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 54: I think you're cute no matter what hairstyle you have.

I think you’re cute no matter what hairstyle you have.

On the second day of our school trip, I wished I could have slept in a bit longer, but breakfast was at 7 AM, so I couldn’t.

Kouta and I went down from our room on the 15th floor to the dining hall in the basement. There, we met Mizuki and Kana.

“Good morning, Kouta. I missed you~,” Kana said, moving away from Mizuki to cling to Kouta.

Left alone, Mizuki slowly approached me.

“Good morning, Ao-kun,” she said with a smile, wearing a cardigan. Her smile was a soothing sight to start the day.

“Good morning. You still look sleepy.”

“I stayed up late talking with Kana-san and Sayaka-san last night,” she explained with a cheerful tone. It must have been fun, probably a lot of girl talk.

We entered the dining hall and sat at a table with Mizuki, Kana, and Kouta. Breakfast was already laid out, and Mizuki and Kana were chatting excitedly about how delicious everything looked.

“Ao, is there any hairstyle you’d like Mi-chanto try?” Kana asked.

“A hairstyle? I think Mizuki looks cute no matter what hairstyle she has…”

Hearing this, Mizuki blushed and looked down. Did I say something weird? Just then, I noticed Kana grinning.

“How about a ponytail? Big sister Kana will help you with it~,” Kana said playfully.

“Thank you,” Mizuki replied without questioning Kana’s self-appointed big sister role.

After breakfast, we chatted a bit before heading back to our rooms. While we were talking, a mixed group of boys and girls exited the dining hall and started talking about Mizuki.

“I was actually interested in Tsuyuzaki, but I didn’t expect her to have a boyfriend…”

“Give it up~.”

“A lot of guys like Tsuyuzaki-san, don’t they?”

“Yeah, what’s so attractive about her?”

“She’s beautiful.”

“Is that it?”

“That’s it.”

“I envy her for being effortlessly cute and smart, but I don’t like how she acts nice to everyone and always smiles.”

“Yeah, I get that. She pretends to be nice, and I find it off-putting.”

“Hey, she can hear you.”

“Oh, crap, she really can.”

They noticed that Mizuki heard the conversation, but the group didn’t say anything directly to her and just walked away. Feeling upset by their words about Mizuki, I wanted to confront the girl who said she disliked her. However, Mizuki gently grabbed my hand and shook her head.

“Mizuki?”

“It’s fine. They don’t know whether I’ve put in effort or not, so it’s not unusual for them to say things like that.”

“But…”

“Ao-kun, there’s no need for you to do anything.”

I wanted to tell those people that Mizuki works hard, but acting on my own wouldn’t be right. Just as I decided against it, Kana also seemed ready to take action.

“Who do those people think they are? They don’t know how hard Mi-chan works. I’m going to say something!”

What was she planning to say? Rushing over without thinking could lead to an awkward silence.

“Hey, think before you act. I agree with you, but forcing them to understand is not the way.”

“I know, but still…”

“Thank you, Kana-san and Ao-kun. I don’t feel offended, so I’m fine,” Mizuki said with a smile.

Kana and I exchanged worried glances, still concerned about Mizuki despite her reassuring smile.

“Everyone has their likes and dislikes. Even if we tell Nakaya-san and the others about Mizuki’s efforts, they might just shrug it off,” Kouta added.

Kana nodded, whispering a small “I guess.”

“I know how hard you work, Mi-chan,” Kana said, hugging Mizuki tightly.

“Thank you, Kana-san,” Mizuki replied.

Despite Mizuki insisting it was fine, someone must have taken action because, a few minutes later, the group that had spoken ill of Mizuki came back to apologize.

***

“That hairpin… I gave it to you for your birthday.”

While Mizuki and I were looking at the large tank at the aquarium, I noticed the hairpin in her long hair.

“Yes, it’s from you, Ao-kun. I don’t wear it at school, but I do sometimes on weekends,” she said, gently touching the hairpin. Though she had mentioned doing a ponytail, she decided to leave her hair down.

“I like it best when your hair is down.”

“Didn’t you say earlier that you liked any hairstyle?”

“I wasn’t lying when I said that I like any hairstyle. But out of all of them, I prefer it down.”

