Chapter 61 A Slight Display of Skill

The next morning, Ryuichi Sugawara arrived at school.

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

On the way to the classroom, greetings echoed as usual.

Although everything seemed normal, Ryuichi still sensed a subtle feeling of incongruity.

After greeting him, people would put their heads together with their friends and whisper, looking a bit strange. They were chatting and laughing, appearing much more excited than usual, and some even cast hostile glances in his direction.

"Is it because of what happened at the school gate yesterday... Come to think of it, even the teachers found out, so the students must have heard the news even faster, unless someone went straight to snitch to a teacher."

Realizing this oddity, Ryuichi quickly grasped the situation.

That being said, he neither cared nor worried about it.

Putting aside the fact that he was not in a relationship with Yuki Takanashi, even if he were, it wouldn't matter, as Japan had no rules prohibiting high school romance.

The situation was much as Ryuichi had guessed. Because yesterday many people had witnessed the quartet of gyarus waiting for Ryuichi at the school gate and walking away with him, all the chat groups at Takeno High School had practically blown up last night.

Ryuichi Sugawara, who had been flawless in every aspect since entering school and bore the title of super nerd, had actually gone out to play with girls.

Faced with such juicy gossip, everyone was beyond excited, and various theories flew around.

Although mediocre people loved nothing more than pulling gods down from their pedestals, the person linked in the scandal with Ryuichi was Yuki Takanashi, universally acknowledged as the school belle of Takeno High School, so opinions and discussions were not entirely negative.

Many people felt a sense of admiration, thinking that Ryuichi was quiet as a mouse until he struck like thunder.

Either he didn't date, or he went straight for the prettiest girl.

Moreover, the combination of the super top student and the airheaded gyaru was novel, something many had only seen in dramas or anime.

After all, these two types of people were absolute extremes; it was hard to imagine they would ever end up together.

Under these circumstances, the few who were still swimming against the current were either girls harboring secret crushes on Ryuichi or boys harboring secret crushes on Yuki.

Braving everyone's stares and discussions, Ryuichi finally reached the classroom.

With his arrival, the bustling classroom suddenly fell silent, as if someone had pressed the pause button.

Immediately afterward, everyone turned their heads to look at him in unison.

I must admit, this scene was quite eerie.

"Good morning."

Being stared at by the whole class didn't make Ryuichi nervous; he simply spoke up and greeted them.

"Good morning."

Faced with his greeting, everyone responded almost by reflex.

"Good, very energetic."

Having received a response from the majority and having experienced the imposing aura of a teacher, Ryuichi nodded with satisfaction and gave his evaluation.

Without standing on ceremony, he walked straight to his seat.

"Ryuichi, you're finally here."

As soon as he returned to his seat, pulled out his chair, put his schoolbag in the desk drawer, and sat down, Shota Sato rushed right over.

Seeing him make a move, everyone tacitly kept quiet and pricked up their ears to listen.

"Yesterday you said you had a great time, but what did you mean by saying typing couldn't explain it?"

Shota pulled a chair over and sat down beside him, asking impatiently.

He was far too curious about the details of the date; he hadn't even been able to concentrate during club activities.

Yet Ryuichi had deliberately kept him hanging, saying he would tell him when they got to school, which had kept Shota up half the night.

"Because typing can't adequately express how happy I was... Look."

Anticipating this question, Ryuichi had long since prepared his countermeasure. After replying, he broke into a grin at Shota.

Although he hadn't practiced in advance, this smile should have looked quite radiant.

"Do you think you're funny?"

Shota, who had expected to hear some sensational gossip, was left utterly speechless when he saw that wide grin.

"You didn't even laugh..."

Finding that Shota was looking at him with a deadpan expression, Ryuichi instantly put on a look of shock.

"It would be a miracle if I could laugh after you ran off alone to hang out with the gyaru quartet!"

Seeing Ryuichi's playful and punchable expression, Shota finally lost it and slammed his fist onto the desk in indignation.

"I couldn't help it. I really wanted to bring you along, but after all, that was their gathering, and I was just an invited guest. Not bringing uninvited guests is the most basic courtesy."

Facing Shota's strong protest, Ryuichi spread his hands in helpless resignation.

"Anyway, it's one thing that you didn't take me with you, but the least you can do is tell me something interesting to satisfy my curiosity, right?"

Shota took a deep breath, forcefully steering the conversation back on track, and laid out his demand.

Putting himself in Ryuichi's shoes, he had been very sincere with Ryuichi, even sharing the fact that he had hired a rental girlfriend.

He didn't expect Ryuichi to tell him everything—after all, everyone had their secrets—but at least he deserved some feedback, right?

"Um..."

Seeing that Shota had put it that way and realizing he couldn't just brush it off, Ryuichi fell into contemplation.

Objectively speaking, he really disliked gossiping about others behind their backs, especially sharing the details of a date.

On one hand, it was a possessive streak acting up; on the other hand, it was out of respect.

Moreover, he felt that guys who used their relationships with girls as something to brag about and as dinner-table conversation were truly low.

That being said, since Shota had gone so far, if he didn't offer any feedback at all, it might hurt the guy's feelings.

"Shota, could you define the scope of 'interesting'?"

After pondering for a moment, Ryuichi didn't answer directly, but instead posed a question in return.

"The scope... like, whether you and Takanashi had any physical contact, such as holding hands."

Finding Ryuichi to be rigorously analytical, Shota paused in astonishment before sketching out a rough boundary for him.

"None."

Matching the standard, Ryuichi gave a very decisive reply.

"Then why did you say you had a great time?"

Shota refused to buy this explanation and looked at him suspiciously.

"Come on, that was at a karaoke lounge, and I was singing with four gyarus. If I said I didn't have a good time, would you believe me?"

Faced with the skepticism, Ryuichi protested with a great sense of grievance.

Objectively speaking, he and Yuki Takanashi truly had no physical contact.

This was precisely why he felt Yuki's defense stats were ridiculously low; after all, he hadn't even gone all out, yet with just a slight effort he had wildly reaped 32 heart-value points.

In comparison, when he pretended to be a couple with Getsu Yamabuki on Saturday, holding hands, hugging, and even staying overnight at a hotel together, he had only gotten 28 points.

"I certainly wouldn't believe it... Wait, you went to karaoke with four gyarus, and you mean to tell me you just focused on singing?"

Shota shook his head instinctively, but the moment he registered what Ryuichi had said, he felt his blood pressure shooting up.

Although he had long known that Ryuichi wouldn't consider romance before getting into university, going out to play with four gyarus and having absolutely nothing happen was just way too oblivious to the romantic mood!