I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

"System, has the physical enhancement been applied to hair follicles? If the price of becoming stronger is going bald, then I'd rather be a kept man for the rest of my life!"

system:"……"

△

The next morning, Monday.

The autumn rain shrouded the campus of Zongwu High School like mist. As September drew to a close and October approached, the weather began to turn cold, and cool dewdrops rolled down the yellowing leaves from time to time.

During class meeting, Hiratsuka Shizuka, the teacher of Class 2-F, stood in front of the podium, with two large characters written on the blackboard behind her—

Autumn outing.

"Ahem! I'm sure you all know perfectly well that we'll have a chance to go out and have fun after the midterms and before the cultural season."

"oh--!"

Cheers erupted, and Hiratsuka Shizuya couldn't help but smile warmly.

"It's a pity we're going camping in a nearby scenic area instead of Hokkaido where the autumn leaves are in full bloom right now."

"Oh……"

The visible disappointment only made Hiratsuka Shizuka's smile even brighter.

"Fortunately, there's plenty of free time on this autumn outing. You can play from morning till night without having to listen to boring guided tours. You can stroll freely in the embrace of the mountains and forests and do whatever you want!"

"oh--!"

The audience erupted in excitement again, several couples gazing lovingly at each other. Hiratsuka Shizuya nodded in satisfaction and cheerfully announced:

"And the most exciting thing is that—this autumn outing prohibits free team formation; teammates will be assigned by drawing lots, and a fixed number of people must be reported back to avoid getting separated!"

"……ah????!!!"

There was a moment of silence, followed by a chorus of wails and incredulous shouts that filled the classroom.

"This is so weird!"

"What kind of autumn outing is this restrictive!"

"Even if we're going to listen to a guided tour, let us form our own groups!"

"Yeah, yeah, what's fun about teaming up with strangers?!"

Despite the protests from the audience, Hiratsuka Shizuka remained calm and said leisurely with her arms crossed, "Hey, hey, hey~ You're all classmates, where did these strangers come from? The school festival is coming up, we can't afford not to take this opportunity to build class cohesion."

"What class cohesion? Teacher—"

A certain blonde double-helix drill bit was about to get up and argue, but she glared at him and shut him up. He opened his mouth but couldn't say a word, looking as aggrieved as an emperor penguin who had been slapped on the head.

Hiratsuka Shizuka chuckled coldly, her gaze sweeping across the audience below the stage. Her aura was as fierce as a raging lion, glaring bloodthirstyly at the restless students.

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking..."

"You want to have a fun date with your friends and lover, and use the time that school gives you to appreciate nature to dance together in the woods, right?"

"Sure, as long as you can prove that your bond is strong enough to overcome luck, your teacher won't say anything more, won't be jealous at all, and will even offer you the most sincere blessings!"

That gentle voice, tinged with resentment and indignation, silenced all the students, who dared not speak for fear of being dragged onto the stage and subjected to a brutal beating.

At this point, Hiratsuka Shizuka glanced at Tenkuji Yu, who was casually propping his cheek up and seemed completely uninterested in the autumn outing, then put away his mournful expression and sighed softly.

"While our school doesn't prohibit dating, for the sake of the school's reputation, please behave like students outside of school and avoid any frivolous behavior that might be criticized by the public—especially not in front of older single women. We won't interfere with the rest, so don't worry."

A collective sigh of relief rose and fell. Under Hiratsuka-sensei's combined force and persuasion, the students abandoned their desire to continue fighting for their rights and began to look forward to the fun of the autumn outing once again.

Tenkuji Yuzuru's brow twitched, and he sat up slightly, looking at the female teacher on the stage.

Is he implying something to himself?

Hiratsuka Shizuka didn't even glance at him. Instead, she took out the divination tube from underneath and slammed it onto the podium with a bang.

"Alright! Student number one, come up and draw lots. After you draw your lots, write your group number on the blackboard. Hurry up!"

At the teacher's instruction, everyone took turns going up on stage to draw lots.

As more and more numbers appeared on the blackboard, the classroom became increasingly noisy and chaotic, with occasional cheers, sighs, and even some undisguised smacking sounds.

The rule is that three people form a group, and the best combination for Yuu Tenkuji is naturally to be in a group with Saika Totsuka and Yui Yuigahama.

Unfortunately, their bond seemed unable to overcome the sleeping slave of fate. Totsuka Saika quickly drew a group that was missing only one person, and immediately gave him a wry smile in disappointment.

Yuu Tenkuji was drawn into Group F, which was currently empty, and waited for his teammates to go on stage and fill in their student ID numbers.

Final result——

"Is this a good thing or a bad thing...?"

The rest of the class meeting was for group members to interact with each other.

Yuu Tenkuji looked at the two girls in front of him, subconsciously pressed his temples, and his expression was somewhat subtle.

He missed Totsuka, but he didn't miss his good friend Yui Yuigahama.

The girl with the bun hairstyle looked extremely happy, as if she had drawn the most ideal lot, her face full of joy and anticipation.

As for the other team member...

She first gave him a scrutinizing look, then pouted and said uninterestedly, "Nice to meet you~", before turning back to her seat to chat with her other friends.

