Chapter 31: Recognized
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Sugawara Ryuichi and Sato Shota headed to the cafeteria together.
To conceal their unspoken purpose, they had both deliberately left their packed lunches and convenience-store meals behind, planning to order food in the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was not part of the school buildings, but stood in a separate structure of its own.
After making their way through the crowd, they finally arrived.
“I found us a great spot.”
The moment they entered, Sato Shota looked around and quickly found a suitable table.
“This is a great spot?”
After sitting down beside him, Sugawara Ryuichi glanced around and noticed that Yamabuki Luna had not arrived yet. He did not quite understand what made the spot special.
“The teachers’ dining area is over there. Ms. Yamabuki usually sits there.”
Seeing that he was confused, Sato Shota pointed toward a long table nearby, where several teachers had already taken their seats, and explained.
“You know all that?”
Sugawara Ryuichi gave him an impressed sidelong glance.
“You save our seats here. I’ll go order. What do you want?”
With a mischievous grin, Sato Shota volunteered himself and got to his feet.
“Spicy curry.”
Sugawara Ryuichi rarely came to the cafeteria. Usually, for convenience, he bought a ready-made meal at the convenience store on his way to school. Still, over the past two and a half years, he had visited the cafeteria a few times.
Before long, Sato Shota returned and placed a tray in front of him.
“I’ll pay you back later.”
“No need. It’s my treat.”
After setting the ramen on the table, Sato Shota sat down.
“Thanks, then.”
Seeing that he truly intended to treat him, Sugawara Ryuichi did not stand on ceremony.
“Slurp, slurp.”
There was an unwritten rule when eating ramen: one was supposed to make noise.
“Look, Ms. Yamabuki is here!”
They had been eating for a while, with Sato Shota keeping watch in every direction and listening for every sound, when he suddenly spoke.
Sugawara Ryuichi, who had been looking down at his meal, turned around and saw what was happening at the cafeteria entrance.
Their English teacher had arrived, accompanied by a male teacher.
“Just as I thought. Ms. Yamabuki looks so beautiful today that there’s no way some male teacher wouldn’t try to pursue her.”
Sato Shota showed no surprise at all. Instead, he wore a smug expression.
Ms. Yamabuki was already beautiful, so she surely had admirers. After dressing up so carefully today, any man who had liked her before would only be more attracted to her and would probably step up his pursuit.
After taking a brief look, Sugawara Ryuichi turned his attention back to his meal.
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“Do you think Mr. Shimada, who teaches classical literature to the second-years, has any chance of winning Ms. Yamabuki over?”
When Sugawara Ryuichi failed to respond, Sato Shota was unwilling to let the matter go. He nudged him with his elbow and asked.
“Impossible.”
“Why is it impossible?”
“Can’t you tell? Ms. Yamabuki isn’t happy at all being pestered by him. She looks more helpless than anything else.”
When Sato Shota seemed intent on probing further, Sugawara Ryuichi simply spelled it out for him.
In terms of looks, height, build, and bearing, that male teacher could not even compare with Nanda Shogo. How could Yamabuki Luna possibly take an interest in someone like him?
Besides, Sugawara Ryuichi knew how Yamabuki Luna acted when she was with someone she liked. The corners of her mouth would keep lifting into a smile; at times she would shyly avert her gaze, and at others she would sneak curious glances at him.
“I didn’t notice any of that…”
After hearing him out, Sato Shota took another serious look in their direction, then shook his head in confusion.
At the same time, Yamabuki Luna continued farther into the cafeteria. As she made her way toward the serving counter, she noticed the pair of them.
“Ryuichi? What is he doing in the cafeteria today?”
Her colleague had been pestering her to the point of irritation, yet out of politeness she had found it difficult to refuse him outright. When she saw Sugawara Ryuichi’s back, a hint of surprise stirred in her heart.
“Could he have come to see me?”
As Yamabuki Luna wondered about Sugawara Ryuichi’s reason for coming, the thought entered her mind. The corners of her lips immediately curved upward, and she could not suppress her smile at all.