“… When you look at me like that and say you like it, I get embarrassed,” she said, glancing down and then sneaking a look at me.

“Ao-kun, can we hold hands?”

“Of course. There are a lot of people here, so don’t let go.”

“Okay, I won’t let go,” she said, squeezing my hand just a bit tighter.

“I know how hard you work, Mizuki.”

“… I’m not too bothered about what happened this morning. But it makes me happy that you notice my efforts. Ao-kun, I want you to keep watching over me.”

“I will. I’ll always be watching you, Mizuki.”

***

Thirty minutes before Ao and Mizuki returned to their room from the dining area…

“Mi-chan said she was okay with it, but I don’t think it is,” Kana said with a frown.

“Yeah, it’s not right to stay silent when you hear something like that,” Kouta agreed.

After Mizuki and Ao had gone to the dining area, Kana and Kouta stayed behind, discussing what had happened earlier.

Just then, they saw a group of girls leaving the dining area, and Kana recognized one of them.

“Oh, Yua-chan!” Kana called out, waving.

Yua noticed Kana and waved back. “Sorry, I’m going to chat with Kana for a bit.”

“Go ahead.”

“Hey, Kana-chi! We’re heading back to the room, but let’s catch up later!”

“Yeah, sure!”

Kana had a wide circle of friends and was close with Yua and her group. Despite having many friends, Mizuki was her best friend.

“Did something happen?” Yua asked curiously, seeing Kana still standing near the dining area.

“Well, actually, it’s like this…” Kana began to explain.

“Sorry, Kana. Even though we’re close, I’m not sure I’ll ever fully understand that kind of explanation,” Yua interrupted with a light laugh.

Kana sighed and continued, “Earlier, Nakaya-san’s group said right in front of Mi-chan that she’s not putting in any effort… I mean, they didn’t realize she was there until later, so they didn’t say it to hurt her on purpose. But still, once they noticed, they should have apologized, right?”

Kana asked that, and Yua started typing on her smartphone, saying, ‘I haven’t really interacted much with Nakaya-san and the others, so I can’t say much, but it’s not nice not to apologize. By the way, who spoke badly about Tsuyuzaki-chan? Can you list all their names?'”

Although I didn’t quite understand what Yua was up to, Kana seemed to have a hunch. She listed the names of those who had spoken ill of Mizuki.

“It’s Nakaya-san and Miyano-san right,” Yua replied.

“Yua-chan can be scary when she’s upset…”

“‘Scary? If someone talks badly about a friend, doing this much is natural. Kana-chi, Maeyama-kun, look at this message.”

“‘…Is that really okay?'”

“If they realize they were wrong, Nakaya-san and the others are nice too. Well, that’s about all I can do. See you later, Kana.'”

“‘Yeah, see you later~'”

After Yua left, Kana and Kouta headed towards the direction of the elevator to return to their room, having moved away from the dining area.

“Yua-chan’s initiative, that’s something I can’t replicate…”

“Well, I guess it’s because of her position between the girls that she can do such things…”

“I see…”

***

“Sorry for saying bad things about you, Tsuyuzaki-san…”

Before heading to the aquarium, Mizuki and I approached the entrance where Nakaya-san and another girl, who had spoken ill of Mizuki earlier, were standing.

“It’s okay. It was my fault for behaving in a way that might have seemed like I was being nice to everyone,” Mizuki replied calmly.

“Yeah, I’m really sorry. I thought if I talked badly about you, Tsuyuzaki-san, maybe the guy I like who likes you might start noticing me… I shouldn’t have said those things,” the girl confessed.

It seemed like this girl liked someone who liked Mizuki but wasn’t getting attention from him.

“You might already know, but I’m dating Ao-kun. So I won’t be interested in someone you like. That’s why I support your love. Maybe try making more of an effort to catch his attention?” Mizuki gently suggested, turning the conversation into something akin to relationship advice.

Before long, Kana and Kouta arrived. By then, Nakaya-san and her friends were gone, and Kana seemed to have a knowing look on her face.

“What did you do, Kana?” Kouta asked.

“Hmm, I wonder,” Kana replied coyly, not offering any details.

What’s going on here… It seemed like something had happened, but Kana wasn’t giving anything away.