My love index is at its maximum.

“Hmm, I’m not very hungry,” she said.

“You’ve been eating so little lately. Back in May you could finish a whole bento box.”

"Losing weight, losing weight~"

"But you've already lost a bit of weight."

Shiori Ninomiya answered confidently, "What girl would mind being a little thinner!"

After finishing our meal and returning to the classroom, the midday sun shone brightly on the row of desks near the window.

After doing some math problems, Tsukasa Tazaki, whose mouth was still full of the smell of fish, couldn't help but doze off.

……

This week went by so fast, it's already Thursday.

At the end of the school day, large patches of fiery clouds piled up above the school buildings, creating an exceptionally beautiful scene.

The blonde girl sat on the edge of the tennis court, her eyes fixed intently on the camera screen. Sunlight streamed through the wire mesh, gently kissing her face, giving it a shimmering, pale glow.

Students passing by couldn't help but squint when they saw it.

"boom!"

A crisp sound rang out across the playground as the soccer ball struck the goalpost and bounced back onto the head of the distracted Murakami Mizuiro.

Ouch!

"Murakami, why are you spacing out again?"

“I know he’s been watching Yui Kichikawa over there.”

"It's not like you don't watch it!"

"Ha ha……"

The young soccer players temporarily stopped training, lined up in front of the goal, hydrated, and chatted about topics that teenage boys are interested in.

Murakami Mizuiro turned his gaze to the blonde girl again, frowning as he pondered something.

Before school ended this afternoon, Yui Kikawa came to the classroom and asked Tazaki to go out for a talk. What did they talk about? Yui Kikawa sat there without moving. Was she waiting for Tazaki?

"Murakami, stop looking, it's impossible."

Murakami Mizuki rolled her eyes at the boy next to her. "You're talking as if you weren't watching."

"Who wouldn't want to see a beautiful girl like Kikawa?"

"She's just so hard to approach. Her expressionless face is like a delicate doll. If she's not a beautiful girl, to put it bluntly, she's a mysterious and expressionless weirdo."

"I really want to be stepped on by Kikawa-san's white stockings~!"

"Eek~"

"Everyone, to be honest, I also want to be stepped on. And don't you think it's a great reward to have someone's white stockings stepped on your face?"

"I want, too."

"Just think about it. All twenty-odd of us in the football team are real men; not one of them has a girlfriend."

"..."

The young men were silent for a moment, then sighed in unison.

Someone stood up and urged, "Alright, alright, get back to training. Don't even mention you guys, there probably isn't a single boy in the entire school that she even notices."

"Tch!"

"Murakami, what do you mean?"

"Do you think you're so capable?"

Murakami Mizuiro casually pointed at a boy walking from the school building to the tennis court and said lazily, "Watch closely, that's my apprentice. Let him show you how to pick up girls with no connections or emotional attachments."

Following their gaze, everyone saw the boy slowly walking towards the blonde girl in the June evening sunset.

"That's that scumbag from Class F, right? His name is something like Tsukasa Tazaki."

"That's him. I heard that Yui Kichikawa and he were childhood friends, and he was also her ex-girlfriend."

"He's finished. A noble young lady like Yui Kichikawa would never bother with someone so fickle. Let's just wait and see... haha."

Amidst bursts of laughter, Tsukasa Tazaki sat down next to Yui Kikawa, and the two began to talk in hushed tones.

More than ten minutes passed, and he still hadn't been kicked out.

In private discussions among the students of Kitagawa Academy, Yui Kikkawa is described as a perfect girl with excellent grades, good character, a privileged family background, and unparalleled beauty.

If I had to nitpick, the only thing I'd say is that their attitude wasn't exactly friendly.

Although the blonde girl maintained basic manners in her interactions with others, she maintained a clear distance from everyone. Even if she didn't say anything, people could see in her eyes that she meant "that's enough" or "that's enough."

The fact that Kikawa allowed a person of the opposite sex to sit next to her and wasted so much time talking already speaks volumes.

"I'm so envious! I'm so envious!"

"Why? We already have Kuriyama-san and Ninomiya-san!"

"May all those with the surname Tazaki die!"

