After Being Dumped With the Insult, “You’re So Clingy!” and Finding Her in Despair, I Kept Encouraging My Beautiful Classmate and as a Result, That Beautiful Girl Started Directing Her Heavy Emotions Toward Me Instead, but Since I Like Emotionally Heavy Girls, It’s No Problem - 40

Chapter 40: Celebration After the Exams

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“The time is up. Please put down your writing utensils.”

At the same moment the bell rang, the supervising teacher gave the signal that the exam was over. After that, I handed my answer sheet to the student in charge of collecting them who came from behind.

“Haaah… All the subjects are finally over…”

The tension that had been stretched tight finally loosened, and I slumped forward across the desk. With this, the long exam week was finally over. I had filled in almost all of the answer spaces, and based on the self-grading I did in my head, I thought I had probably avoided failing grades in every subject. Next week we would receive the test results and have the closing ceremony, and once that was over, the long-awaited summer vacation would finally begin.

“Ichika-kun, good work.”

“Yeah, good work to you too, Futaba.”

Futaba came over near my seat. No, really, we both deserved that. Today, once the test was finished, school was over for the day and we were dismissed in the morning. Perhaps because of that, the classmates around us were already quickly preparing to head home. I could hear voices saying things like, “Let’s go to ○○ after this!” and “I’m finally going to play the game I’ve been holding back on!”

“Well then, shall we head home too? What would you like for lunch?”

Maybe she was influenced by the other students rushing home, because Futaba also urged me to leave. We could go back to the apartment like this and eat the delicious food she made, but there was actually something I had been thinking about doing once the exams were over.

So, I suggested it to her.

“Hey Futaba, do you want to go celebrate now that the exams are over? Eating out once in a while sounds nice, right?”

“A celebration…?”

“Yeah. You could also call it an invitation to a date.”

The thing I had been planning to do was a post-exam celebration with Futaba, which also doubled as a date. Right after Futaba and I became real lovers, exam week had started, so we had not gone on a proper date even once. Since we were finally a couple, I wanted to go on a date with her.

“That sounds wonderful. A date with you, Ichika-kun. I don’t have to hold back anymore, right? Ufufufufu♡”

“W-well, just keep it reasonable when we’re somewhere people can see us…”

Holding hands or linking arms was totally fine. But like the time in the library the other day, I felt awkward about being asked for kisses in front of people.

…Although back then I could not hold back and ended up doing it anyway.

“So where are we going?”

“I heard there’s a stylish cafe near the station that has really good food and sweets. Do you want to check it out? Apparently they even have cream puffs, which you like.”

That information came from a conversation with Musashi. He always made sure to collect information about “places girls like” just in case he got a girlfriend someday. Thanks to that, I was able to benefit from it too.

“Really!? Let’s go!”

Futaba’s eyes sparkled as she jumped onto my arm. She must really like cream puffs. Seeing my excited girlfriend looking so cute made me smile without thinking. Her happy face was my happiness.

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After walking about ten minutes from school, we arrived at the cafe near the station that we were aiming for. I opened the wooden door and stepped inside. Along with the sound of a bell announcing customers, “chirin chirin,” cool air from the air conditioner cooled our bodies that had been warmed by the sun during the walk.

The staff member guided us, and we sat down at our seats.

“It’s hot…”

“Yeah. When we go out during summer vacation, we’ll have to think carefully about dealing with the heat. Here.”

Futaba made a fan shape with her palm and was sending air toward herself to cool down. I picked up the plastic menu nearby and used it like a fan to send air toward her.

“Ah, thank you. It’s cool…”

Futaba’s expression, which had been suffering from the heat, relaxed. It was already fair to say the heat had reached full summer levels. If it was this hot in early July, this summer would definitely be extremely hot. I was still fine, but thinking about how much hotter it would get, it must be tough for girls. I would have to pay careful attention so she did not get heatstroke.

“I’ll return the favor. I’ll fan you too, Ichika-kun. There!”

“Thanks. That’s cool.”

This time Futaba fanned me. After fanning each other for a while and letting the sweat settle, we discussed what to order.

“What are you getting, Futaba?”

“Hmm… everything looks delicious, so it’s hard to decide. What about you, Ichika-kun?”

“A sandwich and iced coffee, I guess… Oh, and maybe I’ll get soft-serve ice cream for dessert?”

For my stomach, the sandwich and iced coffee alone would be enough. However, I thought that if I did not order dessert, Futaba might hesitate to order her favorite cream puff. So I deliberately added it.

“Hehe. Ichika-kun, you added the soft-serve ice cream on purpose, didn’t you? There was a slight pause.”

“W-what are you talking about? I just feel like having something cold because it’s hot.”

“…You’re as kind as ever. That’s one of the things I love about you♡”

…That had been the plan, but it seemed Futaba saw right through me. I had thought this before, but Futaba seemed strangely observant. Or maybe I was just bad at acting. …It felt like the latter might be true.

“Then I’ll also have a sandwich and iced coffee. And a cream puff for dessert!”

We called the staff member and placed our order. A few minutes later, the sandwiches and iced coffee were brought to us. The sandwiches at this shop had thick bread with plenty of fillings packed inside. They were so big that it was difficult to hold them with one hand.

First, I took a bite of the large sandwich. Beyond the fluffy bread were crisp lettuce, ripe tomatoes, and thick slices of ham. It seemed that mustard mayonnaise had been lightly spread inside the bread, adding a sharp accent.

Next was the iced coffee. It had an extremely rich aroma, and even from a short distance away the fragrant smell of coffee was clearly noticeable. When I took a sip of the cold coffee, that deep aroma shot from my nose straight up to my head.

“This is good.”

“Yes. It’s very delicious.”

We both shared our impressions. After seeing that we had finished our sandwiches, the staff member brought the desserts. A cream puff was placed in front of Futaba, and soft-serve ice cream was placed in front of me. Futaba opened her small mouth as wide as she could and took a big bite of the cream puff with a bright smile. She then showed an expression that could only be described as pure bliss. Just watching that smile filled my heart with happiness.

…If I were to say something a bit cheesy, it would be like, “Just your smile is enough to fill me up.”

“Ichika-kun? Your soft-serve ice cream is going to melt.”

“…Hm? Oh!?”

I had been so captivated by Futaba’s smile that I had neglected my own situation. When I looked down, the soft-serve ice cream had melted slightly and was dripping down to my fingers. I hurriedly licked the dripping cream with my tongue.

“Hehe♪ Ichika-kun, your cheek.”

“Huh?”

Futaba pointed at my cheek with her finger. Apparently some soft-serve ice cream had gotten on my cheek.

“Ah, wait a second! Hehe♡”

I reached for a nearby paper napkin to wipe my cheek, but Futaba stopped me. She had a smile like she had thought of something, stood up from her seat, and came over to sit beside me. Then…

“Chu♡”

She actually kissed my cheek and sucked off the soft-serve ice cream that was there. My heart pounded rapidly at my girlfriend’s sudden action. We had already kissed many times. But a surprise kiss was still bad for my heart.

“Something like this is fine even in public… right?”

“Ugh…”

Futaba licked her lips and spoke with a satisfied expression. I felt uncomfortable kissing in public, but when I saw that kind of expression on my girlfriend’s face, I could not bring myself to say anything.

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