Actually, the Hungry Gyaru Who Eats a Lot Was Being Cheated On, so I Decided to Win Her Heart (And Stomach) From Her Jerk Boyfriend - 22

Chapter 22: Because I Still Want to Be Friends

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After finishing all the food until nothing was left and tidying up the containers, I drank the tea I was given and suddenly thought of something to ask.

“By the way, Shizuku, what do you think about the current situation?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, how you’re being approached by guys left and right. More guys have been trying to talk with you since you broke up with Yamachi, right?”

“Ah, that…”

Shizuku let out a dry, weary smile. Just that expression told me most of what I needed to know.

“I appreciate their sentiment. I’m grateful they went out of their way to talk with me, but I really don’t have any plans to date anyone right now. After all, I’m not the type of girl who can just switch partners that easily.”

“Yeah, I figured as much. I thought that might be the case.”

I sighed, feeling relieved at her answer, but at the same time… I also felt disappointed. Immediately, I became confused by the emotions brewing inside of me. 

Why did I feel disappointed just now? No, no. Why did I even feel relieved? I should be happy if Shizuku can start a new relationship with someone, so why…?

I tried to sort through my thoughts to find the source of my troubles, but…

“Suou-kun?”

Shizuku’s puzzled voice interrupted my thoughts.

“What’s wrong? Why the long face?”

“…No, it’s nothing. Sorry for asking you a weird question out of nowhere like that.”

“It’s fine, I really don’t mind. And seriously, you don’t need to apologize to me. Ahahaha!~”

Shizuku laughed out loud at that. After laughing for a while, she squinted her eyes mischievously.

“But hey~ Suou-kun, why didn’t you come to talk to me? You just kept watching me from a distance this whole time. I noticed your gaze, you know?~”

“No way. Impossible. I can already see the future where your friends are blocking my path.”

Regardless of the actual situations between us, the public only knew I was only a classmate of Shizuku. To those gyaru trio, I was just yet another guy trying to get close to Shizuku now that she was single. 

“You don’t need to worry about that. I can just tell them about you.”

“It’s not that simple. Sure, they might not try to stop me if you did that, but everyone else would notice that I’m getting special treatment.”

“Huh? But you ARE special. Suou-kun, you’re a special person to me.”

“What are you talking about? Try to think about it more.”

Shizuku tilted her head to the side, seemingly pondering the possibilities before she quickly cast her gaze downward. 

“Well, yeah. I can kind of imagine how everyone would react. But… But still. I want you to talk to me, Suou-kun. Not just like now. I want you to talk to me, even if everyone else is present. If you do…”

“Shizuku…?”

“—Just kidding! It’s totally fine if you only want to talk to me when you feel like it. I will always welcome you with open arms!”

She grinned widely before continuing on.

“Ah, right!  I almost forgot! Here, take this!”

She pulled a brown envelope from her school bag and handed it to me with both hands.

“Here! The ingredients cost for lunch! Once again, thank you for cooking lunch for me today! It was, really, really, really delicious!”

“…Yeah. Thanks.”

We had talked about splitting the cost for lunch today beforehand. So, I gratefully accepted the envelope without much fuss. Shizuku stood up and began to descend the stairs. Once she was standing on the landing, she turned around and said to me. 

“See you, Suou-kun! I will see you tomorrow!”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

I waved back with one hand, and Shizuku went down to the next floor before entering the school building. After hearing the sound of the door closing, I sighed and leaned my back against the railing.

“…Why did she go down to another floor first?”

I muttered that small and pointless question to myself.

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I really don’t have any intention to date anyone right now. I wasn’t lying to Gakuto earlier. It’s just… There’s one exception to that. 

Once she closed the door to the emergency stairs, Shizuku slumped down and huddled herself into a ball. 

“…Ugh, this is bad. Like, really bad.”

She could feel her cheeks burning from embarrassment. Why? Because she had almost blurted out something outrageous in the heat of the moment. It was…

“If you do, I could totally let everyone know that you’re special to me.”

She muttered the words that she had stopped herself from saying earlier. In an instant, her already heated cheeks became even hotter. The warmth quickly spread throughout her whole body. She checked her face on her smartphone. She was as red as a ripe apple, completely drowning in shame. 

I’m glad no one saw me like this.

“…Yeah. That was no go. Definitely a no go. Absolutely not. Nope. Never.”

Had she said those words, her relationship with Suou-kun would experience a significant change. For starters, Suou-kun would feel troubled by the weight of those words and she definitely didn’t want to trouble Suou-kun. She didn’t want to repay his kindness with cruelty. Sure, maybe one day… One day the day would come when she could say those words, but… 

Not today. Definitely not today. Because… I still want to be friends with him.

She thought to herself as she stayed huddled like that for a while.

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