Amidst the indignant wailing of the crowd, Murakami Mizuiro shook his head dismissively, thinking to himself, what do a bunch of single dogs know? Besides these three, he has someone even more enviable.

……

The rubber surface of the tennis court still retains a high temperature, and it gets a bit hot on your bottom if you sit for a long time.

Tazaki Tsukasa shifted uncomfortably in his seat and turned his head to ask, "It's just running a few laps around the track, right?"

"Ah."

Kikawa Yui nodded, mechanically moving her fingers to adjust the camera's exposure parameters.

Tazaki Tsukasa was somewhat impressed; she hadn't changed her posture for so long, and he wondered how red her buttocks were from the heat.

What specific effect do you want to achieve?

Tazaki Tsukasa, as if unable to bear it any longer, half-squatted up and stretched his legs to the left and right, starting a simple warm-up before running.

"Just capture the feeling of inner confusion. You're in charge of running, running until you're completely exhausted."

"...You wouldn't be thinking of taking this opportunity to get revenge on me, would you?"

Yui Kikawa set up her tripod and silently began adjusting the focus. The summer breeze blew the hem of her pleated skirt, and the girl's blonde hair swayed, creating a beautiful scene that seemed straight out of a fantasy anime.

not right...

Saki glanced at her knees, which were covered by white stockings, and wondered why she still had an indifferent expression even though they had made up.

Is it because the handcuffs aren't deterrent enough?

Qichuan Yui glanced at him and said calmly, "Hurry up, we need to finish filming this scene before dark!"

"Hey~ Can you hold these for me? The headphones are on, just put them on if you want to listen."

Tsukasa Tazaki handed her his phone, earphones, and wallet, then strode off and blended into the group of track and field club members running on the field.

On the other side of the playground, several girls from the Literature Department sat chatting on the edge of the track, surrounded by old books and manuscripts that were slightly moldy due to the dampness of the rainy season.

"Did you guys know? Kitahara-senpai and Akizuki-senpai are dating!"

"Senior Qiuyue? Who is that?"

"That tall and big basketball team captain comes from a well-off family. I heard his father is a district councilor."

"Oh, I vaguely remember her. She's just average-looking, definitely not my type."

"As a literature enthusiast, you're actually a member of the 'looks-matter' club? That's so disappointing."

"I'm so envious of Kitahara-senpai! I wish I had a boyfriend... Ah, look who this is!!!"

All the girls turned to look at the track.

As the June sun set, Tsukasa Tazaki ran past them.

The brilliant sunset glowed on the boy's handsome face, casting a soft halo around him. As he ran, he seemed less aloof than usual, but more radiant with youthful energy, making the hearts of the young girls smitten flutter.

After he ran far away, the girls came to their senses and looked at each other, all of them lowering their heads shyly.

The member who was obsessed with looks just now had stars in his eyes: "Tazaki-kun is so handsome~!"

"cut!"

Someone scoffed, "Don't forget that guy's arrogant face when he was in our literature department last time."

"He has the confidence, he's number one in the grade. His girlfriend, who's number two in the grade, writes articles that no one in our literature department can match."

"If he's willing to apologize to us, then I'll reluctantly become his mistress."

"Haha... How dare you say such a thing! You're shameless!"

"Give up, he'll never be interested in us."

"..."

The girls remained silent for a moment, then sighed in unison.

"Speaking of his girlfriends, it seems he has more than one."

"Really? That's such a jerk."

"If you don't believe me, ask Xiangmiao. His other girlfriend seems to be Xiangmiao's best friend."

With her short hair and pure, lovely appearance, Kasuga Kanae smiled but did not answer the question.

"If that really exists, wouldn't that be like having your cake and eat it too?"

"Maybe he's using Miss Kuriyama's money to support other girls."

"Wow, that's a total scumbag!"

When Tsukasa Tazaki ran back to this spot for the second time, he happened to see Kanae Kasuga and went over to greet her: "Kasuga-san, you're here too. Sorry, I was running too fast and didn't see you earlier."

Kasuna nodded, her face slightly flushed.

The remaining girls in the Literature Club were all stunned for a moment, then they looked at each other.

Sisters, a traitor has emerged among us!