My love index is at its maximum.

"Don't make false accusations without evidence..."

"Do you really want me to investigate?" Kuriyama Sakura crossed her arms and said coldly, "I'm giving you a chance to confess yourself, or you'll bear the consequences."

Under pressure from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Eri Onodera managed to say with difficulty, "Yes..."

"Snapped!"

Kuriyama Sakura slapped him across the face.

Chapter 118 A Rainy Night in June, A New Chapter for the Three (1)

On a rainy evening, the sky was a heavy, leaden gray, and a strong wind lashed against the stadium doors. As the crowd gathered inside gradually dispersed, the ceiling appeared unusually high and spacious.

Tsukasa Tazaki carried his and his little cutie's schoolbags and walked to the rain shelter in front of the gymnasium.

Kuriyama Sakura stood under the awning watching the rain. Her straight back revealed a faint air of superiority—not in a derogatory sense, not aggressive, but simply a neutral attitude of observing things with a detached perspective.

To outsiders, she might be the epitome of aloofness, arrogance, and difficulty in getting along with others. Tazaki Tsukasa recalled that when she first met her, she had the same attitude, which, although uncomfortable, was exceptionally genuine.

If it weren't for Hoshino Hanami's request, she probably wouldn't have bothered to say a single word to me. A high-and-mighty young lady really doesn't need to think about how to get along with ordinary people, or how to make ordinary people think that she is actually a very easy person to get along with.

Who are you sending it to?

If she has the time and energy to study this, wouldn't it be better for her to read a couple more books and pet her cat a little longer?

That's why Tsukasa Tazaki didn't think there was anything wrong with her attitude. Just like what he had said to Takeo Hoshino—there is no such thing as misunderstanding, only differing opinions.

The so-called differing opinions are nothing more than different positions.

Kuriyama Sakura lifted her eyelids and glanced at him, her gaze lingering on his face for two or three seconds before she gave an extremely slight smile. Perhaps it was merely a twitch of the corner of her mouth, and she wasn't actually smiling.

Tazaki Tsukasa laughed and said, "That's a third-level smile."

"Third gear?"

"Yes, I've categorized the smiles you've shown me into four levels. Level one: a contemptuous sneer; Level two: a polite sneer; Level three: a moderately restrained faint smile; Level four: a personal smile."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kuriyama Sakura gave him a smile: "I think I've figured you out now. You're only interesting occasionally, but most of the time you're just as boring as a normal person, and you like to presumptuously label people."

"You're just overthinking things." Tsukasa Tazaki yawned, staring idly at the sky outside. Lead-gray clouds, like the floating islands in "Castle in the Sky," occupied most of the view, creating a heavy, oppressive feeling.

"Speaking of which, that slap just now was quite dignified, like that of an empress."

"good."

"In that case, the rumors will probably be even harder to quell."

“Anyway, I don’t care.” Kuriyama Sakura yawned elegantly, her tone vague: “Besides, refuting rumors is a very energy-consuming but ineffective thing.”

Me too.

"Your concubine seems to be the same."

"Headache."

"I hope we'll encounter situations like today again in the future."

"It's even more of a headache now."

"Regarding Eri Onodera..."

"Let her transfer schools."

Kuriyama Sakura's clear, cold eyes glared at him: "Are you teaching me how to do things?"

“Troublesome…” Tazaki Tsukasa scratched his head, his tone troubled: “Starting tomorrow, your only member will have to add the label of ‘beating women’ to his name.”

"You're really annoying." Kuriyama Sakura looked away, her cheeks puffing out slightly.

Light footsteps sounded behind them. The two turned around and saw Qichuan Wei, who had changed her clothes and was walking out. She walked out expressionlessly, opened her umbrella, and left.

It's a bit like the silhouette seen from the city wall at the end of "A Chinese Odyssey".

After thinking for a while, Tsukasa Tazaki felt that it was impolite to describe it that way, so he forgot about the scene.

The members of the kendo club changed their clothes and left the gymnasium one after another. Shiori Ninomiya was the last to come out, her left arm hanging limply at her side.

"Does it still hurt?" Tsukasa Tazaki asked.

"A little."

"Taking the tram in this weather is too much trouble, let me take you home."

Ninomiya Shiori tilted her head, looking at him with a face full of surprise, and asked, "Did I hear that right?"

Tsukasa Tazaki explained, "This whole thing started because of me, so I can't just do nothing."

"Kiki is amazing!"

"What would you like for dinner? I'll cook for you later."

"Anything made by Kiki is fine!"

Kuriyama Sakura glanced at the bubbly Hokkaido girl, then glared at Tazaki Tsukasa. The pattering rain was very clear all around, yet it inexplicably carried a sense of tranquility.

After a moment's thought, she said softly, "I'll go too."

Tsukasa Tazaki looked at her strangely: "Why are you interested in joining in the fun?"

Shiori Ninomiya tilted her head, her smile unchanged: "Okay, let's all three of us together."

Walking down the slope from the school gate to the main road, it was already completely dark. The streets were crowded with men and women leaving get off work, and traffic was extremely congested. The three of them waited for ages before they could finally hail a taxi.

