They all have hidden attributes!

"What about the other one?"

"I forgot the other one."

"boring."

Maya Uesugi gave him a disdainful look, showing no intention of laughing, and picked up the heavy hardcover book on the table and opened it: "For dinner, would you like chicken lemon cream curry or coconut shrimp curry?"

"I've never eaten it."

Makoto Takahashi glanced at the title of the book in her hand, "Anna Karenina," lost interest, and began his writing practice for the day.

“You can only choose one,” said Maya Uesugi.

"What about the other one?"

"Tsk." She clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction and ignored Takahashi Makoto.

A quiet atmosphere enveloped the office, with only the clear sound of the bass guitar and the chirping of cicadas outside the window intertwining. Sunlight slanted through the window, creating a somewhat subtle atmosphere.

Not long after, Uesugi Maya looked up at the other side of the desk and said, "I'll clean up your apartment tonight, and then I'll return your coat to you."

She now knows that Makoto Takahashi's personality is not actually heavy, and she has also come to deeply appreciate his keenness and kindness.

“Coconut shrimp curry,” Makoto Takahashi said.

Chapter 57 Coward

Shiraishi Junka is a coward.

Although she is the daughter of the Shiraishi family and has shown enviable artistic talent since childhood, this has also led to her personality developing towards social anxiety.

Because I've always lived under the watchful eyes of others, I've learned not to express my emotions or facial expressions. I spend most of my time quietly lost in thought, and over time I've become bad at socializing.

Shiraishi Junka herself also feels that she is sometimes too timid and introverted, and can't even express her own needs.

Originally, she planned to go to the Light Music Club to ask Uesugi Maya about the nickname "Mashin," but after receiving a cold rejection, she immediately began to have second thoughts.

But this was the first time she had felt such a strong desire, and she was unwilling to give up. Remembering that she had seen a poster in the morning recruiting keyboardists for the Light Music Club, she changed her mind and said she wanted to join.

Hell Girl is just as rumored; she's not easy to get along with at all.

Upon learning that Shiraishi Junka had only studied classical piano and had no band experience whatsoever, Uesugi Maya seemed to see through her intentions, coldly refusing her and launching a verbal attack.

Just as Shiraishi Junko was feeling a bit hurt and thought she would leave empty-handed, a boy walked into the Light Music Club. After comforting Uesugi Maya with a few words, he gave her a reassuring smile.

It felt like a cat that had been scratching someone immediately pretending to be well-behaved upon seeing its owner. That was what Shiraishi Junka was thinking as she walked out of the Light Music Club office.

Would the cat owner agree to let me join?

She held onto the railing as she went downstairs, thinking about how she had just exchanged contact information with someone for the first time. Perhaps she could send a message later to inquire. Even if she was still rejected, it would be good to get some information about Teacher [True Faith].

"Fireworks"

The magical colors, the bold expressive techniques, and the unparalleled skill in using light and shadow... made the socially awkward and timid Junka Shiraishi want to step out of her small studio for the first time and experience a more dazzling world.

Arriving at the third floor of the special building, Shiraishi Junka wanted to go back to the art club to be alone and quiet, to replenish the mental energy she had just used up talking to Uesugi Maya, and to heal her wounded heart.

Pushing open the door, inside the empty art club office, a figure in a sailor uniform was facing the wall, hands covering his head, huddled in the gap between the cabinet and the refrigerator.

The black twin tails looked somewhat familiar. Shiraishi Junka tilted her head slightly, wondering why there were other people in the art club.

Summer vacation has started, and the art department will be closed to the public starting today.

An eerie silence enveloped the club activity room. Hanakawa Kaori, who heard the door open, noticed the gaze that had been fixed on her. She slowly turned around and saw Shiraishi Junka. She breathed a long sigh of relief.

