"Senpaku, I am Sakamoto. What brings you here?"

She had short, smooth brown hair with slightly curled ends, and her purplish-red eyes, like clear gemstones, sparkled with a friendly yet slightly curious light.

She has a sweet and lovely appearance, and the slightly protruding curve of her chest under her school uniform is eye-catching.

She is Kikyo Kushida, a popular and well-connected girl from Class D.

"Ah."

Ayako nodded expressionlessly.

"You are... Kushida."

"Great! You still remember my name!"

Kikyo Kushida's face lit up with a bright smile.

"Ah."

Ayanokouji responded.

"Um, are you free right now?"

Kikyo Kushida tilted her head slightly, looking at him expectantly with her purplish-red eyes.

Ayanokouji paused for a moment, then replied:

"I'm probably free. I was just about to go eat. What's up?"

"Great!"

Kikyo Kushida's smile widened. She stepped forward and naturally took Ayanokouji's wrist.

"Come with me!"

A fleeting hint of surprise crossed Ayanokouji's eyes, but he quickly regained his usual calm expression.

He didn't break free, letting Kikyo Kushida pull him through the noisy corridor and into a relatively quiet corridor at the end where almost no one passed by.

“Ayanokouji-kun,”

Kikyo Kushida released her grip, turned around, and faced him.

"You and Horikita...aren't you very close friends?"

Looking at Kikyo Kushida's expectant face, Ayanokouji recalled Suzune Horikita's icy demeanor and calmly replied:

"No, I don't think it's very good."

"But it seems like you're the only one who can talk to Horikita-kun."

Kikyo Kushida's tone was filled with confusion.

Her hands were unconsciously twisted together, her body leaning slightly forward, with a coy posture unique to young girls.

"My goal is to make friends with everyone in the school! So I asked Horikita for her phone number. But she refused."

Her voice carried a hint of grievance.

"She said... she wasn't interested in making friends with other people."

That's just her personality.

"But……"

Kikyo Kushida suddenly stepped forward and grasped Ayanokouji's hand again.

"I want to be friends with Horikita-san! Ayanokouji-san, can you help me? Please!"

The moment Ayanokouji's hand was grasped, the calm in his eyes was finally broken by a very subtle hint of surprise.

But only for a moment, and his expression returned to normal.

"I don't know how to help."

"No way...?"

Kikyo Kushida looked up, her purplish-red eyes instantly becoming misty, her long eyelashes trembling slightly as she pleaded with Ayanokouji.

That pitiful look was enough to soften any boy's heart.

Ayanokouji looked at her silently.

A few seconds later, he slowly spoke:

"OK then."

"That's great! Thank you so much, Ayanokouji-san!"

The grievance on Kikyo Kushida's face vanished instantly, replaced by a bright smile, as if the sun had come out after the rain.

She immediately released Ayanokouji's hand, as if her plea and grievances had never happened.

"So, during lunch break, you can get Horikita-kun to come over..."

She leaned close to Ayanokouji's ear, lowered her voice, and quickly told him a location and a time.

Ayanokoji nodded expressionlessly.

"understood."

"Then it's up to you!"

Kikyo Kushida waved happily, turned around and skipped away, her short brown hair bouncing in the sunlight.

Ayanokouji stood there, watching Kushida Kikyo disappear around the corner of the corridor, and looked down at his hands.

The spot where my hand had just been held still seemed to retain a trace of warmth.

He withdrew his gaze and turned to walk towards the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was bustling with noise.

Ayanokouji quickly finished her lunch and returned to Class D's classroom without lingering.

In the classroom, the lunch break was not even halfway over.

Most of the students had finished lunch; some were resting on their desks, while others were talking quietly.

Horikita Suzune remained seated, a thick reference book open in front of her, her expression focused.

Aya walked straight to her seat.

Horikita Suzune seemed to sense someone approaching, slightly raising her eyes and scanning Ayanokouji's face with a wary gaze:

"What do you want to do?"

"If you don't have anything else to do, could you keep me company for a bit?"

"You must have another motive for inviting me out?"

"If you really have something to discuss, I'm willing to listen."

Horikita Suzune looked at him silently, seemingly trying to determine the truthfulness of his words.

"Do you know that coffee shop in the shopping mall? The one that lots of people go to. I'd like to ask you to come with me."

Ayanokouji added another sentence:

"It's said that Sakamoto also works there."

Horikita Suzune's eyes flickered for a moment, but her expression remained cold:

Why do I need to come with you?

"I don't have the guts to go into that kind of store alone."

Ayanokouji calmly delivered the prepared statement.

"You can find someone else."

Horikita Suzune said coldly,

"Although no one else can find you one."

"It's embarrassing, but as you said."

Ayanokouji took over the conversation.

Their eyes met briefly in mid-air.

Ayanokoji's eyes were calm and unwavering, while Horikita Suzune's eyes were cold and sharp.

A moment later, Horikita Suzune closed her reference book and stood up:

"Let's go."

In the shopping mall, the cafe signs gleamed in the afternoon sun.

Ayanokoji and Horikita Suzune stood outside the coffee shop.

Through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, you can see that the room is almost full.

Students dressed in various school uniforms sat in twos and threes, talking quietly.

"There are quite a few people."

Horikita Suzune looked at the crowd inside, her brows furrowing slightly.

Is this your first time here too?

Ayanokouji asked casually, then added,

"Oh, I just remembered you don't have any friends either."

"Turning around your criticism? How childish."

Horikita Suzune gave him a cold glance.

Ayanokouji did not refute, his gaze sweeping across the coffee shop.

Soon, his gaze settled on a figure moving between the tables.

"That Sakamoto works here."

Ayanokouji's voice was flat, revealing no emotion.

Horikita Suzune followed his gaze.

Sakamoto was dressed in a neat black waiter's apron, carrying a tray and moving smoothly between the tables.

His movements were precise and elegant, without the slightest hesitation.

When serving coffee, the wrist is slightly raised at the perfect angle; when responding to a customer, the posture is impeccable with a slight bow.

His composed demeanor made it seem as if he wasn't serving customers in a noisy coffee shop, but rather performing a meticulously choreographed show.

Ayanokoji and Horikita Suzune both stared at Sakamoto for a moment.

Class D also has a guy with exaggerated and eye-catching behavior—Rokusuke Koenji.

But the exaggerated performances of Sakamoto and Koenji are completely different.

Every movement and posture of Sakamoto was fluid and natural, as if it had been ingrained in his bones and become a part of his body's instincts.

That elegance and composure, with a natural air about him, makes one feel... that he was born to be this way.

First Year Enrollment: Chapter 038: Sakamoto Under Discussion

Sakamoto's smooth, almost artistic service gestures captivated Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and Suzune Horikita for a moment.

That natural elegance and composure created a unique scene in the afternoon café, making it hard to look away.

Ayanokouji was the first to avert her gaze.

He scanned the slightly crowded coffee shop and quickly locked onto his target.

There are empty seats over there.

He spoke in a calm voice, pointing to a small round table near the corner where two students had just left.

The table was in a relatively secluded spot, but offered a good view.

It allows you to observe both the interior of the coffee shop and the view outside the window.

Horikita Suzune did not object and silently stepped forward.

The two walked one after the other, passing through several tables.