Instead of leaving with the other person, Yui Yuigahama smiled brightly, her little fists clenched in front of her chest, and an invisible tail could be vaguely seen swirling behind her.

"I never expected to be grouped with Yuuko and Yumiko! This is probably the luckiest moment of my year!"

That's right.

The F group for this autumn outing consisted of him, Yui Yuigahama, and Yui Yuigahama's friend, Yumiko Miura, who was known as the "Queen of Flames" in Class F.

For some reason, Yuu Tenkuji couldn't be happy at all, and naturally, she had no expectations for the autumn outing.

"Well, I'm not familiar with her, so there shouldn't be any problems, right..."

After thinking it over, he relaxed and talked with Yui Yuigahama about the autumn outing.

My phone suddenly vibrated.

Masuzu: "I can feel it. You're smelling Dango-chan's scent right now, aren't you?!"

Ayu: "...Are you the perverted version of DIO?"

△

lunch break.

Surprisingly, Natsukawa Masuzu did not invite him to lunch.

When I went to class J, the students there said she had left the classroom early and they didn't know where she had gone.

Since that's the case, Yuu Tenkuji decided to head to the Service Club to enjoy a long-awaited lunchtime surrounded by the fragrance of young girls and the tranquil aroma of tea.

"I called the police."

The girl's clear, resonant voice rang out before his.

Tenkuji Yu paused slightly, then closed the door behind him and walked to his usual seat.

"You called the police as soon as I walked in with a lunchbox, and you didn't bite your tongue and kill yourself on the spot if I had a rope with me?"

“You can try.” She closed her book by the window, stood up, and walked toward the cabinet where the kettle and tea set were kept. “Only Tenkuji-kun, who is good with words, can no longer be intimidated by your verbal threats… So, save yourself the trouble of such despicable behavior; it will only make you look more cheap.”

The girl's slender swan neck seemed to proudly sway slightly.

He, however, adopted a pretentious and sarcastic tone: "Really? Your defiant attitude is even more endearing, Minister."

She made herself a cup of tea, not even glancing at Tenkuji Yu, and said calmly, "Of course I'm cute, I don't need you to tell me."

"Humph……"

Yuu Tenkuji couldn't help but smile as he looked out the window at the quiet world where the autumn rain was falling.

Yukino Yukinoshita's lips, which were pressed against the rim of the cup, lifted slightly.

Neither of them looked at the other; only a tacit understanding, rediscovered, lingered in the rare moment of solitude amidst the aroma of tea.

But only a few seconds later...

"Excuse me, I have a lost Sea King here. Could you please help me find him?"

"Neptune?"

Yukino Yukinoshita put down her teacup and glanced at the speechless Yuu Tenkuji with a sneer.

Without saying much to him, she calmly addressed the door, "The door isn't locked, come in... Your lost item is here, Natsukawa-kun."

Natsukawa Masaki opened the classroom door, her translucent silver hair swaying, and smiled slightly at her.

"Yuu is no good, Yukinoshita-kun."

Yukino Yukinoshita nodded in complete agreement: "He really is a scoundrel."

"Oh dear, great minds think alike."

The two jewel-like beauties smiled at each other, having reached a rare consensus on a certain issue.

The only one who was hurt was Yuu Tenkuji, who was silently opening her bento box while holding chopsticks at the edge of the long table.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Even Resentment Is Shaped Like Love

"If it's something that can't be discussed here, then I suggest you go outside to talk about it."

After exchanging pleasantries, Yukino Yukinoshita opened her bento box and glanced at the two of them thoughtfully: "Before we go any further, let me ask one more question... The request should be progressing very smoothly, right?"

"Yes, as expected of the club members led by Club President Yukinoshita." After offering a completely insincere compliment, Natsukawa Masuzu looked at Tenkuji Yu and said in a light tone, "Since I started 'dating' him, no one has been so tactless as to confess to me anymore, and he has also secretly solved a lot of trouble for me... Being able to come to the Service Club for help is truly the best choice I've ever made in my life!"

“That’s going too far, Natsukawa-kun.” Yukinoshita showed no sign of happiness. Instead, she pressed her temples as if she had a headache and sighed. “I didn’t intend to take credit for solving the case. I only asked a few questions out of my duty as the department head. So, have you considered when to end the ‘pretend couple’ relationship? The timing of the breakup is quite important, and we also need to consider the follow-up plans.”

"The end?" Natsukawa Masaki blinked, seemingly having never considered the question, her expression slightly bewildered.

Yukino Yukinoshita frowned slightly, looking at her with confusion: "Haven't you thought about the aftermath? We can't just wait for everyone to gradually forget about this, can we?"

"...Indeed, it's something we should seriously consider."

She snapped out of her daze, smiled nonchalantly, and replied calmly, "Thank you for the reminder, Yukinoshita-san. However, we've only just started dating, and it will probably take a few more months for this matter to fully develop. Thinking about breaking up now feels too early... Let's just play it by ear for now."

Yukino Yukinoshita tapped her fingers lightly on the table and glanced at Yuu Tenkuji, who was watching from the sidelines. Yuu seemed to be pondering something, but then gave up and shrugged lightly.