I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Unfortunately, the expectation will not come true.

Just like how she thought she could stay in the final round until the very end, but then she couldn't help but say that sentence today and started to back down on her own.

The lonely and quiet air accompanied her all the way to the courtyard.

Some people were cleaning up the remaining campfire, while many couples were cuddling in various corners, treating the school like a park at night, exuding hormones.

Natsukawa Masaki sighed heavily, raised his weak hand, and rubbed his cheeks vigorously.

She rubbed his cold, hard muscles until they turned red, then walked over with a nonchalant expression, found a deserted step, sat down, propped her cheek on her hand, and stared blankly at the night sky.

Perhaps someone will ask—

Having been disappointed countless times, why stay at school instead of just leaving?

good question.

She suddenly lowered her gaze and glared coldly and disdainfully at the couple passing by, until they fled back to the teaching building with shame. Only then did she let out a soft snort, her expression softening slightly, before turning to the next target and continuing to glare.

Whew~ To vent my pent-up resentment and frustration, I guess I still have to resort to hunting down couples...

"Huh, Natsukawa-kun? Didn't you leave early?"

Hearing someone speak to him, Natsukawa Masuzu put away his deep, cold smile and casually turned his head away.

They are classmates.

"Yes, but I came back after I felt a bit better. It's a pity I missed the cultural festival and couldn't help everyone. I'm really sorry."

"Don't worry about it, your health is more important." The kind classmate hesitated for a moment, pointed to the teaching building, and suggested, "There should still be some fried chicken left in the classroom, do you want to go eat some?"

"No, I don't like that kind of food." Natsukawa Masuzu withdrew her gaze, her expressionless profile radiating a cold, "leave me alone" attitude.

"...Okay, then be careful."

The helpful student wisely turned and left, but judging from the way he kept turning back and looking worried, he might ask the teacher to check on him when he got back to the classroom.

This is really troublesome.

With a silent sigh, Natsukawa Masuzu turned her head slightly and replied in as polite a tone as possible, "I understand. My driver is waiting outside. Thank you for your concern, Nogizaka-san."

"Huh?" After a moment of surprise, Nogizaka-san smiled with relief, patting her chest, and said, "Oh, that's good!"

"Well then, see you tomorrow, Natsukawa-kun!"

She bowed politely to herself before running away quickly in a particularly ladylike manner, no longer worrying about looking back.

I don't know why, but she seemed quite happy?

"How stupid..."

With her cheek pressed against her palm, Natsukawa Masuzu looked back at the courtyard in front of her, half-closing her eyes and muttering something.

It's just that I spoke to a classmate I don't usually interact with. Is it really necessary to be so happy?

It's not like it's with someone I have a crush on...

Although it was embarrassing, Natsukawa Masuzu believed that if Tenkuji Yu ever took the initiative to care about her, she would be as happy as a dog being petted and fed by its owner.

Thinking about it that way, it seems there's no reason to criticize that person from before.

With a sense of clarity that she didn't know why, Natsukawa Masuzu stopped using her gaze to kill the couple. Instead, she stared blankly at the clear yet profound night sky, letting herself be completely enveloped by the quiet darkness.

Stop thinking, stop considering, just like paint trying to blend into ink, lean against the cold, hard stone beside you, completely forgetting the passage of time.

Unfortunately, this solitude didn't last long.

It seemed to be time to leave school, and many students began to file out of the teaching building with their backpacks on their backs. On their way to the school gate, I saw myself sitting alone on the edge of the courtyard.

Some ignored her, some walked away with curious glances, and some boys, after hesitating for a moment, mustered up the courage to come over and strike up a conversation.

"Um, Natsukawa-kun..."

"Sorry, I need some peace and quiet."

One gets rid of, another comes.

"Any worries? I can be your dumping ground..."

"My problem is that there are too many trash cans in Japan, making it hard to know how to sort them."

"Natsukawa-kun, today's cultural festival..."

"I left early today, and I'm not interested."

"Hey, woman..."

"Hey, male, do you know what this is? It's a high-end anti-wolf alarm that can send a distress signal directly to the nearest police station. In other words, if you dare take another step closer to me, I'll press it. Get lost, understand?"

"..."

In just ten minutes, she lost count of how many predatory young men, eager to prey on disillusioned girls during the festival's lingering atmosphere, had driven away.

If it weren't for the fact that she really didn't want to admit defeat to those guys who tried to flirt with her, Natsukawa Masuzu would have already moved to another spot and been spacing out. Why bother staying here and attracting those flies and mosquitoes?

"Sigh... never mind, let's go home."

But his enthusiasm had almost worn off. As the lights in the teaching building went out one by one and fewer students left the school gate, Natsukawa Masaki stood up with a bored expression and patted the dust off his backside.

What should I do after I get home?

...The first thing to do is to take down all the photos on the wall.

If you can forget him, then you can be carefree and have no more worries about anyone or what memories you've lost. If you can't forget him, you can give yourself a reason to stay by his side, even if he grows to hate you more and more.

