Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 141, Section 16: "The Real Date"

"We are very sorry, 'My Romantic Comedy Can't Have a Love Triangle' is sold out!"

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As the author announced his call, the crowd gathered around the popular club's booth dispersed.

At 1 p.m., the atmosphere at Kobe International Exhibition Center seemed to have reached its peak.

In a corner of the venue, in a public restroom, Masumi stared silently at the door for a long time.

"Masumi...why aren't you going out?" Haizuki looked at him with a blank expression, tilting her head.

"I'm thinking about how to explain this to those three people."

"explain?"

"About us walking out of the toilet stall together, and about your pantyhose going missing."

"..."

The jellyfish girl's cheeks suddenly flushed red.

"Don't tell anyone... what just happened..."

She tried hard to create an oppressive atmosphere, but her jellyfish-like temperament was too gentle, making it seem less like a threat and more like a coquettish act.

Masumi blinked. "What is it?"

"Masumi... it's so embarrassing that everyone knows about you bullying me..." Kaizuki said, biting her lip.

"Well, that's true, I suppose." Masumi said with some difficulty, "But if we hide even this, then there's nothing left to say."

"Well……"

The jellyfish girl thought about it seriously for a moment and said, "Then... I'll tell you the truth... it's not my fault anyway..."

"The beginning was fine, but if I tell them what happened later, I think their reaction will be very intense."

Haiyue nodded gently, "Kurokawa... will definitely be very angry..."

"Then I won't tell them... a white lie..." The jellyfish girl thought she had come up with a good idea.

"No, no, this is more of a malicious lie," Masumi retorted. "It's to cover up some evil deeds or something."

With her suggestion rejected, Haiyue pouted unhappily, "Masumi...it's so awkward..."

"I won't deny that," Masumi sighed, looking troubled.

The reason he was upset was not because he regretted his actions. He always believed that when making a decision, one should be aware of the consequences.

Besides, even if he could do it all over again, after hearing what Haiyue said, he would probably still make the same choice.

The only possible reason is that the three people who have most likely already met at the door are now there.

"Masumi...do you want to become lovers with everyone?"

Why are you suddenly asking that?

Hearing Haiyue's question, Masumi frowned slightly.

"Because... Masumi cares a lot about... everyone's thoughts and reactions..."

"If...it weren't because I care...I wouldn't have so many emotions..."

Masumi replayed her words in her mind, subconsciously wanting to refute them, but found that she couldn't find any basis for rebuttal. Indeed, if she didn't care, she wouldn't need to consider their thoughts at all.

Feeling the tendrils of his thoughts spreading to the hidden corners of his heart, Masumi stopped thinking. The sensation, like a swamp, told him that he couldn't continue thinking.

He stared intently at the girl in front of him and slowly began to speak.

"Hikawa, I've discovered that you're actually quite perceptive sometimes."

"Is this... a compliment to my intelligence?"

"Well, but rather than clever, cunning seems to be a more accurate description."

“Cunning…that doesn’t seem like a good word…” Haiyue frowned slightly.

"However, there is a saying: a cunning personality is more like a girl."

"Hmm... like this..."

Haiyue suddenly leaned closer, and Masumi instinctively took two steps back, then with a "thud," the back of her head hit the door.

"Masumi...does she like cunning girls?"

She blinked, her azure pupils seeming to sparkle. Her thick, long eyelashes fluttered gently like butterfly wings, as if revealing the heart of a young girl.

"Hanekawa."

"Ok?"

When her name was called out suddenly, Haiyue leaned forward curiously and brought her face close to the phone.

Even at such close range, her beauty was flawless. Masumi swallowed hard and asked:
"Were you playing hard to get just now?"

Panic, evasion, or composure—none of the reactions Masumi anticipated were reflected on the girl's expression.

Haiyue just tilted her head, looking completely bewildered.

What is "playing hard to get... letting go..."?

"The teaching quality of a high school with a communication system is just too poor," Masumi sighed quietly. "Or is it just that students are naturally unable to concentrate on their studies when faced with the internet?"

"Those things you just said to me, you didn't say them on purpose just to make me feel sorry for you and help you put on... your underwear, did you?"

"..."

"No."

Perhaps wavering, Haiyue's eyes flickered. She probably sensed Masumi's intention to meet her gaze, and the jellyfish girl pretended to be nonchalant, gently turning her face away.

"you……"

He was interrupted halfway through his sentence by Haiyue's face, which leaned closer again.

“Masumi promised me before… no matter what I say… she would believe me…”

"Wait, isn't that a foul?"

Haiyue remained silent, still staring intently at him, her gaze conveying an invisible pressure.

"……I see."

Masumi gave up and said resignedly, "Let's go out first."

"Masumi, have you thought of an excuse?"