She squeezed through the gap, ran quickly over, closed the office door, and said in a fast voice, "Senior Shiraishi, I'm sorry, I'm playing hide-and-seek with someone right now. Can I borrow the art studio to hide for a bit?"

Hanakawa Kaori is being chased by Nekoya Hina, and in desperation, she hides in the art club.

Shiraishi Junko gazed at her with gentle eyes, and after a moment of recollection, he remembered that it was Hanakawa Kaori, the well-behaved junior who had been watching him draw for the past few days without making a sound.

She nodded like a character in a high-latency game, then slowly walked to her secluded little studio, sat down on her usual wooden stool, and took out paints to mix colors.

Hanakawa Kaori, just like yesterday, sat on a small wooden stool behind Shiraishi Junka, resting her cheeks on her hands, watching her paint an oil painting.

Junka Shiraishi picked up her paintbrush and placed it on the linen canvas. Suddenly remembering the attack she had just suffered, her fair arm fell limply to her side.

She stared at the colors that had just been applied to the canvas, lost in thought.

My first attempt to communicate with someone resulted in unwarranted accusations and scolding; all I wanted was a contact number...

Hanakawa Kaori waited for a while, and seeing that Shiraishi Junka hadn't moved for a long time, she tilted her head in confusion, but still remained quiet.

When the cicadas outside the window finally stopped chirping, Hanakawa Kaori, bored out of her mind, tried to strike up a conversation and asked:

"Senior, are you out of inspiration today? Ah, I don't know if I should call it inspiration, it's just that you seem to be in a bad mood today?"

Shiraishi Junka was taken aback by Hanakawa Kaori's sudden conversation. After a moment of stunned silence, she ignored her and continued to dwell on Uesugi Maya's verbal attacks.

She has some social anxiety and is not good at socializing, so she is used to ignoring other people's attempts to strike up a conversation.

Anyway, artists always have some quirks, and being mute is completely harmless.

In the art club, everyone was used to her quietness, and some even presumptuously thought that "in order not to disturb Shiraishi-senpai's creation, we must keep as quiet as possible" as an unspoken rule of the art club.

Hanakawa Kaori has two flaws: she's a worrier and she talks too much nonsense.

Seeing that Shiraishi Junka was ignoring her, she quietly leaned over to observe Shiraishi Junka's expression.

Senior, are you crying?

Hanakawa Kaori saw that Shiraishi Junka's wine-red eyes were brimming with tears, which might overflow at any moment and slide down her cheeks, as if she had been bullied and had hidden herself under the covers.

She blinked, making sure she wasn't mistaken, and said anxiously:

"Shiraishi-senpai, um, I hope I'm not disturbing you? I didn't mean anything by it, but it's better to talk about it if you're in a bad mood. Maybe I can help..."

Seeing that Shiraishi Junka remained silent, Hanakawa Kaori's eyes showed a hint of worry and anxiety:

"Don't let my appearance fool you. If anyone bullies you, I'll definitely come in handy..."

"Where did you just go, senpai? I know all of Tsurumizawa's clubs well, I can get justice for you right away..."

"At worst, I'll just agree to Nekoya-senpai's request and ask her for help. I heard Nekoya-senpai knows a lot of people. Everyone says that Tsurumi-zawa's most popular friend, Takahashi-senpai, only hangs out with her right now..."

Junka Shiraishi wasn't interested in popular characters; to be precise, she wasn't interested in anything outside the studio at the entire Tsurumi Sawa Academy.

However, the Light Music Club has a clue about [Shin Shin]-sensei.

Shiraishi Junka turned around and met Hanakawa Kaori's purple eyes. Her pink lips moved slightly, about to make a sound, but then she hesitated.

Her long eyelashes made Shiraishi Junka seem lost in thought, while Hanakawa Kaori stared blankly, waiting for her to speak about her troubles.

Shiraishi Junka bit the inside of her mouth, hesitated for a long time, and then whispered, "I was scolded."

