Why wasn't I the one who got the male lead's script?

"Of course, that's if I can actually get into a school like Shuchiin."

----

Before I knew it, it’s already Shuke’s fifth anniversary.

Although I haven't paid off all the bounties yet, it seems that it can be accumulated... At worst, I can owe the bosses the whole book (funny)

Hoshimi Haru can't be alone again: Chapter 3: Hayasaka Ai's determination (Part 2)

"...Then why didn't you try to defend yourself from the beginning?"

Perhaps realizing that Hoshimi had declined her proposal, Hayasaka lowered her head in disappointment, and the glimmer of hope that had been shining in her eyes also disappeared.

"At least...if you argue your innocence..."

"It won't work. They still won't believe me. They might even think I've been lying all along."

Hoshimi shook her head, but still let Hayasaka hold her hand tightly, feeling the warmth coming from her palm.

"No matter how much I defend myself, as long as someone asks, 'So, were you really the one who plagiarized?', I'll be completely blocked from all my escape routes—because I really did it."

After all, the true identity of the author K is indeed Hoshimiya Haru, and this is a fact that cannot be tampered with no matter how it is explained - although this is just a vest he used to help Kasumigaoka Utaha.

That's why Tomoya Aki chose to use the excuse of plagiarism to attack himself. This point is equivalent to Hoshimi's Achilles' heel.

This was the only fact he had to admit no matter what.

As long as the "fact" of plagiarism is established, Xingjian's "guilt" will be confirmed for bystanders who are unaware of the inside story and do not care about it.

“…………Hmm.”

Hayasaka wanted to say something, but she keenly noticed a blond boy and a black-haired boy who was holding a NS and had no time to look at the road approaching from behind the boy.

——Haysaka Ai recognized them at a glance. It was Shirogane Miyuki who was on his way back to the Student Council office, and Ishigami Yu who was brushing game materials while walking.

"Your friends are here, say hello to them first."

So, Hayasaka simply let go of Hoshimi's wrist, and nodded to the boy holding the schoolbag while backing away with light steps.

Her relationship as siblings with Hoshimi has never been made public to anyone around them except Kaguya Shinomiya, so it would be better not to be seen by others having too much communication between the two of them at this time.

After all, Hayasaka Ai’s current identity in Shuchiin is just a “hot little girl full of energy”.

"But I will find a way that you can accept, Xiaoqing. I will never back down on this point."

She raised her chin and signaled with her eyes that someone was slowly approaching from behind her.

"Well?"

Hoshimi just turned her head and followed Hayasaka's gaze to look at Shirogane and Ishigami Koushi who were getting closer and closer to her. When she turned her head again, Hayasaka had already disappeared from her sight.

"………well."

He gently moved the wrist that Hayasaka had just grabbed, and the expression on his face seemed a little less calm and relaxed than before.

He could still feel the touch and warmth of the blonde girl on his wrist - this was an unexpected weight for him.

"Oh—see you on the stars!"

After Hayasaka disappeared, Shirogane stretched out his hand and waved to the boy who was gradually approaching, and his originally steady pace also quickened a little.

"Eh? Haru-senpai?"

Upon hearing this, Ishigami, who was still immersed in the game world, hurriedly put his NS into the storage bag, and hurriedly followed Baiyin's footsteps. The two of them came to Xingjian who was standing there.

"Ah, as expected, I wasn't mistaken. I just saw someone wearing the Toyosaki school uniform from a long distance away. Because the figure looked so familiar, I was wondering if it was Hoshimi - it seems I was right."

Baiyin Yuxing relaxed his tense shoulders slightly, then walked up to Xingjian and patted him on the shoulder casually, without noticing the slight fatigue left on his face.

"Why, you suddenly feel like visiting our school? Just tell me in advance and I can show you the way."

"Ah, well..."

The black-haired boy's expression was a little evasive. He brushed off the topic with an awkward but polite smile, then looked around for a while again to confirm that Hayasaka Ai was nowhere to be found.

That guy left briskly and decisively, but now it is difficult for Xingjian to extricate himself.

Moreover, even if we take a step back, the most important reason why he was reluctant to come to Shuchiin Academy was——

He couldn't be sure whether Shirogane and Ishigami and their group had also heard the rumors about him.

