My Romance Simulation with Them

The female students gathered in front of the classroom, seemingly waiting for someone. Because they were really bored, they started a conversation.

"Speaking of which, that guy, it's so late, and he's still hiding alone in the science preparation room. He's really a weirdo."

A burst of laughter erupted among the girls.

Rio Futaba silently leaned against the wall at the corner.

"What's this called again? 'Good girl'? Is that still fashionable these days?"

"Haha...you're right! I've never seen anyone talk to her before..."

"During PE class, the boys who talk to her are basically all looking at her chest, right? Is that guy getting a little too cocky lately because he's prettier and has a better figure?"

Clearly recalling her time in PE class, one of the female students gritted her teeth as she thought of Rio Futaba, whose figure was far superior to that of the average female high school student.

"What's there to be so smug about? That guy doesn't even have any friends!"

They were discussing.

They were discussing it without any restraint.

Rio Futaba, who was hiding behind the wall, couldn't help but hug her arms tightly.

This is the treatment she has always received as someone who is unsociable, withdrawn, and behaves strangely.

In addition to her outstanding appearance and excellent grades, she is more likely to be envied and slandered by girls of the same age.

The heartbreaking and poignant discussions continue.

Rio Futaba could only hug her arms, feeling an inexplicable chill creeping up her body.

She had no one to rely on.

Because she naturally didn't want to trouble others, she didn't choose to call her friends at school to express her thoughts.

She could only endure it in silence.

Silently endure...

but--

"Aren't you going to talk to them about it?"

A clear voice rang in my ears.

Rio Futaba subconsciously looked up.

Under her somewhat bewildered gaze.

Nanxiang's handsome face suddenly came into view.

"Aren't you going to resist?"

The handsome young man with black hair lowered his voice and asked again.

"Are you just going to stand there like this, letting them talk to you like that, without even saying a word in response?"

Rio Futaba didn't answer; she just lowered her head, as if she had lost her soul.

"Since you're unwilling to speak, then I will..."

Nanxiang was just about to take a step.

But the next second—

Her clothes were tugged at.

At the same time, there was her weak, slightly trembling voice.

"...Don't go..."

"......" Nanxiang time.

"why?"

Nanxiang stopped and asked a question.

In his view, talking about others behind their backs is already offensive, so why not stop such behavior?

“I… hate myself, so I don’t want… Nango, to get involved in my affairs… to get you into trouble too.”

Rio Futaba spoke with an almost self-deprecating tone.

"......" Nanxiang time.

Nanxiang fell silent.

But he did not take another step.

"Thank you..."

As if sensing Nanxiang's actions, she, dressed in white, tightly grasped Nanxiang's sleeve, as if to express her gratitude, or perhaps to herself.

"Really... thank you."

Nanxiang lowered his head.

He still remembers her face, filled with extreme pain and sorrow, as she lowered her head and tugged at his sleeve in the sunlight.

Her cherry-pink lips clenched painfully.

His beautiful eyebrows were furrowed tightly together.

It looks so painful...

That action of tightly tugging at Nanxiang's sleeve.

It was as if all her courage had been exhausted.

You didn't take another step forward; instead, you stood still, quietly keeping her company.

Looking at her face contorted in pain, as if this wasn't the first time she'd suffered this treatment, all you could do was reach out and gently stroke her head.

Although the effect was slight, you did see it; under the soothing touch of your hand, the pain on the girl's face lessened.

But her fingers, gripping your sleeve, didn't loosen under your touch; instead, they tightened even more...

"This is...?"

Slowly waking from the simulated memories, Nanxiang raised an eyebrow.

He really didn't expect that.

It's incredible that the science prodigy Rio Futaba said something like "I hate myself".

Just from this one sentence.

Nanxiang had already keenly noticed this.

Rio Futaba's masochistic tendencies seem to far surpass those of Ichiri Goto.

But just this one sentence...

"We can't figure anything out for now."

Nango Toki abandoned his idea of ​​speculating about Futaba Rio's psychology.

Their gaze remained fixed on the simulation.

[Time moves forward.]

[You and Rio Futaba both understand each other implicitly, and neither of you has mentioned what happened that day at the corner of the wall.]

Your relationship with her also progressed rapidly during this stage.

She often uses the topic of relationship counseling to start conversations with you, even though the content of her talks has long since become unrelated to relationship issues.

[And your occasional visits to the science preparation room are enough to soften the expression on this usually expressionless science student's face.]

At Ocha High School, she only had two friends.

[One is Sakuta Azusagawa, and the other is Yuuma Kunimi.]

But after meeting you, another name was added to her list of friends, which she cherished dearly.

Your relationship with Rio Futaba has deepened.

You have become Rio Futaba's friend.

Scenes and words flashed through my mind.

Memories from the simulation surfaced in my mind.

The location was the science preparation room at Ocha High School.

The speaker was Nango Toki.

"Rio, I need a coffee, I'm freezing."

As he walked into the science preparation room, carrying a library book, he began to speak.

"...This is not a place for you to escape the cold, Nanxiang."

He replied in a cold voice.

But soon, the girl in white brought out a cup of hot coffee: "Here you go."

She handed the hot coffee to Nango.

Then, she leaned against the table in the science preparation room, resting her chin on her hand.

Those golden eyes watched as Nango blew away the steam rising from the surface of his hot coffee, then carefully brought his lips to the rim of the cup, took a small sip, and exhaled a satisfied breath—

That's the expression on Nango's face.

For some reason, Rio Futaba's usually indifferent face softened.

Is that enough?

As she approached Nanxiang, she took her own cup and asked softly.

"That's enough...cough cough cough!"

He spoke too quickly and choked.

"Honestly... I told you to drink slower."

He frowned.