease.

She was also becoming more and more willing to show her childlike side in front of him.

To put it somewhat presumptuously, she felt a sense of reliability and intimacy from him, a feeling that could be described as that of an older brother.

Of course, this is not the kind of longing for the opposite sex, but rather the worship of elders?

“What Akane said makes sense.” The saintly young lady sitting next to Watanabe Yu coughed lightly and chimed in, “But theoretically speaking, it’s less of a girls’ night talk and more of a class night talk, or… a game of truth or dare with more people?”

She really liked this atmosphere. The conversations and gossip among everyone were free of any self-interest; it was all just pure gossip and good-natured banter, with the occasional lively character to liven things up.

It's no exaggeration to say that this relaxed atmosphere is the best way to relieve accumulated stress.

For those with social anxiety, this kind of atmosphere has a bit of a 'torture' feel to it.

"Truth or Dare?" Hayakawa Yuki, sitting next to Amamiya Ayana, raised an eyebrow and looked at Watanabe Yu with great interest. "Yu! Want to play later?"

She has watched many dating reality shows, and one segment she can't miss is the truth or dare game. Although the guests' sweet talk is sometimes a bit cheesy, the effect of saying it is quite impressive.

"I don't really want to play this."

Watanabe Yu swallowed the vegetables in his mouth and refused without thinking.

What a joke.

When others play Truth or Dare, their truthful answers may not be entirely truthful, but when he plays Truth or Dare, the truthful answers he gives are always the truthful.

Often, lies don't hurt people; the truth is the sharpest weapon.

"Ugh, what a spoilsport?"

Hayakawa Yuki pouted, feigning boredom, then unscrewed the lid of her water glass and took a sip of jasmine tea.

She didn't have the habit of drinking tea, but Ryoko prepared it for her anyway.

Unable to refuse such a kind offer, she accepted it.

However, one thing is for sure, the jasmine tea that Ryoko brewed was indeed quite good.

"It's not exactly a downer," Watanabe Yu said, picking up his chopsticks and shaking them in the air a few times before explaining seriously, "Truth or Dare is a game where things can easily go wrong, so to avoid frequent mishaps, it's best not to play it."

On the other hand, he wouldn't mind if they were playing in private, but in class, he'd rather not.

Students of this age understand what they're talking about.

Those who enjoy watching a spectacle will never mind making things worse, and may even actively fan the flames.

As far as he knew, during last year's school festival, a student in Class D confessed to the girl he had a crush on because of the encouragement from his classmates. As a result... he vowed that he would be a bad guy from now on and never be a good guy again.

On the bright side, at least he earned the legendary title of the most affectionate person in his class.
—Loving a girl for ten years is something not everyone can do.

"cut."

Hayakawa Yuki gave a slightly arrogant hum, then turned her head away, picked up her chopsticks, and started eating her bento.

Although she wasn't entirely satisfied with someone's answer, she was still very pleased with their cooking skills.

"I think talent shows are more interesting than truth or dare."

Kiriyama Kazuma, who was sitting not far from Watanabe Yu, coughed and joined the conversation.

In the past, he would definitely have joined in the commotion, for no other reason than that it was just Hayakawa. But now, with Amamiya joining the fray and even appearing in their class, he had no choice but to suppress his urge to join in.

Teasing your brother is one thing, but actually embarrassing him is another.

He would never do anything that's considered KY (disrespectful or insensitive).

"Talent showcase? Showcase what?"

A boy from Class B, who was munching on a rice ball, chimed in.

During this time, he and Kiriyama Kazuma have gotten along quite well, and their relationship has reached the point where they can joke around and banter.

"Show off your singing voice, your dancing skills, or tell jokes, tell stories, in short, you can show off anything."

Kiriyama Kazuma placed the lunchbox beside him, then unscrewed the can of cola and took a big gulp.

"Of course, not everything can be displayed. It has to be something that conforms to public order and good morals, and not too vulgar. After all, it's not good to be too obscene. However, there are always exceptions. If you are willing to read your love letter aloud in public, that's fine too."

After experiencing the refreshing sensation of the carbonated drink, he added this sentence, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

He doesn't know about others, but he certainly has the audacity to read love letters aloud in public.

Others may not understand Maki, but doesn't he?
Girls are all like this; they may say it's embarrassing, but they're still happy when their boyfriend takes the initiative in public.

Just as Watanabe summarized before, we are all emotional beings, but some people habitually use rationality to cover up their emotions.

If we work backwards...

Are emotional people actually more rational?
He frowned and began to ponder it secretly.

"If you read it, I'll read it, okay?"

The boys in Class B, not to be outdone, uttered those words.

Anyone can talk big.

Given Kiriyama Kazuma's seemingly carefree but actually serious personality, how could he possibly agree to something like this?

Besides, even if he agrees, there's nothing wrong with me repeating along. It's just a little embarrassment, and I can also test that person's attitude.

