Tokyo Soft Rice King.

You just hide behind women and let them deal with things. What kind of man are you?

You good-for-nothing who lives off a woman!

If you're a man, step forward!

Although he didn't say it aloud, Akira Kuroba gleaned the above from Ryota Sumitomo's resentful gaze.

Immature students often have difficulty controlling their emotions...

Let's hope this incident doesn't cause him to turn from love to hate, become corrupted, and do something antisocial or inhumane.

You should know that high school students living a simple life are incredibly capable; they might do anything in extreme situations.

We must nip the danger in the bud.

Thinking of this, Hei Yuming sighed, stood up, patted the class monitor on the shoulder and said.

"Class monitor, why don't you go to the arts and literature department and have lunch with the other members?"

Anri Hitomi was stunned for a moment. She thought she had been firm enough and that the matter would be over once Sumitomo Ryota lost face and left on his own. But she didn't expect Kuroba Akira to step forward again.

"What about you, Kuroba-kun?"

“Sumitomo was looking for me first, and sometimes catching a glove thrown to you is a form of etiquette.”

Kuroba Akira gave the class monitor a look that said, "Don't worry, leave it to me." Anri Hitomi understood and, although he hesitated, finally nodded.

"...I understand, but if things escalate into a fight between you two, I will go and explain this to Ms. Motoko."

"No, it was just friendly conversation between men."

After saying that, Kuroba Akira left his seat and walked towards the back door. He turned back and beckoned to Sumitomo Ryota, who was still in a daze.

"Come on, didn't you have something to say to me? I'll reluctantly talk to you about it."

Ryota Sumitomo snapped out of his daze and quickly followed.

After they exited through the back door, Kuroba Akira asked him.

"So, where to go? Find somewhere, or are you going to talk in the corridor? If we talk here, we'll just get watched."

"...Come with me."

Led by Sumitomo Ryota, the two walked out of the school building and came to the back of the sports storage room, a place where no one would come during lunch break, making it a perfect place for bullying to happen.

However, bullying is rarely seen in Hibiya High School, or rather, "overt bullying" is rarely seen.

Students who can get into this high school wouldn't be so stupid as to extort money from students at school.

Upon arrival, Kuroba Akira, with his hands in his pockets, began the conversation.

"Speak, what do you want to ask?"

Along the way, Sumitomo Ryota was also thinking about what to say to Kuroba Akira. He also realized that Kuroba Akira might not be the kind of bad guy who tricked Hitomi as he thought, nor was he a coward hiding behind a woman.

After his anger level dropped, Sumitomo Ryota regained his composure, and he had many things he wanted to understand.

"...What is your relationship with Xiaotong?"

"Classmate relationship".

"Don't be ridiculous! You definitely know what I'm talking about! What on earth are you up to?"

Kuroba Akira looked completely bewildered.

"What kind of trick?"

"Stop playing dumb with me! I know that bento box was made for you! But Xiaotong clearly told us that she wouldn't cook for anyone before she got married!"

"Oh?"

Is this even a possible setting?

Kuroba Akira genuinely hadn't expected that such a simple act as 'making bento boxes' could contain such an ambiguous meaning.

That said, how did Sumitomo Ryota find out about this?

It seems he's not just a simple simp after all?

However, before Kuroba Akira could ask him about his relationship with Anri Hitomi, Sumitomo Ryota asked him with a complicated expression.

"Are you...her fiancé?"

"Huh? What era are we living in? Still having a fiancé..."

Kuroba Akira was speechless. Feudal arranged marriages were outdated, especially in this half-red Japan.

"I can't think of any other possibility. The only possibility is that you and she are engaged, so she made lunch for you."

"Uh... I think you're getting a bit stuck on this. I mean, why do you have such a strange idea?"

“She told us this herself, saying that she would only make lunchboxes for her future husband. Xiaotong and I are childhood playmates.”

"Oh ho..."

So that's how it is. Childhood playmates, childhood sweethearts.

That's why he calls the class monitor "Xiao Tong"—it wasn't just a pretense of intimacy to get closer to her.

