Even Today, the Genius High School Programmer Cashes In on Day Trades, Completely Flustered by Beautiful Girls' Growing Affection. - Chapter 20: “Don’t you ever think about getting a boyfriend?”

“Don’t you ever think about getting a boyfriend?”

Sakuraba’s light smacking eventually died down.

“Want some sports drink?” I asked. She nodded—“Yeah”—and slowly sat up.

Her cheeks were still faintly flushed, but she looked completely fine now.

I twisted open the second bottle and handed it to her.

We sat side by side on the artificial turf, both taking quiet sips from our drinks.

“She probably doesn’t even realize it…”

“Hm? What was that?”

“Nothing!”

Sakuraba pursed her lips and turned her face away.

Say it a little louder next time, please.

Other guests walked past us in a steady stream.

Every single young guy without exception glanced at Sakuraba as he went by.

Most did a double-take.

Hardly surprising—those long, pale, flawless legs were completely bare, and her face was idol-level cute.

And it wasn’t just the men. Almost every young woman who passed also turned to look.

“You get attention from women too, not just guys, huh.”

“I think they’re actually looking at you, Ooyama-kun.”

“Me? No way. That’s impossible.”

“You really are clueless about yourself… You know, you’re actually pretty handsome, in a normal, effortless way.”

“Thanks. I’m not big on empty compliments, but I’ll take it.”

“You’re so stubborn the moment it’s about you…”

She pouted, grumbling under her breath.

“Sakuraba… don’t you ever think about getting a boyfriend or anything?”

“Eh?”

She whipped her head toward me, startled.

“I—I don’t know…”

“Really? You’ve gotten confessed to a ton of times. There had to be at least a few decent guys in there, right?”

“Hmm… but I always end up wondering if they actually know me at all. Some of them have literally never spoken to me before. When someone says they like me out of nowhere, I just think… why?”

“Is that how it feels?”

“Yeah. And honestly… there’s a lot of unpleasant stuff that comes with it. Especially from other girls.”

“Jealousy, you mean?”

“…Yeah.”

She looked down.

Her expression turned faintly pained, as though some unpleasant memory had resurfaced.

They say there’s nothing scarier than a woman’s jealousy.

“What about you, Ooyama-kun? Do you… um… have a girl you like, or anything?”

“Nope. Not a chance.”

I answered instantly.

“Or… a guy you like?”

“You can make jokes like that too, huh.”

“You’re smart, good-looking… I bet you’ve got secret admirers you don’t even know about.”

“No, in my case… look, my parents are divorced, right? So when someone says they like me or whatever, I just think—if it’s all going to end with us drifting apart anyway, why even start? Might as well not bother from the beginning.”

“Ah… so that’s how it is…”

“Well… it’s not quite that simple, but yeah.”

“?”

“Sorry. Forget I said anything.”

She looked like she wanted to say more, but I closed the topic there.

Right at that moment—

“Whoa, sorry sorry! Did we take too long?”

The handsome guy came strolling back, flanked by two beautiful girls.

“Yukina, feeling better?”

“Oops~ Did we maybe interrupt something~?”

Yamano teased with a grin.

“It’s about lunchtime, right? I’m starving. How about everyone else?”

Shingo asked, looking around.

“Sakuraba, how’re you feeling? Better?”

“Yeah, I’m fine now. Actually… I’m getting hungry too.”

Smiling softly, she let Ryuusenji and Yamano each take one of her hands and pull her gently to her feet.

We all headed together to the food court for lunch.

The lunch coupon that came with our admission tickets let us pick from a variety of sets—hamburgers, pasta, ramen, katsudon, you name it. Every option came with a drink.

Prices here are pretty steep if you pay normally, so I really owe Ryuusenji something for covering this.

Shingo and I went for the katsudon set, Sakuraba and Ryuusenji chose pasta, and Yamano picked a hamburger.

Maybe because I was starving, I demolished mine in no time flat.