After I Picked up a Notebook Filled With Intense Emotions, the Girls Started Acting Strange - Chapter 30

Lately, it felt like nothing but bad luck kept coming my way.

I started oversleeping a lot, forgot my homework, and even got yelled at for missing my committee work because no one told me what to do.

Then that annoying old man, our club advisor, chewed me out too.

He said I wouldn’t be part of the starting lineup in the post-test practice match? What a joke! Who does he think carried this team to victory?

Fine. Let them try winning without me. They’ll realize soon enough they can’t do it without my skills.

But honestly, all this bad luck started because of Shiomi.

Everything went wrong after I ended up in the same class as that guy in our second year.

Ever since he started hanging around Mizuki, everything fell apart.

Mizuki stopped taking care of me, and Yukina started spreading strange rumors, making me sound like some useless guy.

And to make things worse, both of them started spending time with that jerk!

He must have said something to them. Brainwashing? Hypnosis, maybe?

I’ll definitely save them from his evil hands.

And I’ll be the one to make them happy.

Still… thinking about it now, I should’ve crushed him completely back in middle school.

He was already a loser by the time we were in our third year, so I ignored him. Big mistake.

“Shindou-kun, are you listening?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. You said we’re studying at the family restaurant, right?”

“Yes. It’s right before the tests, so let’s focus properly.”

At last, it seems like the goddess of luck has started smiling on me again.

Even though Mizuki and Yukina have been fooled by that guy, Rei hasn’t.

After all the rumors and club drama, she actually cared about me.

She listened when I told her what happened, and she comforted me with such kindness.

Everyone says she’s beautiful but impossible to read.

But I know exactly what she’s thinking.

She’s in love with me.

It’s obvious.

She barely talks to anyone, not even other girls, let alone guys.

And yet, she talks to me like it’s normal. Even after those stupid rumors spread.

That alone proves I’m special to her.

Now, she’s invited me to study together, and we’re walking side by side to the restaurant.

I glance at her from the corner of my eye.

Her silvery-white hair shines like snow, swaying softly as she walks.

Her expression is calm, almost cold, but in that stillness, her beauty looks like a piece of art.

And this girl… she likes me.

Just knowing that makes me feel like I’m better than anyone else in the world.

“What’s wrong? You’ve been staring at my face for a while. Is there something on it?”

“N-no, it’s nothing…”

Her jade-green eyes seemed to see right through me, and my heart thumped loudly in my chest.

Wait a second… could this mean we’re already close enough to start dating? Should I confess?

But hold on, how do I even do that? I’ve always been the one being confessed to.

If she likes me, shouldn’t she be the one to say it first?

Maybe I can guide the conversation that way.

“If you’ve got something to say, you should just say it clearly.”

“W-well, Rei… don’t you have something you want to tell me?”

“Me? Not really.”

“─”

She’s tough. Damn it. I know she likes me!

“Shindou-kun, may I say one thing?”

“…Huh?”

“If there’s something you want, reach out and take it yourself. Luck never comes to those who just wait.”

“What does… that mean―”

“Girls dream about their prince on a white horse.”

For a moment, I didn’t get what she meant.

But then it clicked.

She wants me to confess.

Waiting around won’t get me anywhere, she’s right.

That’s how I got this far, back in middle school, too.

Still, for her to tell me that while she’s the one waiting… that’s pretty clever.

And honestly, that cool attitude of hers only makes it better.

Alright then. I’ll play along.

That’s what a popular guy does, after all.

I’m a little nervous, but… I’ve got this.

“Rei… I, um… well, you know…”

“…”

“Come on, you get it, right?”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

“I-I mean, if you like me, I wouldn’t mind going out with you?”

“Huh? What are you even talking about?”

“Damn it.”

Is she testing me?

This is bad. I can’t tell if she’s pretending not to get it or if she really doesn’t understand!

I didn’t think Rei could be this dense…

“Fine. I’ll say it one more time. I’ll be your boyfriend?”

There. I said it straight.

She has to get it now!!

And finally, her lips curved just slightly into a smile.

“I don’t mind.”

The goddess smiled at me, just for me.

Her words made my heart tremble with joy.

I had confidence. But deep down, I’d also been nervous.

Trying to stay cool on the outside, I held back the urge to jump for joy.

Inside, I was dancing like crazy, though.

I knew it! She really did want to be my girlfriend.

She must have been moved by my confession.

“Ahaha.”

A small laugh escaped me.

Then she spoke again, her voice calm but firm.

“But there’s one condition.”

“C-Condition!?”

The unexpected words froze me in place.

A condition? What kind of condition?

No one had ever said something like that to me before.

Nervousness crept back in as I waited for her answer.

“I want you to look only at me.”

“…Huh?”

“Shindou-kun is popular. There’s Sena-san, your childhood friend, and Orihara-san, and other girls who like talking to you.”

“I-I mean, I guess so.”

“Some girls have drifted away from you lately, but I don’t want you to worry about them.”

“…”

“Forget about them. Just focus on me. As long as you have me, that’s enough, right?”

Rei smiled softly as she placed her hand on my cheek.

Her touch was so gentle, yet so seductive that I could feel my face getting hot.

“I’m more selfish than I look. My boyfriend has to be someone who’ll happily do anything I ask. Or are you the kind of guy who can’t even listen to his girlfriend’s cute requests?”

I almost grinned.

I didn’t think Rei liked me this much.

Fine then. If that’s what she wants, I’ll show her what kind of man I am.

“Ahaha. That’s easy. I’ll be the perfect boyfriend you deserve.”

Now I can finally show those two up!

Mizuki, Yukina, just you wait. You’ll regret letting me go!

…Well, maybe if you come crying back later, I’ll think about it. Ahaha.