With this identity, he naturally assumed that he was Anri Hitomi's best friend, which is why he always thought of Anri Hitomi's best interests.

However, after entering high school, their relationship deteriorated significantly and they drifted apart. That's probably why he acted so rashly as to hinder the class monitor.

Then, when she saw that Kuroba Akira, who appeared out of nowhere, had taken her place and even had a closer relationship with Anri Hitomi than she had ever been, she couldn't accept this reality that felt like she had been NTR'd.

I was here first!

I am her best friend!

This is blatant jealousy.

It must be very upsetting for him that his childhood playmate is now with someone else.

Good grief, it turns out I was mistaken for a blond guy by the blond guy...

However, this also shows that he didn't see the problem clearly at all and was living in his own world.

"Tsk...so that's why little brats are trouble..."

Hei Yuming complained quietly in his native dialect.

He was starting to get a little annoyed.

It turns out that I wasn't dealing with a love rival, but rather with interpersonal relationship issues left over from my childhood.

"So, since you were childhood friends, why did things turn out like this?"

"I want to know too!"

Sumitomo Ryouta couldn't help but roar in anger, but this anger was no longer directed at Kuroba Ming, but was venting the confusion in his heart.

“The five of us used to play together all the time when we were little… until one day, Xiaotong suddenly told us that she wouldn’t play with us anymore…”

"Oh, did she give a reason?"

"No! That's why I don't know what to do... All I want is for Xiaotong to come back to us... to be close like before..."

"Didn't you even ask?"

"Of course I asked her! But... she didn't give me a straight answer."

"She didn't give a direct answer, which means she still answered you, right? Even if she didn't explicitly state the reason, couldn't you understand the implied meaning in her words?"

Kuroba Akira knew that the class president was very good at hiding her inner thoughts; after all, she had honed her acting skills to a high level even though she wasn't an actress.

Girls' thoughts are inherently complex and changeable. If you don't analyze them carefully, like solving a murder case, you'll never understand their true thoughts.

But as long as you can touch her sensitive heart, she will be willing to express her true feelings.

You know, the class monitor is a potential sadistic queen who can grab someone by the collar and unleash a torrent of profanities.

Upon hearing Akira Kuroba's question, Ryota Sumitomo was forced to recall the day Hitomi Anri last called him "Ryota-kun".

Oh, right...

From that day on, her relationship with Anri Hitomi changed.

Chapter Forty-Six: The Growth of a Boy

"Ryota-kun, I really envy you. You don't have to think about those complicated things, and you always seem so happy... I hope you can keep it up..."

What kind of expression was on Xiaotong's face at that time?

Ryota Sumitomo couldn't remember.

No, it's that I don't want to think about it.

Because when he thought about it, he had to accept reality; his life and hers would become two parallel lines. He had this premonition.

However, after Kuroba Akira's words, the memories buried deep in his heart broke forth, as if young Anri Hitomi were standing right in front of him.

She still had a smile on her face, but it was a bitter smile, and behind that bitter smile was the sadness she was hiding, the sadness that was about to burst into tears.

That was probably my last chance to get close to her heart.

But why couldn't I say anything back then? Why couldn't I help her then?

What's the point of doing something pointless now?

She's no longer the same Anri Hitomi she used to be...

Sumitomo Ryota stood there in a daze as if his soul had left his body, but Kuroba Akira did not give him the chance to feel sad.

"Since you've known the class monitor since you were little, you should know her quite well, so I'll just be blunt. Do you think the class monitor... Anri Hitomi, is the kind of girl who can be easily fooled by sweet talk?"

No, no, definitely not.

Ryota Sumitomo knew very well that Hitomi Anri was a girl smarter than anyone else.

Among the five people who used to play together, Anri Hitomi was the leader. She always came up with ideas and everyone was willing to listen to her.

She's so outstanding, so intelligent, it's as if she can do everything...

"Or perhaps you're just upset because you weren't the one who tricked her?"

"Gurgle...!"

Ryota Sumitomo suddenly looked up and glared fiercely at Akira Kuroba, but Akira Kuroba remained unmoved and continued to speak harshly.