While waiting at the first traffic light, the driver turned on the car CD player and played an album by Izumi Sakai.

Slowly, my heart was drawn to you.

Your smile fascinates me

Want to escape from this endless darkness

Hold my hand tightly

Tazaki Tsukasa leaned back in the passenger seat, glancing in the rearview mirror at the girl talking amongst herself in the back. The rain-soaked city outside rushed past, and he gradually felt himself transform into an eagle, soaring over Tokyo.

Forty minutes later, they returned to Otsuka. Shiori Ninomiya seemed to be in a good mood and bought a bunch of seemingly unnecessary odds and ends along the shopping street.

I bought six-color ballpoint pens, envelopes, and stationery at a stationery store; a toilet brush, dish soap, and ingredients for dinner at a supermarket; a melon and peaches at a fruit store; and soda, orange juice, and a large bag of cookies at a snack store.

Even the usually aloof Kuriyama Sakura couldn't help but smile.

Girls are probably born to love shopping. Tsukasa Tazaki was carrying a bunch of odds and ends in both hands, and she thought they looked like squirrels collecting food for the winter.

Of course, the two girls are cuter than the squirrel.

Three people with two umbrellas walked on the wet asphalt road. The equally wet power lines overhead crisscrossed like a spider web, reflecting a crystalline light under the streetlights.

It was around 8 p.m. when I returned to the rented apartment where Shiori Ninomiya lived.

The lights were on in the small courtyard, illuminating the beautifully trimmed cherry trees, where the landlord, Uncle Fujiwara, was squatting on the veranda feeding the white cat.

"Wow..." Kuriyama Sakura almost immediately squatted down in front of the white cat, stretching out her delicate little hand like a bamboo shoot: "What an adorable cat."

"Be careful..." Uncle Fujiwara reminded him with a hint of helplessness, "This cat is impossible to tame, even I don't allow it..."

"Meow~!" The white cat moved closer and rubbed its nose against the girl's palm before obediently squinting its eyes.

"It feels better than sardines." Kuriyama Sakura stroked the cat's head contentedly, then turned to the landlord: "What were you trying to say, sir?"

Uncle Fujiwara sighed sourly, "Do cats judge by appearance too?"

Meow~!

The white cat flicked its tail, as if to say, "Shut up, human."

As Tsukasa Tazaki walked up the corridor, she explained with a smile, "She has a thing for cats."

"Oh, it's you, the boy from last time." Uncle Fujiwara looked up and greeted him. Seeing the pile of shopping bags in his hands, he couldn't help but ask jokingly, "Like a man accompanying his girlfriend shopping, tell me honestly, what's your relationship with these two beautiful girls?"

One is my legal wife, and the other is my concubine.

If someone said that, it would probably shock him and make him exclaim, "Your entertainment circle is really messed up!"

And then... of course, I felt envious.

No man wouldn't envy this kind of thing, right?

Tazaki Tsukasa didn't consider himself an ordinary person, but a strange sense of satisfaction welled up inside him.

“Young man…” Uncle Fujiwara waved his hand in front of him, “Why aren’t you answering? And why are you smiling so strangely?”

Coming back to his senses from his strange reverie, Tsukasa Tazaki honestly replied, "They're all just ordinary classmates."

“He’s not ordinary.” The little cutie shook her head and said seriously, “He’s the most interesting person I’ve ever met.”

“This person is definitely not ordinary,” the little tablet added from the side. “This person is somewhat different from others.”

"When people ask what our relationship is, don't give irrelevant answers."

"Kiki, do you mean I'm not special enough?"

"Tasaki-san, please look at your heart. Are you really not moved at all?"

"I, no...you two...no, I..."

"Haha... I understand." Uncle Fujiwara chuckled a few times, speaking with the air of someone who'd been there all along: "Uncle was young once too, I was young back in the day..."

"We're going back inside now."

Upon reaching the second floor, Tsukasa Tazaki turned back and called out, "Kuriyama-kun, why don't you just bring the cat up with you?"

Kuriyama Sakura reluctantly let go of his hand.

Turn on the lights, change your shoes, and go inside.

Tsukasa Tazaki tied on his apron and volunteered to go to the kitchen.

Shiori Ninomiya went to the balcony, opened the window to let in some fresh air, and then carefully wiped the table with a cloth and changed the water in the vase. Sakura Kuriyama opened a can of orange juice she had just bought and leaned against the balcony door, drinking it slowly.

There are three potted tomato plants on the balcony, with seven or eight malnourished tomatoes growing from the lush green vines. Raindrops fall on them, slowly sliding down, and under the indoor light, the glistening tomatoes look rather delicate and delicious.

A flock of black-breasted birds, whose names I didn't know, flew over to take shelter from the rain. Shiori Ninomiya took some bread and ran to the balcony, tearing it into crumbs to feed the birds.

Kuriyama Sakura glanced at her briefly: "Is your hand alright?"

"I'm perfectly fine." The little cutie wiggled her left arm to prove she was alright. Then she widened her eyes and asked curiously, "It's really unexpected that Kuriyama-san would suggest coming to my house."