I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

...Although no one would actually assassinate him, he probably wouldn't escape being shot by a sniper rifle.

"There's no one around. Did they anticipate I'd pass by... or are they just randomly shooting birds?"

After his aching head calmed down considerably, Yuu Tenkuji squatted down. Out of caution, he didn't pick up the flyer to read it, but instead pressed down a corner of the paper with his foot and examined the contents.

"Want to know the shape of the future? Want to protect yourself and your family from the unknown? The third-year fortune-telling house can provide answers to both love and career questions... You are unique, your past is the same and your future is the same. Your dramatic fate has already been written in the world's notebook."

Is this a flyer for the cultural festival?

Muttering to himself, Tenkuji Yuu frowned in deep thought.

Thanks to the help he had given Yukino before, he quickly remembered that the stall set up by the seniors of Class 3-A at this cultural festival was indeed a fortune-telling shop.

So the question is, why are the flyers here?

They were all weighed down with stones, and placed on this deserted path. It can't be a coincidence, can it?

Suppose someone knows he will be passing by here at this time, would they do this on purpose to convey some message to him through this flyer, or to invite him to meet at the fortune teller's shop?

Is it a prank, or is there something important they really want to discuss?

Countless possibilities flashed through her mind. Tenkuji Yu stood up, kicked away the pebbles, and stretched wearily.

Just then, a gust of wind swept past, carrying the leaflet towards the woods, and it quickly disappeared into the distant withered branches.

"Tsk... Class 3-A? I don't know anyone there..."

Muttering to himself, he continued walking towards the teaching building.

The moment she stepped onto the stairs, as if a sudden flash of inspiration struck her, and Tenkuji Yu froze on the spot.

Pinching his chin with his fingers, he widened his eyes and whispered in disbelief:

"Oh right, and Kasumigaoka Utaha, that stalker upperclassman... she's definitely in Class 3-A."

"But she has no reason to contact me this way..."

Last time they bumped into each other, she was so scared that she ran away. Yuu Tenkuji really couldn't figure out what reason that senior with the huge black stockings would have to go to such lengths to find her...

△

The teaching building, third floor, women's restroom.

Kasumigaoka Utaha opened the black-covered notebook from the last page.

"At 7:20 a.m., after Tenkuji Yu and his sister Kasugano Sora pass by, you emerge from behind the big tree where you were hiding, place a flyer on the path leading from the special building to the teaching building, weigh it down with a stone, and then quickly flee the spot."

At 7:31 a.m., Tenkuji Yu saw the flyer and used his extremely strong senses to check the surroundings, but found no one.

At 7:33 AM, after confirming the contents of the flyer, Yuu Tenkuji kicked away a pebble, letting the flyer fly away, and left on his own...

"Extremely strong perception? Does he really think he's a Saint Seiya? Sigh, luckily I left my things and ran away, otherwise it would have been troublesome."

Scratching her smooth, straight black hair, Kasumigaoka Utaha sighed wearily, stuffed her notebook back into her bag, and got up from the toilet.

"In short, it's good that the plan is going smoothly."

She narrowed her eyes, her pomegranate-red pupils flashing with a deep, sharp light, like the brightest starlight in the night sky.

As she opened the bathroom door, accompanied by a cold snort, the pride and confidence of the bestselling high school girl author returned to her beautiful face.

"What kind of shitty fate is this? I'll rewrite it for you!"

……

The opening ceremony of the Sobu High School Cultural Festival will be held at 8:00 AM.

At approximately 7:35, Yuu Tenkuji returned to Class F. The classroom door was wide open, and the atmosphere inside and out was lively and cheerful, like a temple fair or the prelude to a festival.

Yui was chatting with Miura and the others, so Yuu Tenkuji didn't have the sense to interrupt. He casually hung his backpack on the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

Not far away, Totsuka Saika waved to him with a smile, said a few words to her friend beside her, and then walked over.

"Good morning, Yu."

Good morning, Totsuka.

After glancing outside for a moment, the silver-haired handsome boy asked curiously, "Yu, I heard from other people that you brought your sister to the cultural festival today?"

"Huh?" Tenkuji Yu's eyebrows twitched, and he couldn't help but twitch his lips speechlessly. "I've only been in school for a short time, and the news has spread way too fast..."

