The Pure-Hearted Beauty Who Only Dotes on Me Despite Not Being in a Relationship—And How She Became Even Sweeter After We Started Dating - Chapter 1: Can I spoil you today too~?

Can I spoil you today too~?

In my class, there’s a girl named Tsuyuzaki Mizuki. She’s academically excellent, excels in sports, and possesses a graceful beauty. She’s trusted by both friends and teachers, and there’s always a crowd around her.

Whenever someone asks for help, she responds with a cheerful smile. Kind and with a smile as sweet as an angel’s, there’s hardly anything negative about her.

Perhaps it’s because of these qualities that she’s so popular. Rumor has it that she’s been confessed to multiple times, yet none have succeeded.

There are whispers that she may already have a boyfriend, but from my perspective, there’s no evidence of that.

During break time, Tsuyuzaki is always surrounded by her female friends. While boys want to approach her, they fear being rejected, so they content themselves with observing her from afar.

“Tsuyuzaki-san looks just as lovely today.”

“Yeah, I wish I could talk to her even once.”

“I got a handshake from her the other day.”

“Nah, she wasn’t shaking hands specifically with you; she was greeting everyone.”

I overheard such conversations nearby. As for me, Kougami Ao, I don’t particularly have feelings for Tsuyuzaki, nor am I deeply interested in her.

Sure, I think she’s cute, and her personality seems pleasant. But I can’t seem to develop strong feelings for her.

She seems to portray an ideal image, but her smile sometimes appears forced, as if she’s hiding something.

“Ao, you don’t seem interested in Tsuyuzaki-san?”

During lunch break, as I was about to eat my bento as usual, my friend Maeyama Kouta asked me.

“Not really. What about you, Kouta?”

I inquired, but Kouta just chuckled.

“Come on, are you really asking me that? If I express interest here, Kana would be angry with me.”

Kana is Kouta’s girlfriend. They’re in the same class but tend to spend time apart in the classroom as they have different sets of friends.

Well, if Kouta hangs out with Kana, then I’d be left all alone, so I’m thankful for his company.

“Kouta, you went to the same middle school as Tsuyuzaki, right? Was she popular back then too?”

In the morning, as I opened my homemade bento from my bag, I asked Kouta, who attended the same middle school as Tsuyuzaki.

“Yeah, she was quite popular. It seems she received multiple confessions, but she turned them down, saying she wasn’t interested in dating anyone.”

“So, she doesn’t have a boyfriend?”

“Well, it seems that way. But that was two years ago; now she might be open to dating.”

Saying that, Kouta looked at me for some reason. I wonder if he thinks I’m planning to confess to her.

“Despite saying you’re not interested, could it be, Ao, you’re interested in Tsuyuzaki-san──”

“I did just say that I wasn’t interested, right? Didn’t you hear me?”

I lightly kicked Kouta’s leg under the desk, insisting I wasn’t interested, but Kouta hadn’t heard a word.

“I heard, I heard. By the way, speaking of Tsuyuzaki-san, it seems Kana saw her with someone last week.”

“Ohhh really?”

For a moment, my heart skipped a beat, but I maintained an indifferent air. Kouta continued speaking while observing my reaction.

“No interest, huh? Well, hear me out till the end. So, the person Tsuyuzaki-san was with seems to be a guy.”

“Her brother or something?”

“No, Tsuyuzaki-san doesn’t have a brother. There’s a possibility it’s a cousin or something, but according to Kana, she suspects he might be Tsuyuzaki’s boyfriend…”

I find it hard to believe what Kana says. She always seems to say things without much thought.

Thinking this in my mind, I suddenly felt a pinch on my cheek from behind.

“You were just thinking something mean, weren’t you?”

It was Kouta’s girlfriend, Koyama Kana. She had shoulder-length hair and had a sporty vibe.

“I wasn’t. Anyway, what brings you here?”

“I can’t eat with the same people I always do, so can I join you?”

She asked, but she was already pulling her desk over even before I gave her an answer.

“You were planning to join us regardless of what I said, weren’t you?”

“Haha, busted?”

Kana easily strikes up a conversation with me, even though I’m not great at socializing. It makes it easy for me to talk to her.

If it weren’t for Kouta being friends with me, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation.

“Kana, seems like Ao’s interested in Tsuyuzaki-san.”

“Hey, don’t lie.”

“Oh, Ao, are you finally starting to have feelings for Tsuyuzaki-san?”

“I said I’m not interested.”

Even if I say that, there’s no way Kouta and Kana would take it as confirmation or denial of my interest in Tsuyuzaki. So, I decided not to confirm or deny anything.

***

After school, Kouta mentioned he was going home with Kana, so I decided to head home alone. Most of our classmates had already left the classroom, and before I knew it, there were only five of us left, including myself.

As I left the classroom with my bag, the other four had also vanished, leaving me to be the last one out.

There was a reason why I was leaving the classroom so late, though it wasn’t because I was slow to get ready.

After exiting the classroom, I made my way towards the staircase with fewer people and waited on the landing. I heard footsteps approaching.

“Oh, what are you doing? Kougami-kun?”

I was expecting her to initiate the conversation with me, but instead, she ended up asking me a question.

“That’s my line. Tsuyuzaki.”

“Fufu~, you’re right. Shall we change locations for now? Kougami-kun, can I spoil you today too~?”

She said, looking up at me, and then tightly grasped the sleeve of my shirt.