“It’s a reason, not an excuse.” He silently corrected himself, then shook his head and said, “No, but if we don’t get out soon, Kurokawa might just barge in.”

"Oh."

Haiyue nodded gently, her forehead slightly sweaty, the sweat sliding down her soft facial contours.

"You're sweating."

"Yeah, because...it's hot..."

Her legs were crossed beneath the pleated skirt that reached past her knees.

Masumi secretly glanced at Kaigetsu's slender, snow-white ankles, her leg lines taut.

◇

At the Kobe International Exhibition Center, there is a safe passage that neither tourists nor staff would easily tread—that is where Masumi is located.

Contrary to the original intention of "safety" and "escaping danger," this place has now been used as a temporary interrogation room.

"...What's going on?" Interrogator No. 1, Rinne, asked in a cold voice.

"Masumi-kun, I've never heard of going to the toilet being a two-player online game."

Interrogator No. 2, Mami, stared intently at him.

Compared to the heiress with her frosty cheeks, she wore a gentle smile, but her eyes, though smiling, also revealed a sharp, scrutinizing gaze.

From the very beginning, Interrogator No. 3, Mio Kurokawa, had his eyes fixed on Kaigetsu's buttocks, as if trying to find something out from there.

After a moment, she finally looked away and turned to Masumi, who was about to be unable to bear the intense gazes of the two women. Perhaps "self-abandonment" would be a more accurate description of his appearance, as his sharp features were twisted into an expression that said "I am a sinner".

Her words, fluent yet sharp, flowed like a craft knife slicing through paper. Kurokawa Mio asked directly:

"Masumi, did you and Kaigetsu do it?"

Upon hearing her question, Masumi stared in disbelief, then answered without hesitation, "No!"

His voice resonated powerfully on the floor. Kurokawa Mio stared at him for a long time before her tense face finally relaxed, and she let out a sigh of relief. "Is that so? Well, it's not the worst of it yet."

"Wait a minute, Ms. Mio." Mami looked at her with a dumbfounded expression. "Your standards are way too low. As a member of the Jukai family, shouldn't you be the one who's most persistent and clingy?"

"Of course I won't give up so easily." Kurokawa Mio shook her head slightly. "But I also can't bring myself to hurt Masumi."

As she spoke, she narrowed her eyes slightly, a gentle and sweet smile appearing on her lips. However, deep within that smile were eyes as cold as polar ice.

Her obsidian-like eyes gripped the boy in front of her tightly.

“Let’s double-check what happened, Masumi.”

"Uh, what is it?"

"Masumi originally just wanted to go to the restroom, but then she encountered Kaigetsu, who deliberately appeared at the right moment. He led her to grab his arm, and as soon as you touched her body, that woman shamelessly exposed herself. Then, she used despicable tricks to lure you to an empty restroom, intending to do all sorts of things to you..."

"...Mio, you're really absolving Masumi of all responsibility." Rinne frowned subconsciously.

“That’s true. This kind of thing can’t be done by one person alone.” Kurokawa Mio nodded slightly, scrutinizing Masumi’s expression with a probing look.

"After arriving at the restroom, she pretended to be weak and pitiful, and shamelessly made that kind of request. Poor Masumi, she originally wanted to complete this with the pure will of a monk, but she seduced her, and her hands unconsciously kept climbing up."

"Miss Mio also has a talent for writing light novels." Asami rested her chin on her hand, and from the curve of her lips, it was clear that she was completely in a good mood.

"Hanakawa, you're sweating a lot." "Because...it's hot..." "Then I'll cool you down." "Hmm...wait, wait a minute, why...with your tongue? And starting from your toes..."

"Take a break, nothing happened after that!" Masumi urgently called for a halt.

Opening her mouth, inhaling, and prying open her throat, ignoring his words, Kurokawa Mio's throat suddenly sounded like a whistle.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh! My Masumi! She's been defiled by that woman!"

"Mio, aren't you getting more and more perverted?" Rinne coldly called out to stop her.

Masumi and Asami also looked bewildered.

Only Haiyue leaned against the wall, seemingly uninvolved... well, not really uninvolved.

The jellyfish-like girl's eyes sparkled, and the blush on her fair cheeks was definitely not due to the sweltering heat.

She seemed completely immersed in the scene Kurokawa described, feeling her mouth dry and letting out soft breaths, unconsciously licking her lips that had become dry without her noticing.

"I swear, I absolutely did not do anything out of line!" Masumi said, patting her chest.

Although this matter was already outrageous enough, perhaps it would have been better to follow Yu Chuan's idea... No! If the lies were exposed, it would probably trigger an even more serious reaction, since one lie requires a hundred lies to cover it up.

"Really?" Kurokawa Mio stared intently at him, asking very seriously.