Chapter 145 Yukino's eyes suddenly sharpened

"After all, Yu is very popular, and your fan club is very active, basically updating your information in real time..."

Totsuka Ayaka gave a wry smile, took out her phone, and opened the campus forum. A post was displayed at the very top.

"The mysterious girl next to Yuu Tenkuji is incredibly cute, so small!"

The text then describes meeting them at the school gate in the morning, and in general, it only explains the information that "he brought his sister to school to participate in the cultural festival." Even the accompanying picture is just a photo taken from a distance, which is not too outrageous.

"I already have a girlfriend, and these people are still so enthusiastic." With a helpless sigh, Yuu Tenkuji handed the phone back to Saika Totsuka, pouting, "Gossip is indeed human nature. Luckily, it's not too outrageous, otherwise I'd have to think about how to teach those ungrateful guys a lesson..."

Even his fans, if they dare to cause trouble for him and Sora, Tenkuji Yu will not hesitate to issue a warning.

However, since nothing serious has happened yet, there have been many dissenting voices under the post, such as "Does this even need to be a post?", "The poster is really bored. If they don't want to study for the school festival, shouldn't they be helping their class prepare a booth?", and "Stop making these anti-fan comments that interfere with idols' private lives." (Anti: meaning opponents or haters.)

So he simply logged into his campus forum account and left a message at the very bottom:

"Hello everyone, this is the main temple of Tenkuji. My sister is a bit shy and hopes to enjoy this cultural festival quietly with everyone, so if anyone sees me on the street, please just greet me with your eyes~"

With such high emotional intelligence, surely no one would still want to throw insults at him?

Too lazy to see what replies would appear below, after finishing the basic public relations response, Yuu Tenkuji put his phone back in his pocket, suddenly raised a teasing smile, and asked Saika Totsuka: "How was it? Everything went smoothly during the rehearsal, right? Your debut performance is in a little over an hour, and I'm really looking forward to it."

"Don't say that, it makes me nervous!" Totsuka Ayaka pouted, her eyes bright and watery, her cheeks slightly flushed as she complained to him, "There are so many girls in the class who could be the heroine, why did it have to be me..."

Yuu Tenkuji spread his hands: "After all, your physique isn't suitable for being the male lead."

"I'd be happy to play a supporting role!"

"But the female lead suits you better than the supporting role."

"Then let me work behind the scenes..." Totsuka Saika was already fidgeting with her fingers, looking aggrieved.

"If you really didn't want it, you should have refused earlier."

Yuu Tenkuji patted his shoulder and gently advised him, "It's no use complaining now. Celebrate! The male lead has been replaced with a female classmate dressed as a boy. Everyone just wanted to play with the gender-swap gimmick; they don't really see you as a girl."

"Sigh, that's all I can think about now." Totsuka Ayaka sighed weakly and muttered, "If we're going to have to be the female lead, we might as well let Yuu be the male lead..."

“After all, it’s easier to act with friends.” Tenkuji Yu didn’t misunderstand and just laughed heartily. “But I’m sorry, I haven’t been an actor for a long time.”

"You talk as if you used to be an actress." Totsuka Ayaka laughed, clearly not thinking that what she had just said was ambiguous.

The two hadn't been chatting for long when the clock slowly struck eight. Amidst the school-wide announcement, students filed out of the classroom, their excited and expectant atmosphere filling the air as they made their way towards the gymnasium in a chaotic hustle and bustle.

"Oh, right, Yu." While mingling in the line in the gymnasium and taking her place as instructed by her teacher, Totsuka Saika suddenly remembered something. "Was the movie the Service Club made shown in your clubroom?"

"That was the original plan, but firstly, the audience would have to walk a long way to the special building to see the movie, which felt a bit redundant. Secondly, we didn't want the department office to be crowded with people, making it impossible to find a quiet place to rest. So we decided to show it in the audiovisual classroom along with the film research club's movie."

Yu Tenkuji explained, "The broadcast time should already be posted outside the audiovisual classroom. Our department head will also come up on stage to explain the specifics later."