“Oh no. Ms. Yamabuki is smiling. She’s happy.”
Sato Shota had been sneaking glances at her the entire time. The instant he noticed this, he cried out in alarm.
Although he had anticipated the possibility of Ms. Yamabuki being pursued by a male teacher, he certainly did not want to see her actually fall for one.
Hearing this, Sugawara Ryuichi instantly grew uneasy and turned around.
When he looked back, he found that Yamabuki Luna was indeed smiling.
However, it was not because someone else had amused her. She was secretly smiling while watching him from the corner of her eye.
“…”
After spending an entire day on a date with her, Sugawara Ryuichi could more or less guess what she was thinking. He turned away and lowered his head to continue eating.
Since they were in the cafeteria rather than somewhere private off campus, Yamabuki Luna noticed his evasive reaction. She stopped staring at him, passed by his table, and continued toward the serving counter.
The teachers at Takeno High enjoyed excellent benefits. They could pay for meals through facial recognition and did not need to order or pay at a vending machine.
To avoid arousing suspicion, Sugawara Ryuichi did not look at her again. He simply kept his head down and ate.
Some time passed. Before Yamabuki Luna had even reached the teachers’ dining area and taken her seat, a fragrant breeze suddenly swept over him.
“Hello, Sugawara.”
A red-haired girl with a ponytail, pretty features, and black thigh-high stockings approached Sugawara Ryuichi and greeted him of her own accord.
“Hello.”
Sugawara Ryuichi looked up. The girl’s face was unfamiliar, but he still replied politely.
Beside him, Sato Shota tactfully fell silent.
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“May I ask you a question?”
Having successfully struck up a conversation, the red-haired girl clasped her hands behind her back and made her request.
“Go ahead.”
Sugawara Ryuichi did not really understand why she had approached him, but he let her finish.
“Were you at karaoke on Saturday night?”
The red-haired girl hesitated slightly, but still summoned her courage and voiced the question that had been weighing on her mind.
As she spoke, her gaze settled on Sugawara Ryuichi’s handsome eyes and brows.
The lighting had been rather dim that night, and the handsome boy had been wearing a mask. Even so, after seeing Sugawara Ryuichi, she had felt that he looked strangely familiar.
“…”
The moment he heard her question, Sugawara Ryuichi understood. He studied her appearance again.
Then, almost instinctively, he glanced around. At a table a short distance away, three girls were secretly watching them.
One of them was unmistakably the blonde glamour girl he had encountered at karaoke that night.
He had paid little attention to the others’ appearances at the time, so he had no real impression of them. But the blonde girl was exceptionally beautiful, and her astonishingly slender waist had left a particularly vivid impression on him.
If he still failed to understand the situation now, he would have to be extraordinarily dense.
Clearly, this girl was one of the four Takeno High schoolgirls who had forced Yamabuki Luna to let go of his hand at karaoke on Saturday night.
“What should I do?”
Once he grasped the situation, Sugawara Ryuichi fell into thought. His gaze wandered as he stole a glance at Yamabuki Luna in the distance.
Being discovered at karaoke was not a problem in itself. The real issue was that he had gone there with Yamabuki Luna.
“Pfft.”
While he was lost in thought, Sato Shota, who had been watching the spectacle from the side, finally could not hold back and laughed aloud.
“…”
The red-haired girl was still nervously waiting for an answer. Hearing his laughter, she immediately grew embarrassed.
“Sorry, sorry. I’m not laughing at you. It’s just that Ryuichi and karaoke are such a strange combination.”
Realizing that she was uncomfortable, Sato Shota hurried to explain and smooth things over, knowing that he was the one in the wrong.
“Yes.”
At that moment, Sugawara Ryuichi spoke up and admitted it.
An unanswered question naturally aroused one’s curiosity.
Once the mystery was solved, however, the question itself lost its value.
In a situation like this, stubbornly denying the truth would be a foolish move. She had obviously recognized him, which was why she had come to ask him directly.
If he continued to deny it now, he would only provoke even more suspicion and curiosity.
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