Before Masumi could answer, she narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Even if it doesn't reach the most crucial step, other foreplay is still possible!"

"So, prove it to me right here!"

"Proof?!" Masumi exclaimed, speechless. "How do you prove it?"

"The number of bullets in a revolver is limited."

Kurokawa smiled meaningfully and said that although the aura she exuded was exceptionally gentle, Masumi felt a chill run down her spine and even got goosebumps all over her body.

That smile is terrifying...

"If Masumi still has bullets, it proves her innocence."

"Wait a minute, isn't this way of proving things a bit too much?"

"It's okay, if Masumi is shy, I can go to the restroom with you..."

"I'd rather not," Masumi resolutely refused. "I've already developed a phobia of that place."

Seeing that he refused to give in no matter what, Kurokawa Mio's tone was filled with anxiety as she muttered to herself.

"As expected, it's too dangerous with so many girls around Masumi. I should have forced myself on her a long time ago and made it a done deal with her..."

"Mio, I can't ignore those words."

Kurokawa Mio turned her head and glared at her. "If you hadn't kept stopping me, how could we still have made no progress? And you've been wary of me, but you've completely ignored Haiyue."

"..."

“…I will keep an eye on her from now on.” Rinne glanced over with an authoritative look in her eyes.

"Why didn't you contact us immediately after this happened?"

Rinne's question silenced Haiyue, whose delicate white throat trembled slightly.

"Because...it's embarrassing...and...I don't want to...cause you any trouble..."

"Is it okay to cause trouble for Masumi?"

Hearing Haiyue say that, Kurokawa Mio snorted and sighed deeply. It was unclear whether she was genuinely sighing or simply expressing disdain.

"Honestly, if I had known this would happen, I should have come alone today."

"Cough cough."

As if to interrupt her, Mami pressed the back of her finger to her lips and coughed twice in a mock manner, drawing everyone's attention.

"By the way, what are Rinne, Umizuki, and Mio doing here?"

The completely unprepared problem instantly destroyed the already tragic atmosphere at the scene.

Rinne hesitated before speaking, "It's because..."

"To stop Ms. Asami from running away," Kurokawa Mio replied decisively.

"Hey, what do you mean by sneaking out? I'm not an athlete." Mami smiled with narrowed eyes, her words laced with teasing.

"I'm serious."

Kurokawa Mio narrowed her eyes, staring at Asami with a questioning look: "Deliberately keeping it from us and starting a date with Masumi, isn't Ms. Asami a bit too cunning?"

As she spoke, she sighed as if she were utterly exhausted.

Breaking through Rinne's guard, winning over Masumi's closed heart, and at the same time doing everything possible to prevent Masumi from having any accidents with other girls is truly a daunting task.

“Wait, maybe they weren’t hiding anything,” Rinne suddenly said.

"Hey, what's that Rinne suddenly saying?"

Mami acted as if she knew nothing about it.

"Date venue..." Rinne hesitated slightly at this point. Would anyone use a doujinshi convention as a date venue? But she continued along the original line of thought: "...It was Asami-nee who deliberately revealed it to us, right?"

"Why do you say that? Did Rinne deduce it?"

The black-haired girl gently shook her head.

"intuition."

"Tsk, that intuition is really sharp."

Mami nodded first, then readily admitted, "That's right, I never intended to hide it from you on purpose, or rather, I knew I couldn't hide it from you."

"It's actually true?" Kurokawa Mio tilted her head slightly in confusion.

Masumi, having recovered from the tense atmosphere, also turned her curious gaze toward her.

"What is Asami's purpose in doing this?"

"Hmph, you've hit the nail on the head—"

Even after being exposed, Mami remained calm and composed, her eyes gleaming behind her glasses.

"Hey, you guys, what are you doing here? Tourists aren't allowed in here."

The calls echoed in the corridor, followed by slow footsteps, interrupting Mami's explanation: the elderly security guards couldn't run fast.

Before he arrived, the group snapped out of their daze and quickly left the emergency exit, the sound of sneakers scraping against the floor and the clicking of sandals echoing through the air.

Mami blinked. "Huh? Really? Isn't this a place that even detectors can't find?"

"Does Kobe have such a place?"

While escaping through the emergency exit, Masumi subconsciously made a comment.

"So, you actually invited them here on purpose? What were you thinking?"

Masumi asked, puzzled. In front of her, the manga artist with a fluffy braid narrowed her eyes mischievously and revealed a prankish smile.

"Didn't I say from the beginning that I had no choice but to resort to this tactic in order to make it a natural thing for me to start a date with Masumi-kun?"

"However, they arrived much later than I expected, but thankfully, there was plenty of time."

This last sentence was mingled with her playful laughter.

"Our date is about to truly begin—"

(End of this chapter)