Maybe they are afraid and don't want to face the possibility that they will have certain opinions of them because of this.

"President, how could Qing-senpai be interested in something like visiting the school? He's clearly here for something else, right?"

Ishigami glanced at the smiling Shirogane calmly, then, completely unaware of Hoshimi's sudden stiffening expression, he confidently lowered his head and pulled out several cassettes from his storage bag.

"Senior must be here to borrow the game from me, right?"

"Uh……"

Baiyin, who felt a little guilty when it came to this topic, blinked his eyes. Xingjian, who was standing next to him, was stunned for a moment, and then could only respond with a smile on his face.

"Don't be polite with me, Senior. I'll find a like-minded person if I can. I have all the cassettes from Old Ren's that you want to play."

Ishigami seriously showed the cassette slot in the storage bag - the cassettes densely packed in the slot looked dazzling.

"What kind of game do you want to play, senior? I can give it to you."

For a game geek like Ishigami, cassettes aren't something he can just casually lend out—but once he makes that decision, he's mentally prepared for them to be licked. (Sad)

"Well……"

Even Xingjian, who had only been able to play mobile games in his spare time, was a little shaken, and even forgot a little about the problem he was just worrying about - after all, which boy could refuse Nintendo?

"Ah... well, even so, I don't have a Switch..."

Originally, he planned to save money while working to buy a NS handheld game console, but because some customers had complained about Xingjian in recent days, the store manager told him to be prepared to be fired, so his job avenue was gone.

"Wow...it's okay, I'll just lend it to you, Senior!"

Ishigami, who was unaware of all this, gritted his teeth and even handed the switch in his hand to Hoshimi - it was really not easy for a game geek to lend out the handheld game console.

"No, no, no... That's not what I meant... Phew. Never mind. Thanks."

Xingjian, who had originally wanted to refuse Ishigami's kindness, curled the corners of her mouth, but finally succumbed to his stubbornness. She thanked him frankly and took the game console from Ishigami's mobile phone.

Sometimes accepting other people's kindness is the best way to give them a better way out.

----

I'll release the special bounty for Shuke's fifth anniversary in my next update!

Hoshimi Haru can't be alone again: Chapter 3: Hayasaka Ai's determination (Part 3)

"——Yes! Please go back and enjoy your gaming time!!"

As expected, Ishigami, who realized that his feelings were accepted, showed a little joy, and a little redness appeared on his fair face.

For Ishigami, it is not easy to find someone who does not reject his hobbies at all and even accepts them completely.

The senior Xingjian never gave him a feeling of superiority, and he never acted like a senior in front of Ishigami, so when they got along, he felt more like a casual and friendly person of the same age.

Moreover, whether it was Ishigami's hobbies that were not accepted by the people around him, or his usual negative nagging, Hoshimi always accepted them with a smile and never looked at Ishigami with tinted glasses - just for this reason, Ishigami felt that Hoshimi was definitely a friend worth making close friends with.

"Let's invite Senpai to my house someday. I can even give him all the console games I have at home... huh?"

But just as Ishigami was secretly rejoicing and sketching out a blueprint for the future in his mind like an elementary school student who had just made friends, he noticed that there seemed to be something wrong with Hoshimi's expression.

After taking the switch, he looked around, and the friendly smile on his face, which seemed no different from usual, seemed a little forced for some reason - he seemed to be particularly concerned about the eyes of the people around him.

"See you, Xing? What's wrong with you?"

Shirogane, who had also noticed this, stretched out his hand with a confused look on his face and waved it in front of Xingjian, asking the question that Ishigami also wanted to ask.

"What happened?"

Ishigami keenly sensed something was amiss—if Haru-senpai was the same as usual, he should have seemed more nonchalant and relaxed.

"Ah... Although you all asked me that, I don't know how to start..."

Hoshimi pulled the corner of her mouth and subconsciously glanced to the side with some embarrassment - Hayasaka appeared in the corner of the building without her knowing. She seemed to have been hiding there and observing secretly since just now.

