I Was Cheated on by My Girlfriend but My Devilish Junior Now Yearns for Me - Chapter 99

Chapter 99   Shinohara and Reina 1

“Wait, what?! Why are you here?!”

After accusing Reina, Shinohara quickly shifted her gaze to me.
Since this junior of mine already knew everything that was going on, I returned her gaze with a look that said, “I’m not doing anything wrong.”

Gradually, Shinohara’s cheeks puffed up in frustration, but eventually, she let out a defeated sigh and deflated.

“I had a feeling it would come to this…”
“What do you mean, ‘this’?”

Curious, I asked casually. In response, Shinohara grabbed my shoulders firmly and shook me back and forth.

“You bringing Reina-san into this club! That’s what I mean!”

This was the second time this week I had been shaken like this. Dizzy, I tried to come up with a reply as I opened my mouth.

“Who I bring into the club is my business!”
“That’s exactly why it’s so infuriating!”

“Hey, Mayu-chan.”

At Reina’s voice, Shinohara immediately let go of my shoulders.
Caught off guard by the sudden release, I toppled backward, falling flat on my back. Nobody seemed to care, though.

“Oh, this time you remembered my name. What is it, Reina-san?”
“Do you think Yuuta-kun is popular?”
“Wait, what kind of question is that?!”

Startled by Reina’s sudden inquiry, I reacted as I was getting back to my feet. However, Shinohara kept her gaze fixed on Reina and answered directly.

“I think he is. After all, you dated him, right?”
“Ahaha, well, yeah. But it wasn’t really because of his popularity or anything like that.”
“…I see.”

Shinohara gave a nonchalant reply, but Reina, undeterred, continued.

“When someone is popular, it’s almost natural for them to drift out of your reach if you leave them alone. If you don’t want that, you have no choice but to become really close to them.”

Though both of them were speaking as if I were someone important, it was obvious that Reina was the one who was actually popular. As for me, I didn’t recall ever becoming the kind of person who’d drift away into the distance.

If I were, I wouldn’t still be stuck in a self-indulgent lifestyle in my third year of university.
Even with job hunting looming over me, I hadn’t even figured out where to focus my efforts yet. The more I denied it, the more hollow it made me feel.

“What are you talking about? Senpai and I are as close as the Mariana Trench is deep.”
“Hey, I don’t recall venturing that far down!”
“Be quiet, Senpai!”
“Wait, this is about me, isn’t it?!”

Even as I tried to retort, Shinohara’s devilish gaze remained fixed on Reina.

“Even if there’s history between you and Senpai, it won’t change how I act.”

This was something she had told me directly before today’s first class started.
While those words were encouraging to me, Reina likely interpreted them in a very different way.

“What kind of actions, Mayu-chan?”
“Getting along with Senpai!”
“I see. Thank you.”
“Huh?”

Shinohara let out a confused noise.
It seemed like she had intended to say something else, but Reina’s simple response had thrown her off, leaving her standing there with her mouth slightly agape.

“Thank you for getting along with Yuuta-kun. He hasn’t had much experience interacting with younger people, so I think your presence will be a valuable asset for him in the future.”
“Ah, w-well, yeah. He did mention he hasn’t really interacted much with younger people. But, um…”

When Reina tilted her head slightly, Shinohara seemed to steel herself and finally spoke.

“Reina-san, you still give off a bit of a girlfriend vibe with Senpai, and it’s honestly a really weird feeling.”
“Hehe. I’m his ex for now, though.”

Reina replied without hesitation.
After a brief silence, Shinohara turned to me and said:

“…Senpai, if I didn’t mishear, Reina-san said ‘for now,’ didn’t she?”
“I did”

Before I could elaborate, Reina confirmed it herself, prompting Shinohara to turn back to her without waiting for my response.

“So, does that mean you want to get back together with him right away?”

Her bluntness hit like a fastball, but Reina didn’t flinch as she calmly replied.

“Not right away, at least. We only recently reconnected.”
“That kind of—”
“That’s why I was saying, if there were someone he could date temporarily as a trial, it might help Yuuta-kun figure out his stance on relationships. Just hypothetically, of course.”
“Tell me more about that hypothetical!”
“Well, I was explaining…”

Reina furrowed her brows in mild discomfort as Shinohara leaned in eagerly.
Seeing this, I grabbed Shinohara by the back of her collar and pulled her away from Reina. She pouted and glared at me.

“If you weren’t my Senpai, I’d have bitten your fingers just now.”
“Glad I’m your Senpai, then.”
“That’s not the kind of response I wanted!”

Flailing her arms, she forced me to let go.

When I first started spending time with Shinohara, even brushing against her seemed awkward, but now grabbing her collar was second nature. It made me reflect on how much time we’d spent together.

As I mused over this, Shinohara suddenly spoke up.

“How about it, Senpai?”
“Huh?”
“Testing out a romantic relationship with me for a set period!”

A quiet tension settled over our little corner of the gymnasium.