"Your department head? Ah, you mean Yukinoshita-san!" Totsuka Ayaka nodded in realization. "I remember she was also the chairperson of the executive committee for this year's cultural festival. You even went there to help out before..."

"Yeah, it's because I can't stop worrying about her," Yuu Tenkuji shrugged, seemingly unconcerned.

Although he never said anything about having affairs, considering that Totsuka Saika wasn't the type to overthink things, Tenkuji Yu didn't bother to explain further.

Even if he finds out, it doesn't really matter. Yuu Tenkuji has a considerable degree of trust in this friend, who is practically his only same-sex friend... As for whether he will be alienated because of this, that's hard to say.

About five or six minutes later, the gymnasium was packed with more than 800 students from three grades.

They lined up neatly according to their respective classes, and the noisy chatter echoed, gradually subsiding under the supervision of the instructors, rising and falling like the buzzing of mosquitoes.

It wasn't until the cool-looking, stern-eyed black-haired beauty stepped onto the stage and fearlessly looked down at the sea of ​​people below that all sound was completely frozen by her gaze, and the entire stadium fell into a deathly silence.

Yukino Yukinoshita tapped the microphone to confirm that there was sound, then parted her pink lips expressionlessly.

"The opening ceremony of this General Martial Arts Festival shall now commence."

Her melodious voice, like the gentle flow of a clear spring, settled coolly into the air, instantly invigorating the listener.

She then handed the stage over to the emcee, while the black-haired beauty stepped aside and began organizing her speech as if no one else was around.

She would only occasionally glance at the audience, and it was unclear what she saw. She always held her speech notes to cover her beautiful lips, and only the slight twitching at the corner of her eye revealed that she was not as calm as she appeared.

After the national anthem and school song were sung, the principal, school board members, and various department heads took the stage to give speeches, and then it was Yukino Yukinoshita's turn as a student representative.

This part was usually handled by the student council president, but because the current student council is in a state of retirement and is just waiting for the new people to take over the work, there were no student council members at all during this year's cultural festival.

Therefore, the one who stands at the top and issues orders is the chairman of the executive committee.

The chairperson spoke eloquently in front of nearly a thousand spectators, her clear, cool voice reciting the dry speech with an air of nonchalance, seemingly unconcerned about them. The students, who had been dozing off, were jolted awake as if splashed with ice water, their eyes widening involuntarily and unable to tear their attention away from her.

Yuu Tenkuji was one of them.

Because of his excellent eyesight, even though there were hundreds of people between them, the girl's appearance was still clearly imprinted in his eyes.

Soft and lustrous lead-pink hair, a slightly upturned tuft of hair on the top of her head, and a delicate face the size of a palm; clear and bright eyes, long and curled eyelashes, a cute and pert little nose, and soft and sweet cherry-colored lips...

Slender, delicate shoulders, a tiny waist that could be encircled with one hand, flawless, straight, and slender legs, and the pristine white expanse between stockings and a short skirt...

The modesty of that area is not a flaw, but rather highlights her many advantages—such as her beautifully curved collarbone, her fair and alluring nape of the neck, or her crystal-clear earlobes that turn a blushing pink like cherry blossoms when she is shy; all of these can be described as a man's treasure.

And then there's personality, which is a whole lot to talk about.

After all, they both started by disliking each other, but now they are deeply in love and genuinely regard each other as incredibly important lovers.

Knowing its flaws, knowing its wickedness, yet still attracted to it, unknowingly developing a liking for its form, like two magnets finally aligning their poles, their fingers finally intertwined...

Falling in love with someone has always been a bittersweet experience, bringing satisfaction and even a touch of regret.

No matter how many times he had to go through it, no matter how much pain he had to endure, Yuu Tenkuji could never deny that he enjoyed the feeling.

He enjoyed having a girlfriend and never regretted the time they spent together.

'I love you, Yukino Yukinoshita.'

Yuu Tenkuji stood in the crowd, gazing at the center of the stage, at the aloof yet delicate girl who loved him unconditionally.

He couldn't suppress his smile, and his eyes shone brightly, like a child seeing the first snow of winter, staring straight at her.

"...May you all write unforgettable chapters in this festival."

As he finished his speech and bowed to leave the stage, Yukino Yukinoshita looked over as if she sensed something, and their eyes met.