The day I moved on from my crush — who worked as a rental girlfriend — I ended up with a yandere

I was on my way to the university.

Classes resume from today.

As I walked, I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened yesterday.

The date that began with fun and laughter ended on such a sweet note that I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Tsumiki-san… is really a nice person.

Her feelings aside, she is a very good friend to have. Someone who doesn’t get tired of listening to the other person, even if they are just crying about their past.

I could tell she doesn’t like Satsuki even a bit. Not because they had actually met, but rather because of how Satsuki had treated me and her place in my heart.

It was kind of endearing to see how she always gets jealous and tries to rewrite every memory I share with Satsuki.

I have never been in a relationship before, but I know a lot of girls… people I have associated with or frequently meet in the uni.

And based on that, I could tell Tsumiki-san was quite different.

She is a very blunt person, someone who never hid her real feelings, and being jealous in a relationship… people call it being insecure and toxic these days, but for me, being jealous means that they are just so in love with their partner that they can’t see anyone even near them.

I… found it romantic.

“Now, that’s a surprise.” Hearing the voice, I paused and sighed.

“Why did you have to return so early?” I asked, as without even looking, I could tell who was approaching me.

A hand draped over my shoulder as the guy said, “Even though your best friend isn’t around, you are smiling like this?”

I narrowed my eyes on him and said, “I don’t always hang out with Satsuki.”

The brown-haired youth, with droopy eyes and a teardrop mole at the corner of his left eye, grinned as he said, “I was talking about myself.”

I chuckled. “I was smiling till you weren’t around. Now, I don’t know.”

Izumi snickered before he said, “So? How is it going? Heard you had a fight with Satsuki?”

I hummed in surprise. “How do you know?”

Izumi shrugged, tucking his hands in his pockets. He said, “She called me and lashed out, saying that I brainwashed you and all. Ah, and she mentioned you lying to your mother to go somewhere.”

My gaze hardened. “She yelled at you?”

Izumi chuckled. “Not the first time, but forget about that and tell me—what happened?”

I chewed on my lower lip before I finally told him, “She never showed up for a date we had been planning for days, and later I saw her on a date with some middle-aged dude. So, I decided to move on.”

Izumi paused, and so did I.

With my brows raised, I asked, “What?”

Izumi approached me and rested both of his hands on my shoulders. “Did I hear it right? Did you really say ‘move on’?”

I was kinda hurt that he didn’t comfort me upon getting ditched but yes, the part of me moving on surely must have shocked him.

Why? Well, Izumi had tried changing my mind about Satsuki a lot of times in the past.

“You heard it right. I realized that chasing after her is just insulting myself and wasting my time. We are at our most crucial phase of life, so it’s better to focus on studies.”

Izumi narrowed his eyes. “Oh, and how long is that resolve going to last?”

I chuckled and started to walk again. “You will see. This time, I am not confused nor angry.” Taking a brief pause, I added, “And this time, I have a reason not to return to Satsuki.”

“Hmm? What’s that? Hey, Kazuki? What did you just mumble?”

….

Reaching the classroom, Izumi and I made our way to the back of the class.

I spotted Satsuki with her usual friends, chatting and having fun.

She didn’t glance at us, for obvious reasons. I called her a prostitute, after all.

“Well, nothing new that she chose to change her seats,” Izumi muttered as the seat beside mine was empty.

Several times in the past, we fought, and the first thing Satsuki did—other than not walking to the uni with me—was to change her seats.

But unlike usual, I wasn’t thinking of how to bring her back. In fact, I felt better this way.

Izumi sat on the other side, and we were about to pull out our phones when suddenly—

“Kazuki-kun~” A familiar girl appeared before our desk, her loud voice getting the attention of everyone around us before she asked, “I saw you yesterday~ Who was that girl with you? Your girlfriend? Ah, are you cheating on Sa-chan?”