The blonde girl met Xingjian's somewhat surprised gaze, then nodded firmly, gave him a thumbs up, and conveyed with her eyes the idea of ​​"having a good chat with friends to relieve stress."

Hoshimi wanted to say something, but Hayasaka disappeared into the corner the next moment and disappeared without a trace.

"…………call."

Feeling extremely powerless, the Xingjian boy bent his waist slightly, his face full of fatigue and helplessness.

"But since my sister has such an attitude, it's better to tell Shirogane and Ishigami the truth rather than letting them be led astray by others' opinions later..."

Moreover, Hoshimi couldn't keep it a secret from Shirogane and Ishigami forever.

Besides, truth will come out sooner or later. If they will know about this sooner or later... then it would be better for me to tell them in person.

Hoshimi, who thought so secretly in his heart, let out a long sigh, met the puzzled looks from Ishigami and Shirogane, cleared his throat, and prepared himself mentally to tell everything.

"Well... this is a bit of a long story."

He lowered his head to look at the switch Ishigami had just handed him, his expression still a little haggard. Shirogane also immediately glanced at the students around him who were occasionally casting curious glances at him, and nodded in understanding.

"Well—let's go to the student union office and talk."

He patted Xingjian's shoulder, put his arm around his neck and walked towards the student union - Ishigami also immediately put away his storage bag, took small steps to keep up with the pace of the two, and finally walked side by side with them.

"........."

Hayasaka Ai, who was standing against the wall at the back of the building, looked at the marble floor with swaying tree shadows in front of her, listened to the footsteps of the three people gradually fading away, and finally stood up slowly.

She peeked out from the corner and looked at the back of the black-haired boy walking in the middle of the group. A hint of relief and peace of mind welled up in her eyes. However, she quickly suppressed it with a cold, indifferent look, and watched the three people leave for a long time before she looked away.

She stood in the shadow of the building, leaning against a corner where no one could see her, her eyes lazily wandering among the blue sky and white clouds.

Hayasaka Ai seemed to be thinking about something very important.

"………call."

After an unknown amount of time, the blonde girl let out a long sigh and took out her fashionable cell phone from the pocket of her pleated skirt as if she had made up her mind.

She tapped lightly on the phone screen, then put the phone to her ear, as if dialing a number.

"...Hey, Ms. Kaguya, I'm wondering if I could bother you for a moment."

She still looked like a hot girl and greeted him respectfully with a cold and indifferent tone.

"I have something very important to discuss with you."

.........

.........

In the student union office of Shuchiin Academy.

"Welcome to the Student Union—I don't think Xing has seen you here many times."

Baiyin smiled and placed a cup of fragrant black tea in front of Xingjian who was sitting on the sofa.

"For some reason, Shinomiya isn't in the office today, so I'll make you some tea myself."

Sitting on the stone opposite Xingjian, he also took a sip of tea - although he poured it himself.

Because he knew that they were going to discuss something very important, he consciously put the switch away first, intending to give it back to Senior Qing to play with after the discussion was over.

“………Yes, thank you.”

Xingjian looked at the smiling Baiyin and Ishida who was sitting opposite him with a gentle expression, and for a moment he didn't know where to start.

——These two people seemed to care about him more than he imagined.

If no one cares about him, he can naturally disregard his own interests and even his reputation, even if there will always be bad labels attached to him from then on.

His fingers gently stroked the warm wall of the teacup.

As long as you don't care about it.

Xingjian has always wanted to be a sensible child since he was a child. Perhaps this would make his parents, who already have a weak relationship with him, less worried.

Being sensible means that a person must give up his or her inner self and surrender himself or herself to others, ignoring and suppressing his or her own needs and feelings.

In order to be what others call a "sensible child", he has always demanded this of himself.

Although in many cases, this so-called "understanding" will make many people ignore his existence, or even look down on his tolerance and ability to judge the situation, he thinks it is insignificant.

In the end, he is the only one who cares about him. As long as he can learn to ignore his own feelings, then when he makes a choice between his personal interests and the overall situation, he will always make a choice that will make most people feel relieved.

But now, whether it was Futaba's attitude, Hayasaka's transformation, or even Shiwa's ambitious words - they were all somewhat different from what he had expected.