"But in the end, even if I had held back then, I probably would have blurted it out again if the same thing happened in the future..."

Natsukawa Masaki shook his head, a sneer curving his lips, yet tinged with bitterness.

I don't know how many times I regretted my impulsive words this morning, nor how many times I felt dissatisfied with him. I increasingly felt that I deserved to be hated by him and his sister, and my mood gradually became heavy, unable to escape the vortex of self-loathing.

She understood that it was time to make a decision.

"Excuse me, may I ask..."

Just as he was getting to the most crucial point, someone behind him suddenly spoke, interrupting his train of thought.

Another one! ...

"whispering sound!"

No longer able to suppress her impatience, Natsukawa Masaki smacked her lips and glared at him coldly.

"How annoying! Why don't you go back to the bathroom, look in the mirror, and then try to chat me up? Don't think you're so great—"

Before she could finish speaking, she slowly opened her mouth wide and froze on the spot like a statue.

Like a chicken with its neck choked, it opens its mouth but can't make a sound.

Before her, the familiar handsome boy blinked in confusion. After glancing left and right to make sure that the person she was scolding was none other than himself, he slowly raised his index finger and politely, but not without embarrassment, pointed towards the school gate.

"Uh, shall I leave?"

……

After the bonfire party in the Service Department.

Because all the trash bags in the building were collected, they had to take all their trash with them when they left home to sort it.

"There's nothing left inside, right?"

After turning off the lights and all electrical appliances and asking everyone for directions, Yukino Yukinoshita finally walked out of the dark Service Club and locked the door.

The corridor was quiet and dimly lit, with only a few pale light bulbs illuminating the way.

As they went downstairs, Tenkuji Yu walked ahead, with Kasugano Sora, who was afraid of the dark, holding his hand tightly, while his two girlfriends naturally lagged behind.

This is exactly what Yui Yuigahama wanted.

She leaned closer to her shoulder and whispered in her best friend's ear, "Yukino, about that thing you mentioned before..."

"Wait!" Yukino Yukinoshita quickly covered her mouth, then took out her phone and sent a message.

"It's too quiet here. If we whisper, he'll definitely hear us. Let's communicate by phone."

The electronic light from the screen illuminated her fair, pinkish cheeks and her earnest, slightly embarrassed gaze.

After nodding silently and forcefully, Yui Yuigahama also took out her phone and replied to the message with even faster typing speed than Yui Yuigahama.

"I feel like Xiaoxue is even more enthusiastic than she was this morning~ So, have you thought about how to reward Xiaoyou?"

"Not yet, but I think he should not only be rewarded, but also given a little punishment... During the Virtual Research period, he was so engrossed in playing games with Yuki that he basically forgot we were still waiting for him outside."

"What??? That's too much!! No wonder you guys came out so late, I thought you wanted to spend more time alone with Xiaoyou... I didn't expect it to be like this! (／‵Д′)／~ ╧╧"

"...Is this how you see me, Yui?"

"Ahem, Xiaoxue, let me explain... In short, let's discuss when and what kind of punishment and reward we should give Xiaoyou! She's almost leaving school!"

"You never intended to explain, did you...?"

Although he heard some strange noises behind him, after glancing back and finding that the girls were just chatting on their phones, Yuu Tenkuji didn't pay much attention and continued walking ahead with his sister.

Leaving the special building and stepping out of the dark and quiet grove, we joined the many students leaving the teaching building as we passed through the courtyard. We converged in front of the school gate and then gradually dispersed to various streets or waiting cars.

However, before that, Yuu Tenkuji noticed the slender figure with silver hair reaching her waist.

She sat alone on the stone steps in the corner of the courtyard, looking like a little Persian cat drenched in rain, exuding a gloomy fragility and desolation, yet proudly unwilling to be touched.

At least from behind her, Yuu Tenkuji saw her ruthlessly reject two male students who tried to chat her up, and then continue to stare blankly at the night sky.

"What is that guy doing over there...?"

Tenkuji Yu hesitated for a moment, glanced back at his two girlfriends who were still staring at their phones and huddled together, and suddenly handed the plastic bag of trash in his hand to Sora.

"I saw someone I know, could you help me carry this while I go say hello?"

It was getting late, and Natsukawa Masuzu was a beautiful young woman living alone, without any friends to go back with—it was only natural that he couldn't just leave her unattended, so he had to go and check on her.

Without thinking too much, Yuu Tenkuji walked towards Masuzu Natsukawa in the distance, ignoring Sora Kasugano's questioning gaze.

The darkness enveloped her slender figure, with only a faint light illuminating her long, straight, smooth, and lustrous silver hair from above, making her look as beautiful as a cascading silver river, gently swaying behind her in the evening breeze.

After thinking for a moment, to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, he decided to start the conversation in a more polite tone:

"Excuse me, may I ask..."

Before he could finish speaking, Natsukawa Masaki suddenly turned around and launched into a tirade of abuse: