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 4: Even if you're friends, you don't usually do lap pillows.

Even if you’re friends, you don’t usually do lap pillows.

After school on another day, as I was about to leave, I spotted Tsuyuzaki stretching to reach the notice board.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, Kougami-kun. I want to put this poster up here, but I can’t reach it. Could you help me, please?”

“Sure thing. Is here okay?”

I lifted the poster from behind and pinned it to the notice board.

“Thank you.”

“You’ve decided to rely on others, huh?”

“Well, yes… just you, Kougami-kun.”

“Huh? Just me?”

“Yes… Trusting everyone suddenly is impossible. So far, you’re the only one I feel comfortable with.”

Her words made me feel a bit uplifted. It felt like I was being treated specially.

“Is that so…”

“Yeah. Oh, I’ll head back to the classroom now.”

With that, she walked away.

***

“I see, so every time you talk, Mizuki-chan gets attached to you more, huh?”

I shared the events of the first day I talked to Tsuyuzaki with Hasebe-san, but I wondered what could have been the trigger for her to become attached to me.

“Ah, thanks for this.”

Careful not to wake Tsuyuzaki, who was sleeping on my lap, I sipped the warm tea prepared for me.

“Yeah, go ahead. Mizuki-chan doesn’t seem like she’s going to wake up anytime soon, so I’ll just drink this for her.”

Anticipating that it would be cold by the time she woke up, Hasebe-san started drinking Tsuyuzaki’s share of the tea. Then, she took a picture of the sleeping Tsuyuzaki with her smartphone.

“What are you doing, Hasebe-san?”

“Just taking a picture of the adorable Mizuki-chan.”

“Even if you say that, she might get mad later…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Oh, don’t mind me, just continue with your lovey-dovey interactions as usual.”

I’m just simply watching you. Hasebe-san said that with a smile while looking at us.

“Tsuyuzaki and I are just friends.”

“Even if you’re friends, you don’t usually do lap pillows.”

“…You’re right.”

What is the relationship between me and Tsuyuzaki, I wonder. We often have a distance that feels more like lovers than friends, and I don’t mind being treated like this by Tsuyuzaki.

“Oh, looks like she’s waking up?”

Hasebe-san, who had been watching us, said, and when I looked down, Tsuyuzaki muttered something in a small voice.

“Tsuyuzaki?”

“Mmm…”

She slowly sat up, still looking a bit sleepy.

“You’ve been asleep for about 30 minutes.”

“…Ko… Kougami-kun!?”

Tsuyuzaki suddenly moved away from me, as if she had become more conscious.

Perhaps she thought she had done something strange while sleeping, judging by her blushing face being close to mine.

“W-What did I do!?”

“No, No~ that’s because Kougami-kun did such and such things to Mizuki-chan while she was sleeping…”

“Hasebe-san! I didn’t do anything, did I!? You saw, didn’t you!?”

Because of Hasebe-san, Tsuyuzaki, who had been close to me just a moment ago, distanced herself.

“It’s a misunderstanding, Tsuyuzaki. I didn’t do anything. After all, you just fell asleep on my lap after leaning on my shoulder.”

“Is that true?”

“Yeah, really──”

“No, no, lying is not good, Kougami-kun.”

Ah, even though the misunderstanding was about to be cleared up, now Tsuyuzaki is troubled because of Hasebe-san.

“Tsuyuzaki, I really didn’t do anything.”

“I understand.”

“Do you believe me?”

“I trust you, Kougami-kun, so there’s no need to worry.”

Her smile made me feel a flutter in my heart.

“Sorry, Kougami-kun. I didn’t mean to fall asleep… Did I do anything while I was asleep?”

“It’s okay. You were just sound asleep.”

“I-I see…”

Tsuyuzaki seemed relieved.

“I think it’s time for me to head home. I wanted to spend a little more time together, but I ended up falling asleep…”

With her bag in hand, Tsuyuzaki looked disappointed.

“We’ll see each other again.”

“Yes, you’re right. Thank you for today, Hikari-san.”

“No problem~ Thanks for the sweet time.”

Tsuyuzaki tilted her head at Hasebe’s mysterious remark.

“See you tomorrow, Kougami-kun.”

“Yeah, see you at school.”

After Tsuyuzaki descended the stairs, I prepared to leave as well. Then, Hasebe-san approached me with her smartphone.

“Come to think of it, what do you two usually do together?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, just because Mizuki-chan wanted to find a place where you two could talk without anyone bothering you…”

“…We’re just talking about school stuff normally. It seems like I’m the only person she feels comfortable with, so it’s like she’s confiding in me.”

“We’re just spending time together as friends. Deciding on a specific place to talk would cause various complications if someone saw me talking to Tsuyuzaki there.”

“Oh~ Hey, hey, can I have your contact info? I’ll give you something nice.”

“Something nice?”

“Yeah, something nice.”

I didn’t really understand, but I ended up exchanging contact information with Hasebe.

***

“Huh? From Hasebe-san…”

Before going to bed, I checked my phone and saw that Hasebe-san had sent a photo, so I tapped on the notification.

“Is this…?”

The photo she sent was the one she had taken at that time.

Her sleeping figure on my lap was very cute, and I ended up pressing the save button.

TL: The story keeps on telling me that I lack any sweetness in my life… wtf… Please rate 5 Stars on Novel Updates and here please!