I Was Cheated on by My Girlfriend but My Devilish Junior Now Yearns for Me - Chapter 26

Chapter 26   Reina Aisaka – Past 1 How We Met

Around the fall of my first year in college, I visited a women’s university festival with Toudou and other members of the “start” club.

Near my university, there’s a well-known women’s university, and its festival is famous for being a place where students without partners gather to meet people. I wasn’t really motivated to find a girlfriend at such an event, so I was reluctant when Toudou invited me. But after hearing others in the club talk about it, I ended up going along.

“My girlfriend kept nagging me to come to the festival, and I didn’t want to go alone,” Toudou said.

“Still, it’s gonna be hard to move around with this many people,” I replied as I glanced at the various vendors dressed up in costumes, calling out to customers in high-pitched voices. I offered a complaint to Toudou, who defended himself quietly, saying, “Don’t bring that up. I didn’t expect so many people would tag along.”

The club members were all looking around excitedly, oblivious to our conversation.

We stood in line at a baby castella stall that wasn’t moving forward very quickly. I stretched my body, and as I did, a vendor organizing the line passed by us. I had seen several cute vendors that day, but I couldn’t help but follow this girl with my eyes.

The club members, both first-years and second-years alike, were also watching her with keen interest. She embodied the high standard of beauty that the women’s university was rumored to have, and everyone seemed captivated by her radiant presence.

“Hey, miss!” one of the upperclassmen called out to her.

The girl, exuding a calm demeanor, responded and walked over to us.

“Are you guys doing an afterparty when the festival’s over? If so, would you—”

She looked somewhat pleased, considering the question, but I stepped out of line. While flirting at a women’s university festival was probably common, it just wasn’t my style.

“I’m gonna check out some other spots,” I said before leaving. The girl glanced at me but didn’t say anything, and the other club members didn’t seem too interested in my departure either. Even though we were in the same club, there were some members I barely interacted with. Since I didn’t participate in all the activities, it wasn’t surprising that I was only acquainted with about half of the club. For someone with strong social skills like Ayaka, it wouldn’t matter, though.

After wandering aimlessly for about ten minutes, Toudou caught up with me.

“Did you meet up with your girlfriend?” I asked.

“Nah, it looks like she doesn’t have time right now, so we’re meeting up later. But dude, you didn’t do anything after you left, did you?”

“Flirting is embarrassing… I don’t mean the upperclassmen are embarrassing, though,” I added, correcting myself.

Toudou smirked. “I get it. I’d feel the same if my girlfriend saw me hanging around with those guys.”

“You’re fine, though. You were just watching.”

“Who knows? She gets a bit jealous sometimes.”

“Not my problem,” I said.

“That was a normal response in the context of the conversation, man,” Toudou laughed, and I joined in.

“So, why’d you come after me? Did they already wrap things up?” I asked.

“No, no. That girl from earlier said she’d be happy if you came by again.”

“For real? A reverse pick-up?”

“I doubt someone like her would reverse pick-up us. It’s probably just that she has some downtime and want more customers.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Still, my mood lifted a bit. That girl from earlier had the kind of looks that embodied the “women’s university brand.”

“Alright, I’ll go catch up with the upperclassmen,” Toudou said before heading in the opposite direction from where I was going.

When I arrived at the stall from before, the line had thinned out, and it didn’t look like I’d have to wait long. The girl, who seemed to be in charge of organizing the line, appeared bored and immediately approached me when she noticed me.

“Hello,” she greeted.

“Oh, hey. Sorry for leaving earlier. Are you going to hang out with those guys later?” I asked, curious to know if the upperclassmen’s attempts at flirting had been successful. But to my surprise, she gave a wry smile and shook her head.

“I’m not really good with being hit on.”

“Really? That’s unexpected.”

“Do I seem that way? That’s kind of a shock.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. You just didn’t seem to mind it earlier.”

As I fumbled to explain myself, she shook her head, signaling that she was joking.

“Let’s introduce ourselves. I’m Reina,” she said.