Aside from needing to overcome one's own sense of shame, it's a completely risk-free and profitable deal.

"A word is settled!"

Kiriyama and Ma picked up the bento box and readily agreed. Takakura Maki, sitting next to him, was stunned, her ears turning visibly red.

He may be shameless, but she is!

When they first got together, she was teased a lot by her best friends. Now that they're going to do it again, she'll be teased for the rest of her high school years.

"I knew you wouldn't agree, you're so stubborn... wait, what did you say?"

The boy in Class B blurted out those words without thinking. Then, he suddenly froze, his eyes widening in disbelief as he looked at Kiriyama and Kazuma.

"I said it's a deal."

Kiriyama and Ma repeated it again, since he didn't care anyway.

As for his thick skin, he felt he had evolved to a point where, to put it simply, at least in the entire South City Private High School, no one could rival him.

"Don't make trouble!"

Maki Takakura lowered her voice and slapped someone's shoulder in an annoyed tone.

Without even thinking, she already knew which love letter this person was going to read aloud in public.

"I'm not joking, I'm very serious."

Kiriyama and Ma responded in a similarly quiet voice.

"you……"

Maki Takakura pursed her thin lips, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

"Watanabe!"

This time, however, Kiriyama Kazuma didn't say anything. Instead, he looked at Watanabe Yu and gave him a look that said, "Can you do me a favor?"

"no problem."

Seeing Kiriyama Kazuma suddenly throw the conversation to him, Watanabe Yu was stunned for a moment, then nodded with a wry smile.

As a close friend, he understood what this guy meant.

If nothing unexpected happens, this person wants to get him to perform a show and then take the opportunity to make a proper public confession.

So, is this considered compensation for Takakura?
Give the latter a chance to be confessed to again in public?
Wow, how romantic!

Kiriyama!

He suddenly looked up and stared at Kiriyama Kazuma in surprise.

Upon closer reflection, he suddenly realized that it really did prove the saying true: the more unserious a person seems, the more affectionate they are in reality.

"Then let the others show off their talents too."

Class B's class representative, Mikawa Yui, coughed lightly and continued the conversation.

Although the students from both classes had the experience of working towards the same goal, there was still a distance between them in actual interaction, or rather, a sense of unfamiliarity. This distance needed to be bridged by sharing other experiences.

"Sing?"

A boy from Class B raised his hand.

He always actively participates in activities proposed by the class monitor, after all, the latter really helped him a lot when he first entered school, and most importantly, she is his cousin.

“Okay.” Mikawa Yui nodded and added, “Like Kiriyama just said, how about we have a small party? Not a formal one, but something that we can do wherever we feel like it.”

While overly formal occasions can create a sense of ritual, they can also exacerbate a sense of distance, just as described in the novel she had read: people are always in awe of things that are too beautiful.

Similarly, the reason why so many confession incidents occur at other schools' after-school festivals is, frankly speaking, the relaxation brought by the bonfire party and the courage that the night gives everyone.

"I agree."

Natsumi Ishikawa raised her hand. She had wanted to do this for a while, but she hadn't had a reason to bring it up.

Now that someone has brought it up, that's the best outcome.

"Then let's vote by raising hands?"

Mikawa Yui put down the rice ball in her hand, stood up, and looked at the classroom full of students.

"no problem."

"I think it's okay."

"oi~"

Students from both Class B and Class C responded, with some quick-witted students even raising their hands.

They preferred the relaxing party portion to the wrap-up work.

Of course, most importantly, some people already have impressive talents and have been waiting for this opportunity to showcase them, while also testing the reaction of the person they admire.

If there's potential, then continue; if not, then keep your distance and pretend nothing happened.

After all, they are all high school students, so they can understand a tactful refusal.

However, relatively speaking, if someone really likes someone a lot, even if they are politely rejected, they will still want to take things further.

So, with everyone having their own thoughts, arms were raised in unison.

"..."

Natsumi Ishikawa stared at the densely packed hands raised before her and fell silent for a moment.

So she was just overthinking it.

Everyone wants to know about this. If she wants to bring it up, she doesn't need any reason or excuse; she can just say it directly.

In other words, she was overthinking things.

"I'll count a few."

As Mikawa Yui said this, she raised her long, slender fingers to count the number of people who raised their hands.

About twenty seconds later, she lowered her hand.

So, it passed unanimously.

"Then it's approved unanimously. As for the time, we'll tentatively set it for 11 p.m. tonight."

She coughed lightly, clapped her hands with the air of a class monitor, and made her decision.

next second.

There was a soft knock on the door.

All the students in the classroom turned their gazes toward that direction.

Thus, Risa Yasuhara walked into everyone's view carrying a large bag.

"Knowing you've worked hard, Miyuki and I bought milk tea to treat you."

Risa Yasuhara lifted the bag that was full in her hand.

"So, what are you guys talking about? It's so lively."

She raised her chin and asked with interest.

(End of this chapter)