The Beautiful Girl Who Asked Me to Pretend to Be Her Boyfriend Didn’t Want to Break up With Me for Some Reason - Chapter 30.2

But Shirafuji remained silent, biting her lip and looking up at me.

Her sky-blue eyes were filled with a clear message: I don’t want to answer.

Her kindness warmed my heart.

“To sum up, I drove the delinquents away. They gave up in the end. I was covered in bruises, but the girl was completely unharmed. Then the police showed up, having heard the commotion. When they questioned me, they said I wasn’t entirely innocent either.”

“Why does the police even exist, then?”

“It would’ve been fine if it ended there. But when I went to school, word had already spread about my run-in with the delinquents. The person who spread it was the very girl I had helped. She started being afraid of me too, and the others didn’t bother hiding their dislike anymore.”

That was truly rough.

The girl who had been normal with me started avoiding me entirely.

And all because of what I did to help her.

“I felt betrayed. My classmates, who had avoided me from the start, the teachers, and even the girl I helped — they all seemed like enemies. Realizing I didn’t have a place at school, I stopped going. While I was shut in my room, I started losing sight of the meaning of life. I even tried hanging myself, only to have my family stop me in a panic.”

“What… How could that happen? Why did Hakuto have to suffer so much? You did nothing wrong… no, you did the right thing. Why?”

“Humans care about themselves the most. They sacrificed me to protect themselves. If you think about it, it’s like the trolley problem.”

“No, it’s not! They could’ve chosen a path where everyone was saved, but they decided to sacrifice Hakuto. That’s no different from killing you!”

“Maybe so. But at the time, I couldn’t see that. I just thought it was all my fault and gave up. I withdrew, unable to move forward, knowing I was slowly rotting away inside. My failed suicide attempt was the result. If my family hadn’t been there, I’d probably still be shut in.”

The only ones who didn’t give up on me when I was at my lowest were my family.

My dad, mom, and sister kept calling my name, helping me get back on my feet.

“Hakuto, you have every right to resent those people. They destroyed your life for their selfish reasons and pushed you to the brink of death.”

“Maybe, but I don’t care anymore. It’s all in the past. I’ll never have to deal with them again. If I don’t see them, there’s no reason to hold a grudge, right?”

“That may be true, but…”

“Besides, I’m happy now. School’s fun enough, and I have my family, friends, and you, Shirafuji. Asking for more would feel greedy.”

There’s only so much a person can carry.

What I have now is already more than enough.

“After that, I caught up on the middle school studies I missed, convinced my parents to let me live alone and go to high school in a different area, and got into Seimei High. I didn’t know if it would make a difference, but I wanted a fresh start.”

“That was a great decision. Your family must have really cared about you to allow that.”

“I can’t thank them enough. I wouldn’t have been able to take that step without their support. But as you know, even in high school, I kept being avoided… until that day on the rooftop when I met you.”

“That was quite the day. I still remember it. When Hakuto came, I wasn’t sure if you’d agree to my strange request.”

That autumn day.

When I agreed to Shirafuji’s request — to fake-date her — the world I thought would never change started to regain its color.

The reason I’m enjoying high school life is undeniably because of Shirafuji.

I have no reason to push her away, only gratitude.

“The main reason I agreed to fake-date you was because you said you wouldn’t betray me. Even though I had come to a faraway school to change my surroundings, I hadn’t made any real progress. So, I thought it was a good opportunity… truly, from the bottom of my heart. I decided to trust you and take a step forward.”

That was it.

If Shirafuji betrayed me, I’d just give up.

Having learned that anyone could betray, I had no expectations from the start.

I can’t deny that I hoped she wouldn’t betray me, though.

And in the end… here we are. It was a good call.

“Shirafuji, thank you. For staying by my side.”

“I should be the one saying that. Hakuto’s presence has helped me more than I can say. At the very least, my eating habits have improved thanks to you.”

“That’s just incidental. I do it because I want to, so don’t worry about it.”

“Then I’ll just have to spoil you even more… won’t I?”

“You already spoiled me enough.”

“It’s not nearly enough. Hakuto deserves to be happy to make up for all the unhappiness you’ve endured.”

“That’s a bit dramatic.”

“No, I mean it. I want to make Hakuto happy.”

“Well… I feel the same way.”

“Then I think we can achieve it together, Hakuto.”

Shirafuji smiled softly.

If it’s with her, maybe… I thought to myself.

“By the way… did I just get proposed to?”

“…No, that wasn’t my intention at all.”

“Ah, but technically, I was the one who proposed to Hakuto first, wasn’t I?”

“…Fake-dating, remember?”

“Let’s think of it as practice for the future. For the record, I’d prefer to be proposed to. I don’t care about the situation, as long as it depends on the person. So, Hakuto, please keep that in mind.”

How am I supposed to respond to that…? Wait, what am I even supposed to do about it…?

I’m going to propose to you, get out of here (?)

In truth, it was Shirafuji who struck first.

To Hakuto, sincerity matters above all else.