“Reina, huh? I’m Yuuta,” I replied, following her lead by giving my first name as well. In our club, we often called each other by first names, so I wasn’t uncomfortable with it. Since starting university, I’d rarely been addressed by my last name anyway.

“You look like a first-year student, Yuuta-kun, so I’m gonna drop the formal language.”

“I could be a second-year, you know.”

“Nah, you’re definitely a first-year. I can tell from your outfit,” she laughed with certainty. It made me want to retort and ask who was being rude, but something else piqued my curiosity more.

“…Do I really give off that vibe?” I asked.

“Yeah, for sure. I’ve been curious since I first saw you.”

“Impressive how you could think about that while you were being hit on.”

“Haha, doesn’t feel like a compliment,” she replied.

“It wasn’t,” I said playfully.

Reina’s outfit, even from my perspective—someone with zero interest in fashion—was undeniably stylish. It was around this time that I started to pay attention to clothing myself.

“So, why’d you call me over? It didn’t seem like a reverse pick-up situation,” I asked. Reina tilted her head in response. If I were some celebrity-level good-looking guy, it might make sense, but I was far from that, so I genuinely found it odd. Calling over a stranger like me was definitely unusual.

“When you stepped out of the line earlier, I thought, ‘Wow, this guy’s really serious.’ I figured I’d use you as a shield from the pick-up attempts of those other guys,” Reina said with a playful grin.

“You’re the worst! I’m leaving,” I replied, pretending to storm off.

“Wait, wait! I’ll give you some baby castella!” she said quickly.

Though it wasn’t really the baby castella that convinced me to stay, I lingered for a bit longer. Of course, it was all in good fun, and Reina likely knew that too. Still, the thought of getting a free treat from the seller was pretty appealing. She handed me a paper cup with a few baby castella left inside, and a single toothpick sticking out.

There was only one toothpick, but I didn’t mind since it was Reina. Secretly, I was a little happy, but I kept my face neutral, not wanting her to see through me, and casually popped one of the baby castella into my mouth.

“Wow, this is good.”

“Right? People say it’s pretty decent for the price.”

“I don’t think I got enough. Maybe I’ll buy my own,” I said.

“Really? Okay, I’ll give you a fresh batch, just for you,” she smiled.

After taking my money, Reina went back into the stall and returned a few seconds later with a new cup of baby castella.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

As I ate the freshly made castella, I looked around. All the sellers were chatting with customers, drawing people in with their friendly banter.

It clicked, and I laughed.

“So, this is what you guys do when it’s slow—just chat with customers, huh?”

“Ah, you figured it out. Yeah, when it’s quiet, we’re supposed to call over people, but honestly, it’s a little intimidating.”

“You figured you could pass the time with me, someone dressed like a freshman who seems harmless.”

“Hey, that’s not what I meant! I just wanted to talk with someone who seemed nice and serious,” she defended with a laugh.

Whether that was the real reason or not, our conversation flowed smoothly. We had a lot in common—favorite artists, favorite manga—so the talk was lively.

I found myself speaking more than usual. Normally, I’m more of a listener, but this felt refreshing. Reina had a way of keeping the conversation going, her responses and well-timed reactions making me feel like she was truly enjoying it.

As the initial tension of meeting someone new melted away, I found myself wanting to talk to her even more. But just as our conversation turned to university life, a sudden rush of customers came to the stall.

“Whoa, lots of customers all of a sudden. I need to help manage the line,” she said, looking apologetic.

Even though I’d already had a good amount of conversation, I didn’t feel satisfied. I wanted to keep talking to her.

“Hey, how about we grab dinner after this?” I blurted out, probably emboldened by the festive atmosphere of the school festival.

Reina blinked in surprise.

“Didn’t I tell you I’m not good at being hit on?”

“Oh, wait—was that a no?” I asked, though I had a feeling what her answer would be.

Her smile hadn’t faded at all, even as I asked her to dinner.

“No, it’s fine. I’d love to,” she replied.

And that was how I met Aisaka Reina.

From then on, every time we hung out, it was just the two of us. With the flexibility of our university schedules, we met up about three times a week. Since we got along so well, Reina never once declined my invitations.

It didn’t take long before we started dating.