My love index is at its maximum.

The white, soft bread is filled with smoked salmon, watercress, and lettuce, and served with butter. Each bite is crisp and crunchy.

Ninomiya Shiori rested her chin on her hand and asked him with a serious expression, "If I'm exhausted again today, will Kiki still carry me?"

Tsukasa Tazaki shook his head: "We agreed it would only happen once."

"Shiori, just relax and don't worry about getting tired," said Kuriyama Sakura across from her. "That guy is all talk. When you can't walk anymore, he'll carry you on his back."

"Haha~"

The little cutie's childlike laughter then rang out.

Tazaki Tsukasa picked up a sandwich and shoved it into Kuriyama Sakura's mouth with a disgruntled expression. "Eat up, and don't be lazy like last week."

Kuriyama Sakura took a bite and said as she chewed, "It tastes good."

"..." Tsukasa Tazaki looked at the half-eaten sandwich in his hand with a puzzled expression. "Why don't you just eat it yourself?"

"Didn't you see I'm holding a book?"

"Is this why you want me to feed you?"

“It’s not like I asked you to feed me,” Kuriyama Sakura said, opening her mouth again and taking a bite of the sandwich.

Tsukasa Tazaki pushed her forward, filling her cherry-like mouth completely.

"Hmm... lots..."

Kuriyama Sakura looked up in astonishment, one-third of the sandwich in her mouth and the other two-thirds outside her lips.

His wide eyes blazed with anger.

The minister's speechless, puffed-up expression was very cute.

Tazaki Tsukasa couldn't resist reaching out and poking her puffed-up cheeks.

He'd always wanted to poke Hoshino Hanami like this, but given the huge difference in their fighting abilities, he'd always been too cowardly to do it. Now he could practice on the tablet, which felt really good.

"Snap!"

Kuriyama Sakura slapped his hand away and looked at him with a gaze as cold as a frost sweeping across Siberia: "Tazaki Tsukasa, you won't leave Oma Town alive!"

Tazaki Tsukasa stopped grinning like a pervert and silently turned around.

"Kiki, I want to be fed too!" Shiori Ninomiya pointed to the sandwich on the table and opened her mouth: "Ah~"

"Eat it yourself."

"You've already fed Sakura, why aren't you feeding me?"

"I called that 'hello'?"

Shiori Ninomiya frowned slightly and said aggrievedly, "Anyway, Kiki is just biased. She looks down on Shiori-chan because she's a country girl from Hokkaido."

Tsukasa Tazaki reluctantly picked up the sandwich: "This is a one-time thing, and there won't be another."

"Kiki is definitely the best."

The little cutie took a big bite and beamed with joy.

After finally finishing the sandwich, Kuriyama Sakura turned her head and smiled meaningfully, saying, "When this guy first made me tea, he also said that it was a one-time thing and no refills."

"Eh...really?"

"real."

The little cutie excitedly asked Tsukasa Tazaki, "There will be many, many more times, right?"

"I can't stand the two of you..."

Tazaki Tsukasa sighed deeply, looking very troubled, and gently rubbed his forehead with his fingers.

In the height of summer, sunlight streamed through the trees into the courtyard, creating beams of light everywhere.

Kikawa Yui tore off some breadcrumbs to feed the birds on the lawn. Listening to the three people's friendly conversation, she rubbed her eyes for a while, looking a little tired, and then silently stared at her ten fingers neatly stacked on the table.

The pink fingertips formed a beautiful oval shape, and the nails were meticulously and flawlessly manicured.

I watched silently, listening to their conversation. The feeling I had at that moment was difficult to summarize in a few words. Or perhaps it wasn't a feeling at all, but a sensation—a feeling of being completely isolated from the world.

It's like being in a space station, looking out at the entire blue planet through a small glass window.

The birds had flown away at some point, and the sounds of conversation had quieted down; the surroundings were eerily still.

It feels like someone is watching me...

When Qichuan Wei came to her senses, goosebumps suddenly rose all over her body.

Slowly turning my head, I saw the boy's figure: his neck and collarbone peeking out from his white shirt, his slightly smiling face, and the gaze from his clear eyes looking directly at me...

"Kikawa-kun..." Tsukasa Tazaki leaned on the table, staring at those sapphire-like eyes with a relaxed expression, and asked, "What were you thinking about just now?"

"..."

