Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 54 has been released!

"Hey, speaking of which, do Akizuki-kun and Shiina-kun have those kinds of feelings for each other?"

Upon hearing this, Akizuki Makoto paused in his drinking, looked up at the girl sitting opposite him, who was smiling and asking the question.

Remember……

It's called Nishimura Asuna.

If Shiina Maki is considered a "negative character" and belongs to the bottom of the class, then Nishimura Asuna is undoubtedly a "celestial dragon."

He comes from a wealthy family, is good-looking (around a 7 out of 10), and is the leader of a small group of five.

"Huh? Why are you asking so suddenly... But I really am concerned about it."

"Yes, Qiuyue-kun is our Mingsheng's universally acknowledged perfect male god. We've never heard of any romantic gossip about him."

Asuna Nishimura asked the question, and many people immediately chimed in to support her.

Some of them were genuinely curious, while others were deliberately trying to tease Makoto Akizuki and Maki Shiina.

Even when they came to eat barbecue, the two of them sat together, with Shiina Maki sitting on the innermost side and Akizuki Makoto on the outer side, making it seem as if they were isolating everyone else.

Now they were genuinely curious about what methods Shiina Maki had used to make Akizuki Makoto take such good care of her, staying by her side at all times.

"No...it's not...like that...Akizuki-kun and I...we were just...just..."

Before Akizuki Makoto could say anything, Shiina Maki quickly shook her head in denial, trying her best to distance herself from Akizuki Makoto to avoid him being misunderstood.

She didn't think too much about it; she simply felt that she wasn't good enough for Akizuki Makoto yet, and that Akizuki Makoto didn't seem to like her and had always treated her as a friend. So she couldn't let others misunderstand their relationship.

But this was exactly what Nishimura Asuna wanted. She crossed her hands, propped her chin up, and said with a smile, "So I misunderstood? But Shiina-kun, your relationship with Akizuki-kun is quite special."

She paused, turned to look at Shiraishi Rin beside her, and continued, "Hey, Shiraishi-kun, did you know? Shiina-kun and Akizuki-kun have a story that's just like Cinderella and the prince."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi Rin immediately became interested and showed a keenly interested expression.

"It's like this, when you transferred here, the teacher specifically said that nothing else can happen..."

Just as Nishimura Asuna was getting to the crucial point, Akizuki Makoto suddenly interrupted, "Alright, Nishimura-kun, that's enough."

"Haha, what's the big deal? Everyone knows anyway, it's not some secret that can't be told, right?"

Nishimura Asuna, who was interrupted by Akizuki Makoto with a slightly reprimanding tone, still had a smiling expression and clearly did not intend to stop and wanted to continue talking.

At this point, no one else dared to speak. It was obvious to everyone that Akizuki Makoto was angry, and if they joined in the commotion, he might explode at any moment.

Seeing that Asuna Nishimura wouldn't let it go, Makoto Akizuki decided to retaliate without holding back, saying directly, "You can talk about this in private. Don't be the one with low emotional intelligence and ruin the atmosphere."

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere became tense and hostile.

Asuna Nishimura's smile froze and slowly disappeared. She never expected that Makoto Akizuki would actually confront her in public.

Makoto Akizuki really couldn't understand why everyone was so hostile towards Maki Shiina, even though she hadn't done anything wrong.

This reminded him of his own experience; Shiina Maki had also suffered from unwarranted malice from others, and in some ways they were quite similar.

"Autumn, Autumn Moon Lord..."

Shiina Maki looked at Akizuki Makoto, who had a calm expression, and seemed somewhat lost and afraid.

She had never seen Akizuki Makoto angry before. When she confronted her mother before, she had suppressed her anger, unlike now, when she attacked her mother directly with sharp words. She couldn't help but gently tug at Akizuki Makoto's sleeve and whispered, "N-It's okay. Nishimura-san is right. It's not some secret that can't be told. Everyone knows."

“I didn’t forbid them from talking, I just wanted them to talk about these things in private, so as not to spoil people’s appetite and ruin the atmosphere.”

Everyone knows that Asuna Nishimura brought up the old story because she wanted to make fun of Maki Shiina's experience of being bullied.

Her intentions were too obvious, and the unwarranted malice she exuded made Akizuki Makoto feel extremely disgusted.

The thought of having to eat with someone like that made him restless and he lost his appetite.

"Aki-Akizuki-kun, is it really necessary to go to such lengths?"

"Yes, Nishimura just wanted to tell Shiraishi about what happened in the class. She didn't mean any harm."

"Don't worry about Nishimura-kun. Akizuki-kun is probably in a bad mood today. You see, during the rainy season, people get inexplicably irritable!"

Seeing that the atmosphere had suddenly turned icy and neither side was willing to back down, the others stepped in to smooth things over with smiles.

"Haha, that's really funny..."

Suddenly, a light, cheerful laugh broke the silence, drawing everyone's attention.

Shiraishi Rin covered her mouth and chuckled softly, tears welling up in her eyes from laughing.

"What are you laughing at! What's so funny?"

Nishimura Asuna could no longer contain herself, stood up, and reprimanded Shiraishi Rin.

"It's so funny to see you two arguing over such a small thing, and then everyone else knowing perfectly well what's going on, but pretending to be clueless and trying to smooth things over. It's like watching a clown show. Don't you laugh when you go to the circus?"

Shiraishi Rin's words were like a bolt from the blue, instantly igniting the already awkward, tense, and confrontational atmosphere.

The scene immediately descended into chaos. A small group led by Nishimura Asuna questioned Shiraishi Rin about her intentions, while another group tried to smooth things over and persuade everyone to calm down. Still another group silently watched everything unfold, their minds filled with confusion, wondering why things had developed this way.

In just a few minutes, the joyful atmosphere turned into a noisy argument.

"Let's go, there's no need to stay any longer."

Makoto Akizuki grabbed Maki Shiina's hand and led her away.

Someone tried to stop them, but was immediately intimidated by Akizuki Makoto's icy glare and reluctantly withdrew their hand.

After Akizuki Makoto left, Nishimura Asuna and her small group, seemingly unable to bear it any longer, picked up their schoolbags and stormed off.

In the blink of an eye, the seats that were once full were now only half full.

Those who remained looked at each other, unsure whether to leave or stay.

"What an amusing farce, so amusing that even though I didn't manage to hypnotize Akizuki-kun, I still feel today was worthwhile..."

With a smile on his face, Shiraishi Rin thought to himself as he took out his phone and made a call.

A short while later, Rieko Shimada came in from the barbecue restaurant and stood in front of Rin Shiraishi.

She glanced at the smiling young lady, then addressed the group of people who were looking at each other, their faces filled with embarrassment and confusion:

"I'm so sorry my young lady has caused you trouble. We'll treat you to this meal. Have a great time..."

After saying that, she took Shiraishi Rin with her and went to the front desk to pay the bill.

(End of this chapter)