The Boy Who Gave Up on Romantic Feelings ~I’m Done Because I Was Betrayed by The Girlfriends I Used to Date~ - Chapter 33-34

Chapter 33

Third Person’s POV

Yasumoto’s arrest affects Shinozaki’s reputation heavily.

“God damn it!!!”

Shinozaki’s parents, frightened by their daughter’s sudden outbursts, began to spend more time away from home.

Consequently, there is no one to stop her in her current state.

She let her emotions take control of her, lashing out on everything around her. As a result, her room is in a state of utter chaos.

“That trash…completely useless…”

Then, after she calmed down, she remembers that she has another pawn she can use.

“That’s right…now is the time to use Motomura.”

Having her mind made up, Shinozaki sends Motomura a message.

10 minutes later.

“…what’s taking him so long.”

1 hour later.

“Why hasn’t that scumbag contacted me!!!”

Because of what’s happening around her, Shinozaki has grown impatient. She instructed both Motomura and Yasumoto to respond to her message within 10 minutes at all times.

“Why…why is this happening…what did I do…”

Finally, she begins to cry alone in her room.

Shinozaki is incredibly selfish, she hasn’t reflected on anything she had done.

Whether it’s due to her own personality or her pride, even Shinozaki herself can’t tell.

“That’s right…it’s not my fault…Yasumoto did all this to himself…Motomura was never there from the beginning.”

She starts to escape from reality.

Once she does so, there’s no going back.

“That’s right…I’m not at fault…if I explain things to Shintani, he’ll surely help me…if I apologize properly for what I’ve done so far, I’m sure he will reconsider going back with me…”

Shinozaki goes crazy as she begins to escape into delusions.

She is really good at running away from her problems.

Her hidden nature is finally revealed. She has ultimately descended into a pitiful girl living in her own delusions.

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Protagonist’s POV

“Ugh…”

“What’s wrong, Shintani?”

“I suddenly feel a chill run down my spine…”

“…be careful.”

“Yeah…”

The sudden chill that ran down my spine disappeared as quickly as it came. What on earth was that?

I’m used to being the subject of rumours, so something like this shouldn’t happen…it’s scary.

“So, Motomura, did Shinozaki contacted you?”

“Hmm? Yeah, she did. She told me to report on the situation at school or something. I didn’t care, so I just ignored it like you guys said. Ah, and of course, I didn’t read it.”

“…putting it like that sounds like something a bully would say.”

“Don’t say that, Shintani. This is entirely Shinozaki’s fault.”

“Well, yeah, but…honestly, I don’t even care about Shinozaki anymore. I mean, I kind of want to get back at her, but…If I can just let it go, that’d be nice.”

“After all of this is over, just forget about it right away.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Putting an end to this series of events should normally bring a sense of excitement or relief.

Unfortunately, I can’t feel those feelings, and realizing that, I fall back into self-loathing.

Chapter 34

The days passed, the seniors graduated, leaving only us second and first year-students in the school. However, there wasn’t much change around me. That’s to be expected, considering I didn’t interact much with the seniors.

Also, it seems that Yasumoto was suspended and then expelled from school. Surely, his academics record will now include dropping out of high school, and on top of that, a criminal record.

His future life is going to be very though from now on. All I can say to him is to be strong and continue live his life as an ex-convict. Or rather, I don’t want to say anything to him anymore. I don’t want to get involved any further.

Furthermore, things have become easier for me compared to before. What’s more, my classmates from my first year of high school are now being looked at with disdain by everyone. They were the ones who actively bullied me. At that time, my other classes didn’t say anything to it, and they had little to no interest in me, whether good or bad. Some students apparently reported my bullying to the teachers, but it didn’t reach my homeroom teacher, Momogaya-sensei, and was swept under the rug. Well, Momogaya-sensei already knew about my bullying and gave me proper attention.

However, even so, those classmates of mine didn’t stop. Momogaya-sensei warned them over and over again, but they just ignored it and stirred up the whole class. Momogaya-sensei kept giving them warnings each time, but they were too stubborn to listen.

There were incidents like that, and people from other classes even knew about it. As a result, the roles between me and my former classmates has reversed from when we were first years. Hanamoto is in the same class as me, but since it has become known that she is also a victim like me, she isn’t lumped in with those people. Apparently, her circle of friends has expanded now.

Furthermore, the school itself is under scrutiny, primarily from parents.

It’s mainly about the bullying I faced, which was brought to light particularly due to Yasumoto’s arrest. The principal and others couldn’t give any answers to the inquiries from parents. This quickly became a topic of discussion, and the school faced severe criticism online, tarnishing its reputation. As a result, both the principal and vice principal resigned, taking responsibility. However, later, the police found extensive evidence of crimes, regarding bribery towards both the principal and vice principal, leading to their arrest. This further damaged the school’s reputation.

Well, if there’s any silver lining, it’s that most of the criticism online was directed towards the principal and others, not the school as a whole.

So, the end of the third semester of my second year of high school was quite hectic.

Now, why am I reflecting on such past?

“Long time no see, Shintani.”

It’s because Shinozaki is standing right in front of me.

“Hah…”

I can’t help but to let out a sigh.

I just want to go home.

I find myself instinctively clenching my fist and almost turning my thumb downwards, desperately trying to hold myself back.