Kikawa Yui was a little flustered and pretended to look for something, looking away, but this action only made Tazaki Tsukasa stare at her even more amusedly.

"I'll go get ready and head out in a bit."

The blonde girl uttered a remark that suggested she was running away, and then ran back to her room in a disheveled state.

"Wow... Kiki is amazing." Shiori Ninomiya looked at her back with a surprised expression: "I just saw Kikawa blush."

Tazaki Tsukasa picked up his coffee and took a sip. "Even though all three of them were staring at her, why did you say I was amazing?"

“Because she’s eyeing you,” Ninomiya Shiori replied matter-of-factly. “Could she be interested in you? Then Shiori-chan will have another formidable rival.”

"What is this all about?"

"A blonde, blue-eyed, slim-waisted beauty, doesn't Kiki like her?"

Kuriyama Sakura closed the hardcover book in her hand and mocked mercilessly, "He likes older women."

"Yes."

Tsukasa Tazaki nodded in agreement, adding, "I also like girls with nice legs."

A hint of satisfaction flashed in Kuriyama Sakura's eyes, but she said bluntly, "So this guy is a pervert who likes to stare at other people's legs."

"How can this be called perverted!" The little cutie instinctively defended her favorite Kiki, "If you like something, you'll naturally want to look at it more, that's normal."

Tsukasa Tazaki gave her a thumbs up.

The little cutie tilted her head and smiled.

"Ninomiya-kun..."

Kuriyama Sakura rubbed her temples, her head aching, and let out a long sigh: "You're hopeless, really hopeless."

After breakfast, everyone went back to their rooms to prepare.

As a boy who wasn't particularly refined, Tsukasa Tazaki simply changed his shoes and went out.

Meanwhile, the other three girls carefully applied sunscreen, sprayed antiperspirant, put on mosquito repellent, changed into lightweight sun-protective jackets, leisurely tied their hair up, and chose pretty dresses...

While waiting, Tsukasa Tazaki quietly played on his phone.

Someone in the class group on Line tagged him.

[Murakami: @Tasaki, come swimming with me this afternoon. I had Karasawa call out three second-year upperclassmen, so hurry up and make up the numbers.]

[Tang Ze: Tazaki, I used your name to invite them out, so please make sure you show up.]

Tang Ze is the sports committee member of Class F, a tall boy with a philosophical air.

[Tazaki: No.]

[Tang Ze: Even top students who study all the time need to move around. We only need to take two hours of your time.]

Murakami: Yeah. We're just swimming, it's not a date, it won't take up much of your time.

[Tazaki: I'm currently entangled with three troublesome girls and can't get away.]

[Murakami: Just kill yourself!]

[Tang Ze: Ignore those three, they're definitely not as pretty as these three second-year seniors I called out!]

Murakami: Uh…

[Tang Ze: Tazaki, say something!]

The three beautiful girls happened to walk out of the guesthouse together, and Tsukasa Tazaki casually took a picture and posted it to the group chat.

[Tazaki: Here, these are the three.]

A long silence.

[Tang Ze: I'm sorry, I'll bow deeply to you on Monday.]

[Murakami: Sigh, the ultimate social butterfly, I'm so envious.]

[Tazaki has been banned from social media for 24 hours]

Tang Ze: ?

[Murakami: Oh no, Hoshino-sensei is spying on me!]

Murakami has been banned from social media for 48 hours.

Tang Ze has been banned from posting for 48 hours.

Three seconds passed.

[Hoshino-sensei: Final exams are coming up soon, and all you're doing is playing around and not studying at all, right? Or do you all think you can get good grades?]

[Hoshino-sensei: @Everyone, there will be a surprise test next Monday. Anyone who doesn't get an A must have their parents come to see me.]

[Hoshino-sensei: @Tasaki, you have two extra essays for this week's assignment!]

[Hoshino-sensei: @Murakami @Karasawa, your behavior is extremely bad. Your parents will be called in next week!]

An angry tigress is terrifying...

With lingering fear, Tsukasa Tazaki carried a large box of photography equipment and followed behind the three beautiful girls to begin today's shoot.

The temperature in the seaside town was ridiculously high in the height of summer. The sweltering air was thick with heat, and cicadas chirped incessantly from the treetops.

The straight asphalt road seemed to have been baked so hard that it began to warp slightly.

Several shots were filmed intermittently, some featuring the male lead alone, and others showing him with the tuna girl. It was 1 PM when the sun reached its zenith.