Strictly speaking, it wasn't insults, but rather mockery and cold remarks. Uesugi Maya treated everyone this way, including Takahashi Makoto, but Shiraishi Junka's heart was particularly fragile.

"Who is it? I'll avenge you."

Hanakawa Kaori stood up aggressively, but when she heard her say "Light Music Club," her angry expression faded, leaving only embarrassment.

"Um... I do know some seniors in the Light Music Club, but I'm not very familiar with them."

"Him?" For some reason, Shiraishi Junka thought of the cat's owner.

"Takahashi-senpai, although I've met him a few times, I feel a little unworthy to be his friend."

Hanakawa Kaori sat back on the small wooden stool, pondering whether she should ask Nekoya Hina to find her and ask for help, since she really enjoyed sitting and watching Shiraishi-senpai paint.

"Your senior is amazing! When we visited the archery club, the upperclassmen all raved about him. I heard from Furuta-senpai that Takahashi-senpai also paints oil paintings, and one of his works called 'Spring Thunder' won a gold medal. He's sure to become a celebrity in the future..."

""spring thunder"?"

Shiraishi Junka stood up as if surprised. She had been hiding in her small studio and didn't care about any of the news about Tsurumi Sawa.

My knowledge of the nickname "[Shinnoshi]" comes from the staff at the art exhibition, so I only know that it is related to Uesugi Maya.

—She initially thought that [Shinnobu] was Uesugi Maya's older or younger brother.

"Yeah, it seems like Nekoya-senpai has been bragging about it everywhere. She even gave art exhibition tickets to the senior students in the badminton club, saying..."

Hanakawa Kaori was admitted early and didn't need to attend classes. After leaving the badminton club, she wandered around various clubs every day and is now the Tsurumizawa Information Station.

After listening to her, Shiraishi Junke confirmed that Takahashi from Class 1-C was the [Shin Shin] she was looking for, and asked softly, "Do you have Takahashi's contact information?"

"Yes, there is, but leaking contact information without permission will cause trouble for Takahashi-senpai."

"I'd like to take a look."

When Hanakawa Kaori took out her phone, she saw that the LINE ID and profile picture were the contact information of the cat owner that she had obtained from the Light Music Club.

[Makoto Takahashi]

After remembering his name, Shiraishi Junka said to Hanakawa Kaori, "Thank you. Please treat the art club as your home."

"Hmm? Is that okay?"

"It's alright." Shiraishi Junko nodded gently to her, stepped out of the art studio, and planned to wait for them at the archery club.

As she went downstairs and arrived at the gate of the archery club, she realized that summer vacation had begun today, and the archery club might not hold club activities during the summer vacation.

I took out my phone, opened LINE, and found only one friend in my friend list.

Junka Shiraishi tried to make friends, but she could never overcome her social anxiety and would always be too timid to speak at crucial moments.

Forget about actively seeking out classmates to make friends; they don't even know how to handle being approached by others.

Shall we get in touch now?

Just as I was hesitating, I heard voices coming from the distance down the corridor.

"Mayo, what do you think Shiraishi-senpai might want to talk to me about?" Takahashi Makoto asked.

Walking beside him, Uesugi Maya crossed her arms, frowned unhappily, and had an urge to kick him: "Why are you suddenly calling me by my name?"

"Because I'll call her Xing-senpai directly, you don't want to lose to her, right?"

"Tsk."

Seeing her click her tongue in disdain, Takahashi Makoto asked with a smile, "Aren't you going to play my friend? Is it embarrassing to call me by my name?"

"Tch." Uesugi Maya let out a disdainful sound through her teeth.

It was definitely the feeling of a master and a cat, Shiraishi Junka confirmed in her heart. Realizing that the two were walking towards the archery club, she hurriedly dodged to the corner at the end of the corridor.

Because she herself didn't know why the thought of finding Teacher [Zhenxin] had popped into her mind, she didn't want the two of them to find out.